This is a tournament-level combo control deck. It is designed to win in high-pressure environments by withstanding incoming disruption, suppressing opponents, and using efficient and powerful combos.
This deck is built around speed and aggression. It combos very rapidly, and it relies partly on that speed to minimize incoming disruption.
Overview
Reading this decklist
Reading this decklist
This decklist is organized, by default, into my custom categories. Cards intended at the high level to have cross-category functionality will appear in multiple categories.
Land: Self-explanatory.
Utility: The tutor, draw, and recursion effects that improve the deck's function and support its fast, efficient style.
Control: The counterspells and removal spells that allow me to respond to opponents' plays and control the game.
Ramp: The ramp spells and permanents that allow me to accelerate mana production and outpace my opponents. Ramp is critical to winning before my opponents do, and it fuels the control elements in the deck so tempo isn't lost when responding to threats.
Engine: The core combos and interactions that drive the win conditions.
WinCon: The cards that enable the deck to secure victory.
Backup: The cards that serve as failsafes to reinitiate the combo.
The maybeboard is a working list of cards that are not in the deck, but are being considered for inclusion pending testing and developing theory.
Why ?
Why ?
I chose a five-color deck because the Hermit Druid combos I wanted to run require at least four colors (). There are no four-color commanders (yet), and the extra allows the deck to have access to extra cards like Eladamri's Call.
Why Cromat?
Why Cromat?
This deck was (and is) limited to five-color commanders. Of the options,
Cromat
isn't as likely to draw immediate hate from the rest of the table. It's widely associated with the group hug playstyle, so it's likelier to fly under the radar until Hermit Druid shows up. Every turn this deck can last without arousing suspicion improves its chances of winning unopposed.
Additionally, it allows a combat damage win if the Necrotic Ooze combo is initiated and one player has some combination of permanents preventing ping damage from being an effective win condition.
This card doesn't really arouse suspicion because it only seems usable in a tribal deck, and it has a potentially useful ability. However, there aren't any Elemental cards worth including just for the interaction.
This card provides a decent utility ability that enables an infinite combat damage win, although this capacity is redundant with Caller of the Claw. However, it may draw hate because opponents may suspect an infinite mana combo to enable a competitive win with Sliver Queen's ability (or because they hate Slivers).
Strengths
Strengths
This deck's primary strength is its speed. Consistent combos on turn three or four mean that this deck is winning when most other competitive decks are still setting up. Most opponents probably won't even know what's going on until they see Hermit Druid, by which point this deck is much harder to stop.
Additionally, the low starting cost for the combo ( to cast Hermit Druid and to set it off) means the there are plenty of resources available for counterspell protection.
Weaknesses
Weaknesses
The deck's primary weakness is its reliance on Dread Return (which creates a single point of failure) and its vulnerability to anti-graveyard effects. The former is somewhat mitigated by countermagic and by the other reanimation spells. The latter is somewhat mitigated by countermagic and by the Devotion Druid failsafe for the Necrotic Ooze combos.
Strategy
General strategy
General Strategy
This deck was built for heavy control, high speed, and high consistency. It is played most efficiently using a two-stage approach:
Preparation - Set up combo
Combo - Control, execute combo
These stages are discussed at length in the sections below.
The main point of Stage I is to find and play your mill enabler(s) to set up for the combo. This stage normally lasts between one and three turns, and it needs to move quickly. Basic control considerations need to be made to protect your tutors and combo pieces.
Don't cast Hermit Druid until you have sufficient resources (mana, counterspells) to use and protect it in the next turn. Also, if you're using the backup mill combo, remember that
Cephalid Illusionist
doesn't need to be on the battlefield until the combo turn. Only Lightning Greaves should be played in preparation. Spreading out combo pieces and putting them into play before you're really ready to use them leaves the strategy vulnerable to removal and lets your opponent know you're gearing up for the endgame.
Stage II - Combo
Stage II - Combo
Goals:
Maintain control of boardstate
Combo off
The main point of Stage II is to win the game. It's that simple.
The combo should be executed in one turn. At the same time, you shouldn't wait too long to go off. Every turn you take means more opportunities for your opponents to break through your control setup and take the game. Use your discretion. The perfect opportunity will not always arise and you will occasionally need to take a calculated risk to win. Just make sure to keep countermagic up and think everything through at least twice and preferably three times before executing the combo.
Mulligans
Mulligans
This deck is typically played in games that use a Partial Paris mulligan with a free first mulligan.
The first and foremost rule when taking mulligans with this deck is that you must not be afraid to take aggressive mulligans. If a card is dead in the first two turns of the game, you probably don't want it in your opening hand. If you see a spell with CMC 3 and no way to play it on turn two, consider pitching it.
