Archetune-Up - The Hunter's Blades

Kaldheim Set Review - Green

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Yule Ooze" href="#" target="_blank">Yule Ooze</a> | Art by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Prescott_(artist)">Steve Prescott</a>)</h6>
<h1>Introduction</h1>
We find ourselves in a strange place, as we often do, a realm of juxtaposition. The sun hides, and the nights lengthen. There is disparity in this season. Somewhere, a Dark Souls joke is made. Heat and cold. Bonfires and snow shovels. Hygge and the bitter chill of winter.
Welcome to Yule Shot, where we brew two decks at the same time... in one deck. This time, to honor the elder gods of Candletide, we'll be knitting a warm blanket of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/themes/snow">Snow supertype</a> atop an <a href="https://edhrec.com/tribes/oozes">Ooze tribal</a> subtheme. How is Snow presented here as a metaphor for warmth, you ask? Igloos. And why Ooze? Well, in anticipation of the eventual errata of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Yule Ooze" href="#" target="_blank">Yule Ooze</a> to black border, of course.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jegantha, the Wellspring"></div></div>
I think <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jegantha, the Wellspring" href="#" target="_blank">Jegantha, the Wellspring</a> looks suitably festive. If one were to make a New Year's Resolution to forego multiples of duplicate mana symbols in card costs, Jegantha could probably pull the royal sleigh of someone like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kenrith, Returned King" href="#" target="_blank">Kenrith, Returned King</a>, who, in the lore of Eldraine, is prophesied to become Santa Claus in his twilight years. Though some sad substitutions would have to be made (God rest ye merry <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Predator Ooze" href="#" target="_blank">Predator Ooze</a>), Kenrith's second ability could make for a powerful +1/+1 counters tertiary theme that permeates, and even 'permanates' throughout the brew.
But we'll keep this list cozy, so that means lots of mana symbols in casting costs. With Jegantha steering (sleighs have wheels, right? Hmm... ask the wheelwright), that gives us access to things like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Glacial Plating" href="#" target="_blank">Glacial Plating</a>. Oh, this is going to end up being a Cumulative Upkeep deck, isn't it?
One would think the cold might slow our gelatinous friends down. Is there such a thing as too viscous? Let's find out.
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Rudolph’s Reign" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Jegantha, the Wellspring
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Boreal Druid
*1 Chilling Shade
*1 Burnished Hart
*1 Conifer Wurm
*1 Diamond Faerie
*1 Thing in the Ice
*1 Woolly Razorback
*1 Rimefeather Owl
*1 Zombie Musher
*1 Rimescale Dragon
*1 Heidar, Rimewind Master
*1 Ice-Fang Coatl
*1 Golos, Tireless Pilgrim
*1 Chulane, Teller of Tales
*1 Sisay, Weatherlight Captain
*1 Tatyova, Benthic Druid
*1 Yule Ooze
*1 Mitotic Slime
*1 Biowaste Blob
*1 Slurrk, All-Ingesting
*1 Prime Speaker Vannifar
*1 Acidic Slime
*1 Bloodhall Ooze
*1 Manaplasm
*1 Experiment Kraj
*1 Scavenging Ooze
*1 Ancient Ooze
*1 Biogenic Ooze
*1 Predator Ooze
*1 Metallic Mimic
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*1 Mystic Genesis
*1 Tribal Unity
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Into the North
*1 Cultivate
*1 Gelatinous Genesis
*1 Miming Slime
*1 Hurricane
*1 Harsh Mercy
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts]
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Arcum’s Astrolabe
*1 Coldsteel Heart
*1 Obelisk of Urd
*1 Vanquisher&#039;s Banner
*1 Slate of Ancestry
*1 The Ozolith
*1 Chromatic Orrery
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments]
*1 Iceberg
*1 Marit Lage&#039;s Slumber
*1 Rhythm of the Wild
*1 Ice Cave
*1 Gelid Shackles
*1 On Thin Ice
*1 Snow Devil
*1 Glacial Plating
*1 Ooze Garden
*1 Ooze Flux
*1 Crown of Ascension
*1 Etchings of the Chosen
*1 Steely Resolve
[/Enchantments]
[Lands]
*1 Exotic Orchard
*1 Command Tower
*1 Karn&#039;s Bastion
*1 Novijen, Heart of Progress
*1 Highland Weald
*1 Boreal Shelf
*1 Arctic Flats
*1 Tresserhorn Sinks
*1 Frost Marsh
*1 Scrying Sheets
*3 Snow-Covered Plains
*5 Snow-Covered Island
*4 Snow-Covered Swamp
*4 Snow-Covered Mountain
*7 Snow-Covered Forest
*1 Krosan Verge
*1 Blighted Woodland
*1 Terramorphic Expanse
*1 Evolving Wilds
*1 Cinder Glade
*1 Prairie Stream
*1 Flooded Grove
[/Lands]"></div>

