Grading Green Commander Staples of EDHREC | Which Green Staples are Worth Playing?

Which green staples from EDHrec are worth playing? We've got answers!
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We're looking at EDHrec staples, grading them and vocalizing how often we'd play them! Let us know if you enjoy this video in the comments!

[@hiddenleaf414]

I think a big reason Sylvan Library is rated higher to most people over all the other cards Joe named is by the time you have played and gotten advantage of any of the cards Joe mentioned you would have gotten to use Sylvan Library 2-4 times. That’s a lot of card advantage/deck manipulation before any of the other spells get their value.

[@AnExercisInThought]

CDH values cards as stand alone vs synergy. Sylvan Library is completely stand alone, no build around or board state required. There are very little board states that turn it off, so the average floor and ceiling are right next to each other. Synergy wins over stand alone with most builds and win conditions and that doesn't change till a certain level of what I've heard called "Card Quality" and average CMC of like 1.7-2.3.

[@Nr4747]

It really depends on if/how much library manipulation matters for your deck. If you're playing Courser of Kruphix, Oracle of Mul Daya, Augur of Autumn, Vizier of the Menagerie and maybe even Garruk's Horde, then Sylvan Library is obviously going to be insanely powerful, even in an otherwise less powerful deck and less combo-focused meta. If all you ever do with the Library is draw 2 extra cards per turn for 8 life per turn, it's still very powerful but can go wrong very quickly for obvious reasons - and that rate is also unlikely to be very sustainable. Then again, that's assuming roughly mid power levels in a normal game of Commander, far removed rom CEDH. If your table aims to win ultra fast mana into tutors into Tained Pact + Thassa's Oracle on turns 2/3 every game, library obviously is insane in a "stax-y" deck trying to counter that.

[@davidreeves4165]

N. , n. 🎉🎉🎉.

[@juice17776]

Lands is one of the most popular archetypes. Cultivate, Kodama's Reach, Harrow, and Crop Rotation are all insane in this archetype.

[@elipetrou9308]

Eh

[@Nr4747]

Cultivate and Kodama's Reach are really great cards in any mid-power level commander deck that's 3 or more colors, imho. It's a ramp spell that's also a 2-for-1, double fixes your mana base and guarantees your follow-up land drop. Those cards have saved me a number of times because I got to 5 mana despite not drawing more than 3 lands in my mid powered decks. I highly recommend them for anyone not aiming for a deck that isn't an 8-10/10 on the "casual" commander power level scale.

[@tommieboi707]

@@Nr4747 agreed I love cultivate. My play group likes to play longer games with hardly any tutors. Cultivate works great in my ur dragon deck.

[@jasonlevesque6340]

If an opponent plays a board wipe that destroys creatures, I'd rather have a Heroic Intervention than a counterspell. Sometimes you want a board wipe, and keeping your stuff on top of that is great.

[@Akario3]

Wrap in vigor is my budget version. Regenerate is underrated and not too many cards prevent regenerate anymore(yes i know wrath of god is a staple).

[@williamalexander7648]

​@@Akario3I agree entirely. Still thinking of what to take out in my Lathril deck to have both Heroic and Golgaru charm😅

[@GabetheFrog_]

I love how Explosive Vegetation is so bad the only time Joe could see himself using it is Vegetable Tribal lmao. Great video Nerds ❤️

[@aquanecromancer5776]

Bummer cause the art looks so good in that old Invasion border

[@NitpickingNerds]

It has just been out classed so much

[@eamonshea4566]

I recently built a list for the first time in years and got my friend to help me out. The deck had green so instinctively I added a boom veggies. My buddy laughed and called it boomer veggies and showed me a strict upgrade that had been printed. Cards sure have gotten better.

[@brandonbrooks779]

Okay but I'm literally gonna make a veggie tribal meme deck now, I need forests from the nissa duel deck with the lettuce looking set symbol

[@Jerhevon]

@@NitpickingNerds Agree. Arguments can be made for Skyshroud Claim, since you can get refunded GG right away. But I've been going to Verdant Mastery of late since it feels like the Cultivate version... the decks I have that want to ramp that hard still need to make their land drops too. Thus, like Cultivate, you get your ramp onto the battlefield AND have a land card now in hand to play.

