Maybe it's just the nature of the week, but I've gotten pretty exhausted thinking about these lists.
Maybe it's just cause Green either has beat-down cards or cards that enable beat-downs.
Either way, this list, I think you'll find, leaves a lot more imagination to what's gonna go in the deck versus what the actual Commander. Which can make green pretty dangerous.
And so to quote bad 80's metal band Europe, here we go!
THE FINAL COUNTDOWN... for this week!
20. Kodama of the North Tree
Here's the biggest green basher, and perhaps a very telling example of what to expect from the Commanders in Green.
Kodama of the North Tree, though cool looking and awesome, made the list cause I didn't have another better alternative.
Not to say that he's bad, but there's plenty of room for improvement.
At least he's got Shroud and Trample. And sweet art.
19. Kamahl, Fist of Krosa
There's no doubt in my mind that Kamahl is a lot better than where he ranks on my list here.
Repeatable overruns is something that makes him a target, even when he's running maindeck.
I've got him lower here, cause I find him less inspiring. I guess in Magical Christmas Land, where all things are a-plenty, Kamahl helps you get rid of pesky lands when the board is Wrathed, but that's going pretty deep, especially if that' s the most creative use I can come up with.
18. Autumn Willow
The art on this card is really not getting done for me, cause it looks like the equivalent of a renaissance-era romance novel.
Still, having shroud, at any cost, and with any goofy drawbacks, is pretty good in green.
I like the idea of being able to let others manipulate targetability, cause it seems fun. Still, I'd have to get some newer-but-similarly -provactive art for Ms. Willow, were I to play this card.
17. Molimo, Maro-Sorcerer
Molimo is on this list and in my heart a little because of how much land plays into his scale.
The reality is, however, that Molimo is probably even more frail than his stick-thin physique, being so vulnerable to basically every piece of removal.
Though Multani is probably the better of the two Maro-Sorcerers, Molimo could definitely help out a deck by becoming a hefty removal target, but you're probably better off in the late-late game anyway with something a little less mana.
16. Ayumi, the Last Visitor
Secretly, I've really wanted to make Ayumi the general of a few different green decks I've had over the years, but I can't bring myself to it in the end.
Essentially, Ayumi's biggest strengths are her 7 power and the legendary landwalk.
This second quality though, is fairly easy to handle. Don't play legendary lands! There's not many, and even if you've got Gaea's Cradle, it's not difficult to find ways to keep Ayumi off the table.
Basic Landwalk is, in this case, much more effective and playable when your opponents can see this card coming from The General Zone. So keep in mind that you'll have to play evasion-equips and other goofy stuff in order to get Ayumi online.
Still sounds like a really fun Dollar General deck to me, or something casual.
15. Thrun, the Last Troll
Thrun. Perhaps this is the best green Voltron general, and he's definitely something that should be higher rated that I have him here.
I've just seen a lot of him, too much in fact, as a general, and I prefer to see him in decks, where he doesn't get the Commander label, forcing an immediate, non-regenerating Wrath.
14. Sekki, Seasons' Guide
Sekki's not very good, and I won't deny it, but having a recurrable blocker/beater seems good in a color where you can get that kind of mana fairly quickly.
Planning the deck to have an unusually low curve though, without the need of ramp and just steady drops to eight might make for a neat green aggro strategy.
Tribal Spirits is also a thing, but still not as good as Bounteous Kirin.
13. Sasaya, Orochi Ascendant
Laugh all you want, cause I know you want to. Sasaya doesn't seem good.
But that's not true at all. If you're not careful, this card is super deadly- I'm talking borderline Azusa in multiplayer if you're not careful.
So it's a good alternative, if you're looking to ramp under the radar, I guess.
But this means you're gonna have to look elsewhere to win the game. Cards like Wurmcalling and Kamahl are pretty good tech. A guy in my playgroup showed up with this and crushed everyone the entire night, which sent his version of the deck into instant retirement.
So you know I'm not kidding when I say it's good. Sasaya is a house, and you don't have to modify the Azusa deck too much to go to work with this card.
12. Iwamori of the Open Fist
I'm not going to condone playing Iwamori, cause it's kinda asking for trouble.
But if you're bored with Mortal Kombat, and you're looking for a place to brawl, Iwamori's a good way to incite the battlez.
Personally, I think this is just a bad card I want to work really bad, and I'm not ashamed of that.
Still, it seems cool if I can get a nice little green Monk to turn sideways without running into legends in people's hands.
11.Bounteous Kirin
Bounteous Kirin seems really good in a Spirit/Arcane Tribal build that has potential to go so wrong.
Life as a resource is often undervalued, especially if you play in a meta that likes to win with soft victories by Magister Sphinx-ing or Sorin-ing someone's life to 10.
He's a little over valued, but BK here has some of the best supporting cast in terms of green spirits, including Haru-Onna and Loam Dweller, which help to draw cards and play lands.
I've actually built a prototype of this and the other Kirin decks, meant specifically to battle each other in what I've called, "The Five-Color Kamigawa Kirin Challenge," and the deck seems pretty successful at getting absurd life gain, and it's one of the better decks due to the fact that the numerical quantity of gaining life doesn't have to be consistent as long as a decent amount is gained through the course of the game.
10. Jolrael, Empress of Beasts
Jolrael, in my mind, seems like an awesome way to ransack your opponents for a Wrath on the table.
