Strixhaven Set Review - Quandrix and Green

Conditions Allow - Gor Muldrak, Amphinologist

Commander Legends Set Review — Precons

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Keruga the Macrosage" href="#" target="_blank">Keruga the Macrosage</a> | Art by <a href="https://danscottart.format.com/">Dan Scott</a>)</h6>
<h1>Epic Preparations</h1>
Hello, EDHREC fans! I’m Bernardo Melibeu, and this is Epic Experiment, a series where we throw all common sense aside and experiment with some unusual strategies, changing how we normally build our deck. Is it going to work? Who knows?! We’re making science here. When you’re an Izzet mage, blowing things up is half the fun.
This week we'll be looking into one very angry Hippo. While it has probably the most controversial keyword ever created, we're using it the good ol' fashioned way. We're talking about <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Keruga, the Macrosage" href="#" target="_blank">Keruga, the Macrosage</a>. Note: the Companion text below is the errata version, not how the card was originally printed.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Keruga, the Macrosage"></div></div>
Companion — Your starting deck contains only cards with converted mana cost 3 or greater and land cards. (If this card is your chosen companion, you may put it into your hand from outside the game for {3} any time you could cast a sorcery.)
When Keruga, the Macrosage enters the battlefield, draw a card for each other permanent you control with converted mana cost 3 or greater. 
Observation 1:
There are a lot of differences between Keruga as a Companion and as a commander. In this article we'll be looking at Keruga as the latter. To read about Keruga in the Companion zone, here's a link to my <a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/collected-company-keruga/">Collected Company article</a>.
Observation 2:
Keruga's ability is really strong in the Simic colors: having an explosive draw effect that rewards committing to the board can be quite powerful, and we have enough support to exploit it.
Observation 3:
Unlike its Companion version, Keruga as a commander is not restricted to three-CMC and greater cards, so it can pack normal interaction, such as counterspells and cheap removal, which makes building it as a commander much less risky.
Observation 4:
Keruga has one glaring weakness: it needs to overextend to reap the benefit from the draw. This leads into situations where we can get blown out by board wipes while trying to get more value from Keruga.
<hr />
<h2>The Old Formula</h2>
<a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Keruga-Sig-2.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-53855" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Keruga-Sig-2-1024x466.png" alt="" width="1024" height="466" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Keruga-Sig-2-1024x466.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Keruga-Sig-2-300x136.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Keruga-Sig-2-768x349.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Keruga-Sig-2.png 1361w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
Keruga is a powerful midrange commander; most lists are packing creatures with powerful effects to fuel Keruga's card draw, this is similar to a blink shell, and it can even be adapted to become one. There's something to be said about the risk of using creatures to get value from Keruga, since it's very easy to get blown out by board wipes.
<hr />
<h2>The Epic Ingredients</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Control Magic"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rites of Flourishing"></div></div>
To counteract the need of overextending, we could use cards like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Alhammarret&#039;s Archive" href="#" target="_blank">Alhammarret&#039;s Archive</a> to make Keruga's trigger more efficient; however, that means that we need to find and play them before casting our commander. This play pattern can be awkward because these are kill on sight cards, which means that it's very likely that we won't untap with them. But what if I told you that, without having to rely on any specific enablers, there's a way to always get double the value from our cards?
Enter <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Control Magic" href="#" target="_blank">Control Magic</a>, a four-mana enchantment that allows us to steal creatures from our opponents. Which ultimately means that we get double the card draw for each of these effects that we've played!
