The biggest problem in Magic is paying for spells, so by simply removing them, you get the perfect deck.
In reality, what you get is a pile of jank that sometimes holds its own and plays a lot like a Voltron/control deck. The commander is Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis because it lets you play two cards a turn and it tends to draw the attention away from you when you give everyone a card or more lands. The high toughness also works with Diamond Valley to generate 8 life a turn, one of the more impressive combos in the deck. Lacking Black means you can't use Cabal Coffers + Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, you lose some decent manlands and graveyard hate, but the extra land drop is worth it.
This deck can mulligan aggressively, it can go safely down to 4 or 5, you want to look for one or two good lands, plus at least one untapped coloured land so that you can cast your commander straight away on turn 4.
The deck is divided by what effects the lands have because obviously there are no creatures, enchantments and spells. Most categories are pretty self-explanatory, but the spell lands and combo lands are most of the best lands in the deck, and the manlands are the bread and butter of the deck.
Update 1: Having had this deck for a while, I can say that it can win games. Not many but it is possible. This happens by rarely getting infinite turns, or by politicking until only one opponent remains. The changes are added to make this deck more interactive, adding in cards like Forgotten Orchard to benefit people and stop them attacking you.
The main core of the deck, these lands all have decent effects that keep you alive and actually do stuff, here's a quick rundown of what they each do:
- Boseiju, Who Endures - One of the best lands ever, this is useful removal and rarely played as a land. You use all 4 Neon Dynasty lands because they are the closest thing you get to a real spell in this deck.
- Castle Ardenvale - Reliable tokens in this deck really help, and this is the best we get. 4 mana is pretty expensive, but beggars can't be choosers.
- Fountainport - This land makes tokens, ramps us (although that is not very useful) and can draw cards if we ever dip below seven, or have too many bad cards. It's so versatile and very useful.
- Diamond Valley - What a great card, I go into more detail in the combos section about this card but getting 8 life a turn is really good.
- Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire - Another NEO land, probably the worst of the 4, but it can get rid of an annoying creature in a pinch. It's also one of the only things we can use before turn 4, when we play our commander so that you don't spend 4 turns sitting around doing nothing.
- Ghost Quarter - Only we get fun lands, get rid of someone else's and leave them with a basic instead.
- Gnottvold Slumbermound - The same, but more expensive and gives us a 4/4 troll.
- Mikokoro, Center of the Sea - 2 cards a turn? For everyone? Nobody will attack you with such a deal, and it lets you dig much faster for the few decent lands in the deck.
- Otawara, Soaring City - Again the NEO lands show their power, removal of almost any threat is really useful.
- Petrified Field - Get stripmined? The only way to get stuff back from the graveyard in this deck. Don't waste it on a fetchland if it's the only thing in the graveyard, this usually sits in your hand for a while after drawing it.
- Scavenger Grounds - Graveyard hate is very useful, with only 2 deserts in the deck this tends to only hit one time.
- Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance - My favourite of the NEO lands in the deck, real creatures are a premium in this deck and this is the best value creature maker in the deck.
- Strip Mine - The OG land remover, and probably the best of the 3 in the deck.
- Terrain Generator - You tend to draw a handful of the mountains in the deck and this is good for dropping them out onto the battlefield, it works very well when you get Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle out, letting you play them at instant speed.
- Tolaria West - 3 mana to tutor any card in the deck? This card is really good to see in an opening hand and makes it possible to actually win with this deck. Usually use this to grab Maze's End but sometimes it can be worth grabbing something else.
- Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle - Hello gorgeous! This gives us regular, reliable interaction by playing a few mountains, it's one of the best cards in the deck.
All the fetchlands are here to fuel Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle by playing mountains at instant speed or for fixing mana to cast our commander at the start of the game.
Thawing Glaciers is the only card worth going into a little more detail. It's really slow, but the benefit of grabbing all the mountains out of the deck is a huge upside. Sadly it can't get the triomes, unlike the others, but it's probably not worth playing in the early game anyway.
Urza's Cave is amazing, tutoring up any land we need onto the battlefield. Finally a second land for land tutor that can be run in this deck. One of the best cards in the deck, fetching literally any card.
These 3 cards are the main way of keeping yourself alive against threats you can't block.
-
Kor Haven - This is the only colourless mana land worth playing before you get your commander on the battlefield, it can stop fast decks from going at you in the early game, which they usually will when you have no blockers.
-
Maze of Ith - This has no mana cost, which is very useful, and it can be used to pull the commander out of combat in a pinch, leaving it around to block the next round. Or just use it as normal and stop an attacker.
-
Prahv, Spires of Order - This shuts down several combos that win through damage, such as Goblin Bombardment or Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind and it works consistently from turn 5 onwards. The mana cost is steep but the effect is usually very useful.
These are mostly here to win with Maze's end and to fix mana in the early game, but the notable ones are:
Baldur's Gate - the poor man's cabal coffers, this can generate massive amounts of mana in the late game, which we need if you have to win through damage.
