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A Better Zirda, Will of the Wild? (w/Marath)

Commander / EDH* Combo Competitive Counters Infinite Combo Primer RGW (Naya) Zirda, the Dawnwaker

DragonLordJippy

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Land (29)

Sorcery (10)

Planeswalker (1)

Creature (24)

Artifact (12)

Enchantment (3)

Commander (1)

Commander: altered Marath, Will of the Wild

Companion (1)

Commander: Zirda, the Dawnwaker

Instant (20)

Sideboard

Creature (3)

Enchantment (1)

Instant (1)

Join me over on The 99 as I break down the deck. Let's make a better Zirda, Will of the Wild(?)!

The Marath & Zirda Game Plan!

  1. Starting Hand should have one Combo Card and a Dork (ideally)
  2. Tutor and play towards the Combo in Hand
  3. Pivot or execute the Combo in Hand

Simple, right? So... What "Combo"? That's just it: there are several, multiple play lines ranging from two-to-three Card Combos (which we'll cover here) and various four piece Combos made available through combining Combo lines. Marath, Will of the Wild has become the Combo King with one singular, new mechanic: Companion. Zirda, the Dawnwaker completely changed my outlook on Marath and their partnership is a match made in heaven. Let's start by discussing all the Combo lines made available in this Deck.

You're almost exclusively playing for the Zirda Combo lines as they are the easiest to set up. Also, your best friends in this list are Bloom Tender & Faeburrow Elder as they, alongside Umbral Mantle, set up Marath, Wild of the Wild as an outlet to knock out your Opponents. However, if you don't start with Bloom or Fae, it's not the end of the world. There are still several Combos to play and outlets to leverage to get to hammering away at your Opponents with Marath.

Infinite Counters:

Infinite Generic Mana:

Infinite Colored Mana:

Alternative Wins:

Post Infinite Green Mana:

Post Infinite Generic or White Mana:

You'll notice that a majority of Combo lines rely on Zirda, the Dawnwaker, but not all of them. While I consider Zirda to be a "Partner" here, Companion only allows the one Cast. We're not always going to have Sevinne's Reclamation in Hand either, so if Zirda gets knocked out you pivot. Instead, assemble a play with that Seeker of Skybreak in Hand; and if Seeker is stopped, simply use those Illusionist's Bracers with Marath and Cryptic Trilobite. There is always a Combo available and spotting the multiple overlaps between them will help you better pivot should you get stopped.

There are a total of ten (eleven) Combo lines made available that are consistent of two-to-three Cards. You'll note that, beyond Zirda, many share one thing in common: the use of an Equipment. Luckily, Naya is the perfect Color for Tutoring up and playing those Cards out. Let's get familiar with some of the core Cards in this list.

While I won't cover all of the Cards in-depth here, I do want to break down what I consider to be the best utilities for the list. Each one of these Cards will play a huge part in executing on a Combo line. The Deck is meant to play to a Turn 3 or 4 victory. Beyond Null Rod, Cursed Totem and Linvala, Keeper of Silence, very little stops this list from going off. There is a myriad Protection, Tutoring and Removal that will help us along the path to victory.

Protection:

  • Apostle's Blessing: you're now in Naya. Kinda a color intensive place to be. However, you still want to Protect your Combo lines. Apostle's has you covered. We've already established that Creatures and Artifacts are the lifeblood of this Deck. What if I told you you can Protect them for One Generic (and two Life)? There isn't a better Card to make sure you're able to go off on that Combo turn than Apostle's Blessing

  • Ephemerate: here's one you don't see all too often at a competitive table. One of the few Commons in the Deck, Ephemerate is a real standout piece of Protection. "Sure... You get to Flicker a Creature, big whoop. Wait! You get to do it twice? I didn't catch that 'Rebound', but still!" I get it, doesn't seem great, but what if your Umbral Mantle gets cooked (likely). Well, fortunately Stoneforge Mystic is a Creature. Go ahead and Flicker her and grab those Illusionist's Bracers instead and work on a separate line. "Well, when that Seeker of Skybreak hits she's a sitting duck!" Good point, Rebound -> Stoneforge -> Lightning Greaves. Ah, it's all coming together now. There are two Creatures that doubly benefit from Ephemerate and they both Tutor for core Cards. Protection with upside? Yes, I'll take it

Tutoring:

