Top 10 Anthems vs. Top 10 Hydras

Too-Specific Top 10 - Rotation Rotation Rotation, 2020 Edition

<h6 style="text-align: right;">( <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Argothian Enchantress" href="#" target="_blank">Argothian Enchantress</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="http://darenbader.blogspot.com/">Daren Bader</a> )</h6>
<h1><strong>I Guarantee It</strong></h1>
<p>Greetings everyone, and welcome back to <em>Monomania</em>. In this article series we build mono-colored decks as a way to explore ramp and draw packages that are synergistic with our particular deck’s strategy. In these articles I try to challenge staples of and misconceptions about the color pie. Today, someone is watching, and he looks great in a suit.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gargos, Vicious Watcher"></div></div>
<p>This new general may look ugly, but he cleans up well. His direction may seem very simple because of the ridiculous cost reduction he provides for our Hydras. We could play every conceivable mono-green Hydra and try to drop as many in one turn as possible. This sounds appealing, fun, and functional. But, with a careful look at that second ability, there are actually a couple of dynamic strategies we could pursue. Gargos can fight any other creature whenever any creature we control becomes the target of a spell. Any spell—instant, sorcery, enchantment, artifact, our spell, an opponent's spell—you name it.</p>
<p>While that line of text may seem inconsequential, it leads to a few interesting conclusions. At the very least, any removal spell our opponents point in our direction can be immediately reciprocated. But more importantly, Gargos plays very well with Auras and combat tricks. Any time we pump or protect our creatures with instants or enchantments, we advance our board state and disrupt our opponents. Because of this, I like Gargos as an Enchantress and Voltron commander, where each buff we give to our creatures becomes removal as well. We want to suit up our team with a variety of enchantments while also aggressively removing our opponents' creatures.</p>
<p>Despite specifically synergizing with Hydras, the tribal element seems like it might be best as a subtheme. I’ve built this Gargos deck with only fifteen Hydras, devoting most of the remaining slots to the enchantress strategy.</p>
<hr />
<h2><strong>Tailor Made</strong></h2>
<p>There is nothing particularly unique about the ramp effects that this deck wants. The only requirement is that we ramp fast and drop our general early. As such, I’ve included many of the classic green ramp staples, such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sakura-Tribe Elder" href="#" target="_blank">Sakura-Tribe Elder</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nature’s Lore" href="#" target="_blank">Nature’s Lore</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kodama’s Reach" href="#" target="_blank">Kodama’s Reach</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wild Growth"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Overgrowth"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gaea&#039;s Touch"></div></div>
<p>That being said, this is an enchantress deck. There are a few efficient enchantments that act as ramp. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wild Growth" href="#" target="_blank">Wild Growth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Overgrowth" href="#" target="_blank">Overgrowth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are both at the top of their class, sometimes even outclassing the most widely-played ramp spells in the format. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Exploration" href="#" target="_blank">Exploration</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gaea’s Touch" href="#" target="_blank">Gaea’s Touch</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will both allow us to drop two lands every turn. For one and two mana, this is an incredible deal. With <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Exploration" href="#" target="_blank">Exploration</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> on turn one, we can easily reach our commander by turn three or four. If we draw these cards in the late game, they will at least synergize with our enchantress shell.</p>
<hr />
<h2><strong>The Seamstresses Guild</strong></h2>
<p>Now that we know how we’re going to pay for our cards, let’s look at how we’re going to keep the cards flowing. We have a few different styles of draw effects in the 99.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Argothian Enchantress"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Eidolon of Blossoms"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Enchantress’s Presence"></div></div>