While our core theme is set, we still need to find a shell to enable this interaction. Group Hug is great for this as it allows us to develop our game plan while flying under the radar. Our <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Control Magic" href="#" target="_blank">Control Magic</a> effects can even help this strategy as a whole because we can steal threats from our opponents, if their board state gets too big.
Our game plan is very mana hungry. Because of that, the Hug pieces that we are looking for are mainly ones that provide us said mana, either by ramping or drawing into them. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="New Frontiers" href="#" target="_blank">New Frontiers</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Collective Voyage" href="#" target="_blank">Collective Voyage</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Veteran Explorer" href="#" target="_blank">Veteran Explorer</a> are explosive pieces that, if played early on, opens up the game right from the start. Since our commander can be a great source of card draw, it isn't our main concern; however, it still helps both at finding our ramp and as a political currency.
Here are some cards that help us along in our plans:
<ul>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Temple bell" href="#" target="_blank">Temple bell</a> is an amazing tool, as we get to choose when we want to activate it, and there's a lot of potentials for deals here</li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jace Beleren" href="#" target="_blank">Jace Beleren</a> has some similarities to Temple Bell, but it trades the instant speed aspect for the potential of selfish activation</li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Horn of Greed" href="#" target="_blank">Horn of Greed</a> becomes a powerful draw engine that tends to stay on board because it's symmetrical</li>
</ul>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sphinx&#039;s Tutelage"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ominous Seas"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Folio of Fancies"></div></div>
Our game plan isn't so efficient at closing games. After all, beating people with their own creatures can be quite slow, especially when said creatures can disappear after their owner is eliminated from the game. Therefore, we still need some threats of our own. The hardest part, for me at least, in any politics-oriented deck is finding the right win condition; we need them to be effective, but they can't be too effective or else they'll attract aggro and undo all of our hard political work. Mill works perfectly for what we're trying to accomplish; cards like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sphinx&#039;s Tutelage" href="#" target="_blank">Sphinx&#039;s Tutelage</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Psychic Corrosion" href="#" target="_blank">Psychic Corrosion</a> can be great "concealed" win conditions because, until we start going off, they don't present as themselves as immediate threats for the rest of the table.
<hr />
<h2>The Mixture</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Keruga Group Hug" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*Keruga, the Macrosage
[/Commander]
[Artifact]
*Sol Ring
*Folio of Fancies
*Crystal Shard
*Horn of Greed
*Pendant of Prosperity
*Portal of Sanctuary
*Temple Bell
*Erratic Portal
*Panharmonicon
*Vedalken Orrery
*Alhammarret&#039;s Archive
*Keening Stone
[/Artifact]
[Creature]
*Veteran Explorer
*Farhaven Elf
*Springbloom Druid
*Wood Elves
*Sower of Temptation
*Grothama, All-Devouring
*Tatyova, Benthic Druid
*Consecrated Sphinx
*Rampaging Baloths
*Agent of Treachery
*Avenger of Zendikar
[/Creature]
[Enchantment]
*Ominous Seas
*Psychic Corrosion
*Rhystic Study
*Rites of Flourishing
*Sphinx&#039;s Tutelage
*Teferi&#039;s Tutelage
*Control Magic
*Leyline of Anticipation
*Vernal Equinox
*Control Magic
*Treachery
*Confiscate
*In Bolas&#039;s Clutches
[/Enchantment]
[Instant]
*Nature&#039;s Claim
*Pongify
*Rapid Hybridization
*Swan Song
*Arcane Denial
*Counterspell
*Cyclonic Rift
*Reality Shift
*Beast Within
*Aetherize
*Sudden Substitution
*Aetherspouts
[/Instant]
[Sorcery]
*Collective Voyage
*Minds Aglow
*New Frontier
*Wildest Dreams
*Farseek
*Nature&#039;s Lore
*Rampant Growth
*Show and Tell
*Tempt with Discovery
*Hour of Promise
*Blatant Thievery
[/Sorcery]
[Planeswalker]
*Jace Beleren
[/Planeswalker]
[Land]
*Command Tower
*Breeding Pool
*Botanical Sanctum
*City of Brass
*Mana Confluence
*Waterlogged Grove
*Hinterland Harbor
*Yavimaya Coast
*Exotic Orchard
*Temple of Mystery
*Alchemist&#039;s Refuge
*Thespian&#039;s Stage
*Dark Depths
*11 Forest
*15 Island
[/Land]"></div>

