Hello folks! I hope your day is going well!

Nikya of the Old Ways was a big hit from the recent Ravnica block. Despite being published just last year for Ravnica Allegiance, it's the fourth most registered decklist over at EDHREC.com for Gruul.

It has 715 decks registered as of the writing of today's article, and she has a few good things going for her. Five mana. 5/5 size. The ability to double your land-based mana - all good things!

However, it comes with a price. In order to get the great mana-doubling of Nikya, you have the sacrifice casting non-dorks. You may only cast creatures. And drop lands. And that's it.

Why are you running other things?

Let's look at the obvious example, Sol Ring. I understand the idea of the Ring. If you have it in your opening hand, then you can drop it, and then Nikya hits the battlefield on turn three, and the next turn your mana is spiraling. I get it!

But, hey, we are not living in Christmas Magic Land. With a decksize of 100 cards, your chance of having a Sol Ring in your hand is roughly 7%. Which is more likely - speeding up Nikya by two turns or drawing Sol Ring when you cannot cast it?

It's also good mechanically as you remove types from your deck, such as artifacts and/or enchantments, you also make your foe's removal dead. Now their Krosan Grip cannot be turned your way, and when they drop a Reclamation Sage, it'll go against another foe.

The same principle applies for spells like Cultivate and Kodama's Reach. I get why - a third turn Cultivate can guarantee a fourth turn Nikya. Like Sol Ring, the likelihood of having it as a dead draw massively outweighs the benefits thereof.

Here are some cards that are heavily played, according to EDHREC.com, in your Nikya deck that make no sense to me.

We'll be sorting them in order of how often they are registered.

1. Rhythm of the Wild - 42% of Nikya Decks

This is the most played non-creature in a Nikya deck. Out of every five decks, two run this. Why? The uncounterable is nice, but you can find dorks that will give you that in your colors, such as Prowling Serpopard. Unlike Rhythm, the Serpopard can't be countered either, in addition to giving that to your dorks, so there's no worry about someone answering your anti-counter card with a counter. The riot into haste is nice, but, the same is true again with dorks. Consider a card like Anger or Xenagos, God of Revels. It's impossible to cast with your leader out - so again, why?

2. Primal Surge - 33% of Nikya decks

About one-third of your decks run this massively expensive sorcery. I understand the theory! If you resolve it, then you are likely to dump your library onto the battlefield from which you'll win. I get it. In your build, it's basically Biorhythm. This can be a dead draw twice. You may have enough mana, but control Nikya. Or vice versa, you don't have Nikya out nor do you have enough mana to cast it. That makes this doubly unreliable.

Now,if Nikya had a self-sacrifice ability built into her, then I'd get this all day long. The turn after you drop your leader you can make the 10-mana needed for this without any other lands, assuming you used five lands for her. You could tap it, sacrifice your dork, and then Primal Surge and win. Nikya doesn't have that. That makes this a very unreliable source of mana and card-age. Like many others, It's just feels a little too Christmas Land-y too me.

One of the major tensions that Wizards intentionally gives the game are cards that are of one type, buts support another. There is a tension with them:

Razor Hippogriff is not an artifact. If you run too many of these, you won't have enough artifacts to enable. Similarly, Archon of Sun's Grace loves enchantments but isn't one. Magnivore is a creature that needs sorceries; Shamanic Revelation is a sorcery that needs creatures. This is a tension that was created in order to make decisions like including non-creatures in a Nikya deck that needs creatures.

In Nikya's case though, I think these are misses both mechanically and flavorfully as well.

Next?

3. Guardian Project - 26% of Nikya decks

Hello Guardian Project! This is the 3rd most common card used in Nikya decks that isn't a dork or land. One out of four. Again, I get why! You want to draw those creatures. And with a high creature count in a Highlander format, you'll draw a ton of cards with this! I get it. However, it's not needed. Green is the one color that has more than enough Green -card-drawing in its creatures. From Soul of the Harvest to Ohran Frostfang to Jadelight Ranger, we have a number of ways to keep up that sick card flow! This feels like an unneeded actions given its unreliability and duplication of Green already.

4. Zendikar Resurgent - 25% of Nikya decks

Just like the above card, roughly one in four Nikaya decks runs this. Unlike the many of the other cards, this one doesn't have the "Cast it Before Nikya Arrives," option. When does Zendikar Resurgent become cast? It duplicates things we are doing in dorks and arrives too late to be cast after our leader arrives, and it doesn't even have the game-winning dreaming of Primal Surge. Of the cards on today's list, this gets the biggest, "What?" from me.

5. Sol Ring - 24% of Nikya Decks

Another one in four run it. We've already looked at Sol Ring above. Might I suggest something like Beastcaller Savant (which isn't even on the EDHREC page for her) or other mana dorks instead of mana rocks? You'll still get your leader earlier, and your foe's artifact removal will blank.

6. Domri, Anarch of Bolas - 16% of Nikya Decks

One out of six decks run him. Only Domri(s) are good enough to make the Top Ten Most Used Nikya Cards that Aren't Dorks/Lands. I get the synergy here. The first ability will pump your front and the latter can help with dorks and fighting removal. I hear you. But you have plenty of mana-dorks as well as better ways to pump your team. Domri, Anarch of Bolas is a solid package for the deck, but the kid isn't so good that you should dip away from your leader.

7. Domri, Chaos Bringer - 15%

I like this four-mana version of Domri less than the previous one. Without a cheaper cost and the free ability to pump your dorks in the front, he lacks power. He can draw some dorks and provides a minor amount of ramp instead. Really?

8. Lifecrafter's Bestiary - 15%

The Bestiary is another card in the "Draw a card after casting a dork," pantheon. It's not a creature, and unlike others, it requires mana to use. Meh. That's a double "No thanks!" to me.

9. The Great Henge - 13%

Hello my fellow lovers of expensive cards. After Nikya arrives, it's just four mana, which is easily cast! Although you cannot cast it then. In order to cast this, you need to have a dork that has a high enough power to drop it earlier than the turn you drop Nikya. On turn four, will you control a 5 power dork you brought out on an earlier turn so you can tap out for this? You didn't? Huh. Then why run this?

10. Cindervines -13%

Our final card today is Cindervines! I enjoy what it's doing. I like that it can ting foes as well as sacrifice for a Naturalize. Know what else can sacrifice for Naturalizes? Creatures! You could sacrifice a Thrashing Brontodon for the same effect. You could also just add in cards like Acidic Slime or Reclamation Sage that can kill on arrival. Also, don't sleep on kickers with your high mana ways, such as Mold Shambler (which can blow a planeswalker) and Territorial Allosaurus (which can fight a foe). There are many better ways to run this theme in other places, no sense to head out to Cindervines!

Hey look, if you are running Nikya, then commit. Don't run anything that ain't dorks or lands wherewith to cast them.

And there we are! Anything in there that I missed? Thanks for reading and have an awesome day.

P.S. - One of the most common questions I get as a writer of articles like this one, is how my Huntington's Disease impacts my writing. Great question! I have the answer here for you:

Let me know what you think!