Hawk's Guide to Volo's Guide to Monsters

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Hawk
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Post by Hawk » 2 years ago

Volo, Guide to Monsters is hands down the most excited I've been for a new Commander in a good long while. I want to get started brewing early with him. As I have been looking around, a few things stand out to me:

1) Volo loves himself some clones! Creatures like Duplicant, Spark Double, Progenitor Mimic, etc. are Shapeshifters or Illusions on the stack but something else on the battlefield. Spark Double is particularly good because it can become more Volos, but I suspect Volo is game to run a lot of clones.

2) We otherwise are gonna have to dig deep. Most of the "staples" are Elves, Wizards, Humans, or Druids, so we want to run lots of obscure stuff. I think in particular that means Volo is going to want to run more instants and sorceries for his ramp, rather than the usual horde of mana dorks.

3) Some graveyard clean-up, self-bounce, and sacrifice won't go awry with Volo, as it lets us clear the deck for more monsters later on the few creature types we do end up doubling up on.

Here's my rough draft!
Volo's Guide to Monsters
Approximate Total Cost:

Pretty standard stuff - but let me know if I missed any spicy creatures!

I wish I could find room for Murkfiend Liege and Wurmcoil Engine but don't know what I'd cut - mana curve is a bit high already.

I am also aware that Craterhoof Behemoth, Sakashima of a Thousand Faces, Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath, Consecrated Sphinx, and Panharmonicon are incredible in this deck - they are omitted for budgetary reasons at this time :(.
Last edited by Hawk 1 year ago, edited 5 times in total.

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chetoos
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Post by chetoos » 2 years ago

If you don't have an ooze, scooze is useful to clean up your graveyard. Also, how about parallel lives over primal vigor? I don't think you do any counters, and parallel lives is just for you, not for your opponents.
And Parallel Evolution or Second Harvest over rite.

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Post by Hawk » 2 years ago

chetoos wrote:
2 years ago
If you don't have an ooze, scooze is useful to clean up your graveyard. Also, how about parallel lives over primal vigor? I don't think you do any counters, and parallel lives is just for you, not for your opponents.
And Parallel Evolution or Second Harvest over rite.
I do have Acidic Slime currently, but as I have 0 beasts I could swap in Indrik Stomphowler and add Scooze. I think that's a great swap!

I also was really torn between Second Harvest and Rite of Replication. I think you are right, ultimately, that Second Harvest is more fun with the instant speed flexibility putting it over the top.

And yeah, Parallel Lives is much better than Primal Vigor given how few of my cards care about or generate +1/+1 counters, but I don't own any and it's shot up to Doubling Season money :(. Maybe someday!

Thanks for the help!

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Post by Hawk » 2 years ago

Because I'm a madman who's bored out of his mind while his wife is on a week-long business trip...I decided to take a journey through every Creature Race Type in all of Magic in the hunt for the best things for Volos. I chose "Race" carefully, because I didn't want to look at stuff like Cleric, Rogue, Warrior, and Shaman. Almost every one of the "Class" Types in MtG history has a race stapled to it (especially now, post-Phyrexian creature type update) and so I found it more prudent to look at all the different animals and fantastic beasts of Magic, and note classes where they might be of conflict/interest.

Like I said, I'm a madman.
Mechanical Considerations:
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Volo and Bestow: No special interaction here; bestow spells are auras on the stack and don't have their creature types. If the target of your bestow becomes illegal, it will be too late for Volo to trigger and copy it then. Overall no real interest in a Bes-Volo deck.

Volo and Cascade: Copied spells aren't cast, so you'll only get the cascade(s) that the creature in question originally entitled you to. Some cascade creatures are still just generically pretty good in Volo but you won't get to double-dip as much as you'd think so it isn't a mechanic to go out of your way to include.

Volo and Changeling: Are a disastrous non-bo; Changelings can't be copied by Volo since they're all Human Wizards and will shut off Volo's ability to copy anyone else. Avoid including Changelings in Volo's deck at all costs.

Volo and Morph: Volo makes every face-down creature casting grant you a free 2/2 with no types (that won't be able to turn face-up). That's interesting, but since most of the great morph critters don't do anything until you turn them face-up it's an awkward direction to take Volo. I might consider dudes and dudettes like Den Protector and Willbender that don't compete for type slots since Volo can't dupe them anyways but if you wanna go all-in on Morph I'd say Kadena, Slinking Sorceress corners the market.

Volo and Mutate: A very fun combo! Volo will copy mutate castings and place two mutated creatures on the same target. However, you can choose whether to keep the target or the mutate on top, and in this way might be able to skirt some typical creature type duplication issues (since almost all mutates are Birds, Beasts, and/or Elementals and thus have a ton of competition). Do note you only get double mutates if you don't control a creature of the type, so there are still sequencing concerns.I think the best mutates (Gemrazer and Sawtusk Demolisher are close to staple-level for Volo, and would at least entertain going a lot deeper down that rabbit hole and running every mutate in Simic except for Trumpeting Gnarr (tokens might break a sequence) and Parcelbeast (just not as great in Commander for what we're trying to do).

Volo and Type-changing Effects: This is a possibility, right? One COULD run cards like Unnatural Selection to either change a creature to something else so you can cast another creature of that type, or change Volo into a Blinkmoth so that you can copy some sick Human and/or Wizard. I think it defeats the purpose of Volo especially since Simic isn't known for its tutors and I can't think of any other card in all Magic that does what Unnatural Selection does. - Arcane Adaptation and Xenograft are "too wide", Amoeboid Changeling is a changeling, Imagecrafter is fragile and doesn't fix the Human Wizard problem, and Trickery Charm is a one-shot which is pretty weak sauce. I mention this mostly to acknowledge I know it is a thing - but, if we're playing Volo, we want to play a menagerie right? Any Simic Commander can slam Eternal Witness and Laboratory Maniac and swarms of mana elves - we're here to get weird with it.
A is for Angels, Antelopes, Apes...
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Angel: Platinum Angel gets my attention since doubling it is double the safety until someone wraths. When the competition is Illusory Angel and Copperleaf Angel, it's easy to win the category but I wouldn't be rushing to jam an Angel in my Volo deck - Angels may be in the Monster Manual but they aren't really monsters, right?

Antelope: I give the win to Grazing Gladehart by virtue of being the only playable antelope that isn't also a Beast (sorry Stampeding Serow and Stampeding Wildebeests!) TBH the stampeding critters are nice, if you can afford to give up your Beast slot, and overall I'd feel okay not running any Antelope in my Volo deck.

Ape: For my money, I'm looking at the classic Uktabi Orangutan since it has no other stuff on its typeline to compete with. Kogla, the Titan Ape is a bit awkward as a legendary, but is so powerful you might just wanna run him anyways. Silverback Shaman gets the bronze as a fine replacement-level body (shame about his Shaman typing). I guess there's enough Apes I'll say honorable mention is Hooting Mandrills as just a lot of stats that can also help clean the 'yard if you are trying to double up on a type in your menagerie. Apes are popular, so I'd look to include one in your zoo!

Archon: No Archons exist that are Simic-eligible :(

Assembly-Worker: I thought this was just a meme category for me to look at, but it's actually interesting! If your deck is doing any Food/Clue/Treasure things, Academy Manufactor is a spicy card to get to double so you can then end up with six tokens for every one created. If you aren't jamming trinkets like that, Mishra's Self-Replicator is a bit more interesting when it's 4/4 of stats that can make 4/4 more stats for every historic spell cast - there's some potential there in a very artifact-heavy Volo Guide. No bronze here, as the rest really are just memes and draft chaff, but there's definitely some neat options in a trip to Mechanus for Volo!

