After the banning of Dockside Extortionist, Jeweled Lotus, and Mana Crypt we’re beginning to see a new metagame solidify. Grixis-based Storm decks got a huge nerf without the explosive nature of Dockside and Mana Crypt which paved the way for a slower format.
Green decks received a huge boost as the games slowed to the point where you can rely on mana dorks to advance your game plan. In fact, we now have a new contender for “the best deck” in Tymna/Thrasios. One caveat is Tymna/Kraum is putting up similar numbers so you can pick either flavor of value to give yourself the best chance to win a tournament.
Today I’m going to discuss my build of Tymna/Thrasios.
Here’s the link to my decklist:
Tymna/Thrasios seeks to establish early game card advantage and mana engines to play a more passive game and then win with an open window. The cool part about this deck is the incremental card advantage can create inevitability without alerting the table that you’re a threat.
Every color except red is represented, creating plenty of options to play most of the strongest cards in the format.
There are plenty of ways to build Tymna/Thrasios since the commanders are there for card advantage, a mana sink, and colors. With that being said, the hive mind is homogenizing to a couple distinct lists due to the popularity of the archetype.
Midrange decks in CEDH need to get a feel for how the games will play out by taking into account the other three strategies at the table and seat order. If I see a handful of Tymna decks I’ll keep a more grindy hand, but a Rograkh/Silas Storm deck means I may need to play police. This could change if a Tivit deck is at the table at a higher seat so they can establish control and slow down the game. Many of the non-blue decks can’t meaningfully interact so they won’t be much help; in this case you can prioritize a fast combo.
Card advantage in the command zone means it’s alright to mulligan non-functional early hands and still find enough material to win the game. CEDH is a slower format after the recent bans, but not enough to risk drawing the right cards to function.
Tymna goodstuff decks get to play the strongest cards in the format.
It’s hard to identify exactly what makes a CEDH staple, but the spells above are in a majority of the decks able to cast them. They each perform a specific duty, but are included because of their efficiency.
There are plenty of counters to drag out the game, but not so much that your hands lack the ability to win the game. If you’re new to CEDH, beware of the counters Tymna/Thrasios plays as they are prevalent in other top tier decks.
Rhystic Study and Mystic Remora are the strongest card advantage engines in the format, but you don’t have to mulligan aggressively for them because Tymna can also help cement an early lead on cards.
White decks can close a game with Silence effects, but beware casting them on your turn as you will immediately become a threat. Casting scary cards creates card disadvantage as you not only lose your spell to a counter, but that’s one fewer piece of interaction for the following win attempt by an opponent.
Unlike most green decks in sixty-card formats you don’t have to mulligan hands without a mana dork; the artifact acceleration is also powerful. My Tymna/Thrasios list is playing only the strongest mana dorks, but you can also play Llanowar Elves, Elves of Deep Shadow, and Avacyn’s Pilgrim.
Noble Hierarch’s exalted ability can create unfavorable blocks for an opponent while Tymna is on the battlefield. Exalted will also trigger twice from Delney.
Bloom Tender is one of the strongest mana dork payoffs as it can tap for four mana when Tymna and Thrasios are on the battlefield.
Fewer Grixis decks means creature removal is more important than before the recent bans. Snuff Out and Deadly Rollick are valuable as you can spend mana to generate card advantage and leave these spells up to interact. You can politic by showing an opponent you will destroy their creature if they do something you don’t like.
Amphibian Downpour is underplayed as the storm copies can copy the same target to play around countermagic or shut off multiple commanders. It’s now in every blue deck I build.
Thassa’s Oracle + Tainted Pact/Demonic Consultation
The cleanest win condition in the format that’s even easier to achieve in a green deck with the creature tutors. Put Oracle into play and cast Tainted Pact or Demonic Consultation with the trigger on the stack to leave yourself with enough cards in the deck to win the game.
Thassa’s Oracle is relatively difficult to counter, but Demonic Consultation is hit by Mental Misstep among other spells that counter instants. Be mindful if there hasn’t already been a win attempt during the game that would have drawn out spell-based interaction.
I prefer playing Spellseeker so I can find either half of the Thoracle combo with a creature tutor.
Devoted Druid + Hazel’s Brewmaster/Swift Reconfiguration
Creating millions of green mana with Devoted Druid is appealing with Thrasios in the command zone.
Hazel’s Brewmaster’s ability can exile Devoted Druid from any graveyard to create a food token with the ability to untap as many times as you want and adds green mana. This cool new card can exile any card in a graveyard, but only food tokens gain abilities of creatures exiled meaning it can be used to disrupt, too.
Swift Reconfiguration can turn Devoted Druid into a vehicle that will once again not die if untapped a million times. The nice thing about vehicles is they aren’t subject to summoning sickness and Swift Reconfiguration has flash meaning you can win in a narrow window. The enchantment is pretty bad by itself, but worth the inclusion. It can effectively cycle by clearing a blocker for Tymna to attack as crew 5 is difficult to achieve.
