Morning on the Riesengebirge by Caspar David Friedrich (1810-11). Mowu, Loyal Companion by Kimonas Theodossiou.

Over the past few years I'm one of many EDH players who have been slowly nudging our lists down towards lower mana curves, faster, more explosive end games and the ability to compete against higher powered decks. Not every deck I share with you here fits that description, but over the past five or so years our format has continued to speed up and I've been as guilty as anyone else of trying to keep up.

Not every commander has what I like to call a high ceiling. Some legendary creatures provide interesting deckbuilding challenges, rewarding gameplay experiences, and even an abundance of personality, but will never lend themselves to the kind of high-octane EDH games that many of us have grown to love. Today's commander is one of those cards.

Today's commander... is a mana dork.

She's not the kind of legendary mana dork that can break its way into the upper reaches of our format, like Selvala, Heart of the Wilds or even Marwyn, the Nurturer. Those two elves can tap for an awful lot of mana and deckbuilders have found ways to break them wide open. They are a lot of fun, but there is surely fun to be had at every power level in this great format.

Today I may not break this commander wide open, but I'm going to find out how powerful a deck I build around this unassuming mana dork. Let's take a closer look at her.

This legendary Elf Druid Scout is well costed at three mana, one of which must be Green. Gwenna, Eyes of Gaea can tap to make two mana in any combination of colors, but as the commander of an EDH deck she'll likely only need to make Green. That mana can only be spent to cast creature spells or activate abilities of creatures. Whenever I cast a creature spell with power 5 or greater, I get to put a +1/+1 counter on Gwenna and untap it.

Gwenna isn't going to be tapping and untapping to generate insane amounts of mana, and I don't think she's going to be going infinite any time soon. She is begging to lead a casual deck that is loaded up with creatures that have five or more power. Gwenna looks at their power when I cast them, so I don't see much room for Hydras or creatures that will get +1/+1 counters when they enter the battlefield. I do see a place for creatures that have built-in cost reduction.

Yes my friends, this is a stompy deck that will play fair and will try to hit hard. It will need a meta where the games go a little longer and combos hit the stack a little less often. I don't mean to cast aspersions on either high or low powered metas - both can be a heck of a lot of fun, but this list is more likely to play well in the latter than the former.

Ramp, Ramp and more Ramp

Gwenna is going to be playing a lot of creatures with a real emphasis on creatures with a power of five or more. My mana curve is going to be higher than in my average deck. To be able to cast all of these big stompy creatures I'm going to need a lot more than just my commander to make mana.

I'm not running any fast mana beyond Sol Ring, but I am loading up with both mana dorks and ramp spells. From one-drops mana dorks to land tutors like Sakura-Tribe Elder, Solemn Simulacrum and Burnished Hart, creatures play a large part in this deck rolling into the mid-game. I only ran a few mana dorks that are above one mana, but Selvala, Heart of the Wilds and Drumhunter are also in the list. The former can go infinite fairly easily, but if that was the focus of this deck I'd just be running her in the command zone. The latter gives me card draw if I make it to my end step and control a creature with power 5 or greater.

I've also got cost reducers like Emerald Medallion, Krosan Drover, Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma, and Cloud Key. To some extent cost reduction is better than ramp because it will apply to every qualifying spell you cast that turn. If you save one mana on your green spells and you cast five 2-drops in a turn for a total of five mana, you just got half off your order! This deck is more likely to play 2-3 five power creatures in a single turn, but the approach still works. If I can untap my commander and use it for each of those creatures, you can look at it as repeatable cost reduction on those creatures.

Cards that care about my devotion make sense. Karametra's Acolyte, Nyx Lotus and Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx should be able to produce a lot of mana if I've managed to play out enough creatures. I'm only playing those three devotion-related cards, but they shouldn't be underestimated. When you're in a single color those color pips in your permanents can really add up.

A Matter of Momentum

Producing a lot of mana is all well and good, but this deck is going to need a way to keep up with my mana production. Having a higher mana curve will help with that to some extent. Drawing into high mana value creatures in the early game will slow me down and there will be games where I don't draw what I need and don't have much of a game. There will also be games where I ramp early, play out some mana dorks, play my commander and set myself up with ways to draw cards. Card draw is how I'll be able to keep that momentum going into the mid game and late game.

This is one of those decks that is going to want to go a bit wide and go a bit tall. I'm not spitting out tokens and my mana curve isn't a low one, so this isn't going to flood the field with elves or druids (or scouts?). I'm also not going to be swinging with a 200/200, made unblockable with Rogue's Passage, which is in today's list. I'm going to be playing a relatively fair game even if I'm running some powerful cards.

All that means that I can focus on card draw based upon the number of creatures I control AND based upon the power of my creatures. Regal Force is a fantastic way to pull into more cards, giving me a draw for each Green creature I control. I've got Temur Sabertooth in the list so that I can bounce and re-cast Regal Force and really go crazy. Rishkar's Expertise will draw me cards equal to the greatest power among creatures I control, and will let me cast a spell with mana value five or less. I'm also running Shamanic Revelation, which looks at how many creatures I control and will gain me 4 life for each one that has power 4 or greater.