Atog: Tragically, one of WotC's unique types is pretty terrible for Volo - I call this a loser's draw between Chronatog and Foratog. If you must, I guess I'd run Foratog for fun?

Aurochs: As a parasitic, synergistic herd Aurochs are a poor fit for Volo. Rimehorn Aurochs is probably the best of a bad bunch especially in Snow-lo, but if you want hoofstock in your zoo look at Antelope or other types.

Avatar: A surprisingly competitive type with two clear stand-outs in Wandering Archaic and Diluvian Primordial, which both propose massive value in normal play and absurd value when doubled up on. I prefer the flexibility and curve of Wandering Archaic, but Diluvian Primordial is a fine and more budget-friendly alternative. For Bronze I'd actually give it to Overbeing of Myth as a bit of a sleeper hit compared to the newer and more modern Body of Knowledge. There's fun to be had with Avatar of Growth and Primeval Protector too, but I think fundamentally these cards are just behind the above. Finally, shout-out to Living Lore as another budget-friendly possible sleeper especially in a spell-centric Volo deck (bit of an odd direction, but a possible one!).

Azra: No Azra exist in Simic colors.
B is for Badgers, Basilisks, Bats...
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Badger: Charging Badger wins on sheer pluck as the fiercest little mammal this side of Brushwagg (don't play Badgers in your zoo; they just make a mess).

Basilisk: A classic of the genre! Sadly not awesome in EDH. Turntimber Basilisk is probably the best of a bad lot, as a cheap little death-toucher that provokes blockers. I'm going to give Stone-tongue Basilisk silver for nostalgia (it's not awful if you aren't actively eating your graveyard and it'd win...if it was 3GG instead of the steep 4GGG it is in truth). And let's say bronze is a tie between the classic Thicket Basilisk and its superior 2010 improvement Sylvan Basilisk. Real talk though, probably best to leave the basilisks out of the zoo; they require very specialized care and diet as well as a Nemesis Mask to be seen in public.

Bat: Tragically, no bats exist for Volo's zoo :(

Bear: Everyone loves bears in a zoo - they may be a bit vanilla, but they're just so cute! Bad news for Volo is that when your menagerie can include Gods, Avatars, Sphinxs, and Dragons, a cute bear is less impressive. Most great Bears are legendary (and thus a bit of a bombo for Volo) or are magical creatures with other types. For pure ursine joy, my vote goes to Striped Bears for some digging and furry bodies. If you are okay with double-typed bears, I don't hate Spirit of the Aldergard (near strictly-better than Striped Bears, as long as your zoo has cold climates) or Owlbear (a D&D staple, and a significant upgrade in terms of threat level for one more mana). Honorable mention will go to Ulvenwald Bear, which is a lot of stats for just 2G if you can get the Morbid to trigger reliably.

Beast: After some short lists, beasts are a brutal one with 258 eligible creatures in Magic's history (and growing every year). The clear king of the beasts is Craterhoof Behemoth; if you've got 'hoof play it as Volo will dramatically decrease the creature count required to murder people with it. Thunderfoot Baloth and Blossoming Bogbeast are other budget alternatives to 'hoof. However, I will say that the job of 'hoof can also be done by a few good Boars and Goats and Rhinos later on down the list, so if you'd rather run something else a few options are… Beast is great as a flex-type. For instance if you end up going with Scavenging Ooze over [Acidic Slime for Ooze, you can look for naturalizes and artifact hate in Beast. Ditto if you pick any number of elves over Beast Whisperer; Garruk's Packleader or Paleoloth have got your back! Overall it's a question of which beast will be Beast in Show for you; you should definitely pick one of the above.Those are the best imo - there's lots of other beasts that gain life or give lots of stats, but we can do better and should.

Beeble: Another magic unique, another type with mostly unplayable chaff. I give the nod to Bouncing Beebles but they're just gonna be a Phantom Warrior. Only play for the meme value.

Beholder: A D&D icon that isn't available in Simic :(.

Bird: Another populous type, with 110 eligible (after factoring out the 18 Aven Bird Wizards who don't play well with Volo). Here, however, unlike beasts I think there's some clear standouts and less competition. I really like Birds of Paradise; it's simple, it's classic, it's a nice ramp, and there's less competition here than you'd think. If you are a historic build, Jhoira's Familiar and Junk Diver make some nice alternatives. On a budget? Mist Raven, Raven Familiar,0 and Augury Owl are fine ways to bounce, draw, or scry with a cheap flier. As a dark-bird candidate, Blizzard Strix can be really interesting with all the EtB you're sure to be playing. Finally, Dreamtail Heron and Souvenir Snatcher are great mutate creatures that aren't always "birds" if you don't want them to be.

Blinkmoth: Exists only on lands.

Boar: Boars are an underrated creature to keep in your zoo that are surprisingly fun. End-raze Forerunners are very competitive with Craterhoof Behemoth at a fraction of the initial buy-in cost and in a less competitive type. Decimator of the Provinces is much worse since the cast trigger won't be doubled and it is more mana for no Vigilance (and for an added Eldrazi type that might interfere with your build). Honestly I'm inclined to call End-raze a must-run for a Volo Menagerie (it's the most played card in Volo at 65% but that still isn't 100%); the only serious competition is Archetype of Endurance which is...fine.

Bringer: All Bringers require 5C decks, so no Bringers for Volo.

Brushwagg: Bring it on, Charging Badger! Almighty Brushwagg has your number. He's so cute that it's worth considering if you are all-in on mutate maybe...but, it's pretty low-impact even there.
C is for Camarids, Camels, Caribous...
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Camarid: An old-school cool blue creature type...that isn't actually on the typeline of any playable creatures :(

Camel: Camels are mean! They smell, they spit - not a great fit for a zoo. Real talk our two options, Quarry Hauler and Steel Dromedary, have some okay counter synergy but overall are limited-quality cards we're probably not looking for in Volo.

Caribou: Clearly only live in Plains? There are none for Volo.

Carrier: A holdover from pre-Phyrexian times; none are available in Simic.

Cat: No menagerie is complete without some cats! Temur Sabertooth is a very popular kitty in Volo at 44% inclusion, and it's easy to see why - it's a good body that lets us bounce our own stuff to trigger Volo again, and as such is essential for a very EtB focused Volo build. For my part, I think Keeper of Fables is pretty competitive as a reasonable draw effect for the deck. Qasali Slingers is also a great option if you don't have too many warriors as a strong way to nuke artifacts and enchantments (you'll end up nuking 3 for one casting!). Honorable mention goes to Feline Sovereign as an interesting "Trygon Predator with a different type-line"; I think it is just worse than Qasali Slingers and Trygon Predator, but those cards have different types that may conflict with your deck so it bears mentioning. Finally, a dark cat candidate is Nacatl War-Pride which is a stupid, stupid card in mulitples.

Centaur: A fantasy staple and a must-have for any serious monster guide. Courser of Kruphix is the best magical horseman in Magic history, and as one of the few Centaurs who has no profession beyond "giving you lands and life" is a fine inclusion even if you aren't going to get too much extra value out of having two. The absolute best centaur for Volo, however, is Selesnya Eulogist. The competition in the druid profession is stiff, so it will take careful consideration to include, but Populate is an amazing mechanic for Volo and the Eulogist brings a touch of grave hate to the party to boot. I'd strongly consider one of these two - Centaur Omenreader and Loaming Shaman are both good Centaurs with interesting abilities that have competitive secondary classes, while Phantom Centaur and Stonehoof Chieftain are both strong beaters (especially in a mutate-heavy shell) with the same problem. Pheres-Band Brawler gets a mention as a Affectionate Indrik clone with a (maybe???) less contested typeline. I'll give my final darkhorse (yay horse is appropriate to say here!) budget pick to Nylea's Disciple - Archer is a lot less hotly contested than Druid, Shaman, and Warrior for your types, and this can be a pretty big burst of life to keep you afloat in a under-75% meta.

