Gonna Need A Bigger Playmat | *Primer*

Commander / EDH GregariousG

SCORE: 177 | 48 COMMENTS | 25955 VIEWS | IN 68 FOLDERS


CandyWife820 says... #1

I really like the way this build looks, seems pretty straightforward and fun

October 27, 2015 1:34 p.m.

ManSauce says... #2

Have you considered Basilisk Collar for the sake of one-shot deathtouch pings with Marath?

April 27, 2016 7:42 a.m.

GregariousG says... #3

To ManSauce:

I've thought about including Basilisk Collar for that exact purpose. However in most situations, I only care about Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite. If I find a card isn't pulling its weight, I may include this card instead.

April 28, 2016 8:50 p.m.

JXB says... #4

I find in a token deck, The Great Aurora makes for a nightmarish play, it allows you to draw a ton and put essentially all your lands on the field.

May 17, 2016 10:10 p.m.

GregariousG says... #5

To JXB,

I was debating whether or not to put The Great Aurora into the deck. I finally got to play tonight and drew Aurora. Not gonna lie, it felt real good when I had 10 lands and a fist full of action while the control player had only 2 lands.

May 19, 2016 1:02 a.m.

JXB says... #6

Also, Tokens count as permanents so...

May 19, 2016 4:54 p.m.

NV_1980 says... #7

Hi. I love your build, aside maybe from all the messing around with energy counters. I know this is sacrilige to some but I hate the damn things, haha. So I'm going to copy a part of what you're doing :) Keep up the nice work. And as a side note, shouldn't Anointed Procession be in here too?

June 13, 2017 8:28 a.m.

StopShot says... #8

Have you considered Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit? If your commander has two counters, and you spend 1 to produce an elemental you can bolster your commander allowing you to repeat the process since your commander will be at 1 toughness each time for the bolster effect to give it a +1/+1 counter.

If you give your commander Illusionist's Bracers your commander gets double the effect without needing to spend double the mana. Imagine that set up with Cathars' Crusade? Producing 1 token will give your commander an extra counter rather than spending 1.

Basilisk Collar is also cute. Since you can equip it to your commander and your commander can ping creatures for 1 mana with deathtouch. That gives you a repeatable killing machine for cheap.

July 13, 2017 7:19 a.m.

GregariousG says... #9

To NV_1980,Thanks! Much appreciated! At first, I figured that I didn't really need another double effect cause I had Doubling Season and Parrel Lives. I then realized that was a silly thought and added Anointed Procession.

To StopShot,

I can't use Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit because she requires non-tokens to enter the field.

As for Illusionist's Bracers and Basilisk Collar, I've done some mental juggle with whether or not I want to include either of this cards into the build. Illusionist's Bracers only interacts with two cards (Oviya Pashiri, Sage Lifecrafter and Marath). Without Marath on the field, Basilisk Collar will most likely be slapped on a 1/1 of some variety, which is ok. This two cards really don't fit well with what most of the deck is trying to accomplish. Thus, I've been weary about adding them.

However,

Illusionist's Bracers on Marath just seems busted. When equipped to Marath, I can double Marath's counters or double the amount of 1/1s I create. This deck depends on Marath in all stages of the game, so Illusionist's Bracers applicability is constant. Basilisk Collar with Marath is just great removal. I'm more inclined to include Illusionist's Bracer, just because the Marath synergy makes me giddy inside. Thanks for stopping by!

July 13, 2017 8:14 a.m.

GregariousG says... #10

Actually, Illusionist's Bracers work with Architect of the Untamed as well. Missed that.

July 13, 2017 8:25 a.m.

chiri says... #11

Absolutely love this. I've always wanted to make a tokens deck and a superfriends deck and you made both! +1 and I'm building this immediately.

November 22, 2017 12:10 p.m.

chiri says... #12

Also, with fewer lands than I thought, how well does the deck play? Do you ever get mana-screwed?

