<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Beorn the Fierce" href="#" target="_blank">Beorn the Fierce</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=a%3A%E2%80%9CNia+Kovalevski%E2%80%9D&amp;unique=art">Nia Kovalevski</a></em></p>
<p>Over the years, Bears have become a much-beloved creature type for many <em>Magic</em> players, me included. Their history in the game reaches all the way back to <em>Alpha</em> with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grizzly Bears|LEA|199" href="#" target="_blank">Grizzly Bears</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and has been a mainstay in newer sets ever since. Now, with our return to Middle-earth, we're getting another major influx of decks centered around these cuddly killers, thanks to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Beorn the Fierce" href="#" target="_blank">Beorn the Fierce</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>So, join me, <a href="https://linktr.ee/pillowfortmtg">Tyler 'Savesya' Bucks</a>, as I cover a full budget 99 centered around this new legend that you can pick up for about $45 (using <a href="https://partner.tcgplayer.com/c/4913290/1830156/21018?partnerpropertyid=5237567&amp;subId1=edhrec%2Ccardprice&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tcgplayer.com%2Fproduct%2F707283%2Fmagic-the-hobbit-beorn-the-fierce">TCGplayer</a> pricing). That's not including the price of this commander, since this Bear has become incredibly sought after, so hopefully you recently pulled it in a booster! With all of that out of the way, let's jump right into it by meeting the shapeshifting leader of this deck.</p>
<h2>What Does <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Beorn the Fierce" href="#" target="_blank">Beorn the Fierce</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Bring to the Table?</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Beorn the Fierce"></div></div>
<p>The commander of this deck is an absolute powerhouse, offering up card advantage and a few ways to apply pressure when you move to combat. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Beorn the Fierce" href="#" target="_blank">Beorn the Fierce</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> buffs up your Bears, hands out trample counters, and draws you two cards a turn for simply filling up your board with Bears. All of those things combine to make for a very resilient deck that's ready to close games with some major punching power.</p>
<p>As I built this 99, I was constantly impressed by mono-green's ability to create a formidable board, and support typal strategies. The amount of ramp, card advantage and of <em>course</em> Bears I was able to cram into this one was a lot of fun. With the latter in mind, let's take a look at a few of the format's usual go-to options for leading a Bear typal list, and how they work within the 99 this time around.</p>
<h2>Key Bears</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ayula, Queen Among Bears"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wilson, Refined Grizzly"></div></div>
<ul>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ayula, Queen Among Bears" href="#" target="_blank">Ayula, Queen Among Bears</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: Of course, we had to include the Queen in this list. Not only does Ayula buff up your creatures, but it also offers up some removal for simply deploying your Bears.</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma" href="#" target="_blank">Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: Even though this creature type is known for being 2/2's, there are still plenty of high-powered threats in this list that would love to be cast for cheaper. Plus, the +1/+1 and trample this legend offers is just another way to help you close out a game.</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wilson, Refined Grizzly" href="#" target="_blank">Wilson, Refined Grizzly</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: If you like keywords, then this legend is for you! Since there are so many ways to build up the power of your creatures in this deck, Wilson will be swinging in for a lot of damage from as early as turn two.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Synergistic Ramp</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Earth King"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Studious First-Year"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mutable Explorer"></div></div>
<ul>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Earth King" href="#" target="_blank">The Earth King</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: While this Noble might not be a Bear, he does bring his best friend Bosco to the party when he enters. Plus, the land ramp it offers up is insane, since there's a good chance you could pull a big chunk of the basics out of your deck turn after turn.</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Studious First-Year" href="#" target="_blank">Studious First-Year</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: Here's a <em>newer</em> fan-favorite member of this creature type. This is one of the best turn-one plays for this list, since it not only gives you the option to cast <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rampant Growth" href="#" target="_blank">Rampant Growth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but it also sits on the field, which adds to your Bear count right away.</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mutable Explorer" href="#" target="_blank">Mutable Explorer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: Sure, this might not look like a Bear, but it gets to join the team thanks to having changeling. On top of that, it hits play and makes you a land token, which can be animated into being a creature itself in a pinch.</li>
</ul>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Firdoch Core"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rhonas&#039;s Monument"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Progenitor&#039;s Icon"></div></div>