Cephalid: Another magic staple, another bad entry for Volo - lots of the okayish Cephalids are also Wizards which keeps them out of the Guide. I think the best here is Cephalid Sage as it's a lot of digging, especially if your take on Volo is doing graveyard-y things. Callous Oppressor is interesting in multiples, and since there's a fair amount of competition amongst the "Control Magic on a Stick" critters, maybe worth an include?

Chimera: A D&D classic with some great options. The best Chimera in Magic (Apex Devastator) seems a bit "win-more" for Volo, since the copy won't get any more cascades. Fortunately, we've got the obscure Treeshaker Chimera as an alphastrike + card draw machine, and the budget-friendly Horizon Chimera as a flashy, evasive lifegain engine. If you just want stats, Majestic Myriarch brings the stats. Final mention - a lot of constellation creatures and enchantment creatures have diverse, unusual typelines, so while he's no Eutropa, the Twice-favored Volo could make for an intriguing Enchantress-type Commander especially with Shimmerwing Chimera and/or Riptide Chimera to make sure you can go stargazing every turn!

Cockatrice: From the highs of Chimera we go back to the lows - there's only two in color, and both OG Cockatrice and shiny new Fleetfeather Cockatrice are boring "just stats" critters. I give the nod to Fleetfeather, as a fine rattlesnake...chicken...thing for a budget Volo deck, but ideally you'll leave these rotten eggs out to pasture (for even more mixed metaphor action).

Construct: Ah yes, the "Beast" of artifacts (in that it's a meaningless "catch-all" for "clockwork creations") and a packed house again. Pound for pound my money is on Torrential Gearhulk as a huge flashy body that should yield great value - even if your deck has 10 or less instants I'd at least consider it, and it's only terrible if your deck is approaching spell-less Primal Surge type nonsense (not a bad way to go with Volo, to be fair, but an unusual direction). Still, like Beasts, this is a good flexible type with some good options:
  • Walking Ballista slices, dices, and makes julienne fries, and is always a reasonable card.
  • Myr Battlesphere and Hangarback Walker are some great "army in a can" type creatures.
  • Verdurous Gearhulk may just be the most stats-for-CMC you can get in a Volo deck especially since so much of it will impact immediately (and because it will synergize so strongly with any +1/+1 counter thins you are doing)
  • One very minor issue for some Volo decks is that a lot of the good mana dorks are Elves and/or Druids and/or Shamans, which can break a lot of their more interesting sequencing - so it is always relevant when a different type brings mana dorks even mediocre ones like Manakin, Hedron Crawler, and Walking Atlas.
  • Heavy Metal Volos is also an option, at which point you'll have a really tough call between one of the above versus Foundry Inspector, Steel Overseer, Scrap Trawler, and Metalworker.
Crab: Another disappointing type. The winner is.. I dunno, they're all bad. Iceberg Cancrix might be okay in Snow-lo, and King Crab is a funny nostalgia card and way to serve as pseudo-removal or a (really bad) Temur Sabertooth effect. Vexing Scuttler might be okay since most Archaeomancer effects don't play well with Volo, assuming you don't mind losing out on your Eldrazi slot too. And then we've got Thassa's Emissary for the enchantress builds. But these are all replacement-level even in those fringe builds - probably better to go Crab-free.

Crocodile: A zoo favorite that won't be a Volo favorite. Scaled Behemoth is probably the best thing on a budget for the #stats. It's more funny here to see power creep over the years - compare Emperor Crocodile and Sandbar Crocodile to the Behemoth, or Wardscale Crocodile.

Cyclops: Not seeing any in Simic.
D is for Dauthi, Demigod, Demon...
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Dauthi: Seem to have gone up in smoke.

Demigod: As the name implies, our two available demigods (demigoddesses, really) are both legendary and thus awkward with Volo. I give the nod by a lot to Renata, Called to the Hunt who you can sneak an extra counter onto (copy resolves first) and who can add a lot of extra power to your doubled critters. Callaphe's ward looks a whole lot less impressive in comparison but might be the pick specifically in the Enchantress version of a Volo deck.

Demon: Guess we'll have to leave these to the Fiendish Folio, as no Demon has ever been printed in Simic colors.

Devil: Yep, them too.

Dinosaur: From extinction to 47 representatives in Simic, Dinosaurs are so hot right now.WotC has been pretty committed to getting the tribe to be relevant in EDH and Standard, too, so between Ixalan and Ikoria (plus random appearances in Core and Masters sets) we've got a bevvy of options and surprising flexibility from these old bones. The most played Dino in Volo is Keruga, the Macrosage, and I guess I get it - compared to say Owlbear this is trading overall stats (due to the legend rule) for at least one more card even in a worst-case of only controlling Volo. I'm actually sorta underwhelmed though; Dinos offer so much that I'm not sure Keruga would be my go-to, as the actual worst case here compared to Owlbear is draw 0 after a boardwipe. My pick for sleeper is actually Runic Armasaur (which isn't even on Volo's EDHRECs page!), a card that can draw a ton of cards especially in multiples. If you are looking to get cards out of your Dino-might, I'd take Armasaur over Keruga 99.9% of the time. But, if you want something else from Dinos… Djinn: No djinn appears in Volo's EDHREC page now despite the quest for wishes being a staple of adventures. A quick look reveals why - the best Djinn in EDH, Tidespout Tyrant, is showing its age these days and doesn't combo great with Volo. If you are looking to have some power in your corner, some ammunition in your camp, I recommend Soulblade Djinn which can definitely get out of hand quickly in a more spell-centric or enchantment-centric Volo deck. To just mention a 3rd place finisher (I guess Tidespout is my second place; it's still really powerful in a slower meta!) - Sage-eye Avengers is mostly just worse than Soulblade in a deck that can reliably trigger prowess, but they ain't nothing. Mostly though, I'm wishing we had a Djinn a bit more playable in Volo.

Dog: Man's best friend may not be Volos - Dogs haven't quite caught up to Dinosaurs on the "making them EDH playable" train. The only remotely playable dog that doesn't have a secondary typing is Wild Mongrel, and while this good boy is one of my favorite cards in all MtG history he's just not awesome in EDH or a Volo deck. If you really want your Volo deck to go to the Dogs, I guess I'd look at Ainok Survivalist (Scout isn't too competitive as a secondary typing) as a cheap Pilgrim's Eye fixing effect that can grab lots of lands in the mid to late game. I don't hate Blues Clues in a dedicated "token junk" Volo deck or Abzan Beastmaster in a vacuum, but both have obnoxious secondary typings. Overall, I'd probably leave these Dogs in the doghouse for a Volo deck.

