What if the Partner Mechanic Allowed for Three Creatures?

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nadier, Agent of the Duskenel" href="#" target="_blank">Nadier, Agent of the Duskenel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/indus" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yongjae Choi</a></em></p>
<p>Welcome back to <em>Bottom of the Barrel</em>! This is a series where we pick a theme from EDHREC and look at the “bottom of the barrel.” This means that we look at the least played color-combinations and pick a commander in those colors to brew a spicy new deck around!</p>
<p>Today's episode explores the most popular green creature type: Elves. According to EDHREC, there are over 45 <em>thousand</em> Elf kindred decks in the database, second only to Dragons and their staggering 54 thousand decks. With numbers like this, I was curious if building an Elf deck without green was even possible, and stumbling upon <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nadier, Agent of the Duskenel" href="#" target="_blank">Nadier, Agent of the Duskenel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, brought this idea to life.</p>
<p>And <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>, well, is just for the blue.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nadier, Agent of the Duskenel"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sakashima of a Thousand Faces"></div></div>
<p>Nadier himself is an Elf who <em>makes more Elves</em>, and even though he's black, he feels much more like a green creature. I compare his ability to that of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lathril, Blade of the Elves" href="#" target="_blank">Lathril, Blade of the Elves</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but one that's less reliant on combat damage, which can be much stronger. Also, notably, Nadier triggers when he <em>leaves the battlefield</em>, which means he triggers whenever he leaves play at all. Someone casts <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Swords to Plowshares" href="#" target="_blank">Swords to Plowshares</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>? You still get the Elves. He dies? Get Elves. Gets flickered? <em>Still get Elves.</em></p>
<h2>Category #1: Pump Our Boy</h2>
<p>Nadier's trigger relies on how big he is, which means pumping him can really boost our gameplan. There are plenty of ways to do this, but here are a couple of the most efficient in these colors.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cultist of the Absolute" href="#" target="_blank">Cultist of the Absolute</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> gives Nadier a +3/+3 boost and flying, but forces us to sacrifice a creature on our upkeep. This might seem bad, but sacrificing Nadier just gives us more Elves!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cultist of the Absolute"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Haunted One" href="#" target="_blank">Haunted One</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> gives Nadier and all of our other Elves +2/+0 <span style="text-decoration: underline;">and undying</span> when he becomes tapped, which is amazing considering we usually want him to die and will have ways to sacrifice him.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Haunted One"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blackblade Reforged" href="#" target="_blank">Blackblade Reforged</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> pumps Nadier equal to the amount of lands we have in play, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Stoneforge Masterwork" href="#" target="_blank">Stoneforge Masterwork</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> pumps Nadier equal to our total Elf count. Both are very good.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blackblade Reforged"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Stoneforge Masterwork"></div></div>
<p>Pumping Nadier is not our main goal; it's just the cherry on top of our "Dimir Elves sundae".</p>
<h2>Category #2: Make Nadier Go Home (Or Other Places)</h2>
<p>The easiest way to create Elves from Nadier's trigger is to find ways to sacrifice him. Luckily for us, black excels at this. We have a few ways to do this at instant speed, all of which will grant us card advantage in some way: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Corrupted Conviction" href="#" target="_blank">Corrupted Conviction</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deadly Dispute" href="#" target="_blank">Deadly Dispute</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Village Rites" href="#" target="_blank">Village Rites</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vampiric Rites" href="#" target="_blank">Vampiric Rites</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Plumb the Forbidden" href="#" target="_blank">Plumb the Forbidden</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shadowheart, Dark Justiciar" href="#" target="_blank">Shadowheart, Dark Justiciar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are all terrific inclusions that satisfy this category.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Corrupted Conviction"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Deadly Dispute"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Village Rites"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vampiric Rites"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Plumb the Forbidden"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Shadowheart, Dark Justiciar"></div></div>
<p>A cheeky way to sacrifice Nadier for his token-making trigger is to copy him. If the copy is legendary, we'll have to sacrifice it due to the "legend rule".</p>