[@DanG626]

I still love Cultivate and Kodama’s Reach. 3 mana to ramp one land is not good enough, but the fact that it guarantees your next land drop pushes it to very playable. You’re guaranteed your fifth land, which is a big deal for a lot of green decks. Especially if your commander is 5 cmc+

[@darthrevan8376]

If your commander is 5 cmc or more its great but below that I feel like its to slow.

[@Gweezy12]

The only thing i disagree with cultivate. Its 3 mana it replaces itself ramps and guarantees you hit you next land drop. So many times ive ramped early and not hit the land drop after and your opponents catch up.

[@jdogbemple1]

Krosan Grip is a high B+ for me because it's not only uncounterable, it also gets around activated abilities such as a fully loaded Aetherflux Reservoir when priority passes. Sure the moments where it just destroys something without anyone else having counters or actions possible makes it feel less great, but it can be such a game saver in my experience.

[@morgoth2425]

yea split second is actually insane

[@ThePestilentDefiler]

Grip can split second a sac outlet. For that reason alone its worth keeping.

[@wanderingwatcher3981]

Yeah, it also stops artifact related combos. That said, my play-group have banned a lot, including any effect that searches/shuffles, all infinite combos, stax and any alternate win/lose con (yes, even stuff like infect). Basiclly: we just play vanilla magic, nothing fancy. The games are longer and more about interacting efficently/out-valuing over time. So I´ve cut Grip because it's not mana efficent, which matter more when there are no combo wins.

[@Dracomandriuthus]

@@wanderingwatcher3981 One of my biggest issues with formats like that is that it's still *really* easy to break those formats. There's a bunch of graveyard decks and spellslinger decks that get access to *oodles* of cards without ever really caring about actual combos. So basically, the issue I've got is that formats like that engender really, really boring playstyles.

[@EJsGameplay]

I miss the little joke subtitles under your names in the beginning.

[@tonyantony6110]

It burns grey matter having to come up with those, especially now they make 3 to 4 full length videos each week... We all love them, but let it be a thing of the past

[@NitpickingNerds]

We love them but to have the higher quality image we had to get rid of them also coming up with new ones was impossible

[@EJsGameplay]

@@NitpickingNerds Fair enough, I guess they will rest in peace next to Disclaimer Guy.

[@mikeprokop1306]

You guys kill it every time. I’ve really re-evaluated my though process on deck building by watching your videos. Subscriber for life.

[@NitpickingNerds]

We appreciate that 😊

[@steven6666600000]

Sylvan Library is a 2 drop draw card that allows you to get WAY ahead of your opponents and makes sure you get your land drop while sacrificing some life. There's a reason why people hold it higher lol. It makes all the difference to be able to do all that turn 2 versus waiting until turn 4 to play Greater Good and then start drawing. Also all the mana ramp spells are key to a popular type of deck: landfall. You're also thinning the deck whenever you play those cards which will get you to your resources faster.

[@nmonthie9695]

I think there’s more to be said about Heroic Intervention vs. Counterspell. If you counter someone’s board wipe, you also save your opponents’ boards. If you Heroic Intervention, you likely catapult into the lead very easily. Sure, Counterspell has more targets over the course of the whole game but you should probably just play both cards. And you’re leaving out the fact that Heroic Intervention is 2 mana, that’s an insane rate for that type of effect.

[@EntheogenShaman]

This series has been fun, I'm gonna be sad when it's over.

