Mayael, the Creature Engine (EDH)

Commander / EDH RGW (Naya)

Slamtrain

Creature (32)

• 1x Archetype of Endurance
• 1x Artisan of Kozilek
• 1x Aurelia, the Warleader
• 1x Avacyn, Angel of Hope
• 1x Baneslayer Angel
• 1x Blazing Archon
• 1x Blightsteel Colossus
• 1x Bloom Tender
• 1x Elvish Piper
• 1x Gaea's Revenge
• 1x Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
• 1x Godsire
• 1x Iona, Shield of Emeria
• 1x It That Betrays
• 1x Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
• 1x Pathrazer of Ulamog
• 1x Platinum Emperion
• 1x Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
• 1x Saffi Eriksdotter
• 1x Seedborn Muse
• 1x Sigarda, Host of Herons
• 1x Spearbreaker Behemoth
• 1x Sun Titan
• 1x Terastodon
• 1x Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
• 1x Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
• 1x Utvara Hellkite
• 1x Void Winnower
• 1x Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger
• 1x Woodfall Primus
• 1x Worldspine Wurm
• 1x Xenagos, God of Revels

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Garruk Wildspeaker

Land (33)

• 1x Arid Mesa
• 1x Battlefield Forge
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Brushland
• 1x Canopy Vista
• 1x Cinder Glade
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Clifftop Retreat
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Forbidden Orchard
• 3x Forest
• 1x Jungle Shrine
• 1x Karplusan Forest
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 2x Mountain
• 3x Plains
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Rootbound Crag
• 1x Savannah
• 1x Slayers' Stronghold
• 1x Stomping Ground
• 1x Sunpetal Grove
• 1x Taiga
• 1x Temple Garden
• 1x Temple of the False God
• 1x Windswept Heath
• 1x Wooded Foothills

Enchantment (7)

• 1x Defense of the Heart
• 1x Greater Good
• 1x Lurking Predators
• 1x Mirri's Guile
• 1x Sneak Attack
• 1x Survival of the Fittest
• 1x Sylvan Library

Artifact (11)

• 1x Chromatic Lantern
• 1x Chrome Mox
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Mana Vault
• 1x Quicksilver Amulet
• 1x Scroll Rack
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots
• 1x Thran Dynamo
• 1x Worn Powerstone

Instant (5)

• 1x Krosan Grip
• 1x Noxious Revival
• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Worldly Tutor

Sorcery (10)

• 1x Austere Command
• 1x Cultivate
• 1x Farseek
• 1x Kodama's Reach
• 1x Land Grant
• 1x Nature's Lore
• 1x See the Unwritten
• 1x Skyshroud Claim
• 1x Tempt with Discovery
• 1x Triumph of the Hordes

Commander (1)

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Maybeboard

Creature (4)

• 1x Siege Behemoth
• 1x Soul of the Harvest
• 1x Steel Hellkite
• 1x Wurmcoil Engine

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(Note: This primer has been updated to reflect the list as it stands now. Enjoy!)

Welcome to Mayael, the Creature Engine! Mayael has been my favorite commander for a long time and one that I've put a lot of love (read: money) and effort into. It's still a work in progress (read: it needs more money), and while I wouldn't call this a primer primer, it's my first attempt at making a detailed explanation as to how Mayael works, how she doesn't work, and how to make her work. Like this deck, the "primer" is a work in progress!

Why Play Mayael?

You might like to play Mayael if:

1. You like to play big creatures
2. You want nothing to do with controlling your opponent via counterspells and similar shenanigans
3. You like looking at peoples' reactions while going from 0 to 100 with your boardstate in a single turn.
4. You like winning via creature damage
5. You like general-oriented decks
6. You look at anyone running blue as the worst person on earth
7. You like having a big ol' target on your head

You might want to steer clear of Mayael if:

1. You want to control the game via counterspells, etc.
2. You think blue is the greatest color on earth and should be in all your decks
3. You like depriving people of their resources and their will to live
4. You don't like your general impacting the game
5. You would rather play combo-oriented decks
6. You'd rather shy away from the group's attention

The Idea Behind Mayael

Mayael decks all function roughly the same way: Get huge, disruptive creatures out and turn them sideways. Where casual and competitive Mayael decks differ is the speed and resilience at which you can get the deck to function.

