This list reflects the physical deck list i currently own and will be updated with real life changes.
There are also custom categories because my obsession knows no bounds.
The first thing you should know about me before reading this is that I am a huge proponent of strange/off-meta decklists. My favorite thing is to take a sub-optimal commander/color/theme/idea and make it play in such a way that it is unrecognizable from the meta and then optimize it. Hence, Green/Red Control (with the tiniest splash of white). ENJOY!
This is my attempt at Red/Green control in EDH/Commander. The earlier lists of this deck were much more artifact/enchantment control focused running nearly 30-40 removal options to keep these nearly 100% off the board, much of that early control was cut in favor of actual solid win conditions.
Samut, Voice of Dissent is a non-essential general in all honesty, but is by far the best choice for the build. I follow her identity by running very few cards with a white identity (only 2 solid white mana symbols in the entire list) and use her haste anthem as an enabler for some win-conditions. Although i say she is non-essential, she is one of the best cards in the deck and after playing with her i would consider literally no other general. (Except Ruric Thar, the Unbowed but i would get hated out of too many games if people saw him as a general)
Samut herself applies early pressure both offensively and defensively with her keyword soup; although she is missing trample, it is quite possibly the easiest keyword to give in this deck with Berserk/Nylea, God of the Hunt/Kessig Wolf Run/Skarrg, the Rage Pits/Brawn/Aggressive Mammoth/Khenra Charioteer/Triumph of the Hordes all buffing her.
A common theme in the deck is Fatties and doubling damage (double strike/Samut, the Tested/Berserk/Xenagos, God of Revels) when mixing any fatty and one of those mentioned cards it often results in a player being K.Oed.
Another common theme, and really the whole reason I consider this list control, is cards that lock me out of the game Elephant Grass/Glacial Chasm which, when paired with recyclers such as Greenwarden of Murasa, Eternal Witness, Praetor's Counsel, Holistic Wisdom, Genesis, and so on, I am able to keep the board manipulated to my tastes while still applying pressure.
The big thing to remember when piloting or playing against this deck is that it is pretty much Gruul control, and what that means is that the players are forced to hurt themselves to do anything, players who lie down and let me do what i want lose hard and fast, but the players who take the 6 to kill Ruric Thar, the Unbowed or make the painful trades, are the ones who really cause me trouble.
The most important part in how i have built this deck is that i try to avoid all cards that have no counterplay/draw back and limit my cards that are extremely valuable. For example i would consider Land Tax but not Burgeoning; Land Tax allows me to guarantee land drops for most of the game, while also thinning my deck, and although my opponents cant be expected to counter-play it, the most value i can get is a land drop every turn, which i could get without it. Burgeoning on the other hand is IMPOSSIBLE to be played around, and even if i only have 1 or 2 lands in hand when i play it there is no stronger ramp available than a possible 4 lands per turn for the low low cost of one green mana.
My sideboard/wishboard is also tuned so that I am not forced to use the same overpowered win conditions game after game. Also there are some very sub-optimal cards in this list, those are there so that i can sandbag myself, or rather, tune my play experience. It is not fair for me to Triumph of the Hordes turn 5 against a new player, but grabbing a weaker card like Hymn of Rebirth may make the game more interesting.
Ive played about 50+ games with this deck as it currently stands and my win conditions are as follows:
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Kessig Wolf Run; Far and away my best win-condition, put it on a samut for 8 (11 mana total) and 1 shot an opponent after a boardwipe, also very effective to give trample for 3 mana even though thats definitely sub-optimal, they are called utility lands for a reason.
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Aggressive Mammoth; As his name implies, most of my quicker wins come from an aggressively played mammoth, theres little that a player can do to this guy if they tapped out, thinking my board is empty, flash in Samut, cast this guy Main Phase 1, drop 20 damage with 2 sticky bodies
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Centaur Vinecrasher; Surprisingly one of the strongest winners for me lately, I often run into izzet/grixis draw/mill decks that run their opponents pretty thin, and without having any of the elder eldrazi resetting my graveyard, this is my best way around mill. Often comes in swinging lethal, never comes in smaller than a 4 cost 7/7, also good discard fodder.
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Glacial Chasm/Elephant Grass+Holistic Wisdom; This combo is NUTS, admittedly, its very RNG based, but being able to hide behind one of these cumulative upkeeps and resetting them when they start to hurt is AMAZING, my favorite win condition relating to this is Glacial Chasm + Rolling Earthquake
usually in multiplayer the other 2+ will get people down to very lethal-able numbers while also wiping the boards of those who somehow survived.
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Praetor's Counsel; There are a lot of cards like this in the deck, but this is straight up the best, if i can resolve this after turn 8 (not hard for an 8 drop spell) i can usually get enough answers/removal/wincons to just win in the following few turns, sometimes ill drop the 8 mana just to get a single removal spell or even Berserk to push me over the top.
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Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger/Void Winnower/Kozilek, the Great Distortion; I know these cards are COMPLETELY different cards and shouldnt be roped in together usually, but really the explanation for all three of these are the exact same. If one of these can resolve while i have trample and/or haste, and they are allowed to survive until my next turn, the game is mine. VERY seldom is any player willing AND able to remove one of these cards and when i can resolve 2 simultaneously the game is almost always mine. These are by far the least interactive cards in my deck BUT all of them can be killed by a Swords to Plowshares, even Kozy, there arent that many 1 drop spells i run to Disrupting Shoal and there are more options than just swords that can kill each of these threats.
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Savageborn Hydra; Similar to centaur viecrasher this guy comes in for insane value, and in a deck that loves to give free haste and trample, this guy is a huge huge huge threat late, and good pressure early.
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Blood Moon; If you've ever played a deck that you put too much $$$ into your land base and been hit by this card you understand why its here. This is arguably the least interactive card in my deck, but that being said, if you have 2 basic lands in play then you really arent that cut off and you can find SOME removal for it.
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Berserk; Crazy value, either it kills someone, or kills the thing thats about to kill me. In a deck with a ton of Fatties/Double strike, few cards perform better. Honorable mention here to Xenagos, God of Revels offensively they are very similar.
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Burning Wish/Glittering Wish; really this is referring to Triumph of the Hordes and Waves of Aggression being able to wish out JUST the right stupidly OP card for only 2 more mana is beyond fair value.
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Land Hate; sometimes just resolving a Tectonic Edge at just the right time can win a game even harder than Blood Moon, having consistent (but non-repeatable) land hate is very important to a deck that cant run consistent/solid removal. Honorable mention to Mwonvuli Acid-Moss.
Maybeboard cards are those that are either currently being considered/have been tested and cut/are on probation/i havent broken down enough to buy, play, or proxy yet.
Feel free to comment recommendations and to ask any questions. Please dont recommend cards that have little to no counterplay, or cards that collectively make the entire board groan when you even mention them (im looking at you Consecrated Sphinx)
