<h6 style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Magnetic Mountain" href="#" target="_blank">Magnetic Mountain</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by</span> <a href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?action=advanced&amp;artist=[%22Susan%20Van%20Camp%22]"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Susan Van Camp</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">)</span></h6>
<h1><span style="font-weight: 400;">How to Lose Friends and Irritate People</span></h1>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Feel like your deck just is not coming together? Welcome to </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Solve the Equation</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, where we take a look at the numbers and see what's making your deck and in-game decision-making fall flat.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In honor of the recent update of the salt scores, I wanted to take a look at a genre of cards that is sure to be salt-inducing to many of you out there: color-hosers. Color-hosers are cards that restrict or affect only cards of a given color, or in some cases lacking a given color.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The irritating effect of these cards comes down to two main factors. First and foremost, they often will have an asymmetrical effect on the playgroup, only affecting certain players.The second factor is the absolute brutal effect of some of these cards. Early <em>Magic: the Gathering</em> design was not considering the impact of long multiplayer games when they printed cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Acid Rain" href="#" target="_blank">Acid Rain</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Acid Rain"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, all that said, I think these cards have a place in Commander and are often underplayed. I often forget these cards or ignore them because of the risk that they could be dead in my hand if no players are playing a certain color. I wanted to take a deeper dive to see what the odds were that these cards would have a target.</span></p>
<hr />
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">What are the Odds?</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sure, we can never predict exactly what commanders we'll come up against, but in order to best estimate the color combinations I could face, I turned to the <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders">top 100 commanders of the last 2 years</a>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The top 100 commanders have an average number of colors in their color identity equal to 2.77, with just 11 commanders featuring 1 or fewer colors. Below is a complete breakdown of what colors commanders have within their color identity.</span></p>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">White: 52%</span></li>
<li>Blue: 62%</li>
<li>Black: 60%</li>
<li>Red: 56%</li>
<li>Green: 47%</li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Yes, I too was shocked to find that green was the only color that featured in less than 50% of the top EDHREC generals. However, the biggest takeaway is how high all these numbers are. If you randomly selected any top 100 commander, there is a ⅗ chance that it has black within its color identity.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">That's just the odds of one commander being that color, but most of our commander games feature 3 opponents. Let's take a look at the odds that <em>at least</em> one of our three opponents will have a commander of any given color.</span></p>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">White: 89%</span></li>
<li>Blue: 95%</li>
<li>Black: 94%</li>
<li>Red: 92%</li>
<li>Green: 86%</li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The odds that we run into a certain color are much higher than I would've guessed. That makes the “dead card” draws we risk by playing color-hosers are a lot less likely. The times they're dead are painful and definitely more memorable, but that doesn't mean we should write off these cards. There are plenty of steps we can take to mitigate the downsides.</span></p>
<hr />
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">No Card Left Behind!</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br />
</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We can mitigate the fail-case of these cards in many ways. First, sometimes our commander can give us extra benefit for casting spells, so even if the card doesn't achieve its intended goal, we still benefit. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deekah, Fractal Theorist" href="#" target="_blank">Deekah, Fractal Theorist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Talrand, Sky Summoner" href="#" target="_blank">Talrand, Sky Summoner</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will create tokens no matter what our card does. However, if we do go this route, it's important we find cards that <em>do not</em> need a target: we cannot cast a spell that targets without a legal target. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blue Elemental Blast" href="#" target="_blank">Blue Elemental Blast</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will occasionally be uncastable, but we can always cast <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hibernation" href="#" target="_blank">Hibernation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Deekah, Fractal Theorist"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blue Elemental Blast"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hibernation"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Second, we can use looting and rummaging effects to sculpt our hand and ditch dead cards. These cards have a very low opportunity cost, as many of them are powerful cards that already see substantial play. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Faithless Looting" href="#" target="_blank">Faithless Looting</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Frantic Search" href="#" target="_blank">Frantic Search</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thrill of Possibility" href="#" target="_blank">Thrill of Possibility</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> already see play in over 10% of eligible decks. These cards will power up your deck whether or not you intend to ditch certain cards.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Faithless Looting"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Frantic Search"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thrill of Possibility"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Third, not all color-hosers are created equal. Watch out for cards that can affect more than one color. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Omen of Fire" href="#" target="_blank">Omen of Fire</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is absolutely brutal and will punish any control deck you come up against. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nature&#039;s Wrath" href="#" target="_blank">Nature&#039;s Wrath</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will punish any Dimir opponents, and it fits great in an enchantment-based deck such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sythis, Harvest&#039;s Hand" href="#" target="_blank">Sythis, Harvest&#039;s Hand</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Other cards affect all colors but have a particularly backbreaking effect on some, such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elephant Grass" href="#" target="_blank">Elephant Grass</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, another great inclusion for enchantment decks.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Omen of Fire"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nature&#039;s Wrath"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Elephant Grass"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Other cards leave nothing to chance and allow us to pick a color to hate on. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wash Out" href="#" target="_blank">Wash Out</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Teferi&#039;s Moat" href="#" target="_blank">Teferi&#039;s Moat</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dromar, the Banisher" href="#" target="_blank">Dromar, the Banisher</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> all give us the option to use them flexibly. Just remember, these cards affect you as well, which means Dromar might send itself back to your hand.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wash Out"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Teferi&#039;s Moat"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dromar, the Banisher"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If our opponents don't have a certain land type, we can change that! <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth" href="#" target="_blank">Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and the more recently printed <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth" href="#" target="_blank">Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can help us leverage cards that care about our opponents' <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Swamp" href="#" target="_blank">Swamp</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>s and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Forest" href="#" target="_blank">Forest</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>s. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Acid Rain" href="#" target="_blank">Acid Rain</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> all of a sudden becomes <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Armageddon" href="#" target="_blank">Armageddon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kormus Bell" href="#" target="_blank">Kormus Bell</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> opens up all lands to a board wipe. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Stern Judge" href="#" target="_blank">Stern Judge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can deal out a boatload of damage when paired with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth" href="#" target="_blank">Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth"></div></div>
<hr />
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">What Did I Miss?</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Turns out Marit Lage hates Izzet decks. Both <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Curse of Marit Lage" href="#" target="_blank">Curse of Marit Lage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wrath of Marit Lage" href="#" target="_blank">Wrath of Marit Lage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can shut down blue and red decks respectively. Actually, a lot of cards hate <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Island" href="#" target="_blank">Island</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>s and blue permanents. I guess <em>Wizards of the Coast</em> realized pretty quickly what color was getting a little too much love. Blue mages, be on the lookout for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Boil" href="#" target="_blank">Boil</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Boiling Seas" href="#" target="_blank">Boiling Seas</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tsunami" href="#" target="_blank">Tsunami</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Choke" href="#" target="_blank">Choke</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to shut down your mana production while <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Magnetic Mountain" href="#" target="_blank">Magnetic Mountain</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> takes care of your other permanents.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Curse of Marit Lage"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wrath of Marit Lage"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Not to be outdone, blue has a number of mana-restricting cards targeted at its enemy colors of red and green. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chill" href="#" target="_blank">Chill</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will slow down your aggro opponents, while <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dream Tides" href="#" target="_blank">Dream Tides</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will make sure your green opponent's biggest creatures can't hit you more than once.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Chill"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dream Tides"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The black and white portions of the color pie are also not fans of each other. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gloom" href="#" target="_blank">Gloom</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will shut down any white deck, while <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Major Teroh" href="#" target="_blank">Major Teroh</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can even sit in your command zone and come in just to blow out the players with black creatures. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Perish" href="#" target="_blank">Perish</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nature&#039;s Ruin" href="#" target="_blank">Nature&#039;s Ruin</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Virtue&#039;s Ruin" href="#" target="_blank">Virtue&#039;s Ruin</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are all color-based board wipes at black's disposal for a cut rate cost of just three mana.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Major Teroh"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gloom"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I know much of this article has focused on the heavy hitters and cards with high salt scores, but there are plenty of less egregious cards that fall into the color-hoser category that shouldn't lose you any friends. Most of these cards are predicated on giving you a reward rather than punishing your opponent. For many playgroups this will be much more palatable.</span></p>
<hr />