November 22, 2017 12:39 p.m.

GregariousG says... #13

Thanks, chiri. I'm glad you like this deck. It's a blast to play. I very rarely get Mana screwed. Between the elves, Cryptolith Rite, and most of the deck being green, I don't have an issue getting the deck up and running. The only problem I've ran into is forgetting to fetch for a red source. I only need one, but it is a must have for an early Marath play.

November 22, 2017 12:54 p.m.

chiri says... #14

Awesome to hear that. Marath was the first precon I ever got and it's great to see a list with so much love. It's been years since I played with him so it'll be awesome to revisit an old friend again. :)

November 26, 2017 11 p.m.

chiri says... #15

Any thoughts on the new Huatli, Radiant Champion?

January 29, 2018 12:26 p.m.

GregariousG says... #16

To chiri,

I thought about testing Huatli, Radiant Champion. However, I have my concerns. Clearly, her ultimate would be easy to achieve and would provide tons of drawing power. My problem is that she doesn't do anything else besides that. It's ultimate or useless. If I'm behind, she isn't going to do anything. If I were to add her into the 99, I would replace her with Slate of Ancestry. Like Huatli, Slate doesn't do much if I don't have a board presence. It's a toss up and I'm willing to look at it further. Both have their ups and downs. Thanks!

January 29, 2018 5:42 p.m.

Thegloomyg says... #17

Have you ever tried playing blink cards? You could get a LOT of golems.

March 10, 2021 1:36 p.m.

GregariousG says... #18

To Thegloomyg:

To be honest, I didn’t even think about “blink/bounce” cards. Most of my recursion occurs through graveyard interaction with Feldon of the Third Path and Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle. However, Eldrazi Displacer is a dumb card. Eldrazi Displacer+Krark-Clan Ironworks+Maul Splicer will grant me infinite . With the deck's mana base, I can easily activate Displacer outside of the combo. Thanks! Once I find a cut, I’ll throw it in.

March 10, 2021 6:48 p.m.

Thegloomyg says... #19

Great! Glad I could help. Love the deck!

March 10, 2021 8:13 p.m.

BloodDragon says... #20

I can not express how much I enjoy this deck idea, please keep it up. A few questions...

  • How many Tokens/Treasures do you find you are actually getting it to play? In games are you actually closing it out with a Tall-Commanders, or just going wide with Thopters and Golems? Some combination of Tall-Golems thanks to Ich-T? Or are you closing games out more combo-style with the mentioned R.Fireweaver, Terror of the Peaks, or Alibou?

  • I feel like I am not understanding all the Pop-rocks you have (Lotus Petal, Chromatic Sphere, Etc) are you managing to get Teshar/Osgir consistently? Does this deck go in for the kill extremely fast? Or am I missing the point all together here?

  • And between all the Land/Urza synergies you seem to be aiming for did Tireless Tracker or Crucible of Worlds end up not preforming well? Have you considered Wrenn and Six for land recursion?

Apologies for the barrage of questions, but I really like what you are doing here.

April 27, 2021 2:30 p.m.

GregariousG says... #21

To BloodDragon,

Thanks for stopping by my hot mesh of cards I like to call Naya Tron. I really appreciate when other players ask me in-depth questions about my deck. It makes me evaluate what I’m trying to do. In the midst of answering your questions, I found some flaws that I feel like I was able to correct.

How many Tokens/Treasures do you find you are actually getting it to play? In games are you actually closing it out with a Tall-Commanders, or just going wide with Thopters and Golems? Some combination of Tall-Golems thanks to Ich-T? Or are you closing games out more combo-style with the mentioned R.Fireweaver, Terror of the Peaks, or Alibou?