<p>First, I've recruited every Enchantress option in mono-green to sew the suits for our Hydras. These cards are the bedrock of the deck, allowing us to continue to outfit our team without running out of gas. Because of our high density of Auras and utility enchantments, we should never run out of things to do. I've also included <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Verduran Enchantress" href="#" target="_blank">Verduran Enchantress</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Season of Growth" href="#" target="_blank">Season of Growth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for consistency.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fruit of the First Tree"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bequeathal"></div></div>
<p>Additionally, we have a few Auras with card advantage baked into their text. These trigger both our Enchantresses and Gargos. Imagine a land of magic and Christmas, one in which we have Gargos, any other moderately-sized Hydra, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Argothian Enchantress" href="#" target="_blank">Argothian Enchantress</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> on the battlefield. We cast <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fruit of the First Tree" href="#" target="_blank">Fruit of the First Tree</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> on the unspecified Hydra, kill another creature on the battlefield with Gargos’s trigger, and also draw a card with the Enchantress. Then, really plunge yourself head-first into the holiday snow drifts and imagine sacrificing that very same unspecified Hydra to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Momentous Fall" href="#" target="_blank">Momentous Fall</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Greater Good" href="#" target="_blank">Greater Good</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. You'll feel as if your hand will never be empty again.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bequeathal" href="#" target="_blank">Bequeathal</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fruit of the First Tree" href="#" target="_blank">Fruit of the First Tree</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are both underplayed with 87 decks and 249 decks listed on EDHREC, respectively. I wouldn’t consider these for every on-color deck, but the power is there. Any deck that wants to dump enchantments or use their big creatures as fodder for explosive turns should consider these cards highly. Our deck, coincidentally, does both and wants both.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hunter’s Insight"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rishkar’s Expertise"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Verdant Rebirth"></div></div>
<p>Finally, here we have a few ways to leverage the strength and size of our creatures to powerfully draw. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hunter’s Insight" href="#" target="_blank">Hunter’s Insight</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is incredible at instant speed, allowing us to play it after no blockers are declared, taking advantage of opponents who don't respect the mono-green deck with three mana open in the combat step. With Gargos on the battlefield, this card will punish our opponents even further. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rishkar’s Expertise" href="#" target="_blank">Rishkar’s Expertise</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a pet card of mine because it shores up the weakness of high-cost, dedicated draw effects. With this spell, we can both draw ridiculous amounts of cards as well as cast another threat from our hand, putting even more pressure on the board. Because our creatures will be large, high-priority targets for our opponents, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Verdant Rebirth" href="#" target="_blank">Verdant Rebirth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> also seems very good here, returning a powerful creature to our hand, drawing a card, and triggering Gargos's ability.</p>
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<h2><strong>The Deck</strong></h2>
<p>Because of the soft focus on Hydras, this build is very reactive. It’s about protecting our team, fitting their suits just right, sniping key creatures, and waiting for a moment to swing through. This deck seems well-tuned to frequently clean up the board and give a few firm slaps on the wrist to creature-based decks. Or, in non-creature based metas, we can just remove every other general to hit the board.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blossoming Defense"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Eldrazi Conscription"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Druid’s Call"></div></div>
