What is this deck?
This is a pretty classic ramp deck. No frills, no combos, just good old big mana and stompy creatures. Radha is the commander over something like Omnath, Locus of Rage because she's both enabler and payoff, though I wouldn't fault anyone who wants guaranteed access to Omnath. I would not, however, consider replacing Radha with Mina and Denn, Wildborn, as by the time you can cast the twins you're usually out of lands in hand.
How to play this deck
Plan A is to accelerate out a large board with Avenger of Zendikar, Omnath, Locus of Rage, or Rampaging Baloths, then close out with a mass pump effect like Craterhoof Behemoth. You'll need 10-11 creatures (including Craterhoof) if you have to deal all 120 damage by yourself; your better hands can goldfish this around turns 6-8, though it will take longer with disruption.
If you can't get there (maybe you're fighting through too much disruption), plan B is to grind people out with Tireless Tracker, Nissa, Vital Force, Ramunap Excavator recurring Cryptic Caves, or your other draw engines. While you're at it, you can attack your opponents' mana with Ghost Quarter and Crucible of Worlds, though this won't work against mono- or two-colored decks and is in general worse than developing your own mana and board in a multiplayer setting.
If for some reason neither of these plans work out, plan C is to play a bunch of lands and use Radha's activated ability to win via commander damage. Blackblade Reforged can help here, essentially giving Radha one permanent use of her ability for half the price. Do note that she doesn't have any form of evasion, so this can be difficult without the help of Kessig Wolf Run.
In general, prioritize developing your own board over holding up reactive spells like Beast Within. The exception is if you know you're playing against a combo deck or a deck that is very dependent on its commander, in which case being able to immediately deal with their important pieces can buy you lots of time (or outright keep you from losing).
Tips and tricks
- Don't be afraid to mulligan fairly aggressively for early accelerants. Radha is a guaranteed follow-up to a turn-1 Llanowar Elves and can give you something to do with your mana if you don't draw big spells.
- If you're debating whether to cast Radha or an extra-land effect like Azusa, Lost but Seeking on turn 2 or 3, cast the extra-land effect first if you have any lands in hand. That way, you still get value even if it immediately dies, and then Radha can help you find more lands off the top of your library once you run out of lands in hand.
- Kamahl, Fist of Krosa can double as insurance both before and after a sweeper. If you can afford to hold up mana, he can animate the lands of whoever tries to wipe your board in response so they set themselves far back. After a wipe, you can drop him and start animating your own lands to keep pushing damage.
- Try to avoid casting Escape to the Wilds until you either have extra mana or land drops to spare so that you have the best chance of emptying your exile stack before you lose the cards.
- Genesis Wave is a fantastic finisher, but don't be afraid to cast it for smaller numbers just for value if that's all you have going for you. Also, don't cast it if you're already ahead on board; save it to quickly rebuild after your stuff inevitably dies.
- Similarly, Tooth and Nail can sometimes win on the spot by grabbing Avenger of Zendikar + Craterhoof Behemoth
with a haste enabler in play, but you can also fetch other things with it (notably Regal Force) if you need something to do. Note that Rhythm of the Wild doesn't enable an instant kill, as it can't give Avenger's tokens haste.
Cards I'm not playing
Many of the obvious exclusions (Exploration, Oracle of Mul Daya, more fetchlands, etc.) are simply missing for budget reasons; in fact, most of the cards over $10 in the deck are only there because I was lucky enough to get them before they rose in price. However, here are some things I chose to exclude for reasons other than budget:
- Strip Mine and Wasteland: These are a little too mean in conjunction with Crucible of Worlds/Ramunap Excavator for the group I usually play with, and the land destruction lands I'm already playing are good enough at keeping things like Cabal Coffers in check. That said, these two lands are good inclusions if your group is okay with them.
- More equipment: This is not a Voltron deck. If you are attempting to win with Radha commander damage, something has gone wrong. That's not to say that a Radha Voltron deck wouldn't work, but it isn't this. And yes, this includes Sword of the Animist. We're playing green; we have more effective ways to ramp than that.
- Other mana rocks: Outside of Mana Crypt, which is a budget exclusion, mana rocks are generally less efficient than dorks.
- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre: 11 mana is just too much for Vindicate, even an uncounterable one with a 10/10 indestructible creature attached. One Eldrazi already gives you protection from being milled out, and uncounterable draw 4 has a larger effect on the game. Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger ups the removal ante enough that it's worth considering, but it's expensive and I don't own a copy. Feel free to slot one in if you do.
- Land fetch spells like Rampant Growth: As bad as mana dorks are if you draw them late, fetch spells are even worse. They don't provide bodies for the Craterhoof plan, they can't be tutored for, and they're not as fast as dorks in the early game.
- Depletion lands (e.g. Hickory Woodlot): This deck wants all its mana, all the time, and Radha isn't so critical to the gameplan that I'm willing to play temporary lands just to get her out early.
- Ulvenwald Hydra: I love this card, but it was cut for space. While it's big, it doesn't have evasion, and there's no specific lands that are critical for the deck's function. If I ever acquired a Gaea's Cradle, the hydra would probably find its way back into the deck over one of the ramp planeswalkers (and Crop Rotation would also be added).
- Big midrangey bodies: I think this type of card (think stuff like Etali, Primal Storm or Elder Gargaroth) is actively pretty bad in Commander, where there's more removal and more life to chew through. Regardless of how high the ceiling is, the floor is you spending your entire turn and getting nothing. If you play in more 1v1 settings, you might consider reworking the deck to include some of these effects if you really like them.
- Carpet of Flowers, Pyroblast, Veil of Summer: I just don't play against enough blue decks. These are good if your metagame is infested with blue.
- An infinite combo to fetch with Tooth and Nail: I don't like having a combo just for the sake of having one; resolving Tooth and Nail is often GG anyways. If I had to include one, I would choose Nyxbloom Ancient + Wakeroot Elemental
(which gives infinite mana), as the pieces at least have some semblance of synergy with the rest of the deck if you don't draw them both.
- Other mana doublers: Zendikar Resurgent is too much mana. Regal Behemoth is too easy to turn off or actively work against us (if someone steals the monarch). Other doublers are either symmetrical (a huge no-no) or too selective (Caged Sun only doubles half our lands at best). Nissa, Who Shakes the World barely makes the cut as she's reasonably costed, asymmetrical, and impacts the board the turn she's played.
Thanks for reading!
If you made it all the way here, thanks for taking a look at my deck! I'd be happy to see any suggestions you have for changes or improvements.