Survival of the Fittest can discard a creature to find Devoted Druid and then Hazel’s Brewmaster for a one card win condition. I’m currently excluding Survival because the table will immediately identify you as a threat when it’s on the battlefield. I prefer to passively assemble combos because shoving a win is not how the deck wants to play.
Eternal Witness + Snap + Gaea’s Cradle
Not only is Gaea’s Cradle extremely powerful by itself, but is also a way to make millions of green mana.
Eternal Witness recurs Snap to untap Gaea’s Cradle and another land that produces blue. When you control four creatures the combo is mana neutral, but after five you will net a green. The final iteration of the combo can use a blue mana to cast Thrasios and then draw as many cards needed to win. I prefer including this combo because all three cards involved are strong.
Hullbreaker Horror + two mana rocks
Hullbreaker Horror is great in a metagame where the game can drag out thanks to lock pieces and card advantage engines. Not only does Horror break open a stalemate, but it can bounce two permanents repeatedly for profit if they cost less than the mana generated.
Bouncing a Sol Ring and Mox Amber can generate millions of every color to ultimately draw the deck with Thrasios and bounce opposing nonland permanents and spells.
Kinan, Bonder Prodigy + Basalt Monolith
Add four mana with Basalt Monolith while spending just three to untap it. Basalt isn’t strong enough to play on its own, but Kinan can supercharge your mana acceleration.
Treasures tap for two mana and more mana rocks are able to combo with Hullbreaker Horror. Kinnan’s activated ability isn’t very strong in this deck as most of the generically powerful creatures in CEDH are humans.
Derevi, Empyrial Tactician + Gaea’s Cradle + Emiel the Blessed
Emiel blinks Derevi to untap Gaea’s Cradle. This generates millions of green mana with just four creatures on the battlefield.
I like how Derevi plays in a Tymna deck, but Emiel is a fairly weak creature by itself.
Gaea’s Cradle is an excellent combo outlet because it’s one of the strongest green cards in the format. I also have extra incentive to play Sowing Mycospawn as an additional tutor that can’t be countered.
Emiel the Blessed + Cloud of Faeries + Training Grounds
Training Grounds reduces Emiel’s ability to just one mana which can then blink Cloud of Faeries for millions of mana.
Training Grounds can generate card advantage with Thrasios and Cloud of Faeries can untap four lands with Delney. A 1/1 flyer can even draw cards with Tymna. Both combo outlets have been fairly powerful ahead of winning the game.
Thanks to Thrasios there are more ways to generate millions of mana that are also viable. My version of T+T includes most of the combos because there are many tutors I want to exclude due to them creating card disadvantage and signals you are trying to win.
Valley Floodcaller + Retraction Helix + Mox Amber/Sol Ring/Mana Vault/Grim Monolith
Valley Floodcaller is a great addition to CEDH from Bloomburrow. Finding that perfect window to win the game can be difficult, but is slightly simpler when noncreature spells have flash.
Retraction Helix can grant Valley Floodcaller the ability to return a nonland permanent to hand.
This combo can generate millions of mana with Mox Amber, Sol, Ring, Grim Monolith, or Mana Vault as they all create more mana than they cost. Valley Floodcaller untaps itself each time to keep the loop going and Thrasios can serve as the mana sink. Note the mana rocks can be cast with flash due to Floodcaller’s ability.
If you control a bird, such as Mockingbird copying a creature that adds mana or Birds of Paradise, they can also add millions of mana by bouncing mana rocks. Even in a mana neutral position, birds and otters get +1+1 to attack down opponents.
High Fae Trickster has been very impressive. A flying attacker for Tymna that enables even creatures to have flash. I can find the right window to advance my game plan while leaving up interaction more often. I’ve preferred Trickster to Floodcaller as a flash enabler.
Mnemonic Betrayal is a great win condition in drawn out games, but has little utility. Tymna/Thrasios is able to win easily with enough cards so I want more versatile spells.
Wishclaw Talisman, Worldly Tutor, Diabolic Intent, and Neoform are best used to find win conditions which I don’t want to use to alarm the table that I’m a threat.
Culling Ritual can be used to destroy plenty of permanents to generate enough mana for a win attempt. It requires some setup and is alarming to the table when it’s being cast.
An Offer You Can’t Refuse can backdoor a win with Underworld Breach in red decks, but is otherwise a high price to pay to interact.
Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar is yet another Silence effect that’s more expensive and less powerful than Grand Abolisher. It can draw cards when creatures deal damage with a greater than printed power, but in practice the table will be alarmed when it’s on the battlefield. Win attempts can also be broken up with channel abilities and Talon Gates of Madara.
CEDH is in a good spot as the metagame slowed without Dockside, Jeweled Lotus, and Mana Crypt. A shakeup is fantastic as Tymna/Kraum was the lone deck to beat for quite some time. I’m embracing the new deck to beat as it’s fun to play such a flexible archetype.
