Turfinator: Rise of the Hate Bears

Commander / EDH* Aggro Battlecruiser GW (Selesnya) Hatebears

SupremeAlliesCommander

Hatebear (16)

• 1x Collector Ouphe
• 1x Grand Abolisher
• 1x Imposing Sovereign
• 1x Stony Silence
• 1x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
• 1x Tithe Taker
• 1x Aven Mindcensor
• 1x Dosan the Falling Leaf
• 1x Fiend Hunter
• 1x Glowrider
• 1x Prowling Serpopard
• 1x Thalia, Heretic Cathar
• 1x Vryn Wingmare
• 1x Linvala, Keeper of Silence
• 1x Loxodon Gatekeeper
• 1x Windborn Muse

Beater (5)

• 1x Armadillo Cloak
• 1x Sigarda, Host of Herons
• 1x Archon of Valor's Reach
• 1x Sun Titan
• 1x Thunderfoot Baloth

Librarian (5)

• 1x Eladamri's Call
• 1x Fierce Empath
• 1x Abundance
• 1x Oracle of Mul Daya
• 1x Tooth and Nail

Other (3)

• 1x Fabled Passage
• 1x Dryad Militant
• 1x Drannith Magistrate

Ramp (14)

• 1x Arbor Elf
• 1x Avacyn's Pilgrim
• 1x Elvish Mystic
• 1x Fyndhorn Elves
• 1x Llanowar Elves
• 1x Lotus Cobra
• 1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
• 1x Scorned Villager  ^Flip
• 1x Thornscape Familiar
• 1x Cultivate
• 1x Kodama's Reach
• 1x Springbloom Druid
• 1x Wood Elves
• 1x Oracle of Mul Daya

Removal (7)

• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Leonin Relic-Warder
• 1x Qasali Pridemage
• 1x Fiend Hunter
• 1x Grasp of Fate
• 1x Song of the Dryads

Protection (5)

• 1x Homeward Path
• 1x Mother of Runes
• 1x Saffi Eriksdotter
• 1x Selfless Spirit
• 1x Shalai, Voice of Plenty

Bounce (1)

• 1x Whitemane Lion

Commander (1)

Mana (38)

• 1x Canopy Vista
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Emeria, the Sky Ruin
• 18x Forest
• 1x Homeward Path
• 14x Plains
• 1x Sunpetal Grove
• 1x Temple Garden

Finisher (5)

• 1x Rampaging Baloths
• 1x Avenger of Zendikar
• 1x Craterhoof Behemoth
• 1x Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger
• 1x Void Winnower

Draw (3)

• 1x Mentor of the Meek
• 1x Beast Whisperer
• 1x Nissa, Vital Force

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Maybeboard

Other (11)

• 1x Fauna Shaman
• 1x Thorn of Amethyst
• 1x Runic Armasaur
• 1x Return to Dust
• 1x Acidic Slime
• 1x Mirari's Wake
• 1x Admonition Angel
• 1x Conduit of Ruin
• 1x Pathbreaker Ibex
• 1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
• 1x Giant Adephage

Ramp (2)

• 1x Birds of Paradise
• 1x Mwonvuli Acid-Moss

Removal (1)

• 1x Day of Judgment

Librarian (1)

• 1x Congregation at Dawn

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I almost never get to play anymore. However, when I do get the itch, I usually come back here and draw test my old EDH deck Kresh, Prince of Blood Hair. I'll open three tabs in a browser and play test it against whatever else I find in the casual battlecruiser hubs. It helps me refine Kresh and gives me new ideas. Usually, I need several times with another deck before I can pilot it well. That wasn't the case with Karametra. Karametra creatures is simple, brutal, and reliable. The first few times I played it, I beat my own Kresh deck head to head. After a few rounds, I didn't see any play strategy my old faithful deck could use to pull out a win. So, this is my second EDH deck.

I tried a few different version of Karametra (beef, auras, tokens...). All of them are strong without being stoopit competitive. For the moment, this list is an amalgam. I'm sticking with the creature-heavy theme, including a hate bear subpackage for the early game. Even late game cards like Void Winnower and Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger are controlling creatures that just happen to beat face. Turfinator is still in development, but I like where it's headed.

Why Play Karametra?

• You like to play a "battle cruiser" style deck
• You really, really like to shuffle
• You're not into those look-at-me-I'm-so-smart combo wins
• You prefer to play proactively, rather than reactively... aka "I'm the one who knocks"
• You want to play a theme deck, not just "good stuff"
• Because Selesnya! (Gesundheit)
• Also, her name begins with K, like Kresh, and my name - which is Kyle.