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Okay, Okay, No More Land Destruction</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Let me take a break from sharing cards that will get you kicked out of your playgroup to share a variety of cards with huge effects against the right opponent. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Veil of Summer" href="#" target="_blank">Veil of Summer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> sees play in a variety of formats and fits right at home in Commander. It protects you against both blue and black, making it incredibly unlikely that this card misses. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Regrowth" href="#" target="_blank">Regrowth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> sees play in 7% of eligible decks, while <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reap" href="#" target="_blank">Reap</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> sees less than 1%. Reap can have a much bigger effect and at instant speed with even an opponent with a few black permanents.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Veil of Summer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Reap"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Carpet of Flowers" href="#" target="_blank">Carpet of Flowers</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is so dang efficient! For just a single mana, this card can create so much mana against decks with one of <em>Magic</em>'s most popular colors. Once you have all that mana, you can use it on the cards that <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Insight" href="#" target="_blank">Insight</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Compost" href="#" target="_blank">Compost</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can gain you. Your red decks can close out a game by pushing through damage against white decks with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Havoc" href="#" target="_blank">Havoc</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or against white and blue with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Magistrate&#039;s Veto" href="#" target="_blank">Magistrate&#039;s Veto</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Carpet of Flowers"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Compost"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Magistrate&#039;s Veto"></div></div>
<hr />
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">In Conclusion</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Don't count out a card just because it looks like it might be a dead card in some games. We aren't hesitant to include expensive bombs in our deck even though the'll be dead for most of the game. We can apply that same leniency to these cards. With smart deckbuilding, we can rely on the odds that we are likely to face at least one opponent playing the color our cards hate. Give some of these cards a second look, and remember to discuss with your playgroup before pulling out a deck that will blow up all their <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Island" href="#" target="_blank">Island</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>s.</span></p>


Solve the Equation - The Odds on Color-Hosers

<h2 style="text-align: center;">Lookin' back on the track for a little green bag</h2>
<p>Welcome to <em>Superior Numbers,</em> where I try to do numerical analysis on cards and deckbuilding trends using a little bit of math.</p>
<p>About a year ago I wrote a <a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/superior-numbers-cards-caring-about-colors-black/">column</a> looking at some Commander cards that interfaced in some way with black cards, and I analyzed how statistically effective they were based on the cards in our database. It's something I've been meaning to revisit, and as it's spring, the time of growth, talking about green seems thematically appropriate. Or at least I think it's spring. I'm not 100% sure, since I can no longer leave the house in these post-Apocalypse (not the set) times. It looks like spring out my window, though, so I'm going to assume that's true.</p>
<p>Let’s take a look back at <em>Magic’s</em> earliest days, a distant time when it seemed like a good idea to print cards that functioned based on the colors your opponent chose to play, because having a card be either brokenly amazing or worthless depending on who sat down across from you was once peak design.</p>
<p>Questionable design or not, since EDH is a multiplayer format, it’s way less likely that you’ll get wrecked by an opponent’s color choice. You generally have three or four of them, anyway, which means that there's a much greater likelihood that one of them will be playing the color that boosts the strength of your cards.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sword of Body and Mind"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sword of Feast and Famine"></div></div>
<p>Nobody is running any of the Swords of Things and Stuff in decks because of their protection clause, or at least not because of their protection from green clause. Still, it's there, and it's useful to see how often it impacts games. First, though, a quick reminder on how protection from a color works. The mnemonic "DEBT" is helpful here: Damage, Equip/Enchant, Blocked, and Targeted.</p>
<ul>
<li>Protection from a color or trait prevents <strong>damage</strong> by sources with the specified color or trait, meaning all such damage is prevented.</li>
<li>Protection prevents the target from being <strong>enchanted</strong> or<strong> equipped</strong> by permanents with the specified color or trait. Or fortified, I suppose, but <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Darksteel Garrison" href="#" target="_blank">Darksteel Garrison</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is pretty rare, anyway.</li>
<li>Protection keeps a target from being <strong>blocked</strong> by creatures with the specified color or trait.</li>
<li>Protection prevents the object from being <strong>targeted</strong> by something with the specified color or trait.</li>
</ul>
<p>For a full breakdown you can consult rule 702.16 to read the exact wording.</p>
<p>So how does that affect us?</p>
<p>Commanders:</p>
<ul>
<li>Most popular in the <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders">last week</a>
<ul>
<li>6 of the top 10 are green</li>
<li>10 of the top 20 are green</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Most popular in the <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders">last month</a>
<ul>
<li>5 of the top 10 are green</li>
<li>11 of the top 20 are green</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Most popular in the last <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders">two years</a>
<ul>
<li>5 of the top 10 are green</li>
<li>10 of the top 20 are green</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>That means that a creature equipped with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sword of Body and Mind" href="#" target="_blank">Sword of Body and Mind</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sword of Feast and Famine" href="#" target="_blank">Sword of Feast and Famine</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is going to be unblockable by slightly more than half the commanders you're most likely to see. So how about non-commander creatures?</p>
<ul>
<li>Most popular in the last week
<ul>
<li>5 of the top 5 of the most popular creatures are green</li>
