Too-Specific Top 10 - So Lonely and Sadly Alone

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lightning Greaves" href="#" target="_blank">Lightning Greaves</a> | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/crutz">Rudy Siswanto</a>)</h6>
"The boots demonstrated many strange magical properties, but the most remarkable was their ability to withstand Westley’s ferocious chewing."
<h1>Walk a Mile in These Louboutins...</h1>
So just last week, the most frustrating thing happened. I had just gotten out of bed, and I was feeling <a href="https://mtg.gamepedia.com/Summoning_sickness">a little nauseous</a> after staying up all night eating my quarantine diet of pretzels and popcorn. I still had errands to run, though: in just a few minutes, I had to run down to the school library and pick up my textbooks for the new quarter. I only had one thing to turn to: my trusty <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lightning Greaves" href="#" target="_blank">Lightning Greaves</a>. With these, I could dash to the school on time, and because they're so absolutely glamorous, I could avoid all of the targeted insults thrown at me! (Apparently, it's "not professional" to show up to events in plate mail armor. Ugh. Posers, am I right?)
So, I open up my closet door, and, lo and behold, Westley's sitting there, chewing the @#$% out of my precious <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lightning Greaves" href="#" target="_blank">Lightning Greaves</a>! I wrestled them from his mouth as soon as I could and wiped the dog slobber off the glistening metal with a towel. The thought of putting them on before sanitizing them brought a grimace to my face, but I was on the clock, so I threw them on as quickly as possible.
Finally, I was able to head out the door and began trudging my way towards campus, already in a sour mood. But as soon as I stepped onto the campus, that jerk from the <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tower of the Magistrate" href="#" target="_blank">Tower of the Magistrate</a> tells me that wearing greaves is "against the dress code". He must've heard about me showing up to class in plate mail armor the other day.
Luckily, I managed to make it to the library on time to pick up my textbooks and get the paperwork sorted out. But at what cost? What will my backup plan be? How could I live without my Lightning Greaves?
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lightning Greaves"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Swiftfoot Boots"></div></div>
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lightning Greaves" href="#" target="_blank">Lightning Greaves</a> and their little sibling <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Swiftfoot Boots" href="#" target="_blank">Swiftfoot Boots</a> are in 28% and 25% of eligible decks on EDHREC, respectively, making them the most popular colorless cards behind the mythical <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sol Ring" href="#" target="_blank">Sol Ring</a>. They are so popular that they set the standard for haste-enablers and protection pieces across the format; even <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Whispersilk Cloak" href="#" target="_blank">Whispersilk Cloak</a>, a very fine piece of protection for many decks, pales in comparison to these cards.
But as powerful as they may be, they aren't without fault: <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lightning Greaves" href="#" target="_blank">Lightning Greaves</a>, especially, suffers from the "Shroud" ability. Shroud prevents any spells or abilities from targeting the permanent that has it, which spells a lot of trouble for <a href="https://edhwiki.com/wiki/Voltron">Voltron</a> decks that look to suit up one creature with as many Auras and Equipment as possible. They also find themselves victim to a lot of removal (or that pesky <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tower of the Magistrate" href="#" target="_blank">Tower of the Magistrate</a>), as your opponents try to avoid letting those boots walk all over them. For these reasons, the Greaves might not be the best inclusion, or perhaps you might want to run (heh) additional pieces alongside them.
<hr />
<h1>Additional Baubles</h1>
Giving this duo the Staple Remover treatment presents us with a few unique challenges. First off, they're colorless, which makes it a little more difficult to adhere to one color when offering alternatives. They also both fill two niches, as haste-enablers and as protection, so that's two categories to cover. Because of this, we'll be looking at cards that fill either of those niches in a variety of colors, so that hopefully you're able to find some redundancy in the colors you're running.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Crashing Drawbridge"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Instill Energy"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Footfall Crater"></div></div>