<p>Among the notable inclusions that make this deck tick, we have a suite of Auras and instants that protect our commander, such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blossoming Defense" href="#" target="_blank">Blossoming Defense</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Withstand Death" href="#" target="_blank">Withstand Death</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Canopy Cover" href="#" target="_blank">Canopy Cover</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Serpent Skin" href="#" target="_blank">Serpent Skin</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. These effects at instant speed is extremely important in this deck; if anybody tries to target Gargos with removal, we cast <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blossoming Defense" href="#" target="_blank">Blossoming Defense</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> on him, their removal spell fizzles, and we remove two of their creatures for daring to look in our direction. Even better, if we do this once, all of our opponents may think twice before targeting our board in the future, fearing the same fate. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Eldrazi Conscription" href="#" target="_blank">Eldrazi Conscription</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is particularly nasty here, pumping one of our meaty creatures, triggering Gargos, and turning friends into strangers with that <em>Annihilator</em> ability.</p>
<p>We also have a few notable inclusions out of <em>From the Vault: Shoebox in a Mom’s Basement.</em> First, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bloodscent" href="#" target="_blank">Bloodscent</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> seems incredible in this deck. If we have Gargos and two other imposing creatures on board, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bloodscent" href="#" target="_blank">Bloodscent</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will remove one of our opponent's best creatures while also protecting our other, more valuable creatures during a critical attack. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Druid’s Call" href="#" target="_blank">Druid’s Call</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> sees play in only 254 decks listed on EDHREC, but I think it found its forever home. If we cast this once on Gargos, he fights, and suddenly we have an army of Squirrels. If he survives, we can do it all over again.</p>
<p>Finally, we have a huge haymaker for this deck in the form of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nylea’s Colossus" href="#" target="_blank">Nylea’s Colossus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. In any turn in which we already have a big Hydra, we can chain this Colossus with a few smaller enchantments and attack for lethal. The damage cap on this card is delectable to any player with a whisper of Timmy in their <em>Magic</em> DNA.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="You&#039;re Going to Like the Way You Look" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Gargos, Vicious Watcher
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Hungering Hydra
*1 Mistcutter Hydra
*1 Argothian Enchantress
*1 Genesis Hydra
*1 Hooded Hydra
*1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
*1 Vastwood Hydra
*1 Voracious Hydra
*1 Lifeblood Hydra
*1 Verduran Enchantress
*1 Eidolon of Blossoms
*1 Polukranos, World Eater
*1 Heroes&#039; Bane
*1 Honored Hydra
*1 Hydra Broodmaster
*1 Hydra Omnivore
*1 Oran-Rief Hydra
*1 Ulvenwald Hydra
*1 Whiptongue Hydra
*1 Nylea&#039;s Colossus
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*1 Blossoming Defense
*1 Ranger&#039;s Guile
*1 Withstand Death
*1 Deglamer
*1 Mortal&#039;s Resolve
*1 Setessan Tactics
*1 Unravel the Aether
*1 Verdant Rebirth
*1 Hunter&#039;s Insight
*1 Bloodscent
*1 Force of Vigor
*1 Momentous Fall
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Nature&#039;s Lore
*1 Kodama&#039;s Reach
*1 Rishkar&#039;s Expertise
*1 Ezuri&#039;s Predation
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts]
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Caged Sun
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments]
*1 Bequeathal
*1 Concordant Crossroads
*1 Exploration
*1 Mirri&#039;s guile
*1 Rancor
*1 Wild Growth
*1 Aether Web
*1 Alpha Authority
*1 Canopy Cover
*1 Dragon Fangs
*1 Druid&#039;s Call
*1 Gaea&#039;s Touch
*1 Season of Growth
*1 Enchantress&#039;s Presence
*1 Overgrowth
*1 Serpent Skin
*1 Snake Umbra
*1 Tiger Claws
*1 Bear Umbra
*1 Fruit of the First Tree
*1 Greater Good
*1 Vernal Bloom
*1 Zendikar Resurgent
*1 Eldrazi Conscription
[/Enchantments]
[Lands]
*1 Arcane Lighthouse
*1 Blighted Woodland
*1 Desert of the Indomitable
*1 Desert
*25 Forest
*1 Mosswort Bridge
*1 Myriad Landscape
*1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
*1 Reliquary Tower
*1 Rogue&#039;s Passage
*1 Scavenger Grounds
*1 Slippery Karst
*1 Tranquil Thicket
[/Lands]"></span></div>

<hr />
<p>So what do you all think? I had a blast digging through EDHREC and Scryfall to come up with these themes, obscure cards that just might work, and this decklist as a whole. Did I make a mistake? Did I offend the EDH god of tribal by relegating Hydras to a mere subtheme? In which direction would you take Gargos?</p>
<p>Remember to EDHREC responsibly: always dig a little beyond the statistics. Have a good one, and I’ll see you on down the road.</p>


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