Unleash the Horde!

Commander / EDH Casual Counters GW (Selesnya) Multiplayer Primer Tokens

Cloudius

Land (35)

• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Bountiful Promenade
• 1x Canopy Vista
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 10x Forest
• 1x Fortified Village
• 1x Gaea's Cradle
• 1x Gavony Township
• 1x Khalni Garden
• 1x Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
• 6x Plains
• 1x Scattered Groves
• 1x Sungrass Prairie
• 1x Sunpetal Grove
• 1x Temple Garden
• 1x Temple of Plenty
• 1x Verdant Catacombs
• 1x Windswept Heath
• 1x Wooded Bastion
• 1x Wooded Foothills

Protection against Wipes (7)

• 1x Akroma's Will
• 1x Dauntless Escort
• 1x Eerie Interlude
• 1x Ghostway
• 1x Heroic Intervention
• 1x Selfless Spirit
• 1x Teferi's Protection

WinCon (6)

• 1x Champion of Lambholt
• 1x Craterhoof Behemoth
• 1x Garruk Wildspeaker
• 1x Overrun
• 1x Overwhelming Stampede
• 1x Triumph of the Hordes

Token/Counter Doublers (4)

• 1x Doubling Season
• 1x Parallel Lives
• 1x Primal Vigor
• 1x Second Harvest

Token Generator (21)

• 1x Avenger of Zendikar
• 1x Beacon of Creation
• 1x Bramble Sovereign
• 1x Brimaz, King of Oreskos
• 1x Divine Visitation
• 1x Felidar Retreat
• 1x Garruk Wildspeaker
• 1x Hangarback Walker
• 1x Hero of Bladehold
• 1x Keeper of the Accord
• 1x Khalni Garden
• 1x Leonin Warleader
• 1x March of the Multitudes
• 1x Martial Coup
• 1x Monastery Mentor
• 1x Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
• 1x Scute Swarm
• 1x Secure the Wastes
• 1x Sundering Growth
• 1x Tendershoot Dryad
• 1x Voice of Resurgence

Removal (6)

• 1x Aura Shards
• 1x Hour of Reckoning
• 1x Martial Coup
• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Sundering Growth
• 1x Swords to Plowshares

Utility (6)

• 1x Akroma's Will
• 1x Felidar Retreat
• 1x Growing Rites of Itlimoc  ^Flip
• 1x Rune-Tail, Kitsune Ascendant  ^Flip
• 1x Seedborn Muse
• 1x Sterling Grove

+1/+1 Counters (3)

• 1x Gavony Township
• 1x Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
• 1x Oran-Rief, the Vastwood

Commander (1)

Ramp (12)

• 1x Birds of Paradise
• 1x Cultivate
• 1x Earthcraft
• 1x Farseek
• 1x Garruk Wildspeaker
• 1x Keeper of the Accord
• 1x Kodama's Reach
• 1x Llanowar Elves
• 1x Mirari's Wake
• 1x Nature's Lore
• 1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
• 1x Sol Ring

Tutor (6)

• 1x Academy Rector
• 1x Chord of Calling
• 1x Crop Rotation
• 1x Eladamri's Call
• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Sterling Grove

Card Draw (5)

• 1x Archivist of Oghma
• 1x Lifecrafter's Bestiary
• 1x Mentor of the Meek
• 1x Mind's Eye
• 1x Sylvan Library

Anthem (2)

• 1x Mirari's Wake
• 1x Tendershoot Dryad

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Maybeboard

Token Generator (3)

• 1x Adeline, Resplendent Cathar
• 1x Aura Mutation
• 1x Beast Within

Utility (1)

• 1x Bess, Soul Nourisher

Removal (2)

• 1x Aura Mutation
• 1x Beast Within

Protection (1)

• 1x Cosmic Intervention

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{G}{W}{G}{W}{G}{W}{G}{W}{G}{W}{G}{W}{G}{W}{G}{W}{G}{W}{G}{W}

Shalai, Commander of the Horde

{G}{W}{G}{W}{G}{W}{G}{W}{G}{W}{G}{W}{G}{W}{G}{W}{G}{W}{G}{W}

Upvote if you like what you see here

Willing Test Subject Recruitment Drive

Warning: This segment is entirely optional and purely for fun and laughter. Skip this and head to the next section if you're only interested in write-ups about the deck.