As we all know from the gospel of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Samut, Voice of Dissent" href="#" target="_blank">Samut, Voice of Dissent</a>, the number one key to winning is <a href="https://youtu.be/_wJT_FigIPo?t=2571">blinding speeeeeeed</a>! So if you're wise, and desire some extra speed, you'd do pretty darn well with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crashing Drawbridge" href="#" target="_blank">Crashing Drawbridge</a>. This unassuming little common from Throne of Eldraine is quite possibly one of the best ways to grant haste to your entire team. Many people's go-to card for this effect is <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Concordant Crossroads" href="#" target="_blank">Concordant Crossroads</a>, or perhaps <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fires of Yavimaya" href="#" target="_blank">Fires of Yavimaya</a>, but <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crashing Drawbridge" href="#" target="_blank">Crashing Drawbridge</a> manages to combine the efficiency of those two cards while still acting as a blocker, and, most importantly, being able to fit in any deck regardless of color or budget.
But sometimes, you don't need to make your entire team speedy; just one creature will do, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Instill Energy" href="#" target="_blank">Instill Energy</a>, a funny little enchantment that hasn't been reprinted in 20 years, will do just that. One mana to allow your creature to attack a turn early is pretty mana-efficient, but we're not here for <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Expedite" href="#" target="_blank">Expedite</a>, are we? Luckily for us, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Instill Energy" href="#" target="_blank">Instill Energy</a> allows us to untap that hasty creature once a turn cycle for no cost. At its worst, this is a pseudo-vigilance effect, but at its best, this card could be drawing you three extra cards off of an <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Arcanis, the Omnipotent" href="#" target="_blank">Arcanis, the Omnipotent</a>....
Speaking of one-mana enchantments, we have a fairly new one to add to the roster of exceptional haste-enablers. Before Companion ravaged every competitive Magic: the Gathering format, many people were singing the high praises of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Footfall Crater" href="#" target="_blank">Footfall Crater</a>, and those praises aren't any less valid today. Just one mana to be able to repeatedly give one creature haste and evasion is a phenomenal effect, and one that quite a few decks could easily run away with. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Prossh, Skyraider of Kher" href="#" target="_blank">Prossh, Skyraider of Kher</a> is especially fond of this one!
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kaya&#039;s Ghostform"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Giver of Runes"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vanishing"></div></div>
Speaking of powerful commons from recent sets (shhhh, War of the Spark was recent, don't make me feel old), <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kaya&#039;s Ghostform" href="#" target="_blank">Kaya&#039;s Ghostform</a> is a phenomenal protection piece that costs just one mana. It essentially enchants one creature or planeswalker and gives it Undying except without the +1/+1 counter. If your commander is a planeswalker, such as <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aminatou, the Fateshifter" href="#" target="_blank">Aminatou, the Fateshifter</a> or <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lord Windgrace" href="#" target="_blank">Lord Windgrace</a>, then you'll notice that a pair of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lightning Greaves" href="#" target="_blank">Lightning Greaves</a> won't quite fit your commander's feet. Where the Greaves falter, though, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kaya&#039;s Ghostform" href="#" target="_blank">Kaya&#039;s Ghostform</a> excels, allowing you to re-trigger ETB abilities, re-activate your newly-reanimated planeswalkers, and <a href="https://edhrec.com/combos/kayas-ghostform">even combo off</a> for a late-game win.
Another sweet little protection piece can be found in Modern Horizons with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Giver of Runes" href="#" target="_blank">Giver of Runes</a>, and their trusty mom, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mother of Runes" href="#" target="_blank">Mother of Runes</a>. These two cards are among the best 1-drops in the whole format, allowing you to protect any one of your creatures from harm. They have no amount of versatility to them, even allowing you to use their abilities as evasion in a pinch. Although they don't do too great in the face of most board wipes, they'll surely protect your creatures from harm should your opponents become too threatened by them.
