The Gall Ta Play Artifacts in Green!

Commander / EDH* Artifact Battlecruiser Budget Mono-Green Primer Ramp

ThinkJank

Artifact (28)

• 1x Blinkmoth Urn
• 1x Chromatic Sphere
• 1x Chromatic Star
• 1x Claws of Gix
• 1x Commander's Sphere
• 1x Emerald Medallion
• 1x Everflowing Chalice
• 1x Genesis Chamber
• 1x Gilded Lotus
• 1x Hedron Archive
• 1x Hedron Matrix
• 1x Ichor Wellspring
• 1x Inspiring Statuary
• 1x Krark-Clan Ironworks
• 1x Lifecrafter's Bestiary
• 1x Mirrorworks
• 1x Mycosynth Wellspring
• 1x Myr Turbine
• 1x Nevinyrral's Disk
• 1x Piston Sledge
• 1x Relic of Progenitus
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
• 1x Slate of Ancestry
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Trading Post
• 1x Unwinding Clock
• 1x Weatherlight

Enchantment (1)

• 1x Beastmaster Ascension

Creature (25)

• 1x Ancient Stirrings
• 1x Arcbound Reclaimer
• 1x Avatar of Might
• 1x Burnished Hart
• 1x Chief of the Foundry
• 1x Epochrasite
• 1x Etched Champion
• 1x Ezuri's Brigade
• 1x Fangren Marauder
• 1x Foundry Inspector
• 1x Hangarback Walker
• 1x Junk Diver
• 1x Kuldotha Forgemaster
• 1x Metalwork Colossus
• 1x Mishra's Self-Replicator
• 1x Myr Battlesphere
• 1x Myr Retriever
• 1x Oviya Pashiri, Sage Lifecrafter
• 1x Scrap Trawler
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Steel Overseer
• 1x Sylvok Replica
• 1x Tangle Golem
• 1x Traxos, Scourge of Kroog
• 1x Verdurous Gearhulk

Instant (2)

• 1x Beast Within
• 1x Primal Bellow

Commander (1)

Sorcery (10)

• 1x Creeping Renaissance
• 1x Cultivate
• 1x Harmonize
• 1x Kodama's Reach
• 1x Life's Legacy
• 1x Nature's Lore
• 1x Regrowth
• 1x Rishkar's Expertise
• 1x Seasons Past
• 1x Skyshroud Claim

Land (33)

• 1x Buried Ruin
• 1x Darksteel Citadel
• 27x Forest
• 1x Inventors' Fair
• 1x Mosswort Bridge
• 1x Phyrexia's Core
• 1x Tree of Tales

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Maybeboard

Creature (1)

• 1x Arcbound Ravager

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Here, have a Primer

Introduction

Welcome to the land of artifact jank! Assuming you've taken a look at the deck list already, you've probably figured out that this deck is artifact-centered, despite being in what's generally seen as the worst artifact color in the game. That being said, I think Green deserves a little bit more credit than it gets when it comes to artifacts. Despite Green's penchant for destroying the card type more than wielding it, the color still has some artifact based tricks up its sleeve.

Should you Play This Deck?

If you like playing lots of artifacts, but want to go a different route than the classic Breya, Etherium Shaper or Daretti, Scrap Savant decks that usually begin the game with a gigantic target on their back, this deck might be for you! Maybe you're tired of the stigma artifact decks have, that they slow the game to a halt, lock down the board, and have way too many triggers and abilities to keep track of, and want to do all that stuff without being painted as a villain before the game even begins. Or, maybe you're just excited to play with the biggest, baddest, meanest dinosaur of them all - even in a 40 life format, a 12/12 is nothing to sneeze at. Whatever the case, this deck is best suited to people who like going outside the norms set by the color pie, but still want to play a fair game without much politicking.

What Makes Ghalta Special?

Ghalta, Primal Hunger is the epitome of a Big Green Card. A 12/12 dwarfs almost anything else on the battlefield, and can attack into even larger armies without fear, and Trample is just icing on the big saurian cake. Where Ghalta really shines, though, is her cost reduction ability. With just 10 power on the battlefield, Ghalta's cost drops from twelve down to a far more manageable two mana. In Green, and especially in EDH, putting 10 power on the battlefield is pretty easy. Rivaled only by the Eldrazi Titans in terms of commander size, Ghalta puts the in ginormous.

