(Progenitus | Art by Jamie Jones)

Couples Who Plot Together, Annihilate Together!

Hey everyone! Kya here once again! Welcome back to Spreading the Love, the series where we show that EDH is more than just about the deck or the game itself. Here we focus on how to use EDH to expand our communities for even more spellslinging action!

Today we're actually going to continue on from an article I wrote a while back: Getting Your Significant Other to Play EDH. Although I stand by my previous article as being the foolproof masterpiece that it is, it left a lot of people stranded on what to do next. After all, the adventure of EDH for your love has just begun! Where do you go from there? I've received a lot of feedback over the years from others whose significant other is interested in the game now but don't know how to take it to the next step. A fairly recent example:

This seems like a common frustration that loved ones have when someone close to them joins a hobby but doesn't show a similar level of dedication of study for it, and EDH is no exception. I'm sure we've all seen examples of this, if nothing else, with video games and movies. Ever try and sit someone down for a TV show you really like and you pay more attention to their reaction of it than the show itself? That would be a great example of how many feel when trying to express and share their fascination with the subject.

To answer this person's question, though, they probably are interested, just not on the same level as you. Interest is a spectrum, and everyone lands on that spectrum at a different spot. Someone can enjoy Dark Souls without diving into their Wiki to find every tidbit of worldbuilding it has within it. EDH is no different. You can definitely be interested in playing without having that drive to dive head first into Youtube videos or articles on how to get better. I know this is true because I'd be getting paid a heck of a lot more if every player did that. Don't worry though, my friend! Increased interest often comes with time, and it's our job as established hobby walnuts to foster that growth! So how do we do that?

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Use EDHREC! Duh!

End article. What do you mean I have to write more? This is quite literally what we do! Ugh... fine...

In all seriousness, Magic: the Gathering has a very long history and an insanely large card pool, so it's absolutely zero wonder that this could be daunting to individuals who are interested in the game but scared to dive in further. Someone may be interested in big scary creatures, but where do you find a list of big scary creatures? Which ones are the biggest? Is power level more important than keywords? With EDHREC, we can find out.

For example, if I want big dumb spells, I can find them under Big Mana Themes. Speaking of which, here is another request from a reader who is trying to help their significant other create a specific type of deck:

First of all, this person knows how to get my attention. Second of all, this is one heck of a request. Big creatures, chaos, AND land destruction? It looks like someone found their dream girl. Well, of course we're going to dedicate this article to helping her out. More importantly, though, she's going to make the deck, we're just going to help her out a little for the first few steps and help build that confidence to want to make them on her own. So where do we begin?

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Lending a Hand

Building a 100-card deck for the first time can be terrifying for many, especially when you're building something as complex as a five-color deck. Furthermore, everything she wants to play is very mana-intensive in both CMC and colors. As experts in EDH, you know as well as I do that this is going to need to be a very fine-tuned deck to pull off. If I just read this message as is, I would suggest Progenitus and just slot big spells. I don't think this would be a good idea at all, however.

Why? Because looking back at part 1 of my article series, there are guidelines to Therapist Kya’s Guide to a Happy EDH Relationship. The most important part of all of this is that we need her turns to be impactful and meaningful. Big plays means increased interest, which is the aim, after all. Progenitus as a commander will not help us at all with this, and the last thing I want for someone new is to play maybe one spell a turn and risk it just being countered. All this would end up doing is cause her to be frustrated with the game and have the feeling of failing to build a good deck for the first time. The great part about being the more experienced person in the relationship is that we know through trial and error what works and we can help suggest the best ways for someone to get to their goal without the suffering. So what would I suggest?

He's not as Godzilla as we'd like and he's missing a color, but he's still perfect. Not many other commanders can machine-gun out an indestructible Godzilla, a boardwipe, and Goblin Game all in one turn. Cascade is every girl's best friend when it comes to throwing out multiple big spells. Best of all, Cascade happens on cast, so who cares if one thing ends up getting countered? Either way, she's going to have one heck of a turn! That right there is the entire point of all this: win or lose, she's going to have large plays with a deck that she made.

Now that we've chosen the commander, let's help alleviate some of the stress of deckbuilding by getting the more "boring" parts out of the way. Before we get to the fun cards, there's some things we need to cross off of our list for good deckbuilding.

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The Foundation of Love

This may not be the most fun part of the deckbuilding experience, but it is the most important one, and by getting it out of the way we can quickly cut down the slots we need to fill from 100 to 64. 36 cards can be a little rough within itself, but the great thing about lands is that you can add as many Islands, Swamps, Forests, and Mountains as you want! Then you have the auto-includes, like Command Tower and Exotic Orchard, that EDHREC is happy to suggest on Yidris' page. As many know, the more lands that enter untapped, the quicker you'll cast spells. That can start taking up our entire deckbuilding budget quite a bit, though! Our special wife in question doesn't have to worry about this, however. Why? Because fortunately your husband said money isn't an option and he'll be more than happy to buy you every dual land you need. Buahahaha! Did you really think I was going to help out like this just out of the kindness of my heart? There's always a price, my dear friend!