Dragon: Red's iconic is so popular that a whopping 31 are available for play in Simic, to ensure Volo's Dungeon can have some proper Dragons. I favor Keiga, the Tide Star despite her legendary status and obnoxious secondary Spirit typing - you get a 5/5 flier and an immediate stolen creature, making this in my opinion the best Control Magic creature Volo can hope for. If you want removal with more bodies on board though, Steel Hellkite and Foe-Razer Regent are both acceptable alternatives to Keiga. Shimmer Dragon also holds some value in an artifact-centric deck, maybe moreso than Steel Hellkite - multiples don't matter for the card draw ability, but can't complain about getting a second 5/6 flying hexproof for free. None of these dragons break the bank, but if you are on the most extreme of budgets I'd recommend Destructor Dragon as my budget candidate of choice. Dragons are practically mandatory for any serious D&D deck so definitely include one!

Drake: Diet dragons are still a great fit for a Volo Menagerie. The most playable and played Drake is Peregrine Drake which is great to "go off" with- it's effectively a 4/6 flier and a 5 mana ritual at a minimum with Volo out, allowing you to really empty your hand and flood the board. Loyal Drake is also popular as a card draw critter. I imagine the only reason these two are ahead of Gilded Drake is budget, but of course the ol' fool's gold drake is still amazing. There's a few good alternatives - Tide Skimmer is a nice alternative to Loyal Drake, Angler Drake is another bounce effect if you feel you need it - but with a good mix of budget versus not options I'd definitely take one of the top 3.

Dreadnought: Currently, only Phyrexian Dreadnought has the type, and that's a too-spicy-for-me card for this deck - I'd rather not.

Drone: Most drones are also Eldrazi, and that's a bummer. Volo makes Brood Watcher, Nest Invader, or Kozilek's Predator "free" and that's...fine, but not that exciting since you're just left with vanilla dudes. Mirran Spy could be good in an artifact deck otherwise, as a "Pure" drone. I think my favorite drone is actually Hoverguard Sweepers, which doubled should be effectively a River's Rebuke attached to a pair of massive fliers. But all of this stuff is pretty weak, and only good for wanting to have the obscure typing.

Dryad:I'm surprised to see that there's only 34 dryads but it's a stacked list. The two most popular are Tendershoot Dryad and Dryad of the Ilysian Grove. Tendershoot is a slam-dunk; doubled by Volo this is a 4/4 that spits out 10/10 of power every upkeep once you get rolling which is stupid. That's so insane that I scratch my head at Illysian being in the deck - it's an explore on a stick, sure, but Wayward Swordtooth seems like a better explore. Meanwhile, I think Sanctum Weaver is more exciting in an Enchantress take on the deck. The top two are both $15+, so if you are on a bit more of a budget I really like Yavimaya Dryad as a Wood Elves+ with a less competitive typeline. These Dryads are all good, so good that I think they choke out the next best options like Bramble Sovereign and Conclave Naturalists (another "Naturalize on a stick" option if you want it). Bottom line, I'd run Tendershoot if you have it, Yavimaya Dryad if you don't, and Sanctum Weaver in specific builds - but you should definitely be running a Dryad.

Dwarf: The only on-color dwarf is Reveka, Wizard Savant who is A)a wizard who can't be copied by Volo, B) a legend so even if she could be copied she'd dieto the legend rule, and C) is a terrible terrible card. Maybe we'll see some Green or Blue Dwarves in the next D&D set?
E is for Efreet, Egg, Eldrazi...:
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Efreet: Six legal efreet, but since they're mostly from an era pre-Tempest where Efreet was a supported type in these colors, they're mostly all awful. I'll call it a tie between Serendib Efreet (a reasonable amount of stats for the CMC) and Rainbow Efreet (old school World Champion finisher go!)...but mostly, you should keep your deck efreet-free.

Egg: Only three legal eggs means we don't even have a half-dozen, and I think we're gonna wanna lay off the eggs and leave them to Atla Palani, Nest Tender. Ludevic's Test Subject is sadly double-typed and offers no value for doubling it other than needing even more time and mana to get your Godzilla on. Summoner's Egg is cute and the winner in a vacuum, but I wouldn't do it. Mysterious Egg is at least interesting for Mutate.dec. But overall, yeah, none of these are egg-selent.

Eldrazi: Magic's eldritch monstrosities are a unique entry for a dedicated Monster Guider, one bearing some consideration. The obvious inclusions are Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, and (for the poor), Artisan of Kozilek - huge, game-ending nasties that annihilate the board and generate mass value. I'm not as into them for Volo, because you won't get double cast triggers. They're not bad, mind - getting a second 9/7 annihilator on top of the first one and a reanimation is still very good.I just think it's all a bit generic, ya know? If you aren't doing big fat Eldrazi bomb things, I think there's some underrated value to be had in Thought-Knot Seer and Matter Reshaper as much more reasonably costed value, especially in a colorless-heavy deck. The fact that no mono-typed Eldrazi is that amazing also means it might be okay to do something like Vexing Scuttler or Elder Deep-Fiend. Final mention is Deepfathom Skulker as a big Coastal Piracy effect on a less contested, non-legendary body.

Elemental: Another type where one's cup runneth over - 193 eligible elementals exist. There's a few that clearly stand out above a pack of limited chaff though. Most players seem split on the simple, beautiful value of Mulldrifter and the raw bone-crushing power of Avenger of Zendikar; both sit at 42% inclusion. And they're both great cards, no fault to them. Avenger is particularly great if you have any major token, counter, or landfall synergy (all reasonable and common directions for the deck to subtheme into). These two are so powerful (and Mulldrifter so affordable) that they're probably the right inclusion despite the long list of competition, but I'll list a few alternatives as well as a few I'd avoid:
  • Mulldrifter's got the market cornered on EtB draw imo, but if you want a draw engine Soul of the Harvest is there for you and will yield at least one card right away.
  • Vigor and Forgotten Ancient are intriguing in multiples if you are heavy on +1/+1 counters (but AoZ may still be better)
  • I love the idea of having double Ancient Greenwarden although it's tough to leave AoZ out of a landfall deck.
  • Eon Frolicker is hilarious, and more so when duplicated.
  • Dreamtail Heron is a mutate card (to mention again)
  • Bane of Progress, Endurance, Greenwarden of Murasa, Foundation Breaker, Avatar of Growth (but note the annoying Avatar typeline), and Aethersnipe all offer additional utility EtBs, if you need them from the Elemental slot here and are willing to sacrifice 'drifter and Avenger to get it. Note also that Bane of Progress sorta sucks to double up on; I legitimately think I'd take a long cold look at Foundation Breaker if I wanted to naturalize with elementals.
There are a host of good and popular Elementals that also "draw cards" or something like it - Risen Reef, Regal Force, Cavalier of Gales, Wavesifter - but I think Mulldrifter has them all beat unless you are doing Clue things (and am surprised to see Reef at a 14% inclusion rate). Likewise with great "army in a can" elementals like Verdant Force, Wolfbriar Elemental, and Whisperwood Elemental - AoZ beats them all by a country mile, so I'd only consider maybe Wolfbriar if you were on a budget. Finally, Nyxbloom Ancient feels stupidly win-more with Volo; if that's your kink no shame here but I'd favor AoZ for my gratuitous overkill elemental since it actually wins games.

Elephant: A surprisingly light tribe by numbers (only 27 exist for Volo, all monogreen) but I'd never forget to include an elephant in my menagerie. The two elephants in the room demanding the most attention are Thorn Mammoth (the mighty newcomer that is a kill spell on a stick at one of the best rates they've given for this effect in green) and that's my pick unless you don't own one. I think good ol' reliable Terastodon is also a totally fine card for the deck and this is a great place to give EDH's original superstar a new lease on life. As we've seen or will see later, for "Naturalize or Bramblecrush on a stick" the usual suspects are all in much, much more competitive tribes, so getting it out of your elephant slot is not a bad thing at all. The internet seems to favor Terastodon, surprisingly, who sits at 48% inclusion in Volo to Thorn Mammoth's 15%. While those should be the picks, I'd be remiss to not remember and acknowledge Battle Mammoth (which is a lot of cards, stats, and flexibility if your meta is heavy on single-target kill over sweepers). Finally, a dark elephant mention to Sandsteppe Mastodon as an older and more obscure card that is a ridonculous amount of stats.

