(Karametra, God of HarvestsKarametra, God of Harvests | Art by Eric Deschamps)

Nature has a way of adapting to and overcoming any force that seeks its end.Nature has a way of adapting to and overcoming any force that seeks its end.

It's a big day for Back to Basics! After covering the top 10 most played cards in each color, today's Selesnya () list means we've looked at every color pair. Huge accomplishment, that. Not sure I could top it. So, what's next for this column? Maybe I'll write a spec script, or go skydiving. But, it's just, the three-color enemy wedges (from Tarkir) and allied arcs (Alara) look so interesting...

10. Samwise GamgeeSamwise Gamgee - 41,041 decks, 2,849 as commander

Taking the notoriously breakfast-filled Hobbits from Middle-earth and making giving them Food token-focused mechanical identity is such a stroke of genius from Wizards of the Coast.

Also brilliant is ensuring that Samwise GamgeeSamwise Gamgee's text box works well with various strategies in Commander.

Whether it's Aragorn, the UniterAragorn, the Uniter and multicolor, Food with Brenard, Ginger SculptorBrenard, Ginger Sculptor, or Jodah, the UnifierJodah, the Unifier and Legends, Samwise provides a lot of value for just two mana.

As a commander, the Shire has much to offer in terms of synergy, like, well, The Shire, as well as Peregrin TookPeregrin Took and Treebeard, Gracious HostTreebeard, Gracious Host. Gilded GooseGilded Goose is from Eldraine, some ways away from Middle-Earth, but poultry-themed cards certainly fit into what this deck is trying to do mechanically and flavor-wise.

You can even go off with Samwise, netting infinite death triggers, lifegain, and more with a simple three-card combo:

9. Conclave MentorConclave Mentor - 45,632 decks

Mentor is one of the latest in a long line of +1/+1 counter boosters, after popular buildarounds Hardened ScalesHardened Scales, Winding ConstrictorWinding Constrictor, and Doubling SeasonDoubling Season, among others.

As a two-color card, Mentor bring a little something extra to the table, and as a Selesnya card, that little something extra is lifegain.

If life is what you're interested in, you can gain an infinite amount in three colors with Marath, Will of the WildMarath, Will of the Wild and Mana EchoesMana Echoes:

There are a bunch of other ways to go off, so check out Mentor's Commander Spellbook page for an exhaustive list. Or, you can build a two- or three-color counters deck around several different options, including Shalai and HallarShalai and Hallar or Hamza, Guardian of ArashinHamza, Guardian of Arashin. Atraxa, Praetors' VoiceAtraxa, Praetors' Voice is pretty delightful, too!

8. Ghalta and MavrenGhalta and Mavren - 58,138 decks, 2,469

It's nice to take a short break from this torrent of two-drops and instead cover a big boi. Ghalta and Mavren have two relevant creature types, but, thanks to color and mana value, you're probably more likely to see it in Gishath, Sun's AvatarGishath, Sun's Avatar or Pantlaza, Sun-FavoredPantlaza, Sun-Favored than in a Vampires deck playing a off-type commander. Of course, we don't want to put this predator in cage — we've all seen Jurassic Park!

G&M may have creature types and make tokens of those types, but you don't need specific creatures to go extremely wide or tall very quickly. That means they're perfectly powerful in a go-wide deck, which Naya (, ) does particularly well, or a big-boi-matters deck, which happens include Dinosaur kindred. You'll feel unstoppable when you trigger them off a big Dino with a Warstorm SurgeWarstorm Surge in play!

7. Sterling GroveSterling Grove - 85,611 decks

We're back to two-mana-value cards. This time, we're looking at an enchantment that is an important role player in the enchantment-matters deck. Thanks to the relatively recent printings of Go-Shintai of Life's Origin and Tom Bombadil, as well as the less-recent debut of Esika, God of the Tree (though Sisay, Weatherlight Captain and Karona, False God work, too, but I'm not happy about it), you can play pretty much any color combination, as long as green is one of them.

How does the deck win? Well, excluding convoluted combos, you can set up a slow-bleed victory by reducing your opponents to zero with Honden of Infinite Rage Sanctum of Stone Fangs.

You can go for one big swing with an army plucked out of the cosmos by Starfield of Nyx. You can, of course, rely on combat by attacking with Hallowed Haunting tokens or going tall with All That Glitters.

The real strength of the archetype is being able to protect yourself from your opponents messing with stuff, so that you can saunter to victory however you want.

6. Sythis, Harvest's HandSythis, Harvest's Hand (84,611 decks), Satyr EnchanterSatyr Enchanter (54,183 decks), and Jukai NaturalistJukai Naturalist (74,080 decks)

I've lumped these three Enchantress or Aura cards together. After all, this theme is fairly common among booster sets' green and white factions.

