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The Harvesttide Festival [Human Primer]

Commander / EDH Blink Bracket 3 Combo Counters GW (Selesnya) Humans Midrange Primer Theme/Gimmick Tokens

UltimateRoxas40

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Land (34)

Artifact (5)

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Commander: foil Katilda, Dawnhart Prime

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Enchantment (6)

Sorcery (6)

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Artifact (1)

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“Like a thousand candles fighting back the darkness, we are strongest when we stand together.”

I've built a few decks that focus more on the dark, terrible, and madness-inducing creatures and themes within Magic the Gathering, so I felt it was only fitting to build a deck personifying the human struggle against the darkness. And the recent trip to the Gothic-Horror inspired plane of Innistrad in Innistrad: Midnight Hunt gave us a variety of powerful legendary creatures to helm this fight.

The Leader of our Coven

For this deck, I chose Katilda, Dawnhart Primefoil as the commander to lead Humanity back to the Light. She is the leader of the Dawnhart Coven on Innistrad, dedicated to nature and community. She and her coven were tasked with organizing the Harvesttide festival, an ancient ritual being used to prevent the approach of the Eternal Night.

  • She's a cross between Cryptolith Rite for Humans and Gavony Townshipfoil on a body. She turns all our Humans into mana dorks, being able to tap for whatever colors they are, and she can buff our entire board with +1/+1 counters when we have enough excess mana. Since she's cheap to cast, she should be out on the field as often as possible, allowing for a decent amount of ramp.

"The Harvesttide dance is one of joyous abandon, a last revel before winter nights."

The Leaders and Champions of Humanity

  • Adeline, Resplendent Catharfoil - A Cathar of Innistrad who rose to prominence during the Travails when Emrakul, the Promised End began corrupting the plane. She has Vigilance and can generate numerous Human Tokens every turn, which in turn bolsters her own strength.

  • Aragorn and Arwen, Wed - This royal couple arrived from Middle-Earth. Aragorn is the first High King of the Reunited Kingdom of Gondor and Arnor, and Arwen is the daughter of Elrond Half-elven. Whenever this pair either enters the battlefield or attacks, we put a +1/+1 counter on each other creature we control, and gain 1 life for each other creature we control. Effective to pump our board and gain some life.

  • Boromir, Warden of the Towerfoil - A visitor from a distant world, this legendary Human simply walked into Innistrad. Boromir was the Captain of the White Tower in Minas Tirith, a stronghold of humanity in Middle-Earth. He can prevent our opponents from cheating spells into play, countering any spell an opponent casts if no mana was spent to cast it. He can also fulfill his noble oath and sacrifice himself to give all our creatures Indestructible until the end of turn.

  • Celestine, the Living Saintfoil - Another visitor from a distant universe. She is a living Saint, a powerful being radiating with Holy light, able to smite her foes and heal her allies. At the end of our turn, she can bring back a creature with X CMC or less, where X is the amount of life we gained this turn. Since she has Lifelink and 3 power, she can at least bring back a 3 CMC creature on her own, but we have some methods to increase the power of our creatures, allowing her to pull larger creatures out of our graveyard.

  • Greymond, Avacyn's Stalwart - Not a lot is known about Greymond, but he is a Cathar of Avacyn's Church. When he enters the battlefield, we choose two abilities out of First Strike, Vigilance, and Lifelink. All our Humans gain those two chosen abilities. And if we control four or more Humans, we get a +2/+2 anthem for all our Humans.

  • Kyler, Sigardian Emissaryfoil - During the Travails, Sigarda was the only archangel who was able to resist the influences of Emrakul, the Promised End. After everything settled down, Kyler, Sigardian Emissaryfoil was instrumental in spreading the word and faith of Sigarda to the rest of Innistrad. He is a powerful Human anthem generator. He gets a +1/+1 counter when another Human enters the battlefield, but for each counter on him, our other Human creatures get an additional +1/+1. Note that it's any kind of counter on him, not just +1/+1 counters. Keyword counters also boost him.