<p>Ways to copy him would include <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Quasiduplicate" href="#" target="_blank">Quasiduplicate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reflections of Littjara" href="#" target="_blank">Reflections of Littjara</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Glasspool Mimic" href="#" target="_blank">Glasspool Mimic</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and even <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tomb of Horrors Adventurer" href="#" target="_blank">Tomb of Horrors Adventurer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. We can keep our original Nadier around and just benefit from the copy's "leave the battlefield" trigger.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Quasiduplicate"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Reflections of Littjara"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Glasspool Mimic"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tomb of Horrors Adventurer"></div></div>
<p>Even though sacrificing Nadier is an easy way to guarantee his trigger, there are two ways to guarantee the trigger without sacrificing him, and both cards are incredibly similar: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thassa, Deep-Dwelling" href="#" target="_blank">Thassa, Deep-Dwelling</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Conjurer&#039;s Closet" href="#" target="_blank">Conjurer&#039;s Closet</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. They are essentially the same card and serve the same purpose: blink Nadier on our end step to create more tokens. As previously mentioned, he only needs to <em>leave the battlefield</em>, so blinking him is not only a great alternative to sacrificing him, but it's also much stronger.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thassa, Deep-Dwelling"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Conjurer&#039;s Closet"></div></div>
<h2>Category #3: We Have Elves... Now What?</h2>
<p>After blinking or sacrificing our commander, we will have some Elf tokens at our disposal. So, what do we do now? Well, we have plenty of options.</p>
<p>Our first option is arguably the best when it comes to 1/1 tokens: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Skullclamp" href="#" target="_blank">Skullclamp</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Equipping Skullclamp to a token will instantly kill it, allowing us to draw two cards. That seems pretty broken to me.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Skullclamp"></div></div>
<p>In a similar vein, we can draw bunches of cards with things like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pact of the Serpent" href="#" target="_blank">Pact of the Serpent</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Distant Melody" href="#" target="_blank">Distant Melody</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kindred Discovery" href="#" target="_blank">Kindred Discovery</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kindred Discovery" href="#" target="_blank">Kindred Discovery</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a consistent and repeatable form of card draw, arguably being the strongest card draw option for kindred decks.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Pact of the Serpent"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Distant Melody"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kindred Discovery"></div></div>
<p>Okay, we can draw cards, but can we win?</p>
<p>Yes. Yes, we can.</p>
<p>Two incredible finishers in this deck are <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Banner of Kinship" href="#" target="_blank">Banner of Kinship</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Coat of Arms" href="#" target="_blank">Coat of Arms</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Sure, Coat of Arms can be very dangerous, but it makes our commander exponentially better each time he dies. Besides, we'll have so many Elves that it shouldn't matter. Not to mention, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rogue&#039;s Passage" href="#" target="_blank">Rogue&#039;s Passage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is in the deck.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Banner of Kinship"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Coat of Arms"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rogue&#039;s Passage"></div></div>
<h2>Category #4: "Secret Sauce" - A Mantle for an Elf</h2>
<p>If any reader is familiar with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nim Deathmantle" href="#" target="_blank">Nim Deathmantle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, you may have noticed how it interacts with Nadier. When Nadier leaves, he creates 3 Elves at minimum, which means when we have an <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ashnod&#039;s Altar" href="#" target="_blank">Ashnod&#039;s Altar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in play, we can create an infinite number of Elf tokens, along with infinite "enters" and "leaves" triggers.</p>
<p>If this combo is on the board and we also have a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nadier&#039;s Nightblade" href="#" target="_blank">Nadier&#039;s Nightblade</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> out, that's game over.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nadier, Agent of the Duskenel"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ashnod&#039;s Altar"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nim Deathmantle"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nadier&#039;s Nightblade"></div></div>
<h2>Closing Thoughts</h2>