Casual Mayael decks are just happy to get her out and sideways by turns 6 or 7. We're building a competitive Mayael deck and are aiming much higher. We want turn 4 Mayael activations and we want them consistently because we know that by turn 4, that Sharuum/Zur/Karador/Etc. combo player is already stirring their path to victory in their minds. I'm one of those (Karador Combo) players, and you can bet that by turn 4, there are many games where the end is in sight, even if it doesn't appear that way.

Yes, we have to overcome that.

In time, I think this deck can, but not in its current iteration. It needs to be faster. It needs a full slate of scary monsters. Every single Mayael activation MUST alter the game for your enemies. But it's not necessarily just about her. We'll get to that in the cards section in just a little bit.

What Doesn't Work

You can build this deck in a number of ways. Certain players look at a card like Warstorm Surge and think "Wow, the synergy!" but in my humble opinion, this card absolutely does not work in a competitive environment. The card's only ability is contingent on something else happening which, in a non-combo deck such as Mayael, is extremely difficult to pull off at the speed that is necessary in a competitive environment. It's highly unlikely you'd play Warstorm Surge AND a large creature in the same turn, and if you do, congratulations, you've gotten the one trigger you'll get out of it.

Mana doublers, in my opinion, do not work in this deck. Mirari's Wake, in theory, seems like a brilliant card, right? Double mana means more mana for activations! To me, it's a win more card. That means it's a card that doesn't really help you win, it just helps you win more. The turn Mirari's Wake would be coming out is the turn you should be turning Mayael sideways. Which would you rather have, a mana doubler you can't use until the following turn or a huge creature like Avacyn?

The Deck

Creatures Show

The Must-Haves Show

• Avacyn, Angel of Hope
• Iona, Shield of Emeria
• Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
• Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
• Blightsteel Colossus

None of these creatures need any explanation. They come in, they make a massive and immediate impact, and your deck is worse off without any of them. Naturally, they paint a huge target on themselves and you, but that's the price you pay.

The Game-Changers Show

• Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger - This guy doubles your mana and cripples your opponents. If your opponent taps mana out to kill him, the mana stays tapped next turn anyway. Huge body, vicious ability.

• Gisela, Blade of Goldnight - This card will incite some panic if it remains on the board for long, but is also a fantastic political tool. Doubles all damage to your opponents and their permanents. The damage doesn't have to come from you, which can be used to help a weak opponent gain some ground on the rest of the pod.

• It That Betrays - This card could easily be in the "Must-Haves", but with just Annihilator 2, it's a little easier to hold out hope with it on board. Its secondary ability is crippling IF you can pull it off.

• Blazing Archon - You needn't look further than its ability. Mana cost is huge for the body it provides, but it helps that it can stop a horde of goblins (or whatever) in its tracks.

• Sigarda, Host of Herons - This card is so good. Facing Annihilator? Bring out Sigarda, who stones that with her fantastic ability and built-in evasion. At 5 CMC, this card is an auto-include.

• Artisan of Kozilek - If you get enough mana to hard cast this thing, chances are you're going to be dropping two bombs on the same turn. Annihilator is always a nice thing to have, and the huge body it provides without any need for special effects is always welcome.

• Pathrazer of Ulamog - It's Annihilator 3 that's almost assuredly unblockable if it comes down early. Costs a ton, but 9/9 Annihilator 3 isn't gonna be cheap. Big ol' Eldrazi beat stick.

• Void Winnower - Hey, let's just shut down all even CMC spells for our opponents. This card has a little power creep behind it. For 9 mana, you get an 11/9 with a straight up silly effect. No complaints here.

• Utvara Hellkite - This went in the place of Giant Adephage. It trades 1 power and toughness for flying and an "on attack" effect rather than damage. This effect grows exponentially if more dragons are run in the deck, AND the dragon tokens trigger the effect as well. Stay tuned regarding dragon additions to the deck. I have a feeling there will be some in due time.

• Aurelia, the Warleader - Can't be hit by Mayael, which is a little dangerous given her cost, but if she resolves, she is game breaking. The two combats in a big creature oriented deck is unfair, really.

The Utility Show

In Mayael, you have to make your creatures some of your utility, otherwise it won't work. The more you can get your creatures to do the heavy lifting of other spells, the better. Luckily, there are creatures that do just that.