<hr />
<h2>Santa Took the Year Off</h2>
We're running 40 lands in this list, giving Rudolph plenty of room to touch down. We're a bit color-intensive, thanks to the many multi-pipped Oozes, so we've excised some obvious lands, such as <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Frostwalk Bastion" href="#" target="_blank">Frostwalk Bastion</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dark Depths" href="#" target="_blank">Dark Depths</a>, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mouth of Ronom" href="#" target="_blank">Mouth of Ronom</a>. While we are trying to cool things down with ice counters, Marit Lage will have to wait a little longer: the additional color sources in this list seemed more important than a few more frosty permanents. Generally, our ice counters will be doing different things, but with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rimefeather Owl" href="#" target="_blank">Rimefeather Owl</a>, we can refrigerate our own gelatinous desserts, adding to our total number of Snow permanents in a pinch. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Woolly Razorback" href="#" target="_blank">Woolly Razorback</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thing in the Ice" href="#" target="_blank">Thing in the Ice</a> will even be Snowy for a little while.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rimefeather Owl"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Woolly Razorback"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thing in the Ice"></div></div>
More likely we'll be plowing away both with our abundance of winter wonderlands and with cards like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chulane, Teller of Tales" href="#" target="_blank">Chulane, Teller of Tales</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Golos, Tireless Pilgrim" href="#" target="_blank">Golos, Tireless Pilgrim</a> (incidentally, second and third in line for the Santa line of succession). It shouldn't be too difficult to flash in <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ice-Fang Coatl" href="#" target="_blank">Ice-Fang Coatl</a> with deathtouch, nor should <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Heidar, Rimewind Master" href="#" target="_blank">Heidar, Rimewind Master</a>'s activated ability be unavailable for overlong.
Of course, as the snow piles up, so too should our +1/+1 counters, accumulating in the gooey eaves. While <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hardened Scales" href="#" target="_blank">Hardened Scales</a> might seem as brightly obvious as the North Star, our included lords and anthems and the like serve us well enough. And as far as the +1/+1 counter interactions themselves (e.g. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ooze Flux" href="#" target="_blank">Ooze Flux</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Experiment Kraj" href="#" target="_blank">Experiment Kraj</a>), we should have a reliable stockpile even without doubling.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Obelisk of Urd"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Biowaste Blob"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tribal Unity"></div></div>
And hey, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Obelisk of Urd" href="#" target="_blank">Obelisk of Urd</a> does a decent impression of a Douglas Fir.
<hr />
<h2>Santa's Back!</h2>
However, what if we had someone pulling the reins as well? Left alone, Jegantha just kind of follows their nose. A little bit of navigational experience from a pilot with more than a few flights under their sash could give us some much-needed guidance. Indeed, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kenrith, the Returned King" href="#" target="_blank">Kenrith, the Returned King</a> has 3,630 decks as of this writing, compared to Jegantha's 216. Sorry, Rudolph.
Santa does not simply walk to the table. He'll need Jegantha leading the van (and maybe <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crown of Ascension" href="#" target="_blank">Crown of Ascension</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Snow Devil" href="#" target="_blank">Snow Devil</a>) if he's going to take flight.
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="To Be Jolly" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Kenrith, the Returned King
[/Commander]
[Companion]
*1 Jegantha, the Wellspring
[/Companion]
[Creatures]
*1 Boreal Druid
*1 Chilling Shade
*1 Burnished Hart
*1 Conifer Wurm
*1 Diamond Faerie
*1 Zombie Musher
*1 Heidar, Rimewind Master
*1 Ice-Fang Coatl
*1 Golos, Tireless Pilgrim
*1 Chulane, Teller of Tales
*1 Sisay, Weatherlight Captain
*1 Tatyova, Benthic Druid
*1 Yule Ooze
*1 Mitotic Slime
*1 Slurrk, All-Ingesting
*1 Prime Speaker Vannifar
*1 Bloodhall Ooze
*1 Manaplasm
*1 Scavenging Ooze
*1 Metallic Mimic
*1 Inexorable Blob
*1 Ravenous Slime
*1 The Mimeoplasm
*1 Corrosive Ooze
*1 Corpsejack Menace
*1 Blizzard Specter
*1 Rime Tender
*1 Blizzard Strix
*1 Abominable Treefolk
*1 Rimewind Cryomancer
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*1 Tribal Unity
*1 Skred
*1 Swords to Plowshares
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Into the North
*1 Cultivate
*1 Miming Slime
*1 Hurricane
*1 Harsh Mercy
*1 Slime Molding
*1 Glacial Revelation
*1 Dead of Winter
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts]
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Arcum’s Astrolabe
*1 Coldsteel Heart
*1 Obelisk of Urd
*1 Vanquisher’s Banner
*1 Slate of Ancestry
*1 The Ozolith
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments]
*1 Marit Lage’s Slumber
*1 Gelid Shackles
*1 On Thin Ice
*1 Snow Devil
*1 Ooze Garden
*1 Ooze Flux
*1 Crown of Ascension
*1 Etchings of the Chosen
*1 Steely Resolve
*1 Winter’s Night
*1 Gutter Grime
[/Enchantments]
[Lands]
*1 Exotic Orchard
*1 Command Tower
*1 Karn’s Bastion
*1 Novijen, Heart of Progress
*1 Highland Weald
*1 Boreal Shelf
*1 Arctic Flats
*1 Tresserhorn Sinks
*1 Frost Marsh
*1 Scrying Sheets
*3 Snow-Covered Plains
*5 Snow-Covered Island
*4 Snow-Covered Swamp
*4 Snow-Covered Mountain
*6 Snow-Covered Forest
*1 Krosan Verge
*1 Evolving Wilds
*1 Cinder Glade
*1 Prairie Stream
*1 Mouth of Ronom
*1 Frostwalk Bastion
*1 Dark Depths
*1 Thespian’s Stage
[/Lands]"></div>

<hr />
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Slate of Ancestry" href="#" target="_blank">Slate of Ancestry</a> will tell the tales of the sleigh-drivers. Oh, and now with Kenrith reigning o'er the land, tossing your hand into the 'yard has the potential to fuel your commander's fifth activated ability. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Mimeoplasm" href="#" target="_blank">The Mimeoplasm</a> doesn't mind a populated charnel house, either. Huh, sounds festive.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Pine Walker"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Goblin Ski Patrol"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Feast of the Unicorn"></div></div>
You'll have noticed that the +1/+1 counter quaternary theme has suffered in the new list, but Kenrith himself provides a bit of support with his second activated ability. In addition, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Corpsejack Menace" href="#" target="_blank">Corpsejack Menace</a> showed up, fitting in nicely with the forgotten leftovers of the holidays. Without <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rimefeather Owl" href="#" target="_blank">Rimefeather Owl</a>, we won't be feasibly freezing our Oozes, and our lost lords a-leaping means less in the way of holiday cheer. So, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dead of Winter" href="#" target="_blank">Dead of Winter</a> is likely to hit our jams and jellies along with any other creatures sans snowfall. Fortunately, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kenrith, Returned King" href="#" target="_blank">Kenrith, Returned King</a> can convince our lazier (that is, dead) Oozes to get back into the workshop and get them making toys again. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Prime Speaker Vannifar" href="#" target="_blank">Prime Speaker Vannifar</a> is an Elf Ooze Wizard, so this extremely roundabout metaphor has legs. Or, uh, slime... feet.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Slimefoot, the Stowaway"></div></div>
<hr />
<h2>Year's End</h2>
That's it for this Frore and Frosty Feast, Prepared Two Ways, and Forgotten in the Fridge, and that's it for this inaugural edition of Yule Shot. I hope you all enjoy the remainder of this winter season as much as possible - it is the denouement to 2020, after all. Be sure to fish out any +1/+1 counters in your eggnog, those aren't supposed to be in there. Let us know in the comments below if you've gotten up to any wintry brewing lately, and what it's looking like. Food tokens? Politics? Group hug? Every single card with synonyms for cold?
Till next time. I'll be hoping you all stay safe and warm and fed this season. Happy holidays!

