Can't Catch Me, I'm the GingerBant Man! [Primer]

Commander / EDH Artifact Clone Evoke Food GWU (Bant) Populate Tokens Toolbox Zoo

Tsukimi

Creature (45)

• 1x AEthersnipe
• 1x Adrix and Nev, Twincasters
• 1x Aether Channeler
• 1x Benevolent Bodyguard
• 1x Birds of Paradise
• 1x Bloom Tender
• 1x Chittering Dispatcher
• 1x Coiling Oracle
• 1x Darksteel Splicer
• 1x Dauntless Escort
• 1x Disciple of Freyalise  ^Flip
• 1x Druid of Purification
• 1x Earthshaker Giant
• 1x Esper Sentinel
• 1x Eternal Witness
• 1x Foundation Breaker
• 1x Giggling Skitterspike
• 1x Glasspool Mimic  ^Flip
• 1x Harmonious Archon
• 1x Illustrious Wanderglyph
• 1x Inspiring Overseer
• 1x Kudo, King Among Bears
• 1x Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar
• 1x Mondrak, Glory Dominus
• 1x Mulldrifter
• 1x Nesting Dovehawk
• 1x Noble Hierarch
• 1x Ocelot Pride
• 1x Octomancer
• 1x Oltec Matterweaver
• 1x Ornithopter of Paradise
• 1x Phantasmal Image
• 1x Recruiter of the Guard
• 1x Risen Reef
• 1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
• 1x Sandstorm Salvager
• 1x Selfless Spirit
• 1x Skyclave Apparition
• 1x Solitude
• 1x Spinner of Souls
• 1x Stridehangar Automaton
• 1x Urza, Prince of Kroog
• 1x Wayfaring Temple
• 1x Wing Splicer
• 1x Wood Elves

Land (34)

• 1x Barkchannel Pathway  ^Flip
• 1x Bountiful Promenade
• 1x Branchloft Pathway  ^Flip
• 1x Breeding Pool
• 1x Brushland
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Emeria, Shattered Skyclave  ^Flip
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 7x Forest
• 1x Glacial Fortress
• 1x Grove of the Guardian
• 1x Hallowed Fountain
• 1x High Market
• 1x Hinterland Harbor
• 2x Island
• 1x Misty Rainforest
• 4x Plains
• 1x Rejuvenating Springs
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Sea of Clouds
• 1x Spara's Headquarters
• 1x Sunpetal Grove
• 1x Temple Garden
• 1x Windswept Heath

Sorcery (5)

• 1x Eldritch Evolution
• 1x Nature's Lore
• 1x Neoform
• 1x Promise of Loyalty
• 1x Three Visits

Commander (1)

Enchantment (7)

• 1x Anointed Procession
• 1x Birthing Ritual
• 1x Caretaker's Talent
• 1x Fanatical Devotion
• 1x On Wings of Gold
• 1x Parallel Lives
• 1x Renewed Solidarity

Instant (6)

• 1x Arcane Denial
• 1x Beast Within
• 1x Fierce Guardianship
• 1x Heroic Intervention
• 1x Rootborn Defenses
• 1x Sundering Growth

Artifact (2)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Birthing Pod

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Maybeboard

Creature (2)

• 1x Thunderfoot Baloth
• 1x Wild Beastmaster

Sorcery (1)

• 1x Organic Extinction

Instant (2)

• 1x Clever Concealment
• 1x Scapegoat

Enchantment (1)

• 1x Dollmaker's Shop / Porcelain Gallery

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The Bant token/populate/copy commander I have been waiting over a decade for! I have had a Bant populate deck for a long time, and its never had a true commander - Until now! Not only is Brenard, Ginger Sculptor an excellent fit for this archetype, but we also get little gingerbread versions of our creatures! Win win.

The (Ginger)Bread and Butter of this deck is Versatility!

With so much variety, each game feels new and fun and the deck has a very nonlinear playstyle, copy your creatures, sometimes copy other player's creatures, and make all kinds of tokens. Brenard also allows us a new strategy for tokens: Sacrifice and Birthing pod effects so that we are not reliant on blocking for Brenard's token trigger. And let me tell you, Bant is PERFECT for token shenanigans! Clones, copying creatures into tokens, Populate, Embalm, Encore, Myriad, I could go on! Many of our creatures have ETB effects that are doubled when we make token copies of them. We have access to all of the best token doublers like Mondrak, Glory Dominus, Parallel Lives, Adrix and Nev, Twincasters, and Anointed Procession. So not only can we make token copies of nearly anything, but usually we can make two or more of them!

The Gameplan

As I've mentioned, Brenard is a Thirsty (Hungry??) Man and he wants as many creatures as possible. Ramp? Creatures. Removal? Creatures. You see where I am going? If we can get Brenard out and keep him out, all of our triggers from creatures are essentially doubled (And that's without any token doublers or populate abilities). Instead of traditional ramp, we have quite a few mana dorks and then cards like Wood Elves, Coiling Oracle, and Sakura-Tribe Elder. Instead of more traditional removal we have options like Skyclave Apparition, Solitude, Foundation Breaker and more. Selfless Spirit, Dauntless Bodyguard and more act as protection for our board or commander respectively.

