Hug your friends

...and maybe win?

Be the least appealing threat at the table by helping opponents with extra draws and lands through cards like Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis and Rites of Flourishing

Disincentivize attacks by putting a price on them with cards like Propaganda and Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs

After hugging the table for a while, draw a one-card-army like Xyris, the Writhing Storm or Mirror-Sigil Sergeant

Playgroup and Background

My playgroup has a house rule against infinite combos. The meta is little interaction with an emphasis on board presence. This deck is my second attempt at a group-hug deck (my 1st attempt, Jared Carthalion, True Heir, was too strong). This deck is more alike with my friends' decks in that it focuses on board presence without lots of interaction. This deck also accelerates everyones' decks, which should lead to more fun games for everyone - hence the group hug aspect.

Power Level

It's a group hug deck without much interaction and no infinite combos, so the power level is pretty low. It would probably lose to pre-made decks in one-on-one matches due to the group-hug aspect, and all of its win conditions can be stopped with removal spells. It doesn't have a way to gain life so it can't last forever. That all being said, it consistently ramps and plays itself quickly, which is fun to play, and by turn seven will either present game-ending threats or start outpacing opponents.

Strategy

The goal of the deck is to play itself like a pillow fort deck that eventually spirals out of control. Help your opponents by accelerating their decks, and hope they attack someone else because they don't want to pay to attack you. As the game goes on, the deck will outpace opponents with card advantage engines like Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait, Chulane, Teller of Tales, Augur of Autumn, Future Sight and others.

Opponents won't attack you in the early game because you're helping them, and during that time you can set up all your acceleration and card-advantage engines. Once the time is right, start playing cards that disincentivize attacks, followed by a one-card army finisher.

The deck's cards don't seem to have any synergy, but the pile comes together in a way that lets the player effectively execute this core strategy.

It wouldn't be a group hug deck without effects that benefit every player. Besides the commander itself, there are several other cards that do similar things. This also helps the deck function without its commander.

Extra card, extra land

Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis, Ghirapur Orrery, Rites of Flourishing

Extra cards

Howling Mine, Horn of Greed, Selvala, Explorer Returned - draw extra cards every round

Timetwister, Wheel of Fortune - Makes your opponents draw seven.

Why attack me? I'm letting you draw extra cards and play extra lands. You want to attack me instead of the more threatening opponent who's not helping you? Sure, for a price.

Opponents must pay to attack you

Windborn Muse, Ghostly Prison, Propaganda, Collective Restraint, Sphere of Safety - Make your opponents pay for attacking you

Disincentivize attacking you

Norn's Annex, Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs - disincentivizes opponents from attacking you

Blockers

Dragonmaster Outcast - 5/5 dragons help you to not die

Sunscorch Regent - gains a little life, gets huge and blocks fliers

Multani, Yavimaya's Avatar - big reach blocker that keeps coming back

Every deck should have a way to win. I couldn't think of a strong synergy for this group hug deck, so I picked a few cards that can win the game by themselves if not dealt with. That's kind of the theme of this deck - hug the group so they don't want to focus on you, and then take a win by growing out of control. These single-card threats are listed in order of their game-winning chances.

Will win if not dealt with

Scute Swarm - Wins by itself if not dealt with quickly. Can trigger with Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis's end-of-turn effect.

Xyris, the Writhing Storm - Can fill the board with weenies when combined with all the deck's extra draws.

Mirror-Sigil Sergeant - Wins by itself after doubling for a few turns.

Can win if not dealt with

Koma, Cosmos Serpent, Dragonmaster Outcast - Unlikely to win the game, but present ever-increasing pressure.

Big Threats

Multani, Yavimaya's Avatar - Can keep coming back after board wipes, is huge, has trample and blocks fliers. Not a win condition card per-say, but a very strong offensive and defensive choice.

Hugging the group won't stop them from killing you, and making attacks costly won't keep you from losing either. However if we can double down on penalty effects, we can last long enough to win. The deck's group-hug accelerant card choices enable it to dig through itself quickly, allowing the player to keep building their pillow fort while searching for a one-card army.

Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait, Tatyova, Benthic Druid, Chulane, Teller of Tales, Vivien, Monsters' Advocate - Card advantage engines

Oracle of Mul Daya, Courser of Kruphix, Ranger Class, Future Sight, Augur of Autumn - Play cards off the top of the deck

Thassa, God of the Sea - Filters through the deck

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Comments

90% Casual

Competitive

Date added 3 years
Last updated 1 year
Legality

This deck is Commander / EDH legal.

Rarity (main - side)

14 - 0 Mythic Rares

59 - 0 Rares

19 - 0 Uncommons

8 - 0 Commons

Cards 100
Avg. CMC 3.41
Tokens Beast 3/3 G, City's Blessing, Copy Clone, Dragon 5/5 R, Elemental 4/4 W, Food, Human 2/2 G, Insect 1/1 G, Koma's Coil 3/3 U, Ogre 3/3 R, Snake 1/1 G, The Monarch, Treasure, Wolf 2/2 G
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