Sythis and the Satyr ensure that you can consistently hit your protective enchantments like Grove, Sphere of SafetySphere of Safety, and Ghostly PrisonGhostly Prison, while also being good carriers of Auras like Glitters and Ethereal ArmorEthereal Armor, if you're into attacking. Meanwhile, Naturalist carries Auras exceptionally well, while also making sure you can assemble your "pillow fort" faster.

As a commander, Sythis is a popular home for the instant win combo featuring Walking BallistaWalking Ballista and Heliod, Sun-CrownedHeliod, Sun-Crowned. Having access to a cheap card advantage source that triggers basically off your whole deck is basically a cheat code for assembling and protecting combinations.

5. Aura ShardsAura Shards and Sundering GrowthSundering Growth

Selesnya giveth and Selesnya also taketh away, thanks to powerful cards like the two above that take Naturalize/Disenchant to the next level. There are a bunch of other great options in this color pair for dealing with pesky artifacts and enchantments, including Qasali PridemageQasali Pridemage, Harmonic SliverHarmonic Sliver, and Knight of AutumnKnight of Autumn.

While not as repeatable as Shards, unless you're doing stuff with Slivers, you can take advantage of Momentary BlinkMomentary Blink-style effects and bring stuff back from the graveyardbring stuff back from the graveyard to get more than your money's worth out of them.

4. Eladamri's CallEladamri's Call - 120,584 decks

A top 10 list wouldn't be complete without a utility card. For Selesnya, that card is an instant-speed tutor that can pick up most of the other cards on this list. That's the kind of redundancy that make tutors some of the most powerful cards in the format, and this is no exception.

And, while I do sympathize with the line of criticism about tutors making games of Commander repetitive, I'm personally in favor of having as powerful of a format as the banning of the Power 9 will allow.

This great article by Kieran Sheldon goes much deeper into this debate, so give it a read! For a more beginner friendly read or a refresher course, this older article is awesome, too

3. Kutzil, Malamet ExemplarKutzil, Malamet Exemplar - 115,734 decks, 2,363 as commander

This Kuul Cat stands out to me as an incredible popular creature for the 99 that is not very popular as a commander. Why is that? Based on EDHREC data, I'd say it's because her Grand-Abolisher-like ability is a powerful tool in more colorful decks that want to be up to no good and need opponents not to get in the way.

Najeela, the Blade-Blossom seems to fit this bill, because generating additional combat phases without being interrupted sounds like an effective way to clean up.

On the other hand, having access to a multicolor Legend with a useful static ability and a potential source of card advantage is great in toolbox decks like Sisay, Weatherlight Captain or in decks that pay you off for her characteristics like Jodah, the Unifier or Arahbo, Roar of the World.

2. Faeburrow ElderFaeburrow Elder - 125,723 decks

Speaking of Najeela, this Treefolk Druid secures an immediate win through infinite combat phases, as long as you're willing to do a little work to generate maximum mana:

I guess that's why Elder and Kutzil see a lot of play in the same decks, because building out a board like that can take time... Unless, of course, you have a Jodah in play already.

Baby, we got a five-color stew going! This is all still sounds pretty clunky, but you don't build a specifically five-color deck to have the easiest time. To make things a bit easier, Inga and Esika will give you access to more colors, while Fist of Suns does some cool enabling, maybe alongside Timeless Lotus.

Okay, okay, these are still clunky five-drops! It'll be fine if you spend your early turns playing a bunch of rainbow lands and mana artifacts, I promise!

1. Mirari's WakeMirari's Wake - 150,304 decks

This may be just another enchantment matters card in a list filled with them, but I'm not going to put one of the most iconic cards from Magic's history and the most played Selesnya card in a bucket with Sterling Grove!

Besides, Wake's mana doubling ability is a huge draw, driving its high play rates in decks like Gishath, Sun's Avatar, The Ur-Dragon, Omnath, Locus of All, and many more.

Doubling mana also has combo potential. It's not a commonly played one, but Palinchron helps net you infinite mana and ETBs to enable more nefarious plans.

It also makes color-intensive cards a breeze to cast or activate. I'm talking about somewhat-janky game plans like Door to Nothingness, Titanic Ultimatum, or Conflux shenanigans.

I have faith in your potential.I have faith in your potential.

While this color pair does seem to traffic in cheap creatures with big textboxes, it would be hard to say that Selesnya hits only one note. Much like the Ravnican conclave it's named after, green and white cards can fit into different strategies — Legends, multicolor, lifegain, tokens, go-wide — while harmonizing and overlapping in different places.

One theme that this list doesn't quite touch on is Humans kindred, which is a bit of a shame, since Selesnya is populated with creatures that fit right in, like Torens, Fist of the Angels and Katilda, Dawnhart Prime. What's your favorite Selesnya card that didn't make the list?

Nick Price