Recross the Paths - Wort, the Raidmother

<h6 style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kodama of the East Tree" href="#" target="_blank">Kodama of the East Tree</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.daarken.com/">Daarken</a>)</span></h6>
<p><span style="font-size: 24pt;">All the Single Ladies</span></p>
<p>Hello, and welcome to <em>Power Sink</em>, the article series where we take the commanders with abilities and strategies that tend to get singled out and we show everyone they aren't so one-dimensional. This time we're discussing a spicy number from <em>Commander Legends</em>: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kodama of the East Tree" href="#" target="_blank">Kodama of the East Tree</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kodama of the East Tree"></div></div>
<p>Kodama boasts the powerful ability to put permanents into play from your hand whenever another permanent of equal or greater value enters your battlefield. Cheating mana costs is a powerful ability, but the way Kodama does it is on a whole other level. Because it cares about permanents entering the battlefield, you get the effect if you blink or reanimate something in addition to casting. Lands and tokens will also set off Kodama's ability, and while those tend to have zero mana value, you can still put lands into play, making Kodama a powerful ramp engine. Since the card you're cheating in isn't cast, it makes half the permanents you play uncounterable and they can respond to the ability, they won't even know what you're putting down until it's too late. Really, the only thing holding this ability back is your capacity to get mana and cards in hand, but green is well-suited to solve those problems.</p>
<p>Kodama is already a strong card on its own, but you can add whatever color you like to supplement that incredibly powerful ability thanks to it having <em>Partner</em>. It shows up as the co-chair of 4,601 decks on EDHREC. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sakashima of a Thousand Faces" href="#" target="_blank">Sakashima of a Thousand Faces</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is the most popular pairing, at 856 decks. Simic is already a famously powerful color identity, and this <em>Partner</em> combination creates a powerful synergy. Once you have a clone of Kodama, the permanent entering from one Kodama will trigger the other, creating a feedback loop and likely empty your hand. This can generate infinite mana with a bounce land, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Simic Growth Chamber" href="#" target="_blank">Simic Growth Chamber</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or draw through your deck with something that draws cards when it enters the battlefield, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Keruga, the Macrosage" href="#" target="_blank">Keruga, the Macrosage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sakashima of a Thousand Faces"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tymna the Weaver"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith" href="#" target="_blank">Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is another common <em>Partner</em> for Kodama, at 748 decks. This pairing makes an explosive <em>Landfall</em> deck. The Rock token that Toggo makes will trigger Kodama, allowing you to put out another land, making another Rock. This lets you put out every land in your hand, or if you have <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gruul Turf" href="#" target="_blank">Gruul Turf</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> you