<ul>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Firdoch Core" href="#" target="_blank">Firdoch Core</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: Here's another tricky inclusion in the list, because when <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Beorn the Fierce" href="#" target="_blank">Beorn the Fierce</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is checking for Bears on your board, it doesn't specify that they have to be <em>creatures</em>. Which means that this mana rock can assist with getting you to that magic number of <em>three</em> by the time you cast your commander.</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rhonas&#039;s Monument" href="#" target="_blank">Rhonas&#039;s Monument</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: This artifact offers up both a cost reduction, as well as a targeted buff and trample when you deploy more Bears, which's a great payoff for simply doing what this deck is asking you to do.</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Progenitor&#039;s Icon" href="#" target="_blank">Progenitor&#039;s Icon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: Since there's a good amount of ramp in this deck, including a mana rock like this can help keep the deck more unpredictable. Now, if you pass the turn with this untapped, it can either help you cast another spell, or allow you to flash in a Bear out of nowhere.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Card Advantage</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Realmwalker"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gathering Stone"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Evercoat Ursine"></div></div>
<ul>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Realmwalker" href="#" target="_blank">Realmwalker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: Long-time readers of mine will know that I love cards that let you look at the top of your library, and this is one of the best to ever do it. Having this in play puts you in a spot where your hand size is basically increased by one, and on top of that, it adds to your Bear count!</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gathering Stone" href="#" target="_blank">Gathering Stone</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: Recently, I've been brewing a lot of typal decks, and this artifact has made it into most of them. It offers up top-deck manipulation, card advantage and a mana reduction all in one textbox.</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Evercoat Ursine" href="#" target="_blank">Evercoat Ursine</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: Attaching the ability to deploy two cards for free onto a giant 6/5 trampler is just what this deck likes to see. Plus, once you have your commander out, the buff it hands out makes it all the more likely that this Ursine can break through your opponents' defenses.</li>
</ul>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Garruk&#039;s Uprising"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hunter&#039;s Insight"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Return of the Wildspeaker"></div></div>
<ul>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Garruk&#039;s Uprising" href="#" target="_blank">Garruk&#039;s Uprising</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: Here's an absolute classic for any green beat-down deck. Even though your commander can pass around trample, having it as a blanket effect is useful for extra redundancy. Plus, the card draw it offers is powerful, since it can help you get a replacement card every time you deploy a new Bear.</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hunter&#039;s Insight" href="#" target="_blank">Hunter&#039;s Insight</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: As you can see, there's a lot of ways to help big creatures punch through in this deck, which's where this spell shines. I've used this card to great effect over the years, especially when you can go wide with larger creatures, since all it takes is one beater getting through to help refill your hand.</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Return of the Wildspeaker" href="#" target="_blank">Return of the Wildspeaker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: Drawing a new grip with this card at instant speed always feels great, but if you already have a hand full of options, buffing up your board during a pivotal attack can just help you close out a game.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Removal &amp; Protection</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Chomping Changeling"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ram Through"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kenrith&#039;s Transformation"></div></div>
<ul>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chomping Changeling" href="#" target="_blank">Chomping Changeling</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: When it comes to building a typal deck in green, I'm constantly reaching for this silly little guy to throw into the 99. It hits play, deals with a problematic artifact or enchantment, and does its best impression of a Bear to add to your army.</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ram Through" href="#" target="_blank">Ram Through</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: I remember when this card first came out, and how it broke some former concepts of the color pie; and I've always loved it for that. As you build up your team, this can remove an enemy's key creature, while also dealing a bunch of damage to someone's face.</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kenrith&#039;s Transformation" href="#" target="_blank">Kenrith&#039;s Transformation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: Nullifying someone's commander with this spell is always great, since you can shut down someone's entire game plan. Plus, because it turns it into a 3/3, any of your creatures with power four or greater can still trample over during combat.</li>