[@NitpickingNerds]

Never ending

[@michaelbecker1093]

From a certain point of view, this could never end. They could do each of the two colors spells, three color spell, four color spells, five color spells, colorless spells (although those would probably just be artifacts). If they wanted to be really nitpicky they could do the top X in each color of instants, sorceries, colored artifacts, enchantments, and non-basic lands of a specific color

[@kylesavage4525]

You really shouldn't compare Heroic Intervention with Teferi's Protection since TP is broken while Intervention is fair but strong. Just like people should not compare wrath of god to Cyclonic Rift. Plus having multiple similar effects/role in the same deck like both Intervention and TP in a GWx deck is advisable for higher consistency of getting said effect. Totally agree with Beezy at not countering Harrow (Crop rotation is ofc a completely different case). Wasting a counter in order to get him to lose two cards (one of which he might want in his gy anyway) and prevent some ramping is not a good choice. Saving counters for the more important stuff is crucial. Plus compared to everyone on the table u have lost 1 card as well while two others haven't and u have made him a bit salty. Not a favourable situation imo. The only time i would counter Harrow is if there were some crazy landfall shenanigans going on but now we are talking very specific situations. I play Nature's claim in pretty much every deck i have. Even in those heavy on creatures coz 1 mana instant is just too good to pass imo. PS: Have u guys done an episode of this series about lands whether they are dual lands or utility lands? I think that'd be pretty interesting. Also gratz Beezy for quitting a job that u were not satisfied with and carving your own path in life. Best of luck to you.

[@mfitkin]

Thanks for these videos. I feel like I’m going to be referring back to them a lot. Harrow is an all-star in my friend’s Kalamax deck. It’s pretty easy for him to copy it twice. He doesn’t really do any landfall, it’s just a huge ramp spell for him.

[@RalpOwns]

Oh, great example of when "additional cost" is actually an upside!

[@Cudcudcudcudcuscuski]

Harrow is an A++ in temur spell slinging. Nets three lands in my kalamax deck on turn 5. All untapped!

[@NitpickingNerds]

Yeah that's nutso!

[@zackkelley2940]

@@NitpickingNerds Pretty decent in Wort too if you have even a couple creatures you can tap for conspire. I'm actually working on a Naya variant. Not sure who for the commander yet, but green has plenty of ways to get creatures anyway, and there's some Boros/Selesnya instants/sorceries that are decent that Wort' ability would work with. Also adds a fair bit of protection and support with the white add on.

[@tomascl82]

Cutivate and kodama's reach has another characteristic that you are not considering. They take 2 lands from your deck making it more consistent and thiner. Thanks to them your next draws are more likely to be cards that you can use and not just lands.

[@charyou3167]

Yeah but the percentage of thinning out two lands over one from just a better ramp spell is so insignificant it’s basically nonexistent

[@Akario3]

Problem is, unless you care about the card in hand, just play any of the 4 mana ramps(most of them with upsides to boot). Still a decent card, but not amazing.

[@DarioJZ15]

Highly disagree on Krosan Grip. The Split Second is the reason you play Krosan Grip and makes the 3 mana cost worth it.

[@kaba9926]

Don't forget Krosan grip doesn't only avoid counterspells, it also prevent anything stupid like sacrificing stuff in responde

[@HomeCookinMTG]

Split second is usually irrelevant though. It's a metagame call, but against your average deck nature's claim is just going to out preform it 9 times out of 10.

[@DarioJZ15]

@@HomeCookinMTG sure, it doesn’t always come up, and you might go multiple games where it doesn’t, matter, but the split second is the MAIN part of the card. Not every card in your edh deck has to be fully functional every game, you have room for around 3-5 situational cards unless you’re going for full optimization

[@CrazyMentor94]

just ordered some cards to modify my edh decks =) thanks for all the suggestions! You are the best

[@NitpickingNerds]

Thanks for listening 👂

[@p1k4nurxp13sr]

I 100% think Sylvan Library is an A. It plays more like a black card than a green card, and what it does over all of the other card draw options you mentioned, other than being a natural two mana, is that it draws cards ON ITS OWN, and is great at all stages of the game save the “I need an answer literally now” moments. It is incredible on rate, and UGx decks will run it alongside Rhystic/Remora/etc as it is the same caliber and quality of card as a consistent standalone engine as opposed to a synergy piece, and what it lacks in synergy it makes up for in raw power. Sure, a Guardian Project or Great Henge will do obscene things, but on a naked board in topdeck mode, Library guarantees that you can start pulling ahead, whereas the others will still leave you in topdeck mode. All of them are incredible, mind you, but Library is on rate with Ancestral Recall after three turn cycles. That’s a very difficult thing to do for any spell to begin with, and Library is at a low enough mana cost to make it happen on a consistent basis.