• Bloom Tender - A ridiculous mana dork for this deck. Bloom on turn 2 with Mayael on turn 3 means Bloom is cranking out a Mayael activation on turn 4. Bonus points if you use the 3 mana available from it on turn 3 for something like, say, Lightning Greaves.

• Elvish Piper - The creature version of Quicksilver Amulet. Its body is tiny, but its effect is massive. A single green mana lets you throw down any creature at instant speed. If you can cheat this card in on an end step, you're going to be rolling. Perhaps the 100% Mayael decks don't run this, but in pretty much every other build, it's necessary.

• Terastodon - This card needs no explanation. The baby elephants are negligible in the face of Mama Elephant and the destroy effect can be crippling to resources.

• Seedborn Muse - This card is an All-Universe card in this deck. With the banning of Prophet of Kruphix, Seedborn Muse stands as one of the top "untap master" cards in the format. This card allows multiple Mayael activations in a turn cycle and that can be devastating.

• Archetype of Endurance - This card almost always gets hated off the board as soon as it's played. Hexproof for all your creatures and hexproof denial for your opponents' creatures? Too good to pass up, even if the mana cost and the body don't exactly carry their weight.

• Ruric Thar, the Unbowed - One of the easiest answers to players who like to play a lot of spells (Mizzix, I'm lookin' at you). Solid body for the mana cost and comes with Vigilance and Reach. 6 damage for every noncreature spell can be painful to us as well, but it doesn't interfere with Mayael activations and will almost always draw a spell from the control player, which is 6 free damage to them.

• Sun Titan - This card gets infinitely better when you add fetch lands. It's a solid body with a great CMC for its abilities. Vigilance on a 6/6 for 6 mana is solid, but throw in that it brings back any permanent with 3 CMC or less (includes lands!) whenever he enters the battlefield or attacks and you have yourself an all-star in the making. That Bloom Tender your opponents fought so hard to remove now comes back as angry as ever. Great card, though I do believe it is replaceable in the final build.

• Xenagos, God of Revels - One of the best haste enablers in the game, Xenagos gives haste AND a power boost all in the same card with an indestructible body. It's a little difficult to bring online at times as a creature but its true value lies in the fact that it can give one of your monsters haste, which can make or break a game. It's a card that can't be left alone but it's not something that can be just swept away. It has a low CMC which means bouncing it isn't a great option, but you can't just destroy it. That means one of the enemy's valuable removal tools will have to be used, and using it on Xenagos (and not Blightsteel Colossus, etc.) is a move we'll take all day and twice on Sunday.

• Platinum Emperion - This card is up for debate, but you can't deny its effect. With Survival of the Fittest and Sneak Attack on board, this card becomes an Anti-Storm card. Sneak it in when you're in a pinch. Solid body, underrated effect.

• Saffi Eriksdotter - I originally had Angelic Renewal in this card's place, but I thought Saffi's effect was a little better. Plus, it synchronizes better with Sun Titan.

• Spearbreaker Behemoth - On it's own, an indestructible 5/5 for 7 mana isn't all that great, but it's the beast's ability that really shines. Indestructible for 1 mana on any power 5 creature? Sounds pretty sweet to me!

• Woodfall Primus - Fantastic creature that removes noncreature spells upon entering the battlefield with Persist backup. Pop a pesky land, artifact, enchantment, you name it. This card is too good not to run.

The Rest Show

• Baneslayer Angel - This card is REALLY cool with the flavor in its abilities. It's got a good body for 5 CMC, but it also has a nasty combination of first strike and lifelink. I think this card gets cut eventually, but that low mana cost makes it really appealing.

• Gaea's Revenge - I just added this card recently and it has been a boon to the deck since the moment I found a spot for it. It's a little weak on the back end but its power is big and it comes in with haste, which is important. Don't forget it is hexproof to everything that isn't green and you see why this card has a home here. Its inability to be countered is a small boost but ultimately it's not something that makes or breaks the card in this deck.

• Godsire - Speaking of tokens, here's one of the scariest token generators of them all. The CMC is a bit high but once this guy gets rolling, your army can become scary. As scary as this thing looks, one would think it would have trample, but alas, all we get is vigilance. We can tap this guy to make a generic 8/8 token, which is great, because that means we can attack AND make a token on the same turn. Get Seedborn Muse out and, well, you see where I'm going.

