Mayael's Stomp Squad

Commander / EDH Battlecruiser Ramp RGW (Naya)

henrypan321

Creature (28)

• 1x Rhonas the Indomitable
• 1x Wayward Swordtooth
• 1x Dragonborn Champion
• 1x Marisi, Breaker of the Coil
• 1x Nylea, Keen-Eyed
• 1x Spellbreaker Behemoth
• 1x Surrak, the Hunt Caller
• 1x Cavalier of Thorns
• 1x Ilharg, the Raze-Boar
• 1x Purphoros, Bronze-Blooded
• 1x Seedborn Muse
• 1x Sigarda, Host of Herons
• 1x Xenagos, God of Revels
• 1x Inferno Titan
• 1x Kodama of the East Tree
• 1x Kogla and Yidaro
• 1x Kogla, the Titan Ape
• 1x Soul of the Harvest
• 1x Steel Hellkite
• 1x Surrak and Goreclaw
• 1x Angel of the Ruins
• 1x Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
• 1x Serra's Emissary
• 1x Avacyn, Angel of Hope
• 1x Terastodon
• 1x Woodfall Primus
• 1x Zacama, Primal Calamity
• 1x Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre

Artifact (6)

• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Gruul Signet
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Selesnya Signet
• 1x Talisman of Conviction

Land (37)

• 1x Blighted Woodland
• 1x Bonders' Enclave
• 1x Bountiful Promenade
• 1x Canopy Vista
• 1x Cinder Glade
• 1x Command Tower
• 12x Forest
• 1x Jungle Shrine
• 1x Krosan Verge
• 1x Mosswort Bridge
• 3x Mountain
• 1x Overgrown Farmland
• 5x Plains
• 1x Rockfall Vale
• 1x Rootbound Crag
• 1x Spectator Seating
• 1x Spire Garden
• 1x Stomping Ground
• 1x Sunpetal Grove
• 1x Temple Garden

Sorcery (10)

• 1x Farseek
• 1x Nature's Lore
• 1x Rampant Growth
• 1x Three Visits
• 1x Cultivate
• 1x Kodama's Reach
• 1x Skyshroud Claim
• 1x Wrath of God
• 1x Cleansing Nova
• 1x Selvala's Stampede

Commander (1)

Instant (11)

• 1x Nature's Claim
• 1x Noxious Revival
• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Eladamri's Call
• 1x Return to Nature
• 1x Beast Within
• 1x Generous Gift
• 1x Harrow
• 1x Hunter's Insight
• 1x Return of the Wildspeaker

Enchantment (7)

• 1x Wild Growth
• 1x Sylvan Library
• 1x Elemental Bond
• 1x Garruk's Uprising
• 1x Rhythm of the Wild
• 1x Tribute to the World Tree
• 1x Greater Good

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Sideboard

Creature (9)

• 1x Cavalier of Flame
• 1x Karametra, God of Harvests *f-etch*
• 1x Archon of Valor's Reach
• 1x Greenwarden of Murasa
• 1x Steel Seraph
• 1x Ulvenwald Hydra
• 1x Angel of Serenity
• 1x Regal Force
• 1x Void Winnower

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Garruk, Primal Hunter

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Maybeboard

Creature (5)

• 1x Terror of the Peaks
• 1x Dragonlord Dromoka
• 1x Greater Tanuki
• 1x Chancellor of the Annex
• 1x Old Gnawbone

Artifact (1)

• 1x Scroll Rack

Land (4)

• 1x Clifftop Retreat
• 1x Jetmir's Garden
• 1x Sacred Foundry
• 1x Sundown Pass

Instant (1)

• 1x Worldly Tutor

Enchantment (2)

• 1x Defense of the Heart
• 1x Guardian Project

Sorcery (2)

• 1x Winds of Abandon
• 1x Farewell

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My first EDH deck that started out budget, but has been incrementally upgraded since. I picked Mayael the Anima as my commander because I like ramp, big creatures, and the chance factor. The ability to take a gamble with Mayael's ability makes every game play differently, and it's very exciting revealing answers to turn the tide of the game. This deck is also capable of functioning without relying on Mayael as well.

Mayael

I see Mayael the Anima's ability more of a method of card advantage by pulling creatures out of the library and retaining cards in hand, rather than a method of cheating mana costs. I've been aiming to reducing the average CMC of my creatures because of this, so I can still play cards on my turn and have mana up for interaction or a Mayael activation.

I chose (stayed with) Mayael over Atla Palani, Nest Tender because Atla Palani inevitably starts to skew towards combo and building around eggs and sacrifice. While Atla Palani is technically stronger, it's not for me. I want to play as many of Magic's cool legendaries and beefy creatures as possible and Mayael stays true to that. Plus I made a full-art foil-peel alter for her using her oversize card.

Strategy

This decks wants to play big creatures and beat down the table with combat damage.

Aim to ramp as fast as possible in the early game - mulligan if no such cards are in the opening hand. Hold off on casting Mayael unless she can activate her ability very soon. Once you have at least six mana, you are pretty much set. Of course, the more the better. Ramp more, draw cards, cast big creatures to attack, win when everyone's dead.