Karametra, God of Harvests is a reliable, if not powerful commander. My other commander is Kresh the Bloodbraided, who is built to be killed and will never last more than a turn or two. Karametra, God of Harvests has much better survival odds. Yes, there are ways to remove the Theros Gods, and every deck will have a card dedicated to them somewhere in the 100. However, that's not the same as every deck sporting 7 ways to oust our general.

Green and White provide access to some of the best creatures in the format. Green provides finishers like Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger, Craterhoof Behemoth, and Avenger of Zendikar. Meanwhile, white hate bears like Thalia, Heretic Cathar, Grand Abolisher, and Aven Mindcensor can give the deck breathing room during the early game.

How Does it Win?

In a perfect world, the deck ramps into Avenger of Zendikar then lands Craterhoof Behemoth on the following turn. Then just scythe through our opponents. However, I'm not fond of running a bunch of tutors and playing the same game over and over again. So, there are back-up plans.

The second option is a kinder, gentler face-beating. Under the right conditions, Void Winnower can get the job done all by his onesie. Rampaging Baloths can get out of hand. Yet slapping good ole Armadillo Cloak onto Archon of Valor's Reach or Sigarda, Host of Herons is surprisingly effective. Don't laugh. It works. Says so right on the card.

How Does it Play?

It plays like any other battlecruiser. Interference comes in the form of a hate bears subpackage. Ramp like a classic fatty deck. Survive long enough to watch life totals drop incrementally, then swing for the fences.

The Early Game

There's more than one way to ramp. Ramping is the business of getting access to more mana than our opponents. In it's classic form, ramping is a race; pure and simple.

Stepping away from the race paradigm, we can just make sure opponents don't have access to mana. In Kresh, Prince of Blood Hair, I make use of a small land and artifact destruction suite to ensure that I get more mana (or the right color mana) while my opponents are slowed. In fact, Mwonvuli Acid-Moss has been so good in that deck, it accidentally found its way into this one. Anyway, Turfinator takes a third approach. This deck employs a group of hate bears and tax effects. Creatures like Aven Mindcensor, Thalia, Heretic Cathar, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Vryn Wingmare, and Collector Ouphe handle these duties. Making an opponent's spells cost more is essentially the same as making ours cheaper. Making their mana rocks into paperweights buys us time. If they burn their removal on these hate bears, that's less removal for our finishers.

The Mid Game

This is one of those decks where's it's okay to cast the commander as soon as possible. She may get removed, but the deck has enough ramping power to pay commander taxes. Those hate bears and ramp weenies from the early game are still valid cards. They can serve as sacrificial blockers, or (with Karametra on the table) they may be cast as ramp spells. Even when an opponent counters our Leonin Relic-Warder, we still get a land out of the deal. That's not bad value.

Loxodon Gatekeeper, Linvala, Keeper of Silence, Nissa, Vital Force, and Windborn Muse can frustrate and stall our opponents as we set up the win. Even some of the beefier creatures, like Sigarda, Host of Herons, Sun Titan, and Archon of Valor's Reach can be considered midrange cards in this deck. Six mana to Karametra is like four mana to every other deck.

Karametra herself can be a good blocker and decent beatstick, but allowing her to show her creature side has its risks. She is much less easy to remove as an enchantment. Maybe cast something with a casting cost prior to combat to get her to devotion to 7. Post combat, cast Kor Skyfisher to bring her back down to 6.

The End Game

Beef is back on the menu, boys! This is where we reap (can't help it) the benefits of all those land fetches. I've already mentioned the Craterhoof Behemoth wincon, the eldrazi, the Praetor, and the flying beaters above. If nothing else, Nissa, Vital Force can turn those extra lands into hasty beaters.

However, there's often more to the game than simply executing our strategy. We often need to account for our opponent's plan and how they are messing with ours. This is where a few sub-optimal cards come into the picture. Sun Titan is often good for recovering those hate bears and mana dorks for blocking, stalling, and taxing. The titan is a handy card after a board wipe. Admonition Angel is a terrible card. Yet, she often buys enough time for the cavalry to arrive, or draws the hate so our real finishers can survive a turn.

How is it Weak?