[@joeldykman7591]

Look at sylvan library like a 2 mana mirri's guile with the option to pay 4 life for each additional card you keep of the pile. There are better forms of conditional card draw based on most green archetypes. But much like sensei's divining top, its usefulness is enhanced by how skilled the player is.

[@harveydc5733]

The way Joe just put his hands out after saying "vegetable tribal, because it sounds like vegetable" did just make me spit my coffee over myself so thankyou 🤣

[@aciddaddy9532]

These videos are an awesome exercise in card evaluation and I definitely need the practice as a newer edh player. Thank you guys!

[@NitpickingNerds]

SUPER glad to offer this in a self-contained series!

[@theteddy1487]

Sylvan Library is the best draw engines in the game and easily tops every card listed in the video as being better choices.

[@dustinjohnson2224]

Yeah if it don't kill you 1st lol

[@theteddy1487]

@@dustinjohnson2224 that was supposed to say one of the best but pair it with Abundance and never lose any life at all lol

[@UltimateRareAncientGearGolem]

I'd say Harrow is actually a perfect fit for a solid B in a Lands deck it's probably the best Ramp Spell you have access to, fits that build-around requirement, if you have the built around it's insane.

[@richardjohnson8991]

I play Roiling Regrowth and Harrow in my Slogurk deck and I would rather draw either of them than kodama's reach or cultivate in 99% of situations. Those cards are very underrated build arounds

[@elipetrou9308]

Exactly, way better than the other 2 in almost all decks

[@JFPKMN]

Krosan Grip is so good in a heavy control meta

[@niks5463]

I feel like you're judging cards based off your own pod rather than the card itself. Sylvan Library at a B- but a llanowar elves at B+? Heroic Intervention is a debatable card to put in a deck? You also have to compare it to one of the best cards outside of the color (teferi's) to try to make your point? Why are people watching this?

[@smashog7500]

Some of us dislike todays' Age of Power Level that WoTC has rolled out. They are expressing what they like to play, and not like, and it is subjective of course. Why have you not figured out everything 'ranked' is a personal expression of like vs dislike. I very much like the discourse they are offering over their card selections.

[@OnreleTehMusicPlayer]

I agree

[@kennedynguyen2251]

I play heroic intervention in 3 decks that have green and it has yet to fail me. Either their using it wrong or they just don't like it on a personal level

[@smashog7500]

@@kennedynguyen2251 I have actually thrown away Sylvan Library as an perfect example of how I am treating overpowered cards in general. In the actual garbage. Along with cards like Ugin, and a myriad of others. The power level of MTG currently has made me stop playing the game until I can find ppl that like to play with cards older than the past 5 years. As a Day One player, Sylvan Library was a mistake, its not a green card at all. And since that printing, WoTC eventually created a PurpleGreen, cuz Green of today isnt actually Green anymore. I do not trade nor sell. If I pull a card out of a pack and its overpowered to me, it goes to the garbage. Not for trade, not for sale, but for the garbage. Its a personal thing.

[@niks5463]

@@smashog7500 that's fair and of course they can have their own opinions....but at the same time, you also have to be honest. If a new player watches this and thinks Sylvan Library is just okay and passes on it while the rest of their pod is running it...they're playing a different game from the start. No one wants to be the person no one's attacking since they're always behind. I understand Sylvan Library is powerful and people won't want to play it because of that but to not rate it appropriately is just dishonest to everyone watching. Heroic can save the game. Mana dorks are horrible if you don't get them within the first 2ish turns as they're slow and creatures are constantly removed (pod dependant of course but mine just kills everything for the sake of it). In the context of giving information to potential new players, giving an unbiased and honest opinion is important.

[@jkattack2640]

I think you guys are seriously underrating split second. There's tons of situatio its where its the only way to beat something. Powerful effects like survival of the fittest or other similar on board combos split second is great for a non-blue deck to have a chance to interact

[@benjaminking3677]

I understand their thought process on this. Most of the time if you’re in green you’re playing creature heavy decks. So it makes sense to cut things like harmonize for beast whisperer. My question is what would remain great even without a creature heavy synergy?