can get infinite <em>Landfall</em> triggers for cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tunneling Geopede" href="#" target="_blank">Tunneling Geopede</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tireless Provisioner" href="#" target="_blank">Tireless Provisioner</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Kodama's third most popular <em>Partner</em> is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tymna the Weaver" href="#" target="_blank">Tymna the Weaver</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which tends to be a hate bears deck where Kodama's ability to cheat in permanents is excellent for breaking parity with cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rule of Law" href="#" target="_blank">Rule of Law</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Archon of Emeria" href="#" target="_blank">Archon of Emeria</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>With so many <em>Partner</em> options, what are we doing to tone down this singularly strong legend? We're going to ask the same question Ann Wilson of the band <em>Heart </em>has been asking since 1987 and that I ask when I feel compelled to belt out the greatest hits of the 1980s in the shower: How do I get you alone?</p>
<hr />
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt;">How Do I Get You Alone?</span></p>
<p>Though in this case it's more like how do I get you a clone? We're going to eschew giving Kodama a <em>Partner</em> while trying to recreate the effects we can get from having Sakashima with a bunch of clones. Of course, this is less powerful and consistent than having the effect in the command zone and adding a second color, but that's what we do here on <em>Power Sink</em>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="How Do I Get You a Clone" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Kodama of the East Tree
[/Commander]
[Artifacts]
*1 Blade of Selves
*1 Dollhouse of Horrors
*1 Echo Chamber
*1 Esika&#039;s Chariot
*1 God-Pharaoh&#039;s Gift
*1 Helm of the Host
*1 Lithoform Engine
*1 Mimic Vat
*1 Minion Reflector
*1 Mirage Mirror
*1 Mirror Box
*1 Mirror Gallery
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Soul Foundry
[/Artifacts]
[Sorceries]
*1 Bala Ged Recovery
*1 Collective Unconscious
*1 Cultivate
*1 Full Flowering
*1 Harmonize
*1 Kodama&#039;s Reach
*1 Nissa&#039;s Pilgrimage
*1 Rishkar&#039;s Expertise
*1 Skyshroud Claim
*1 Three Visits
[/Sorceries]
[Lands]
*1 Bonders&#039; Enclave
*1 Buried Ruin
*1 Command Beacon
*1 Cryptic Caves
*1 Crystal Vein
*1 Field of Ruin
*25 Forest
*1 Guildless Commons
*1 High Market
*1 Mirrorpool
*1 Myriad Landscape
*1 Scavenger Grounds
*1 Tectonic Edge
[/Lands]
[Creatures]
*1 Acidic Slime
*1 Aeve, Progenitor Ooze
*1 Beast Whisperer
*1 Biogenic Ooze
*1 Biowaste Blob
*1 Bramble Sovereign
*1 Diligent Farmhand
*1 Garruk&#039;s Packleader
*1 Greenwarden of Murasa
*1 Llanowar Visionary
*1 Mitotic Slime
*1 Pathbreaker Ibex
*1 Psychosis Crawler
*1 Reclamation Sage
*1 Regal Behemoth
*1 Regal Force
*1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
*1 Selesnya Eulogist
*1 Splitting Slime
*1 Temur Sabertooth
*1 Timeless Witness
*1 Wild Beastmaster
*1 Wood Elves
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*1 Beast Within
*1 Deglamer
*1 Heroic Intervention
*1 Ram Through
*1 Return of the Wildspeaker
*1 Second Harvest
*1 Unravel the Aether
[/Instants]
[Enchantments]
*1 Dual Nature
*1 Elemental Bond
*1 Evolutionary Leap
*1 Garruk&#039;s Uprising
*1 Greater Good
*1 Vernal Bloom
*1 Wild Growth
*1 Wolfwillow Haven
[/Enchantments]"></span></div>