<hr />
Our deck is lacking in targets for cards like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Erratic Portal" href="#" target="_blank">Erratic Portal</a>, or even <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Panharmonicon" href="#" target="_blank">Panharmonicon</a>; however, when considering that our commander is our main way to recover cards, it's easy to understand how this support suite can be effective. These pieces become especially good in the later portions of the game, when we have enough mana to both draw and play cards on the same turn.
One of the main setbacks when playing Group Hug decks is that we can sometimes accidentally act as a kingmaker. This happens because many of our more explosive effects can only be played on our turn, regardless if the next player is already too far ahead or is unwilling to cooperate. To get around this, we're playing some <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vedalken Orrery" href="#" target="_blank">Vedalken Orrery</a> effects; these cards are great because they give us a new dimension by which to bargain because now we can try to make deals regarding when we play a Hug effect. They also play well into our <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Control Magic" href="#" target="_blank">Control Magic</a> spells, as stealing a creature at instant speed allows us to have a pseudo-haste effect.
<hr />
<h2>Methodology</h2>
Our opening hands are very flexible; we're mostly looking to play some ramp and stay on curve. Overall, some easy mulligans are hands that contain too many late-game pieces, such as: expensive threats, mill pieces, and Keruga support. We have an expensive deck, and we won't have the time to cast them all if our opening hand is full of them. The sooner we start playing our Group Hug cards, the sooner we can start making deals (and hopefully steal some important threats); however, if we take too long to ramp it, can slow us down by the mid-game.
By the mid-game, we should be looking for the opportunity to either: play Keruga and draw some cards if we're running out of steam; start making deals with the table, if we drew some of our Hug pieces; or even steal some threats, if we need to break parity or control the board. When looking to make deals, especially when it involves symmetrical effects, we need to carefully consider how it affects each other player, because games tend spiral out of control when we fail to do so. Alternatively, we could try to make a deal with the already established threat, if we think that we can out-scale them in the late game. This allows us to use them to eliminate other players while we develop, waiting for a chance to strike. Needless to say, this might be a bit salt-inducing for the rest of the table, especially if we go on to lose the game.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Keening Stone"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rampaging Baloths"></div></div>
Our late-game chances are pretty good, and if we're doing our job right, we have a decent chance of living to see this stage of the game quite comfortably. This gives us the time we need to develop our mana in order to play some of our more expensive threats, like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Avenger of Zendikar" href="#" target="_blank">Avenger of Zendikar</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rampaging Baloths" href="#" target="_blank">Rampaging Baloths</a>; or even go crazy on the mill pieces. It's important to understand when to make the face-heel turn; if we go too soon, we might not have what it takes to finish the game, and if we take too long, we might be too late.
<hr />
<h2>Epic Results</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thassa, Deep-Dwelling"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Reclamation Sage"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Food Chain"></div></div>
Another way to build is investing deeper into creatures with ETB triggers, like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reclamation Sage" href="#" target="_blank">Reclamation Sage</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wood Elves" href="#" target="_blank">Wood Elves</a>, and lean heavier in the flicker side. Cards like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thassa, Deep Dwelling" href="#" target="_blank">Thassa, Deep Dwelling</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Conjurer&#039;s Closet" href="#" target="_blank">Conjurer&#039;s Closet</a> can do some work, but they're just awkwardly slow without a higher number of decent ETB creatures in our deck.
Another change could be substituting some win condition (probably mill, as it's very slot-heavy) to be more combo-oriented. The <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Food Chain" href="#" target="_blank">Food Chain</a> plus <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Eternal Scourge" href="#" target="_blank">Eternal Scourge</a>/<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Misthollow Griffin" href="#" target="_blank">Misthollow Griffin</a> combo is game-ending when combined with our commander, as we get to draw our entire library and then use <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Laboratory Maniac" href="#" target="_blank">Laboratory Maniac</a>/<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thassa&#039;s Oracle" href="#" target="_blank">Thassa&#039;s Oracle</a> to win the game. If considering this approach, we should also include a dedicated tutor suite to help to find our combo pieces.
That’s it for this Epic Experiment! What do you think about this list? Do you have any questions about the deck? Which cards did you like? Which didn’t you? Was this Epic Experiment a success? Please let me know in the comments below!