<p>Overall, this deck was super fun to build, and even though we rely pretty heavily on our commander to create our "Elf Kindred" theme, it still feels very strong. Sure, this might be stronger with green, but the whole point of this series is to explore new ways to play themes that are often locked in a specific color combination.</p>
<p>Check out my decklist below!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Brewing Dimir Elves with Nadier, Agent of the Duskenel" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Nadier, Agent of the Duskenel
*1 Sakashima of a Thousand Faces
[/Commander]
[Enchantments]
*1 Animate Dead
*1 Black Market Connections
*1 Cultist of the Absolute
*1 Haunted One
*1 Kindred Discovery
*1 Pride of the Perfect
*1 Reflections of Littjara
*1 Vampiric Rites
[/Enchantments]
[Creatures]
*1 Elrond, Lord of Rivendell
*1 Elvish Dreadlord
*1 Elvish Mariner
*1 Eyeblight Cullers
*1 Glasspool Mimic // Glasspool Shore
*1 Haunt of the Dead Marshes
*1 Krydle of Baldur&#039;s Gate
*1 Lys Alana Scarblade
*1 Miara, Thorn of the Glade
*1 Nadier&#039;s Nightblade
*1 Nightshade Harvester
*1 Ruthless Winnower
*1 Shadowheart, Dark Justiciar
*1 Skemfar Avenger
*1 Skemfar Shadowsage
*1 Thassa, Deep-Dwelling
*1 Tomb of Horrors Adventurer
*1 Winter Eladrin
[/Creatures]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Ashnod&#039;s Altar
*1 Banner of Kinship
*1 Blackblade Reforged
*1 Bontu&#039;s Monument
*1 Coat of Arms
*1 Conjurer&#039;s Closet
*1 Heraldic Banner
*1 Lothlórien Blade
*1 Mind Stone
*1 Nim Deathmantle
*1 Patchwork Banner
*1 Serpent&#039;s Soul-Jar
*1 Skullclamp
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Stoneforge Masterwork
*1 Talisman of Dominance
*1 Urza&#039;s Incubator
[/Artifacts]
[Sorceries]
*1 Diabolic Intent
*1 Distant Melody
*1 Feed the Swarm
*1 Pact of the Serpent
*1 Quasiduplicate
*1 Raise the Palisade
*1 Reanimate
*1 Return Upon the Tide
*1 Toxic Deluge
[/Sorceries]
[Instants]
*1 Aetherize
*1 Corrupted Conviction
*1 Deadly Dispute
*1 Go for the Throat
*1 Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire
*1 Mystic Reflection
*1 Plumb the Forbidden
*1 Reality Shift
*1 Saw in Half
*1 Village Rites
[/Instants]
[Lands]
*1 Bojuka Bog
*1 Crystal Vein
*1 Dimir Aqueduct
*1 High Market
*7 Island
*1 Miren, the Moaning Well
*1 Morphic Pool
*1 Mortuary Mire
*1 Path of Ancestry
*1 Peat Bog
*1 Phyrexian Tower
*1 Reliquary Tower
*1 Rogue&#039;s Passage
*1 Saprazzan Skerry
*1 Shipwreck Marsh
*1 Spymaster&#039;s Vault
*8 Swamp
*1 Temple of Deceit
*1 Undercity Sewers
*1 Underground River
*1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
*1 War Room
[/Lands]"></span></div>


Brewing Dimir Elves with Nadier, Agent of the Duskenel

<p>Welcome back to <em>Bottom of the Barrel</em>, where we pick a theme from EDHREC and look at the least played color combinations and pick a commander in those colors to brew a spicy new deck around.</p>
<p>Today's theme is a tremendously popular one: lands. Specifically, EDHREC labels this category as "<a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/lands-matter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lands matter</a>." If you look at the most popular decks in this strategy, they all share one common denominator: the color green. Today's deck asks the question: what happens when you take green away?</p>
<p>The most popular color combination for "lands matter" decks, with a whopping 15,000 decks in the database, is Simic (blue and green). This isn't surprising, as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Omo, Queen of Vesuva" href="#" target="_blank">Omo, Queen of Vesuva</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> was a recent precon commander, and <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> is one of the most cracked uncommons I've ever seen.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Omo, Queen of Vesuva"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tatyova, Benthic Druid"></div></div>
<p>The least popular color combination, unsurprisingly, doesn't include green (or even blue!). With 40 decks in the database, Mardu (white, black, and red), has the fewest decks focused around the "lands matter" theme. As soon as I saw this color combination, I immediately thought of my favorite commander from <em>Commander Legends</em>: <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>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith"></div></div>
<p>Toggo makes Rocks, and that's hilarious.</p>
<p>In order to make Toggo work as our commander, we needed to add an Orzhov (black and white) partner. The most powerful choice would be <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>, a known powerhouse in cEDH, but I went for the safer option in <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ravos, Soultender" href="#" target="_blank">Ravos, Soultender</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tymna the Weaver"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ravos, Soultender"></div></div>
<p>Yes, Tymna is strictly better, so if you want to build with Tymna, go for it. Just be aware that you may be targeted first.</p>
<h2>Category #1: Ramping Without Green</h2>
<p><em>Wizards of the Coast</em> has been printing a lot of cards in white lately that people lovingly call: "catch-up ramp." In order for us to get ahead with this deck, we must first be behind, and let's be honest, if we're playing against a green deck, we're already behind.</p>