<hr />
<p>While we won't have Sakashima in the command zone, we still have a few ways to ignore the legend rule. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirror Gallery" href="#" target="_blank">Mirror Gallery</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has no extra frills, but it'll get the job done. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirror Box" href="#" target="_blank">Mirror Box</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has the added benefit of providing an anthem for some of our creatures. Finally, we can attach <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Helm of the Host" href="#" target="_blank">Helm of the Host</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to Kodama to start making nonlegendary copies of it, or we can make copies of any other creature we want to attach it to.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mirror Gallery"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mirror Box"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Helm of the Host"></div></div>
<p>Speaking of making copies, it turns out there are a fair number of ways in green and artifacts to copy creatures, though they aren't as flexible or efficient as the effects in blue. Keep in mind our token copies will have a mana value and will let us drop a similarly costed permanent with our commander's ability. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dual Nature" href="#" target="_blank">Dual Nature</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> creates a token copy of any creature that enters the battlefield, though that will also work for our opponents. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Minion Reflector" href="#" target="_blank">Minion Reflector</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can make us temporary hasty copies of a creature entering the battlefield, which can be good for attacks or getting more out of an ETB effect, while <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bramble Sovereign" href="#" target="_blank">Bramble Sovereign</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> makes us a permanent token. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blade of Selves" href="#" target="_blank">Blade of Selves</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirrorpool" href="#" target="_blank">Mirrorpool</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> allow us to make copies of a creature already on the battlefield, while we can copy something on the stack with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lithoform Engine" href="#" target="_blank">Lithoform Engine</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or from our hand with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Soul Foundry" href="#" target="_blank">Soul Foundry</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dual Nature"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mirrorpool"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lithoform Engine"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mimic Vat" href="#" target="_blank">Mimic Vat</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Echo Chamber" href="#" target="_blank">Echo Chamber</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> give us some ability to copy our opponents' creatures, though we won't have an easy time getting exactly what we want from them. We can make also make token copies of creatures in our graveyard by exiling them with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dollhouse of Horrors" href="#" target="_blank">Dollhouse of Horrors</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="God-Pharaoh&#039;s Gift" href="#" target="_blank">God-Pharaoh&#039;s Gift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This serves as a way to circumvent commander tax if Kodama happens to die and is the simplest way for us to clone Kodama if we've managed to negate the legend rule. Once we've managed to make a few creature token copies, we can use <em>Populate</em> effects, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Selesnya Eulogist" href="#" target="_blank">Selesnya Eulogist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Second Harvest" href="#" target="_blank">Second Harvest</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Esika&#039;s Chariot" href="#" target="_blank">Esika&#039;s Chariot</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, to add to our clone army.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Echo Chamber"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="God-Pharaoh&#039;s Gift"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Second Harvest"></div></div>
<hr />
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt;">One Way or Another</span></p>
<p>Making multiple Kodama's in mono-green is quite an achievement, but it's to likely to win the game. To that end we have some other cards to help us take down the pod. It turns out Oozes are pretty good at making copies of themselves, and quite a few are self-contained tribal engines, which not only fits our theme, but it's extremely helpful when we're dedicating so many slots to clone effects. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Biowaste Blob" href="#" target="_blank">Biowaste Blob</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a powerful self-cloning engine in this deck. Not only does it generate a lot of power over time, but we're looking at getting multiple free four-drops off of our commander's ability every turn. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Splitting Slime" href="#" target="_blank">Splitting Slime</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> works along similar lines, though it's mana-intensive. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mitotic Slime" href="#" target="_blank">Mitotic Slime</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> along with the sacrifice outlets in the deck can flood the board with Ooze tokens, and if we do that, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Biogenic Ooze" href="#" target="_blank">Biogenic Ooze</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will make them giant. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Acidic Slime" href="#" target="_blank">Acidic Slime</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is past its prime as a format staple, but works wonderfully with our cloning apparatus.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Biowaste Blob"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mitotic Slime"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Biogenic Ooze"></div></div>
<p>Big stompy creatures are is what green does best and there's no reason for us not to make use of that somewhat. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pathbreaker Ibex" href="#" target="_blank">Pathbreaker Ibex</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a prolific card in the format, showing up in 10,926 decks on EDHREC. Normally I like to use something more obscure, but this can get out of hand if we can make multiple copies. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wild Beastmaster" href="#" target="_blank">Wild Beastmaster</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is similar although we may have to get trample from other sources like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Garruk&#039;s Uprising" href="#" target="_blank">Garruk&#039;s Uprising</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. If combat isn't an option, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Psychosis Crawler" href="#" target="_blank">Psychosis Crawler</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> lets us leverage the powerful card draw effects, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Collective Unconscious" href="#" target="_blank">Collective Unconscious</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Regal Force" href="#" target="_blank">Regal Force</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, into life loss.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Pathbreaker Ibex"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wild Beastmaster"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Psychosis Crawler"></div></div>
<hr />
<h1><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Another One Bites the Dust</span></h1>
<p>If I'm being honest, this is far from my favorite brew I've put forth for this series. It's a lot of work to make even the limited clones than you can in mono-green, and I could have a decent <em>Power Sink</em> deck with adding any other blue <em>Partner</em> commander, such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Esior, Wardwing Familiar" href="#" target="_blank">Esior, Wardwing Familiar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but I was stubborn and wanted to stick with a mono-green deck. That said, I think even a brew that I might consider a failure has value. Sometimes a theory craft can help you with other decks, you might consider cards and ideas you wouldn't. Even if I don't build this deck, I think the exploration of how to make copies of creatures outside blue and possibly red decks is useful in future deckbuilding. Maybe I might want to try monowhite clones someday, or maybe the cards I found might be perfect for a commander that is yet to be released.</p>
<p>TL:DR, it's okay to fail and I would love to hear about your deck ideas that didn't quite make it in the comments, especially if it contributed to a brew later down the line.</p>


biowaste blob

Recross the Paths - Wort, the Raidmother

Power Sink- Kodama, The Loneliest Number

Too-Specific Top 10 - Clone High