Elf: Been sorta dreading having to look through all these pointy-eared creatures. At 320 (excluding Wizards and the "Elf Humans" of the new D&D set), this is the largest creature type Volo has access to by a ton (Beast is second at 258; if you're curious since I haven't gotten there yet at this time Merfolk only have like 130 once you factor out all the Wizards). Axing the legendaries gets us down to 303 (and there are no legends here worth doubling up on). First, let's talk about what classic, highly-played elves I wouldn't run:
  • Mana dorks: Llanowar Elves, Fyndhorn Elves, Elvish Mystic, and all their weaker clones and copies feel like a lousy use of your most broad creature type even though Volo does want to be ramped into really badly. I feel the same about Wood Elves (although at least as a Scout it's easier to squeeze in) and Farhaven Elf. For my money, I'd rather aim to use artifacts, enchantments, and sorceries to ramp in Volo and save my creature slots for something more interesting.
  • Naturalizes: Reclamation Sage is one of the most played cards in EDH, but I'd find my EtB Naturalize elsewhere (and thus this also rules out weaker copies of this like Viridian Zealot.
  • "Cantrip Creatures": Are super fun to double and blink, but again I think you can do better than Elvish Visionary, Llanowar Visionary, and my all-time favorite Elf Snake Coiling Oracle (especially since he also chews up the surprisingly competitive Snake typing).
Fortunately for me, after eliminating all that a lot of the rest of top 100 elves in EDH are clearly for a Tribal deck and not a Volo deck (Priest of Titania, Elvish Archdruid, Imperious Perfect) or don't actually do a whole lot if doubled and don't synergize with what Volo wants to do (Allosaurus Shepherd, Elvish Piper, Elvish Reclaimer). I think that helps me narrow it down to a clear best-of list for your consideration:
  • Fauna Shaman, even eating up your Shaman equity, is a clear stand-out and in a vacuum the best Elf for Volo (especially if you lean competitive or have some GY Synergy). Volo rewards a toolbox play, and Shaman helps you dig through the toolbox. Very strong choice.
  • Beast Whisperer is just a generically great card that's even better copied, providing Volo with an endless stream of more creatures. Boring, but ain't nothing wrong with boring.
  • A three-way tie between Evolution Sage, Oracle of Mul Daya, and Tireless Provisioner for decks doing Landfall things. Surprisingly I like Sage and Provisioner here over Oracle in most decks, as you can get explores out of other types and cards more easily. Provisioner gets a nod in a vacuum as treasure is always good, and also opens the door for doing "token junk". Sage is also good with just a bit of +1/+1 counter synergy in your deck, and both of these are good without landfall but awesome with landfall. Oracle is still one of the finest green cards ever printed and worth a look, but don't feel like it's a slamdunk.
  • I'll give an HM to Fierce Empath - I know I said that I didn't like Cantrip Creatures but a tutor is a bit better, and this is one of the only playable elves in history to not be a Druid/Shaman/Warrior if that matters to your deck. Good for budget and/or BIG Volo decks. An awesome budget choice for sure.
  • And finally, a dark elf (Drow?) nod to Deep Forest Hermit, which is the ACTUAL most stats for 5 CMC I believe at a whopping 26 for 3GG (and for as long as the hermits stick around). OG Deranged Hermit yields the same power with no druid typing, for the record, but Echo makes it unlikely you'll be able to keep both around to actually attack with your little friends.
There are a ton more elves to look at with more unique effects and typelines (Krosan Drover,Caller of the Claw, Cultivator of Blades, and Riftsweeper are all cards I glanced at and will namecheck here as "interesting", especially the first three with no classes or a non-competitive class), but I'd argue that you're better off running one of the seven above or even defaulting to more generic goodstuffy elves I said not to run before them - it's a stacked type. Maybe I missed one though -it's a lot of elves to sort through.

Elk: Oh thank heck that there's only 27 of these (since the millions of creatures victimized by Oko, Thief of Crowns don't count). Burnished Hart is the most popular Elk in EDH and the most played in Volo (not really counting Auspicious Starrix as it won't always be an Elk on the battlefield), but I find that a bit suss. This is a total of 9 mana over 3-4 turns to ramp four lands which is a pretty terrible rate, even with the possible chump blocking or light beatings to go with it. We're in the color of Cultivate and Migratory Path folks! All those players running Burnished Hart should be running Dawntreader Elk instead - Elk can't fix your green but you are likely to be Green-heavy anyhow, and at least Elk comes in at the same rate as Explosive Vegetation post-Volo while also smoothing out opening hands to ensure you hit a T4 Volo. That being said, I think Dawntreader Elk is fine but not awesome, and think that Dawnglade Regent and Somberwald Stag are at least worth looking at as draw/protection and removal respectively (Stag is the cheapest EtB Fight in Magic, I believe, although 4/3 isn't that likely to kill what you need in a vacuum meaning it's unlikely for this to be a 2-for-1). Heck, I don't despise Golden Hind since it actually ramps into T3 Volo and mana dorks can be hard for Volo. I don't think elks are a must-run in Volo (that may be because I'm from Wyoming where they walk around my parent's backyard so they don't feel like a zoo-worthy creature), but if you must play a real live elk and not no metal burnished fake.

Eye: The eyes don't have it, or rather we don't have the eyes - the only eye printed in Volo's colors is the silver-bordered Spy Eye.
F is for Faeries, Ferrets, Fish...
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Faerie: A type that has a surprisingly small impact (or maybe not - most adventurers bargain with Fey, they don't fight them). 54 are eligible after we factor out all the great Faerie Wizards, but a lot of them are limited chaff. The clear winner in my book is Faerie Artisans and if I owned one, I'd play it in a heartbeat. While it can break your sequencing, it's just a nutty card that's even nuttier in multiples. Surprisingly, the most played one in Volo is Maraleaf Pixie - I guess I get it, as Volo wants to hit his ramp and dorks can be tough to find. That being said, I and the rest of the Volo Fanclub seem to favor Cloud of Faeries as a free dork that is a ritual in the mid to late game and can be cycled away for good measure. The lack of a secondary typing on Cloud is also pretty nice (although as an Artificer, Artisans aren't exactly in a crowded profession). If none of that appeals, Tome Raider and Dream Thief are cantrip creatures as is Faerie Machinist if you are an artifact-heavy take on Volo...but I'd strongly weight towards playing the first three or none at all.

Ferret: A lone entrant in Joven's Ferrets. It brought my brother and I endless laughter that this weird, odd little card exists - and I'd leave it there, in the annals of Homelands history. This is stone-cold unplayable (if you like 1/1 dorks to Mutate onto, look back at Badger, Brushwagg, and Egg for your creatures of choice).

Fish: As in real fish, not the pejorative term for Merfolk. I wouldn't go too deep into the fish tank in Volo, but there's a few worth looking at. The rockstar standout is Deepglow Skate, and if your deck is doing anything with counters it merits a look. Wavebreak Hippocamp is, fortunately or unfortunately, also a horse but is quite good in a Flash-y Volo deck. Speaking of, Tidal Barracuda is one of the few non-legendary creature enablers of that strategy, and while there's no merit to doubling it it's worth a glance too. From there, I'd say "Go fish" unless you are doing some sort of weird milly thing at which point Jace's Mindseeker and Fleet Swallower exist (please don't try this. Mill is terrible in EDH. If you want to play Mill in EDH, play a commander better suited for it.)