Read on if you'd like to have some fun while going through my seemingly endless rant...

Embedded within the panels in Cards Breakdown below are small stripe of art extracted from existing Magic cards. Let's see how many of them you can recognize instantly!

Answers are at the end

Now onto the nuts and bolts of the deck!

Shalai, Voice of Plenty embraces the party spirit and loves to make merry...

Naturally she'd helm a Casual Deck focusing on:

1. Token Generations;

2. Pumping them with Overrun type effects for an Alpha Strike; and

3. Growing the minions with +1/+1 counters.

Shalai, Voice of Plenty takes the path less travelled...

Selesnya token decks are traditionally helmed by Trostani, Selesnya's Voice or Rhys the Redeemed.

When Dominaria was spoiled, Shalai instantly caught my attention and I knew she was a perfect fit for this deck for the following reasons:

1. Low casting cost - {3}{W} for a 3/4 Flyer with 2 awesome abilities... This is pure value!

2. Grants Hexproof - Our army is well protected with Shalai on the board as they're shielded from target removals.

3. Beefing up the Horde - While this is not the primary reason for using Shalai, the ability to sink your spare mana to put +1/+1 Counters on all your creatures is just sweet!

Shalai, Voice of Plenty hand-picks her compatriots wisely...

You can command the Horde only if:

1. You like amassing a huge army;

2. You like turning your creatures sideways for the win; and

3. You like casual, fun, non cut-throat play styles.

Be warned, you'd be rejected if:

1. You absolutely detest cute little 1/1 tokens running rampant on your side of the board squuueeeaaak;

2. You like summoning big scary monsters that instantly strikes fear in your opponents, think Eldrazi, Dinosaurs, Dragons... RAWR;

3. You're a typical Johnny who likes big flashy combo finishes;

4. You like anything "Infinite"... Turns, Mana, Creatures... or

5. You like to be in control with your trustworthy counter magic, board wipes and answers to most, if not all, threats your opponents have.

Shalai, Voice of Plenty has fought countless battles, emerging victorious each time using her well polished strategies...

Bring out the Shalai-ness in you by winning through:

1. Going wide and swarm your opponents with hordes of creatures (Once I had an epic game where I generated 800 plant tokens and unleashed mayhem on my opponents);

2. Pumping your creatures with Overrun, Overwhelming Stampede, Craterhoof Behemoth or Garruk Wildspeaker's Ulti and going all out for an Alpha Strike;

3. Making all your creatures unblockable by nurturing your Champion of Lambholt into a monster. This is fairly easy to achieve through the many token generation engines in the deck; or

4. Swinging in for an INFECTIOUS victory as we celebrate the Triumph of the Hordes.

Shalai, Voice of Plenty doesn't thrive in solidarity, she loves all the companionship and support she can get...

Here are the different Custom Categories and explanation of individual cards, as well as why certain popular cards were excluded.

Shalai, Voice of Plenty loves to "populate"...

The heart of the deck lies in its ability to generate token creatures.

There're a wide variety of token generators to choose from and I favor generators which are permanents (preferably creatures) over once off spells or effects.

For those who prefer token generation via once off spells/effects (e.g. Spore Swarm), I generally compare the token-to-mana ratio (preferably the ratio is > 1) before deciding which ones are worth running.

Avenger of Zendikar - A staple in most green token decks, great synergy with land ramp and fetches.

Beacon of Creation - The deck runs 14 lands with "Forest" subtype. The spell is reasonably costed at {3}{G} and I'd usually get 4 or more Insect tokens when I managed to resolve this. I'd always fetch for forest once I've 2-3 white mana sources just in case I draw this card.

Bramble Sovereign - {2}{G}{G} for a 4/4 body who can give you an extra creature token for a low cost of {1}{G} is great value. Imagine duplicating Avenger of Zendikar, to the dismay of the opponents.

