Alena & Halana, Gruul Sisters

Pauper EDH* Multiplayer Partner RG (Gruul) Stompy

jusieb_92

Lands (37)

• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Forgotten Cave
• 1x Gruul Turf
• 1x Haunted Fengraf
• 1x Highland Forest
• 1x Opal Palace
• 1x Path of Ancestry
• 1x Racers' Ring
• 1x Rugged Highlands
• 1x Slagwoods Bridge
• 18x Snow-Covered Forest
• 8x Snow-Covered Mountain
• 1x Tranquil Thicket

Removal (9)

• 1x Abrade
• 1x Ambush Viper
• 1x Ground Assault
• 1x Hull Breach
• 1x Savage Twister
• 1x Aftershock
• 1x Swirling Sandstorm
• 1x Wickerbough Elder
• 1x Conclave Naturalists

Stomp, stomp (6)

• 1x Boarding Party
• 1x Annoyed Altisaur
• 1x Cinderheart Giant
• 1x Wrecking Beast
• 1x Eldrazi Devastator
• 1x Ulamog's Crusher

Recursion (4)

• 1x Reclaim
• 1x Season of Renewal
• 1x Ardent Elementalist
• 1x Artisan of Kozilek

Ramp (12)

• 1x Elvish Mystic
• 1x Fyndhorn Elves
• 1x Llanowar Elves
• 1x Wild Growth
• 1x Farseek
• 1x Goblin Anarchomancer
• 1x Priest of Titania
• 1x Rampant Growth
• 1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
• 1x Three Visits
• 1x Wood Elves
• 1x Skyshroud Claim

Card Draw (10)

• 1x Elvish Visionary
• 1x Reckless Impulse
• 1x Elemental Bond
• 1x Seize the Spoils
• 1x Snake Umbra
• 1x Crimson Fleet Commodore
• 1x Oakhame Adversary
• 1x Crown-Hunter Hireling
• 1x Entourage of Trest
• 1x Sandstone Oracle

Syngergy (6)

• 1x Horned Kavu
• 1x Invigorate
• 1x Jewel Thief
• 1x Rhythm of the Wild
• 1x Wildheart Invoker
• 1x Rapacious Dragon

Utility (3)

• 1x Essence Warden
• 1x Relic of Progenitus
• 1x Night Soil

Commanders (2)

Protection (6)

• 1x Pyroblast
• 1x Red Elemental Blast
• 1x Tamiyo's Safekeeping
• 1x Vines of Vastwood
• 1x Wrap in Vigor
• 1x Whispersilk Cloak

Gear up (3)

• 1x Bonesplitter
• 1x Darksteel Axe
• 1x Rancor

Tutors (2)

• 1x Wirewood Herald
• 1x Fierce Empath

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Maybeboard

Card Draw (7)

• 1x Abundant Harvest
• 1x Adventure Awaits
• 1x Explore
• 1x Big Score
• 1x Llanowar Empath
• 1x Unexpected Windfall
• 1x Silverback Shaman

Possible Additions from Baldur's Gate (1)

• 1x Dread Linnorm

Protection (1)

• 1x Snakeskin Veil

Stomp, stomp (5)

• 1x Elfhame Wurm
• 1x Wrecking Crew
• 1x Greater Tanuki
• 1x Oakgnarl Warrior
• 1x Maelstrom Colossus

Recursion (2)

• 1x Evolution Charm
• 1x Wildwood Rebirth

Removal (3)

• 1x Flame Slash
• 1x Thornweald Archer
• 1x Calming Verse

Synergy (3)

• 1x Burning-Tree Emissary
• 1x Dragon Breath
• 1x Tuktuk Rubblefort

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Alena, Kessig Trapper and Halana, Kessig Ranger - Peasant Partner Commander

Alena & Halana offer both ramp and targeted creature removal, when another creature enters the battlefield under our control. Built around those abilities, this deck tries to ramp out big creatures and control the board with our two commanders. As our commanders need creatures entering the battlefield, creatures are prioritised over noncreature spells. Cards that either pump our creatures or give them haste synergise well with our two commanders. Any recommendations are appreciated.

My playgroup:

Wait, isn't this Pauper? No, this is Peasant!

• If you are wondering why this deck has uncommons in it, here is your answer. This is not a normal Pauper deck. In our playgroup we play a format called Peasant. In Peasant, - at least the version we play - we are allowed to include up to 8 uncommons - including the commander(s) - into our decks. This allows us to include some powerful cards and tends to speed up the games. In addition, the broader range of cards allows one to balance a deck's weak spots and to add powerful engines that enhance a commander's strengths.
• Since some uncommons are very strong, - possibly too strong - our playgroup has banned the following cards: Ancient Tomb, Bazaar of Baghdad, Cabal Coffers, Maze of Ith, Strip Mine, Sensei's Divining Top, Skullclamp, Sol Ring, Demonic Tutor, Hermit Druid, Lim-Dul's Vault, Sylvan Library, Sword of the Meek, Mana Drain, Imperial Recruiter, Rhystic Study, Force of Will and card:Architype of Endurance. Uncommons that are already banned in regular Commander, like Karakas or Library of Alexandria are also banned and therefore not listed seperatly.

