Archelos Wombo Combo Lands: Now With 33% More Wombo

[kirkusjones]

I've been tinkering around with a BUG lands build for a while, but can't seem to find something I like/a good focus. I can't decide if I want to swap Archelos, Lagoon Mystic for Tasigur, the Golden Fang and play something more controlling or try to go all in on big mana. I know I want a loam engine, but every time I've played the deck I feel like it does very little besides present an open target for people to attack because they're afraid of the expensive land base.

I've contemplated adding Hermit Druid or Thassa's Oracle or trying to win with a big Villainous Wealth, but maybe I should just play good stuff? I would like the deck to hang in higher level games, if anyone has any advice on helping scale the power level, I'd appreciate it. Open to any and all suggestions. Currently I have room to add five cards but I'm willing to go back to the drawing board on this one.

BUG Lands

DecklistCMCManaPricesChartsDraw 7

Creatures (25)

1 Elvish Reclaimer

1 Sylvan Safekeeper

1 Gretchen Titchwillow

1 Augur of Autumn

1 Azusa, Lost but Seeking

1 Courser of Kruphix

1 Dryad of the Ilysian Grove

1 Eternal Witness

1 Ramunap Excavator

1 Scute Swarm

1 Slogurk, the Overslime

1 Tireless Provisioner

1 Tireless Tracker

1 Wayward Swordtooth

1 Oracle of Mul Daya

1 Kruphix, God of Horizons

1 Meloku the Clouded Mirror

1 Tatyova, Benthic Druid

1 The Gitrog Monster

1 Titania, Protector of Argoth

1 Ancient Greenwarden

1 Kodama of the East Tree

1 Muldrotha, the Gravetide

1 Cultivator Colossus

1 Toxrill, the Corrosive

Planeswalkers (1)

1 Wrenn and Seven

Artifacts (6)

1 Mox Diamond

1 Zuran Orb

1 Amulet of Vigor

1 Expedition Map

1 Cloudstone Curio

1 Crucible of Worlds

Enchantment (6)

1 Burgeoning

1 Exploration

1 Search for Azcanta // Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin

1 Trade Routes

1 Rhystic Study

1 Abundance

Instants (8)

1 Crop Rotation

1 Entomb

1 Mystical Tutor

1 Arcane Denial

1 Constant Mists

1 Cyclonic Rift

1 Intuition

1 Realms Uncharted

Sorceries (6)

1 Green Sun's Zenith

1 Life from the Loam

1 Sylvan Scrying

1 Cultivate

1 Kodama's Reach

1 Toxic Deluge

Land (42)

1 Academy Ruins

1 Bojuka Bog

1 Breeding Pool

1 Command Tower

1 Dakmor Salvage

1 Dark Depths

1 Deserted Temple

1 Dryad Arbor

1 Field of the Dead

1 Flooded Strand

3 Forest

1 Glacial Chasm

1 Hive of the Eye Tyrant

2 Island

1 Lonely Sandbar

1 Lotus Field

1 Marsh Flats

1 Misty Rainforest

1 Mystic Sanctuary

1 Overgrown Tomb

1 Polluted Delta

1 Reflecting Pool

1 Scalding Tarn

1 Simic Growth Chamber

1 Strip Mine

1 Swamp

1 Thespian's Stage

1 Tolaria West

1 Tranquil Thicket

1 Tropical Island

1 Underground Sea

1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

1 Urza's Saga

1 Verdant Catacombs

1 Volrath's Stronghold

1 Watery Grave

1 Wooded Foothills

1 Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth

1 Zagoth Triome

Commander

1 Archelos, Lagoon Mystic

Approximate Total Cost:

[yeti1069]

You should try to clean up that decklist into categories to make it easier to digest and assess.

Without really diving into your card choices, I'd say that if you're looking to use your graveyard, dredge, control the game a bit, and win with a combo, Tasigur is probably better suited to your goals. Archelos can slow everything down a little, or speed you up a bit (and make some big plays), but it's nothing compared to the value engine of Tasigur.

[Mookie]

I'll highly recommend Tasigur if you're looking for a Sultai land / ramp strategy. Tasigur solves the classic ramp problem of having too much mana and nothing to spend it on, and he also works fantastically with Life from the Loam / Ramunap Excavator packages.