Brimaz, King of Oreskos / Emmara, Soul of the Accord / Hero of Bladehold / Leonin Warleader - Ranging from 2-4 CMCs, they hit the board early and starts pumping out 1/1 tokens. The need for them to attack/tap to trigger the token generation can be a drawback but in multiplayer games, there's always 1-2 players who are left open/defenseless.

Divine Visitation - Transforms baby tokens into 4/4 Flying Angels. Sign me up, ANYTIME!

Elspeth, Sun's Champion - While the cost is on the high side, her ability to churn out 3 soldier tokens per turn is great for the deck. Her other 2 abilities are useful too, making her an all-rounded Planeswalker.

Fresh Meat - When your opponents thought a board wipe is the end for the Horde, they rise again to conquer the lands.

Garruk Wildspeaker - Token producer, Ramp and Overrun all packed into a 3 in 1 bundle!

Hangarback Walker - Synergistic with the central themes of the deck (tokens and +1/+1 counters), can hit the board early and starts growing on its own, with a low investment of {1} per turn.

Khalni Garden - Only natural that my "garden" has "plants" inside... Don't really like the "enters tapped" effect, it's great on turn 1 but affects the tempo if drawn mid-late game. May be axed when there're better options.

March of the Multitudes - Token producer at instant speed is rare in the game. "Convoke" is the icing on the cake to earn the card a spot in the 99.

Martial Coup - Versatile card which can double up as a board wipe in times of need.

Monastery Mentor - With over 40 noncreature spells in the deck, my monastery will be swarming with monks if the mentor sticks around.

Nissa, Voice of Zendikar - A 0/1 Plant token per turn doesn't seem great but she earned her spot in the deck for her ability to put +1/+1 counters on all my creatures and the ultimate helps with card draw.

Secure the Wastes - Extremely powerful instant spell that allows us to generate tokens at the end of opponent's turn, allowing the Warriors to attack in our next turn. Summoning blockers at instant speed is great too.

Sundering Growth - Mainly used as a Artifact/Enchantment removal that comes with a bonus Populate effect

Tendershoot Dryad - Powerful auto token generator. I usually have the City's Blessing by then so he churns out 3/3 Saprolings at each and every upkeep (not just your upkeep)!

Voice of Resurgence - Early 2 drop that spawns a growing beast when it dies.

Notable Exclusions

Aura Mutation - An instant to get rid of a troublesome enchantment while sprouting a bunch of Saprolings, is pretty cool. But during play testing, it is often a dead card in my hand when there're no enchantments on the battlefield to blow up.

Hornet Queen - I think this is more of a "win more" card but when the Queen and her babies are on board, it'll certainly make others think twice before attacking you. Casting Chord of Calling for the Queen when your opponents thought you've no flying blockers or ways to deal with their big mean fatties, is a nice combat trick as well. KIV her until a space opens up in the 99.

Luminarch Ascension - {1}{W} for a 4/4 Angel is extremely awesome but requires build up, draws aggro and is the primary target for removal.

Squirrel Nest - Earthcraft + Squirrel Nest is a well known combo that generates infinite tapped Squirrel tokens. It spells certain death for my opponents if they allow me to untap with these flurry acorn craving minions, who made a name for themselves going up against the mighty Emrakul. However, I'd like to keep the deck casual and opted not to include any infinite combos.

Squirrels vs Emrakul Show

Rhys the Redeemed - His 1st ability lacklustre as it requires {2}{GW} to produce a 1/1 per turn. His 2nd ability looks attractive so I may give him a try if I manage to get a copy of the card.

Trostani, Selesnya's Voice - The deck churns out primarily tiny 0/1 or 1/1 tokens and having to pay {1}{G}{W} to make 1 more token per turn doesn't gel well with the deck.

Shalai, Voice of Plenty is generous with her counters...

I run only a few cards here, of which 2 are lands, as this is a secondary theme.

Shalai, Voice of Plenty - Her activated ability is a good mana sink that helps beef up the Horde. I usually use it at end of opponent's turn unless I'm swinging in for the kill during combat and needed that extra boost.

Gavony Township - Costs 1 less mana to activate. I'd use it at end of opponent's turn as usual.