Yule Shot - The Season

Archetune-Up - An Undercity Tradition

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Eutropia the Twice-Favored" href="#" target="_blank">Eutropia the Twice-Favored</a> | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/sarawintersart">Sara Winters</a>)</h6>
<h1>Epic Preparations</h1>
Hello, EDHREC fans! I’m Bernardo Melibeu, and this is Epic Experiment, a series where we throw all common sense aside and experiment with some unusual strategies, changing how we normally build our deck. Is it going to work? Who knows?! We’re making science here. When you’re an Izzet mage, blowing things up is half the fun.
In today's article we'll be looking into a commander that was eclipsed by all the other goodies that was released along with Theros Beyond Death. She's a three-mana build-around with a lot of potential in enchantress shells, but the loss of white might make people stay away from her: <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Eutropia the Twice-Favored" href="#" target="_blank">Eutropia the Twice-Favored</a>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Eutropia the Twice-Favored"></div></div>
Constellation — Whenever an enchantment enters the battlefield under your control, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature. That creature gains flying until end of turn.
Observation 1:
I really like Eutropia. She's a cheap engine that's versatile enough to enable multiple builds, and her kit is strong enough to reward us for building smart.
Observation 2:
She has some potential as a Voltron commander; being able to come down on turn two while having a way to grow and natural evasion is something that shouldn't be overlooked. However, given the nature of her growth (+1/+1 counters) and her likely power-up suite (Auras), she has a rather risky nature and does get shut down by some timely removal.
Observation 3:
As a less-obvious choice, Eutropia could be a pretty interesting Modular commander. Even if we aren't focusing on playing enchantments, just by playing Aura mana acceleration and some enablers, we'll be able to grow our creatures.
Observation 4:
Losing white is definitely a downside when playing an enchantment-heavy deck.
&nbsp;
<hr />
<h2></h2>
<h2>The Old Formula</h2>
<a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Eutropia-Sig.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-48231" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Eutropia-Sig-1024x339.png" alt="" width="1024" height="339" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Eutropia-Sig-1024x339.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Eutropia-Sig-300x99.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Eutropia-Sig-768x254.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Eutropia-Sig.png 1401w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
It's not a surprise to see this particular list of High Synergy cards, as it could simply be called Simic list of enchantment staples. However, looking a little bit closer, we can see that there's more things going on than this initial analysis might suggest: there's a high priority on aggressive cards, such as <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ordeal of Nylea" href="#" target="_blank">Ordeal of Nylea</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ancestral Mask" href="#" target="_blank">Ancestral Mask</a>, which shows that we're looking at a deck centered around creatures with enchantments as support.
<hr />
<h2>The Epic Ingredients</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Glistener Elf"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Curious Obsession"></div></div>
Eutropia's ability to not only grow our creatures but also making them harder to block is extremely valuable for many archetypes, but the archetype that benefits the most from this is, arguably, Infect. It's not hard for Infect to trigger Eutropia's Constellation ability by constantly playing Auras. The fact that Eutropia can both grow and give evasion to our creatures takes the pressure off of our Aura suite, which is amazing because it allow us to have a more utility-focused kit.
Whenever someone criticizes Infect or argues that it should be nerfed, I recommend showing our creature suite or to ask for a top five infect list. Infect, as a secondary win condition, is quite powerful; however; the cards that give strength as a backup plan aren't the de facto Infect cards in the format. You see, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blightsteel Colossus" href="#" target="_blank">Blightsteel Colossus</a> is more combo-/ramp-oriented, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Triumph of the Hordes" href="#" target="_blank">Triumph of the Hordes</a> is a mid-range/aggro haymaker. That being said, Infect is much more than the sums of its parts, so let's go through those parts: <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phyrexian Hydra" href="#" target="_blank">Phyrexian Hydra</a> is an expensive beater but has the benefit of needing almost no support to be a straight OHKO; <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Corpse Cur" href="#" target="_blank">Corpse Cur</a> is pretty much an on-theme <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gravedigger" href="#" target="_blank">Gravedigger</a>, which, while not very exciting for most decks, can help us by providing an on-board threat; <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phyrexian Swarmlord" href="#" target="_blank">Phyrexian Swarmlord</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Viral Drake" href="#" target="_blank">Viral Drake</a> are there for grinding our opponents out of the game, as they can provide threats even without the combat step. The rest of our creatures are basically french vanilla, sometimes with minor upsides like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ichorclaw Myr" href="#" target="_blank">Ichorclaw Myr</a>.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ordeal of Thassa"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bear Umbra"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Setessan Training"></div></div>
The Aura suite is quite interesting because Eutropia is great at growing our creatures and giving them evasion as long as we keep casting enchantments. This means that we get to play <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Curiosity" href="#" target="_blank">Curiosity</a> effects, which is great for our aggressive play style. The Ordeal cycle from original Theros is also a pretty great addition; both <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ordeal of Thassa" href="#" target="_blank">Ordeal of Thassa</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ordeal of Nylea" href="#" target="_blank">Ordeal of Nylea</a> provide a solid bonus to our threats (we have to remember that we only need to count to ten), and their effects are quite powerful for the mana cost that we're paying. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Stratus Walk" href="#" target="_blank">Stratus Walk</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Setessan Training" href="#" target="_blank">Setessan Training</a>, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cartouche of Knowledge" href="#" target="_blank">Cartouche of Knowledge</a> are cheap cards that provide some small value; however, their real value is that they replace themselves, which is pretty important. As a general rule, we should focus on cheaper enchantments, and if it's going to cost more than two mana, it needs to pull double duty, like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Boar Umbra" href="#" target="_blank">Boar Umbra</a>.
<hr />
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"></div>
[Commander]
*Eutropia the Twice-Favored
[/Commander]
[Artifact]
*Sol Ring 
*Swiftfoot Boots 
*Sword of Truth and Justice
[/Artifact]
[Creature]
*Birds of Paradise 
*Glistener Elf 
*Blight Mamba 
*Blighted Agent 
*Ichorclaw Myr 
*Necropede 
*Plague Myr 
*Cystbearer 
*Phyrexian Digester 
*Rot Wolf 
*Viridian Corrupter 
*Core Prowler 
*Corpse Cur 
*Viral Drake 
*Phyrexian Hydra 
*Phyrexian Juggernaut 
*Phyrexian Swarmlord 
*Spinebiter 
[/Creature]
[Enchantment]
*Aqueous Form 
*Concordant Crossroads 
*Curiosity 
*Curious Obsession 
*Hardened Scales 
*Rancor 
*Sixth Sense 
*Spider Umbra 
*Utopia Sprawl 
*Wild Growth 
*Canopy Cover 
*Cartouche of Knowledge 
*Fertile Ground 
*Omen of the Sea 
*Ordeal of Nylea 
*Ordeal of Thassa 
*Seal of Primordium 
*Setessan Training 
*Stratus Walk 
*Wolfwillow Haven 
*Boar Umbra 
*Snake Umbra 
*Vow of Flight 
*Vow of Wildness 
*Bear Umbra 
[/Enchantment]
[Instant]
*Blossoming Defense 
*Opt 
*Peek 
*Pongify 
*Rapid Hybridization 
*Stubborn Denial 
*Swan Song 
*Arcane Denial 
*Cyclonic Rift 
*Heroic Intervention 
*Negate 
*Reality Shift 
*Force of Negation 
[/Instant]
[Sorcery]
*Gitaxian Probe 
*Ponder 
*Preordain 
*Serum Visions 
*Sleight of Hand 
*Sorcerous Sight 
*Scour All Possibilities 
[/Sorcery]
[Land]
*Command Tower 
*Breeding Pool 
*Waterlogged Grove 
*Yavimaya Coast 
*Botanical Garden 
*Hinterland Harbor 
*City of Brass 
*Mana Confluence 
*Temple of Mystery 
*Prismatic Vista 
*Fabled Passage 
*Llanowar Reborn 
*Karn's Bastion 
*Inkmoth Nexus 
*Alchemist's Refuge 
*8 Forest 
*10 Island 
[/Land]
[/Deck]