Other commanders in my playgroup

• Armix, Filigree Thrasher&Glacian, Powerstone Engineer Dimir artifact deck with strong removal - especially the Golem - and graveyard synergies.
• Corpsejack Menace makes strong creatures like Lumberknot even more dangerous. If not dealt with early, this deck's strong board presence often cannot be handled by black creatures. Thank God this is the color with the most board wipes in the format.
• Giant Ambush Beetle Jund goodstuff deck with a nasty commander that can if he is not protected, one-shot Syr Konrad, the Grim.
• Korozda Guildmage is full of aristocrat and graveyard synergies. This deck wins by going wide with small 1/1 tokens and pumping them up.
• Miara, Thorn of the Glade&Numa, Joraga Chieftain Gruul Elf tribal deck that can generate card advantage and with strong ramp.
• Nyx Weaver is another Gruul graveyard deck. Very versatile since this spider can just recur any spell in its controller's graveyard. Another problem is the self mill that offers a form of card advantage.
• Soulherder a strong control deck that can lock down the board with some nasty cards like Stonehorn Dignitary.
• Sunscape Battlemage a Bant flicker deck similar to Soulherder but with the added benefit of green's stronger creatures and ramp.
• Tatyova, Benthic Druid arguably the strongest commander in my playgroup. If she is not dealt with immediatly, it is really hard to catch up to all the card draw and life gain that she offers.
• Winding Constrictor a fast aggro deck with many counters synergies.
• Zameck Guildmage is a typical Simic build with strong card draw and ramp. The +1/+1 synergies can be nuts, especially with the ability of the commander to draw extra cards.

Some explanations:

The Commanders

• Halana, Kessig Ranger targeted creature removal, especially with deathtouch creatures. She can also block creatures with flying.
• Alena, Kessig Trapper ramp. Can also be used to activate Halana, Kessig Ranger's ability the turn it comes into play. So she can also be Flame Slash on ETB.

Card Draw/Selection

• Path of Ancestry let us scry every time we cast a Human creature.
• Racers' Ring late game if we are desperately need to draw a card.
• Elvish Visionary is a cantrip creature that can trigger our commanders.
• Reckless Impulse is red's Night's Whisper.
• Elemental Bond is a great card draw engine. Every time a creature with power 3 or greater enters the battlefield under our control we draw a card. Our two commanders fulfill that restriction and so do many other creatures in the deck.
• Seize the Spoils offers some nice card selection and in the end costs just {1}{R}, since it gives us a Treasure token.
• Snake Umbra offers the possibility of multiple card draw, while protecting the enchanted creature.
• Oakhame Adversary mostly comes down for just {1}{G}. Since it has deathtouch our opponents have to decide whether to let us draw a card or let one of their creatures die.
• The monarch mechanic has a very impactful effect on the game. In my opinion it also makes it more fun. In addition, there are not that many great repeated card draw effects in Gruul. Therefore, Crimson Fleet Commodore, Crown-Hunter Hireling and Entourage of Trest have all made it into the list.
• Sandstone Oracle can refill our hand and is also a nice 4/4 flyer.

Gear up

• Bonesplitter and Darksteel Axe can come in early and help us to apply some pressure. Later in the game they make our big stompy creatures extra deadly. They also work with Alena, Kessig Trapper's ability, as they can be attached to a creature that entered the battlefield this turn.
• Rancor is similar to the two equipments above, but it also gives trample and can be reused if the creature it is attached to dies.

Protection

• Pyroblast is a very flexible card. For just {R} it can counter a counterspell or destroy a blue permanent, for example, one of the three commanders with blue in my playgroup.
• Red Elemental Blast same as the card above. Just some redundancy.
• Tamiyo's Safekeeping can protect any one permanent from removal. It can also be used as a combat trick, as it grants indestructibility until end of turn.
• Vines of Vastwood another cheap instant that protects one of our creatures. It can safe a creature from from everything, except board wipes, so from any form of targeted removal like Lignify or Giant Ambush Beetle.
• Wrap in Vigor is a neat trick to protect our board from a wrath or when going into combat.
• Rhythm of the Wild makes all our creatures uncounterable.
• Whispersilk Cloak is this format's Lightning Greaves. It can be used to protect one of our commanders or other creatures, with the added benefit of making it unblockable.

