I like Essence of the Wild. Hands down. I think it's great. So, why not make a deck out of it? Want a breakdown, you say? Need another question to make an even four in the first paragraph? Sure. Why not?
-Dryad Arbor on Steroids-
So clearly this deck revolves around Essence of the Wild. It's a big ass tree that makes more big ass trees. Simple. Powerful, but simple. He's not necessary, but he sure as hell is what we want happening. Games end quickly with this guy on the field.
-Tokens Galore, with Mana and More!-
The first thing I thought of when I saw this card was Launch the Fleet. The thought made me laugh and was what originally sparked the idea for the deck. This thing is what ends games. Seriously. The look your opponent will give you will be hilarious.
Secondly, as well as tokens, we also need mana to ramp into Essence of the Wild. Awakening Zone is the best of both worlds. Early game we have ramp, late game we have 6/6 creatures on upkeep. I honestly can't think of anything else that I'd want from this card.
Utopia Mycon is another "early mana, late creatures" card. It's slow, but a one drop that spawns tokens and potential mana is fantastic, plus it works wonders with Scatter the Seeds.
Casting Increasing Devotion is a good creature generator, but casting it for flashback is gonna be tough (not to mention unlikely). But in the rare event that we can, it's lights out for the opponent, so I put it down for a two-of. Good luck, other guys. You're gonna need it.
-How to Say No-
This deck runs white. That means exiling things is inevitable. A playset of Stasis Snare allows this to happen. I don't like other people's creatures. They make me uncomfortable.
-Trees Get Impatient Too-
Chord of Calling is what cheats things (like big ass trees) into play, and this is necessary because sometimes we won't have an Essence of the Wild in hand when it's most needed. Also, I'm using this because I don't know whether or not Green Sun's Zenith is off the ban list. If it is, Chord of Calling will be switched out for obvious reasons.
-The Smackdown-
Game finishers will include Essence of the Wild 99 percent of the time. This is done with either Overrun, an Increasing Devotion cast for flashback, or the wonderful Beastmaster Ascension.
-What Now, Lord Mondegreen?-
Now we playtest the hell out of this thing. I'm still working some things out with this, so it's a bit in the beta version right now. Suggestions are appreciated and I'll probably be adding some. If you like the deck, give it a +1 or some feedback. I'm always up for praise. Play away, my friends!