Fox: What does the fox say? It says "don't play Foxes in Volo". I jest - mostly. Fox does offer a few budget alternatives and it's a unique typeline. Did you really want to play Pilgrim's Eye, but need a different Thopter? Well, there's Farfinder as a worse Eye! Did you want some grade-A beef on a very meager pauper's budget, but want to run different Dinos and Wurms? Check out Vulpine Goliath. Playing an artifact deck and sad about all the competition keeping Solemn Simulacrum in check? I guess Filigree Familiar exists. Real talk Filigree Familiar was in my maybeboard, but I just don't think it does enough.

Fractal: A type that exists mostly on Quandrix tokens with the exception of Esix, Fractal Bloom. This card looks decent in Volo at first blush even with Legendary...until we look deeper at the rules. Ya see, Volo's ability "copies creature spells" which enter the battlefield as token creatures - but that's not the same thing as "Creating tokens", and thus won't trigger Esix (or Doubling Season, Primal Vigor, Adrix and Nev, Twincasters, or Parallel Lives). That's leaving you to only find Esix good if you are all-in on token-makers, and that's an odd direction for Volo as it will rapidly break sequencing. I think if you like Esix, you should make him the pilot of his own deck.

Frog: In true Jurassic Park tribute fashion, the Simic love stapling Frog DNA onto other creatures. Good for them, bad for us as it means lots of Frogs have crowded typelines with more competitive secondary typings like "beast" and "snake". Honestly, it ain't easy being green (as in being a Frog - green is awesome in EDH) and no Frog is a must-run. I think the best is Spore Frog as a clean, easy "fog x2". Pollywog Symbiote bears mention if you are playing literally every mutate. D&D Monster Froghemoth would be the winner if not for also being a Horror - as we'll see, Horror has some horrifically awesome candidates that I think beat out the Froghemoth.

Fungus: There will probably be no Fungus among Volo decks. A lot of Fungus are Thallids, which near-demand their own dedicated deck. Several other interesting Fungi like Mold Shambler and Swarm Shambler have secondary typings that preclude them from being good Volo candidates. The winner is Mycoloth, even though Devour ain't great doubled - if nothing else, you can devour the copy to make sure Mycoloth does something even on an empty board. I also think Sporemound is worth considering in a dedicated landfall build. But most of these just aren't fun guys.
G is for Gargoyles, Germs, Giants...
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Gargoyle: It's a crying shame that there's no Goliath gargoyle as they're an iconic monster. Here we mostly have draft chaff, and bad draft chaff at that. I think Vantress Gargoyle is pound-for-pound best; 10/8 worth of stats for 1U is strong even with some hoops. Failing that, Biblioplex Assistant is worth a mention if you feel like you are so hard up for Archaeomancer-type effects that you're willing to take them back to your deck instead of your hand...but that's pretty niche.

Germ: Another type that only exists on tokens means we can keep our deck and list clean.

Giant: Most Volo players are jamming Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath (it's currently at 41% inclusion, and is the only giant on the EDHRECs page) and that feels like a mistake to me. Like, sure, that's some value. But how often are you gonna be able to spam that Escape cost? Can't we do better than a glorified repeatable Explore? I think we can. Uro is solid, don't get me wrong - the first casting can be pre-Volo to help ramp to Volo, and the second cast can be escaped out to either draw two, ramp two, gain 6 and have a 6/6 to show for it, or you can sac the "real one" to be able to do it again later. But, there are alternatives that don't give in to the "generic Standard Simic Good Stuff" plague of 2020. For instance, Frost Titan is the blue-headed stepchild of the infamous cycle but it is legitimately a lot of strong stats and tempo for the cost and it's way more iconically D&D. Earthshaker Giant is another "Overrun on a stick" in less competitive types. Heck, casual staple Beanstalk Giant represents reasonable ramp + giant late-game stats for flexibility and is a great budget pick too. I get the allure of Uro, and don't blame anyone - but there might be other giants worth a look too.

Gnoll: Gnolls are a D&D staple, bane of low-level players everywhere. Sadly for us, only Gnoll Hunter exists right now, and it's only worth playing if you are 100% committed to a D&D flavored bestiary - if you're looking for small-size brawlers, perhaps to mutate onto or go wide with, MtG is littered with much better creatures.

Gnome: Historically in MtG, gnomes were little clockwork lawn ornaments and most are sorta meh - Bottle Gnomes is probably the best for Volo as a classic chump blocker + life engine, and one I'd include in a metalcraft Volo deck just to get enough creatures online. Clockwork Servant is also a solid cantrip creature, if your mana is good enough. AFR brought Feywild Trickster which I want to love, but there's not enough die-rolling in Volo yet to go for it.

Goat: Two options here, but Pathbreaker Ibex is the, well, GOAT. This is a reason to not sweat not having access to Craterhoof Behemoth, by budget or by choice. Capricopian is the other option; it's also a Hydra and it's not great, so it really is Pathbreaker or bust.

Goblin: Surprisingly there are two in Simic. Unsurprisingly, they're both trash. We've got Hungry Spriggan which is not a great creature even in a Mutate.dec, and Swirling Spriggan has no reason to be multiplied. Volo's tropical island retirement means no goblins I guess.

God: As legendary creature typically with complex cards, most Gods aren't good fits for Golo. The one shining exception and superstar is God-Eternal Rhonas. Zombie Rhonas' EtB trigger is crazy powerful, and with Volo you can sac the real deal to send it back to your library while you enjoy your whole team effectively quadrupling their power.

Golem: Sad Robot is the king of the golems, and I actually am not gonna say that's wrong. Yeah, good ol' Jens is a bit awkward with Volo as they're both 4 CMC and Simic's cup runneth over with great value creatures and with more efficient ramp spells. Nevertheless, Simulacrum is a lot of value. Really for me, it's the competition (or lack thereof) that seals the deal:
  • Meteor Golem is a Vindicate on a stick…but 7 CMC is steep, and there's actually a fair amount of removal options. It's probably still second best.
  • Ancient Stone Idol, Blightsteel Colossus and Triplicate Titan are a mammoth amount of stats for the CMC...but, you're Simic! Stats for CMC is what you do. There's tons of better options available, many of them lower CMC or with more synergy.
  • The one spot where you'd have a hard choice is some sort of Metalcrafty Volos deck, where suddenly double Lodestone Golem to tax the table or double Mycosynth Golem for you to truly go to the moon in terms of free stuff start looking really good.
Gorgon: Fun fact - D&D Gorgons are bull-headed, steel-coated, poison-breathing...things. That doesn't exist in MtG (yet). Magic Gorgons are D&D Medusas...and none exist in Simic. I was surprised, honestly - I know they're a Golgari special on Theros and Ravnica but would have figured we'd have at least one mono-green Gorgon in all of Magic history. But nope, we won't be seeing any in Volo.

Graveborn: A special kind of zombie, generated by a few specific cards as a token. We won't be digging any up for Volo.

Gremlin: These cutesy critters mostly appear in Kaladesh, and seem to be near-exclusively red.