  • Leinore, Autumn Sovereignfoil - A human Nobel with no magical power, she was nominated to become the "Harvesttide Sovereign" of the Harvesttide Festival, representing the bonds between the witches/covens and the ordinary people of Innistrad. At the beginning of combat on our turn, she puts a +1/+1 counter on a creature we control. Then, if Coven is active (3 or more creatures with different Powers), we draw a card.

  • Maja, Bretagard Protectorfoil - The Leader of the Beskir from Kaldheim. She provides an anthem effect for our other creatures, and on Landfall she creates a 1/1 Human Token.

  • Mikaeus, the Lunarchfoil - The (former) Lunarch of the Church of Avacyn. While he was eventually killed by the brother-sister team of Geralf and Gisa, he was a pillar of humanity in Innistrad, preserving the Faith of Avacyn in humanity after she had been sealed in the Helvault. He comes into play with +1/+1 Counters, which he can then distribute amongst our other creatures.

  • Odric, Master Tacticianfoil - The commander of the Gavoney Riders, he was a powerful Cathar warrior who survived Werewolves, Cultists, and the Travails but was ultimately overwhelmed and became a Vampire, albeit one unaffected by the moonlight and with holy water in his veins. Odric, Master Tacticianfoil, as his name suggests, can manipulate our opponent's blocking efforts, allowing our army of Humans to swing in unopposed.

  • Saryth, the Viper's Fangfoil - A former member of Katilda's Dawnhart Coven, she broke ties with the rest of the coven to find a different way to prevent the oncoming Eternal Night. She ended up in an antagonistic role against Katilda, but met her end when one of her rituals was disrupted.

  • Thalia, Heretic Catharfoil - A Cathar of Innistrad, originally the guardian of Thraben and the Helvault, she became the heir of Saint Traft during the Travails and a defender of humanity. When Emrakul, the Promised End threatened Innistrad, she joined forces with Sigarda, Heron's Gracefoil and Geist of Saint Traftfoil to defeat Brisela, Voice of Nightmaresfoil      . She helps slow down our opponents by making their Non-basic lands and creatures enter the battlefield tapped.

  • Torens, Fist of the Angelsfoil - Originally from the Township of Hanweir, Torens was a Cathar originally serving as part of the Mausoleum Guard in Thraben, but during the Trvails, he left, only to find his home was gone (Hanweir, the Writhing Township      ). Afterward, he ended up in Traublassen, a town in Kessig, where he faced off against Umbris, Fear Manifest, driving the horror away. If Torens, Fist of the Angelsfoil is in play, every time we cast a Creature, we create a Human Token with Training, a new mechanic that can pump up our weaker Creatures if they are attacking with another Creature with Higher Power.

  • Wylie Duke, Atiin Herofoil - A member of the Atiin people, a nomadic culture who used the Omenpaths to travel to Thunder Junction.

  • Yisan, the Wanderer Bardfoil - A Human rogue and bard from the plane of Shandalar, who uses magic through his music to summon creatures to fight for him. Here, he helps us tutor up creature cards from our library to the battlefield, allowing us to find answers or threats depending on the situation.

Non-Human Hosts

  • Angel of Glory's Rise - Great in the late game, Angel of Glory's Rise can resurrect all of our humans from the Graveyard to the battlefield. And for flavor, we also exile all Zombies in play too.

  • Emiel the Blessedfoil - A legendary unicorn from the Adarkar Wastes, on the plane of Dominaria, who brings luck and good fortune to whomever or whatever sets eyes on it. Part of an infinite mana chain with Village Bell-Ringerfoil, but also a way to utilize/abuse some of our creatures with impactful enter-the-battlefield effects.

