Ghave, Guru of Infinite Tokens

Commander / EDH* BGW (Abzan, Junk) Counters Tokens

onyxavenger

Creature (25)

• 1x Bellowing Tanglewurm
• 1x Butcher of Malakir
• 1x Cadaver Imp
• 1x Champion of Lambholt
• 1x Corpsejack Menace
• 1x Cytoplast Root-Kin
• 1x Deadwood Treefolk
• 1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
• 1x Eternal Witness
• 1x Falkenrath Noble
• 1x Gyre Sage
• 1x High Sentinels of Arashin
• 1x Ivy Lane Denizen
• 1x Juniper Order Ranger
• 1x Lumberknot
• 1x Mycoloth
• 1x Nemata, Grove Guardian
• 1x Renegade Krasis
• 1x Rhys the Redeemed
• 1x Sadistic Hypnotist
• 1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
• 1x Seedborn Muse
• 1x Sun Titan
• 1x Twilight Drover
• 1x Woodfall Primus

Planeswalker (3)

• 1x Ajani Goldmane
• 1x Elspeth Tirel
• 1x Garruk Wildspeaker

Land (36)

• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Evolving Wilds
• 2x Forest
• 1x Gaea's CradleGC
• 1x Gavony Township
• 1x Gilt-Leaf Palace
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Kor Haven
• 1x Krosan Verge
• 1x Llanowar Reborn
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Mosswort Bridge
• 1x Murmuring Bosk
• 1x Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
• 1x Overgrown Tomb
• 3x Plains
• 1x Reflecting Pool
• 1x Rupture Spire
• 1x Sandsteppe Citadel
• 1x Savannah
• 1x Scoured Barrens
• 1x Scrubland
• 1x Sunpetal Grove
• 2x Swamp
• 1x Temple Garden
• 1x Temple of Malady
• 1x Temple of Plenty
• 1x Temple of the False God
• 1x Terramorphic Expanse
• 1x Transguild Promenade
• 1x Verdant Catacombs
• 1x Windswept Heath

Enchantment (14)

• 1x Abzan Ascendancy
• 1x Aura Shards
• 1x Beastmaster Ascension
• 1x Cathars' Crusade
• 1x Deathreap Ritual
• 1x Dictate of Erebos
• 1x Doubling Season
• 1x Glare of Subdual
• 1x Hardened Scales
• 1x Mana Reflection
• 1x Marshal's Anthem
• 1x Mirari's Wake
• 1x Pernicious Deed
• 1x Privileged Position

Artifact (8)

• 1x Abzan Banner
• 1x Astral Cornucopia
• 1x Blade of the Bloodchief
• 1x Coat of Arms
• 1x Contagion Engine
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots

Instant (2)

• 1x Beast Within
• 1x Sprout Swarm

Sorcery (10)

• 1x Cultivate
• 1x Damnation
• 1x Day of Judgment
• 1x End Hostilities
• 1x Hallowed Burial
• 1x Kodama's Reach
• 1x Maelstrom Pulse
• 1x Obzedat's Aid
• 1x Rout
• 1x Vindicate

Unknown (1)

• 1x sword of the parun

Commander (1)

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This is currently my strongest deck. Its win percentage is greater than 1/N in a game with N players, partly because it has a LOT of combos in it.

This deck relies on a lot of small two- or three- card (finite) combos to generate tons of +1/+1 counters and creatures, and uses Ghave to switch between the two. The various pump effects allow a token-based kill, but killing with a gigantic Ghave works just as well.

Cards fall into several categories:

• +1/+1 Counter Generation: Champion of Lambholt, Corpsejack Menace, Cytoplast Root-Kin , Ivy Lane Denizen, Juniper Order Ranger, Lumberknot , Renegade Krasis, Twilight Drover; Cathars' Crusade, Doubling Season; Ajani Goldmane; Blade of the Bloodchief, Contagion Engine; Gavony Township, Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
• Token Generation: Mycoloth, Nemata, Grove Guardian , Rhys the Redeemed, Selesnya Guildmage ; Sprout Swarm
• Anthem Effects: Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite; Beastmaster Ascension, Marshal's Anthem; Mirari's Wake; Coat of Arms, Sword of the Paruns; Garruk Wildspeaker
• Recursion: Cadaver Imp , Deadwood Treefolk, Eternal Witness, Sun Titan; Marshal's Anthem.
• Removal: These are more obvious - of note are Woodfall Primus, Butcher of Malakir, Dictate of Erebos, and Aura Shards . Glare of Subdual works as pseudo-removal since this is a token-heavy build.
• Mana Acceleration: Also pretty obvious. Of note are Gyre Sage, Mirari's Wake, and Garruk Wildspeaker.

