Why Play Mayael?
At the Commander table, Naya decks have a reputation for being rather narrow in their game plan: play big creatures, turn them sideways. They're easy to anticipate, and therefore easy to disrupt. However, when properly tuned, these colors offer a depth of strategy and resilience that belies those initial impressions.
Mayael the Anima
is the perfect commander for the Naya player who wants to pilot a deck with a little more charm than what our colors usually broadcast.
It really all comes down to Mayael's unique ability. Firstly, being able to activate her at instant speed gives us powerful options in the sequencing of our plays. We can be reactive, waiting for the opportune moment to sneak a threat onto the battlefield. As you'll see, this build leans heavily into that line of play. Secondly, her ability ensures that we will most likely have an impactful play to make every turn. Even when our hand is empty, Mayael is able to dig for gas and build our board presence. Potent though they may be, these benefits do come at a heavy cost: we must build our deck to accommodate an unusually high number of expensive creatures. But, that challenge is part of the fun! Let's take a look under the hood, and see what makes this deck run.
Building an Effective Deck
Mayael is a popular commander to build around, and there are no shortage of other decks you can look to for inspiration. However, be wary: many of them make mistakes in their deck construction that can leave you feeling frustrated. The most important pitfall to avoid is building a deck with a top-heavy mana curve. Mayael encourages you to play big, high CMC creatures; after all, part of her appeal is getting game-ending creatures into play at a discount. Unfortunately, this leads to builds that can have more of a mana "wall" than a curve. If you pack your deck full of expensive creatures, you run a real risk of having nothing to do for the first several turns of the game. To mitigate this, consider choosing some targets for Mayael that fall low on the curve. We'll discuss creature selection more thoroughly in a bit, but for the moment just keep this in mind: you want to be reliably impacting the board by turn three or four every game. I've found the deck to be far more reliable when the average CMC sits below 4.5, and if you can get it under 4.0 that's even better.
The second-most common problem I see is players including the wrong kind of ramp in their deck. Once again, our expensive creatures tend to pull people in the wrong direction, enticing them to include big splashy ramp spells. This is wrong! Most of the action in our deck starts at 4-5 mana, and we should be aiming to hit that threshold a turn or two early. That means favoring ramp pieces that can come down on turns one, two or three. We also have to consider how the cost of these spells affects our late game choices. Mayael's ability is very mana-hungry, and it is rare to have much leftover mana. Expensive ramp and utility spells will probably sit in your hand most of the game, as you wait to hit 10 or 11 mana. Small spells, however, can often be cast in the same turn that you activate Mayael, allowing us to be efficient in the sequencing of our plays.
Another common issue I come across is an under-representation of instants. More often than not, we are waiting until our opponent's end step to activate Mayael. But as the board state changes, we don't necessarily want to commit to that plan. I'm always looking for ways to shift our removal and utility away from sorcery-speed effects, as doing so opens up more adaptable lines of play and makes the most of our commander.
Lastly, we need to consider how many 5+ power creatures we should run for Mayael targets. Obviously whiffing on her activation feels really bad, especially after investing 6 mana in it! Personal experience has shown me that 24-27 is the sweet spot; you'll still miss occasionally, but you'll also minimize the number of games where your starting hand is unplayable. Your mileage may vary though, and the following table should help you determine the appropriate number for your deck.
Probability of Mayael Finding a Target
| Creatures |
Probability |
| 18 |
64.2% |
| 19 |
66.4% |
| 20 |
68.5% |
| 21 |
70.5% |
| 22 |
72.4% |
| 23 |
74.2% |
| 24 |
75.9% |
| 25 |
77.5% |
| 26 |
79.0% |
| 27 |
80.4% |
| 28 |
81.8% |
| 29 |
83.1% |
| 30 |
84.3% |
| 31 |
85.4% |
| 32 |
86.5% |
| 33 |
87.5% |
| 34 |
88.5% |
| 35 |
89.3% |
| 36 |
90.2% |
Notice that even if you run an impractically high number of Mayael targets, you will still miss sometimes! A good chunk of our utility is tailored to help minimize those moments, but they are impossible to avoid entirely. The most skill testing aspect of this deck is knowing when it is worth gambling on an activation, and when you're better off playing a spell from your hand.