<li>8 of the top 10</li>
<li>51 of the top 100</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Most popular in the last month
<ul>
<li>5 of the top 5 of the most popular creatures are green</li>
<li>8 of the top 10</li>
<li>53 of the top 100</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Most popular in the last two years</li>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ul>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ul>
<li>5 of the top 5 of the most popular creatures are green</li>
<li>8 of the top 10</li>
<li>51 of the top 100</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>As with commanders, a bit over half the creatures you're likely to see can't block your bodies equipped with these two Swords.</p>
<hr />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Green grass and high tides forever</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mirran Crusader"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sphinx of the Steel Wind"></div></div>
<p>Additionally, there are another 17 creatures legal in the format with native protection from green, some of which actually see play, namely <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirran Crusader" href="#" target="_blank">Mirran Crusader</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in 2,268 decks and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sphinx of the Steel Wind" href="#" target="_blank">Sphinx of the Steel Wind</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in an additional 1,823 lists in our database.</p>
<p>The same stats above apply to these 17 creatures in regards to the fact that they can't be blocked by about half the opposing bodies you're most likely to see in a pod, but it's not just blockers where protection from green is relevant. In the past week, two of the most popular instant-speed targeted removal spells are green: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Assassin&#039;s Trophy" href="#" target="_blank">Assassin&#039;s Trophy</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Beast Within" href="#" target="_blank">Beast Within</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Both are in the top six in the last month, and while Trophy isn't present in the top ten list for the last two years due to being somewhat new, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Putrefy" href="#" target="_blank">Putrefy</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> takes its slot instead, giving green two of the top six during that time frame. Things fall way off the deeper you go, but the fact is that there's about a 40ish percent chance that a creature with pro green is going to be untargetable by the most popular targeted removal spells.</p>
<p>The stats are even better for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sphinx of the Steel Wind" href="#" target="_blank">Sphinx of the Steel Wind</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which shrugs off popular artifact removal spells like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Krosan Grip" href="#" target="_blank">Krosan Grip</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nature&#039;s Claim" href="#" target="_blank">Nature&#039;s Claim</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> which show up in 31,940 and 18,886 decks, respectively.</p>
<p>The most popular targeted removal sorcery on EDHREC in the last two years? <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Decimate" href="#" target="_blank">Decimate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and, you guessed it, it's green. Number three is also green: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hull Breach" href="#" target="_blank">Hull Breach</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Oh, and two of the top three targeted removal spells that are enchantments are also green: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Song of the Dryads" href="#" target="_blank">Song of the Dryads</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kenrith&#039;s Transformation" href="#" target="_blank">Kenrith&#039;s Transformation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>And hey, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Oko, Thief of Crowns" href="#" target="_blank">Oko, Thief of Crowns</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is green, so you're safe from being Elked.</p>
<hr />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Pick up a flat rock, skip it across Green River</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bereavement"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Flooded Woodlands"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mind Harness"></div></div>
<p>We've established that there are a LOT of green creatures showing up in pods. Are there any other cards that can take advantage of that?</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bereavement" href="#" target="_blank">Bereavement</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> forces a discard whenever a green creature dies, so about half of the creatures that you're most likely to see cause an opponent to discard a card when they die. That seems useful, especially if you yourself aren't running green. That's unfortunate for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nath of the Gilt-Leaf" href="#" target="_blank">Nath of the Gilt-Leaf</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> decks running green creatures, but for anyone else that isn't afraid to make some people irritated with hand destruction it seems pretty effective for the 1B cost. It feels like a genuinely effective card depending on your strategy, but it currently only shows up in 26 decks.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Flooded Woodlands" href="#" target="_blank">Flooded Woodlands</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a particularly brutal pillow fort effect, albeit in colors that generally aren't looking to pillow up outside maybe <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Oloro, Ageless Aesthetic" href="#" target="_blank">Oloro, Ageless Aesthetic</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Losing a land for each swinging green creature is a steep price to pay, especially if there are still other opponents to kill after you get taken down, and most people aren't going to be willing to pay it for half of the most popular creatures in the format.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mind Harness" href="#" target="_blank">Mind Harness</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> should be showing up in way more than 1/10 of 1% of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Muldrotha, the Grave Tide" href="#" target="_blank">Muldrotha, the Grave Tide</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> builds. A single blue mana to be able to steal half of the most popular creatures in the game? And that's just the green ones. Technically it hits 63 of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/creatures">100 most popular creature</a>s in the last two years and 13 of the top 20 commanders. It's a one-mana theft spell for 2/3 of the bodies you're likely to see show up. Yeah, it has a <em>Cumulative Upkeep</em>, but that still means it takes three turns to cost as much as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Control Magic" href="#" target="_blank">Control Magic</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and most theft decks sacrifice the target fairly quickly, rendering the upkeep almost irrelevant. Muldrotha can recast this for U while saccing the body. That seems like insane value to me.</p>
