Golgari Swarm: Meren of Clan Nel Toth
Commander / EDH* BG (Golgari) Infinite Combo Multiplayer Ramp Reanimator Toolbox
Creature (31)
- 1x Acidic Slime
- 1x Birds of Paradise
- 1x Carrion Feeder
- 1x Caustic Caterpillar
- 1x Devoted Druid
- 1x Elves of Deep Shadow
- 1x Elvish Mystic
- 1x Eternal Witness
- 1x Farhaven Elf
- 1x Fleshbag Marauder
- 1x Izoni, Thousand-Eyed
- 1x Kozilek's Predator
- 1x Merciless Executioner
- 1x Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
- 1x Mindslicer
- 1x Phyrexian Delver
- 1x Plaguecrafter
- 1x Protean Hulk
- 1x Ravenous Chupacabra
- 1x Reclamation Sage
- 1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
- 1x Shriekmaw
- 1x Sidisi, Undead Vizier
- 1x Solemn Simulacrum
- 1x Spore Frog
- 1x Sylvan Caryatid
- 1x Underrealm Lich
- 1x Viridian Emissary
- 1x Viscera Seer
- 1x Walking Ballista
- 1x Yavimaya Elder
Sorcery (15)
- 1x Cultivate
- 1x Demonic Tutor
- 1x Eldritch Evolution
- 1x Footsteps of the Goryo
- 1x Green Sun's Zenith
- 1x Harmonize
- 1x Kodama's Reach
-
1x
Living Death
- 1x Natural Order
- 1x Nature's Lore
- 1x Primal Growth
- 1x Read the Bones
- 1x Reanimate
- 1x Unearth
- 1x Victimize
Artifact (6)
Instant (6)
Commander (1)
Land (36)
- 1x Command Tower
- 13x Forest
- 1x Grim Backwoods
- 1x High Market
- 1x Hissing Quagmire
- 1x Llanowar Wastes
-
1x
Overgrown Tomb
- 1x Phyrexian Tower
- 12x Swamp
- 1x Tainted Wood
- 1x Temple of Malady
- 1x Twilight Mire
- 1x Woodland Cemetery
Enchantment (5)
Sideboard
Creature (5)
Maybeboard
Enchantment (2)
Artifact (1)
Sorcery (1)
Instant (2)
Creature (1)
This deck wins by getting Protean Hulk into play as fast as possible while having a way to kill it immediately. You use Protean Hulk to first get Carrion Feeder or Viscera Seer + Phyrexian Delver, you then target Protean Hulk with Phyrexian Delver and immediately sac Protean Hulk to one of the free sac outlets you just brought in. Next bringing in Walking Ballista + Mikaeus, the Unhallowed, to do infinite damage (you will have to sac Walking Ballista each time to the free sac outlet you picked due to Mikaeus, the Unhallowed giving +1/+1.
The deck is filled out with a bunch of valuable enter the battlefield effect or enter the graveyard effect creatures that you reoccur over and over with Meren of Clan Nel Toth to bully the board, ramp and control until you go off. There is a healthy amount of tutors to help get Protean Hulk into play consistently.
It's key to kill Protean Hulk as soon as you play it. The deck has a lot of ways to do so with cards that are useful before comboing off as they are part of the recursion/Meren synergy. You can also setup by getting any of the following into your graveyard previously and ensuring Meren has enough experience counters to then reoccur them at the end of your turn: Fleshbag Marauder, Merciless Executioner, Plaguecrafter, Shriekmaw or Ravenous Chupacabra. Until your ready combo off all the above are great cards for locking down opponents boards until you are ready to win.
Use Lightning Greaves to protect Meren of Clan Nel Toth as opponent's are going to want to kill her. Spore Frog is a repeatable fog effect thanks to Meren to help keep aggro deck's in check or encouraged to attack at a different opponent.
The deck plays a very large amount of ramp and most of it is repeatable, the strategy here is that its all about getting you enough mana for Protean Hulk as soon as possible, since we aren't playing Flash.
Creature Ramp
- Birds of Paradise: Dork for or
- Elves of Deep Shadow: Dork for
- Elvish Mystic: Dork for , these three dorks all for great sacrifice targets later once you have other mana sources going, especially great for Natural Order.
- Devoted Druid: Can generate two and give Meren an experience counter all in the same turn then be reoccurred if you have nothing better to bring back with Meren.
- Sylvan Caryatid: Dork for or , plus blocker and hexproof.
- Viridian Emissary
- Farhaven Elf
- Sakura-Tribe Elder: All three of these give you both lands and experience counters plus are repeatable.
- Yavimaya Elder: Not technically ramp, but helps you make land drops while drawing you a card and generating an experience counter for Meren.
- Kozilek's Predator: Again good synergy in that it ramps plus gives Meren experience counters, repeatable.
- Solemn Simulacrum: Classic ramp and draw effect repeatable as needed.
Noncreature Ramp
- Sol Ring
- Cultivate
- Kodama's Reach
- Nature's Lore: Nice specifically because it can get Overgrown Tomb. These three cards unfortunately don't synergize with the creature recursion theme but are just powerful green ramp to slingslot you faster into being ready for Protean Hulk. They were also all chosen for being 3 CMC or less so with any of them you always have a valuable play before having enough mana for Meren. Plus just helps the deck be more consistent knowing that any starting hand with 2 or 3 lands plus one of these you aren't going to get mana/land screwed, therefore less chance of having a dead game due to bad luck.