<hr />
Eutropia provides quite a challenge to balance out all of its parts, such as interaction, threats, mana acceleration, and enablers. To make the deck more consistent, I glued it together with a "Xerox" shell, which is a shell that uses the power of cheap cantrips to dig through our deck. This type of shell allow us to have fewer copies of each effect, using the digging potential of our cantrips to find what we need. Xerox is hard to do in EDH because, unlike the non-highlander formats, we lack the sheer number of good cantrips; however, this doesn't stop us from using them as an early-game tool to get us started.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Force of Negation"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Heroic Intervention"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blossoming Defense"></div></div>
Another key aspect of Infect is the reliance on interaction due to the small number of threats that we're bringing. Counterspells and combat tricks are a natural fit in a Xerox shell, and they play well into the "do they have it?" mind game; knowing when to leave mana open is a necessary skill, as the punishment can be game-ending.
<hr />
<div class="edhrecp__cards">
<h2>Methodology</h2>
</div>
Our opening hands are a bit trickier than the usual lists, as we're carrying a bunch of one-mana cantrips and just 33 lands. Overall, we need a hand with at least one cheap threat and the combination of either a few cantrips, counterspells, or Auras.
The early game is the most crucial for us. I'm not gonna lie: we fall off pretty hard as an aggressive deck. Our gameplan varies a lot depending on our keep: do we have two cheap threats in our hand? Then we can afford to tap out. Did we keep a one-lander? We could either dig for more with our cantrips, or we could try to spend the initial turns accelerating our mana. Either way, we need to have a threat online by turn two, or three if we have a good hand, to start putting pressure on our opponents. Eutropia is great both early to trigger off of a bunch of Auras from our hand or as a late-game engine to push those last bits of damage through. I'd recommend waiting to play her until we have another creature online and we have enough mana to cast an Aura.
By the mid game we have to be either fast or disruptive because this is the time where board wipes start coming down. The mentality of going fast is to use player elimination as a sort of a crowd control by eliminating the person who's more likely to disrupt us (I'm looking at you, Oloro player; hopefully they won't have enough creatures to block. The earlier we eliminate a player, the easier it is for us to snowball. If we go the other route, we should play a more tempo-oriented game, being careful to not tap out and holding interaction (or bluffing them).
In the late game, we'll probably be on life-support as we have a bunch of possible "dead draws" (they aren't really dead cards, just drawn at the wrong time). The one thing we'll hopefully have going for us is the combination of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Concordant Crossroads" href="#" target="_blank">Concordant Crossroads</a> plus surprise creatures or using <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Karn&#039;s Bastion" href="#" target="_blank">Karn&#039;s Bastion</a> (or even <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sword of Truth and Justice" href="#" target="_blank">Sword of Truth and Justice</a> on our commander) to do some Proliferation. Either way, the priority is holding cards as long as possible to try to assemble a game-winning string of cards.
<hr />
<h2>Epic Results</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hadana&#039;s Climb"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Berserk"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Season of Growth"></div></div>
Infect plus Eutropia is such a fun combination that has so many possible themes that we could've build around! Here are some suggestions:
If you want to be better at grinding in the late game I would suggest cards like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hadana&#039;s Climb" href="#" target="_blank">Hadana&#039;s Climb</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sword of Light and Shadow" href="#" target="_blank">Sword of Light and Shadow</a>, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Putrefax" href="#" target="_blank">Putrefax</a>. Going harder on the Proliferate theme could also help, like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thrummingbird" href="#" target="_blank">Thrummingbird</a> that can act as a pseudo-Infect creature.
Cards like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Season of Growth" href="#" target="_blank">Season of Growth</a> could help us in the mid game by giving us plenty of card advantage. Early game cards might be a bit of a coin flip, but given the nature of the deck we wouldn't be sacrificing all that much to begin with, say, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Spell Pierce" href="#" target="_blank">Spell Pierce</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Berserk" href="#" target="_blank">Berserk</a> as two great examples of good early-game cards.
Alternatively, if you prefer a more straightforward approach to the archetype, we could ditch the Xerox shell and build it more like a traditional deck. I'd strongly recommend to not do this, however, since this type of deck is starved for space, while the cantrip suite allows us to have fewer of each card type.
That’s it for this Epic Experiment! What do you think about this list? Do you have any questions about the deck? Which cards did you like? Which didn’t you? Was the Epic Experiment a success? Please let me know in the comments below!