Epic Experiment - Keruga Theft

Collected Company - Keruga

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

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

Uncommonders - Double the Favoring, Double the Fun!

Ultra Budget Brews -  Rashmi, Eternities Crafter

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Willbreaker" href="#" target="_blank">Willbreaker</a> | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/izzymedrano">Dan Scott</a>)</h6>
<h1>"Stay on Target..."</h1>
Welcome back to another Forgotten Harvest, where we dig deep into the bulk boxes of Magic to forage for hyper-underplayed cards that see play in 300 decks or less on EDHREC. Today, for the first time in this series, we're going to be tackling a Simic deck.
Given the stigma, for lack of a better word, that can come with playing Simic, I feel compelled to set expectations before I unveil this week's strategy. This series focuses on cards that see the least amount of play. These won't be the most powerful cards, and may not make for the most powerful deck. In the right strategy, though, a card which sees barely any play may become usable. If you do want to try out the cards we cover in this article, be aware of the perceptions players have when playing against a color combination like Simic, which is often expected to make crazy things happen with, for instance, +1/+1 counters.
This time, I'm scraping a strategy together based completely on the act of targeting. It's going to feel a lot like a Simic Spellslinger deck, heavily relying on instants and sorceries to target creatures on all sides of the battlefield. We're going to have to make sure that the deck stays creature-focused while also providing enough spells to still make it feel like a Spellslinger deck.
<hr />
<h2>"Stay on Target..."</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="One Dozen Eyes"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Triton Fortune Hunter"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wild Defiance"></div></div>
A token strategy will be key to our success. We'll depend on cards like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Silverfur Partisan" href="#" target="_blank">Silverfur Partisan</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Docent of Perfection" href="#" target="_blank">Docent of Perfection</a>, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Talrand, Sky Summoner" href="#" target="_blank">Talrand, Sky Summoner</a> to play simultaneously into the token and Spellslinger archetypes. However, there's always room for more traditional token production, too. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="One Dozen Eyes" href="#" target="_blank">One Dozen Eyes</a> is one of my favorites, and the swarm it provides is just what we're looking for. This collection of menacing eyes only sees play in 211 decks.
In addition to token strategies, we're also looking for other cards that care about being the target of a spell. The Heroic creatures from Theros block fit the bill quite well, and a number of them are hyper-underplayed. In that vein, we're running <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Triton Fortune Hunter" href="#" target="_blank">Triton Fortune Hunter</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wavecrash Triton" href="#" target="_blank">Wavecrash Triton</a>, who see play in 80 and 35 decks, respectively; the associated card draw and spot removal, in the form of tapping down opposing creatures, will both be quite helpful.
Now that we have a mess of creatures, how can we capitalize on them becoming targeted by our spells? <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gargos, Vicious Watcher" href="#" target="_blank">Gargos, Vicious Watcher</a> can help us out with that, fighting opposing creatures when one of our creatures becomes a target, and so can <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wild Defiance" href="#" target="_blank">Wild Defiance</a>, which only appears in 247 decks. Truly the heart of the deck, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wild Defiance" href="#" target="_blank">Wild Defiance</a> buffs our targets by an extra +3/+3, which can be huge when paired with an <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Open into Wonder" href="#" target="_blank">Open into Wonder</a> and a field full of critters.
<hr />
<h2>"Stay on Target..."</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sway of Illusion"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sea Kings&#039; Blessing"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sylvan Paradise"></div></div>
We've covered the targets, so let's talk about the spells that'll be doing the targeting. After some research, I've been able to find only three spells that can target an infinite number of creatures for a set cost: <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sway of Illusion" href="#" target="_blank">Sway of Illusion</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sea Kings&#039; Blessing" href="#" target="_blank">Sea Kings&#039; Blessing</a>, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sylvan Paradise" href="#" target="_blank">Sylvan Paradise</a>. All three qualify as hyper-underplayed, appearing in only 160, 34, and 11 decklists, respectively. You can tell this is Forgotten Harvest when I'm bringing up obscure cards from Legends!
While it's clear to see that none of the cards are terribly powerful (changing colors is sooooo Invasion block), when they're paired with the cards we've already discussed, like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wild Defiance" href="#" target="_blank">Wild Defiance</a>, they quickly become <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Overrun" href="#" target="_blank">Overrun</a>s. Even better, when we cast a <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sea Kings&#039; Blessing" href="#" target="_blank">Sea Kings&#039; Blessing</a> with a <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dismiss into Dream" href="#" target="_blank">Dismiss into Dream</a> or <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Willbreaker" href="#" target="_blank">Willbreaker</a> in play, it will completely decimate the opposing battlefields. I opted not to run <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Concordant Crossroads" href="#" target="_blank">Concordant Crossroads</a> in this deck, but if you find great success with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Willbreaker" href="#" target="_blank">Willbreaker</a>, you should consider adding it.
Some final notes on these three instants: I added in <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Isochron Scepter" href="#" target="_blank">Isochron Scepter</a> specifically to abuse these three cards. Scepter is particularly useful here because it casts a copy of the exiled instant. This is very relevant for the Heroic creatures, as they require a cast spell to target them, and won't trigger off a copy of a spell.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Battlefield Thaumaturge"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Crowd Goes Wild"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Polymorphous Rush"></div></div>
