Inspiration
I say I owe this deck idea in large part to a recent episode of the Legendary Creature podcast. Click on this to listen to the podcast... you will not regret listening to their musings.
https://legendarycreaturepocast.libsyn.com/tokens-commander-themes-tana-vial-smasher-deck-tech
If you need more ideas besides that podcast and this deck you should listen to of commander's brew. It will give you a few ideas and it's a bit of a different direction, but it's a very similar idea to what I am doing here.
http://commandersbrew.blogspot.com/2019/02/irl-marath-token-superfriends-185.html
Why this deck
I have been playing tokens for a while. I have been mostly centered in Green with splashes of white. As most EDH start. My main go to guy is
Rhys the Redeemed
as commander, but I have also dabbled in Naya tokens with
Rith, the Awakener
but that deck is mostly big bad dragons. I have liked playing both these decks, but it has also felt like there is only one way to play these decks. Play as many cards as possible, make as many tokens as possible and attack as much as possible. One board wipe and you might as well just pack up early. It's boring and not the best strategy.
What sets this deck apart??? Its the:
1) insurance policy (aka value from board wipes)
2) the planeswalker sub theme
3) sacrifice and edicts effects
All these cards and packages make it so this deck plays very different everytime and makes it so your brain needs to be working hard the whole way. Ill explain each package and let you know some standouts in each category.
Ramp
The CMC of this deck is pretty high, but there are so many different ramp cards in the deck. The real key cards are the 5 cards that let you get
Tymna the Weaver
out on turn 2... they are
Elves of Deep Shadow
and
Avacyn's Pilgrim
and
Sol Ring
and
Birds of Paradise
and
Jeweled Amulet
Besides those cards most of the ramp in this deck is pretty typical. Cards that work well with tokens ie
Awakening Zone
and
From Beyond
and
Cryptolith Rite
... and of course the best that green has to offer like
Rampant Growth
... there is also some ramp hidden in the planeswalkers like xenagos,the reveler
There is really a lot of ramp in this deck. You will definitely be spending your first few turns on ramp to try and speed to turn 5.
Token doublers
Your might be worndering why there is no
Anointed Procession
in this deck. I am only using 4 different token doublers...
Doubling Season
and
Parallel Lives
and
Primal Vigor
and
Rhys the Redeemed
There are plenty of other good options, but really when it comes down to it, there is just nothing better than doubling season and I decided to put a specific tutoring package in the deck to act as a copy for doubling season, and to think of them as back ups, because really you only need one doubler and that is the season... The tutor package is this
Academy Rector
and
Sterling Grove
and
Gamble
and
Mystical Tutor
They are also listing in order of best to worst. The rector is great because we have so many sac outlets... sterling groove doubles as protection for doubling season... gamble has utility and mystical tutor is fine, and can also be a sol ring if you open the game with it.
Card Draw
The biggest card draw sits in the command zone with
Tymna the Weaver
, shes good early out on turn 2 or 3 and really good late when we sacrifice a token to trigger
Zulaport Cutthroat
or make a token to trigger
Impact Tremors
But there are other cards that fit the bill as well. Of course some nice card draw is on the planeswalkers like
Liliana, Dreadhorde General
or ultimates like
Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
More over i love the card advantage that
Sadistic Hypnotist
and
Krav, the Unredeemed
give as well as acting as sac outlets... it fits right in with the strategy.
Of course the best card draw and auto includes for tokens are
Mentor of the Meek
and
Skullclamp
Insurance Policy
The issue with tokens is simple. Wipe the board and you are safe. There are two traditional ways to combat this... protect your board with cards like
Heroic Intervention
or
Selfless Spirit
or
Counterspell
the board wipe from happening.
My idea is to make your opponent rethink casting the board wipe. This is the
Blood Artist
strategy. If you have 30 creatures with blood artist out, then there they will kill themselves by wiping the board. The cards in this category are cards like
Zulaport Cutthroat
and
Poison-Tip Archer
and
Cruel Celebrant
. Most black cards with some splashes of the other colors.
We are working the other end with
Purphoros, God of the Forge
and
Impact Tremors
so that the tokens will ETB and do some nice damage.
This insurance is the reason selesyna tokens doesnt work. If someone has a
Ghostly Prison
or
Propaganda
out then you can still get around this. Moreover when the time comes you can sacrifice all your own stuff just to force the damage. In the end we need different and interesting ways to hurt the enemy with our tokens rather than turning them sideways.