- Primal Growth: Amazing value in this deck for the kicker, two lands directly into play and an experience counter for Meren, plus ideally triggering some ETB effect.
- Harmonize: Never upset spending 4 mana for 3 cards, better than most blue spells!
- Phyrexian Arena: One of Black's best draw cards after Necropotence which I've considered including but worried about having to play it consistently, Phyrexian Arena feels safer and more consistent, plus Necropotence draws a lot more hate from the table.
- Skullclamp: Really powerful in this deck, killing off mana dorks or Viridian Emissary or Farhaven Elf, generating an experience counter, drawing cards and having Meren bring them right back.
- Underrealm Lich: Controls what you draw and lets you put creatures into the graveyard you want to immediately reoccur.
- Izoni, Thousand-Eyed: Is mainly in the deck as the only viable 6 CMC for the birthing pod chain, but can be used to help draw cards and/or as a sacrifice outlet.
- Yavimaya Elder: As already mentioned helps you hit every land drop in addition to draw/experience counter.
- Solemn Simulacrum: Again, draw, ramp and an experience counter all in the same card.
- Birthing Pod: See below for the full possible chain to get to Protean Hulk, otherwise a great toolbox finder putting directly into play each turn exactly what you need that moment and doubles as a sac outlet.
- Chord of Calling: Good way to cheat in a reduce costed Protean Hulk
- Crop Rotation: Gets into play Phyrexian Tower or High Market, some of your free sac outlets
- Demonic Tutor: No condition tutor, always great
- Eldritch Evolution: One time use but similar to birthing pod and can jump two CMC up the chain, so more flexible.
- Entomb: Use it with Meren or any of your recursion cards to get what you need into the graveyard.
- Green Sun's Zenith: Get's Protean Hulk directly into play.
- Natural Order: Great in that you can play Protean Hulk turn three or four.
- Sidisi, Undead Vizier: Tutors for anything and doubles as a sacrifice trigger.
- Summoner's Pact: Draw Protean Hulk to your hand for free and win the game before having to pay the cost next turn.
- Vampiric Tutor: No condition tutor, always great
In addition to Meren of Clan Nel Toth's every turn recursion value engine the below cards enable you to reoccur/trigger a second creature effect within a turn or reoccur something Meren doesn't haven enough experience counters for yet.
- Unearth: Cheap and usable on the majority of the creatures in the deck.
- Animate Dead: Cheap
- Eternal Witness: Rare non creature recursion, nice flexibility.
- Footsteps of the Goryo: Good to use on a creature with an upon death/enter the graveyard effect.
- Necromancy: Flexible in that you can always cast it at instant speed if you want to immediately trigger an upon death effect or trigger an ETB twice by bringing the same thing back with Meren afterwards. Or just play it at sorcery speed if you want to keep the creature.
- Phyrexian Delver: Part of your combo, but could in theory be used earlier if needed.
- Reanimate: Very cheap
- Victimize: Have to love getting two creatures into play and doubling as a sacrifice effect.
- Living Death: Board wipe and mass recursion, love it.
There are many other ways to kill your own creatures in this deck but below are all the one that don't require any mana to do so once they are in play, important for immediately killing Protean Hulk without needing additional mana. Don't forget that most of your own removal cards (and some of your ramp/draw) can also be used to kill your own creatures when needed to!
Ultimately want to work your way up to Protean Hulk or at least Sidisi, Undead Vizier to tutor out the hulk.
1 Costs Birds of Paradise Carrion Feeder Caustic Caterpillar Elves of Deep Shadow Elvish Mystic Spore Frog Viscera Seer
2 costs Devoted Druid Sakura-Tribe Elder Sylvan Caryatid Viridian Emissary
3 costs Eternal Witness Farhaven Elf Fleshbag Marauder Merciless Executioner Plaguecrafter Reclamation Sage Yavimaya Elder
4 costs Solemn Simulacrum Kozilek's Predator Mindslicer Ravenous Chupacabra Vindictive Lich
5 costs Acidic Slime Shriekmaw Underrealm Lich Sidisi, Undead Vizier
6 cost Izoni, Thousand-Eyed
7 cost Protean Hulk
To play a version of the deck with a lower power level for more casual metas, I take out the following 5 cards to remove the combo and add in the 5 cards listed in the sideboard of the deck list. This plays a more traditional reanimator deck with some expensive threat cards instead of combo pieces.
Protean Hulk Walking Ballista Summoner's Pact Phyrexian Delver Izoni, Thousand-Eyed
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Revision 25 See all
(4 years ago)
| +1 | Hornet Queen | side |
| +1 | Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest | side |
| +1 | Mycoloth | side |
| +1 | Noxious Gearhulk | side |
| +1 | Sheoldred, Whispering One | side |
| Date added | 6 years |
| Last updated | 4 years |
| Legality | This deck is Commander / EDH legal. |
| Rarity (main - side) | 7 - 3 Mythic Rares 29 - 2 Rares 22 - 0 Uncommons 17 - 0 Commons |
| Cards | 100 |
| Avg. CMC | 2.80 |
| Tokens | Beast 3/3 G, Eldrazi Spawn 0/1 C, Experience Token, Insect 1/1 BG, Insect 1/1 G w/ Flying, Deathtouch, Saproling 1/1 G |
| Folders | Decks I liked |
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