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Token Generation:

• Ghave, Guru of Spores + "enter the battlefield" counter generation (Champion of Lambholt, Corpsejack Menace, Ivy Lane Denizen, Juniper Order Ranger, or Cathars' Crusade)
• When the creature comes into play, put a +1/+1 counter on the relevant card; then pay (1) and remove that counter to put a token into play; repeat.
• Net result is (1): Put a 1/1 Saproling onto the battlefield.

Counter Generation:

• Ghave, Guru of Spores + death-trigger counter generation ( Lumberknot , Twilight Drover, or Blade of the Bloodchief)
• Pay (1) and sacrifice a creature, putting a +1/+1 on the relevant creature AND a +1/+1 counter on the target creature; pay (1) and remove a +1/+1 counter to make a token; repeat.
• Net result is (2): Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature (and trigger any death triggers (e.g. Dictate of Erebos, Falkenrath Noble)

Noncreature Destruction:

• Ghave, Guru of Spores + Woodfall Primus + "enter the battlefield" counter generation (Cathars' Crusade, Ivy Lane Denizen, Juniper Order Ranger)
• Pay (1) and sacrifice Deadwood Treefolk, putting a +1/+1 counter on something; ST's persist ability triggers, returning it to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter; the counter generator's ability triggers, putting a +1/+1 counter on WP (cancelling the -1/-1, leaving it with no counters) AND WP's "enter the battlefield" ability triggers, destroying a noncreature permanent.
• Net result is (2): Destroy target noncreature permanent and put a +1/+1 counter on target creature.

Infinite Green Mana:

• Gyre Sage (with 4 or more +1/+1 counters) + Sword of the Paruns
• Tap Gyre Sage for mana; spend (3) to untap Gyre Sage; repeat. As long as GS has at least four counters, you'll net at least 1 mana each time.

While Ghave is involved in most of the combos, this deck can win even if you don't have him. The inherent synergies between the tokens, counter generation, and anthem effects is REALLY strong.

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• Swiftfoot Boots > Lightning Greaves: Hexproof is MUCH better than shroud in this deck, because you often want to put counters on the equipped creature.
• Dictate of Erebos > Grave Pact: It's too hard to hit (B)(B)(B) reliably; DoE is with worth the extra mana for the ability to cast it most of the time.
• Burnished Hart > Yavimaya Elder: The options are roughly (3)+(3) to put two lands into play tapped, or (1)(G)(G)+(2) to get two lands into your hand and draw a card. I ran into issues with [a] not getting (G)(G) early enough, ideally turn 3, and [b] not getting acceleration from YE since the lands go into your hand.
• Coat of Arms: Coat of Arms is better in this deck, because about 85% of the tokens you'll make will be saprolings. (Spirits from Twilight Drover are next-most common, followed by Elves from Rhys which happens rarely; Garruk and Elspeth virtually never make tokens.)

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• I usually wait until the turn of the attack to drop Coat of Arms, Beastmaster Ascension, or Bellowing Tanglewurm - this prevents the opponent from knowing they'll need to kill it, and often gets a surprise-kill.
• The mana base is a HUGE part of the monetary cost of this deck; this can probably get by without the duals, shocks, and fetches and running less-expensive lands.
• Number of Treefolk (for Murmuring Bosk) is 4 excluding Ghave; Number of Elves (for Gilt-Leaf Palace ) is 5. Other common creature types (for Coat of Arms): 5 Humans, 4 Shamans (excluding Sakura-Tribe Elder, including Ghave), 4 Warriors. 6 cards that create Saprolings (including Ghave).
• If I can determine that I can replace one land with Tower of the Magistrate without screwing up my colored mana generation, I'll do it. This card is really good at turning off creatures who are suited up with tons of equipment.

Date added	11 years
Last updated	10 years
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	10 - 0 Mythic Rares 50 - 0 Rares 19 - 0 Uncommons 12 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.92
Tokens	*/* W Creature Avatar, Beast 3/3 G, Copy Clone, Elf Warrior 1/1 GW, Saproling 1/1 G, Soldier 1/1 W, Spirit 1/1 W