  • Kogla, the Titan Apefoil - A massive Ape from the plane of Ikoria. When it ETBs, it fights up to one target creature we don't control, and when it attacks, we can destroy an Artifact or Enchantment the defending player controls. Another way to re-use ETBs or to protect himself, we can pay and bounce a Human to our hand to make Kogla, the Titan Ape Indestructible. Also part of an infinite mana chain with Village Bell-Ringerfoil.

  • Sigarda, Champion of Lightfoil - The sole surviving Archangel of Innistrad, she has been answering the fervent prayers of the lost and endangered. She provides a +1/+1 anthem for Humans, and when she attacks, if Coven is active, we can look at the top five cards of our library, reveal a Human card from those cards, put it into our hands, then put the remaining cards on the bottom of our library.

  • Sigarda, Font of Blessingsfoil - The most recent Sigarda from after New Phyrexia's Invasion of the Multiverse. After Halo was introduced to all worlds to combat the Phyrexians, Sigarda began channeling it, giving the humans of Innistrad a much-needed edge in their endless fight for survival. She gives all of our other permanent Hexproof, and gives more card advantage by letting us look at the top card of our library and cast Human and Angel spells off of the top.

As we all know, Green and especially White don't have the best Card Draw options, and since we have a lot of low-cost creatures, we will quickly find our hands empty if we don't have ways to refill it often or make sure our regular Card Draws more impactful. A subtheme of this deck is the ability to look at the top card of our library and be able to cast creatures off the top.

  • Augur of Autumnfoil - While not Card Draw, we can play lands off the top of our library, and if we have Coven active, we can also cast creature spells off the top of our library.

  • Duskwatch Recruiterfoil   - For , we can look at the top three cards of our library, reveal a creature card, and put it into our hand.

  • Esper Sentinelfoil - Similar to Rhystic Study, this creature can potentially draw us a card on each opponent's turn if they don't want to pay , where is Esper Sentinelfoil's Power. And since we have ways of increasing our creature's power, this cost can get higher and higher until our opponents either don't want to pay it or can't pay it.

  • Guardian Projectfoil - Whenever a nontoken creature enters the battlefield, we draw a card.

  • Herald's Horn - When this enters the battlefield, we choose a creature type - Humans. Then at the beginning of our upkeep, we can look at the top card of our library, and if it's a Human, we can put it into our hand. Since creatures make up a big chunk of this deck, there's a good chance we will get an extra card on our turns from this.

  • Horizon Canopy - For and one life, we can effectively cycle this land to draw a card.

  • Leinore, Autumn Sovereignfoil - With Coven active, we can draw a card at the beginning of combat.

  • Mentor of the Meekfoil - Whenever another creature with Power 2 or less enters the battlefield, was can pay and draw a card. Humans on their own aren't very powerful, so most of our creatures will trigger this, along with all the Token Humans we create too.

  • Minas Tirithfoil - If we attack with two or more creatures, we can pay and this land to draw a card. Since we should be attacking with our tokens or beaters, we should be able to trigger this often.

  • Scattered Grovesfoil - We can Cycle this land for if we don't end up needing a land and draw a card instead.

  • Shamanic Revelationfoil - Draws us a card for each creature we control, and for each creature with Power 4 or greater, we gain 4 life.

  • Sigarda, Champion of Lightfoil - When she attacks, if Coven is active, we can look at the top five cards of our library, reveal a Human creature card, and put it into our hand.

  • Sigarda, Font of Blessingsfoil - We can look at the top card of our library, and play Human and Angel spells off of the top.

  • Sylvan Libraryfoil - At the beginning of our upkeep, we can draw two additional cards, then put two of the three cards drawn back unless we pay 4 life per card to keep it in our hand. Useful to filter through the deck and set up creatures to play with some of our 'play X card off the top of our library' cards like Augur of Autumnfoil or Sigarda, Font of Blessingsfoil. Or we can just pay 8 life a turn to draw all three cards, but since we don't have too many life-gain cards, we might need to be careful with spending that much life.