Generally speaking, you want to see three lands in your opening hand. This gives you security for the first few turns. Ideally, you'll start with multilands ABUR duals of some kind.
Additionally, you want to see at least one counterspell or tutor, preferably two.
Always mulligan the non-ramp cards that need to be in your graveyard later. They're dead in hand, and they should never take up space in your opening hand.
Combos
Introduction to the combos
Introduction to the combos
This section will detail the combos and how to use and support them.
Begin with Hermit Druid on the battlefield and without summoning sickness. Avoid having in hand any of the cards listed under Engine or Wincon in the decklist above.
Begin with Lightning Greaves and one other creature on the battlefield. Avoid having in hand any of the creatures listed under Engine or Wincon in the decklist above.
This will give you access to the less powerful
Crypt Champion
-based combo. This option should be used if Necrotic Ooze is unavailable or cannot be used to combo because enough other combo pieces are unavailable.
Phase III - Combo
The objective of Phase III is to win the game by executing one of the following combos.
These combos can all be executed immediately because Anger will be in the graveyard and will therefore provide haste to all of the relevant creatures.
This combo produces infinite mana, which it uses to produce infinite targeted damage abilities.
This is the deck's primary win combo. This is an uninterruptible combo: you retain priority the entire time, from the moment Dread Return resolves in Phase II until the moment you have the winning abilities on the stack. This combo should always be used if it will produce a victory in the current board state.
The significant detail about this step is that placing the -1/-1 counter on Necrotic Ooze is part of the cost of the ability, and only the -1/-1 counter matters for the next step. Do not pass priority to resolve this ability.
You will remove the -1/-1 counter placed on Necrotic Ooze in step #2 in order to pay for this ability.
Repeat steps #1-3, floating an arbitrarily large amount of mana.
You may float other colors of mana if you wish, but only red mana is required for the next step.
Activate Necrotic Ooze's inherited version of
Spikeshot Elder
's ability targeting an opponent. Retain priority.
Repeat step #5 until an arbitrarily large number of instances of the ability are on the stack targeting each opponent and an arbitrarily large amount of mana is still in your mana pool.
Pass priority and begin resolving these abilities.
If an opponent responds with an action that would cause him or her to survive, respond by repeating step #6.
This combo produces infinite tokens, which it uses to produce infinite targeted damage abilities. The tokens can also attack for a combat victory.
This is the deck's secondary win combo. It should be used if the first combo in this subsection is not executable or would not produce a victory in the current board state and if this combo would produce a victory in the current board state.
If an opponent responds with an action that would stop the ability from having its effect, respond by activating Necrotic Ooze's inherited version of Devoted Druid's second ability. Resolve this ability. Then repeat the main instructions for this step.
If an opponent again responds with some such action, respond by repeating the above special instructions and substituting Necrotic Ooze's inherited version of
Morselhoarder
's second ability for the other prescribed untap ability.
Repeat step #1 using the token copy of Necrotic Ooze.
Repeat step #2 until you control an arbitrarily large number of token copies of Necrotic Ooze.
You have two options, depending on which finisher you want to use.
Win by targeted damage abilities.
For a Necrotic Ooze token, activate its inherited version of Mogg Fanatic's ability targeting an opponent. Retain priority.
Repeat step #1 until an arbitrarily large number of instances of the ability are on the stack targeting each opponent and you still control an arbitrarily large number of tokens.
Pass priority and begin resolving these abilities.
If an opponent responds with an action that would cause him or her to survive, respond by repeating step #2.
Win by combat damage.
Attack with an arbitrarily large number of Necrotic Ooze tokens.
If an opponent responds with an action that would cause him or her to survive, respond by initiating the win by targeted damage abilities described above.
This combo should be used as the deck's last resort because it is less effective than the other combos. This combo should also only be used if no opponents have creature cards with converted mana cost three or less in their graveyards and that could disrupt this combo.
Place Caller of the Claw's ability onto the stack. Resolve this ability.
Attack each opponent with an arbitrarily large number of tokens.
Preparing to combo
Preparing to Combo
Not counting the setup in Stage I (see the section above on strategy), there are three basic steps to comboing with this deck:
Step 1: Assess your options. This deck has some subtle nuances that allow you to micromanage your combo to minimize the risk of disruption. Consider the following:
Opponents' colors and untapped lands, which could indicate possible responses like counterspells or removal spells.
What permanents you already have on the battlefield.
What cards you have in your hand.
Step 2: Plan your combo. How exactly will you play around possible threats (such as countermagic) and execute your win?
Step 3: Execute the combo. Hopefully, you properly planned your moves during Step 1 and Step 2. If you find at some point during the combo that you overlooked something and might need to take a different approach, pause whatever move you're currently making and think through your options again. Don't panic.
