Commanding Ojer Kaslem

Posted on November 21, 2023

Hello awesome folks! Today we are looking at my first Commander deck built around a new leader from LCI! And it's my favorite Commander from the set! But...who? Let's find out today!

Ojer Kaslem, Deepest Growth // Temple of Cultivation

This five-drop 6/5 with trample God in mono-Green is my dork. When she deals combat damage to a foe? You dig that many and then put a creature and/or a land onto your battlefield from your library. And with a 6 power and trample that's pretty likely, and note you can do both if both are revealed. In this build I won't be replacing lands with modal spell/lands since I want them to be playable with our God. Then when she dies, he becomes the Temple of Cultivation. You can transform him back at sorcery speed with 3 mana if you control at least ten or more permanents, so that's pretty likely if we build around that.

Ready for my deep dive into this deck?

Mana, Ramp, Lands

Since Ojer Kaslem costs 5 mana I am running a bunch of three-drop rampers that will drop him on the fifth turn too. Obvious stuff would be mana dorks but I don't like how vulnerable that makes me. Instead, I like Wood Elves that costs three and then ETBs and you fetch out a Forest untapped and ready to be used. Cultivate costs three and then fetches up two basics, one ramps tapped and the other heads to your hand, so it is also two for one that drops two permanents.

Growing Rites of Itlimoc // Itlimoc, Cradle of the Sun

Now let's turn to some mass tapping stuff. Each of these also cost three to drop, and not always an easy three. The Druid taps for mana equal to your creature count which here could be quite the powerful smasher. Then the enchantment arrives and you dig four and then put a dork in your hand, so it's better than a cantrip here. In your endstep, if you control four or more dorks, transform it to the Gaea's Cradle land. Quite likely here!

Karametra's Acolyte taps for mana equal to your devotion count. Nasty potential here! Nyx Lotus also costs four for an artifact that ETBs tapped and then taps for devotion too. It's worth the turn you take off! I am also running the obvious Nykthos here. In a deck that goes this deep into Green permanents, it's an obvious place to go and we'll see it in other places.

Now let's turn to another mana rock and dork. Throne of Eldraine will choose Green on arrival and then tap for four Green but just to cast mono-Green stuff - pretty likely here. Then you can tap this with three Green mana to draw two, so its mana ramp combined with card flow - strong here! Nyxbloom Ancient costs a massive 7 mana, with three pips for devotion purposes and it's a smaller 5/5 dork but an enchantment creature. When you tap that mana you make...triple that amount! I think that's worth the card spot here. Triple a Gaea's Cradle or Nykthos tapping will load you up. Nasty pair to end the non-lands with!

Let's check out these two fun lands! The first will tap for colorless and tap with two generic mana to make your Commander gain the lifelink ability for the turn. I love this with your combat since you want to swing in the red zone and she already has trample and a big power built in to make those signs double life swings. The uncommon will tap for colorless too, and then taps with four to make any dork of yours unblockable, so it's a win con in land form and will ensure that you hit with your leader for a massive punch.

Lair of the Hydra usually ETBs tapped, but then you can spend mana at any time to make a giant X-sized Hydra to smash face with or block, so it's also a win con and mana sink here. War Room taps for colorless, and taps with three to lose one life to draw one card, so that's card draw in your land base just like the Throne of Eldraine above. I also tossed in Bonders' Enclave that also draws in the right situations. Love this pair loads!

Synergies and Winning Conditions

Now let's turn to synergies sand win-cons. The first one could be in the ramp section since it turns combat damage into Treasures. It costs 7 mana for an on curve 7/7 beater with flying. Then it can get ready for a big turn with the Lair of the Hydra or dropping big stuff with that combat damage trigger for everything you have!

The second one costs six and has three symbols for devotion. Then you are rocking an on-curve 6/6 size with trample and two other abilities. The last one shuffles when it dies. Then the middle one is why it's here. When damage would be dealt to another dork you control, you prevent it and then put that many +1/+1 counters on it to grow it permanently. With it out, it turns normal blocks and trades in combat into big swings for you and many will avoid losing their dorks and avoid the blocking when you control it. Love this creature to start off the section!

Now let's turn to two win con non-rare devotion caring things! Renata, Called to the Hunt costs four for a Demigod. Nice call out here in a God deck! Then it has power equal to your devotion. And then when your dorks ETB, you give them another +1/+1 counter here, nasty. Note that there is no brake on the other stuff here like non-token or once per turn. Aspect of Hydra costs just one and then you give your Commander power and toughness equal to your devotion to Green, so you can snag a Commander Damage kill out of nowhere or get a big dig. It's my only Giant Growth effect here.

Here are two ones that were just printed in the same set as Ojer! The creature costs a massive eight but has a massive 12/12 body with trample. And then when it ETBs, you drop any number of dorks from your hand for free so it'll help to break things with your Temple out if you don't already have 10 permanents out when your God dies.