If you thought those color-change instants were the only trick I included in this deck, think again! This deck definitely makes the most of a card like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Battlefield Thaumaturge" href="#" target="_blank">Battlefield Thaumaturge</a>, lowering the cost of our pump spells down to almost nothing, and it's only in 168 decks, to boot! When paired with cards like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Crowd Goes Wild" href="#" target="_blank">The Crowd Goes Wild</a> (221 decks) or <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thrive" href="#" target="_blank">Thrive</a> (253 decks), you can perma-pump the entire team for only one green mana.
Adding in a third card, perhaps you could use a <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Polymorphous Rush" href="#" target="_blank">Polymorphous Rush</a>, found in 255 decks, and some blue mana to make a few extra copies of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Silverfur Partisan" href="#" target="_blank">Silverfur Partisan</a> before casting <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thrive" href="#" target="_blank">Thrive</a>. With all those Wolf target triggers stacking, your army is going to be gigantic! (Again, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Concordant Crossroads" href="#" target="_blank">Concordant Crossroads</a> or even <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Akroma&#039;s Memorial" href="#" target="_blank">Akroma&#039;s Memorial</a> might be worth an add if you're having trouble keeping the tokens around until you can take them to the red zone.)
<hr />
<h2>"Stay on Target..."</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Band Together"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Phantasmal Form"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rethink"></div></div>
This is all well and good, but we still haven't addressed two key pieces of a Commander deck: removal spells, and an actual commander!
For creature removal, I've tried to keep on-theme, and that means looking at <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Band Together" href="#" target="_blank">Band Together</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Combo Attack" href="#" target="_blank">Combo Attack</a>. Both of these cards allow us to target two of our creatures while eliminating an opposing one. Combined with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wild Defiance" href="#" target="_blank">Wild Defiance</a>, it should be easy to build up enough power to take out the biggest beefcake on the other side of the field. These cards are currently in 242 and 55 decks, respectively.
While not typically considered removal, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phantasmal Form" href="#" target="_blank">Phantasmal Form</a> is an excellent way to instantaneously shrink a huge attacker, making it easily blockable. As many of you have read in previous articles, I'm a big fan of these kinds of shenanigans, especially given the political role they can play. Add that a cantrip is baked into the instant, as well as its flexibility in potentially letting you target two of your own creatures for <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wild Defiance" href="#" target="_blank">Wild Defiance</a> triggers, and this card seems like a great fit.
This deck gave me the chance to slot in one of my favorite soft counterspells, hailing from all the way back in Prophecy. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rethink" href="#" target="_blank">Rethink</a> is currently in 154 decks, and while it's not the best option when countering an opponent's <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Path to Exile" href="#" target="_blank">Path to Exile</a>, it's perfect for countering mass creature removal, like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blasphemous Act" href="#" target="_blank">Blasphemous Act</a> or <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phyrexian Rebirth" href="#" target="_blank">Phyrexian Rebirth</a>. I've found it to be an effective counter that no one sees coming.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Edric, Spymaster of Trest"></div></div>
Normally, I'd lead with the commander in one of these articles, but if you've looked at the field of Simic commander candidates, you'd see that there are no options that directly play into what this deck is trying to do. Simic just doesn't sling spells that much, and usually waits until Temur adds red to the mix to focus on instants and sorceries.
However, this deck is still missing a key element, and it's a big one: card draw. So much of this deck is going to rely on getting the key cards in hand together at the right moment. Given this, and the heavy token theme, I think <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Edric, Spymaster of Trest" href="#" target="_blank">Edric, Spymaster of Trest</a> is the best pick. Yes, there's something to be said for using <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tatyova, Benthic Druid" href="#" target="_blank">Tatyova, Benthic Druid</a>, as she's capable of more reliable draw, but her high CMC is concerning to me, so I opted for Edric in my build.
Let's take a look at the list!
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"></div>
[Commander] 
*1 Edric, Spymaster of Trest 
[/Commander]
[Creatures] 
*1 Birds of Paradise 
*1 Llanowar Elves 
*1 Battlefield Thaumaturge 
*1 Maraleaf Pixie 
*1 Eternal Witness 
*1 Gyre Engineer 
*1 Silverfur Partisan 
*1 Spellseeker 
*1 Triton Fortune Hunter 
*1 Wavecrash Triton 
*1 Archaeomancer 
*1 Master of the Wild Hunt 
*1 Murmuring Mystic 
*1 Niblis of Frost 
*1 Talrand, Sky Summoner 
*1 Docent of Perfection 
*1 Willbreaker 
*1 Gargos, Vicious Watcher 
[/Creatures]
[Instants] 
*1 Giant Growth 
*1 Sea Kings' Blessing 
*1 Sylvan Paradise 
*1 Warriors' Lesson 
*1 Cyclonic Rift 
*1 Muddle the Mixture 
*1 Sway of Illusion 
*1 Symbiosis 
*1 Band Together 
*1 Beast Within 
*1 Combo Attack 
*1 Krosan Grip 
*1 Phantasmal Form 
*1 Polymorphous Rush 
*1 Rethink 
*1 Synchronized Strike 
*1 Unwind 
*1 Mystic Genesis 
[/Instants]
[Sorceries] 
*1 The Crowd Goes Wild 
*1 Thrive 
*1 Ghostform 
*1 Nature's Lore 
*1 Open into Wonder 
*1 Rampant Growth 
*1 Call to Mind 
*1 Calming Verse 
*1 Pull from the Deep 
*1 Blessings of Nature 
*1 One Dozen Eyes 
*1 Rise from the Tides 
*1 Ezuri's Predation 
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts] 
*1 Sol Ring 
*1 Brain in a Jar 
*1 Isochron Scepter 
*1 Runechanter's Pike 
*1 Simic Signet 
*1 Commander's Sphere 
*1 Crystal Shard 
*1 Erratic Portal 
*1 Primal Amulet 
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments] 
*1 Season of Growth 
*1 Wild Defiance 
*1 Metallurgic Summonings 
*1 The Mirari Conjecture 
*1 Dismiss into Dream 
[/Enchantments]
[Lands] 
*1 Alchemist's Refuge 
*1 Arcane Lighthouse 
*1 Botanical Sanctum 
*1 Breeding Pool 
*1 Command Tower 
*1 Detection Tower 
*1 Flooded Grove 
*12 Forest 
*1 Hinterland Harbor 
*13 Island 
*1 Misty Rainforest 
*1 Novijen, Heart of Progress 
*1 Yavimaya Coast 
[/Lands]
[/Deck]