Epic Experiment - Eutropia Infect

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Eutropia the Twice-Favored" href="#" target="_blank">Eutropia the Twice-Favored</a> | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/sarawintersart">Sara Winters</a>)</h6>
<h1>So Nice, She's Favored Twice!</h1>
Hello, again, Commander faithful! I must get this out of the way early: it is GOOD to be back to writing about some of the coolest commanders in the format, those unique silver-rarity-stamped cards that we call Uncommonders!
That’s right, the series inspired by the twenty uncommon legendary creatures printed all the way back in Dominaria is back, with a vengeance, thanks to Replacement Commanders coming to an end for the Commander 2019 product. I should mention, however, that we may only get a few Uncommonders articles out as there is another Commander product coming out in parallel with Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths, but it seems that Wizards of the Coast has enjoyed releasing new uncommon commander-capable cards in sets more regularly, so the series will go on! Having said that, Wizards gave us plenty to work with since we put Uncommonders on hiatus, with fourteen new Uncommonders in the past couple of sets!
Throne of Eldraine gave us the five mono-colored Knights and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grumgully, the Generous" href="#" target="_blank">Grumgully, the Generous</a>, while Theros Beyond Death featured the five mono-colored Demigods with three other Uncommonders tossed in. With so many new possibilities, I had no idea which one to start with, so I asked you, the readers, via my Twitter account. I got almost thirty responses in a single day, and while it was a close running, the one card that was requested the most is our star (no pun intended) today…
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Eutropia the Twice-Favored</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Eutropia the Twice-Favored"></div></div>
I love Eutropia! I’ve come to terms with the fact that Enchantress decks fall within my wheelhouse, despite normally being my wife’s thing. Eutropia fits the bill in every way, combining a plethora of benefits into a single package. Obviously, she cares about enchantments due to her Constellation trigger, which is already well-supported by green. She hands out +1/+1 counters, which falls within the Simic identity, as precedented with commanders like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca" href="#" target="_blank">Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ezuri, Claw of Progress" href="#" target="_blank">Ezuri, Claw of Progress</a>, the duo of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pir, Imaginative Rascal" href="#" target="_blank">Pir, Imaginative Rascal</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Toothy, Imaginary Friend" href="#" target="_blank">Toothy, Imaginary Friend</a>, and many others. Finally, she even grants evasion in the form of flying, something that has worked well in blue decks in the past to get that crucial game-ending damage onto our opponents!
Since we’re mentioning her color identity, Eutropia does all these different things while getting the benefit from green's ramp potential and semi-decent suite of removal and the card advantage and control characteristics of blue.
Thinking about everything, I struggled to nail down what I wanted to do with an Eutropia deck outside of “have Enchantresses, cast enchantments, hit people hard in the air” until I realized that two of the deadliest enchantments could fit into this deck. Of course, I’m referencing <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Eldrazi Conscription" href="#" target="_blank">Eldrazi Conscription</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Corrupted Conscience" href="#" target="_blank">Corrupted Conscience</a>! With bringing together two of the most hated mechanics, Annihilator and Infect, call me Dr. Frankenstein because we are going to…
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Build a Better Monster</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Eldrazi Conscription"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Destiny Spinner"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Corrupted Conscience"></div></div>
I’m sure that some people are groaning and/or rolling their eyes at seeing both Infect and Annihilator in the same deck, but, in my defense, losing out on white in the color identity means that there are fewer tutors for enchantments. This makes the deck feel “fairer”, though I do acknowledge that the amount of draw power in a deck like this will make it feel like we can basically tutor anything up by drawing into it. For the most part, I don’t think we need to cover our methods of obtaining card advantage since you’ll see all the normal Enchantress effects in the list below. I do want to highlight some of the cards that I feel are more important supportive cards for this deck since both of our key enchantments are going to be high-value targets. This is one of the major reasons I have <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Destiny Spinner" href="#" target="_blank">Destiny Spinner</a> featured, above, as it protects us against control players who may be looking to counter our more important enchantments.
Unfortunately, without white, we miss out on some of the more prominent cards that help protect our enchantments, specifically, so the next best thing is to have ways to get them back when they are removed. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Eternal Witness" href="#" target="_blank">Eternal Witness</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Regrowth" href="#" target="_blank">Regrowth</a> are good single-target recursion effects, while <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Creeping Renaissance" href="#" target="_blank">Creeping Renaissance</a> will bring back all of our favorite permanent type.
When it comes to wrath effects, decks that like Auras struggle after losing them when the creatures die. Luckily, blue has effects that bounce both creatures and the permanents attached to them! <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Flood of Tears" href="#" target="_blank">Flood of Tears</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Displacement Wave" href="#" target="_blank">Displacement Wave</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Devastation Tide" href="#" target="_blank">Devastation Tide</a> are all the kinds of wraths we’re looking for, letting us replay our Auras over and over again!
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Monsters From the Stars</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Arasta of the Endless Web"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nylea’s Colossus"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Archetype of Imagination"></div></div>
When it comes to Enchantress decks, something I’ve become fond of doing during deck construction since the original Theros block is trying to include as many sensible enchantment creatures as I can. We get the benefits of our creatures now triggering our Enchantress effects: any protection that we play that protects enchantments will also protect our creatures, and nowadays there are some very powerful creatures printed with the starry border. The inclusion of two of the cards shown above should be obvious, but I do want to touch on the inclusion of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Arasta of the Endless Web" href="#" target="_blank">Arasta of the Endless Web</a>. For one, I love Arasta and think she's a fantastic new card. She brings tons of incidental value to the board, even if she only spits out a couple of Spider tokens.