  • Tireless Trackerfoil - On Landfall, we generate a Clue Token, which we can pay and sac to draw a card and pump up Tireless Trackerfoil.

  • Tribute to the World Treefoil - This either pumps our weenie 1/1 tokens or creatures as they enter the battlefield, or draws us cards if they have Power 3 or greater. Since we have ways to make our Humans stronger when they enter the battlefield, we can stack triggers however we want to make sure we draw cards if we want to.

  • Wylie Duke, Atiin Herofoil - Whenever we tap this creature, we gain a life and draw a card. While the 4/2 with Vigilance looks like a good attacker, he is basically a glorified mana dork with immense upside.

Since our average CMC is under 3, and our commander - Katilda, Dawnhart Primefoil - turns all our Humans into mana dorks, we don't need to ramp a ton, but we still have some ways to get more mana (because you can never have enough mana haha).

  • Sol Ringfoil - Because most of our creatures are low CMC, we don't need a ton of Mana rocks to get the party started.

  • Heronblade Elite - A non-legendary Marwyn, the Nurturer for Humans. Taps for , where is the number of Humans we control.

"On this night, the dark will fear us."

Humans strong together! Humans are usually weaker than other creatures, but they work best when grouped. Token Generation is an important way to win, either by providing more ramp options with Katilda, Dawnhart Prime, or when paired with someone like Kyler, Sigardian Emissaryfoil or Champion of Lambholtfoil to boost the rest of our team.

  • Adeline, Resplendent Catharfoil - At the beginning of combat, for each opponent we attack, we create a 1/1 Human Token tapped and attacking that opponent. While they may not live long, they will boost Adeline, Resplendent Catharfoil's Power, and trigger any of our ETB effects.

  • Castle Ardenvalefoil - A bit expensive, but if we've got mana to spare or it's about to be our turn, for we can create a Human Token.

  • Horn of Gondorfoil - On ETB, this horn creates a 1/1 White Human Soldier token. Then for , we can this to generate 1/1 White Human Soldier tokens, where is the number of Humans we control. This can run away very quickly, as Katilda, Dawnhart Primefoil can turn those all into mana dorks, or we can just generate a massive army each turn until we win or someone boardwipes.

  • Maja, Bretagard Protectorfoil - On Landfall, she creates a 1/1 Human Token, but since she provides an anthem effect, it's a 2/2 with each Landfall trigger.

  • Torens, Fist of the Angelsfoil - Whenever we cast a creature spell, we create a 1/1 Human Token with Training, which can put a +1/+1 Counter on itself when it attacks with another creature with greater power.

"Our enemies will soon discover that we are not as meek as they had believed."

1/+1 Counters and Anthem effects are the primary ways we are boosting the strength of our Humans. We have many creatures that can either boost themselves or strengthen our entire field.

  • Aragorn and Arwen, Wed - Whenever Aragorn and Arwen, Wed either enters the battlefield or attacks, we put a +1/+1 counter on each other creature we control, and gain 1 life for each other creature we control.

  • Cathars' Crusadefoil - Whenever a creature ETBs under our control, we put a +1/+1 counter on each creature we control. Including the one that just entered the battlefield.

  • Champion of Lambholtfoil - When other creatures enter the battlefield, she gains a +1/+1 Counter and makes it so creatures with a lower Power than our Champion can't block our creatures.

  • Emiel the Blessedfoil - We can pay when a creature enters the battlefield to have it enter with an additional +1/+1 Counter.

  • Flowering of the White Treefoil - This cheap enchantment give all our nonlegendary creatures a base +1/+1 anthem, and our legendary creatures +2/+1 and Ward . A great way to boost and protect our team.

  • Gavony Townshipfoil - For and , we can add a +1/+1 counter to all our creatures.

  • Greymond, Avacyn's Stalwart - He can buff our Humans greatly, by giving them two out of the three following abilities: First Strike, Vigilance, and Lifelink. Plus, if we have four or more Humans, all of our Humans get an additional +2/+2.

