A Monster’s Guide to Volo [Primer]
Commander / EDH
SCORE: 74 | 55 COMMENTS | 11385 VIEWS | IN 30 FOLDERS
Fifth Update —July 23, 2023
My list hasn’t changed too much over the last year, as it has proven to be one of my most consistent decks. I’m periodically tempted to swap creatures around, but I keep coming back to that old adage: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The maybe-board above features some creatures I’ve been tempted by, but as of yet I have not play tested them. Here’s the one recent swap I made:
IN:
Tribute to the World Tree - This is a strictly better version of Elemental Bond, which is already one of the better card draw enchantments in the deck. It gives a solid buff to our little guys, and draws us two cards for everything else when Volo is out. At three green mana it’s a little more difficult to cast, but color fixing is usually not a problem with this list.
OUT:
Lifecrafter's Bestiary - I’ve been looking at swapping this one for some time, though it has saved me in a couple of games. The scry is nice, but Tribute to the World Tree is just… well… worlds better.
richarmander Thanks for the suggestion! This deck hasn’t had too much trouble with ramp or running out of mana to recast Volo. Card draw is just so insanely important, and the ceiling on Wall of Blossoms is crazy high in a Volo deck. With volo out, it’s draw 2 for 2, if we have Twinning staff it’s draw 3 for 2, if we have 2 beast whisperers out it’s draw 4 for 2, and it can get much crazier under the right circumstances. Card draw guarantees we hit our land drops, and I’ve got other mana dorks to help with ramp as well. That’s what’s so cool about Volo though, there are so many combinations of possible creature types to use, and you can shape the deck to fit your meta.
October 18, 2022 10:58 p.m.
Hi, have you considered Awaken the Woods for the deck? you have 3 (maybe 4 if you change Mulldrifter for Avenger of Zendikar in elemental slot) landfall creatures and with this card you could make Ruin Crab and Lotus Cobra really strong if they are on the battlefield.
December 13, 2022 4:22 p.m.
Sandwitcher I could see Deadeye Navigator being awesome in some Volo lists, but only about half of the creatures on my list have ETB effects, and Volo is already doubling those… plus my utility cards focus on copying Volo’s cast-trigger rather than copying the effects of my other creatures. The fact that navigator is a 6 drop (8 if you want to use it the turn you cast it) means it’s too slow and too “win more” for the way I’ve built Volo. I’d be curious to check out your list to see what direction you’ve taken it!
Roritrox There aren’t enough landfall cards on this list to warrant including Awaken the Woods. I do think Volo could definitely be built as a landfall deck, (and I’d love to see one!) but I play plenty of games where I don’t see a single landfall card, and this would end up as a dead card in hand. Thank you for the suggestion!
January 8, 2023 10:32 p.m.
Sandwitcher says... #6
Hey, thanks for explanation! Here is my list, feel free to have a look https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/12-10-22-wololo/?cb=1673267434
January 9, 2023 7:33 a.m.
Love this, what you think about Of One Mind for carddraw?
richarmander says... #1
Have you considered Overgrown Battlement for the wall slot? I feel like it’s a great early card to make sure you can get Volo back out after hes
October 18, 2022 12:41 p.m.