Finally, we have my personal favorite protection piece: <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vanishing" href="#" target="_blank">Vanishing</a>. As <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Teferi&#039;s Protection" href="#" target="_blank">Teferi&#039;s Protection</a> has taught us, there aren't really any better ways to protect your permanents than by simply phasing them out. Although <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vanishing" href="#" target="_blank">Vanishing</a> does require a bit of extra mana, it will protect the creature it is enchanting and itself from any threat, be it targeted removal, a board wipe, a combat step gone wrong, etc. Any deck that relies on its commander and has the mana to spare, like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rashmi, Eternities Crafter" href="#" target="_blank">Rashmi, Eternities Crafter</a>, becomes nigh-unstoppable with this card. Another honorable mention that's comparable to <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vanishing" href="#" target="_blank">Vanishing</a> is <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Teferi&#039;s Veil" href="#" target="_blank">Teferi&#039;s Veil</a>, a version of it for go-wide combat-based decks.
<hr />
<h1>Speed Incarnate</h1>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="" src="https://www.mtgpics.com/pics/art/vvk/051.jpg" width="700" height="589" />
<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Anger" href="#" target="_blank">Anger</a> | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/velinov">Svetlin Velinov</a>)</h6>
With such a diverse array of protection pieces and haste-enablers across all five colors of the Pie, it's really hard to pick just one or two to showcase and slot in any given deck, especially given how essential they are to so many decks. If you look closely, the decks that I build will usually feature some sort of protections and/or haste-enablers, many of which are on this list. Today, I'd like to showcase <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ghired, Conclave Exile" href="#" target="_blank">Ghired, Conclave Exile</a>, the next evolution of the <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grand Warlord Radha" href="#" target="_blank">Grand Warlord Radha</a> extra-combat deck that I showcased in my <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/staple-remover-craterhoof-behemoth/">Craterhoof Behemoth article</a>.
In this deck, I require haste-enablers to be able to attack with the tokens I create during combat, so I run the full suite of them, such as <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Anger" href="#" target="_blank">Anger</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crashing Drawbridge" href="#" target="_blank">Crashing Drawbridge</a>, and more. They really allow me to abuse <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nacatl War-Pride" href="#" target="_blank">Nacatl War-Pride</a>, especially.
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Retribution of the Clans" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Ghired, Conclave Exile
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Acidic Slime
*1 Angel of Destiny
*1 Anger
*1 Aurelia, the Warleader
*1 Combat Celebrant
*1 Crashing Drawbridge
*1 Etali, Primal Storm
*1 Fireflux Squad
*1 Flamerush Rider
*1 Gemrazer
*1 Glorybringer
*1 Goblin Rabblemaster
*1 Grand Warlord Radha
*1 Hellkite Charger
*1 Hellrider
*1 Keeper of Fables
*1 Legion Warboss
*1 Leonin Warleader
*1 Lightning Runner
*1 Loyal Apprentice
*1 Nacatl War-Pride
*1 Ohran Frostfang
*1 Runic Armasaur
*1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
*1 Samut, Voice of Dissent
*1 Scourge of the Throne
*1 Silverwing Squadron
*1 Tendershoot Dryad
*1 Tilonalli&#039;s Summoner
[/Creatures]
[Artifacts]
*1 Explorer&#039;s Scope
*1 Helm of the Host
*1 Skullclamp
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Sword of the Animist
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments]
*1 Aggravated Assault
*1 Breath of Fury
*1 Druids&#039; Repository
*1 Fires of Yavimaya
*1 Goblin Assault
*1 Rhythm of the Wild
[/Enchantments]
[Sorceries]
*1 Edge of Autumn
*1 Farseek
*1 Harmonize
*1 Harvest Season
*1 Into the North
*1 Rampant Growth
*1 Relentless Assault
*1 Saproling Migration
*1 Search for Tomorrow
*1 Shamanic Revelation
*1 Sylvan Offering
*1 Three Visits
*1 Waves of Aggression
*1 World at War
[/Sorceries]
[Lands]
*1 Battlefield Forge
*1 Branchloft Pathway
*1 Brushland
*1 Command Tower
*1 Cragcrown Pathway
*1 Evolving Wilds
*1 Exotic Orchard
*8 Forest
*1 Grove of the Burnwillows
*1 Karplusan Forest
*9 Mountain
*1 Needleverge Pathway
*3 Plains
*1 Scattered Groves
*1 Sheltered Thicket
*1 Stomping Ground
*1 Temple Garden
*1 Terramorphic Expanse
[/Lands]
[Instants]
*1 Artifact Mutation
*1 Beast Within
*1 Chaos Warp
*1 Chord of Calling
*1 Eladamri&#039;s Call
*1 Generous Gift
*1 Response // Resurgence
*1 Savage Beating
*1 Signal the Clans
*1 Swords to Plowshares
[/Instants]"></div>

<hr />
What haste-enablers and protection pieces do you run in place of (or alongside with) <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lightning Greaves" href="#" target="_blank">Lightning Greaves</a>? There are bound to be extra spicy inclusions, and I'd love to hear about them in the comments down below!

giver of runes

Too-Specific Top 10 - So Lonely and Sadly Alone

Staple Remover - Lightning Greaves

Evasive Maneuvers — Protection From...

Modern Horizons Set Review — White