I'm also running card draw based on playing individual creatures. Guardian Project, Soul of the Harvest and The Great Henge will give me a draw when a nontoken creature enters the battlefield under my control. Beast Whisperer will give me a draw when I cast a creature spell and Lifecrafter's Bestiary does the same if I'm able to pay an extra Green mana.

It's worth mentioning that I'm also running a short list of creatures with cascade. Apex Devastator, Annoyed Altisaur and Maelstrom Colossus all have that spicy keyword. A spell with cascade will have me exile cards from the top of my library until I hit a nonland card that costs less. I get to cast that card without paying its mana cost. Cascade is not card draw, but getting a free spell, or FOUR, in the case of Apex Devastator, is still great value and a great way to keep this deck's momentum going. It's also fun! What will I cascade into? I'll have no idea, but I'll almost always enjoy cascading into something.

Kodama of the East Tree is also worth calling out. This legendary Spirit will let me put a permanent onto the battlefield whenever another permanent enters the battlefield that wasn't put there by Kodama's ability. That means I could cast Apex Devastator, cascade into Regal Force, load up my hand and then follow up every permanent ETB with another permanent as long as it costs less.

Dropping Bombs

This deck is not loaded up with the kinds of bombs that Commander players truly hate to see hit the field. I'm not playing the green Praetors and I'm not playing any Colossi or Eldrazi Titans. I am hoping to load up my battlefield with creatures that are big enough to be a headache and a threat to win a fair game of Magic. "Fair" is a loaded term, but the bottom line is that I'm not planning to combo off and I'm not even trying to close out my games with Triumph of the Hordes.

With your expectations adjusted to fit the power level of this deck, what kinds of creatures am I talking about?

Creatures with power 5 or higher, of course...

Some of them have built in cost reduction. If I've got five forests on the battlefield, I can tap Gwenna to make two mana, cast Tangle Golem for two, and untap my Gwenna so I can use her again. Tangle Golem could even be free if I've got enough Forests, so I've got to make sure to tap her to bank that two mana before playing it. Thrasta, Tempest's Roar costs a full three mana less to cast for each other spell cast this turn. Primeval Protector costs 1 less to cast for each creature that my opponents control.

I'm also running Ghalta, Primal Hunger, which costs X less to cast where X is the total power of creatures I control. Ancient Stone Idol, which costs 1 less to cast for each attacking creature, has flash so it can be cast while I attack or in response to someone else's attack, even if those attacking creatures aren't headed my way.

While I promised I wasn't running Praetors, Titans and Colossi (oh my), I do want to have legitimate combat threats. Some of my creatures have pretty big bodies and can present a real threat.

They'll also make for some decent blockers and if I can give them vigilance, they'll be able to do both. Beacon Behemoth will let me pay 1 mana to make target creature with power 5 or greater have vigilance until end of turn. I can use that politically as it does not specify that I have to control the creature, but I probably wouldn't do that unless I had a really good reason. Spearbreaker Behemoth is indestructible and can let me pay 1 mana to make target creature with power 5 or greater indestructible until end of turn. Again, that can be used politically. It can also be used to stop someone from destroying (not sacrificing) a creature I don't control if that would be helpful for some reason.

Stonehoof Chieftain is the kind of creature I might need more of in this list. With Stonehoof on the field, when a creature I control attacks, it gains trample and indestructible until end of turn. That lets me swing without worrying about deathtouch or chump blockers. Plenty of my creatures are big but don't have evasion, so ways to give trample or get damage through could make a big difference in how games play out.

Gwenna Stompy Green Goodstuff

This deck has a smattering of removal and I'm running Heroic Intervention and Archetype of Endurance to try to protect my stuff. My plan is to flood the zone with as many creatures as possible and win through combat. I might be able to throw out a Return to Nature to blow up a Bolas's Citadel or some combo piece, but this list isn't really aiming to keep up with combo decks. It's just a simple and hopefully efficient and powerful combat deck. If I'm able to play this online or in paper I'll be interested to see if my mana production outpaces my ability to draw into and play out my creatures. If that's the case, I may want to pivot towards more permanents that allow me to pay mana into them so I've got something to do with extra mana.

One of this deck's strengths is going to be that it isn't a "linchpin" deck. By that I mean that if Gwenna is sidelined my basic game plan is still available. Sure, I'll be sad to not be tapping her for two mana and untapping her when I cast a creature with five or more power, but this deck's wincon doesn't require her to be on the field. She'll make it easier to play out more big creatures, but it'll be nice to not have a single card or commander that my deck depends upon.