(I have a Tasigur primer that may be worth checking out if you're looking for ideas)

[kirkusjones]

I'll highly recommend Tasigur if you're looking for a Sultai land / ramp strategy. Tasigur solves the classic ramp problem of having too much mana and nothing to spend it on, and he also works fantastically with Life from the Loam / Ramunap Excavator packages.

(I have a Tasigur primer that may be worth checking out if you're looking for ideas)

Thanks! I was perusing it a little earlier and definitely found some good info to help refine my focus.

[pokken]

I had a build of this with Mimeoplasm and it was pretty sick synergy - he didn't require a particularly big support package to be really cool. It could have gone even leaner and leaned harder on the lands stuff. The lands strategy benefits from all the graveyard shenanigans but so does Mime.

https://deckbox.org/sets/2511960

[kirkusjones]

I have a lot to think about. I love the idea of Tasigur as a mana sink and a way to generate answers. DEFINITELY running Living Death and some of the other goodies from your Mimeoplasm list, Pokken.

[kirkusjones]

After doing some fiddling, I've come up with two lists. The Archelos one is wombo combo (but may be too much wombo) and the Tasigur one is more about taking the fast train to value town, with a little reanimation shenanigans and everyone's favorite dino-ooze. They're both very much still works in progress, and any and all feedback is welcomed. Because the core of the two decks are similar, I may actually build both and swap specific cards depending on what I feel like playing at the time.

SPOILER

Show

Hide

The Golden Fang Express to Value Town

DecklistCMCManaPricesChartsDraw 7

Creatures (28)

1 Birds of Paradise

1 Deathrite Shaman

1 Elvish Reclaimer

1 Gretchen Titchwillow

1 Hermit Druid

1 Thassa's Oracle

1 Augur of Autumn

1 Azusa, Lost but Seeking

1 Courser of Kruphix

1 Dryad of the Ilysian Grove

1 Eternal Witness

1 Ramunap Excavator

1 Scute Swarm

1 Tireless Provisioner

1 Tireless Tracker

1 Wayward Swordtooth

1 Oracle of Mul Daya

1 World Shaper

1 Golgari Grave-Troll

1 Tatyova, Benthic Druid

1 The Gitrog Monster

1 The Mimeoplasm

1 Ancient Greenwarden

1 Consecrated Sphinx

1 Muldrotha, the Gravetide

1 Sire of Stagnation

1 Nezahal, Primal Tide

1 Toxrill, the Corrosive

Artifacts (4)

1 Mox Diamond

1 Sensei's Divining Top

1 Altar of Dementia

1 Crucible of Worlds

Enchantment (4)

1 Burgeoning

1 Exploration

1 Pernicious Deed

1 Rhystic Study

Instants (12)

1 Crop Rotation

1 Entomb

1 Veil of Summer

1 Arcane Denial

1 Assassin's Trophy

1 Constant Mists

1 Cyclonic Rift

1 Mana Drain

1 Beast Within

1 Corpse Dance

1 Intuition

1 Realms Uncharted

Sorceries (11)

1 Green Sun's Zenith

1 Reanimate

1 Diabolic Intent

1 Life from the Loam

1 Cultivate

1 Far Wanderings

1 Kodama's Reach

1 Life // Death

1 Toxic Deluge

1 Dread Return

1 Living Death

Land (39)

1 Bojuka Bog

1 Breeding Pool

1 Cabal Coffers

1 Command Tower

1 Dakmor Salvage

1 Dark Depths

1 Deserted Temple

1 Dryad Arbor

1 Flooded Strand

4 Forest

1 Glacial Chasm

3 Island

1 Lonely Sandbar

1 Marsh Flats

1 Misty Rainforest

1 Mystic Sanctuary

1 Overgrown Tomb

1 Polluted Delta

1 Reflecting Pool

1 Scalding Tarn

1 Simic Growth Chamber

1 Strip Mine

1 Swamp

1 Thespian's Stage

1 Tranquil Thicket

1 Tropical Island

1 Underground Sea

1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

1 Verdant Catacombs

1 Volrath's Stronghold

1 Watery Grave

1 Wooded Foothills

1 Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth

1 Zagoth Triome

Commander

1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang

Approximate Total Cost:

SPOILER

Show

Hide

Durdle Turdle

DecklistCMCManaPricesChartsDraw 7

Creatures (27)