• Vigor - One of the "Elemental Incarnation" cards, all of which I think are pretty good. This one prevents damage to other creatures and instead gives them +1/+1 counters. It's insane. I really like this card, but the more I look at it, the more I wonder if it really has a spot in this deck. Its effect is brilliant in that it helps defend your creatures, but by and large my creatures don't ever need Vigor's ability because Vigor's ability feels really defensive, whereas I'm trying to be offensive. That said, for 6 CMC it's a solid body and a great effect, so it's not a poor choice.

• Worldspine Wurm - This card right here is the Sneak Attack king. Several times I have dropped Sneak Attack on turn 3 or 4 with Worldspine rolling in behind it and swung the game violently in my favor. When Worldspine Wurm dies, you get three 5/5 tokens! The value behind that is astronomical and it is one of my favorite plays to make with this deck. Oh yeah, it's a pretty good creature in its own right. Huge mana cost, colossal body, great Sneak Attack effect.

• Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger - It's an Eldrazi, but it's not overly amazing in competitive play. We'll likely never cast it, which makes its first effect not all that relevant, and its attack ability isn't relevant unless you're 1) facing the right deck or 2) swinging on the same opponent 4 times or more. In that case, just about anything in the deck swinging 4+ times would be enough.

Non-Creatures Show

Instants Show

• Krosan Grip - It kills artifacts and enchantments. It has Split Second. If you're running green and you're not running this, you're wrong.

• Noxious Revival - Another one of my "secret tech" cards. For one green phyrexian mana, you can put any card from A graveyard and put it on top of their owner's deck. Your opponent uses Mystical Tutor for that Temporal Mastery? Buy yourself a turn with this. The possibilities for this card are endless, and it is one of my favorite cards in the deck.

• Path to Exile - This card is one of the go-to cards in terms of spot removal. The basic land is negligible, and in some rare cases (like Hermit Druid combo), your opponent won't be able to get anything. Let them have a basic land, you're exiling a huge threat.

• Swords to Plowshares - Another of the staples in EDH in terms of spot removal. You needn't worry about the life gain for your opponents, since any life they'd gain from it can be reversed by one of your huge creatures. We don't run much spot removal, so we've gotta save it for specific and credible threats (heh heh. Politics joke), such as Jhoira of the Ghitu or something that must be dealt with immediately.

• Worldly Tutor - Standard issue green tutor. Instant speed, 1 cmc. The one drawback is that it doesn't go to your hand, but we can live with that. After all, top of the deck is what our general really wants.

Sorceries Show

• Austere Command - In my humble opinion, this is one of the best removal spells in the game. That you can choose to effectively wipe the entire board clean of threats that are not creatures is far more powerful in EDH than people realize. Great removal tool, though sorcery speed is a limitation.

• Cultivate - Standard issue ramp card for green. One basic to field, one to hand. Great when you need a land drop on turn 4.

• Farseek - Always fetches a dual land. For 2 CMC, it's not bad.

• Kodama's Reach - See Cultivate

• Land Grant - Neat little card that is great in all phases of the game. May be swapped out for Sylvan Scrying at some point.

• Nature's Lore - Standard issue low CMC land ramp. Gets a "forest card" untapped, which opens up a host of possibilities.

• Skyshroud Claim - Hits two dual lands if you need them for 4 mana. They have the option to enter untapped, too. That's a Mayael activation on turn 5. Not bad.

• See the Unwritten - Relatively new card that is absolutely awesome in this deck. Most things in the deck have power 4 or greater (or can reach that point) so you're usually dropping two bombs off of the top 8. I personally have had trouble finding two creatures in the top 8 but that's a personal problem; this card is a must run in Mayael.

• Tempt with Discovery - One of the best ramp cards in EDH. If you can get even one sucker...I mean, fellow player, to take a land from their deck, you can explode ahead. Allows you to get ANY land from your deck UNTAPPED. It's world breaking with Ancient Tomb.

• Triumph of the Hordes - Stop the presses. This card will make people really, really sad, but if you want to win, you must run it. It gives 7 creatures in this deck 10 infect power with nothing else on board. Nearly any combination of two creatures in this deck will wreck a single person with this card. It is infect, and yes, you're welcome to feel guilty about using it (I do, occasionally) but it's too good to pass up. Let your opponents waste a counterspell on it, because bigger and better things can come later

Enchantments Show

• Defense of the Heart - This card is rather slow, but when/IF it triggers, you can essentially win the game by pulling two of whatever creature you want from your deck. Say, Xenagos and Blightsteel Colossus. GG!

