After commander 2016 was released, Kynaios and Tiro caught my attention in a second. A deck totally different from what I know. When I started playing with the deck, it was a group hug deck, but as it evolved it changed into a landfall deck with a token subtheme.
In a landfall deck the lands are very important. I ended up with 41 of them, and 6 of them are MDFC. Pulling off a 4-color mana base on a budget is not that easy so I take what I can to fix colors as I don't own any fetch lands.
Most of them focus on getting the right colors and synergize great with a landfall theme: Evolving Wilds, Terramorphic Expanse and Krosan Verge are all great budget options. I also added Fabled Passage as it is semi budget and a great card in this deck. The rest is pretty budget: some bounce lands, dual lands, check lands and basics with a focus on getting as many green symbols as possible. This deck has 2 real utility lands: Field of the Dead for the token generation and Hall of Heliod's Generosity because there are some very good enchantments in the deck.
Ramp is important in any deck. In a landfall deck the ramp is focused on getting multiple lands per turn into play as possible. I also took this into account when building the mana base. This is the main reason why lands like Simic Growth Chamber, Gruul Turf and Selesnya Sanctuary are in the deck. Other bounce lands aren't included because they don't produce green mana.
Getting multiple lands into play when you have access to green isn't that hard. The hardest part is figuring out what cards to play. First up there is Wayfarer's Bauble (thank you commander's quarters for pointing this one out!). Not because it is the best....well maybe it is.....but because it doesn't require a color. Lacking green in hand? Then this deck will get stuck on the first turn.
Next up: playing extra lands on my turn. These effects are great in this deck so I added Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait, Azusa, Lost but Seeking, Dryad of the Ilysian Grove and Mina and Denn, Wildborn. Aesi also provides card draw and the dryad adds some more consistency by being able to 'fix colors'. It is tempting to play more of these effects, but you can only have so many lands in hand. There are many options and if you think another card fits better: just check the maybeboard and tell me why I should play another card. And don't forget my commander also let's me play an extra land a turn.
The last part: green land ramp spells. Normally I would just slam cultivate and friends in a deck, but I gave this one a little more thought because I can already play extra lands on my turn. I still added Farseek for it's ability to grab almost any land in the deck. I then added Roiling Regrowth and Harrow because they can be played at instant speed and that gives this deck a little bit more flexibility. For example: it can be used as a combat trick due to the token subtheme or generate value on my opponents turn with tatyova on the field and try to dig for an answer. I lastly added Pir's Whim because it can fetch me Field of the Dead and adds a bit of removal to this deck.
Besides the ramp, card draw is just as important in this deck. If I want to play multiple lands a turn, I need to get those cards in my hand. Tatyova, Benthic Druid and the earlier mentioned Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait are great and are acompanied by Tireless Tracker and Omnath, Locus of the Roil. Horn of Greed gives me more value then my opponents so I am happy to run it, even though it will get my opponents extra cards in the process. The classic Rhystic Study can not be absent in any blue deck. As the MDFC's can be cast as non-creature spells I opted to run Whirlwind of Thought. I also added the new cosima, god of voyage to the deck as she fits the landfall theme perfectly. For a big impulsive draw spell I opted Finale of Revelation as it also can give me no maximum handsize. I lastly added Toski, Bearer of Secrets because this deck can produce a lot of tokens and every one of them can draw me a card!. With my commander also drawing me a card I lastly added Teferi's Ageless Insight as a value card/ engine that goes well with all the card draw.
Removal is basic and effective in this deck. Swords to Plowshares and Path to Exile to deal with creatures. Wear / Tear and Crush Contraband to deal with artifacts and enchantments (there is a xenagos deck running around in my meta). Generous Gift is added to deal with almost anything on the board and I added Admonition Angel. Not because it is the best, but it synergizes with what the deck wants to do. For board wipes I added Cyclonic Rift and Blasphemous Act. Lastly I added Dismantling Wave witch can act as spot removal and a board wipe of some sorts. I used to run another boardwipe, but with all the tokens this deck can generate I felt it wasn't needed to run another one. Although it might seem a little light there is also Ondu Inversion
, Kabira Takedown
and Jwari Disruption
in the land base and Omnath can snipe the occasional creature as well.
Finally, finally I get to the main theme: landfall and landfall triggers. There is a plethora of cards to choose from these days so I found it to be very hard to decide on a direction for this deck. In the end I opted for token subtheme and some value cards that enhance the landfall strategy.
To start with the token theme I opted for classic cards like Avenger of Zendikar, Omnath, Locus of Rage, Emeria Angel, Rampaging Baloths and Zendikar's Roil among others. Phylath, World Sculptor, Scute Swarm and Felidar Retreat are new additions to this direction. I added Parallel Lives for extra value (So lucky I bought this once for a sidisi deck).
Some extra value cards that trigger on lands enter the battlefield are Emeria sheperd, Moraug, Fury of Akoum and Roil Elemental. Awaken the Woods is a newest addition that can generate a ton of triggers. It a token generator that puts lands into play.....well sign me up!
Al those tokens are great, but not so when you have to wait a turn to attack with them. Opponents will see you coming from a mile. Thats why I added Temur Ascendancy and Fervor to the deck. Haste will make those tokens much more scary. As another way to pseudo haste things up I added Leyline of Anticipation. Casting everything at instant speed....well my Avenger of zendikar is almost certain an instant wincon!
But what if combat isn't the way because there are some pesky fog effects? I want to deal damage to my opponents another way. It is then I realised Impact Tremors can serve as a wincon and that I can also run Goblin Bombardment (bonus points for synergy with Omnath, Locus of Rage ) Maybe it is better to just run some boots (there are Winged Boots because who doesn't like a flying Greensleeves, Maro-Sorcerer ) or a protection spell, but I can always swap something out.
I think it is a well rounded deck witch can hold its own in a semi casual meta. I am having a blast playing this deck and I hope it gives you some inspiration to build something like this. Any comments? It is always appreciated....as is a +1.