<hr />
<h2>"You're All Clear Kid, Now Let's Blow This Thing and Go Home!"</h2>
<a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/tenor.gif"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-40816 aligncenter" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/tenor.gif" alt="" width="498" height="249" /></a>
Thanks so much for staying on target during this action-packed Forgotten Harvest! To show my appreciation, I've provided a place for your questions, comments, and snide remarks in the comments below. I'd love to talk more about not-so-obvious Simic strategies, soft-counterspells you think should be played more often, and how I could better turn this deck into Wolf tribal (I tried so hard to make it happen, folks!).
If you have an idea for a future Forgotten Harvest, be it a hyper-underplayed card, a strategy in need of some love, or a commander that doesn't have a home in an archetype yet, let me know. I've done several articles from reader suggestions, and I'm always looking for more. Also, be sure to tune in next time when I tell the tale of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer" href="#" target="_blank">Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer</a> and the <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Seven Dwarves" href="#" target="_blank">Seven Dwarves</a>.

simic

Strixhaven Set Review - Quandrix and Green

Conditions Allow - Gor Muldrak, Amphinologist

Commander Legends Set Review — Precons

Epic Experiment - Keruga Theft

Collected Company - Keruga

Uncommonders - Double the Favoring, Double the Fun!

Ultra Budget Brews - Rashmi, Eternities Crafter

Forgotten Harvest - On a Target Run

The Knowledge Pool - Ezuri, Claw of Progress

Conditions Allow - Roalesk, Apex Hybrid