I am finding that I can produce a moderate amount of token. However, this deck is called “Gonna Need a Bigger Playmat”, not “This Can All Fit Just Fine on the Playmat.” I've been debating with myself if I need three token doublers. I think that answer might be no. Because of that, I added Servo Schematic to the main deck. This creates precious artifact creature tokens on ETB, LTB, and is an artifact itself. I thought about adding Pia Nalaar or Pia and Kiran Nalaar for the Thopter tokens. However, I wanted something that was loopable with things like Daretti or Goblin Welder . Tangent aside, this deck, generally, closes out the game with a combination of burning out the table and applied pressure with tokens. There is a line where Ich-T and all the golems get infinite +1/+1 counters, but I haven’t put that to use yet. Also, Chandra, Torch of Defiance is another burn outlet and gets ultimated more often than you think.

I feel like I am not understanding all the Pop-rocks you have (Lotus Petal, Chromatic Sphere, Etc) are you managing to get Teshar/Osgir consistently? Does this deck go in for the kill extremely fast? Or am I missing the point all together here?

This deck isn't a fast kill deck. It has more infinite combos than intended, but this build is meant for the mid-game. Like in Modern Tron, I want my mid-game much faster than everyone else at the table. For example, I've gone Ancient Tomb into Mana Vault , played Lotus Petal , then played Hour of Promise . Now, this was the absolute nut draw, but that was capable due to fast mana like Lotus Petal . The pop-rocks are like artifact-based cantrips. I can't count the numerous times I've played Ancient Stirrings off of a Tron land due to Chromatic Star or Chromatic Sphere .

For me, Teshar and Osgir play different roles. Teshar is more for recurring my low CMC creatures during the grindy mid-late game. With Teshar, I want to loop cards like Goblin Engineer and Blade Splicer for value. The exception to this rule is if I have a way to sacrifice or put Dockside Extortionist in the graveyard. If I have that setup, I'm going for that line of play immediately. Osgir, on the other hand, is more for explosive lines of play. This could be ramping hard with multiple Mana Vault s for Sol Ring s. For me, the synergy between the artifact lands and Osgir is too good to pass up, even without a token doubler. Though I save the bombs of this deck for Feldon of the Third Path , there are times when exiling them with Osgir is an option. For example, I don't need Wurmcoil Engine or Verdurous Gearhulk if I'm Feldon looping Triplicate Titan . I've gladly sac those options to get two token copies of those beaters. If Alibou, Ancient Witness is on the field, I'm more inclined to go for this option.

And between all the Land/Urza synergies you seem to be aiming for did Tireless Tracker or Crucible of Worlds end up not performing well? Have you considered Wrenn and Six for land recursion?

At one point, I consider using both Tireless Tracker and Crucible of Worlds in the 99. However, they both didn't make the cut for one core reason. This deck, besides Hour of Promise and Sad Robot, makes one land drop per turn. Thus, making one clue token per turn is ok, but there are better things I can be doing at three mana. As for Crucible, Eternal Witness is my answer if I need lands back.

April 30, 2021 6:25 p.m.

termiraider says... #22

Hammer of purphoros would be good.

June 17, 2021 5:10 p.m.

GregariousG says... #23

To termiraider,

Hammer was a card I considered. Haste is good and it makes golems. However, I don't really want to sacrifice my lands most of the time. Though I do sacrifice artifact lands, I already have avenues to do that via Daretti and Goblin Welder. With all that being said.....I'll consider it and maybe play around with it. Thanks for the suggestion and stopping by!

June 22, 2021 8:53 a.m.

Ekha says... #24

Hey ! Amazing deck, i'm trying it with my friends and it works really well !

Just if i may, the wallpaper of the guide isnt really nice to read things, maybe something darker would be nice.

Thanks and gratz for the great job !

June 29, 2021 7:54 a.m.

GregariousG says... #25

To Ekha,

Thanks so much for stopping by! That's awesome that you are playtesting the deck. If I may, can I would like to pick your thoughts about this deck? What has been working for you, what doesn't fit, and what would you change? I figured that the background was too bright and you confirmed that. I changed it and hopefully it is easier to read.

June 29, 2021 1:04 p.m.

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