Piloting the Deck
One of Mayael's greatest strengths as a commander is that she gives us options, but those options often lead to complex decisions. Should you deploy a threat from your hand, or activate her ability? How do you play around removal? When should you cast a tutor? The answer to these questions will often depend on the specific board state, but there are some general rules of thumb that will help you pilot this deck effectively.
Let's start with how every game begins - drawing your opening hand. You want to be somewhat liberal with your mulligans, ensuring that you have some early plays to make. It certainly helps that Mayael only costs 3 mana, but she won't be much more than a blocker until the mid game. An ideal opening hand will have 3-4 mana and 1-2 ramp spells. Getting up to 5 or 6 lands quickly is very important; any large creature in your hand is effectively a dead card until you reach that threshold. I rarely keep a hand that has no ramp, or at least some topdeck filtering.
In the early game you want to be ramping, of course, but also deploying utility spells that will synergize with the creatures that are to come. This is often your best window to play cards like
Cream of the Crop
and
Elemental Bond
. In the mid game you will have little (if any) surplus mana to spend on utility, and in the late game these pieces may have little impact on the board. These are the engines that will keep your hand full, and speed up your clock - get them out early.
The mid game is all about building pressure with your big creatures. Your opponents may be able to remove your first fatty, but two or three or four will threaten to end the game quickly. Nearly every creature in your arsenal demands an answer. Do try not to overcommit to the board, though; it can be backbreaking to get blown out by a sweeper. This deck doesn't generate explosive turns so much as it tries to build steady pressure. If you let that pressure slip, the game might get away from you. For that reason, I recommend preferentially casting creatures from your hand over activating Mayael. That card in your hand is a known quantity, and you can predict how it will affect the board. Activating Mayael is inherently a risk, and this is not the stage of the game where you can afford spending 6 mana to do nothing.
The end game is typically where I like to deploy Mayael. This is truly where she shines, delivering high-impact threats at a point in the game where you may have exhausted your other resources. Digging five cards deep is really good, and she will often give you the last bit of reach you need to get over the finish line. It is generally best to activate her at the end of your opponent's turn, effectively blanking any sorcery-speed removal they have. And I should note, this stage of the game is often a perfectly appropriate time to gamble. If nothing in your hand is likely to close out the game, go ahead and take a chance on Mayael. Some of the best advice I ever received was "play to your outs". If the only card in your deck that will save you is
Terastodon
, then you had better start digging for it! Tutors are also excellent for getting yourself out of a tight spot, and you should generally wait to cast them until it is necessary to do so. I rarely find myself casting them in the early game.
One final note before we move on to individual card choices: you should include a few win conditions that can close the game out quickly. Sometimes a straightforward beatdown plan won't get the job done, and you'll need to adapt your tactics. I've found success with various
Tooth and Nail
synergies.
Avenger of Zendikar
+
Purphoros, God of the Forge
is a well-known combo that can instantly kill the table.
Terror of the Peaks
+
Terastodon
(targeting your own permanents) can deliver a knock-out blow.
Avenger of Zendikar
+
Ulvenwald Hydra
tutoring up
Gaea's Cradle
can put you way ahead on mana. There's lots of space to explore here, and I encourage you to test and tweak based on your own meta.
Noteworthy Inclusions
Nature's Lore
,
Llanowar Elves
,
Ancient Tomb
,
Sol Ring
,
Bloom Tender
, etc.
As mentioned above, I recommend leaning toward ramp that can be played on turn three or sooner. It's OK to include a couple of spells that cost more, but your prime options will be those that are online early in the game.
Arid Mesa
et al.
I choose to run the full suite of 9 fetch lands because they smooth our mana base remarkably well in conjunction with dual lands. Just as importantly, they also provide a number of useful synergies. We can shuffle away the top of our library if we don't like what
Sensei's Divining Top
shows us. They allow
Sun Titan
and
Titania, Protector of Argoth
to ramp. They help squeeze extra value out of
Avenger of Zendikar
and
Cavalier of Flame
. And of minor note, they slightly improve the probability of Mayael finding a creature: each fetch we crack bumps the odds ~0.4% in our favor.