</ul>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Origin of Metalbending"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Snakeskin Veil"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wrap in Vigor"></div></div>
<ul>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Origin of Metalbending" href="#" target="_blank">Origin of Metalbending</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: Here's a card that sits in both the removal and protection category. It preforms well when you're ahead, behind, and everything in-between; this is truly one of my favorite bulk cards to build with from last year.</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Snakeskin Veil" href="#" target="_blank">Snakeskin Veil</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: Holding up only a single mana in order to save a key creature like your commander is not too big of an ask, especially when you get to grow Beorn with a counter, and assist it with punching through with even more damage the next time it swings.</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wrap in Vigor" href="#" target="_blank">Wrap in Vigor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>: Regenerating your entire team is a classic way to save yourself from a board wipe, but it can also just simply save one of your creatures if someone tries to destroy it with targeted removal.</li>
</ul>
<h2>The Finishers</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="End-Raze Forerunners"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Overrun"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Overwhelming Stampede"></div></div>
<p>While <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="End-Raze Forerunners" href="#" target="_blank">End-Raze Forerunners</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> might not be a Bear itself, once you move to combat, you can just throw a trample counter on it, in order to become a Bear; which also gives it that +2/+2 buff from your commander. Finally, we have <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Overrun" href="#" target="_blank">Overrun</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Overwhelming Stampede" href="#" target="_blank">Overwhelming Stampede</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, two classic game ending pump spells that'll put in a lot of work for this deck, and help lead you toward some wins.</p>
<h2>The Full Deck List</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Beorn the Fierce - by Tyler Savesya Bucks" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Beorn the Fierce
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Adaptive Automaton
*1 Ashcoat Bear
*1 Ayula, Queen Among Bears
*1 Bear Cub
*1 Bloodline Pretender
*1 Chameleon Colossus
*1 Changeling Wayfinder
*1 Chomping Changeling
*1 Copper Host Crusher
*1 End-Raze Forerunners
*1 Evercoat Ursine
*1 Friendly Teddy
*1 Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma
*1 Grizzly Bears
*1 Little Bear
*1 Masked Vandal
*1 Mother Bear
*1 Mutable Explorer
*1 Owlbear
*1 Owlbear Cub
*1 Realmwalker
*1 Studious First-Year // Rampant Growth
*1 The Earth King
*1 Universal Automaton
*1 Ursine Monstrosity
*1 Vastlands Scavenger // Bind to Life
*1 Vivien&#039;s Grizzly
*1 Werebear
*1 Wilson, Refined Grizzly
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*1 Cycle of Renewal
*1 Harrow
*1 Hunter&#039;s Insight
*1 Inscription of Abundance
*1 Khalni Ambush // Khalni Territory
*1 Origin of Metalbending
*1 Ram Through
*1 Return of the Wildspeaker
*1 Snakeskin Veil
*1 Wrap in Vigor
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Call Damage Control
*1 Cultivate
*1 Explore
*1 Harmonize
*1 Nissa&#039;s Pilgrimage
*1 Overrun
*1 Overwhelming Stampede
*1 Rampant Growth
*1 Regrowth
*1 Revive
*1 Shamanic Revelation
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts]
*1 Firdoch Core
*1 Gathering Stone
*1 Icon of Ancestry
*1 Lifecrafter&#039;s Bestiary
*1 Oblivion Stone
*1 Progenitor&#039;s Icon
*1 Rhonas&#039;s Monument
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments]
*1 Colossal Majesty
*1 Garruk&#039;s Uprising
*1 Kenrith&#039;s Transformation
*1 Sylvan Anthem
*1 Utopia Sprawl
*1 Wild Growth
[/Enchantments]
[Lands]
*1 Baxter Building
*1 Bonders&#039; Enclave
*1 Conduit Pylons
*1 Hidden Grotto
*1 Nesting Grounds
*1 Path of Ancestry
*30 Forest
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<h2>My Final Thoughts on Beorn</h2>
<p>Well, there you have it, my take on a budget 99 built around <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Beorn the Fierce" href="#" target="_blank">Beorn the Fierce</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> that you can pick up for about $45. I really do love this deck, so if you've been looking for a monocolored beat down list to add to your arsenal, this could be right for you!</p>
<p>That's it for me today, but you can find more of my budget content right <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/author/tyler-bucks?utm_source=edhrec" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here on EDHREC</a>, as well as on my YouTube channel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzUtnBZogc1TSttr8eLUK_w/?utm_source=edhrec" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Pillow Fort</a>, where I do everything I can to make <em>Magic</em> more accessible for everyone.</p>


https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/EDHREC-DECK-TECH-1.png

Beorn the Fierce | Mono-Green Bears on a Budget

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sunscorched Desert" href="#" target="_blank">Sunscorched Desert</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bumskee/">Min Yum</a>)</h6>
<h1>Introduction</h1>