There are many other great cards to talk about, though. The new <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thassa, Deep-Dwelling" href="#" target="_blank">Thassa, Deep-Dwelling</a> can target other enchantment creatures to trigger our Constellation effects, while <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Riptide Chimera" href="#" target="_blank">Riptide Chimera</a> can continually bounce enchantments back to our hand to be replayed and get those same triggers back on the stack. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Courser of Kruphix" href="#" target="_blank">Courser of Kruphix</a> creates incremental ramp and life gain, while <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Renata, Called to the Hunt" href="#" target="_blank">Renata, Called to the Hunt</a> helps Eutropia’s counter game snowball even faster. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nylea’s Forerunner" href="#" target="_blank">Nylea’s Forerunner</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nylea, God of the Hunt" href="#" target="_blank">Nylea, God of the Hunt</a> both grant our field trample, which will be important when we want to get damage through to land those 10 poison counters.
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Remember: Broaden Your Vision and Don’t Tunnel!</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Krosan Grip"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Great Henge"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cultivate"></div></div>
I’m going to preface this part of the article with a slight disclaimer/warning: this is going to seem a little weird.
I've noticed something while looking at the EDHREC page for Eutropia, and it made me think of something that I commonly see people doing when building a deck like this. I’ve even been guilty of it myself, and it’s called tunnel vision: looking at the numbers for the cards displayed above, and even for things like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sol Ring" href="#" target="_blank">Sol Ring</a>, and comparing them to cards like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Seal of Primordium" href="#" target="_blank">Seal of Primordium</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wild Growth" href="#" target="_blank">Wild Growth</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bred for the Hunt" href="#" target="_blank">Bred for the Hunt</a>, it seems strange to see what cards are more popularly included over some well-known, tried-and-true staples. Don’t get me wrong, unique card choices are not automatically worse than staples, and I’ll never hold it against anyone for not jamming every staple card into their deck. But I have personally focused so hard on building around “the thing” that I have forgotten that not everything has to tie directly into “the thing” with my card selections.
For instance, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reality Shift" href="#" target="_blank">Reality Shift</a> is only in 12% of Eutropia decks at the time of writing this article. It’s a great removal spell in decks that aren’t running the best color for removal (white), but people seem to be running so many variations of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Imprisoned in the Moon" href="#" target="_blank">Imprisoned in the Moon</a>, which appears in 35% of decks. Nearly three times as many! Again, finding unique ways to get Constellation triggers is just fine, but hopefully we aren’t doing it at the cost of efficiency in our deck. (Of course, if your deck is a thematic/flavorful build, ignore this section completely and enjoy your referencing-making throughout the game!)
Having said all of that, I do mix in my fair share of support cards that I feel do the best job, and the list pops out looking something like this:
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"></div> 
[Commander] 
*1 Eutropia the Twice-Favored 
[/Commander] 
[Creature] 
*1 Arasta of the Endless Web 
*1 Archetype of Imagination 
*1 Argothian Enchantress 
*1 Blighted Agent 
*1 Courser of Kruphix 
*1 Destiny Spinner 
*1 Eidolon of Blossoms 
*1 Eternal Witness 
*1 Evolution Sage 
*1 Fathom Mage 
*1 Fertilid 
*1 Master Biomancer 
*1 Nylea, God of the Hunt 
*1 Nylea's Colossus 
*1 Nylea's Forerunner 
*1 Renata, Called to the Hunt 
*1 Riptide Chimera 
*1 Setessan Champion 
*1 Thassa, Deep-Dwelling 
*1 Verduran Enchantress 
*1 Whitewater Naiads 
[/Creature] 
[enchantment] 
*1 Ancestral Mask 
*1 Aqueous Form 
*1 Bred for the Hunt 
*1 Corrupted Conscience 
*1 Eldrazi Conscription 
*1 Enchantress's Presence 
*1 Estrid's Invocation 
*1 Kenrith's Transformation 
*1 Omen of the Hunt 
*1 Rancor 
*1 Rhystic Study 
*1 Shimmering Wings 
*1 Snake Umbra 
*1 Wild Growth 
[/enchantment] 
[Artifact] 
*1 Bident of Thassa 
*1 Simic Signet 
*1 Sol Ring 
*1 Swiftfoot Boots 
*1 The Great Henge 
[/Artifact] 
[Instant] 
*1 Arcane Denial 
*1 Beast Within 
*1 Counterspell 
*1 Cyclonic Rift 
*1 Growth Spiral 
*1 Heroic Intervention 
*1 Inspiring Call 
*1 Krosan Grip 
*1 Pongify 
*1 Rapid Hybridization 
*1 Reality Shift 
*1 Swan Song 
[/Instant] 
[Sorcery] 
*1 Creeping Renaissance 
*1 Cultivate 
*1 Devastation Tide 
*1 Displacement Wave 
*1 Farseek 
*1 Flood of Tears 
*1 Kodama's Reach 
*1 Rampant Growth 
*1 Regrowth 
[/Sorcery] 
[Land] 
*1 Alchemist's Refuge 
*1 Breeding Pool 
*1 Command Tower 
*1 Evolving Wilds 
*11 Forest 
*10 Island 
*1 Karn's Bastion 
*1 Lonely Sandbar 
*1 Misty Rainforest 
*1 Novijen, Heart of Progress 
*1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx 
*1 Opal Palace 
*1 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood 
*1 Reliquary Tower 
*1 Rogue's Passage 
*1 Simic Growth Chamber 
*1 Strip Mine 
*1 Terramorphic Expanse 
*1 Tranquil Thicket 
[/Land] 
[/Deck] 

Quick disclaimer: I know that someone taking a quick glance at the numbers for each section is going to make them say, “Wait, why are there only 15 enchantments in this enchantment-based deck?!” but a closer look will show that 12 of the creatures are also enchantments! This means that over a quarter of the deck is enchantments, which I still think is a touch low for this kind of deck, but definitely better than only 15!
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Welcome Back, Uncommonders!</h2>
Let me tell all of you fantastic readers: this one was hard to write. Not because of the Uncommonder, or even because I had been writing Replacement Commanders for so long. Truth be told, things got a little crazy in “The Real World”™, the week I was writing this. Everything going on with the world, kids getting sick, me getting sick, work stuff… But we pulled through! And we made it! However, it did make me think about some things, so I wanted to take this time to just truly say thank you to everyone who continues to read these articles, reply in the comments and motivate myself and the other writers here on EDHREC to keep doing what we’re doing. I hope everyone out there is staying clean and safe and that we see the light at the end of this tunnel soon. I’m looking forward to a few more Uncommonder articles before jumping right back into 2020’s early Commander product, but until then…
Thanks for reading!