Nissa, Voice of Zendikar - Her -2 puts a +1/+1 counter on each creature we control. I rarely use this ability in my games though, opting to put a plant token in play or drawing cards most of the time.

Oran-Rief, the Vastwood - Works well with Avenger of Zendikar, Beacon of Creation, Fresh Meat, Hornet Queen and Tendershoot Dryad.

Notable Exclusions

There're many spells that adds +1/+1 counters onto your creatures. You can mix and match then to your preference. I choose to omit some of these:

Ajani Goldmane /Ajani Steadfast - Unlike the other Planeswalker featured in the deck, both Ajanis only have 1 ability that synergizes with the deck.

Archangel of Thune - This is a tough cut but I ultimately left her out as +1/+1 counters ain't the main theme of the deck.

Cathars' Crusade - Felt this was a "win more" card. At 5 CMC (or above), I'd like the cards to improve my board state and/or win me the game.

Shalai, Voice of Plenty is always greedy for more...more...MORE!

Doubling Season - Doubles everything, tokens, +1/+1 counters, loyalty counters on Planeswalkers... An auto include!

Primal Vigor - A weaker substitute for Doubling Season.

Parallel Lives - Doubles tokens only but still worth running as that's our main theme for the game.

Second Harvest - This is a fun card that can win you games but can be a dead card in your hand when you've no or very little tokens in play. Being able to cast this at instant speed is awesome though.

Notable Exclusions

Anointed Procession - May include if I need more redundancy.

Parallel Evolution - While the option to flashback is nice, the symmetric effect makes it a double-edged sword.

Shalai, Voice of Plenty returns victorious each time...

Champion of Lambholt - Unblockable creatures are scary... an entire horde of unblockable creatures is a nightmare!

Craterhoof Behemoth / Garruk Wildspeaker / Overrun / Overwhelming Stampede - Allows you to beef up the horde and grant them trample for that Alpha Strike.

Triumph of the Hordes - Trample and Infect... nuff said!

Shalai, Voice of Plenty weeps when the Horde perished...

The nemesis of all token strategy decks is to have your entire army obliterated by a timely board wipe. This is especially important given the lack of "haste enablers" in Selesnya colors, after we summoned our token army, we often have to wait for our next turn before we swing in for combat damage.

Dauntless Escort / Selfless Spirit - Protection on a stick. You can bring them into play via Chord of Calling in response to your opponent's board wipe and sacrificing them to grant your army indestructible.

Eerie Interlude / Ghostway - Unable to protect the tokens but "Blink" effects save my creatures from board wipes and more importantly, from an overloaded Cyclonic Rift.

Heroic Intervention - One of the best protection spells as it affects all our permanents, not just our creatures!

Teferi's Protection - Buys us a turn to do our shenanigans. This is our sole protection against mass bounce/exile effects like Cyclonic Rift, Evacuation and Merciless Eviction.

Important rulings Show

1. Permanents that phase out with counters phase in with those counters; and

2. If a token is phased out, it will phase in as your next untap step begins. This is a change from previous rules.

Notable Exclusions

Inspiring Call - The need to first put +1/+1 counters on my creatures makes the card extremely restrictive.

Rootborn Defenses / Make a Stand - Removed them to make way for cards with "Blink" effects.

Wrap in Vigor / Loxodon Hierarch - Does not protect the Horde from popular board wipes like Wrath of God and Damnation

Shalai, Voice of Plenty is mana hungry...

Selesnya grant access to some of the best ramp spells green has to offer.

Birds of Paradise / Llanowar Elves - The standard mana dorks.

Cultivate / Farseek / Kodama's Reach / Nature's Lore / Skyshroud Claim / Sakura-Tribe Elder - I run more land ramp spells over mana dorks/rocks as the former synergizes well with cards like Avenger of Zendikar and Beacon of Creation and are less susceptible to removals (e.g. board wipes and overloaded Vandalblast), which are very common in EDH games.

Earthcraft - Turns the entire horde into pseudo mana dorks!

Garruk Wildspeaker - His +1 ability to untap 2 lands is extremely useful. Combos well with Ancient Tomb (assuming you can stomach the damage) and Oran-Rief, the Vastwood.