Gond Gate - Lets you play the lands untapped, usually meaning you will certainly cast your commander on turn 4.
Heap Gate - It's here to work as a gate, don't fall into the trap of trying to use it to cast your commander on turn 3, you can't.
Thran Portal - Unless you are desperate for a certain colour, it's generally worth playing this as a mountain.
Basilisk Gate - The second gate based wincon! This can pump your creatures by up to +16/+16 depending on the gates you have out. Usually Inkmoth Nexus, Restless Anchorage or Restless Vinestalk are the best targets because it doesn't grant any evasion, but a large boost for 2 mana can quickly end the game.
These are the main creatures of the deck, sadly you lose out on a couple of really good ones because we don't have black. (I'm looking at you Lavaclaw Reaches and Hissing Quagmire). I chose the following because they were the best selection. Most of the restless cycle make the list, aside from Restless Prairie because you usually only have a couple of creatures out at a time.
It's best to only have two or three of these out at a time, as they get expensive to activate every turn, so it's best to play gates over manlands, unless you don't have any creatures.
- Crawling Barrens - A great mana sink, you can buff this to huge sizes pretty fast, especially if you get one of the combos that create a lot of mana.
- Den of the Bugbear - This makes real creatures that don't turn back into lands. I've already explained why this is so valuable in this deck, but the cost of having to attack with this land to get the creature makes it less good than Castle Ardenvale, despite costing the same each turn.
- Forbidding Watchtower - A beefy blocker, this is one of the few you can activate before casting your commander, but it's not worth attacking with.
- Inkmoth Nexus - It's a good card in regular decks, this can win the game quickly. Don't use this to block unless you will lose if you don't. The 1 mana activation can let you get some infect counters as early as turn 2, but I wouldn't bother as it stops you casting your commander on turn 4.
- Lair of the Hydra - Great for the late game, this can get buffed enough to win in a couple of hits. Early on it can make a decent blocker, but there are better.
- Needle Spires - Double strike is great, if you can activate this and Kessig Wolf Run it'll usually kill someone on the spot. The very fragile body is bad, but usually not a problem when attacking. Be careful using this against red decks with lots of damage spells.
- Restless Anchorage - One of the best card draw engines in this deck, as an explore will always hit a land, plus evasion on a decent sized creature. The activation cost is cheaper than most, so overall this is one of the best manlands overall.
- Restless Ridgeline - This works best when you attack with your commander, keeping him around to block, as well as making up for his weak power. In the late game you can use it to buff another land, but usually it's very expensive to activate two manlands.
- Restless Spire - A useful little land that gives you a little control over your deck, the tiny stats tend to mean it stops being safe to attack with fairly soon into the game.
- Restless Vinestalk - Trample is great on this, combined with either buffing a weaker manland or removing a dangerous blocker means it's very powerful in the late game. It's more expensive to activate than most, but usually worth the extra mana.
-
Dryad Arbor - A real creature? That we don't have to pay to activate? This card has been endlessly spoken about, but in this deck it's one of the best things to see in an opening hand.
A wierd category that all work with the commander to win through damage or have some specific interaction with Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis that helps in some other way. They are very similar to your spell lands, but more creature-focused, and I didn't want to have a category of some 30ish cards
Arena - Fight is great thanks to the commander's high toughness, so it rarely will kill him. This card does wish we had black, as the deathtouch manland would have paired really well with it. It's worth noting that this can target already tapped creatures, and is at instant speed, which allows for some wierd combats.
Cavern of Souls - Helpful for not worrying about having the commander countered, although that rarely happens.
Command Tower - Command Tower.
Endless Sands - Great for protecting the commander or Dryad Arbor, but not the manlands. They don't come back.
Kessig Wolf Run - Chuck your mana in this ability, swing in and win with combat damage. This is the main way the deck gets close to winning.
Opal Palace - Great for a little extra boost. Incredibly useful with Diamond Valley making it generate more and more life every turn. This is one of the cards that it's worth playing before turn 4 despite being colourless, as it makes up for the weak power.
Rogue's Passage - Great card, unblockable on your commander is very useful for chipping away at peoples health safely.
Safe Haven - A good way to save the commander in a pinch, bringing them back during the upkeep means we don't miss out on the ability. Unlike Endless Sands, this can save your manlands and still bring them back.
Sanctum of Eternity - Commander-only protection, it's pretty useful.
Slayers' Stronghold - A good boost to power, the haste is rarely important, but the vigilance is great. For only 2 mana this is a great ability.
Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion - Building on that, another boros land that buffs your creatures by giving them double strike, this can wipe someone out in one turn if it connects.
Tyrite Sanctum - Indestructible, +1/+1 counters, this card does a really good job of buffing your commander. Usually you can afford to do the first ability multiple times because of how unthreatening the deck is.
Forbidden Orchard - This allows for some great politics, giving tokens to people to get on their good side. The benefit of it giving any colour mana certainly helps too.
Witch's Clinic - More keywords, we love the massive boost of life you get from this.
As previously mentioned, all the mountains are volcano fuel. The triomes are all there for fetching in the early game, using the ones all with mountain subtypes to work with the fetchlands in the deck.
