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Karametra's Short-Term Memory | V-DSK

Commander / EDH Bracket 4 Combo GW (Selesnya) Landfall Primer Ramp Storm Tokens Value Engine

Beebles

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Lands (36)

Stormy (10)

Sac Outlet (7)

Reduce Cost (4)

Recursion (3)

Interaction (18)

Tutors (11)

Landfall (8)

Engine (5)

Mana Sink (4)

Buff (2)

Commander (1)

Commander: foil Karametra, God of Harvests

Draw (14)

Ramp (10)

Protection (7)

Tokens (5)

Doublers (1)

Maybeboard

Interaction (17)

Protection (12)

Mana Sink (8)

Other (7)

Reduce Cost (6)

Lands (2)

Draw (15)

Buff (13)

Tutors (12)

Ramp (7)

Doublers (3)

Engine (1)

Stormy (14)

Tokens (14)

Landfall (8)

Land (7)

Recursion (7)

A primer for a delicious triggerfest that Karametra will surely forget...


Karametra: "Wow! You have cast a Whitemane Lion! Amazing!! I will reward you with a land of your choice!"


Doctor: "She doesn't seem to remember you have cast Whitemane Lion three times already. I'm sorry to say she seems to have a short term memory problem... Do you still have mana open? Try it again"


Karametra: "Wow! You have cast a Whitemane Lion! That's amazing!! Here is a land as a reward..."


Memory Lapse
Hello, and welcome to my Karametra, God of Harvests *f-etch* build,
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Origin

After several failed attempts of trying to squeeze Karametra into an existing deck, it became clear that she deserved a deck of her own. I ended up using a lot of cards I already had lying around. It feels great to put these cards to good use :).

Game Plan

This is a gimmicky Selesnya Storm triggerfest value combo deck. The goal of the deck is to be in a position where I can play a creature like Whitemane Lion over and over again, gaining a lot of lands via Karametra. Many other cards are in the deck to expand this value-engine:

  • There are a bunch of cards in here which trigger whenever you cast a creature spell. Some, like Beast Whisperer, will draw you a lot of cards. Others, like God-Eternal Oketra, net you tokens, and there are a bunch of other benefits we can reap from cards in this category.
  • Landfall cards add to the triggerfest, as we get a land with every creature cast through Karametra. Most of the landfall cards generate tokens, like Scute Swarm for example, but there are other perks in this category as well.
  • Cards that reduce the cost of Whitemane Lion, like Cloud Key, increase the amount of times you can recast it. I really like these type of cards in this deck: they both serve as ramp cards to get your commander out early (while not relying on the limited supply of lands in the library) but are also relevant late game to create a big storm count.
  • With Earthcraft we can tap the lion in response to it’s own ETB to let him generate a discount for his next cast.
  • Then there are the Mana doublers like Zendikar Resurgent that also get us more and more lion casts.
  • Lastly, Amulet of Vigor, Lotus Cobra and Tireless Provisioner make it so our karametra-granted lands generate mana right away, also helping our cause of resummoning our Whitemane Lion from its shiny yellow portal over and over again...

Show

Together, these cards lead to a delicious triggerfest value-engine that can really snowball out of control.

Long-term benefits

Eventually, the deck tries to win with an army of pumped creatures as we usually end up with a wealth of of creature tokens. Then, the deck runs a few ways to make our army bigger before swinging ftw!

enter image description here

Other way to win is to add Aetherflux Reservoir to our whitemane lion portal-loop.

I enjoy that this deck can play out as an average selesnya goodstuff deck, but with a high chance of really getting out of control, resulting into ridiculous board states. And in a few cases into a combo win via Aluren + Whitemane Lion + Aetherflux Reservoir. I really like this element of suprise in decks to keep them fun to pilot on the long run (what will happen this time..?).

Combos

These are some fun synergies/sequences I have found so far:

There used to be a section explaining the cards selected, but since I stopped updating it, it felt better to remove it.

Whitemane Lion

Additional Information

These are the remaining primer topics for whoever wants some more information on the commander, my build considerations and my meta.

