This is a deck for all the ETB lovers out there!
At first, this deck was supposed to be a Thassa, Deep-Dwelling EDH deck, but I just felt like limiting myself to mono-blue would hurt more than it would help having her there in the command zone. (But that's just because I personally dislike most mono-blue strategies.) So, we can get ETB goodies from black and from green thanks to Yarok, the Desecrated!
So, this deck is for you if:
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You enjoy ETB triggers
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You enjoy getting extra value from cards
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You like using your creatures more proactively and efficiently
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You enjoy midrange decks with a theme
This deck might not be for you if:
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You want a deck with counterspells
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You like stealing permanents with cards such as Agent of Treachery
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You want stax in your decks
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You want to go infinite with combos
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You want to play a fast and competitive deck
First, I'd like to adress the possibly looming questions that you're having right now.
You're probably thinking: NO COUNTERSPELLS ON AN EDH DECK WITH BLUE ON IT?? PREPOSTEROUS!
See, that's a personal choice, really. On my friend group that plays commander, we all really kind of abhor the usual blue strategies. Countering spells, stealing things and just not letting your opponents play is not our thing, cause the opponent will always be a friend. We want our friends to have fun! So this deck runs no counters and no ETBs that involve such kind of "you're not allowed to play the game" vibe.
You could also be asking: NO INFINITE COMBOS?? WHERE IS Palinchron?? WHERE IS Peregrine Drake??
That's also a personal choice here. Untapping lands to get more mana on your ETBs is fun and all, but I'd much rather prefer getting cards that will be good enough on their own most of the time, instead of being dead draws until you have the other specific card that will let you win the game on the spot. (And again, since my group doesn't much enjoy using counterspells, getting combo decks will most likely result in super fast and uncontested wins where no one really has that much fun.)
Now for a quick summary of cards and why they're here...
ETB doublers and ETB value enablers:
ETBs that want to be doubled:
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Acidic Slime - destroy twice the artifacts, enchantments and lands that are giving you a hard time
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Avenger of Zendikar - so many plants!! and when you put down lands they get 2x bigger!
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Baleful Strix - good blocker, potential to draw 2 cards as well!
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Coiling Oracle - nice ramp/card draw, can help you get extra landfall triggers
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Craterhoof Behemoth - one of your wincons, actually. big trample board for the win!
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Dread Presence - put down a swamp, get double the rewards!
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Duplicant - 2 creature exiles! just remember to exile the biggest one last to get the stats
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Elvish Rejuvenator - ramp that can get you more landfall triggers
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Eternal Witness - card recursion in case Panharmonicon gets destroyed or you need back an ETB
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Farhaven Elf - more ramp, more landfalls
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Fierce Empath - to help you get your late game cards!
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Gonti, Lord of Luxury - can get you more value from enemies' decks or help take out cards from enemy combos
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Gray Merchant of Asphodel - can be a finisher if you get enough devotion, also gets some much needed health back
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Massacre Wurm - good ETB boardwipe that can also be a finisher against token decks
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Mulldrifter - card draw engine that works even if you evoke the little dude with double ETBs
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Nissa, Vastwood Seer
- good ramp + landfall, turns into a useful planeswalker that keeps helping with those same things later
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Noxious Gearhulk - creature destruction + health gain
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Ob Nixilis, the Fallen - decent pings on players and will turn into a MONSTER if left unchecked
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Ravenous Chupacabra - two creatures for the price of one goat to be sucked
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Reclamation Sage - even more destruction on artifacts and enchantments
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Risen Reef - ramp/landfalls/card draw. try to keep an eye for the elementals on this deck
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Sepulchral Primordial - one of your late game cards to capitalize on enemies' big minions! plus you get their ETBs as well!
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Shriekmaw - easy creature destruction that can get doubled even when evoked
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Tatyova, Benthic Druid - to make those landfall triggers really worth your time, so much card draw!
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Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath - ramp, landfalls, card draw, but watch out for his sacrifice clause
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Wood Elves - ramp and landfalls
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Bojuka Bog - double graveyard exiles!
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Field of the Dead - that's why we're running so many different lands! can be a wincon as well
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Mystic Sanctuary - get removal, ramp or tutors back for double the value!
