Rhys, the Zookeeper

Commander / EDH* GW (Selesnya)

Marc_IRL

Creature (24)

• 1x Academy Rector
• 1x Adorned Pouncer
• 1x Angel of Invention
• 1x Angel of Sanctions
• 1x Anointer Priest
• 1x Ant Queen
• 1x Broodhatch Nantuko
• 1x Conclave Cavalier
• 1x Deep Forest Hermit
• 1x Giant Adephage
• 1x Herald of the Host
• 1x Honored Hydra
• 1x Hooded Hydra
• 1x Hornet Queen
• 1x Mitotic Slime
• 1x Mycoloth
• 1x Requiem Angel
• 1x Seedborn Muse
• 1x Tendershoot Dryad
• 1x Thelonite Hermit
• 1x Thunderfoot Baloth
• 1x Twilight Drover
• 1x Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage
• 1x Wilt-Leaf Liege

Sorcery (10)

• 1x Camaraderie
• 1x Devout Invocation
• 1x Full Flowering
• 1x Grow from the Ashes
• 1x Harvest Season
• 1x Hour of Reckoning
• 1x Nissa's Pilgrimage
• 1x Scale Up
• 1x Shamanic Revelation
• 1x Skyshroud Claim

Land (36)

• 1x Canopy Vista
• 1x Castle Ardenvale
• 1x Command Tower
• 15x Forest
• 1x Gaea's CradleGC
• 1x Gavony Township
• 1x Ghost Quarter
• 1x Krosan Verge
• 8x Plains
• 1x Savannah
• 1x Temple Garden
• 1x Temple of Plenty
• 1x Windswept Heath
• 1x Wirewood Lodge
• 1x Wooded Bastion

Instant (11)

• 1x Arachnogenesis
• 1x Aura Mutation
• 1x Beast Within
• 1x Fracturing Gust
• 1x Fresh Meat
• 1x March of the Multitudes
• 1x Mercy Killing
• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Second Harvest
• 1x Settle the Wreckage
• 1x Teferi's Protection

Commander (1)

Enchantment (13)

• 1x Anointed Procession
• 1x Aura Shards
• 1x Awakening Zone
• 1x Beastmaster Ascension
• 1x Cryptolith Rite
• 1x Divine Visitation
• 1x Doubling Season
• 1x Growing Rites of Itlimoc  ^Flip
• 1x Intangible Virtue
• 1x Mirari's Wake
• 1x Parallel Lives
• 1x Path of Discovery
• 1x Perilous Forays

Artifact (5)

• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Gilded Lotus
• 1x Mace of the Valiant
• 1x Mox Amber
• 1x Sol Ring

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Maybeboard

Creature (13)

• 1x Brood Monitor
• 1x Captain of the Watch
• 1x Champion of Lambholt
• 1x Craterhoof Behemoth
• 1x Geist-Honored Monk
• 1x Hero of Bladehold
• 1x Nacatl War-Pride
• 1x Ohran Frostfang
• 1x Regal Caracal
• 1x Selesnya Eulogist
• 1x Symbiotic Wurm
• 1x Wayfaring Temple
• 1x Wurmcoil Engine

Instant (4)

• 1x Devouring Light
• 1x Enlightened TutorGC
• 1x Rootborn Defenses
• 1x Sundering Growth

Planeswalker (2)

• 1x Elspeth, Sun's Champion
• 1x Garruk Wildspeaker

Artifact (2)

• 1x Bloodforged Battle-Axe
• 1x Illusionist's Bracers

Enchantment (3)

• 1x From Beyond
• 1x Pollenbright Wings
• 1x Sylvan Library

Land (2)

• 1x Fortified Village
• 1x Razorverge Thicket

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I've always loved cards from Shadowmoor. There's something attractive about those hybrid mana costs, combined with the dark, post-aurora fairytale world. Even more attractive is a one-drop commander that both makes and doubles tokens!

It would have been easy to build this out as an elves tribal deck. Indeed, one of the things that made the build difficult was both the inclination to lean towards this style, as well as EDHREC being gummed up with all of those elf cards that I didn't want. Of course, EDHREC is just one tool of many, and so I struck out on my own, going through all of the white, green, and colorless creatures and spells that made tokens. I settled on making interesting tokens, and having most of the cards making different types. Amonkhet and Hour of Devastation dropped at just the right time, providing some very interesting embalmed and eternalized creatures (the interaction with God-Pharaoh's Gift and any Doubling Season kind of effect is something I really enjoy).

Your goal with this deck is to drop Rhys the Redeemed on turn one, ramp with spells like Skyshroud Claim and Nissa's Pilgrimage, and quickly get to the point where you're able to either cast something large, making a ton of tokens, or use Rhys' ability once per round, usually also making a ton of tokens (though the latter requires some kind of critical mass in order to be most effective). When you've got some kind of board presence, cards like Harvest Season will ensure that you're casting spells and using Rhys' ability each time. The deck has legs early in the game, but at the high end can be incredibly mana hungry.

As with any deck that requires a critical mass of permanents on board, beware of overextending. Since Rhys can work at instant speed, it may be useful to save his ability until the end of the turn of the opponent who goes before you; people will definitely start to take notice once you have ten or fifteen tokens and you start doubling them.

Doubling Season, Parallel Lives, and Anointed Procession are three of the most powerful cards in the deck, as they each double (or more, together) almost everything you do. Cards like Pentavus and Spike Breeder are interesting in that you can actually net +1/+1 counters with Doubling Season. Cards that produce copies of themselves, such as Sprouting Phytohydra suddenly become a menace in the presence of one of these enchantments.

The game's primary win condition is to simply overhwhelm your opponent, but there are a number of additional cards that should help you secure victory. The deck has several anthem effects such as Collective Blessing, Intangible Virtue, or Wilt-Leaf Liege, and even one of these can provide a massive boon to your horde of creatures. Vitalizing Wind is an expensive, but devastating card, boosting your creatures far beyond what anyone was expecting. Storm Herd, Devout Invocation, or Ezuri's Predation can be an unexpected blowout, allowing you to attack for the win on the next turn. Triumph of the Hordes can be game over for each opponent at the table, as they struggle to defend against an army that suddenly has infect.

This deck has been half-formed and on my mind for about a year, so I'm happy to finally finish it. If you build it, or it inspires you to build something, let me know!

Date added	8 years
Last updated	3 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	10 - 0 Mythic Rares 46 - 0 Rares 16 - 0 Uncommons 5 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.78
Tokens	Adorned Pouncer 4/4 B, Angel 4/4 W, Angel 4/4 W w/ Vigilance, Angel of Sanctions 3/4 W, Anointer Priest 1/3 W, Beast 3/3 G, Centaur 3/3 G, City's Blessing, Copy Clone, Eldrazi Spawn 0/1 C, Elf Knight 2/2 GW, Elf Warrior 1/1 GW, Honored Hydra 6/6 W, Human 1/1 W, Insect 1/1 G, Insect 1/1 G w/ Flying, Deathtouch, Morph 2/2 C, Ooze 1/1 G, Ooze 2/2 G for Mitotic Ooze, Saproling 1/1 G, Servo 1/1 C, Snake 1/1 G, Soldier 1/1 W w/ Lifelink, Spider 1/2 G, Spirit 1/1 W, Squirrel 1/1 G