Redundancy

When Mayael the Anima does not have the opportunity to use her ability (like by being dead or at risk of dying immediately), we have some redundancy to continue cheating creatures:

• Ilharg, the Raze-Boar: Cheats from hand, but bounces it back at end step. Great for abusing ETB effects in particular.

• Purphoros, Bronze-Blooded: Cheats from hand. It's Sneak Attack but for red and artifact creatures. It lets us get value off creatures like Etali, Primal Storm or Steel Hellkite that might not survive a turn if cast normally.

• Selvala's Stampede: Cheats from hand/library. More on this in the next section.

Selvala's Stampede

One of my all-time favorite cards, Selvala's Stampede is a total bomb in the right build - this being one of them. Resolving it typically results in four big creatures dropping onto the board for just six mana. Even at the very worst case scenario, it'll still guarantee a creature drop. It's an extremely fun card that gets the table talking, bringing mindgames and politics into the mix.

Let's take a look at the options given by the council's dilemma: Wild and Free. Every Wild vote lets find something off the top of the library. Every Free vote lets us drop any permanent from our hand. Obviously many people would vote Free since voting Wild would be like letting a Mayael activation go off. But this choice becomes increasing harder to pick when you have loads of cards in hand thanks to all the card draw present in the deck, the playstyle of just outright casting the creatures vs cheating them in, and inevitability of a big creature deck with cards that get stuck in the hand.

Some people might catch on and try to vote Wild, since the variance from flipping over the top might produce something weaker than something in the hand, like a mana dork. Except this deck only runs big creatures! Every Wild vote is five power guaranteed (except Seedborn Muse, which would be even better in some cases). And of course the card advantage is great!

To add an element of mindgames, you can call the opposite of what you want: Free with a bad hand, Wild with a good hand. Your opponents might think you want to stack votes and vote opposite of what you voted. Or you can make think that you want them to vote the opposite of your vote, and get them to inadvertently vote in your favor instead. You can also do some politicking, like making deals or saving someone to keep them alive to vote in your favor.

This card is extremely fun, and it gets even better when you land Greenwarden of Murasa or use Reclaim to get it back and do it all over again.

Card Interactions

This deck doesn't really have any combos due to the high variance, but here are some that are pretty nice interactions:

• Mayael the Anima + Seedborn Muse : If not answered, this will drop a big creature every turn and will snowball quickly. Seedborn Muse is my usual tutor target.

• Greater Good + Rhythm of the Wild + Woodfall Primus : The +1/+1 counter from Riot negates the -1/-1 counter from Persist. This lets you blow up almost as many noncreature permanents as you want by sacrificing Woodfall Primus to Greater Good. Discard Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre after filling up the graveyard to avoid decking out. It's not totally infinite since you still net cards every draw, but it'll do enough damage (lands) to set your opponents back greatly.

Potential Additions

Stuff I'm thinking about adding.

• Zacama, Primal Calamity: Might add back in for utility and manasink.

• Kodama of the East Tree: Helps cheats in permanents, which can even help ramp if needed.

Chopping Block

Stuff I'm considering cutting.

• None at the moment.

Why no X?

Stuff I'm not running on purpose.

• Quicksilver Amulet / Elvish Piper: I used to run these two and they have let me down frequently.

• Warstorm Surge / Where Ancients Tread: Do-nothing cards that'll likely get blown up before any real value can be gotten.

• Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger: A feel-bad card that I feel is not conducive to a fun or interesting game.

• Anything over $20 that I don't own.

Updates

11/18/2022 - The Brothers' War Update

To be updated

11/14/2021 - Crimson Vow Update

A bunch of updates in one since I lost track of my previous list.

The Average CMC also decreased by 0.43 to 4.13.

Removed Migration Path, Smothering Tithe, Vivien's Arkbow, Combustible Gearhulk, Etali, Primal Storm, Archetype of Endurance, Apex Altisaur.

Added Dragonborn Champion, Karametra, God of Harvests, Kogla, the Titan Ape, Serra's Emissary, Overgrown Farmland, Rockfall Vale, Hunter's Insight.

5/21/2020 - Ikoria/Commander 2020 Update

For a set that touts big creatures, it was disappointing that there was nothing good for Mayael. We did get a decent land though.

The Average CMC also decreased by 0.04 to 4.56.

Removed Temple of the False God, Explosive Vegetation, Talisman of Conviction, Yosei, the Morning Star.

Added Bonders' Enclave, Migration Path, Wild Growth, Spellbreaker Behemoth.

2/21/2020 - Theros Beyond Death Update

Added some new Theros gods!

The Average CMC also decreased by 0.07 to 4.60.

Removed Rout, Fires of Yavimaya, Ruric Thar, the Unbowed.

Added Reclaim, Nylea, Keen-Eyed, Purphoros, Bronze-Blooded.

Date added	5 years
Last updated	1 year
Key combos	Mayael the Anima + Seedborn Muse Greater Good + Rhythm of the Wild + Woodfall Primus
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	14 - 7 Mythic Rares 36 - 2 Rares 18 - 0 Uncommons 12 - 1 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	4.03
Tokens	Beast 3/3 G, City's Blessing, Elephant 3/3 G, Wurm 6/6 G
Folders	Big Boys, Paper EDH Decks