This deck isn’t really about the commander. It really is about the Portal-loop-experience. Karametra allows us to build this engine reliably though because of Karametra’s resilience: the indestructibility makes it so we can durdle a few turns to assemble our engine without much risk of getting one of the vital pieces removed.

This is a reason for me not to switch to Chulane, Teller of Tales who allows for a similar build. He has a much higher threat level and is much easier to remove. I also generally prefer 2-colored decks over 3-colored ones, because that usually results into picking less staples and ending up with a higher variety of cards across my decks.

This deck started as a fun triggerfest idea but has accidentally become one of my most powerful decks. It is synergistic and has a lot of different interactions, but all paths ultimately end up in a similar combo finish. It is currently a bit too strong for my playgroup, but I don't mind having one deck that's a bit more edgy ;). I do think this deck could be pushed further and enter the competitive level (check Goretast's list if you want to explore that route).

Category (Jank - Low - Mid - High - Competitive)
High

These considerations have been guiding in my card selection. They help determine priority when deciding between different cards:

Embrace the gimmick

As the description so far has made clear, the main intent is to make the value engine take off. Most card slots are dedicated to make that happen. So if a card it helps to make the engine better, it is probably in the deck.

A home for the Rector

Academy Rector is a card that I've put in several decks, but I also ended up removing it in each instance. I was looking for a place where it can really shine. With this deck I'm having another go, as it includes a few expensive key enchantments for the value engine to really take off. Zendikar Resurgent seems to be the clear winner, with Nyxbloom Ancient and Primeval Bounty being great alternatives. Then it can also grab Aluren if we can close out the game with it.

enter image description here

To enable the rector I've tried to incorporate a few cards that can sac him: like Evolutionary Leap and High Market. To this end I also really like Cataclysmic Gearhulk in this deck. With Karametra being an enchantment, you have a lot more options when picking your permanents.

ETB is not a priority

A common package in decks like this is a selection of strong ETB creatures and ways to bounce those creatures back to your hand for value. Although I run some of those cards (like Cloudstone Curio), I decided this is not a main priority for me in the deck, partially because I already run a few decks where this is a theme. This is why I am no longer running certain cards, like Temur Sabertooth.

Pick new cards if possible

Selesnya is probably my favorite color combination (this is my 4th deck with WG in it). Because of that, it’s easy to fall back on the same staples. However, this is making my decks too homogeneous which is something I try to avoid, so I try to stray away from cards I already play in other decks a lot if possible. In this deck, I did not pick Craterhoof Behemoth as a buff spell for example, but went for cards like Kamahl, Fist of Krosa.

White creatures

Because of the package of cards that reduce costs of creature spells mostly affect white creatures only, I value white creatures over green ones in this list. So if I can choose between white or green options (e.g. Wall of Omens vs Wall of Blossoms, white is going to win.

I play commander with a set playgroup in a kitchentable setting. We have added one house rule: no infinite card combo's of 2 or less cards (like Tooth and Nail based combo's). We also try to keep a check on excessive stax or denial strategies. This usually enables that everyone has a chance to try out their creations and have some fun.

There are quite some graveyard-based decks and thus quite a lot of graveyard hate. This makes it so I did not want to depend on the graveyard for my strategy.

I use the updates section to share most updates. Please check there for card changes and considerations.

Currently testing:

Let me know if you have some tips! Also, feel free to upvote the deck if you liked it.
Upvote & Support This Primer!
GL & HF
Beebles
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Suggestions

Updates Add

ZNR changes — Sept. 18, 2020
Edit

I’ve added these new ZNR cards to the deck:

Made a bunch of other changes as well since the last update, but don’t remember what I cut for them. Added Field of the Dead, Collector Ouphe, Flawless Maneuver and Nyxbloom Ancient.

Small M20 & ELD tweaks + primer section — July 27, 2019
Edit
War of the Spark + MH1 Update — April 28, 2019
Edit
First plays — April 15, 2018
Edit

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Revision 129 See all

(1 week ago)

+1 Glimpse of Nature main