Mirri's Guile
,
Sensei's Divining Top
Typically, we do not want to draw into our large creatures early game - it's Mayael's job to find them later! Topdeck filters really shine in this deck, giving us excellent control over how our resources are deployed. Though part of the fun of a Mayael deck can be gambling with her activation, it's always nice to have in inkling of how it will turn out. There's a fine balance here though, as drawing more than one of these effects at any given time is generally redundant.
Worldly Tutor
,
Noxious Revival
,
Reclaim
Consider these insurance policies. They let us place exactly what we want on top of the library for Mayael to find. Note that cards like
Noxious Revival
can also grab us a removal spell or fetch land in a pinch.
Eladamri's Call
,
Tooth and Nail
We cannot always rely on Mayael to find what we need when we need it, so it's good to have access to some classic tutor effects. As a matter of preference I don't run too many of these cards (the gameplay tends to get stale over time), but they do win games.
Elemental Bond
,
Bonders' Enclave
,
Return of the Wildspeaker
Because we run such a high density of large creatures, we can really lean into card draw that takes advantage of it. These are often big spells that fully restock our hand, but there are some cheaper options too that are highly reliable and fit our curve nicely.
Wayward Swordtooth
,
Rhonas the Indomitable
, Theros gods
As mentioned before, we need to run a good number of cheap Mayael targets to keep our average CMC down. The Theros gods are an excellent choice, but be aware that their devotion requirements can be challenging to meet. The green ones like
Nylea, Keen-Eyed
are the easiest to turn on. I've found both versions of Purphoros to be indispensable, though don't expect them to be creatures very often.
Terastodon
,
Woodfall Primus
,
Greenwarden of Murasa
,
Angel of the Ruins
In order to run a critical mass of large creatures, we must put a rather unforgiving cap on how many deck slots are available for utility spells. Consequently, we need to preferentially select creatures that can fill these roles. There are tons of options, and suitable choices will vary with your local meta. Targeted removal is always great, but you may also find ramp, recursion, or disruption to be useful. As a rule of thumb ETB effects should be prioritized over attack triggers or activated abilities. We want to make sure we get value out of our creatures, even if they eat a removal spell.
Frenzied Saddlebrute
,
Cavalier of Flame
,
Surrak, the Hunt Caller
Haste is the single most important ability we can grant our creatures. We are often the "slow" deck at the table, and haste will speed up our clock by a turn. Mayael can give her targets pseudo-haste by dropping them into play at the end of our opponent's turn, but we want to pack a little redundancy.
Path to Exile
,
Beast Within
,
Nature's Claim
, etc.
Removal in this deck is pretty straight forward. We want to be making most of our plays on the opponent's turn, which encourages us to run most of our spot removal at instant speed. Nothing fancy here, just the classics. We don't have a great need for board wipes because our creatures will win most brawls, but it's important to run a couple as safety valves. I like
Wrath of God
because of its low CMC. It gives us a better chance to rebuild our board the same turn that we wipe it, as compared to more expensive options.
Noteworthy Exclusions
Seedborn Muse
,
Rings of Brighthearth
,
Illusionist's Bracers
These are all good cards, and probably worthy of inclusion in many builds. But I believe their popularity is symptomatic of an over-reliance on Mayael. Many people like to have her ability be the centerpiece of the deck. Naturally, they want to maximize their chances of finding a creature, and these cards will certainly do that! My recommendation, however, is to use Mayael primarily as a late game mana sink. She is a useful tool for advancing our game plan, but not the central axis of our strategy. As such, there are other cards that I have found to be more useful.
Warstorm Surge
,
Where Ancients Tread
,
Sarkhan's Unsealing
Yes, these can dish out a lot of damage. But for the same mana cost we could be running another large creature, which has the added benefit of being a target for Mayael. If we are to run a sufficient number of targets for her, there simply aren't enough free slots in the deck to justify these enchantments.
Additional Resources
Here is a calculator you can use to determine probabilities beyond what I have listed. Useful for any commander that deals with the top X cards of your library.
Here is a list of the most-played cards in Mayael decks, according to EDHREC.
For those who want to dig even deeper, enjoy this extensive guide over at EDHREC. Part 1 talks game plan and troubleshooting, and Part 2 gives a nice deck tech breakdown.
Let me know what you think! Comments and suggestions are always appreciated.