Griffin: While this high fantasy staple is mostly found in white, we have a few for Volo too. Blue has three griffins - two draft chaff cards in Balshan Griffin and Steelgaze Griffin, and the interesting but not-for-Volo Misthollow Griffin. The secret sauce for Volo is actually found in artifice; I like Bladegriff Prototype and am currently testing it as a flying body with a miniaturized and politicized Steel Hellkite effect.

H is for Hags, Halflings, Hamsters...
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Hag: I was sure I'd get a non-result as I thought every Hag was partially Black...and honestly, I basically did. But, there are two eligible Hags in Brine Hag and Scarwood Hag. Brine Hag is a clear winner as a 2/2 blocker that will turn everyone that kills her into useless 0/2s (although notably, they keep their type and abilities). That's funny, but she's 4 mana and that only triggers when she dies from damage dealt. This is a great, obscure thing to dig out with Volo but if you're looking to just Fog some attacks there's a lot of superior competition.

Halfling: Thanks to Forgotten Realms, Halflings are finally in MtG! Gretchen Titchwillow, Alora, Merry Thief, and Erinis, Gloom Stalker are all legendary and wouldn't be great in multiples even if we could. Prosperous Innkeeper is awesome though; a Soul Warden effect in a totally no-competition typing that even comes with some one-shot ramp (or is effectively "free" post-Volo). While not an autoinclude, this little halfling will make every Volo deck a bit more cozy.

Hamster: Sorry, boo - you aren't the right colors to join Volo's menagerie.

Harpy: Another D&D classic that won't be appearing here - most Harpies are part black, and apparently "Sirens" are different despite looking a lot like Harpies to me (at least on Ixalan). Oh well, I won't harp on it much longer.

Hellion: Exclusively red, we won't be getting to say hell-o to them here.

Hippo: I think one should try to get a Hippopotamus for Volo-mas. The most popular and only real include currently is Keruga, the Macrosage and I've already discussed Keruga as a "meh" card imo. I think Pygmy Hippo seems a spicy alternative, stealing mana to ramp into big stuff or even Volo. Overall though, Africa's most dangerous wild animal isn't necessarily a must-play in Volo.

Hippogriff: Diet Griffins are not that exciting for Volo, especially since a lot of "gryffs" are typed out as Chimeras or Griffins instead. It's a battle between limited chaff Galedrifter (hard pass) and our winner by default, Wretched Gryff which is an acceptable cantrip creature if you don't care about the Eldrazi competition.

Homarid: I was gonna try and say, with a straight face, that Deep Spawn was an underplayed gem for Volo and I just...I can't. Paying more for a Colossal Dreadmaw is so blah. Technically for some strategies, that forced mill is a "don't threaten me with a good time" sort of drawback. But...it's eight freakin' mana. Honestly, all of these weird old lobster folk are unplayable with Homarid Explorer (the most recent, natch) being the closest to playable as a hill giant that can fill your 'yard.

Homunculus: These little dudes have some surprising value, if you're interested. First and foremost, if you just want Elvish Visionary without the elf typing, there's Fblthp, the Lost and Oculus. That's the most popular set of homunculi to include, but if you're into mill, Doorkeeper and Riddlekeeper are interesting and nice in multiples. For artifact.dec Volo, Filigree Attendant is a nice little scaling beater. For my money, I kind of dig Bonded Fetch as a hasty looter in a competition-free typing. None of these are essential, flashy, or exciting - but they're all solid little roleplayers to fill out a menagerie, if you need them. Boring but functional - a perfect fit for Homonculi.

Horror: Try not to be too afraid of the shocking amount of powerful options amid this type. First up is Murkfiend Liege, a great fun card that's even more fun in multiples and gets truly crazy if you have enough Flash enablers and/or creatures with interesting tap-abilities. Murkfiend Liege single-handedly (fin-edly? Hoof-edly?) could combine with Opposition to make for a savage lockdown, and just pumping out +2/+2-+4/+4 to your crew is still good. Two monoblue newcomers are also popular Volo inclusions for removal on a stick - Mindflayer is a D&D Icon and a "control magic on a stick", while Sludge Monster lets you get ahead on board by sliming the competition. Those are the only three on the page for Volo, and clear frontrunners. The power of this trio is also their lack of competition type-wise, something that rules out the next best folks (Chasm Skulker, Phyrexian Revoker, Psychosis Crawler, Spellskite, and Froghemoth - note for those middle three that a "Phyrexian" typing is new to them). Horror is a broad type covering most aberrations, and your Volo deck should for sure include one.

Horse: I look at these horses, these horses aren't amazing. Most horses in Magic have a secondary type like "Elemental" or "Spirit" or "Illusions" that can make it tricky to include. For pure horse power, I think the winner is Workhorse. With +1/+1 counter synergy especially, this is "free" and it's a ritual with Volo out. For multi-typed horses, I will mention again Wavebreak Hippocamp as an interesting Fish Horse for Flash or Enchantress spins on Volo, and for other fun stuff Phantom Steed is interesting for a populate or sacrifice shenanigan engine.

Hydra: Hail hydras! Green's iconic is also a mythology and D&D Staple that no menagerie is complete without. The most popular inclusion is Apex Devastator, who I mentioned in "Chimeras". I think this card is overplayed - no doubt it's insanely powerful, and Volo will double all the critters cascaded into, but you won't get 8 cascades. It's definitely great as "Primal Surge #2" for a Primal Surge-styled Volo deck, but it's not a must-run in my opinion. For my money, I really like the humble power of Managorger Hydra as a big beater. Volo Enthusiasts agree and that's the only other Hydra that rates on EDHRecs, but I think two more are strong contenders. Ulvenwald Hydra isn't a "ramp" card at six mana, but it's great to double and a great include to a landfall-y Volo deck in particular. There's also Kalonian Hydra, which is nutty in duplicates. If you get two and then attack, they both go up to 16/16! HM is actually Voracious Hydra as a possible "removal on a stick"; I greatly prefer it to Hydroid Krasis (too many types on the typeline) and Steelbane Hydra (which I generally find very overrated and inefficient as a naturalize creature). Finally, two dark-hydra budget nods to Thunderous Snapper (as a weaker Beast Whisperer type effect) and Nessian Wilds Ravager which is the best stats-to-CMC EtB Fight Creature (at the expense of tribute, but then at least you're getting lots of stats).

Hyena: Sadly, the only black-border Hyena in Simic colors doesn't get a chuckle out of me as Gibbering Hyenas is old, bad draft chaff. If your opponents allow Unsets, Laughing Hyena is the other option but Gotcha! Is a brutally unfun mechanic and the opposite of what a Hyena should encourage.
Last edited by Hawk 1 year ago, edited 5 times in total.

Lysyc12
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Post by Lysyc12 » 2 years ago

Just a heads up that Parralel Lives, Doubling Season, Primal Vigor, etc. don't work with Volo because an effect isn't creating a token, the creature spell is being copied. Twinning Staff works though!

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Post by illakunsaa » 2 years ago

One with the Stars lets you remove creature types from volo and sort of protect him.

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Hawk
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Post by Hawk » 2 years ago

Lysyc12 wrote:
2 years ago
Just a heads up that Parralel Lives, Doubling Season, Primal Vigor, etc. don't work with Volo because an effect isn't creating a token, the creature spell is being copied. Twinning Staff works though!
Wow, TIL. My current list cut Primal Vigor for Second Harvest as a better effect that is also a good Torrential Gearhulk target; guess I'll cut Doubling Season and free that up for a different deck later as I don't think I'm running enough interactions if Volo doesn't. Thank you!
illakunsaa wrote:
2 years ago
One with the Stars lets you remove creature types from volo and sort of protect him.
Nice find! That's a bit too cute for my tastes, but worth noting and mentioning for sure.

