“Lie awake in shadow’s arms“
Art:Primeval Herald
by Tatiana Kirgetova
Table of Contents
Today’s Featured Commander Is:
Primeval Herald is the long-lost mini-me of Primeval Titan
, a great card to follow in its footsteps. Primeval Herald is also aggressively stat-ed, so we can easily get the commander damage kill. We are a stompy deck that spends the early turns ramping as much as possible until we cast our gigantic creatures and turn them sideways. Mono-Green, of course, comes with some weaknesses but also has many strengths. I have been having a lot of fun with this one and beating down my playgroup with this list. Without further adieu, let’s get it!
The Deck:
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Primeval Herald Stompy!
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Why Primeval Herald?
Primeval Herald is a great piece of ramp for the deck. Since we spend most of our early turns ramping, we can cast Primeval Herald early and begin to commit more and more lands to the board. Primeval Herald also has the benefit of being aggressively stat-ed, and in the right game/context, we can easily get a commander damage kill on our opponents. Primeval Herald is a key part of our deck, but if they keep getting killed or we don’t cast them right on time, we usually don’t have any issues.
Deck Overview:
This section contains information about cards in the deck and how they function within the deck! I also highlighted some of my favorite cards in the deck!
Creatures:
To start, we have some strong mana ramp like Arbor Elf
, Llanowar Elves
, and Elvish Mystic
. One of my favorite ramp creatures is Ilysian Caryatid
, which is online early in the game. While we don’t do any combo shenanigans, we still have Ivy Lane Denizen
since it buffs up nearly every creature in our deck. Ambitious Dragonborn
is a strong mid-late game card that can be a huge attacker/blocker. Nylea's Disciple
is a card I like at a table full of aggressive / spellslinging strategies. We also have some finishers, as I call them, like Ulamog's Crusher
, Eldrazi Devastator
, and Maelstrom Colossus
which can end the game just a couple turns after they come out, especially if we ramp them out early. In addition to our finishers, we have some mana sinks like Wildheart Invoker
and Spectral Hunt-Caller
, which are both great ways to utilize our extra mana.
Instants:
We have some protection for our commander / key creatures with Tamiyo's Safekeeping
and Regenerate
. Emerald Charm
is a very interesting utility card that we can utilize in various situations. This card is very strong for only one mana. Nature's Claim
and Wilt
are cheap and strong pieces of artifact/enchantment removal. Aspect of Hydra
is one of my favorite cards in the deck since it can easily set up a kill shot depending on what we have on the board.
Sorceries:
We have some strong sorcery speed ramp like Cultivate
, Explore
, and Kodama's Reach
, which can be great ways to get ahead on mana. Root Out
is a great piece of artifact/enchantment removal that essentially gives us a card. Since we have a lot of mana production from our creatures Mobilize
can produce a ton of mana. Soul's Might
on the right creature can end games quickly. You Meet in a Tavern
can be a great way to go through our deck, but most often, we hold this and use it as a mass buff for one final swing.
Artifacts:
We have some mana rocks that are on-color like Arcane Signet
and Moss Diamond
, but we also have some that sometimes produce colorless like Fellwar Stone
. Our mana rocks are strong and great ramp pieces, regardless of their color production. We also have Goldvein Pick
, a strong ramp piece, and a buff for only two mana. Whispersilk Cloak
is great against nearly any deck and can really help with the commander damage kill. Card draw is a weakness of mono-green, so Spare Supplies
is two guaranteed cards for only four mana, which is not the greatest rate, but we will take what we can.
Enchantments:
Spidersilk Armor
is one of my favorite cards in PDH since it allows us to take out one of Green’s biggest weaknesses: flying creatures. Beyond that, we have some strong buffs like Forced Adaptation
and Predatory Hunger
, which are great and consistent buffs for our commander or our best creature. We also have Snake Umbra
, a buff, protection, and card draw, all for only three mana. Dragon Fangs
is a strong buff that we can easily recur.
Land Base:
Being in Mono-Green gives us a simple land base with a decent amount of utility. The Hunter Maze
is a great way to get some cards in the mid-late game. We also have Hidden Nursery
, which can be a great mana sink to get some extra cards. One of my favorite lands in the deck is Cave of Temptation
, which I almost always target Primeval Herald with. Beyond that, we have some basics and cycling lands to round out our landbase. I have found this landbase is strong and effective and we also have the advantage of having a ton of ramp from other means.
Strengths of the Deck:
- Can easily overwhelm our opponents through combat
- A ton of ramp allows us to cast large permanents many turns early
- A decent amount of artifact/enchantment removal
Weaknesses of the Deck:
- General weaknesses of Mono-Green
- We don’t have a ton of creature removal
- Weak to creature hate
Deck Stats:
Sample Hands:
Main Win Conditions:
There are no infinite combos or loops in the deck. We are a good old-fashioned combat deck, and we close out games by swinging for the fences. We have a ton of buffs and ways to make all of our creatures bigger and better. While we are subject to the general weaknesses of Mono-Green, we can be very strong in combat. Primeval Herald, when buffed up, can also be a persistent threat and a piece of ramp. In a few games in testing, I got a commander damage kill on one of my opponents.
Conclusion:
Primeval Herald is a mini Primeval Titan and just a very fun commander. Primeval Herald allows us to have an additional ramp source in the deck to help us move faster. We are a great mono-green deck against nearly every combat strategy within the format. This deck is aton of fun, and like most of our PDH decks, here is a great deck for a player of any skill level. Thanks for reading to the end, and thanks for your support!