The Strategy

General Strategy

I've talked a lot about the fact that this deck is artifact based, but the question on the tip of all your tongues should be why? What's the point of playing artifacts in a color that hates them, with a commander that doesn't synergize with them? Surely you could be playing Sharuum the Hegemon or Arcum Dagsson and have a much better artifact deck than this one? Couldn't you at least play Oviya Pashiri, Sage Lifecrafter, the one Green commander that actually relates to artifacts? I see her right in the decklist!

The answer, my friends, is simple: Metalwork Colossus. This card is similar to Ghalta in a few regards; it's gigantic, and if you're willing to put forth a bit of effort, it's really easy to cast. Plus it can single-handedly reduce our commander to a measly two mana casting cost. The problem is, it requires a pretty heavy artifact theme to be effective. I decided to leave the beaten path and throw myself headlong into this contradictory world of big creatures and synergistic artifacts, and I've never looked back.

Phases of the Game

Early Game

It's hard to hide the fact that you're playing an artifact deck, but it's easy to pretend you're not playing a good one. Unless you get an explosive start and land Ghalta on turn 3 (which can happen), chances are you want to downplay your effectiveness. After all, if you were playing an artifact deck that was actually good, you wouldn't be playing Green, right? Use that assumption to your advantage, and make sure people know you're not a threat. Yet.

Mid Game

Hey, look at that. It's time to cast Ghalta. At this point, you've got a pretty large force of creatures on the battlefield, and can start swinging at your opponents inferior creatures with no fear of retribution. What's there to worry about? It's not like your opponents can reasonably block Ghalta without losing a bunch of their own creatures - and you'll just cast her again next turn.

In addition to dropping massive beaters, this point in the game should be spent casting artifacts. There's lots of little synergies to the artifacts in this deck, so I won't bother listing them all, but the more you play the more familiar you'll be with them. If you've played artifact decks in the past, you'll probably be able to recognize them easily as they appear.

End Game

Artifact synergies everywhere. You're getting so many beats in that your opponents should fall to just a couple of hits. The onslaught of massive creatures, combined with the synergistic artifact engine, should bring your opponent crumbling to their knees. Pairing the recursion of green with the recursion of artifacts means anything your opponents remove will probably just come back next turn. Even a boardwipe can't stop you now; you've got enough gas to rebuild in just a couple of turns.

Card Choices

Key Cards

Metalwork Colossus: The biggest, baddest, beefiest artifact creature around (barring Blightsteel Colossus, of course.) He's easy to cast, he powers out Ghalta, and he hits like a truck. Plus, he sacrifices artifacts to come back if he ever dies, which is extremely useful in this deck.

Ezuri's Brigade, Avatar of Might Tangle Golem: Slightly smaller, and slightly less easy to cast, these creatures still make a sizable dent in Ghalta's cost. Ezuri's Brigade on its own is a 4 mana 8/8 at almost all times, and should never ever be slept on.

Other Cards

Primal Bellow: I'm still testing this card, but it seems to be doing some work. It can power out a Ghalta early, and later on in the game it can ensure a one-shot with my commander. Results are promising but it's on the list of cards I might remove as more artifacts get released.

Mosswort Bridge: This deck is built around getting tons of power on the board very quickly. Why wouldn't you use this card? The opportunity cost is very low, and it even taps for colored mana. Even if you don't hit anything powerful with it, it's still basically free.

Thank you all so much for the support! We're the number one Ghalta deck on the site right now!

Top Ranked	Achieved #25 position overall 6 years ago
Date added	7 years
Last updated	6 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	4 - 0 Mythic Rares 35 - 0 Rares 19 - 0 Uncommons 15 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.54
Tokens	Beast 3/3 G, Construct X/X C, Copy Clone, Goat 0/1 W, Myr 1/1 C, Servo 1/1 C, Thopter 1/1 C
Folders	Cool Stuff, Inspiration, EDH Decks, Budget, Interesting Commander Decks, Artifacts