06/17/2016
Last week we wrote about Gahiji, Honored One, a deck focussed on manipulating its opponents towards your goals. This week, we are writing about a general who requires no assistance in getting the job done. We are writing about a general who will simultaneously accelerate your mana base and provide you with threats. This means, when it works, you are going to be generating a lot of attention, and can quite often lead to being the public enemy of the table where you are the biggest target.
This is quite common for fast paced decks, and not all of them have to be creature based; it can be just threatening an end game combo to have the fireworks pointing in your direction. If that sounds like something you enjoy, then tune in, we are here to talk about none other than Titania, Protector of Argoth (if you picture a ripping guitar solo here, it makes this intro much cooler)
Maybe dealing with that kind of heat doesn’t sound like your type of thing? Hopefully we have something else for you:
Politics – 11th June, 2016
Arms Dealer, War Maker, Twisted Confidant
Control – 25th June, 2016
Second Time’s The Charm
The Lady of The Land
First off, let’s discuss Titania’s abilities.
“When Titania, Protector of Argoth enters the battlefield, return target land card from your graveyard to the battlefield”.
Hopefully you aren’t underwhelmed here, at first glance this ability may not be that impressive, but when we dig down it is tremendously powerful. This ability means we can use lands with perceived downsides, such as sacrificing themselves or another land, without not only ignoring the downside, but gaining benefit from it. As a result, by playing our general we can accelerate our available mana by bringing back a land from graveyard!
Neat-o Burrito, whoa hey what a whacky catchphrase, kids.
“Whenever a land you control is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, put a 5/3 green Elemental creature token onto the battlefield”
Mean-o Mosquito, now that’s a cool effect. This is why Titania is one of my favourite Commanders, because she’s doing everything we want to in this type of deck! What a green thing to do, always looking to Recycle.
So that’s the Lady? What’s next?
The Land
This is where we will spend most of the article. Titania immediately presents herself in a manner of ways, but the strongest calling for me is a “land matters” subtheme. This deck can run lots of utility in its lands and cards that interact with lands, due to her ability to get them back and create benefit from them going to graveyard afterwards. We are going to be focussing on a land heavy build, with creatures, ramp, and a slight combo element (the latter being a bit more budget dependent) through drawing bundles of cards, creating tons of creatures and smashing a lot of face.
What is hopefully clear, is that we are going to be sacrificing our lands, quicker than you can say a trendy catchphrase like Tuxedoed Al Pacino (disclaimer: this is not actually catchy, I have made this up). This requires a high land count, I would say from 40-45 lands in total. It is safely assumed we are going to be run a lot of basic lands due to our mono-coloured general, but what else is open to us? First and foremost, let’s review lands that can sacrifice themselves. Remember each time we do this, if Titania is out we get a 5/3. I’m already giddy with excitement!
Land Destruction
Sometimes Land Destruction is a necessary evil, whether it be taking down an opponent’s Cabal Coffers, Maze of Ith or the ever so horrifying Glacial Chasm, there will always be a need (secretely, I also love blowing up a Karoo land too). Below are cards that can be used to take out opposing lands, or even ours if we need those 5/3s (Ghost Quarter in particular being especially good for that)
Cards
Dust Bowl, Ghost Quarter, Strip Mine, Tectonic Edge
Fetches
Don’t let Regina George tell you to stop trying to make fetch happen, she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Fetching is used when referring to a land that will search your library for another land of a specified type. This is normally used to get the proper mana colours for your spells, but for us this allows lands to sneak into the graveyard. This translates into more lands for our lady Titania to get back.
Cards
Bant Panorama, Blighted Woodland, Evolving Wilds, Jund Panorama, Myriad Landscape Naya Panorama, Terramorphic Expanse, Windswept Heath, Wooded Foothills
Mana Ramp
Yes, there are even lands that can sacrifice themselves or other lands for extra mana! These lands allow us to power out Titania, who can bring them back for later use.
Cards
Crystal Vein, Havenwood Battleground, Hickory Woodlot, Lotus Vale, Scorched Ruins
What Else?
We have access to many more lands that will synergise well with this deck. Here’s a few more lands and some words to explain them, as they may not always fit into a category.