[@redblackdg]

Krossan grip saved me a shat ton versus and artifact deck. it deals with rhytic study and other problematic enchantments by not allowing youre opponent to interact. Thats HUGE your 1-2 mana remorval gets countered get recky

[@pookygallahad4749]

The fact that your guys’ pre-video intro is so brief is awesome. Y’all have a great format for videos and it’s only getting better

[@jean-baptistedelabroise5391]

I would argue a good enough reason to play sylvan library is if you have many fetch lands to shuffle your library. also I like heroic intervention over a counter sometimes against board wipes because the wipe will still ruin your opponent board and sometimes let you the highway to victory

[@flol.1741]

Counterspell instead of Heroic intervention? I get that C-spell is more flexible but Heroic will win you the game single-handedly if you can be the only person at the table with their full board after a board wipe.

[@uphillwalrus5164]

Green is in a weird spot right now where it's really good at supporting itself as a mono color but usually unnecessary combined with other colors. Green's role is usually to just provide your deck with mana dorks and a few staples like veil of summer and noxious revival. I hope green gets more interesting combos and synergies in the future. I think golgari is the only real exception to this atm

[@EY325]

I agree with most of the takes except for krosan grip there are a lot of "I win" artifact and enchantment interactions in edh for example altar of dementia combos. Its nice to have a removal spell that can't be responded to not an A+ card more like a B.

[@steven6666600000]

Grim/Basalt monolith paired with Rings is also a great target since that combo goes infinite.

[@nicksakowski2450]

There’s always is a point in your videos where you say something that puts a huge smile on my face. You guys are awesome! Well done 👏!

[@RobMedellin]

Heroic Intervention for me is B+. Even in simic I will play this and sometimes it's even better than a counterspell... If there's a boardwipe "OK, my stuff remains" and "even if you want to cast it again my stuff is still indestructible I don't need another spell". And it's not fair to compare it to Teferi's Protection because that's an A+++ and it's on white, the color of protecting.

[@bownskie]

Congratulations Beezy on being able to do KZbin full time!

[@NitpickingNerds]

Took me three years but we are HERE!

[@Atlas_Invictus]

Really missing these subtitles at the name title card ;_; Great content though as always!

[@RobMedellin]

Beast within is A- for me too. The floor is high, it will always be useful, it is never a dead card in your hand. And the ceiling is super high it can remove the biggest threat (granted, as long as it does not have indestructible, hexproof, etc.).

[@NitpickingNerds]

Beast Within is sweet, really good card, I just think it is more replaceable than a lot of the A's we talk about so I am slightly lower on it that Joe grade-wise. -Beezy

[@damienclairat1574]

I like the new changeling reclamation sage for 1G :) Great in tribal decks

[@Xepherys20]

I especially love Avenger of Zendikar as a follow up to Kodama of the east tree in my Aesi lands matter deck. Cast avenger for 7, make the 7 tokens, trigger Kodama, drop 7 lands, trigger Aesi, draw 7 cards. Gets real fun if I clone Avenger with something such as Progenitor mimic and works well with Psychic Corrosion.

[@AnnaJaneMTG]

The reason Cultivate is so much higher over Kodama's reach is that Arcane is so irrelevant that the huge glut of printings means people just have more lying around, and it has many more cooler aesthetic versions than Kodama's

[@faerie7dragon]

Krosan Grip can kill Tops. Punish people using rattlesnake effects. Kill combo pieces through counterspells and things that get around counterspells. It's a meta call. I love blowing up Greater Goods with it, then blowing up the board.

[@Jerhevon]

MMm. Wood elves are good. But I need to have a use for that body. In general I want Cultivate more if, IF, I want a 3-mana ramp spell. Wood Elves gets me to four lands and is a body. Cultivate ensures that I hit 5 lands. Making it great for an odd-mana play pattern. Ala T1 Birds - T2 cultivate - T3 5-drop. (Contrast with an even mana ramp pattern, ala T2 Rampant Growth - T3 verdant mastery/other 4 drop)

[@Jerhevon]

Also, if you're worldly tutoring for wood elves, something has gone horribly wrong.

