Titania, Protector of Argoth
as a commander on a budget? (or pseudo-budget)
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on Feb. 24, 2016, 5:10 p.m. by mtgirem
She seems like a fun commander with her ability to recover lands which lets me run Crop Rotation, Strip Mine, among other things.
The problem is that I don't have a Crucible of Worlds or much of the "multiple lands per turn" ramp cards like Azusa, Lost but Seeking, Oracle of Mul Daya. However, I do have Exploration and Command Beacon.
So to combat this dilemma, I was thinking of going with a blink theme. I don't know how many blink cards fit green/colorless. All I can think of is Conjurer's Closet. So will I have to get more creative by sacrificing Titania and using graveyard to battlefield/hand recursion? If so, how much is really available to green and is this a good idea? I can think of Regrowth, Eternal Witness which are one time use things.
Maybe there needs to be even creativity like Matter Reshaper + Sylvan Library or Courser of Kruphix + any sac outlet as a means to cheat a land on the field from the library.
Could Walking Atlas +Groundskeeper be a somewhat viable alternative to Crucible of Worlds + the above "multiple lands per turn" cards?
I don't want to play mass land destruction as I feel it isn't that fun. I don't mind having some targeted land destruction as a deterrent from messing with me.
Is this even going to be remotely possible? It seems like a lot of the power cards I'm lacking are staples with her. Is there any way around them? Are there other alternatives that I'm missing?
I understand that combo, but Food Chain is another one of those higher budget cards I don't have.
February 24, 2016 5:38 p.m.
Safe Haven is a sweet pseudo-blink effect for Titania, especially if you get multiple things like Tilling Treefolk, Avenger of Zendikar, Woodland Bellower, Eternal Witness, etc. It can sometimes be risky if an opponent has instant-speed land destruction though.
My Titania deck is pretty budget too, no Oracle/Crucible/Azusa/fetches, but it's been pretty fun and decently powerful I think. I do run pretty much every other "play more lands" card though: Sakura-Tribe Scout, Skyshroud Ranger, Gaea's Touch, and Budoka Gardener. Also I run basically every land tutor effect possible- Realms Uncharted is pretty good, for example.
Just throwing out ideas based on my experience playing a budget Titania deck. Hope I could help.
February 24, 2016 5:41 p.m.
Titania, Protector of Argoth, for those who are too lazy to look her up.
February 24, 2016 7:15 p.m.
subrosian I really appreciate those suggestions. Thank you very much
Does it become a problem without blinks when Eternal Witness and others are just 1 time use?
February 24, 2016 8:36 p.m.
nobodygaming says... #8
I've just started playing Omnath, Locus of Rage EDH with Titania in the 99, and there are plenty of things to do without Crucible. Depending on your Budget, you could go with Life from the Loam with a bunch of sac/cycle lands. Even a Dust Bowl can work to regularly sac your basic lands if you run out of non-basic sac outlets
Here's my deck for reference Om Nom Nom Omnath
February 24, 2016 8:56 p.m.
Just a heads up, i've heard that while this general shines in 1v1, her power level drops off significantly in games with 4 or more people.
February 24, 2016 9:09 p.m.
mtgirem,
+1 on nobodygaming's recommendation of Life from the Loam.
Not sure that any of these will work for your deck, but wanted to mention all the ones I know ...
- Extra ETBs: Conjurer's Closet; Helvault; Mimic Vat; Minion Reflector; Nim Deathmantle; and Voyager Staff. A couple more spendy options are Blade of Selves and Cloudstone Curio.
- More recursion effects: Bow of Nylea, Centaur Vinecrasher; Creeping Renaissance; Holistic Wisdom; Petrified Field; Regrowth; Restore (especially cool, because you can pull from any graveyard); Tilling Treefolk; and Verdant Confluence.
February 25, 2016 11:09 a.m. Edited.
kyuuri117 - correct. I have a Titania deck and she's absolutely brutal 1v1 even in a fairly budget version but she just doesn't scale up well to multiplayer unless you depend heavily on getting Avenger of Zendikar + Craterhoof Behemoth + Tooth and Nail . But any green deck can do this and the 'Hoof and 'Nail aren't exactly "budget."
February 25, 2016 3:46 p.m.
CastleSiege says... #12
You have Exploration which is great. I would also pick up a Rites of Flourishing since it's cheap. Manabond is a pet favorite of mine and is ridiculous with Creeping Renaissance.
Regardless whether you have cards that let you play extra lands per turn or not, you're going to want to run a bunch of mana accelerates such as Dryad Arbor + Green Sun's Zenith , Edge of Autumn, Cultivate, Kodama's Reach, Nissa's Pilgrimage, Harrow and Skyshroud Claim. Personally I don't run any of the accelerates that cost more than 4cmc besides Skyshroud Claim because it lets the forests come in untapped. Blighted Woodland and Myriad Landscape should speak for themselves.
Tempt with Discovery is a great land tutor. For 4cmc, you get to search your library for any utility land and put it into play untapped. It also becomes even more powerful when your opponents foolishly decide to also grab al and for themselves.
If you can't afford all four of the green fetchlands, run the panoramas instead. Just make sure you also run Evolving Wilds and Terramorphic Expanse. Ghost Quarter is another great land if you target your own tapped basics with it.
Since you don't have Crucible of Worlds or Life from the Loam, you'll want some extra recursion spells. Groundskeeper, Regrowth, Eternal Witness, Greenwarden of Murasa, Tilling Treefolk, Cartographer, Harvest Wurm, Verdant Confluence, Petrified Field, Creeping Renaissance, and Praetor's Counsel should do the job.
I don't abuse bounce effects in my own build, but Conjurer's Closet and Blade of Selves could be useful for you to abuse Titania's ETB trigger.
Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx makes a decent budget alternative to Gaea's Cradle. Scorched Ruins and Lotus Vale also get extra value through Titania's ability.
Most importantly, we can't forget your sac outlets. Zuran Orb, Claws of Gix, Sylvan Safekeeper, Fortitude, and Squirrel Wrangler are all great options. Wrangler is probably the weakest of them unless you're using it in conjunction with Gaea's Cradle or Craterhoof Behemoth).
You can check out my non-budget build here if you'd like:
Deforestation
Commander / EDH*
SCORE: 111 | 158 COMMENTS | 19244 VIEWS
Raging_Squiggle says... #2
If you're not running this already, then I highly suggest adding this combo into your Titania deck:
Your commander + Command Beacon + Food Chain = infinite green mana and infinite ETB/Leave plays.
I will explain:
Command Beacon is in play. You exile Titania to get 6
mana (5 + 1). You send her to the command zone.
Sacrifice Command Beacon to return Titania to your hand from the C-Zone.
Using 5 out of the 6
mana, cast her. When she enters the battlefield, return Command Beacon from the graveyard to play. You will have 1 
mana remaining in your mana pool.
Rinse and repeat however many times you want for X
mana and ETB/leave play triggers.
February 24, 2016 5:23 p.m.