Ramp

• Elvish Mystic, Fyndhorn Elves and Llanowar Elves are {G} mana dorks.
• Wild Growth great ramp that is usually more durable than the aforementioned dorks.
• Farseek and Three Visits can get us dual lands, well the one that is available in this format.
• Goblin Anarchomancer makes (almost) all our spells cheaper and is a creature that triggers our commanders.
• Priest of Titania is just a powerhouse. With this many elves around (not just in my deck) it usually taps for more than just {G}.
• Rampant Growth great, reliable ramp spell.
• Sakura-Tribe Elder Rampant Growth on a stick.
• Wood Elves can either get us a tapped Highland Forest to fix our mana or just get an untapped Forest into play.
• Skyshroud Claim two Three Visits stapled together.

Recursion

• Haunted Fengraf's ability maybe a bit costly, pay {4} and sac it, but it can get us a random creature back. Sometimes we just need an extra creature to trigger our commanders.
• Reclaim is cheap and can return any card. Although the card only goes on the top of our library we can cast it right before our turn, since it is at instant speed.
• Season of Renewal can give us back us back one of our creatures and one of the many strong enchantments in this deck from. A plus is the fact, that it can be used at instant speed.
• Ardent Elementalist the red version of Archaeomancer.
• Artisan of Kozilek is an uncommon that fills multiple slots in this deck. First of all it balances out the weak recursion available in Gruul. On casting it reanimates a creature and with power 10 it can be deadly with our commanders. Because of it strong stats and Annihilator 2 it can, when it gets to attack, be finisher.

Removal

• Abrade is just a very versatile form of removal. It can get rid of all commanders in my playgroup, except Corpsejack Menace and can even be used to destroy a dangerous artifact like Loxodon Warhammer. The fact that it is at instant speed gives it extra flexibility.
• Ambush Viper as it has deathtouch it can either come in with flash and block one of our opponents' creatures or it can be used in concert with Halana, Kessig Ranger to kill one outright.
• Ground Assault although also sorcery speed, it scales with the duration of the game. At the beginning deals with small creatures and commanders and in the late game it can destroy even the scariest of creatures.
• Hull Breach two for ones are always nice. However, it is only at sorcery speed.
• Savage Twister is one of the few board wipes available to Gruul colors in this format.
• Aftershock is slow and rather costly removal, but it can get rid of either a problematic creature or artifact for good.
• Swirling Sandstorm 5 damage should be enough to kill most creatures we encounter. However, it does not get rid of bigger threats or flyers.
• Wickerbough Elder and Conclave Naturalists both bring strong bodies to the table and blow up artifact or enchantments.

Stomp, stomp

• Boarding Party can swing in for some damage with haste and has the added bonus uf cascade.
• Annoyed Altisaur has trample, can block flyers and has cascade.
• Cinderheart Giant is a strong body with trample that kills one of our opponents' creatures when it dies.
• Wrecking Beast a 6/6 trample that can either come in bigger or with haste.
• Eldrazi Devastator and Ulamog's Crusher are great late game beaters that either have trample or annihilator 2.

Synergy

• Vines of Vastwood for another {G} it can give a creature +4/+4 until and of turn. For this turn the creature is also safe from our opponents' interference.
• Horned Kavu is a great body for just {R}{G} that lets us either reuse one of our creatures' ETBs or just guaranty another trigger from our commanders.
• Invigorate instead of paying {2}{G} we can just let one of our opponents gain three life. This can come in handy when we want to kill a bigger creature with Halana, Kessig Ranger or ramp into a more expensive spell with Alena, Kessig Trapper.
• Jewel Thief is a solid body with strong key words for just {2}{G}. It also gives us a Treasure token on ETB, which can be used to activate Alena, Kessig Trapper's ability or hold it open fur interaction or another turn.
• Rhythm of the Wild gives all our creatures riot; probably the best card in the deck.
• Wildheart Invoker is great late game mana sink for all the {R} Alena, Kessig Trapper can produce. +5/+5 and trample can be deadly.
• Rapacious Dragon gives us a 3/3 flyer that comes with 'free' mana to activate Halana, Kessig Ranger's ability when it comes into play.

Tutors

• Wirewood Herald when it dies can tutor for another Elf. Depending on what we need we can either search for some card draw Oakhame Adversary, pump Wildheart Invoker or ramp Wood Elves.
• Fierce Empath in these colors we sadly have not a lot of strong tutor options. This little Elf is the exception. On ETB it lets us tutor for a creature with 6 CMC or more. So it can get us creatures like card: and Artisan of Kozilek.

Utility

• Essence Warden is the only lifegain in this deck. It is cheap and with all the bounce and flicker in my playgroup this little Elf can get a lot of work done.
• Relic of Progenitus offers cheap and repeatable graveyard recursion. It even gives me the option for a one time mass graveyard removal. This for just an additional {1}.
• Night Soil is another repeatable way to deal with my opponents' graveyard shenanigans. Although this enchantment can only get rid of creatures, it can trigger both my commanders' abilities through the 1/1 tokens entering.

Date added	4 years
Last updated	1 year
Splash colors	RG
Legality	This deck is not Pauper EDH legal.
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.14
Tokens	Saproling 1/1 G, Monarch Emblem, Treasure