Building Witherbloom, the Balancer for cEDH

Witherbloom, the Balancer | Art by Chris Rahn

Secrets of Strixhaven previews are in full swing, and with it comes one of the most exciting Golgari () commanders that cEDH has seen in quite a while.

Witherbloom, the Balancer is flying in to give all of our instants and sorceries (two of the most important card types in cEDH) one of the most broken forms of cost reduction Magic has ever printed. So let's get to deck building.

What Does Witherbloom, the Balancer Do?

For , Witherbloom, the Balancer is a legendary 5/5 Elder Dragon creature with flying, deathtouch, and affinity for creatures, meaning it costs less to cast for each creature you control. Stats and costs aside, Witherbloom also grants all of your instant and sorcery spells affinity for creatures, extending that game-breaking cost reduction to a whole suite of spells that most definitely were not designed with it in mind.

In all seriousness, Witherbloom is a deck that basically builds itself. Run out as many cheap creatures as you can in order to play Witherbloom as quickly as possible, then follow that up in short order with the likes of Peer into the Abyss which, now cost-reduced thanks to affinity, probably cost somewhere in the ballpark of just one Dark Ritual's worth of mana.

Now that's a cEDH-ready game plan to get behind.

Key Cards for Witherbloom, the Balancer

Cheap Creatures

At their core, this suite of creatures is designed for one primary job: to count towards the affinity for creatures cost reduction which serves as the foundation for the entire deck.

Memnite and other zero-drop creatures (such as Shield Sphere and Ornithopter) fill this role perfectly, at the cost of it being their only roll. Meanwhile, sink just one mana into the cost and suddenly you're working with the likes of mana dorks and utility creatures - cards that already abound in just about every green cEDH deck but take on a double life here thanks to the affinity theme.

Mass Draw Spells

So, once you've got your commander down and have covered the board in tiny creatures, what are you going to spend your mana on?

Well, without Rhystic Study or Mystic Remora to lend a hand, the next best option is mass draw spells - all of which can be cost reduced to, at most, (though the vast majority of these spells usually only cost or once all the affinity cost reduction has been accounted for).

That's the one-two punch this deck is built to optimize: empty your hand of creatures as quickly as possible, then fill it right back up again for as little mana as possible.

Other Heavily-Generic (Costed) Instants and Sorceries

Last but not least, the catch-all for every other painfully powerful spell that will end up casting egregiously little mana thanks to affinity.

Whether they're to-field tutors, mass life-loss spells, or even just a free Beseech the Queen, these powerful spells are the game-enders that you'll be digging for off of the mass draw spells we just covered.

How Does Witherbloom, the Balancer Win?

Sprout Swarm

This first combo is effectively a one-card package that combos directly with Witherbloom itself: Sprout Swarm. With enough creatures on the board (four, including Witherbloom), it cost just to both cast Sprout Swarm and pay for the buyback cost, meaning that this instant will go straight back into your hand once it resolves.

Fortunately, Sprout Swarm has convoke, meaning that you can use the 1/1 green Saproling creature token it creates in order to pay for each successive cast of the Sprout Swarm, letting you cast the spell as many times as you want.

All this means that, with Witherbloom and three other creatures in play, Sprout Swarm is a free way to make infinite tapped 1/1 green Saprolings at instant speed. Couple this with either Exsanguinate or Torment of Hailfire, and you can easily win the game by setting X to be arbitrarily large.

Alternatively, funnel that cost reduction into a Peer into the Abyss for just more, and you'll be able to find any of a half dozen other ways to win, such as our next combo.

Wither Chain

This combo is completely commander agnostic, providing a potent backup plan in case turboing out Witherbloom doesn't pan out. Here's how it works:

• Cast Witherbloom Apprentice for .
• With Witherbloom Apprentice in play, cast Chain of Smog, targeting yourself.
• Witherbloom Apprentice's magecraft trigger will go on the stack. Let this resolve (each opponent loses one life and you gain one life).
• Go to resolve Chain of Smog, discarding two cards. Then, as part of Chain of Smog's effect, choose to copy it, targeting yourself. You'll get another magecraft trigger from Witherbloom Apprentice, since you copied a spell.
• Rinse and repeat, infinitely targeting yourself with Chain of Smog copies, draining the table for lethal.
  • As an important rules note, you don't need to have any cards in hand in order to copy Chain of Smog, which is why this combo works.

Witherbloom, the Balancer cEDH Deck List

Wrap Up

Well folks, it's been a while since a new Golgari deck has had real legs - er, wings? - in cEDH, but Witherbloom, the Balancer looks like a card primed to make waves. There's nothing quite like a card that makes already good cards broken, brings with it a one-card combo, and can make itself cheaper just as a reward for casting cards its colors already want to cast (creatures in green).

Here's to hoping this one really takes off!