Command Beacon – If your general costs too much, put her in hand. A fantastic land that Titania can return when we play her for her original 5 mana. Or just sacrifice it for fun for a 5/3. (Your general does not need to be in the command zone to use this ability)
Drownyard Temple – A newer card, and simply put it’s a must have. Ramp, creatures, shenanigans, it will contribute to them all.
Dryad Arbor – A land that if it dies, gives you an elemental. Turn 1 ramp with Green Sun’s Zenith
Haunted Fengraf – Good utility on a land, we’ll take it!
Mosswort Bridge – Easy to activate with Titania and a single 5/3 elemental, allowing us a free spell with it’s activated ability.
Petrified Field – With all these lands going to the graveyards, you can get the necessary ones back in the event of Titania being unavailable or maybe already in play.
Slippery Karst and Tranquil Thicket – These lands “cycle” to give you new cards, then patiently await their return to play from the graveyard.
With these, we have an idea of what our mana base should look like, with a healthy count of basics to top it off. Now that we have the lands, let’s move on to the next area that is unrelated to lands, I promise.
Blowing up your own lands (Directed by M Night Shyamalan)
What a twist, nobody saw it coming. We get too much benefit from destroying our lands, it had to happen.
This section is dedicated to the cards that we are going to use support our strategy, of playing lots of lands and consequently creating lots of 5/3 elementals. We will cover off cards that ramp and accelerate us further, cards that sacrifice our lands, cards that will animate both our and opponents’ lands and cards that will allow us to generate lots of card advantage
Ramp
Most decks have access to some ramp, especially Green. But there are a few effects that are just too good for us to pass up, which may not be considered part of the norm. We’ll cover those here.
The first card that comes to mind is Lotus Cobra. This will always be one of if not the first cards I will tutor for, if able, it turns all our fetches into extra mana. All the lands that Titania brings back give us even more mana! Oh yeah, Dorito Amigo (I’m pushing it, I’m not sure what my purpose is with these lines).
Additionally, we want to play as many lands as possible. These effects will allow us to play extra lands or lands from graveyard.
Explore, Exploration, Gaea’s Touch, Journey of Discovery, Oracle of Mul Daya, Restore, Rites of Flourishing, Summer Bloom
Sacrifice
Here we will capture all things that make us, and opponents, sacrifice lands. These all won’t have the same effect, but they always serve to benefit us.
Constant Mists – Prevent damage, repeatedly, and get yourself 5/3s? This is what we call a good outcome.
Crop Rotation – Amazing support card, fantastic with our utlity lands. Essentially a free spell and 5/3, depending on the land you get (as it will come in untapped)
Harrow – Sacrifice a forest, get even more forests.
Natural Balance – Bring everyone down a notch, except the Titania player.
Renewal – Sacrifice a land to draw a card next turn, replace that land, and get a 5/3.
Sylvan Safekeeper – Run it, forever and always. Protecting our team, a sac outlet for lands, and it’s a 1 drop creature.
Wave of Vitriol – A devastating wrath effect, especially on multi-coloured decks.
Zuran Orb – The one and only. Dangerous, with huge profit if played right.
Animate
If we are to animate lands, we are talking about turning them into creatures. This is an effect that can be very dangerous if played into an opposing players wrath spell, because you would lose all your lands, and that is why we want to make all lands creatures. This includes our opponent’s lands. This is because if Titania is out, and somebody creates an effect that destroys all creatures (Damnation, Wrath of God, Deree Of Pain, then the outcome will be that player destroying not only all creatures but also everyone’s lands. That means you get the elementals, as Titania ‘sees’ the lands go to graveyard, while the other players need to rebuild:
Kamahl, Fist of Krosa, Living Lands, Natural Affinity, Nature’s Revolt
We can also animate just ours, if we see fit and are willing to take the risks.
Life and Limb, Liege of The Tangle, Nissa, World Waker, Rude Awakening
Advantage
This deck build has opened up many ways for us to gain advantage, which we use to refer to more cards in hand. Blue players will be green with envy.