However, it never seems that this situation has the capacity to ever come up, which is disappointing, because it always seems that people forget not to play into Wraths if there's a person playing white at the table.
Anyway, Jolrael has some really sweet art, and a very unique ability- but that's about it. Probably just a bad card I really like, so I dream of Overruns with all Forests and turning my opponent's lands into dudes before boardsweeps because that's the hero I deserve. Not the one I need right now.
9. Omnath, Locus of Mana
For most games, this card is basically going to win if you keep it out. Like Azusa, Omnath is able to leverage land to power out all kinds of stuff, and if he doesn't- he just uses it as part of his power and toughness.
Unfortunately, Omnath has been part of the reason that Green has gotten such a dirty reputation. I'm not saying that this is unjustified though. He's another immediate threat the minute he hits the table.
You have to respect him, or he will use his Green Lantern-lookin' body to come at you hard and ruin your deck before the late-late game. So be wary.
8. Baru, Fist of Krosa
Baru was a deck I made a while ago, and I really preferred it to Kamahl because of both the sweet FutureSight border as well as the ability to leverage my ramp spells as pumps for my guys.
Often, in ramp decks, drawing Kodama's Reach seems like a dead draw. But with Baru out, I found great value and utility.
My mono-Green deck was pretty stable with her at the helm. Someday, I might even build this deck back.
7. Lady Zhurong, Warrior Queen
I've been talking about Portal 3 Kingdoms cards all week, so I'm trying to keep this short.
There's really only one reason to play them, and it's because they're from Portal 3 Kingdoms, so you probably spent a lot of money on them, and they have horsemanship.
Lady Zhurong is no exception. Not sensational, just a cool part of Magic no one really gets to see.
6. Azusa, Lost but Seeking
I think even newer Commander players probably know how broke Azusa is- or, they'll find out pretty quick.
This gorgeous, wayward woman is the epitome of green ramp- which most playgroups will probably hate by the time she's done powering out 8-cost dudes or Eldrazi on turn 3.
Though very obvious and an immediate game threat, Azusa amazingly still manages to linger as a complete difference maker in decks everywhere.
5. Isao, Enlightened Bushi
Isao's pretty exciting for a couple reasons. First, he can't be countered, which means having him in The General Zone gives you access to a spell that is going to resolve against heavy-control-based metagames.
Additionally, Isao gets to pump during combat, which turns his 2/1 P and T into a 4/3, which is really more value than you paid for.
And then Regenerate. Though there are no actual Green Samurai, Isao gets to target himself or a Chameleon Colossus, which is pretty nice every once in a while.
Isao is one of the few quick mono-green aggro decks I think that could find its way getting to 21 damage, especially with Increasing Savagery and some of the new miracle pump spells and Soulbond.
4. Glissa Sunseeker
Sure, revamped Glissa is vastly superior- but you don't always have to go with the grain.
Clearly a more metagame choice, "O.G.," or, "Original Glissa," is still pretty gangster, and can shut down Karn artifact combo and people who like to win because they play turn 1 Sol Ring.
Personally, what excites me about this card is that you can also shut out people who use Oblivion Stone and Nevinyrral's Disk as a handy-dandy crutch by responding to their activations.
Sounds kind of awesome to me.
As far as your own deck goes, cool cards like Mycosynth and Ichor Wellspring can be rocked for double value, which is pretty sweet, and you also get to shut down many of the common artifact creature threats like Wurmcoil Engine and Myr Battlesphere, which can appear in every deck.
3. Silvos, Rogue Elemental
There's a lot to like about Silvos. Six mana for an 8/5 is a good start. Add Trample, and we're already considering him maindeck. Then Regenerate?!?!?!?!
Although there are many ways to still remove him, having slight protection from destroy makes Silvos a viable option.
Normally, I'm not much for the big,dumb green creature ready to bash- but Silvos seems exciting. He's got sweet art, and a good "blank-face" style that means you can have multiple strategies cookin' with the other 99 cards.
2. Seton, Krosan Protector
Seton seems exciting to me because I've never seen or heard of a Druid-Tribal deck, and because it has the potential to be nuts the way Rofellos was.
Though definitely constrained in terms of power level, the Seton deck looks like it could be the EDH Hipster's way of playing the "Not-Elves" Elf-Ball deck, which doesn't necessarily seem optimal, but why waste your time with optimal if interesting and different is your game.
1. Yeva, Nature's Herald
Yeva's my number one here because she's super underrated. A 4/4 for four, Yeva does all you've ever wanted your creatures to do- come in at instant speed.
Additionally, Yeva can be played a variety of ways, whether you're flashing in big goofy green dudes or playing Elf-Ball, she can enable whatever you want.
Should be a lot of fun casting her in the late-late game, holding onto some of the bigger threats and being able to ensure that they get to bash the following turn.
Yeva is perhaps overlooked because of cynicism, but there's defnitely ways to get a deck with her at the helm thrumming on all cylinders.
Alright, well, that wraps up the week.
As always, if you've had a chance to collect your thoughts on the lists that were, you can definitely feel free to comment below, especially if you think I'm full of crap.
Passin' it up!
-UL
Great article! Green does need more interesting mechanics, and Yeva is a great example of this!
ReplyDeleteYou need the green snake offering guy on here, he can get really op when he's out on turn 4
ReplyDelete