The artifact costs eight too, and drops in cost equal to your biggest power. You can spend two to tap it and double a dork's power for the turn. Whenever a non-token dork you control dies, you can make a free Fungus Dinosaur Green token with that power and toughness equal to your power of what died. So it's a win con and synergy combined!

Now let's move to two more synergies! Defiler of Vigor of 5 mana and then when you cast another Green permanent you can swap a mana in the cost for two life so you can really break the board. Also, any time you cast a Green permanent spell you toss a +1/+1 on all of your dorks! Surrak, the Hunt Caller costs one fewer for a smaller 5/4 body. At the beginning of your combat, if you control at least eight total power among all of your stuff, you can give one dork haste for free! That's so useful here with your stuff pretty likely to get a free hasted beater each turn!

Now let's turn to win-cons! The Beast is a classic win con in the red zone in Green decks that go wide like this one. Note that you can punch with haste and then give your team trample and a power and toughness boost equal to your dork count! I also have other takes on this like Pathbreaker Ibex here as well! The Insect costs just three, and has landfall to make a 1/1 Insect token unless you have six or more then you'll make a copy of this instead. That quickly grows to a huge board position and then you can reload to get to ten permanents for the Temple after a mass removal spell sweeps the battlefield. It wins fast!

Let's finish this section with synergies! Archetype of Endurance costs eight and then gives your team hexproof to protect them and then your foes cannot have it either. Surrak and Goreclaw costs six and then also has a 6/5 size with trample. Your other dorks have trample so they'll all smash always. Then when another nontoken enters the battlefield you put a +1/+1 counter on it like Renata and it gains haste for the turn - note this is nontoken, but haste plus a size boost is pretty strong here!

Answers

Now let's turn to answers, and we'll start with answers to answers with three cards in my deck here to answer removal either targeted or sweeping. The Commander Classic two-cost instant will give your stuff hexproof for targeted protection and indestructible for damaged based removal protection. Note that this will protect more than your creatures. The X cost uncommon will give a dork hexproof and indestructible for a mana to start and then you can grow it equal to your X mana spent and then that can kill out of nowhere and is a nice win-con attached to an answer that you can mana sink.

Now let's turn to removal, since we cannot run counters in mono-Green. Woodfall Primus costs 8 mana for a 6/6 trample with persist, so it can come back once as a 5/5. Then it's here for its ETB to destroy any non-creature target. I am also running ETB removal like Acidic Slime, Reclamation Sage and Indrik Stomphowler too. The latter one costs six for a solid 7/6 body but no evasion. Then when it ETBs, you can fight an opposing dork. Then you can spend two to bounce a Human and give it indestructible. When it swings, you can destroy an opposing artifact or enchantment, so it's a Fight Spell and Naturalize spell on one dork. I am also running Fight Removal dork Apex Altisaur.

Let's finish with this recently printed duo! The Elemental has a strong 7/7 body with both reach to block flyers and trample to evade. When it ETBs, you have two options of four. Naturalize, gain five life, make a 4/4 Rhino that's Green, or toss a shield counter on a dork like your Commander to save it once. I am running it in my removal suite since you'll usually use the Naturalize, but the others are great with it.

The Ape Shaman costs five overall for a 5/7 with no keywords but a creature cast trigger (note that's a cast trigger which will resolve even if countered). You can Naturalize to destroy something, gain four life, or dig five and then ramp a land tapped. It's ramp or Naturalize are what you typically choose here.

Card Draw

Now let's finish with card draw! Regal Force costs a massive 7 mana and draws you cards equal to your Green creature count, which should be tons in a mono-Green go wide as even my tokens are Green like the Insects and Rhinos and Dinosaurs. Ohran Frostfang costs five and your attacking stuff gets deathtouch, don't sleep on that. And then when your creatures deal combat damage to a foe, draw a card! Who will want to trade with a smaller dork to stop that from happening?

The two-drop uncommon will draw you a card when it ETBs so even if answered, you'll draw a card to replace it. Then when you cast a fat five cost you draw a card. The three-drop rocks devotion, rocks a rare, and then when a dork ETBs you draw a card if it has at least 3 power or two +1/+1 counters if fewer. It's great synergy for small stuff and draw for bigger stuff.

Last March of the Ents costs a massive 8 mana! Your investment draws card equal to your greatest toughness - pretty high since most of our dorks have power and toughness equal. Then it cannot be countered. Go away Blue! Then you can drop, for free, any number of dorks onto the battlefield. That's a win con tied to massive card draw and here in a deck with this many creatures, that should be loads! Garruk's Horde costs seven for a 7/7 with trample. You play with the top card of your library revealed, and you can cast it if a creature is on top. That's card flow not card advantage but cast from your library as much as possible to maximize that.

And there we go! Let's turn to my decklist!