  • Heronblade Elite - Gains a +1/+1 counter when a Human ETBs, then can tap for mana equal to her power

  • Katilda, Dawnhart Primefoil - For and , we can add a +1/+1 counter to all our creatures. And since she makes other Humans into mana dorks, we can use this right before our turn and use some of our defenders as mana to bolster the field.

  • Kyler, Sigardian Emissaryfoil - He gets a +1/+1 counter when another Human enters the battlefield, and provides an anthem effect based on the number of counters on him. By making him stronger, he makes the rest of our creatures stronger.

  • Leinore, Autumn Sovereignfoil - At the beginning of Combat, she can put a +1/+1 counter on another creature.

  • Llanowar Reborn - Comes into play tapped, but has Graft 1, which gives us a +1/+1 counter that we can give to another creature when it ETBs. Usefully if we want to maintain Coven or give someone a little extra Power or Toughness.

  • Maja, Bretagard Protectorfoil - Provides a passive +1/+1 Anthem to all other creatures we control.

  • Mikaeus, the Lunarchfoil - Costs and comes in with +1/+1 counters. He can to add a +1/+1 counter to himself, or +1/+1 counter to remove a +1/+1 counter from himself and put a +1/+1 counter on each other creature we control.

  • Patchwork Bannerfoil - This 3 mana rock also provides a +1/+1 anthem effect to a creature type of our choosing, and we would obviously choose Humans.

  • Sigarda, Champion of Lightfoil - Provides a passive +1/+1 Anthem to all Humans we control.

  • Thalia's Lieutenantfoil - When it ETBs, we put a +1/+1 counter on each other Human we control, then when another Human ETBs, we put a +1/+1 counter on the Lieutenant.

  • Tireless Trackerfoil - Gains a +1/+1 counter whenever we sacrifice a Clue Token.

  • Torens, Fist of the Angelsfoil - Has Training, which gives him a +1/+1 counter whenever he attacks with a stronger creature. Also creates Tokens with Training too.

  • Tribute to the World Treefoil - This either pumps our weenie 1/1 tokens or creatures with 2 +1/+1 counters as they enter the battlefield, or draws us cards if they have Power 3 or greater. Since we have ways to make our Humans stronger when they enter the battlefield, we can stack triggers however we want to make sure our Humans can enter the battlefield with strength.

  • Unbreakable Formationfoil - If cast during our Main phase, we can give all our creatures a +1/+1 counter and Vigilance in addition to being Indestructible.

“By ancient magics, by angels’ grace, we will survive this night.”

Because we are turning sideways to win, we need to make sure that we have ways to protect our board of creatures.

  • Akroma's Willfoil - A Win-Con as well as a good Defensive card. We can make all our creatures Indestructible and have Protection from all colors, and if we have Katilda, Dawnhart Prime out, we could also give our creatures Double-Strike to attack for a lot of damage.

  • Boromir, Warden of the Towerfoil - He can sacrifice himself to give all our creatures Indestructible until the end of turn. This could dissuade our opponents from casting board wipes, as they would probably have to waste a board wipe just to deal with him first before damaging our board.

  • Coppercoat Vanguardfoil - Give all other Humans we control Ward , which could be the difference between keeping a key attacker or buffer creature like Kyler, Sigardian Emissaryfoil.

  • Flowering of the White Treefoil - This cheap enchantment give all our nonlegendary creatures a base +1/+1 anthem, and our legendary creatures +2/+1 and Ward . A great way to boost and protect our team.

  • Grand Abolisherfoil - A powerful defensive creature, allowing us to set up an explosive turn with little to no interaction from our opponents.

  • Heroic Interventionfoil - Give our permanents Indestructible and Hexproof at Instant speed.

  • Lightning Greavesfoil - Gives one creature Shroud and Haste. Useful for protecting important pieces like Sigarda, Champion of Lightfoil or Kyler, Sigardian Emissaryfoil. Can also be passed around for from creature to creature, allowing them to be tapped for mana with Katilda, Dawnhart Primefoil.

