Ghave, quantity over quality

Commander / EDH BGW (Abzan, Junk) Combo Counters

ovnkros

Land (34)

• 1x Arcane Lighthouse
• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Bountiful Promenade
• 1x Brushland
• 1x Caves of Koilos
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Fetid Heath
• 10x Forest
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Homeward Path
• 1x Llanowar Wastes
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 1x Overgrown Tomb
• 1x Plains
• 1x Scavenger Grounds
• 1x Sunpetal Grove
• 2x Swamp
• 1x Tarnished Citadel
• 1x Temple Garden
• 1x Twilight Mire
• 1x Undergrowth Stadium
• 1x Windswept Heath

Protection (8)

• 1x Blossoming Defense
• 1x Ghostly Prison
• 1x Heroic Intervention
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Obscuring Haze
• 1x Ranger's Guile
• 1x Saffi Eriksdotter
• 1x Teferi's Protection

C3:sac outlet (3)

• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Carrion Feeder
• 1x Viscera Seer

C1:mana generation (2)

• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Utopia Mycon

C3:recursion (2)

• 1x Karmic Guide
• 1x Saffi Eriksdotter

Ramp (18)

• 1x Arbor Elf
• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Avacyn's Pilgrim
• 1x Birds of Paradise
• 1x Cultivate
• 1x Devoted Druid
• 1x Faeburrow Elder
• 1x Fellwar Stone
• 1x Fertile Ground
• 1x Nature's Lore
• 1x Selvala, Explorer Returned
• 1x Skyshroud Claim
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Talisman of Resilience
• 1x Talisman of Unity
• 1x Three Visits
• 1x Utopia Sprawl
• 1x Wild Growth

Tutors (11)

• 1x Chord of Calling
• 1x Congregation at Dawn
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Diabolic Intent
• 1x Eladamri's Call
• 1x Green Sun's Zenith
• 1x Grim Tutor
• 1x Pattern of Rebirth
• 1x Protean Hulk
• 1x Ranger of Eos
• 1x Shred Memory

C4 (5)

• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Carrion Feeder
• 1x Geralf's Messenger
• 1x Utopia Mycon
• 1x Viscera Seer

C2 (2)

• 1x Devoted Druid
• 1x Vizier of Remedies

Utility (2)

• 1x Arcane Lighthouse
• 1x Homeward Path

Commander (1)

Removal (11)

• 1x Anguished Unmaking
• 1x Assassin's Trophy
• 1x Back to Nature
• 1x Beast Within
• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Scavenger Grounds
• 1x Shred Memory
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Toxic Deluge
• 1x Tragic Arrogance

Card Draw (8)

• 1x Generous Patron
• 1x Harmonize
• 1x Night's Whisper
• 1x Painful Truths
• 1x Read the Bones
• 1x Selvala, Explorer Returned
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Sylvan Library

C1:counters (3)

• 1x Mortician Beetle
• 1x Ravenous Squirrel
• 1x Rot Shambler

Loop pay-off (3)

• 1x Blood Artist
• 1x Poison-Tip Archer
• 1x Slimefoot, the Stowaway

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Maybeboard

Removal (7)

• 1x Austere Command
• 1x Creeping Corrosion
• 1x Dictate of Erebos
• 1x Final Payment
• 1x Fracturing Gust
• 1x Go for the Throat
• 1x Nature's Claim

C1:counters (4)

• 1x Blade of the Bloodchief
• 1x Champion of Lambholt
• 1x Sadistic Glee
• 1x Woodland Champion

Card Draw (3)

• 1x Ambition's Cost
• 1x Psychotrope Thallid
• 1x Soul's Majesty

C5 (2)

• 1x Retribution of the Ancients
• 1x Young Wolf

Tutors (7)

• 1x Altar of Bone
• 1x Eldritch Evolution
• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Fiend Artisan
• 1x Finale of Devastation
• 1x Natural Order
• 1x Ranger-Captain of Eos

Loop pay-off (4)

• 1x Essence Warden
• 1x Soul Warden
• 1x Suture Priest
• 1x Zulaport Cutthroat

Utility (3)

• 1x Authority of the Consuls
• 1x Blind Obedience
• 1x Glare of Subdual

C3:sac outlet (1)

• 1x Blasting Station

Protection (6)

• 1x Autumn's Veil
• 1x Comeuppance
• 1x Conqueror's Flail
• 1x Gaea's Herald
• 1x Prowling Serpopard
• 1x Silence

Ramp (5)

• 1x Elves of Deep Shadow
• 1x Kodama's Reach
• 1x Llanowar Elves
• 1x Mana Vault
• 1x Somberwald Sage

C1:mana generation (2)

• 1x Phyrexian Altar
• 1x Pitiless Plunderer

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The Combos

This is a combo focused Ghave, Guru of Spores deck. There are other ways to combine these groups to get combos, but these are the main ideas:

• C1: We need Ghave, Guru of Spores, something from C1:counters, and something from C1:mana generation. At a minimum, this allows an infinite loop of creating and sacrificing saprolings, but could also give infinite mana, infinite saprolings, or infinite +1/+1 counters depending on the cards. Adding in a card from loop pay-off can also win the game.

• C2: Vizier of Remedies + Devoted Druid creates infinite green mana. Using the mana to alternate Ghave, Guru of Spores' abilities with a card from loop pay-off can win the game.

• C3: Saffi Eriksdotter, Karmic Guide, and a card from C3:sac outlet gives us infinite graveyard recursion. Pair a card from loop pay-off to win the game.

• C4: Ghave, Guru of Spores, Geralf's Messenger, and Ashnod's Altar enables an infinite recursion loop that can kill all opponents. Alternatively, Ashnod's Altar can be replaced with Utopia Mycon and Viscera Seer or Carrion Feeder, but this requires one extra mana or saproling to start the loop.

Gameplay Guidelines

Protean Hulk is the best card in the deck since with Ghave, Guru of Spores already on the field, it can set up any of these four combos and usually get Blood Artist or another card from loop pay-off to win. (Though C2 is not as useful since you have to wait a turn cycle unless Lightning Greaves happen to be on the field already.) Even if Ghave is not in play, C3 can still be used to win the game. Note that this can be done off Protean Hulk by getting Karmic Guide and a sac outlet first, then returning Protean Hulk to the field for a second activation for the other pieces. Obviously with such an expensive wincon being a primary focus, ramping is critical for this deck to function well.

The Protean Hulk + Ghave, Guru of Spores method of winning usually happens on turn 6 or 7. If you're lucky and draw into a combo without the need for tutors to set it up, it's feasible to combo out on turn 4 or 5.

There is little recursion in the deck. The idea behind this decision is that there are so many overlapping combos that it's easier to find a new piece than bring back an old one. Also green has a few very good ways of foiling removal such as Heroic Intervention and Blossoming Defense to avoid losing pieces in the first place. It's generally best to use these to save Ghave, Guru of Spores since recasting him is so expensive and since the other pieces are largely replaceable, especially when going for a win through Protean Hulk.

Date added	7 years
Last updated	6 months
Exclude colors	UR
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	4 - 0 Mythic Rares 40 - 0 Rares 25 - 0 Uncommons 18 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.38
Tokens	Beast 3/3 G, Saproling 1/1 G
Folders	Current, Ghave, EDH