<p>There are the usual suspects in white, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Archaeomancer&#039;s Map" href="#" target="_blank">Archaeomancer&#039;s Map</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Knight of the White Orchid" href="#" target="_blank">Knight of the White Orchid</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Keeper of the Accord" href="#" target="_blank">Keeper of the Accord</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Solemn Simulacrum" href="#" target="_blank">sad robot</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but there is also the "new hotness" in <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Claim Jumper" href="#" target="_blank">Claim Jumper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deep Gnome Terramancer" href="#" target="_blank">Deep Gnome Terramancer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Archaeomancer&#039;s Map"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Knight of the White Orchid"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Keeper of the Accord"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Solemn Simulacrum"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Claim Jumper"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Deep Gnome Terramancer"></div></div>
<p>Most of these cards search for a "<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Plains" href="#" target="_blank">Plains</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> card," so I made sure the deck is stocked full of them.</p>
<p>As I previously mentioned, we need to be behind in some cases, and that's not always guaranteed. That brings us to our next category...</p>
<h2>Category #2: Getting Behind</h2>
<p>There are several ways to force ourselves onto the back foot, and I'll be focusing on two specific strategies.</p>
<h3>Strategy #1: Bounce Lands</h3>
<p>Three multi-color bounce lands are available in this color combination: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rakdos Carnarium" href="#" target="_blank">Rakdos Carnarium</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Orzhov Basilica" href="#" target="_blank">Orzhov Basilica</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Boros Garrison" href="#" target="_blank">Boros Garrison</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Outside of those, I've included <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Guildless Commons" href="#" target="_blank">Guildless Commons</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as an extra way to enable our "catch-up" ramp cards.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rakdos Carnarium"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Orzhov Basilica"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Boros Garrison"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Guildless Commons"></div></div>
<h3>Strategy #2: Sacrificing Our Lands</h3>
<p>Bounce lands are much safer than this, but a huge part of this deck's chemistry relies on our ability to sacrifice lands and profit from it. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nahiri&#039;s Lithoforming" href="#" target="_blank">Nahiri&#039;s Lithoforming</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can potentially allow us to re-trigger <em>Landfall</em> effects. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reprocess" href="#" target="_blank">Reprocess</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pitiless Carnage" href="#" target="_blank">Pitiless Carnage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="God-Eternal Bontu" href="#" target="_blank">God-Eternal Bontu</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> all let us sacrifice any number of permanents to draw <em>that many cards</em> (between Toggo's Rocks and our lands, that's a ton of value!), and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Braids, Arisen Nightmare" href="#" target="_blank">Braids, Arisen Nightmare</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> allows us to control what we want to sacrifice, oftentimes putting our opponents in a difficult position.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nahiri&#039;s Lithoforming"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Reprocess"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Pitiless Carnage"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="God-Eternal Bontu"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Braids, Arisen Nightmare"></div></div>
<p>Since we're sacrificing lands, we need ways to bring them back...</p>
<h2>Category #3: Regrowing Our Lands</h2>
<p>White has a really great ability to return permanents from our graveyard, and this can often include lands. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sevinne&#039;s Reclamation" href="#" target="_blank">Sevinne&#039;s Reclamation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Serra Paragon" href="#" target="_blank">Serra Paragon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> both allow us to recur anything we want from our graveyard within reason. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Second Sunrise" href="#" target="_blank">Second Sunrise</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Faith&#039;s Reward" href="#" target="_blank">Faith&#039;s Reward</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brought Back" href="#" target="_blank">Brought Back</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> allow us to bring back everything we sacrifice in a given turn (imagine casting <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reprocess" href="#" target="_blank">Reprocess</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, sacrificing all of our lands, then getting them all back!). And outside of white, we have the most obvious inclusion in the deck: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crucible of Worlds" href="#" target="_blank">Crucible of Worlds</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sevinne&#039;s Reclamation"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Serra Paragon"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Second Sunrise"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Faith&#039;s Reward"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Brought Back"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Crucible of Worlds"></div></div>