<p>Your lips are cracked. Your legs throb. Despite your dehydration, your eyes water from the wind and from the stinging sand it carries. But you crest another dune. This one has somehow sent all its ice to the leeward side, as if it had been briefly deposited windward, then pushed over the apex by unrelenting, eroding winds. You take pause in your brief shelter, this softer side of a temporary mountain. Well, all mountains are temporary, this one just much more so.</p>
<p>Welcome to <em>Dual Shot</em>, the deckbuilding experiment wherein we brew two decks at the same time... in one deck. The list came before the write-up for this one, and so now I regret not doing a Deserts-matter theme inside of a Snow deck, to truly capture the strange biome of Colorado's <a href="https://www.nps.gov/grsa/index.htm">Great Sand Dunes National Park</a> in the winter - Blanca Peak, or <em>Sisnaajin<i>í</i></em>, the Sacred Mountain of the East, also called White Shell Mountain, or simply <em>The Dawn</em>, skirling snow from its great granite crown, creating the impossible phenomenon of snow-capped sand dunes.</p>
<p>I think the endless field of snow and sand and all the wet-dry winds should still be suitably embodied by a subtheme of <a href="https://edhrec.com/themes/counterspells">counterspells</a>, presented here supporting a four-color... Sand tribal deck?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dune-Brood Nephilim"></div></div>
<hr />
<h2>A Maze of Winds</h2>
<p>While there are regrettably no Desert shenanigans here, non-blue counterspells should prove dehydrating enough. Refer to <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/author/douglas-young/">DougY</a>'s <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/too-specific-top-10-counter-intuitive/">excellent article</a>, which expounds on many of the considerations in the generally far more limited pool of <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders/brgw">Dune-colored</a> counters. For this list, we went with... well, all of them, nearly, and while some are terribly situational, we do employ a small coterie of cards for exchanging the less-ubiquitous parts of your hand.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Faithless Looting"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tormenting Voice"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cathartic Reunion"></div></div>
<p>Most of our counterspells are restricted by either color or type, which is dangerous. And unlike a counterspell-focused list in blue, we can't really run any payoffs like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Talrand, Sky Summoner" href="#" target="_blank">Talrand, Sky Summoner</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Glen Elendra Pranksters" href="#" target="_blank">Glen Elendra Pranksters</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Guile" href="#" target="_blank">Guile</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Instead, here they're more meant to keep our primary theme alive and running: wide, combative tokens. With any luck, your commander will breathe a Desert into being, and your counterplay will keep the sands shifting.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Pocket Sand" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Dune-Brood Nephilim
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Order of the Sacred Torch
*1 Stromgald Cabal
*1 Unyaro Griffin
*1 Thrull Wizard
*1 Vexing Shusher
*1 Vile Aggregate
*1 Emmara Tandris
*1 Veteran Explorer
*1 Arboreal Grazer
*1 Courser of Kruphix
*1 Suspicious Bookcase
*1 Dauthi Trapper
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*1 Avoid Fate
*1 Autumn&#039;s Veil
*1 Guttural Response
*1 Illumination
*1 Lapse of Certainty
*1 Mana Tithe
*1 Dawn Charm
*1 Dash Hopes
*1 Withering Boon
*1 Burnout
*1 Mages&#039; Contest
*1 Molten Influence
*1 Red Elemental Blast
*1 Pyroblast
*1 Artifact Blast
*1 Warping Wail
*1 Atarka&#039;s Command
*1 Deathsprout
*1 Faithless Looting
*1 Tormenting Voice
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Gruesome Slaughter
*1 Swarm Surge
*1 Kodama&#039;s Reach
*1 Cultivate
*1 Rampant Growth
*1 Nature&#039;s Lore
*1 Summer Bloom
*1 Three Visits
*1 Boundless Realms
*1 Scapeshift
*1 Reprocess
*1 Decimate
*1 Extinction Event
*1 Wreak Havoc
*1 Cathartic Reunion
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts]
*1 Sphinx-Bone Wand
*1 Forsaken Monument
*1 Fellwar Stone
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Akroma&#039;s Memorial
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments]
*1 Lifeforce
*1 Deathgrip
*1 Anointed Procession
*1 Parallel Lives
*1 Intangible Virtue
*1 Cathars&#039; Crusade
*1 Glorious Anthem
*1 Gaea&#039;s Anthem
*1 Primal Rage
[/Enchantments]
[Lands]
*1 Rogue&#039;s Passage
*1 Cascading Cataracts
*1 City of Brass
*1 Survivors&#039; Encampment
*1 Krosan Verge
*1 Myriad Landscape
*1 Blighted Woodland
*1 Naya Panorama
*1 Savage Lands
*1 Nomad Outpost
*1 Ash Barrens
*1 Evolving Wilds
*1 Exotic Orchard
*1 Tarnished Citadel
*1 Spire of Industry
*1 Rupture Spire
*1 Command Tower
*5 Plains
*5 Swamp
*5 Mountain
*6 Forest
[/Lands]"></span></div>

<hr />
<h2>Erosion</h2>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dune-Brood Nephilim" href="#" target="_blank">Dune-Brood Nephilim</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> isn't exactly legendary. More on that later. For now, our primary strategy is connecting with our commander, making lots of coarse, rough, irritating stuff, and getting it everywhere. To that end, we want lots of lands out. That means we're prioritizing land-grabbing sorceries over mana rocks. This also means that bounce lands are out. Instead, we'll run lands that function in quite the opposite fashion.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blighted Woodland"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Myriad Landscape"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Krosan Verge"></div></div>