[@rondecaro]

Positive vibes and congratulations on leaving your jobs to follow your heart. You guys have a great channel here.

[@NitpickingNerds]

We are really proud of it, thanks for the vibes :D

[@rondecaro]

I recently got out of Chef'n about 2 years ago, it's a wonderful and frightening experience. You guys are very good at what you are doing.

[@claygillman9351]

Thanks guys. I love these "Staple" videos. New to EDH, so this is really helpful.

[@emerson685]

On the discussion of Nature's Claim and Krossan Grip, I've actually found Broken Wings really useful. Maybe my meta just happens to have enough flyers to be useful, but the one extra mana above Nature's Claim is almost always negligible, while extra versatility to get rid of a Hushbringer or something like that is super awesome.

[@teddy7799wastaken]

I love how in depth you guys go, really useful stuff

[@NitpickingNerds]

Thanks! :D

[@danielg5247]

I've not been playing magic with the outside world since I was 15-16 years old in the JSS during Onslaught block lol For many years just build group game decks and buy sets of 4 of everything, and when I get together with some childhood friends I bust out my cards and we have hours of enjoyment lol I am 32 years old now and been buying cards since volcanic Island was 25 bucks. Never sold or even traded for that matter, only acquired more singles and booster boxes over the years... And only in the past year I converted my decks into commander. I just wanna let you know that you guys have made our games super fun! Thank you nerds!!

[@NitpickingNerds]

That's amazing to hear Daniel, thank you for commenting!

[@PepperMyr]

I run Harmonize in GW lands to refuel after dumping the lands in my hand into play. It's a nice glue card.

[@tanner3298]

Eh I’m having a tough time with sylvan library... turning your draw step into ancestral recall every turn sounds pretty strong. And it’s only two mana

[@gesjiosyncesta6251]

yep. I've been using Sylvan Library in my Ezuri Claw of Progress deck for years and it by far outperforms all the Creature synergy Card Draw spells like Beast Whisperer, Guardian Project and The Great Henge. Its only 2 mana and the other spells being 4+ mana are just too slow. My deck is more leaning towards Cedh but people often overvalue synergy.

[@faerie7dragon]

All you need is some life-gain or shuffle effects to make it overperform. People love blowing it up for they know I can get huge from it, even from just one activation.

[@joeldykman7591]

so, id harkon to ponder or brainstorm rather than recall. Mainly because that 4 life per additional card gets real damaging real quick. But if you have enough situational control over the game to justify it, then recall away.

[@guerrillagorilla6537]

Congrats on quitting your job and going all-in on this! Love to see the channel growing!

[@NitpickingNerds]

Hells ya!!!

[@vario6492]

Artifact staples? Staples of each color pair? 🤩🤩🤩 This series is great!!!

[@Revival_JamZ]

I agree with mostly everything bar Sylvan Library, card is really near tier S (1-2+ cards per turn, difficult to remove in general, CMC 2, fixes your topdecks), you don't see this level of power in 2 CMC cards.

[@summeryoung1026]

I heard "a is the cream of the crop" and was like whaaa I've never heard of that card 🤔 lol.

[@Domenico44055]

Worth noting that Beast Within got considerably better since its printing 10 years ago due to creatures power creep. A vanilla 3/3 wasn't something to fear back then as well but certainly it is not now.

[@NitpickingNerds]

Yeah a 3/3 without abilities is basically blank cardboard in EDH

[@nateridgewayjrjr7550]

Is there a place to see either decks built by you two or even gameplay with those decks? As a player coming over to Commander from Standard and Modern, I’d love to see some examples of decks built by non-cedh yet really solid players :)

[@thetogtube2]

check out 'I hate your deck' or 'the commander's quarters' for game play deck building... and of course THE COMMAND ZONE :) I would like some NN game play though.

[@chrishiggins2651]

Cant wait for the inevitable multicolor staple videos for every color combination!

[@DarthSenorQueso]

WHat do you use in green outside of cultivate and kodamas reach though? Creature ramp in my meta gets removed over big threats on board often.