Using the combo cards
Using the combo cards
These cards form the combo engines that enable victory.
This card is the primary mill enabler in the deck. Because there are no basic lands in this list, activating Hermit Druid's ability will cause you to mill your entire deck. This is the first step in comboing.
This card is the secondary mill enabler in the deck. If for some reason Hermit Druid is unavailable,
Cephalid Illusionist
can combo with Lightning Greaves and another creature you control. Target
Cephalid Illusionist
with Lightning Greaves's equip ability. This will trigger
Cephalid Illusionist
's mill ability. When both abilities resolve, target your other creature with Lightning Greaves. When the ability resolves, repeat this process until you have milled your entire deck. This is the first step in comboing.
This card automatically returns itself to the battlefield when it's milled. It's one of the pieces available to flash back Dread Return if you started comboing with no creatures other than Hermit Druid.
This card can be returned from the graveyard to the battlefield by playing a land. It's one of the pieces available to flash back Dread Return if you started comboing with no creatures other than Hermit Druid.
This card can be returned from the graveyard to the battlefield for only . It's one of the pieces available to flash back Dread Return if you started comboing with no creatures other than Hermit Druid.
Tap Necrotic Ooze for mana using Birds of Paradise's ability. Retaining priority, activate Devoted Druid's second ability. Continue to retain priority and untap Necrotic Ooze using
Morselhoarder
's ability and floating additional mana. The tap ability is a mana ability, Devoted Druid's untap ability places a counter as a cost to activate, and
Morselhoarder
's ability is a mana ability, so this combo runs without passing priority and automatically generates infinite mana.
For infinite damage, retain priority and activate
Spikeshot Elder
's ability an arbitrarily large number of times.
Combo 2
Copy Necrotic Ooze using Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker's ability. Each token will have the same ability and will be able to copy itself. Repeat this an arbitrarily large number of times.
For infinite mana, untap all of the copies using Devoted Druid's ability, then tap them all for mana using Birds of Paradise's ability.
For infinite damage, sacrifice some of the copies using Mogg Fanatic's ability.
This card enables Necrotic Ooze to produce infinite tokens, which enables the infinite mana and infinite damage combos. Target Necrotic Ooze with its own inherited ability.
This card enables Necrotic Ooze to untap so it can produce infinite mana. Its ability can also be used to help combo around removal spells and also to go infinite before an opponent receives priority.
This card enables Necrotic Ooze to untap without passing priority and also produces infinite mana. Its ability can be used to help combo around removal spells and also to go infinite before an opponent receives priority.
This card is one of the components of the backup combo. Return this card to the battlefield using Dread Return. Both of its abilities will trigger; put the sacrifice ability onto the stack first, then put the reanimator ability onto the stack above it and target Saffi Eriksdotter.
This card combos with
Crypt Champion
to generate infinite death counts through recursion. Reanimate this card with
Crypt Champion
's first ability and sacrifice it targeting
Crypt Champion
before
Crypt Champion
's second ability resolves. This will allow you to reanimate
Crypt Champion
and repeat this loop an arbitrarily large number of times.
The following cards allow you to use the combo engine to secure the win.
This card allows the Necrotic Ooze infinite mana combo to deal infinite damage for a ping win. Its combo can be executed multiple times without passing priority.
This card allows the Necrotic Ooze tokens to sacrifice for damage for a ping win. Once you have infinite tokens, sacrifice enough of them to kill all of your opponents.
This card uses the infinite death count from
Crypt Champion
and Saffi Eriksdotter to produce infinite tokens for a combat victory. Reanimate this card with
Crypt Champion
's first ability, generate infinite tokens, and swing for the win.
Card Choices
Lands
Lands
The land base in this deck is focused almost entirely on producing colored mana without basics. Basic lands would destabilize the Hermit Druid combo and make the deck unreliable. The downside, of course, is that this approach also means the deck becomes very expensive very quickly.
ABUR duals
The ABUR duals provide good color fixing and are fetchable and nonbasic.
Fetches
The fetches provide strong color fixing and are nonbasic.
Shocks
The shocks provide good color fixing and are fetchable and nonbasic.
This card allows me to protect Hermit Druid or
Cephalid Illusionist
on cast and save my counterspells for removal or later threats.
Ramp
Ramp
This deck capitalizes on efficient ramp effects in order to outpace opponents, accelerate its win, and maintain pressure. The ramp isn't absolutely critical to the deck's function, but it can enable a turn two win in extreme cases and provides more resources for control during the combo turn.
Extra land-per-turn effects allow the deck to have explosive openers. Only cards with CMC 1 are really useful here because the deck likes to win on turn three or four. The higher-cost versions of these cards are therefore less effective.