<p>Once you're generating some quartz, it's up to <a href="https://edhrec.com/themes/anthems">anthem</a> effects to make your sand worth reckoning. To that end, we're including <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gaea&#039;s Anthem" href="#" target="_blank">Gaea&#039;s Anthem</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Glorious Anthem" href="#" target="_blank">Glorious Anthem</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cathars&#039; Crusade" href="#" target="_blank">Cathars&#039; Crusade</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Forsaken Monument" href="#" target="_blank">Forsaken Monument</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Intangible Virtue" href="#" target="_blank">Intangible Virtue</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. For additional width, this list enjoys the company of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Parallel Lives" href="#" target="_blank">Parallel Lives</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Anointed Procession" href="#" target="_blank">Anointed Procession</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but since those two cards together cost as much as a PlayStation 4 wireless controller in the default jet black, consider replacing the pair with tools for added height instead - things like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Akroma&#039;s Will" href="#" target="_blank">Akroma&#039;s Will</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Collective Blessing" href="#" target="_blank">Collective Blessing</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Glory of Warfare" href="#" target="_blank">Glory of Warfare</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Speaking of costly replacements, an anthem like one of the former, or even a lord (and multitool) like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Trostani Discordant" href="#" target="_blank">Trostani Discordant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, will make an easy substitution for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Akroma&#039;s Memorial" href="#" target="_blank">Akroma&#039;s Memorial</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which on its own costs as much as Animal Crossing: New Leaf for the Nintendo 3DS.</p>
<p>The fact is that there are a few dehydrating cards in this list, as far as one's wallet's water levels are concerned. Since we used basically every counterspell we had access to, fleshing out the token strategy seems most immediately obvious when considering substitutions - but also try advancing looting, rummaging, and wheeling techniques as a means of cycling through the color- or type-specific counters that might be dead in your hand in a given game or situation.</p>
<p>Now that the body of the brew is sufficiently smoothed by the sands of time, it's time to crack open the commander and color identity with a bit of freezing water.</p>
<p>Not every playgroup is going to let you run a Nephilim. And that's alright, because only a slight change in management is required to facilitate some rule-following. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tana, the Bloodsower" href="#" target="_blank">Tana, the Bloodsower</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> does a superb impression of Ravnica's resident sand-monster. Saprolings are green, however, so that would mean swapping out things like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vile Aggregate" href="#" target="_blank">Vile Aggregate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Swarm Surge" href="#" target="_blank">Swarm Surge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Forsaken Monument" href="#" target="_blank">Forsaken Monument</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Perhaps for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tendershoot Dryad" href="#" target="_blank">Tendershoot Dryad</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thelonite Hermit" href="#" target="_blank">Thelonite Hermit</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rith, the Awakener" href="#" target="_blank">Rith, the Awakener</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vile Aggregate"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Swarm Surge"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Forsaken Monument"></div></div>
<p>As for the Orzhov partner, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ravos, Soultender" href="#" target="_blank">Ravos, Soultender</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> acts as a decent lord, but his graveyard recursion falls somewhat flat in this creature-light list. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tymna the Weaver" href="#" target="_blank">Tymna the Weaver</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> plays nicely with an army of Saprolings, and card draw means you're more likely to have a relevant counterspell in hand. One more thing to keep in mind, should we decide to button up our shirts and run actual legendary creatures as commanders, is that Tana's token-generation is not land-dependent, but rather damage-dependent, so the land ramp package that was prepared for Dune-Brood is less synergistic in this new context. But beyond that, scarcely any tinkering should be required. There should be plenty of anthem effects in the brew to skirt the need for a Voltron strategy in support of Tana, although a pair of boots couldn't hurt.</p>
<hr />
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>Given enough time, even mountains are ground to dust. It's strange that the mounds of memory that are left behind do a decent impression of the stone they were hewn from. And like memory, the sands pile up, shift, and change, pushing their gradients into the neighboring peaks and dusty valleys. It's those surreal moments, often caught up in the landscape, that make us question the veracity of our experiences and our expectations. Sand and snow. Uh, tokens and counterspells. Hmm, really gotta try that Snow/Desert idea out.</p>
<p>That's all for this edition! When have you brewed with commanders that aren't quite commanders? How do you feel about the Nephilim? What are your opinions on sand? Let us know in the comments below! Till next time.</p>


anthems

Beorn the Fierce | Mono-Green Bears on a Budget

Dual Shot - The Great Sands