Let’s focus on the card advantage via creatures entering battlefield. These will not only be great with the bevvy of green creatures available, but with the 5/3 elementals the come from lands.
Elemental Bond, Garruck’s Packleader, Kavu Lair and to a lesser extent Soul of the Harvest.
What about just playing lands? Horn of Greed and Seer’s Sundial
Based on our creatures? Garruk, Primal Hunter, Life’s Legacy, Momentous Fall
The most important card here is Greater Good. With access to an effect to sacrifice your lands, you can nearly draw your entire deck by sacrifice the 5/3s, getting whatever you need to end the game! Sweet-o Cappuccino.
The Soylent Green
With the core of our deck sound and solid, let’s wrap it up with some great cards available to our colours.
Amulet of Vigor – With all our lands that come in tapped, this can accelerate us to a silly degree.
Animist’s Awakening – A strong card, always ending in a large amount of mana.
Bane of Progress – Strong removal, make into a big threat.
Beast Within – Always valued removal spell, good in most if not all situations.
Concordant Crossroads – Play it only when you need it, and it will be favourable, allowing a massive swing with creatures (when we were talking about drawing your deck with Great Good, this is one of the cards you go for)
Genesis Wave – Very powerful, even if you just reveal lands
Green Sun’s Zenith – Incredibly powerful and flexbile, recommended for all green creature based decks.
Ramping Baloths – Works well with the deck, and our general, and also has tremendous synergy with Greater Good
Terrastodon – Used either against opponents, or on your own lands for a large turn of creatures.
World breaker – Another recent addition, with a great on cast effect and built in recursion in the form of sacrificing lands!
When the light goes Green, accelerate gently
The biggest thing to know when it comes to playing this deck, is reading the board to see when it’s okay to sacrifice everything. Although we create both creatures and hopefully card advantage by sacrificing our lands to things such as Sylvan Safekeeper and Zuran Orb, we need to be confident it’s clear to move ahead. If a blue player has 7 mana up, play it safe, that could be a Cyclonic Rift, and if you just played into that then it’s very possible you just lost everything. Aim to sacrifice lands on your opponents turn right before yours to avoid sorcery speed wraths, and so they don’t have summoning sickness on your next turn. Play it safe, but in the end go nuts; you are mono-green and it’s what we do.
Another week brings another deck, so let’s see what we can produce after reviewing all these cards TheKeenCommander – Titania
Want to see the list I’m currently playing, or last used, for this general? Check it out on DeckBox! The Keen Commander – Myles’ Titania
Upgrades
The first card I can easily recommend is unfortunately the most expensive. A lot of creature decks benefit greatly from Gaea’s Cradle but none so much (that I’ve played) as Titania. Feel free to ask me more, otherwise we’ll get on with some more accessible options.
Azusa, Lost but seeking – Playing an additional two lands every turn, very benefical
Burgeoning – Maintaining the land drops on other player’s turns. Circumstancially can be better than explore early game (Thanks for the reminder Sean L!)
Craterhoof Behemoth – Goes in every green creature deck for a good reason!
Crucible of Worlds – Replaying lands from graveyard is always powerful, especially in a deck with Titania at the helm. Combined with effects that allow extra lands being played per turn creates a powerful effect, especially with cards like Stripmine and Wasteland
Mana Reflections – Doubling mana is one thing, but doubling mana of a Sol Ring or Lotus Vale? That’s a lot of mana.
Natural Order – Recently reprinted in Eternal Masters, allowing us to tutor and put into play any green creature.
Scapeshift – Sacrifices any amount of lands, to get the same amount of land of your choosing. Pair with Amulet of Vigor for unbearable amounts of value.
Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger – A strong and oppressive creature, improving your game and making it harder on your enemies.
Here we are again, at the end of the post. Did you decide to read this without understanding why? Fair enough, but check out Keen Commander, Checking In for an introduction and explanation!
Was there anything you did or didn’t like about this one? Any cards that are great in your Titania list? I’d love to hear about them. As always, tell me of anything you’d like to see written about or discussed! Otherwise, I will see you next week when we cover Control!
With the most love possible from behind a restraining order,
Myles, The Keen Commander
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