Gwenna EDH | Commander | Stephen Johnson

• Commander (1)
• 1 Gwenna, Eyes of Gaea

• Creatures (39)
• 1 Acidic Slime
• 1 Ancient Bronze Dragon
• 1 Ancient Stone Idol
• 1 Annoyed Altisaur
• 1 Apex Devastator
• 1 Archetype of Endurance
• 1 Avatar of Might
• 1 Beacon Behemoth
• 1 Beast Whisperer
• 1 Burnished Hart
• 1 Conduit of Ruin
• 1 Drumhunter
• 1 Elvish Mystic
• 1 Fyndhorn Elves
• 1 Ghalta, Primal Hunger
• 1 Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma
• 1 Karametra's Acolyte
• 1 Khalni Hydra
• 1 Kodama of the East Tree
• 1 Krosan Drover
• 1 Llanowar Elves
• 1 Maelstrom Colossus
• 1 Nyxbloom Ancient
• 1 Old Gnawbone
• 1 Primeval Protector
• 1 Reclamation Sage
• 1 Regal Force
• 1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
• 1 Selvala, Heart of the Wilds
• 1 Silverback Elder
• 1 Solemn Simulacrum
• 1 Soul of the Harvest
• 1 Spearbreaker Behemoth
• 1 Steelbane Hydra
• 1 Stonehoof Chieftain
• 1 Tangle Golem
• 1 Temur Sabertooth
• 1 Thrasta, Tempest's Roar
• 1 Vigor

• Instants (4)
• 1 Beast Within
• 1 Harrow
• 1 Heroic Intervention
• 1 Return to Nature

• Sorcery (7)
• 1 Broken Bond
• 1 Cultivate
• 1 Kodama's Reach
• 1 Nature's Lore
• 1 Rampant Growth
• 1 Rishkar's Expertise
• 1 Shamanic Revelation

• Enchantments (5)
• 1 Growing Rites of Itlimoc
• 1 Guardian Project
• 1 Kenrith's Transformation
• 1 Lignify
• 1 Unnatural Growth

• Artifacts (6)
• 1 Cloud Key
• 1 Emerald Medallion
• 1 Lifecrafter's Bestiary
• 1 Nyx Lotus
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 The Great Henge

• Lands (38)
• 33 Forest
• 1 Boseiju, Who Endures
• 1 Castle Garenbrig
• 1 Mosswort Bridge
• 1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 1 Rogue's Passage

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The one card I slightly regret leaving out of the list is Gaea's Cradle. I even thought about building Gwenna as "Gaea Tribal" in part as an excuse to run that powerful land, but I generally assume people can't afford one and aren't in metas where they proxy cards.

If you did want to try to power this list up and you weren't just going to pivot to Selvala Brostorm, you'd want to add in Gaea's Cradle. You'd also want to throw in Triumph of the Hordes, Avenger of Zendikar and Craterhoof Behemoth. While I tire of that last pairing, it's hard to deny how well they can work to close out a game. You might also want to throw in the Green Praetors, some Eldrazi Titans and other higher end beaters that can really cause problems for your tablemates.

If you wanted to tune this deck down or make it easier on your wallet, you'd be looking at dropping out The Great Henge, Old Gnawbone, Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx and Nyxbloom Ancient, among others. You could end up with a playable budget list fairly easily, and there's an argument that high powered green staples don't really have a place in a deck like Gwenna. There are lots of cheap, fun, overcosted 5 power creatures you could run in Gwenna, and you might even find a tribal deck that fits into what she wants to do. Beast tribal is where I'd start looking, though more Beasts weigh in at 4 power than in any other weight class.

Final Thoughts

When I started working on this list I was somewhat at a loss for what direction to go. I looked at a few interesting ideas that didn't end up having enough cards to be viable. Green Dragon tribal would have solved the old problem of green decks not dealing with flyers very well. Hydra tribal was a non-starter because Gwenna looks at the creature's power when cast and too many of them have zero power. Treefolk tend to have higher power values than toughness. Elementals and Beasts weren't tempting enough to give serious consideration.

I ended up with a mishmash of green goodstuff and staples, and to be honest - that's fine.

A lot of fun decks are built that way, with the best of the cards you have lying around in your Magic collection. I think it'll pretty much play as advertised. It's going to play a "fair" game, whatever that means, and there will be times where your mana production and card draw combine to let you spiral out of control in a great, glorious, Green avalanche of creatures. There will also be games where you don't hit enough lands or ramp and only draw into creatures you can't afford to cast yet. If your tablemates take pity on you and you make it to the mid or late game you should eventually be able to create enough of a board presence to be in the game.

Ultimately, we're all just looking for decks that can play in the meta that we play in to allow us to have fun and occasionally win a game or two. As a content creature that gives me something of an easy out. Any deck I share with you is going to fit into "the right meta". As easy as that is to say, I think there's some truth in there. Our format is expansive and wide ranging and there's a table out there for every deck.

That's all I've got for today. Thanks for reading and I'll see you next week!