Uncommonders - Double the Favoring, Double the Fun!

Replacement Commanders - Reanimator Boros from the Weatherlight's Hero

Replacement Commanders - Mr. Steal Yo Shape!

Replacement Commanders - Time to Troll!

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grumgully, the Generous" href="#" target="_blank">Grumgully, the Generous</a>| Art by <a href="https://www.mceran-art.com/">Milivoj Ćeran</a>)</h6>
<h1>Epic Preparations</h1>
Hello, EDHREC fans! I’m Bernardo Melibeu, and this is Epic Experiment, a series where we throw all common sense aside and experiment with some unusual strategies, changing how we normally build our deck. Is it going to work? Who knows?! We’re making science here. When you’re an Izzet mage, blowing things up is half the fun.
This week we'll be exploring one of the most interesting commanders released in Throne of Eldraine. He's a very generous Goblin whose versatility makes him incredibly fun to build around: <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grumgully, the Generous" href="#" target="_blank">Grumgully, the Generous</a>.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Grumgully, the Generous"></div></div>
Each other non-Human creature you control enters the battlefield with an additional +1/+1 counter on it. 
Observation 1:
While I appreciate the versatility of the card, I feel that there's something wrong with the non-Human cards of Throne of Eldraine. They feel a lot like Changelings, whose support is helpful, but may erode a little bit of a tribe's unique identity.
Observation 2:
Persist creatures come back into play with a -1/-1 counter, which Grumgully's +1/+1 counter would eliminate. With a free sacrifice outlet, that means we have a important combo piece in the command zone, and with red in the color identity, we even have great ways to capitalize on the infinite ETB triggers that result from this combo.
Observation 3:
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grumgully, the Generous" href="#" target="_blank">Grumgully, the Generous</a> puts counters on both nontoken and token creatures entering the battlefield. This opens up quite a few ways to build him, and makes <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Animation Module" href="#" target="_blank">Animation Module</a>, in particular, quite strong.
Observation 4:
As a Goblin commander, Grumgully seems great. A <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Metallic Mimic" href="#" target="_blank">Metallic Mimic</a> in the command zone is awesome, and access to green creature-based tutors and card draw can really boost the consistency of the tribe.
<hr />
<h2>The Old Formula</h2>
<a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Grumgully-Sig.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-41175" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Grumgully-Sig.png" alt="" width="546" height="284" /></a>
As we can see, the average Grumgully list tries to utilize the interaction between Grumgully and creatures with Persist to make infinite ETB effects with a sacrifice outlet. There's also a low-key Goblin tribal strategy hidden within those cards, which we can see with cards like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goblin Matron" href="#" target="_blank">Goblin Matron</a>.
<hr />
<h2>The Epic Ingredients</h2>
<div><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Arcbound Ravager"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hardened Scales"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Death&#039;s Presence"></div></div></div>
<a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/epic-experiment-olivia-modular/">Back in April</a>, I wrote about an <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Olivia, Mobilized For War" href="#" target="_blank">Olivia, Mobilized For War</a> build that sought to use her as a way to put counters on Modular creatures. When Modern Horizons was released, I saw some great additions to that list. Then Throne of Eldraine was spoiled, and with it came this very strange Goblin, with crazy art and basically the same ability I was using Olivia for. The best part is that Grumgully is a Gruul commander, meaning that we actually get +1/+1 counter support from green, which is something we didn't have when we were in Rakdos!
Grumgully is great as a support for this kind of Affinity aggro, because the robots used in the deck are never Humans that Grumgully would ignore. This, combined with the counter support from green, means that we go tall pretty quickly. Modular creatures are a great way to keep from getting blown out by single-target removal, since the counters can just go to another creature.
Some of the new cards available to us really shift the list into overdrive. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sword of Truth and Justice" href="#" target="_blank">Sword of Truth and Justice</a> is great protection against target-based exile removal and has the powerful upside to Proliferate our counters, while <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pir, Imaginative Rascal" href="#" target="_blank">Pir, Imaginative Rascal</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hardened Scales" href="#" target="_blank">Hardened Scales</a> are great ways to increase the number of counters that we get, turning even our smaller creatures into giants.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Great Henge"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Scrap Mastery"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Return of the Wildspeaker"></div></div>
Not only do we get those amazing enablers, we also get plenty of great support! <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Inspiring Call" href="#" target="_blank">Inspiring Call</a> is flexible card draw that can be used as the ultimate "Gotcha!" against a control player's <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wrath of God" href="#" target="_blank">Wrath of God</a>. Getting to play <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Great Henge" href="#" target="_blank">The Great Henge</a> is always a treat, and accruing even more counters while drawing cards is an amazing feeling. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Death&#039;s Presence" href="#" target="_blank">Death&#039;s Presence</a> effectively gives all of our creatures Modular, and even stacks with the actual Modular creatures.
Like its Rakdos counterpart, we are also packing a reanimator package to get full advantage of our death triggers. The Goblin trio of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goblin Engineer" href="#" target="_blank">Goblin Engineer</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goblin Welder" href="#" target="_blank">Goblin Welder</a>, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Daretti, Scrap Savant" href="#" target="_blank">Daretti, Scrap Savant</a> are great source of constant in-and-out-of-the-battlefield triggers. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scrap Mastery" href="#" target="_blank">Scrap Mastery</a> is also always a great way to come back into the game. Just be careful about possible enemy artifacts coming back, too.
<hr />
<h2>The Mixture</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Grumgully Affinity" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Artifact]
