Love is War (Budget Grouphug)

Commander / EDH Casual Forcefeed Group Hug Mono-Blue

WhatInTheWhoNow

Everybody Draws! :) (19)

• 1x Curse of Verbosity
• 1x Dakra Mystic
• 1x Dictate of Kruphix
• 1x Fascination
• 1x Font of Mythos
• 1x Howling Golem
• 1x Jace Beleren
• 1x Jushi Apprentice  ^Flip
• 1x Kami of the Crescent Moon
• 1x Otherworld Atlas
• 1x Prosperity
• 1x Skyscribing
• 1x Tales of the Ancestors
• 1x Temple Bell
• 1x Temporal Cascade
• 1x Unifying Theory
• 1x Vision Skeins
• 1x Well of Ideas
• 1x Words of Wisdom

Miscellaneous Benefits (2)

• 1x Descendant of Soramaro
• 1x Ivory Tower

Large And In Charge (12)

• 1x Aeon Chronicler
• 1x Alrund, God of the Cosmos  ^Flip
• 1x Atemsis, All-Seeing
• 1x Behold the Unspeakable  ^Flip
• 1x Commence the Endgame
• 1x Empyrial Plate
• 1x Mordenkainen
• 1x Ominous Seas
• 1x Psychosis Crawler
• 1x Soramaro, First to Dream
• 1x Sturmgeist
• 1x Syr Elenora, the Discerning

Land and "Rocks" (50)

• 1x Ghirapur Orrery
• 48x Island
• 1x Storm Cauldron

Passive Damage (3)

• 1x Black Vise
• 1x Iron Maiden
• 1x Viseling

Only You Draw... :( (2)

• 1x Pull from Tomorrow
• 1x Recurring Insight

Commander (1)

Infinite Hand Size (11)

• 1x Body of Knowledge
• 1x Curiosity Crafter
• 1x Folio of Fancies
• 1x Nezahal, Primal Tide
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Spellbook
• 1x The Magic Mirror
• 1x Thought Vessel
• 1x Triskaidekaphile
• 1x Venser's Journal
• 1x Wizard Class

---

Maybeboard

Didn't fit the theme (18)

• 1x Bane of Bala Ged
• 1x Breaker of Armies
• 1x Colossus of Akros
• 1x Diluvian Primordial
• 1x Eldrazi Devastator
• 1x Hand of Emrakul
• 1x Mirrorshell Crab
• 1x Myr Battlesphere
• 1x Scourge of Fleets
• 1x Scytheclaw
• 1x Sludge Monster
• 1x Stitcher Geralf
• 1x Stormtide Leviathan
• 1x Triplicate Titan
• 1x Ulamog's Crusher
• 1x Waker of Waves
• 1x Walking Skyscraper
• 1x Wiretapping

Only Draws Yourself (7)

• 1x Diviner's Portent
• 1x Foresee
• 1x Future Sight
• 1x Jace's Ingenuity
• 1x Opportunity
• 1x Thirst for Knowledge
• 1x Verity Circle

Buff (3)

• 1x Archetype of Imagination
• 1x Levitation
• 1x Wonder

Fits theme, didn't make cut (3)

• 1x Flux
• 1x Horn of Plenty
• 1x Indentured Djinn

Other (3)

• 1x Black Vise
• 1x Iron Maiden
• 1x Viseling

No Max Hand Size (2)

• 1x Finale of Revelation
• 1x Library of Leng

Rock (6)

• 1x Coveted Jewel
• 1x Dreamstone Hedron
• 1x Hedron Archive
• 1x Horizon Stone
• 1x Kozilek's Channeler
• 1x Midnight Clock

"Not Budget Friendly" (5)

• 1x Akroma's Memorial
• 1x Forced Fruition
• 1x Horn of Greed
• 1x Howling Mine
• 1x Sword of War and Peace

Little expensive (3)

• 1x Arcanis the Omnipotent
• 1x Ever-Watching Threshold
• 1x Fleet Swallower

Doesn't Synergize well (2)

• 1x Myojin of Cryptic Dreams
• 1x Noble Benefactor

---

This deck is all about loving your enemies... Well, it was until I realized how fun it would be to cast giant creatures for free. As they say, "love is war."

Please note that this is a budget deck, and consider your suggestions accordingly. Let's keep this deck at least under $100, but as minimal as possible.

Thank you very much!

Strategy

With this deck, you'll have the pleasure of giving an unbearable amount of cards to everyone like grandma who's given you a batch of cookies three out of three times you've seen her today. Meanwhile, you're slowly collecting a massive collection of cards yourself with no maximum hand size. Soon enough, you'll be casting a myriad of massive creatures, most of which have Power/Toughness equal to your hand size.

Step One - Love

Early game is all about loving up on your opponents. Make sure that they never run out of good cards to play utilizing the "Everybody Draws! :)" section. Take requests or pretend to be idle idk. Note that the purpose of card draw here is to get the biggest hand possible, and not necessarily to increase your opponents hands (even if it is satisfying to watch them pick and choose what to discard). My guess is looking for a few infinite-hand cards is best to bide the time in preparation for Step Two. If your opponents are onto your schemes, be careful not to play all your infinite-hand cards lest you lose them all!

Step Two - War

Once you've had enough fun hugging everyone, its time to switch in to Massacre mode! Quickly throw down some giant creatures and watch as everyone realizes you weren't there to play nice, but that you simply "kept your enemies closer." The best choices are likely Myojin of Cryptic Dreams, Body of Knowledge, or Atemsis, All-Seeing. Triskaidekaphile Will outright win the game... if you manage not to have too many cards in hand.

Notes

• If you want to play lovingly, don't hesitate to cast Braids early. You may even want to fool your opponents into actually believing you're going to play nice by doing so. However, it is not necessary to cast Braids until Step Two.

• I think this kind of group hug is better if it doesn't end on a sour note... or an infinite combo. Therefore, this deck is purposefully not optimized (e.g. lack of protection against board wipes, no pillowfort, no rocks/ramp). If you would like to include these kinds of cards to play more optimally, see the appropriate sections in the maybeboard. Overall I'd suggest just to take it easy and enjoy the ride considering your friends will enjoy your presence for at least a while. We are talking about a group hug deck after all.

• Yes, there are 49 lands in this deck. Needless to say it's nice to have Braids act as ramp, especially with such a high average cmc. Once you've drawn Storm Cauldron, you can add all your lands back to hand for an extra buff to your finishers.

• I do not own this deck and thus have not playtested it. However, I plan on buying it in the future. With that in mind, please don't hesitate to leave suggestions especially if you play this sort of deck. They are highly appreciated!

• This is a budget deck designed to be as low-price as possible. As a student, I would like to say I understand the money struggle quite well, however, I also understand that some with more financial flexibility would like to know what other cards could work well. I've included many of the cards I considered in the maybeboard listed by why I left them out. Note that I did not have a hardcap on any individual card's price, but rather considered its' value in context of how integral it was to the success of the deck. This is why you may see more expensive cards left in, while less expensive cards are left out.

• If you have made it this far, please consider leaving a "Yooo!!!" below, and perhaps a suggestion. I'll be sure to comment back!

  Yooo!!!

Changes

• 6/18/22 - Myojin of Cryptic Dreams, Noble Benefactor, and Diviner's Portent for Iron Maiden, Viseling, and Black Vise

Date added	2 years
Last updated	2 years
Splash colors	U
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	6 - 0 Mythic Rares 29 - 0 Rares 13 - 0 Uncommons 4 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.63
Tokens	Dog Illusion */* U, Emblem Mordenkainen, Foretell, Kraken 8/8 U, Zombie Army 0/0 B