Although this deck rarely wins, it is possible if you let the other 3 fight each other and pick off the last one. The cards that can somewhat accomplish this without just buffing the commander are:
Field of the Dead - You'll almost always have your 7th land on turn 5, and from there, it consistently creates 2 zombies a turn that can win if left unchecked. It's also the best way to protect against go-wide decks.
Maze's End - It says win the game on it. Throw down a load of gates and then use this to finish it off, I find you usually draw about 6 gates naturally in a game.
Dark Depths - Dropping 30 mana on this isn't impossible, but Vesuva and Thespian's Stage are much faster if you manage to get them both, then just beat people with a 20/20 indestructible flying monster. You'll usually be able to give it even more keywords to win faster.
Westvale Abbey
- This acts like dark depths, transforming into a powerful creature we can use to swing the game in our favour. Indestructible and lifelink make it a great blocker against most creatures, only huge ones with trample can really pose a threat. On attacks it can easily wipe a player out when they get low.
Now that most of the cards are explained, the way you play the deck is really simple. Start by getting the 4 mana needed to cast Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis, then start digging for useful cards to play decent combos. There's a lot of odd interaction between some lands, and for the most part, you do your best to look unthreatening and let the other players go for each other until you clean up the last player. Usually this is done by Inkmoth infect, a janky combo, or attacking with Lair of the Hydra or Kessig Wolf Run to dump all your mana into.
The Combos are sorted into the best, which can win the game or keep up with others that have spells and decent combos that are something that can be helpful in a pinch.
These combos give you the potential to play and maybe win a game of magic with this deck.
- Inkmoth Nexus + Kessig Wolf Run
- by paying 13 mana, you buff the moth enough to kill in one swing. Considering that you have that much by turn 8, it's a somewhat viable strategy, although it's shut down by anything that has reach or flying.
- Glacial Chasm + Nesting Grounds
- By moving the counter off Glacial Chasm, you never have to pay more than 2 life, making it near impossible to kill you.
- Dark Depths + Vesuva
- Play Vesuva, target Dark Depths, sacrifice the original and you get the 20/20 token for free! A decent combo that actually gets used outside of weird jank. (Also works with Thespian's Stage)
-
Diamond Valley + Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis
- Gain 8 life a turn by sacrificing your commander every turn after turn 5, his extra land means you get two a turn, allowing you to keep up with commander tax. Make sure you sacrifice him after the end step, and probably have an alternative blocker. If you add in Opal Palace it gets even better, easily capable of getting to over 100 life.
Thawing Glaciers + Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
- This lets us cast lightning bolt once every two rounds by tutoring up a mountain using Thawing Glaciers, then having it enter the battlefield to trigger Valakut. It's not fast, but it can shut down small, annoying creatures.
Karn's Bastion + Magosi, the Waterveil + Nesting Grounds
- Infinite turn combo? In my Jank deck? Skip a turn to put an eon counter on Magosi, move it onto another land (basic Mountains are the best choice) using Nesting grounds, then next turn proliferate with the Bastion and move one of the counters back to Magosi. Tap and return to your hand, play Magosi as your land for the turn, then loop forever.
These aren't what most people call combos, just cards that work well together and pull a lot of extra value by both being in play.
Baldur's Gate + Deserted Temple - Poor man's cabal coffers, untapping it with enough gates can net a lot of mana
Petrified Field + Tolaria West - Tolaria West should always be used as a tutor, this combo gets most of the best combos besides the infinite turn one.
Wooded Foothills + Dryad Arbor - Don't forget you can get dryad arbor with fetches, this is one of the only ways to have a blocker before turn 4. Also works with 1x Mountain Valley
Thran Portal - Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle - Choose mountain, this counts towards it
Here are some of the cards I have removed as this was developed,the original reason for including them and then the reason for removing them.
- Raging Ravine - Originally included as a good manland that could grow throughout the game, it was replaced because it wasn't usually activated enough to be worth it.
- Restless Bivouac - Suffered from the same problem, originally intended for buffing the commander it rarely was worth it and ended up sitting on the side all game.
- Forbidding Watchtower - Originally used as a t3 blocker, I found it too inconsistent and not useful enough so removed it.
- Mountain Valley and Rocky Tar Pit - These two were just not great, the Valakut combo is not as good as I thought so it may be removed later down the line, but even so these were still very weak cards.
Some last final tips for this deck:
- Don't expect to win regularly, its some fun jank not a CEDH deck
- Inkmoth Nexus is the scariest card to your opponents, be wary of making it a creature when people have lots of mana up
- This goes for the other manlands, but they usually aren't worth wasting removal on
- Fetch Triomes with Fetchlands, not Mountains, unless it is turn 4 and you need an untapped land
- Make deals and plans with other players, it usually only wins with their help
- Play gates, they get good support from other gates
- Fold to MLD (You won't win)
Currently looking to swap the cards in the maybeboard in, if people have recommendations for cards that don't pull their weight I would appreciate.
