Nylealist Philosophy

Casual

Flakdragon

Creature (29)

• 4x Elvish Mystic
• 4x Kalonian Tusker
• 3x Leatherback Baloth
• 2x Nylea, God of the Hunt
• 2x Nylea's Disciple
• 2x Plated Crusher
• 2x Rampaging Hippo
• 3x Reverent Hunter
• 3x Thragtusk
• 4x Wood Elves

Land (24)

• 17x Forest
• 2x Khalni Garden
• 1x Llanowar Reborn
• 1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 1x Sapseep Forest
• 2x Treetop Village

Sorcery (5)

• 2x Explore
• 3x Prey Upon

Instant (2)

• 2x Aspect of Hydra

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Maybeboard

Creature (2)

• 1x Charging Badger
• 1x Llanowar Elves

Enchantment (1)

• 1x Rancor

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Hail Planeswalker! Nylea, God of the Hunt- wild mistress and warden of the ancient wood- has called for your aid. Nylea grants her favor to those who can match the ferocity of the beasts she commands. Embrace the bestial as Nylea's champion, and crush those who would dare aspire to civilization.

Introduction

In Nylealist Philosophy you will find a deck filled with the biggest and toughest creatures around, as befitting Theros' queen of the forest, and her chosen champion. Nylea does not wish to be subtle, she wishes to show the might of the primordial world, through the brutal strength of menagerie.

Nylea is able to bring to bear the largest and most powerful creatures of the pantheon, and bury her enemies underneath their hooves and claws. Her strength is straightforward; if every creature her champion plays is a threat, eventually the enemy simply won't be able to find an answer for all of them. To this end, Nylea employs not only cheap and efficient creatures, but creatures that add to her devotion. Devotion is a mechanic that gives bonuses based on the mana symbols in her creatures' costs. And as Nylea's champion, you will find a deck brimming with those symbols, allowing for truly monstrous feats of animalistic fury.

Tenders of the Wood

In order to support the massive creatures at your disposal, Nylea has blessed you with cards that assist in bringing as many of those creatures to bear as quickly as possible. Elvish Mystic and Wood Elves are both small creatures on their own, but by providing a way to get access to mana faster than other champions, they allow you to constantly keep your opponent on the back foot. Explore allows you to play out multiple lands in a turn, while Rampaging Hippo can be either a cheap redraw or a threat in its own right. Prey Upon allows your beasts to deal with your opponent's creatures directly, while Aspect of Hydra turns any creature into an unstoppable force. Even the land itself lends its aid to Nylea's chosen, with Llanowar Reborn strengthening your creatures, Khalni Garden defending you during the early stages of the game, and Treetop Village turning even a simple land into a threat.

The Monsters

True victory comes, however, on the backs of Nylea's beasts, many of whom dwarf their opponent's creatures. Kalonian Tusker, Leatherback Baloth, and Plated Crusher all sit as gigantic threats and providers of high amounts of devotion, and that devotion can be turned into lethal force by cards like Reverent Hunter, which can routinely be the largest thing on the board. If Nylea's champion can bring to bear gigantic creature after gigantic creature, there is little an opponent can do to survive. Nylea's Disciple and Thragtusk round out the zoo, both providing large bodies as well as defenses in the form of life gain and insurance against removal. With each new creature brought forth, Nylea's enemies will find themselves trampled beneath your heel. Nylea, God of the Hunt is also not above entering the fray, and by bolstering her creatures and giving them all trample, her arrival signals a quick end to an unprepared opponent.

Tips and Tricks

1. Don't overthink it. Nylea supports a direct approach, and should rarely hold back. Pound-for-pound, your creatures are the largest around, and victory will come to those who leverage that weight rather than sit back and allow their opponent to gather up their strength.

2. Reverent Hunter is usually the last creature you want to play, as it will only get larger the more devotion you have. That said, the difference between a 7/7 and a 12/12 is not very large, and you don't need to go out of your way to create the largest possible hunter. He'll already be plenty large as long as you aren't behind.

3. Aspect of Hydra and Prey Upon are two very important cards to the deck. Aspect of Hydra can break through a stalled board by instantly growing a creature that went unblocked, while Prey Upon is this deck's only response to an opponent playing flying creatures. Well, besides smashing through for lethal on the ground.

4. Thragtusk's ability to make a Beast token does not just trigger on death, but on leaving the battlefield for any reason. This includes exile and "bouncing" back to hand.

Conclusion

Nylea sees in you the makings of a mighty hunter. Prove this to be the case by embracing the ruthless thrill of the hunt, and bring to bear the combined might of the forest against your prey. Feel the embrace of the wilderness, and unleash the stampede upon your enemies. Nylea smiles on the ferocious, and in Nylealist Philosophy you, champion, will find ferocity unmatched.

This deck is part of the Pantheon series of decks. The decks are made with certain restrictions. The decks have 2 copies of their signature card; their God. The also have 6 copies of two rares. For this deck, there are 3 copies of Thragtusk and 3 copies of Reverent Hunter. As the two-color gods were given access to their respective Temples, a single copy of Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx is provided here in the interest of fairness.

Have a suggestion to improve the deck? Feel free to suggest them in the comments. Nylea may have the wisdom of the wilds, but this deckbuilder does not. Please only keep in mind that mythic rares are not allowed (lest they compete with Nylea for glory) and that the decks are meant to be a least modestly budget.

Others in the Pantheon Series

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: Nylealist Philosophy

: Ephara Polis Force

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: Pharikin Out

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Date added	7 years
Last updated	7 years
Legality	This deck is Casual legal.
Rarity (main - side)	2 - 0 Mythic Rares 7 - 0 Rares 17 - 0 Uncommons 17 - 0 Commons
Cards	60
Avg. CMC	3.00
Tokens	Beast 3/3 G, Plant 0/1 G