  • Mother of Runesfoil - Can to give a target creature Protection from a color of our choice.

  • Sigarda, Font of Blessingsfoil - Gives all other permanents we control Hexproof.

  • Teferi's Protectionfoil - A fantastic response to an opponents board wipe. At instant speed, we can phase out our board and protect ourselves, then return to the battlefield on our turn ready to retaliate.

  • Unbreakable Formationfoil - Give our creatures Indestructible at Instant speed, but if we cast it during our main phase, we can also put a +1/+1 Counter on each creature we control.

“Wherever there is life, there is power for one who knows the old ways.”

While we have the means to power up our horde of humans, some threats need to be dealt with beyond combat damage.

  • Angel of Glory's Rise - When it enters the battlefield, we Exile all Zombies. Very situational, but great Flavor.

  • Beast Within - For , we can destroy any permanent in exchange for a 3/3 Beast Token.

  • Generous Gift - For , we can destroy any permanent in exchange for a 3/3 Elephant Token.

  • Kogla, the Titan Apefoil - When he enters the battlefield, he fights target creature we don't control. With 7 Power, the only thing to say is ... Monkey Smash!

  • Swords to Plowsharesfoil - For just , we can remove a threat from our opponent's field.

  • Witch Enchanterfoil  /Witch-Blessed Meadowfoil   - When this creature enters, we can destroy any target artifact or enchantment.

  • Wrath of Godfoil - The classic. Wipes the board, no regenerations.

"Nature bends to the witches’ call."

Emiel the Blessedfoil + Village Bell-Ringerfoil + Katilda, Dawnhart Primefoil/Heronblade Elite

Kogla, the Titan Apefoil + Village Bell-Ringerfoil + Katilda, Dawnhart Prime

  • More mana-intensive than the above strategy, but a similar line. Requires (at least six Humans) to generate infinite mana. Activate Kogla, the Titan Apefoil's ability to bounce Village Bell-Ringerfoil to our hand, then re-cast him, untapping all our creatures. Can't be done with just Heronblade Elite, since it requires both and .

With these infinite Flickers and Mana, we have a few solid Win-Cons

Slippery Bogbonder is a fun card from the Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths Commander set, and it synergizes with any deck involving counters. It has Flash, and when it enters the battlefield, it can give target creature a Hexproof Counter, then we can move any number of other counters from among creatures we control onto that creature.

  • Kyler, Sigardian Emissaryfoil - We can both protect and massively buff Kyler, Sigardian Emissaryfoil by giving him Hexproof, and moving any number of +1/+1 counters from other creatures onto him, which will be more effective at pumping the board. Plus, his anthem grows for each Counter on him, not just +1/+1 Counter, so just the Hexproof Counter on him will provide a +1/+1 anthem to Humans.

  • Champion of Lambholtfoil - By making this Champion Hexproof and potentially massive with the number of +1/+1 Counters added, we can make almost all our creatures effectively unblockable, and swing in for massive damage.

Yisan, the Wanderer Bardfoil is a useful creature to pull creatures out of our library. For and , we add a Verse counter onto him, then go search for a creature with a CMC equal to the number of Verse counters on him. We can assemble combo pieces, or work our way up to some heavy beaters like Kogla, the Titan Apefoil or Angel of Glory's Rise.

Good Targets

"The Night is Dark and Full of Terrors".

We aren't really afraid of the dark, we are afraid of what might be lurking within. Humans are a social species, and building a strong community is the best defense against the darkness.

Thank you for taking a look! If you liked it, please give it a Like, or if you've got suggestions or ideas, please leave a Comment.

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Revision 32 See all

(13 hours ago)

+1 Bala Ged Sanctuary  Flip main
-1 Forest main
-1 Plains main
+1 Witch-Blessed Meadow  Flip main