Anthousa, Setessan HeroAnthousa, Setessan Hero | Art by Howard Lyon

Imagine this: You go to your Local Game Store and sit down for a game of Commander. You have the Rule 0 conversation and determine you're just looking for a casual game, something in the realm of Bracket 2. The table pulls out the usual suspects: a precon here, a janky brew there. Then, there's one player who simply says: "I'll play this mono-green deck."

Unsurprisingly, you're worried. Green is pretty strong. You ask, "Are you sure it's a Bracket 2?"

The player reveals his commander: Anthousa, Setessan HeroAnthousa, Setessan Hero. "Oh, I'm playing mono-green Spellslinger."

The tenseness of the situation fades. You take a deep breath. That is, until you see what the deck does.

Welcome back to Bottom of the Barrel! This is a series where we pick a theme from EDHREC and look at the “bottom of the barrel.” This means we look at the least played color-combinations and pick a commander in those colors to brew a spicy new deck around!

Today's episode is one close to my heart, as it's my current favorite personal deck I've built. The idea came from an exercise similar to this series, so I felt it was the perfect time to share it with you all.

Green Spellslinger?

According to EDHREC, there are 131 Spellslinger themed decks in mono-green, with Legolas, Master ArcherLegolas, Master Archer leading the charge. This is an amazing card for Spellslinger, but I wanted something a little more unique. That's where Anthousa came in.

There are 186 total decks built around her in the database, with only three focusing on Spellslinger.

Upon first glance, Anthousa might not seem very special, but turning a cantrip into three 2/2 Warriors seems pretty strong! The main issue is mana production vs. mana usage. Anthousa is five mana, which isn’t too difficult to achieve in green, but she does basically nothing unless we have an immediate follow-up. And by then, the lands we want to turn into Warriors are tapped.

Even when we have open mana after casting Anthousa, casting spells requires us to use our “creatures” for mana.

This presents a conundrum. How can we solve this so it feels like we aren’t being starved for mana?

Category #1: Mana Production vs. Mana Usage

There are a few ways to negate the possible pitfalls of our lands being what we attack with, and the first way comes in the form of vigilance and "untappers."

Angel's TrumpetAngel's Trumpet is amazing in this deck for two reasons: It allows our lands to act as attackers and mana sources in the same turn; and it punishes our opponents for trying to sit back while opening them up to future attackers. Shoutout to Rachel Weeks from The Command Zone for the inspiration on this add!

Copperhorn ScoutCopperhorn Scout is great way for us to use our lands as attackers and as mana producers in the same turn, similar to Angel's TrumpetAngel's Trumpet.

Llanowar DruidLlanowar Druid is another great way for us to regain our mana production ability from our Forests that attack, even if it's only a single-use case.

Category #2: Recursion

A big problem that presents itself with Anthousa is consistency. Having cards that we can cast repeatedly to target Anthousa are cards we should be focusing on.

For example, RancorRancor is probably the best card in the deck because it gets returned to our hand when Anthousa gets removed, so we can cast it again.

Prey's VengeancePrey's Vengeance is great too because it has rebound, allowing us to get Anthousa's trigger on two consecutive turns without spending mana the second time.

Running “Regrowth” effects can be critical to our success as well, as getting back our “target” spells allows us to recover quickly after running out of gas.

Our main Regrowth effects are Bösium StripBösium Strip and Pair o' Dice LostPair o' Dice Lost. Pair o' Dice Lost returns spells we've used directly to our hand, but Bösium Strip lets us recast them from the graveyard as long as the top card of our graveyard is an instant or sorcery.

Considering we have 32 total instants and sorceries in the deck, that isn't a hard prerequisite to meet.

Category #3: Cheap Spells

Ultimately, the goal is to consistently target Anthousa with cheap spells, and I tried to limit these spells to ones that are one mana or less. There are twelve spells in this deck that cost one or less mana that trigger Anthousa, and my includes fall into three categories:

1. Something that pumps Anthousa by a ridiculous amount (Might of the MassesMight of the Masses, Get a Leg UpGet a Leg Up, Primal BellowPrimal Bellow)

2. Something that grants our commander trample in some way (RancorRancor, Massive MightMassive Might, Charge ThroughCharge Through)

3. Something that's free to cast (InvigorateInvigorate, Gather CourageGather Courage, Mutagenic GrowthMutagenic Growth)

Since we have several spells that increase our commander's power, winning with commander damage is very possible in this deck. Therefore, trample is a must!

Category #3: Card Draw

Green doesn't struggle with drawing cards, but it's usually associated with casting creature spells. How can we draw enough cards in this deck to not run out of gas?

The most obvious answer is with a green staple: Sylvan LibrarySylvan Library.

Here are some less obvious includes:

• Season of GrowthSeason of Growth draws cards whenever we target our commander.
• Family's FavorFamily's Favor can protect our commander in combat and draw us cards when she deals damage.
• Ohran FrostfangOhran Frostfang and Toski, Bearer of SecretsToski, Bearer of Secrets both can turn our "land creatures" into an absurd amount of card advantage.
• Runic ArmasaurRunic Armasaur draws cards when our opponents activate abilities.
• Elder GargarothElder Gargaroth can draw us cards or gain us life or generate creatures!
• Hylda's Crown of WinterHylda's Crown of Winter can draw cards when an opponent overextends.
• HarmonizeHarmonize is always good in green decks.

Category #4: The "Secret Spice"

This week's "secret spice" includes each serve different purposes, but each put in work in this deck.

Harvest SeasonHarvest Season is a ridiculous ramp spell in this deck because if we have a way to target Anthousa first, we can turn the lands we tap to cast Harvest SeasonHarvest Season into creatures, guaranteeing at least three lands!

River Song's DiaryRiver Song's Diary serves two purposes in this deck: recursion and "theft." Being able to reuse pump spells is amazing, but being able to steal our opponents' used instant and sorcery spells is a huge plus for this card.

Mirror BoxMirror Box is our final "secret spice," and it's for a reason you may not expect. We aren't doing any cloning, so the first line of this card is completely irrelevant to us. The second line however, is where this card shines.

When we turn our Forests into creatures they are creatures that have the same name! Meaning: they pump each other up based on the amount of other Forest creatures we have! Also, we run things like Awaken the WoodsAwaken the Woods and Staff of TitaniaStaff of Titania that also create Forest creatures, and this card works wonders with those includes too.

Closing Thoughts

That will do it for this week's episode of Bottom of the Barrel! I hope you enjoyed exploring this underplayed commander with me, and I hope you'll give it a try. After building this deck in paper and tinkering with it over the past few months, it's slowly cemented itself as my favorite personal deck, and I'm glad to sing its praises every chance I get.

Check out my decklist below.

Anthousa, Setessan Hero Commander Deck List