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Post by Hawk » 2 years ago

I finally got a chance to play a few games with Volo over the last few weekends! I scored one win (I'm not sure I would have won TBH, as life totals were still high, but doubled End-Raze Forerunners on a pretty full board had the rest of the table deciding to just scoopt it up so we could play another match rather than mathing it out) and two losses were I still felt competitive. I'll be updating the OP to reflect my current list that was tested. I had a few observations:

1. A few cards stood out to me as being really underwhelming or awkward in play, in a way I hadn't anticipated:
- Duplicant retains its shapeshifter type, so it doesn't combo as nicely as I would have liked it to. Between that and being ineffective versus Commanders and Tokens, it's on its way out for sure.
- Progenitor Mimic is even tougher to track, especially because whatever the Volo-Copy clones won't make more clones. It was just annoying to track, although it's probably still worth.
- Deadwood Treefolk, Torrential Gearhulk, and Sweet-Gum Recluse also ended up feeling a bit clunky to me (this deck is very six-drop heavy right now), but I am inclined to give them another game or two.

2. Most of the cards that felt great are going to be no surprise (Managorger Hydra, Yavimaya Dryad, and End-Raze Forerunners are all good cards and cloning them is more gooder), but I will sing the praises of Bladegriff Prototype which was an absolute house. It managed to nuke a ton of permanents while playing opponents off each other, and even once they "wised up" to it and started nuking each other's tokens I still felt like I was getting some value. It way overperformed my expectations and I'd say it's a must-play for the average Volo enthusiast.

3. Murkfiend Liege was so good that it made me wish the deck had more creatures with interesting tap abilities; in the current iteration it only provides a tiny bit of mana and is mostly just an anthem + pseudo-vigilance.

4. That being said, overall I am a bit...nonplussed. This deck has a few major issues:
- It's got a high level of "mental load", keeping track of what tokens are copies of what, which is obnoxious in paper magic for both me and my opponents. I didn't even run into issues of folks nuking/countering my "main copy" and leaving the "clone" in play, but I anticipate that as even more of a nightmare.
- It was definitely more fun in the brewing stage (flipping through Scryfall in my mad quests above) than it was in play (where it's just a Simic Goodstuff brawler deck). I so wanted this to be the Simic deck that spoke to my Johnny soul, and it did in theorycraft, but in play it's just a dumb Timmy hammer so far.
- This deck fizzles pretty hard if Volo gets removed a lot. As much protection and ramp as I had, I definitely feel like I needed more to protect Volo and ramp into him and then big plays. I'm shockingly not running an elf right now, and suspect I'm just gonna suck up the competing typelines and slam a Lawnmower Elf.

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Hawk
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Post by Hawk » 1 year ago

Finally got around to a few changes! This deck has survived my urge to purge it since I got some dry erase tokens and has put in a few fun games, so it's here to stay for now.

My goals were to get my curve a bit lower, increase my ramp (both to land Volo sooner and because this deck is mana hongry), and add a few more "pop off" cards. Going card by card:

The Drops:
Duplicant - as mentioned, the fact it keeps its Shapechanger typeline is awkward. I found this often underwhelming in my meta, especially since it's also a poor answer to Commanders and to tokens.
Torrential Gearhulk - I've had a few games where this very sickly flashed back a Second Harvest or Sublime Epiphany and did cool stuff, but I just didn't run enough instants to reliably get value from it so it just as often sat in my hand. With two more instants coming out and several of my instants being answer cards, it was time for this thing to go.
Deadwood Treefolk - I had way too many six-drops, and Deadwood has been by far the least impactful after the above, often sitting in my hand all game. I'm nervous cutting it, as I have had a few games where I've run out of gas, but if that continues to be a problem I suspect I can do better.
Simic Charm - always better in theory than in practice, this just never was useful.
Return to Nature - I haven't struggled with artifacts and enchantments in my meta, not when I can double up on my EtB triggers.

Adds:
Nest Invader - a type I wasn't running, this helps me to either ramp into Volo on T3 or to pop out a wall of dorks post-Volo, and it lowers the overall curve.
Fierce Empath - I somehow dodged elves in 1.0 :? . This Elf had no competing types, making it the choice for now, but I will confess I'm a bit worried it will be boring and make the deck "samey" for my meta so I'll be watching it closely. I don't have any Scouts currently, so this could easily be a Wood Elves instead.
Great Whale - I wanted to lower my curve, but have also been impressed at how explosive Peregrine Drake has been. I don't own a Palinchron but am always itching for an excuse to try one of my first-ever-pulled rares from my youth. This could go by the wayside eventually; there's tons of great fatties I almost included including Myr Battlesphere to replace Gearhulk, but for now we're going whaling.
Fertile Ground - I wanted more 1 or 2 MV ramp and don't own any spare Utopia Sprawl so here we are. Has some okay synergy with all my untappers too.
Irenicus's Vile Duplication - More Volos = more fun. I'm still too cheap to chase down Spark Double and Sakashima of a Thousand Faces but did come into a few copies of this to play around with, and Volo was the most deserving home.

I am still keeping an eye on Sweet-Gum Recluse and Terastodon but they've been just fun enough to stick around. Also toyed with adding Ancient Silver Dragon over Keiga, but Keiga has been so good and is in a vacuum stronger plus now I do want to build Wyll-t Disney World. I'm still slowly but surely working on my guide above as well.

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Post by Dunharrow » 1 year ago

I have played a lot of volo on arena, and I think you need all the mana dorks you can run. You don't lose much, since having two Llanowar Elves in the late game is not much of a plus. You really need to ramp out volo with protection up, so not having dorks makes you play Volo much later.

I also think you need more ways to protect Volo. Tamiyo's Safekeeping and Slip Out the Back are probably the best options.

I would have cut murkfiend liege but I see you like it. what about Tradewind Rider? If you do cut liege Mind Flayer is a decent horror.

Temur Sabertooth lets you go infinite with your peregrine drakes.

I like Errant, Street Artist and Lithoform Engine. Better than panharmonicon.

Are you playing populate effects? Selesnya Eulogist
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Post by Hawk » 1 year ago

Dunharrow wrote:
1 year ago
I have played a lot of volo on arena, and I think you need all the mana dorks you can run. You don't lose much, since having two Llanowar Elves in the late game is not much of a plus. You really need to ramp out volo with protection up, so not having dorks makes you play Volo much later.

I also think you need more ways to protect Volo. Tamiyo's Safekeeping and Slip Out the Back are probably the best options.

I would have cut murkfiend liege but I see you like it. what about Tradewind Rider? If you do cut liege Mind Flayer is a decent horror.

Temur Sabertooth lets you go infinite with your peregrine drakes.

I like Errant, Street Artist and Lithoform Engine. Better than panharmonicon.

Are you playing populate effects? Selesnya Eulogist
You make a good point, and maybe empath should just be Lawnmower Elves plus a few more mana dorks. I worry less about not getting double elves and more about not getting double of "the other druid", but currently the other druid is Voyaging Satyr which is no great loss. If I added Selesnya Eulogist that'd be more of a concern.

I do really like Liege, and should consider a world where I drop Keiga, the Tide Star for one of the Ancient Dragons and add the Tradewind Riders. Also intrigued at the prospect of adding Tyranid Prime + something like Jiang Yanggu, Wildcrafter.

And I hadn't considered that infinite. Yeah, probably high time to get the cat in here too. Now that I know the deck is here to stay, it makes it easier to blow a bit of cash on it.

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