1 Birds of Paradise

1 Deathrite Shaman

1 Elvish Reclaimer

1 Sylvan Safekeeper

1 Gretchen Titchwillow

1 Augur of Autumn

1 Azusa, Lost but Seeking

1 Courser of Kruphix

1 Dryad of the Ilysian Grove

1 Endurance

1 Eternal Witness

1 Ramunap Excavator

1 Scute Swarm

1 Slogurk, the Overslime

1 Tireless Provisioner

1 Tireless Tracker

1 Wayward Swordtooth

1 Oracle of Mul Daya

1 World Shaper

1 Meloku the Clouded Mirror

1 Tatyova, Benthic Druid

1 The Gitrog Monster

1 Titania, Protector of Argoth

1 Ancient Greenwarden

1 Muldrotha, the Gravetide

1 Cultivator Colossus

1 Nyxbloom Ancient

Planeswalkers (1)

1 Wrenn and Seven

Artifacts (6)

1 Mox Diamond

1 Zuran Orb

1 Amulet of Vigor

1 Cloudstone Curio

1 Crucible of Worlds

1 Rings of Brighthearth

Enchantment (6)

1 Burgeoning

1 Exploration

1 Squandered Resources

1 Trade Routes

1 Rhystic Study

1 Abundance

Instants (8)

1 Crop Rotation

1 Entomb

1 Mystical Tutor

1 Arcane Denial

1 Constant Mists

1 Cyclonic Rift

1 Intuition

1 Realms Uncharted

Sorceries (11)

1 Green Sun's Zenith

1 Diabolic Intent

1 Exsanguinate

1 Finale of Devastation

1 Life from the Loam

1 Cultivate

1 Kodama's Reach

1 Toxic Deluge

1 Villainous Wealth

1 Scapeshift

1 Splendid Reclamation

Land (40)

1 Bojuka Bog

1 Breeding Pool

1 Cabal Coffers

1 Command Tower

1 Dakmor Salvage

1 Dark Depths

1 Deserted Temple

1 Dryad Arbor

1 Field of the Dead

1 Flooded Strand

4 Forest

1 Glacial Chasm

3 Island

1 Lonely Sandbar

1 Marsh Flats

1 Misty Rainforest

1 Mystic Sanctuary

1 Overgrown Tomb

1 Polluted Delta

1 Reflecting Pool

1 Scalding Tarn

1 Simic Growth Chamber

1 Strip Mine

1 Swamp

1 Thespian's Stage

1 Tranquil Thicket

1 Tropical Island

1 Underground Sea

1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

1 Verdant Catacombs

1 Volrath's Stronghold

1 Watery Grave

1 Wooded Foothills

1 Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth

1 Zagoth Triome

Commander

1 Archelos, Lagoon Mystic

Approximate Total Cost:

I can't decided if Ashaya, Soul of the Wild and Timber Protector in the Archelos list is too cute, but the prospect of being able to sacrifice a critter to Diabolic Intent, Altar of Dementia, Crop Rotation or Elvish Reclaimer and trigger The Gitrog Monster, Titania, Protector of Argoth and Slogurk, the Overslime is just so tempting.

I'm sure there are cards in the Tasigur list that are holdovers from Archelos and therefore not so hot (I'm looking at you, Gretchen Titchwillow), but they'll get pruned for stuff like Mana Reflection or Survival of the Fittest as I work out the kinks.

Big thanks to Mookie and Pokken for their help so far!

Please don't hesitate to chime in with suggestions or things I should definitely be running.

[kirkusjones]

Got in my first game with Tasigur last night. In retrospect, I should have played Archelos, as I overestimated the power levels of the decks I was playing against.

Three person pod, Beledros Witherbloom, Reyhan, Last of the Abzan + Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker and me on Tasigur. I had a good start with Sensei's Divining Top, a bunch of lands and Rhystic Study. From about turn 4 onward, I felt very in control of the game, despite Ishai and Reyhan quickly growing to lethal size.

It reminded me of playing Legacy RUG Delver back when Innistrad first got released, with answers to everything at my fingertips and my threats outclassing pretty much anything my opponents could muster. Not a great test case, but damn, it felt like the deck just hummed.

Going to shift the focus of this thread to Archelos and impose upon Mookie's hospitality over in the Primer for further Tasigur developments.