The things green and blue like to do together—ramp, draw cards, and play bombs—are the pillars of Commander play, so it's difficult to envision a nonbroken commander in those colors. The two newest ones, Kaseto, Orochi Archmage and Ezuri, Claw of Progress, are probably the least broken since they only affect creatures, but that's like saying Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre is the nicest of the legendary Eldrazi.

If I'm going to have a Commander deck in every color combination, I have to play an amazing commander in G/U. And if I'm going to have a deck that isn't so oppressive that it annoys me while I play it, I have to make it clearly offbeat enough that my first few plays mitigate the Archenemy-style heat my commander draws.

Fortunately, for what Ezuri, Claw of Progress wants—creatures with low power and outlets for +1/+1 counters—there's a tribe that meets all my needs. Welcome to G/U Walls.

Ezuri, Wall of Progress ? Commander | Brandon Isleib

• Commander (0)

• Walls (33)
• 1 Coral Barrier
• 1 Crenellated Wall
• 1 Floodgate
• 1 Hover Barrier
• 1 Illusionary Wall
• 1 Infested Roothold
• 1 Jungle Barrier
• 1 Mindbender Spores
• 1 Mistform Wall
• 1 Mobile Fort
• 1 Overgrown Battlement
• 1 Steel Wall
• 1 Thunder Wall
• 1 Vine Trellis
• 1 Walking Wall
• 1 Wall of Air
• 1 Wall of Blossoms
• 1 Wall of Brambles
• 1 Wall of Deceit
• 1 Wall of Frost
• 1 Wall of Ice
• 1 Wall of Junk
• 1 Wall of Kelp
• 1 Wall of Mulch
• 1 Wall of Roots
• 1 Wall of Tanglecord
• 1 Wall of Tears
• 1 Wall of Water
• 1 Wall of Wonder
• 1 Amoeboid Changeling
• 1 Game-Trail Changeling
• 1 Mothdust Changeling
• 1 Chameleon Colossus

• Non-Wall Creatures (13)
• 1 Hornet Nest
• 1 Hornet Queen
• 1 Champion of Lambholt
• 1 Chasm Skulker
• 1 Forgotten Ancient
• 1 Fathom Mage
• 1 Profaner of the Dead
• 1 Mycoloth
• 1 Mulldrifter
• 1 Stuffy Doll
• 1 Grave Sifter
• 1 Sagu Mauler
• 1 Prime Speaker Zegana

• Planeswalkers (1)
• 1 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar

• Spells (13)
• 1 Assault Formation
• 1 Feed the Clan
• 1 Stoneforge Masterwork
• 1 Swiftfoot Boots
• 1 Warmonger's Chariot
• 1 Dragon Throne of Tarkir
• 1 Simic Signet
• 1 Simic Keyrune
• 1 Thought Vessel
• 1 Fathom Trawl
• 1 Verdant Confluence
• 1 Glyph of Delusion
• 1 Glyph of Reincarnation

• Lands (39)
• 1 Lumbering Falls
• 1 Temple of Mystery
• 1 Novijen, Heart of Progress
• 1 Rogue's Passage
• 1 Thornwood Falls
• 1 Simic Guildgate
• 1 Simic Growth Chamber
• 1 Holdout Settlement
• 1 Terramorphic Expanse
• 1 Evolving Wilds
• 15 Forest
• 14 Island

Buy This Deck

This is version 1.1 of the deck after sinking a few dollars into it (mostly to acquire a bunch of random old Walls). In version 1.0, there were too many situational cards left over from the Commander (2015 Edition) preconstructed deck (like Caller of the Claw), too few attackers, and too few Walls. Adding more Changelings and removing almost every card that didn't fit a theme of Walls or counters gave enough room to make this deck cohesive.

So what's going on in each category?

Walls

Importantly, Wall of Mulch can turn spare Walls into cards. It's among the biggest reasons to go specifically into Walls for this deck rather than defenders; as sweeper protection and a way to dig deep, Wall of Mulch does good work here. Joining Wall of Mulch in the tribal theme are Stoneforge Masterwork, Glyph of Delusion, and Glyph of Reincarnation. I don't know if Glyph of Reincarnation is any good yet, but it functions as removal in this deck, it gets around hexproof creatures because it targets the blocking Wall instead of the attacking creature, nobody will see it coming (for costing 1 green mana and being obscure), and I already had an Italian one. Glyph of Delusion is more obviously useful; it does have to target the attacking creature, but it's similarly hard to spot coming, and depending on the size of the creature, it has a chance to disable something for a long time.

Non-Wall Creatures

Sagu Mauler is a fantastic recipient of +1/+1 counters that can enter the battlefield as a 2-power creature if it needs to. Profaner of the Dead is this deck's Cyclonic Rift, turning a spare Wall into a devastating removal spell while leaving a body behind. And there's Stuffy Doll, whose Boros Reckoner–style damage trigger becomes far more relevant when it has +1/+1 counters on it and is rumbling in the red zone.

Spells

Assault Formation is what made me want to build this deck in the first place. Letting defenders attack is usually associated with white, and dealing damage equal to toughness is usually associated with Doran, the Siege Tower; giving G/U access to these effects is a big deal. Warmonger's Chariot also allows defenders to attack; if I had more options for this effect, I wouldn't include this one, but getting those options will probably take years. Simic Keyrune, along with Lumbering Falls in the list of lands, are important as extra creatures and extra hexproof; if a creature sweeper seems imminent, going for the long game by putting +1/+1 counters on the Keyrune or Falls is a comparatively safe plan.

I wouldn't have spent the money on a Nissa, Voice of Zendikar, but I had one lying around, and she does exactly what this deck wants: makes small creatures, gives out +1/+1 counters, and threatens high upside if left alone (which, given the deck's focus on defense, is likely). Speaking of high upside, Dragon Throne of Tarkir can get out of hand quickly when placing a Wall on it. Giving the equipped creature defender is barely relevant text in this deck, and it only takes a couple counters before the bonus is huge. It's also among the only ways to pump Ezuri, Claw of Progress, who otherwise sits around like an enchantment.

Finally, there's Feed the Pack, which can take a Wall that's been building up counters to no good purpose and create an army from it. ("This Wall was flavorful. Five stars; would eat again." - T. Pack.) If Feed the Pack is on the battlefield, Crenellated Wall lets any random Wall become four more Wolves than it otherwise would. That speaks to Feed the Pack's being frightening in this deck in which it's just fine elsewhere; the investment this deck makes in getting high toughness—and its concern for keeping a specific creature around—is much less than in other decks. It might be a tough decision to sacrifice Tornado Elemental for a bunch of Wolves; Wall of Tanglecord is much easier to part with.

Conclusion

Much as with my Xira Arien deck, I am a fan of entering high-powered games with an emphasis on innocuous defense. Innocuous defense sends the high-powered decks at each other, it favorably leverages the metaclock, and it lets you get long looks at opponents' decks before deciding how to invest your powerful plays. If all that appeals to you, or if G/U commanders have been too broken for you to feel safe playing them in your group, try building something like this. At the very least, you aren't likely to encounter the mirror match.