In your opening hand you want at least 2-3 lands, one source of ramp, and one target for Brenard's ability. Cards like Selfless Spirit and Dauntless Escort have proven to be very strong so far, because the can come out before Brenard, protect your board state, have their own sac triggers, and then you can copy them into tokens upon death (which can be doubled or populated for even more shenanigans).

Having access to Birthing Pod and similar effects from cards like Neoform and Eldritch Evolution works perfectly for a deck full of creatures with ETB triggers and allows us to use Brenard like a Toolbox Commander. Our creatures are our ramp, card draw, removal, as mentioned above. For this reason Evoke is particularly strong here - Cards like Mulldrifter, Foundation Breaker, and Solitude will trigger, then they are sacrificed to evoke, and Brenard makes a token copy, and we get the ETB trigger twice before any token shenanigans.

In addition to all this value, as long as Brenard is on the board our Food Golem tokens are all effectively 3/3's with trample, which goes a long way with our fliers and other cheap creatures. On Wings of Gold and Wing Splicer give all of our tokens and golems flying respectively, and Darksteel Splicer makes all of our golem tokens indestructible. Copying Darksteel Splicer isn't very hard with this deck either.

Cards like Harmonious Archon and Kudo, King Among Bears make the whole board the same size as our tokens, but thanks to Brenard our token are bigger and have trample. This has been a really fun take on tokens and ensures that combat damage is doable. Then Earthshaker Giant and friends act as pump effects for our many 1/1 tokens.

Essentially your goal is to ramp into one or two decent copy targets for tokens, get Brenard out, (and hopefully a sac outlet but this isn't necessary) and start making token copies of your toolbox creatures. If you do have any of the Pod Effect cards, search for one of your token doublers Adrix and Nev, Twincasters or Mondrak, Glory Dominus as soon as you can for extra fun and value. Or if you're tired of value, search for something fun or weird, that is the heart of this deck! It can and will play differently every time depending on how you pilot it and what you decide to search, copy etc. Have fun!

Feedback Brings me Untold Joy!

I have been working on a version or another of this deck for over a decade. It's my favorite deck and I have seen little to no decks like this, so I take a fair deal of pride in it. I love and value all forms of feedback, thoughts, card suggestions, etc. so don't hesitate to drop a comment.

If you've read all this.... Thanks! And Upvotes are always appreciated for those who enjoy the deck. My goal is to have the #1 Ginger Daddy Primer around!

Critters & Critter Creators By Category

Ramp

• Birds of Paradise
• Noble Hierarch
• Bloom Tender
• Coiling Oracle
• Ornithopter of Paradise
• Sakura-Tribe Elder
• Chittering Dispatcher
• Risen Reef
• Wood Elves

Draw

• Coiling Oracle
• Aether Channeler
• Inspiring Overseer
• Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar
• Risen Reef
• Spinner of Souls
• Esper Sentinel
• Mulldrifter
• Caretaker's Talent

Clones and Creative Copies

Clones and Copiers

• Ocelot Pride
• Phantasmal Image
• Glasspool Mimic  
• Oltec Matterweaver
• Nesting Dovehawk
• Wayfaring Temple
• Urza, Prince of Kroog
• Octomancer
• Rootborn Defenses
• Sundering Growth
• Caretaker's Talent
• Renewed Solidarity

Fun Copy Targets

This deck is filled with them, but these are some of my favorites and ones that tend to snowball.

• Stridehangar Automaton
• Aether Channeler
• Selfless Spirit
• Recruiter of the Guard
• Nesting Dovehawk
• Harmonious Archon
• Octomancer
• Illustrious Wanderglyph
• Oltec Matterweaver
• Giggling Skitterspike

GingerBuffs

• Kudo, King Among Bears
• Sandstorm Salvager
• Urza, Prince of Kroog
• Earthshaker Giant
• Harmonious Archon
• On Wings of Gold
• Caretaker's Talent
• Renewed Solidarity

Not The Gumdrop Buttons ): (Sacrifice Outlets)

• Birthing Pod
• Birthing Ritual
• Fanatical Devotion
• Neoform
• Eldritch Evolution
• High Market
• Disciple of Freyalise  

Removal

• Skyclave Apparition
• Druid of Purification
• Foundation Breaker
• Solitude
• AEthersnipe
• Beast Within

Protection

• Benevolent Bodyguard
• Selfless Spirit
• Dauntless Escort
• Darksteel Splicer
• Arcane Denial
• Fanatical Devotion
• Heroic Intervention
• Fierce Guardianship
• Rootborn Defenses

Maybeboard

The Maybeboard is for newer cards I haven't found swaps for, interesting cards I don't want to forget, and unique synergies. If you see anything that should be on the list just let me know.

Top Ranked	Achieved #3 position overall 1 year ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH 1 year ago
Date added	1 year
Last updated	1 week
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	12 - 0 Mythic Rares 50 - 0 Rares 12 - 0 Uncommons 13 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.21
Tokens	Angel Warrior 4/4 W, Beast 3/3 G, Bird 1/1 W, Cat 1/1 W, City's Blessing, Copy Clone, Eldrazi Spawn 0/1 C, Elemental 8/8 GW, Gnome 1/1 C, Golem 3/3 C, Human 1/1 W, Illusion */* U, Octopus 8/8 U, Phyrexian Golem 3/3 C, Soldier
Folders	EDH Try, TTS Decks, Deck inspirations/Favorites, Build, Commander