  • Open the Armory: easily the best Tutor in the Deck (next to the obvious, Enlightened Tutor). "It only hits four Cards... Why so good?" Well, I'm glad you asked. As we've already discussed, the Deck relies on it's Equipment to Combo out. Whether in tandem with Zirda or Seeker & Marath. The Cards this can Tutor for are easily the Deck's most important. Lastly, Haste enabling mid-to-late game can mean the difference between a Win or Loss, so the option of Lightning Greaves is crucial. Also, sometimes you simply need more Ramp to get going on a Combo. Being able to grab Nature's Chosen (which is a boon to this list) can make or break a Turn, especially if Bloom Tender, Faeburrow Elder or Selvala, Explorer Returned are out

  • Yisan, the Wanderer Bard: a rather innocuous choice here... Yisan in Marath doesn't have his own Combo lines, but is a veritable multi-tool in the list. What Combo were you trying to complete? Did you just need Protection? What if I don't have any Combo lined up, what do I do? With Zirda, the Dawnwaker out, Yisan can fast track through the Deck for any Creature based solution at the low cost of three Green Mana (maximum). Need Umbral Mantle? Yisan -> Wirewood Symbiote -> Stoneforge Mystic. How about a Walking Ballista to go with that Heliod, Sun-Crowned you have out? Yisan -> Wirewood Symbiote -> Scryb Ranger -> Ranger-Captain of Eos. Now you have Ballista with Silence on board. There's nothing Yisan cannot do for the Deck and it's coupled with the added value of giving you Card advantage without ever having to Cast a Spell

Removal:

  • Force of Vigor: take a look at the Land base... Naya, amirite? You have to hit those Colors, so we're using every Dual Tapping Land we can find, throwing in a few Rainbows and working with all the Fetches... "But Blood Moon, Magus of the Moon or Back to Basics, does your playgroup not play these?" Of course those assholes do, so next to Patrician's Scorn this is our best tool to Targeting and removing those hate pieces. You took a look at the Land base, now go ahead and look at how many Green Cards we have. Will we be able to Cast this for free? Of course! I really hope so

  • Shredded Sails: Zirda's companionship comes at a high price... Every Permanent must have an Activation Cost. It was actually a fun concept to build around, but with that comes some inherent faults. Again, as I mentioned before, we don't get to run Reclamation Sage or Somberwald Stag for those Null Rod, Cursed Totem or Linvala, Keeper of Silence we're likely to find out in the wild; but what if I told you one Card can make all those problems disappear? That Card was literally (as of writing this) just printed. Shredded Sails will: dismantle any Artifacts and slay many an Angel, alongside a ton of other Flyers that get in our way (looking at you Aven Mindcensor). Is this Card for every list? Not at all, stick with Abrade (or use both), but for Zirda, Will of the Wild? You need this

Truthfully, the most important Cards to get familiar with are the Tutors. These are the Cards that will shape your game, Turn after Turn. There are a total of eighteen Tutors to get acquainted with, so to make things easier, here's a complete list.

All Tutors:

It is highly unlikely any of these will leave the list, but various forms of Protection and Removal will shift in and out of the Deck with new set releases. Once you've familiarized the Combo lines and how best to accomplish on them, these Tutors will be the key to unlocking that gateway to Marath domination.

This is a Deck I have been working on for Months... Leading up to the release of Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths and the subsequent release of Commander 2020. I did a full 180 after the announcement of Companion's, their legality in Commander and specifically Zirda, the Dawnwaker. This is, in my mind, the best approach to playing Marath now. What you lose in non-Activated permanents is little, with the Carpet of Flowers, Hardened Scales and Sylvan Library being the biggest hits. However, now we have a Deck that focuses on one thing: making Infinite Mana and playing Marath the way he was intended, as an outlet for this Mana to be spent on. This is the Marath I had been wanting to make from the beginning of my experimenting with the Elemental Beast and easily one of the most fun Combo-manders to play. If you were interested in playing Marath, Will of the Wild I highly suggest you play this Partner... I mean, "Companion" variant. It's a blast to play and even more fun brewing for. Be well and Happy Brewing, babies.

Patrick Marlett, The 99

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Casual

94% Competitive

Top Ranked
  • Achieved #2 position overall 4 years ago
  • Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH 4 years ago
Date added 5 years
Last updated 4 years
Legality

This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)

11 - 1 Mythic Rares

55 - 2 Rares

23 - 1 Uncommons

11 - 1 Commons
Cards 100
Avg. CMC 1.73
Tokens Elemental X/X G, Emblem Wrenn and Six, Spirit 1/1 C
Folders EDH, EDH, cEDH, commaNDER, Primers, Interesse, cEDH, edh, future decks, Good Stuff
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