Mirari's Wake - This deck can be mana hungry at times and having a mana-doubler onboard is half the battle won.

Selesnya Signet / Sol Ring - The standard mana rocks.

Notable Exclusions

Cryptolith Rite / Song of Freyalise - Has the same CMC as Earthcraft and essentially turns your creatures into mana dorks as well. However, Earthcraft has the advantage of allowing you to tap your creatures the same turn they were summoned. Feel free to swap them in based on your preference.

Shalai, Voice of Plenty seeks the truth...

Enchantment Tutors

Academy Rector - Having the Rector in play has the side effect of diverting aggro away from me as opponents are often reluctant to let me fetch an enchantment directly into play.

Enlightened Tutor - Standard Enchantment tutor for {W}.

Sterling Grove - A tutor that doubles up as protection for your valuable enchantments.

Creature Tutors

Chord of Calling - One of the best and most versatile creature instant speed tutor with built in cost reduction.

Possible Shenanigans Show

1. Bringing in Avenger of Zendikar at end of opponent's turn before beefing up the plant tokens with landfall triggers (e.g. playing/cracking fetch lands, casting Skyshroud Claim) during your turn and turning them sideways for major damage.

2. Bringing in Hornet Queen and taking down opponent's key attackers with the deathtouch tokens.

3. Bringing in Dauntless Escort or Selfless Spirit in response to a board wipe to protect your Horde.

4. Bringing in Craterhoof Behemoth during combat to pump up your creatures.

Eladamri's Call - Standard creature tutor.

Land Tutor

Crop Rotation - Gaea's Cradle says hi!

Notable Exclusions

Green Sun's Zenith / Worldly Tutor - They're left out due to space constraints.

Shalai, Voice of Plenty is a firm believer of collective wisdom...

Lifecrafter's Bestiary - Scry and Card Draw, 2 in 1!

Mentor of the Meek - Great synergy with our token generation engine, netting us a ton of cards every time our tokens ETB and we're able to sink spare mana into card draw.

Mind's Eye - Have some spare mana during opponents' turns... Draw some cards!

Sylvan Library - Extremely powerful card, an auto include in most green decks.

Notable Exclusions

Harmonize - I prefer permanents with build in card draw engines over once off card draw spells.

Inspiring Call - Having to put +1/+1 counters on my creatures before it becomes useful is restrictive.

Skullclamp - It is on my KIV list and may give it a try if space permits.

Shalai, Voice of Plenty immerses herself in the melodies of the war drums...

All cards in this category has a primary role but provide an Anthem effect as their secondary role.

Elspeth, Sun's Champion - The Planeswalker is primarily used as a token generator and board wipe. The Anthem effect in the rare instances she gets to "ulti" is an icing on the cake.

Mirari's Wake - Valued as a Mana Doubler with a bonus +1/+1 Anthem effect.

Tendershoot Dryad - It is extremely easy to achieve City's Blessing in this deck so my Saproling tokens will almost always be 3/3.

Notable Exclusions

Beastmaster Ascension - One of the most popular Anthem in creature decks. It is the prime target for removal especially when we're approaching that 7 quest counters mark. In all my play tests, more often than not, it is dealt with before I get to enjoy the +5/+5 buff.

Intangible Virtue / Phantom General - Anthem that grants only +1/+1 ain't strong enough to make the cut.

Shalai, Voice of Plenty's wrath, comes close to that of the Gods...

Elspeth, Sun's Champion - Her -3 ability takes out creatures with power 4 or greater. While situational, majority of our creatures/tokens will not be affected by this.

Hour of Reckoning - Targets on nontoken creatures, keeping our tokens from harm's way. The build in convoke cost reduction synergizes well with our "Go Wide" strategy.

Martial Coup - Versatile board wipe which leaves you with a small army in the wake of the destruction.

Notable Exclusions

I'd love to run more board wipes but couldn't due to space constraints. These are in my KIV list and you may wish to swap them in depending on the meta you play in.

Wrath of God / Day of Judgment - The most commonly played white board wipes.

Austere Command / Cleansing Nova - Versatile card that can remove creatures, artifacts and/or enchantments.