The middle game can run frustratingly long. In order to have reliable, fast starts, the deck needs a plethora of weenies and dorks. It in order to finish, it needs a healthy number of beaters. Sometimes, we end up drawing nothing but mana dorks when we’re trying to close out the game. At other times, we just need a few more cheap critters to get those last two lands so we can cast the four beefcakes we drew by turn three. Welcome to MTG...

As far as matchups are concerned:

Fast, super-focused decks will beat this list, or any other battlecruiser deck, before it gets going.

This particular list is short on tutors. This deficiency often leads to the long mid-game problem mentioned above. I am tempted to add Fauna Shaman, Green Sun's Zenith, or Chord of Calling.

Combo decks will get lucky. The hate bears can slow down a combo deck, but this list doesn't have the means to outright stop them from going off. If we end up ramping successfully, but never land a Thalia, Guardian of Thraben or Glowrider, we may be in for a short match.

Where is My Copy of __?

There are a bunch of cards I would love to add to this deck. Several of them are in my Maybeboard. Some are too expensive, too rare, or I'm having a hard time making room. Beyond that, there are a few staples I am not interesting in playing. Those include:

Sol Ring - Yeah, I'm nuts. I hate when it shows up in an opponent's opening hand. He or she gets an unreal head start. I'd rather not be that guy.

Sensei's Divining Top - Like Sol Ring, I hate playing against it. So, I'd rather not play with it.

Gaea's Cradle - $$$

Hushbringer - Great card! However, she shuts down my primary wincon. Same for Tocatli Honor Guard.

Cloudstone Curio - One day, I hope to build an EDH combo deck. This is not that deck.

Avacyn, Angel of Hope - She's just not very interesting.

Leonin Arbiter - While a Karametra player will have a much better chance of paying this tax, the number of times it must be paid becomes absurd. We'd end up spending dozens of mana just to force opponents to pay a few.

Card Synergies

Pardon our appearance while we are under development.

Cards I'm Currently Not Sure About

You may find these in my mainboard or the maybeboard depending on what I'm currently testing.

Sigarda, Host of Herons - She's absolutely fabulous in Armadillo Cloak. Summer colors just work for her. However, the aura and the mechanic are both off-book as far as the main deck strategy is concerned. There isn't enough synergy with everything else. Yet, she works so...

Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite - Another "good stuff" card with little synergy for the deck. Sure, turning all my dorks and bears into beaters is nice. However, the main threat to this deck are board wipes and she neither fixes the problem, nor discourages it.

Runic Armasaur - She's got synergy and a nice booty, but the effect isn't quite right. There are more reliable ways to draw cards. There are better ways to shut down activated abilities.

Riftsweeper - I think I just want this card to be relevant, somehow. It's good against Imprint, Suspend, and similar effects. I could even use it to get back my own exiled pieces... sort of. It's not really mainboard material, though.

Omnath, Locus of Mana - Is he a beater? Is he a mana container? This deck is not opposed to either one. To make the most of him, I want to fetch forests off my Karametra triggers. Yet, I want to do the opposite to enable Emeria, The Sky Ruin. Hrmmmm...

Nissa, Vital Force - All she needs to do is survive one turn. Go ultimate with Nissa and all our draw problems go away. But she has to survive that one turn...

Thornscape Familiar - A good ramp card for half the deck. Makes Whitemane Lion even more degenerate. Works well with Skullclamp. But is it necessary?

Skullclamp - Another solution to the draw problem. Does not play well with Collector Ouphe and Stony Silence. Suffers a wee bit from not being a creature, but probably still worth it.

Mirari's Wake - Who doesn't want twice the mana? Who doesn't want +1/+1 for all their creatures? Who doesn't want to pay 20 bucks for a slip of cardboa... oh. It's such a great card, but I'm holding it out for a while to ascertain whether it's just a win-more sort of thing. It's not like this deck needs the extra ramp.

Congregation at Dawn - A truly underrated tutor card. On my opponent's end step, I can line up three hate bears in row, fix a mana flood issue, or recover from a board wipe. In the end game, I can line up all my finishers. Plus the female figure in the art bears a strong resemblance to Karametra. There's only one problem: if Karametra is on the board, the first creature I cast shuffles away the other two (or I have to forego the land fetch).

Date added	4 years
Last updated	1 year
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	11 - 0 Mythic Rares 33 - 0 Rares 8 - 0 Uncommons 16 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.23
Tokens	Beast 4/4 G, Emblem Nissa, Vital Force, Plant 0/1 G, Spirit 1/1 WB
Folders	Currently Playing