On a more serious note, it's about budget and balance. You don't need every (or any) fetch lands to make a good Yidris deck. Any conditional lands that provide multiple color options without tapping will help, though. Just try and be mindful of them and slowly build on your basic land base over time.

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Being Each Other's Mana Rock

Yidris is going to help us cheat out spells, but we still need a lot of mana quickly for that first cast. This is where our mana rocks and cards like Explosive Vegetation come in.

Take a look at the three cards that I chose to head up this section: each one leads to the next with Yidris's ability.

By making all of your ramp and card draw have low CMC, you'll know that you'll hit even more ramp or draw when Cascading! Going to Cascade off Cultivate? Get a Signet or better! Now that you have the mana for that Sol Ring in your hand? Reward yourself with the only 0-drop card in your deck: Mana Crypt! Look how quickly you went from four to five mana with Yidris out to suddenly being able to hard cast Warp World! (Yes, Mana Crypt is expensive, so feel free to consider other zero-drops like Wheel of Fate to auto-Cascade into as well!) I know we want big creatures, but don't forget mana dorks and other tiny Cascade creatures, as they'll be excellent blockers that also get other goodies!

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Searching for That Special Someone

Of course, all of that mana won't help us if our hands stay empty. We'll need plenty of cards to dazzle our opponents all within a single turn. Wheels or simple draw spells are great ways to refresh dead hands and cast even more goodies! Have you seen the new Song of Creation? It can be a little risky to be out of mana and Cascade into it with a good hand already. However, if you get it off just right you'll be swimming in monsters and the tears of your enemies! Furthermore, there are plenty of cards to further your "Cascading" like Sunbird's Invocation or Maelstrom Wanderer.

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Timeless Walks Through the Park

This is just a little side suggestion before we go to the main event: want to know the only thing better than casting an Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre? Getting two extra free turns to swing with it. It's everything any monster movie girl could ever want. It's a doomsday Godzilla! It's sure as heck destruction! And you left it all up to the chaos gods! Trust me, be that person who casts Expropriate. People will remember you.

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If You Love Someone, Let Them Go Free... To Destroy!

So we helped our loved one assemble the core components that will all but guarantee their success. With the 36 lands and the other factors, what was once 100 cards to choose quickly became only 20-40! This alleviate a lot of stress and allows the person to focus on what they truly enjoy! Now she can go on a shopping spree and pick every favorite monster that catches her eye. Here's a quick catalog from EDHREC for each of the 3 things that were requested:

Big creature and other impactful spells can be found in the Big Mana Theme here, as I mentioned before. I know something like Progenitus seems like Magic: the Gathering's big baddie, but for EDH, it's child's play. If you want a real reaction from horrified faces worthy of any Kaiju, throw down a Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger or an Eldrazi with Annihilator!

Land Destruction cards are a double-edged sword, but we have plenty of options to choose from even without white! Also, don't forget a few creature destruction cards like Plague Wind! Imagine a game-ending Kaiju gracing the field with nothing left to oppose its terrifying path of destruction!

And the Chaos theme... oh boy, you'll enjoy plenty of options. You know how you'll get plenty of artifacts from Cascading, right? Not that big of a deal, right? Imagine all of the lands and mana rocks suddenly becoming ten-mana creatures when you Warp World! Also, Yidris has natural synergy with various chaos cards like Possibility Storm to take advantage of!

The best part is that there isn't any right or wrong answer at this point in card selection. Choose any number of the mix and any that you'll like. Following this guide, the deck will perform splendidly and the cards she selected will have impact on the field. A happy introduction into deck craft then creates a happy game experience. As that continues, you'll likely see an increased motivation to create more decks and dive deeper into research. As time goes on, lessen the assistance with the "core" of the deck structure and your significant other will be able to deck brew with the ability and confidence of even the most seasoned veterans!

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Closing Thoughts

Closing thoughts already? Kya, where's the decklist? I'm sorry, but giving a decklist would defeat the entire point of this article. It's up to a special someone to create their own Godzilla deck! All we aimed to do today is help guide the way and lessen the burden of some aspects of deck craft. I hope the one lesson we learned today is that you can easily foster a realm of creativity while ensuring that no matter what that creativity brings forth, it'll be effective.

If you've been having problems in getting your significant other to get to that next step, I would certainly give this method a try! Please just remember that teaching is a balancing act. You don't push and you certainly don't do everything for them. You guide and try your best to make that journey into enlightenment as smooth as possible.

That and throw a bunch of Timesifter cards into every deck.

Until Next Time,

Kya