• Greater Good - This deck doesn't have a whole lot of card draw, and this is a great option to alleviate that issue. Almost all of our creatures go positive on Greater Good, so you'll rarely go wrong using it.

• Lurking Predators - This card is up for debate, but if you can hit it early OR after a board reset, this card can churn out creatures at a ridiculous rate. It helps that nearly every creature in the deck is terrifying. Cost is a little hefty at 6 CMC, but if it sticks for a couple trips around the pod, it can be devastating. Combine it with some filtering at the top of the deck and it only gets better.

• Mirri's Guile - I couldn't afford a second Sensei's Divining Top so I went with this as an alternative. It's a free SDT on your upkeep and it's a brilliant turn 1 play. There's not really a point in the game where seeing your top 3 cards is a negative, though its effect is a bit less later in the game.

• Sneak Attack - The MVP of this deck. Late in the game, you can drop game-ending bombs without your opponent realizing what hit them. Early in the game, it's a threat that must be dealt with immediately before a recurring creature is played with it. It's just such a good card. It's half of a really, really strong Legacy deck (Sneak and Show) and the same idea can be applied to this deck. It's silly.

• Survival of the Fittest - One of the best green cards in all of Magic, combining this with Sneak Attack turns your deck into a high octane answer for everything. It's a card that you should absolutely run in this deck.

• Sylvan Library - Another way to filter the top of your deck. This deck needs a ton of ways to manipulate the top few cards of the deck for any number of reasons. If the top 3 aren't creatures, you can eat some life to hopefully plow through a non-creature chunk. It's an incredible card at 2 CMC just generally speaking.

Artifacts Show

• Chromatic Lantern - Fantastic artifact that increases its value the more colors that are played. Makes all your lands tap for any color mana, even lands that don't normally do that. It's a win-win situation.

• Chrome Mox - A great no-cost mana acceleration card. Allows you to get a turn ahead without sacrificing lands or even turning lands sideways. That's a pretty strong value all to itself. Normally we just sacrifice something unimportant to fulfill the card's imprint.

• Lightning Greaves - Protection/Haste for Mayael and company. No equip cost means you can rock and roll with the first Mayael activation.

• Mana Vault - One of the best mana rocks out there. It's a little annoying to have to untap, so it's probably just a one-time use. It gets much better with Seedborn Muse on board.

• Quicksilver Amulet - Another way to cheat out large creatures. It's a threat that must be dealt with, as it also combos with Seedborn Muse. The wording is just like Mayael's in that it isn't cast, so a lot of pesky counterspells are null and void if this hits the board.

• Scroll Rack - Perhaps the MVP of the deck aside from Sneak Attack, this card solves all kinds of problems in terms of getting fatty monsters into your hand, which will happen and will happen often. You can throw them on top to set up a Mayael activation or just get them out of the way.

• Sensei's Divining Top - One of those "must-run" cards in nearly every EDH deck, the Top allows you to filter the top 3 cards of the deck for just one mana and lets you draw in a pinch. This card, much like the others, gets more powerful the more shuffle effects you have.

• Sol Ring - It's Sol Ring.

• Swiftfoot Boots - Slightly inferior version of Lightning Greaves, as it has an equip cost. Still nice to have, though. Can't go wrong with protections and haste.

• Thran Dynamo - One of the best affordable mana rocks out there. 3 mana for 4 CMC is solid.

• Worn Powerstone - Comes into play tapped, which is unfortunate, but 2 mana for 3 CMC is pretty good otherwise.

The Lone Planeswalker Show

• Garruk Wildspeaker - Great little planeswalker. 4 CMC, comes in untapping two lands almost guaranteed or nets you a defender in a pinch. He lives for one turn and suddenly you can give everything on your board trample, and that can be devastating.

Date added	9 years
Last updated	3 years
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	25 - 0 Mythic Rares 43 - 0 Rares 17 - 0 Uncommons 7 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	5.07
Tokens	Beast 3/3 G, Beast 8/8 RGW, Dragon 6/6 R, Elephant 3-3 G, Spirit 1/1 C, Wurm 5/5 G w/ Trample
Folders	Other People's Decks, Mayael