<p>Those are the three bangers that I found that care about green creatures, but they're certainly not all of them. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Breath of Dreams" href="#" target="_blank">Breath of Dreams</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is going to force a <em>Cumulative Upkeep</em> on all those green bodies. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dream Tides" href="#" target="_blank">Dream Tides</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> imposes a two-mana tax to untap any creature, but it just flat-out prevents green ones from untapping at all. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="High Seas" href="#" target="_blank">High Seas</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> makes those green (as well as any red) creatures cost one more to cast. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nature&#039;s Ruin" href="#" target="_blank">Nature&#039;s Ruin</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> destroys all green creatures, as does <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Perish" href="#" target="_blank">Perish</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, with the added caveat that they can't be regenerated, and lastly, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sphere of Duty" href="#" target="_blank">Sphere of Duty</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> prevents two damage from a green source. Most green sources are green, so, in effect, it prevents two damage from each green creature. You know all those green creatures that I talked about up top that fill out the ranks of the top five and top twenty most popular bodies in the format? Only 1 in the top 20 has power over 2, and that's <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tatyova, Benthic Druid" href="#" target="_blank">Tatyova, Benthic Druid</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, who's a 3/3.</p>
<p>Green brings more than creatures to the table as far as permanents go, though, as easy as that is to forget, and a lot of those are popular, too.</p>
<p>Enchantments:</p>
<ul>
<li>49 of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/enchantments">top 100 most popular enchantments</a> in the last week are green</li>
<li>46 of the top 100 in the last month</li>
<li>44 of teh top in the last two years</li>
</ul>
<p>Planeswalkers:</p>
<ul>
<li>36 of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/planeswalkers">top 100 most popular planeswalkers</a> in the last week are green</li>
<li>36 of the top 100 in the last month</li>
<li>37 of the top 100 in the last two years</li>
</ul>
<p>What cares about all of that?</p>
<hr />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">So if you want to, you got the green light</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hibernation"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Insight"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Putrefaction"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hibernation" href="#" target="_blank">Hibernation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> returns all green permanents to their owner's hand. It's not <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cyclonic Rift" href="#" target="_blank">Cyclonic Rift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but it hits slightly more than half of the most-popular creatures, slightly less than half of all enchantments, and a tad (that's a technical term) over a third of the planeswalkers for less than one half the mana cost, and 1/30th of the price in terms of dollars.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Insight" href="#" target="_blank">Insight</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is only showing up in 237 decks, but there are pods that it's going to do more work than a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rhystic Study" href="#" target="_blank">Rhystic Study</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, drawing you a card off of every green spell played. In addition to the numbers for Hibernation, 35 of the top 100 sorceries in the last 2 years are green, as are 23 of the top 100 instants.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Putrefaction" href="#" target="_blank">Putrefaction</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> forces a discard whenever a player casts a green or white spell, fitting nicely in with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bereavement" href="#" target="_blank">Bereavement</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Withering Gaze" href="#" target="_blank">Withering Gaze</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> looks at target opponent's hand and lets you draw a card for each <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Forest" href="#" target="_blank">Forest</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and green card in it</p>
<p>Those three are probably the most generally impactful of the lot, but there are other options that might be worth running in a green-heavy meta with a lot of juicy targets. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deathgrip" href="#" target="_blank">Deathgrip</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is an original card from <em>Alpha</em> and instead of drawing a card when someone casts a green spell like with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Insight" href="#" target="_blank">Insight</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, you can instead counter it for BB. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dystopia" href="#" target="_blank">Dystopia</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> similarly might be meta-dependent, forcing each player to sacrifice a green (or white) permanent during their upkeep, but there's a lot of green permanents that fit this bill, and that's even before we get to the white ones. Lastly, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Essence Leak" href="#" target="_blank">Essence Leak</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> forces the controller to sacrifice the enchanted green or red permanent unless they pay its mana cost each upkeep. As with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dystopia" href="#" target="_blank">Dystopia</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, that's a fairly large percentage of cards before we even look at the red ones that it hits.</p>
<hr />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Everything's Gone Green</h2>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Thanks for reading! How many of you out there are running any of these color-specific cards focused on green or are interested giving them a look? I'd love to hear about your experiences in the comments below. Thanks for reading, and may your numbers always be superior.</p>


insight

Solve the Equation - The Odds on Color-Hosers

Superior Numbers - Cards Caring about Colors: Green