*Everflowing Chalice
*Animation Module
*Skullclamp
*Sol Ring
*Wayfarer&#039;s Bauble
*Arcane Signet
*Fellwar Stone
*Gruul Signet
*Mind Stone
*Talisman of Impulse
*Throne of Geth
*Sword of Truth and Justice
*Mystic Forge
*Cauldron of Souls
*the Great Henge
[/Artifact]
[Creature]
*Hangarback Walker
*Stonecoil Serpent
*Walking Ballista
*Arcbound Worker
*Goblin Welder
*Sparring Construct
*Arcbound Ravager
*Arcbound Slith
*Arcbound Stinger
*Goblin Engineer
*Loyal Apprentice
*Myr Retriever
*Steel Overseer
*Chief of the Foundry
*Evolution Sage
*Foundry Inspector
*Iron Bully
*Pir, Imaginative Rascal
*Scrap Trawler
*Shimmer Myr
*Thopter Engineer
*Tuskguard Captain
*Arcbound Crusher
*Arcbound Hybrid
*Arcbound Reclaimer
*Traxos, Scourge of Kroog
*Arcbound Bruiser
*Arcbound Fiend
*Triskelion
*Wurmcoil Engine
*Myr Battlesphere
[/Creature]
[Sorcery]
*Trash For Treasure
*Chain Reaction
*Triumph of the Hordes
*Scrap Mastery
*Rishkar&#039;s Expertise
*Blasphemous Act
[/Sorcery]
[Instant]
*Heroic Intervention
*Return to Nature
*Chaos Warp
*Inspiring Call
*Return of the Wildspeaker
[/Instant]
[Planeswalker]
*Jiang Yanggu, Wildcrafter
*Daretti, Scrap Savant
*Ugin, the Ineffable
[/Planeswalker]
[Enchantment]
*Hardened Scales
*Rhythm of the Wild
*Death&#039;s Presence
[/Enchantment]
[Land]
*Command Tower
*Stomping Ground
*Spire Garden
*City of Brass
*Mana Confluence
*Karplusan Forest
*Rootbound Crag
*Temple of Abandon
*Karn&#039;s Bastion
*Inventors&#039; Fair
*Buried Ruin
*Ghost Quarter
*Tectonic Edge
*12 Forest
*11 Mountain
[/Land]"></div>
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The list packs a lot of punch, especially with all the great support that gives our creatures combative keywords. For haste, we have <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thopter Engineer" href="#" target="_blank">Thopter Engineer</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rhythm of the Wild" href="#" target="_blank">Rhythm of the Wild</a>. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tuskguard Captain" href="#" target="_blank">Tuskguard Captain</a> gives trample to all creatures with +1/+1 counters (which is basically all of them). <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cauldron of Souls" href="#" target="_blank">Cauldron of Souls</a> also helps us protect ourselves against board destruction.
For standalone threats, we have <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Traxos, Scourge of Kroog" href="#" target="_blank">Traxos, Scourge of Kroog</a>, which is a nice beater regardless of counters, since we can constantly untap it. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Stonecoil Serpent" href="#" target="_blank">Stonecoil Serpent</a> is also a great beater that can grow regardless of how much we support it, but we also have plenty of support to give it.
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<h2>Methodology</h2>
For our opening hand, we're looking for easy access to our commander. Even though they won't necessarily allow us to play our commander before turn three, a two-mana rock like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gruul Signet" href="#" target="_blank">Gruul Signet</a> is a great way to accelerate our turns without sacrificing our curve. Also, as an aggressive deck, we need a few creatures to go with our hand. If we happen to find an <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Animation Module" href="#" target="_blank">Animation Module</a>, this is an army-in-a-can, and can pretty much carry us all the way if we manage to keep Grumgully alive.
The early game is pretty much divided into two parts: before Grumgully, and after Grumgully. The first part is all setup, which means that we'll be building towards playing our commander, so we're either developing our mana or playing support cards, like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hardened Scales" href="#" target="_blank">Hardened Scales</a>. Transitioning to the mid-game involves capitalizing on all the preparations we've made. In other words, curving out on mana is the most important part of our plan.
In the mid-game we should have a strong board presence, with our commander making any creatures we play just a little bigger. This is where we need to find the "bigger guns" and support cards like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Great Henge" href="#" target="_blank">The Great Henge</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Daretti, Scrap Savant" href="#" target="_blank">Daretti, Scrap Savant</a>, or even <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cauldron of Souls" href="#" target="_blank">Cauldron of Souls</a>. These cards help us survive the point of the game where people start casting Wraths, since sheer brute force won't get us through them alone.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Triumph of the Hordes"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tuskguard Captain"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Traxos, Scourge of Kroog"></div></div>
In the late game we have all sorts of epic plays, from great draw spells (<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rishkar&#039;s Expertise" href="#" target="_blank">Rishkar&#039;s Expertise</a>), to great finishers (<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Triumph of the Hordes" href="#" target="_blank">Triumph of the Hordes</a>), or even comeback tools like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scrap Mastery" href="#" target="_blank">Scrap Mastery</a>. We're vulnerable to a removal-heavy opposition since we tend to need a wide board, but since we can go pretty tall pretty fast, it eases the burden of having to close out quickly.
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<h2>Epic Results</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Domri, Anarch of Bolas"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Doubling Season"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Darksteel Forge"></div></div>
For those seeking potential upgrades, planeswalkers are great additions to the list. There are many Gruul planeswalkers that can provide the needed support for our creatures and synergize pretty well with our counters and our Proliferate effects. In that vein, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doubling Season" href="#" target="_blank">Doubling Season</a> is a great addition to the list if we're adding more planeswalkers.
For faster acceleration in more aggressive metas, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Curse of Opulence" href="#" target="_blank">Curse of Opulence</a> can help us get ahead of the opposition. On the other hand, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Darksteel Forge" href="#" target="_blank">Darksteel Forge</a> (and probably some more ways to cheat it into play) can help fight through more control-oriented metas. The list goes pretty deep with artifact creatures, so cutting some of the them to add more streamlined card draw might help balance the deck out.
That’s it for this Epic Experiment! What do you think about this list? Is this a well-oiled machine? Do you have any questions about the deck? Which cards did you like? Which didn’t you? Was the Epic Experiment a success? Please let me know in the comments below!

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