These cards are low-cost ramp rocks that allow the deck to produce the extra mana it needs for its two high-cost staples: Damia, Sage of Stone and Tooth and Nail. Don't worry about paying to untap them; they're typically used as single-shot mana sources.
These cards enable explosive opening turns because they require no mana. Although each one has a downside, neither downside is ultimately significant in most games.
This card excels in competitive EDH metas, where most players play fetch lands. Even if I am forced to exile my own fetches, the ramp is worthwhile. The fact that Deathrite Shaman can also shut down graveyard strategies and effects is an added benefit.
These cards cost only and help make highly saturated payments easier in the early game. Additionally, they serve as part of the combo by allowing Necrotic Ooze to produce infinite mana (see "The Combos").
This card can serve as decent ramp, but its primary purpose is to protect the combo (see "The Combos"). Additionally, it can safely be played as a ramp creature when needed, be killed with its own ability, and assume its position in the combo.
These cards are classic counterspells. They hit every kind of target, and they cost only each. Mana Drain comes with the added benefit of also ramping on the following turn.
These cards are all free counterspells, and they're extremely important for that reason. Although they all have some kind of downside, they're fantastic for protecting plays that consume all of the deck's resources or for protecting the combo when it goes off.
These cards are powerful in counter wars because they're cheap, efficient, and hit opponents' counterspells with ease. Although two of them aren't technically hard counters, it's likely that they'll effectively be hard counters in the situations in which they're needed.
These cards are often overlooked because they're non-blue counterspells. However, they're extremely good at protecting a combo when no blue sources are open. They can also take an opponent by surprise because they're not often factored into counter wars.
These cards are vital to finding combo pieces and other critical cards. Tutors greatly improve the consistency of the deck, and they are indispensible assets.
This card provides a way to get rid of problematic artifacts and enchantments both before and during the combo (since its ability can be used by Necrotic Ooze).
These cards can take the place of Dread Return in the combo.
Omissions
Omissions
The following cards have been excluded from this list for one reason or another.
Want to Build This Deck?
Understanding the deck
Understanding the deck
Keep in mind that this deck has been optimized for a competitive environment. Its sole purpose is to combo as quickly as possible. I strongly recommend against using it in other environments.
Also, make sure that you play this deck in a sporting way. Don't take a combo-control deck to a casual pod where players are still learning the format or looking for a different kind of experience. You'll win, but it won't be enjoyable for anyone else.
On a budget?
On a budget?
As you may have guessed, this deck isn't the easiest to build on a budget. You'll run into issues preserving the consistency and power of the list if you have to make too many changes. In general, try to make replacements that maintain the deck's functionality (for example, swap an expensive tutor for a less expensive tutor, or swap a dual land for a less expensive land that taps for the same colors of mana).
A large part of the deck's cost comes from the mana base. I run an optimized land base, and Hermit Druid's combo relies on you not having any basic lands in your deck at all. You could cut the ABUR duals and maybe even the other cycles to make the deck easier on the wallet, but doing so will reduce the deck's ability to color fix. Mana Crypt can also go. It's critical that you at least retain several nonbasic lands with the Mountain subtype, though, as Anger's ability only applies if you control a Mountain.
For replacements, consider reliable staples like the check lands, pain lands, and filter lands. They aren't as powerful as the ABUR duals and fetches, but they at least provide fast color fixing. You should also include cards like Coalition Relic and
Chromatic Lantern
to help with fixing and acceleration.
Some of the less efficient tutors (e.g. Diabolic Tutor) cost much less than Imperial Seal and Vampiric Tutor. Substitute these lower-power tutors to maintain some of the deck's functionality while reducing the price tag.
Thankfully, the combos themselves involve relatively inexpensive pieces. You can preserve them if you reconfigure the deck to run on cheaper ramp and utility cards.
Other Information
Possible cuts
Possible cuts
The following cards are being considered for removal from the deck.
Although this card is the classic counterspell, it's also twice as expensive to cast as most of the other counterspells in the deck. The combo turn is normally played on a fairly tight budget, so it's sometimes difficult to guarantee a counterspell.
Although this card is a classic counterspell, it's also twice as expensive to cast as most of the other counterspells in the deck. The combo turn is normally played on a fairly tight budget, so it's sometimes difficult to guarantee a counterspell. The ramp is only somewhat useful because the entirety of the combo turn typically requires colored mana.
Possible additions
Possible additions
The following cards are being considered for inclusion in the deck.
Comments, suggestions, criticisms, and ratings are all welcome!
When recommending cards, please remember that this deck is tournament-oriented and must only contain the most efficient and powerful cards available. Please do not suggest casual or otherwise nonviable cards for inclusion.
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