Settle the Wreckage - Can be use as a ramp spell when it targets yourself. The exile effect is great against indestructible creatures.

Shalai, Voice of Plenty is omnipotent...

Removal

Aura Shards / Sundering Growth - Artifact/Enchantment removal. Aura Shards is especially strong in this deck and keeps your opponents' board clear of artifact/enchantments given our ability to put creature tokens onto the battlefield.

Path to Exile / Swords to Plowshares - Our staple {W} exile creature spells.

Haste Enabler

Concordant Crossroads - We often generate a huge and threathening board presence but summoning sickness prevents us from launching an Alpha Strike on the same turn. Concordant Crossroads bridges this shortcoming perfectly.

Protection

Dragonlord Dromoka - Allows you to do your shenanigans without fear of instants and counterspells.

Sterling Grove - Protects your precious enchantments like Doubling Season and doubles up as a tutor where needed.

Others

Crop Rotation - Instant speed spell that fetches any land. Prime target is Gaea's Cradle but Gavony Township and Oran-Rief, the Vastwood are possible targets too.

Growing Rites of Itlimoc   - Budget version of Gaea's Cradle, makes you jump through some hoops but gets the job done once flipped.

Rune-Tail, Kitsune Ascendant   - When flipped, protects Brimaz, King of Oreskos, Emmara, Soul of the Accord, Leonin Warleader and Hero of Bladehold as they churn out a token army.

Shalai, Voice of Plenty is one with Nature...

Gaea's Cradle - The holy grail of a creature based deck.

Flooded Strand / Verdant Catacombs / Windswept Heath / Wooded Foothills - Fetchlands to help with color fixing and to thin the deck.

Canopy Vista / Scattered Groves / Temple Garden - Duals with "Forest Plains" subtype, making them fetch-able via fetchlands or Skyshroud Claim, Nature's Lore.

Wish List

If budget permits, I'd like to add the following lands:

Marsh Flats, Misty Rainforest, Arid Mesa - More color fixing and deck thinning.

Shalai, Voice of Plenty has spoken, it's your turn to act. JOIN THE HORDE OR BE OVERRUN BY IT!

Feedback and suggestions are welcomed. Don't forget to Upvote the deck too!

Upvote if you like what you've read here

Answers to "Let's Have Some Fun" Show

The panel and the stripe of art embedded within it are

1. Token Generators - Avenger of Zendikar (WWK)

2. +1/+1 Counters - Nissa, Voice of Zendikar (OGW)

3. Token/Counter Doublers - Doubling Season (MMA)

4. Wincon - Triumph of the Horde (NPH)

5. Protection from Board Wipes - Teferi's Protection (C17)

6. Ramp - Cultivate (Same art used in all prints)

7. Tutors - Chord of Calling (RAV)

8. Card Draws - Mentor of the Meek (Same art used in all prints)

9. Anthem - Beastmaster Ascension (Same art used in all prints)

10. Board Wipes - Wrath of God (Magic Player Rewards Promo)

11. Utility - Growing Rites of Itlimoc (IXL)

12. Lands - Gaea's Cradle (Legacy Championship Alternate Art)

Top Ranked	Achieved #7 position overall 6 years ago Achieved #6 position in Commander / EDH Primer 5 years ago
Date added	6 years
Last updated	1 year
Key combos	Earthcraft + Squirrel Nest
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	12 - 0 Mythic Rares 54 - 0 Rares 8 - 0 Uncommons 10 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.18
Tokens	Angel 4/4 W, Angel 4/4 W w/ Vigilance, Beast 3/3 G, Cat 1/1 W w/ Lifelink, Cat Beast 2/2 W, Cat Soldier 1/1 W, City's Blessing, Copy Clone, Elemental */* GW, Insect 1/1 G, Monk 1/1 W, Plant 0/1 G, Saproling 1/1 G, Soldier 1/1 W, Soldier 1/1 W w/ Lifelink, Thopter 1/1 C, Warrior 1/1 W
Folders	Compare DECK, Interesting Commander Decks, Angels, Shulai's Horde, EDH Decks, Xmage, Decks, Primers, Liked decks, Squirrels