<p>There's an extra special card to recur our lands, but I'm saving that one until later.</p>
<h2>Category #4: <em>Landfall</em></h2>
<p><em>Landfall</em> abilities are a bit scarce in Mardu colors, but the options that we do have are pretty crazy. Every time I've seen <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Felidar Retreat" href="#" target="_blank">Felidar Retreat</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> hit the board since it was printed, it has been an absolute house. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Emeria Shepherd" href="#" target="_blank">Emeria Shepherd</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is an insane "reanimation" effect. And <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Emeria Angel" href="#" target="_blank">Emeria Angel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> creates 1/1 flying tokens, which are more relevant than you might think.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Felidar Retreat"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Emeria Shepherd"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Emeria Angel"></div></div>
<h2>Category #5: The "Secret Spice"</h2>
<p>The secret spice for this deck includes a relatively unpopular commander: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Yomiji, Who Bars the Way" href="#" target="_blank">Yomiji, Who Bars the Way</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Yomiji, Who Bars the Way"></div></div>
<p>There aren't a whole lot of legendary lands in Mardu colors, but I had to include them when I thought of how cool all of our sacrifice effects would be with Yomiji. We can't combo off immediately with Yomiji, but sacrificing lands feels less bad when you just get them all back to your hand.</p>
<p>While all this "looping lands" stuff seems cool, I'm sure you're asking the question: "How does it win?" Well, outside of the token plan with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Felidar Retreat" href="#" target="_blank">Felidar Retreat</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Emeria Angel" href="#" target="_blank">Emeria Angel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, there's an absolute heater I need to talk about: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Valakut Exploration" href="#" target="_blank">Valakut Exploration</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Valakut Exploration"></div></div>
<p>This card can provide us with extra card advantage, which is very good, but if we have one of those crazy turns where we're "looping lands," we could potentially kill the entire table with its second ability.</p>
<h2>Closing Thoughts</h2>
<p>This deck has been sitting in my drafts for a few months now, but I'm glad it finally gets to see the light of day. I hope you enjoyed my journey into "lands matter" today, and I hope you find inspiration in this article to build something wacky on your own!</p>
<p>Check out my decklist below:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Bottom of the Barrel #11 - Ravos and Toggo Landfall" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Ravos, Soultender
*1 Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith
[/Commander]
[Instants]
*1 Brought Back
*1 Cosmic Intervention
*1 Deflecting Palm
*1 Faith&#039;s Reward
*1 Path to Exile
*1 Second Sunrise
*1 Swords to Plowshares
[/Instants]
[Creatures]
*1 Beza, the Bounding Spring
*1 Bloodghast
*1 Braids, Arisen Nightmare
*1 Burnished Hart
*1 Claim Jumper
*1 Deep Gnome Terramancer
*1 Emeria Angel
*1 Emeria Shepherd
*1 God-Eternal Bontu
*1 Hardened Tactician
*1 Hedron Detonator
*1 Keeper of the Accord
*1 Knight of the White Orchid
*1 Loyal Warhound
*1 Serra Paragon
*1 Solemn Simulacrum
*1 Trove Warden
*1 Walking Atlas
*1 Yomiji, Who Bars the Way
[/Creatures]
[Enchantments]
*1 Curse of the Restless Dead
*1 Felidar Retreat
*1 Ghirapur Aether Grid
*1 Goblin Trenches
*1 Land Tax
*1 The Restoration of Eiganjo // Architect of Restoration
*1 Valakut Exploration
[/Enchantments]
[Sorceries]
*1 Cleansing Wildfire
*1 Farewell
*1 Nahiri&#039;s Lithoforming
*1 Night&#039;s Whisper
*1 Painful Truths
*1 Pitiless Carnage
*1 Planar Birth
*1 Reprocess
*1 Sevinne&#039;s Reclamation
*1 Sundering Eruption // Volcanic Fissure
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Archaeomancer&#039;s Map
*1 Claws of Gix
*1 Crucible of Worlds
*1 Dragonspark Reactor
*1 Gerrard&#039;s Hourglass Pendant
*1 Ghirapur Orrery
*1 Mirage Mirror
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Staff of Titania
*1 Sunstone
*1 Surveyor&#039;s Scope
*1 Sword of Forge and Frontier
*1 Sword of Hearth and Home
*1 Zuran Orb
[/Artifacts]
[Lands]
*1 Abstergo Entertainment
*1 Alpine Meadow
*1 Boros Garrison
*1 Cactus Preserve
*1 Dark Depths
*1 Elegant Parlor
*1 Fabled Passage
*1 Field of the Dead
*1 Flagstones of Trokair
*1 Geier Reach Sanitarium
*1 Guildless Commons
*1 Horizon of Progress
*1 Kor Haven
*1 Lazotep Quarry
*1 Lotus Field
*1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
*1 Mines of Moria
*1 Mouth of Ronom
*1 Orzhov Basilica
*1 Prismatic Vista
*1 Rakdos Carnarium
*1 Rath&#039;s Edge
*1 Savai Triome
*1 Shadowy Backstreet
*3 Snow-Covered Mountain
*6 Snow-Covered Plains
*3 Snow-Covered Swamp
*1 Snowfield Sinkhole
*1 The Black Gate
*1 Thespian&#039;s Stage
*1 Tomb of Urami
[/Lands]"></span></div>


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Ravos, Soultender and Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith EDH Deck Tech