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Burgeoning - more ramp, get double land drops at your enemies' expanse!
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Guardian Project - card draw for every single creature. now double that!
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Omen of the Hunt - double ramp, helpful scry later down the line
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Omen of the Sea - double draw, helpful scry as well
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Path of Discovery - what if I tell you there's more ramp and more landfalls? also enbiggens creatures
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Polluted Bonds - double the damage, double the healthgain.
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Retreat to Hagra - double damage, double health, sometimes the deathtouch can be helpful
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Zendikar's Roil - turn those landfalls into useful tokens.
Other non-ETB goodies to watch out for:
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Ramp that gets you landfalls without being ETB effects themselves such as Cultivate, Kodama's Reach, Nature's Lore
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Other ramp cards such as Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Mana Crypt, Talisman of Curiosity, Talisman of Dominance, Talisman of Resilience, Thought Vessel, Gaea's Cradle, Temple of the False God, Birds of Paradise, Llanowar Elves
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Removal such as Toxic Deluge, Abrupt Decay, Assassin's Trophy, Beast Within, Cyclonic Rift, Krosan Grip, Nature's Claim, Reality Shift
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Tutors such as Vampiric Tutor, Imperial Seal, Demonic Tutor, Finale of Devastation
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Utility cards such as Heroic Intervention, Rhystic Study, Reliquary Tower, Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Combos to watch out for/cards that need your attention:
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Fierce Empath can get you these cards: Duplicant - if you need single target removal, Massacre Wurm - if you need a boardwipe, Noxious Gearhulk - if in need of removal/health gain, Avenger of Zendikar - if you need a lot of creatures for a win condition, Sepulchral Primordial - if you need a board swing in your favor; can be a win condition by itself; or Craterhoof Behemoth - one of your main win conditions on this deck.
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Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath has negative synergy with Thassa, Deep-Dwelling, Conjurer's Closet and Ghostly Flicker if you've escaped him, cause when you flicker him his first line will trigger and since he was just exiled and brought back, the game will see him entering the battlefield without being escaped, sacrificing him yet again.
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Finale of Devastation is one of your easiest win conditions; if cast for X = at least 8, you can get Craterhoof Behemoth to swing with a massive board. If x=10 or more, then Avenger of Zendikar or Sepulchral Primordial can also be a target for a gigantic attack, but the Craterhoof will be your first pick most times because of the trample.
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Dread Presence + Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth will make it so every land you put down will trigger the Presence, getting you tons of value.
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Risen Reef will get aditional triggers on elementals entering the battlefield. On this deck, they are: Yarok, the Desecrated, Mulldrifter, Shriekmaw and Avenger of Zendikar. The elementals generated by Zendikar's Roil will also trigger the Reef!
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You only have THREE board wipes. Use them wisely: Massacre Wurm, Cyclonic Rift, Toxic Deluge
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Heroic Intervention is your ONLY defense against boardwipes. Other than that, the gameplan is to just fill the board with new things.
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Gray Merchant of Asphodel can be a win condition but probably won't have much devotion on him, honestly. The best you can do is getting multiple triggers on medium sized devotions! The devotion sources are: Baleful Strix, Dread Presence, Gonti, Lord of Luxury, Ravenous Chupacabra, Ob Nixilis, the Fallen, Shriekmaw, Massacre Wurm, Noxious Gearhulk, Sepulchral Primordial, Retreat to Hagra and Polluted Bonds.
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The lifebloods of this deck to help you keep getting new cards to dish out new threats are mostly Tatyova, Benthic Druid, Guardian Project and Path of Discovery. Rhystic Study also helps but your opponents will be able to pay the one eventually.
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Zendikar's Roil and Field of the Dead will give you more options to win the game going wide and will also help into getting you blockers if your opponents have aggressive decks.
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I feel like sometimes this deck will have too much basic land tutors, even though there are 12 basic lands in this deck. Sometimes getting a Zagoth Triome or an Overgrown Tomb with a Nature's Lore or one of your fetchlands could be the right choice. I'm thinking of putting a Farseek into the deck, but I'm not sure what to cut.
Feel free to give any feedback down below!