[@StizzardLizzard]

You guys think split second is meh? Does your group just not play combo or control decks?

[@austinblankenship7631]

Nothing better to do on memorial day than listening to the nerds talk about 20 versions of rampant growth for a half hour 😎 Cant wait for modern horizons 2 videos! Ragavan is going to be my new commander for sure, and I REALLY want to hear your opinion on the new card liquimetal tongue, I think its the most undertalked about card on the set because it gives primary red decks a free way for all of the good artifact removal to be vindicates on a mind stone!

[@mazzaj89]

Harrow is very good on copy spells deck, like Kalamax and such.

[@NitpickingNerds]

That is a great place for it!

[@dac314]

Rishkar's Expertise ought to have that last slot. I do like Return of the Wildspeaker, but Rishkar's gives you that sweet draw and THEN 5-FREE MANA.

[@abderianagelast7868]

This comment is coming from midway through the video, so I haven't seen all the cards yet, but I did want to mention a corner case that wasn't brought up in the video. Heroic Intervention can be better than a counterspell in situations where your opponents also have relatively threatening board states and you want those removed while also keeping your stuff around. In those situations, HI can almost be a 2-mana Cyc Rift.

[@caputofa]

What about "pest infestation" replacing "reclamation sage"? THinking about do this...Have an Aesi, not focused in creatures but in flood mana (Natural Affinity and Sylvan Awakeing) are in the deck

[@RobMedellin]

Foundation breaker is another new rec sage. More flexible but still won't replace rec sage in many cases.

[@RobMedellin]

The reason that I'm not running pest infestation is because I run worldy tutor and sometimes other things that fetch creatures and pest infestation is not fetchable that same way.

[@caputofa]

@@RobMedellin Hmmm since I don't have wordly tutor, still think pest is better than rec sage, not only I can target more things but algo give me some body with a few life gain (Not that it matters a lot...). But I see got your point....

[@TheChill001]

harrow does have a certain place in like 5 color decks, not as an immediate staple, but whenever one has a duplicate land, they can just exchange that for the right colors. it works in my case since I try to avoid anything that can lock out nonbasic land like bloodmoon by having at least 2 of each basic land in my 5c decks

[@seanhaywoodhesseldahl5295]

"oh look, my Gaea's craddle is a forrest... Blur blur blur". You got me 😁👍🏻 Thank you for great content fellas.

[@NitpickingNerds]

Expect more tomorrow! But bring a tissue because it'll be a tearjerker

[@georgeakoury7915]

Sylvan Library goes in your temur spells deck

[@vaporeonlvl1009]

Also works well if you are cheating creatures with majael or illuna

[@EntheogenShaman]

Good for lifegain too, essentially no cost

[@nickmoser1866]

@@EntheogenShaman If you combine Sylvan Library with Underrealm Lich, you look 9 cards deep and draw 3 every turn.

[@EntheogenShaman]

@@nickmoser1866 I've been brewing an Ikra Tymna and they're both going in

[@nickmoser1866]

@@EntheogenShaman it’s a must have combo for any deck in those colors. Underrealm Lich is one of my favorite cards in the format. It hoses Nekusar and it even stops you from losing to decking out!

[@willstebbins5338]

I think the strongest use of Avenger of Zendikar that I have is in my Adrix and Nev tokens deck. Gets absolutely disgusting when your AoZ comes down with both Adrix and Nev and Esix Fractal Bloom out. Example: Play AoZ with 10 lands out, you get ten tokens. Have them enter as copies of AoZ off of Esix’s ability. This puts Adrix and Nev’s ability to the stack so you end up with 10*2=20 copies of Avenger. Each of those triggers on ETB, dumping 10 0/1 plants into play. Which then triggers Adrix and Nev again, dropping 20 0/1’s per copy of Avenger. If my math is right, that’s a total of 21 Avenger of Zendikars and 400 plant tokens. Which would become 1/2s after you drop a land… but in actuality they’re gonna become 22/23s since you have 21 copies of Avenger in play. And then, ideally, you drop an Ezuri’s Predation or an End-Raze Forerunners. Demands a board wipe, although it doesn’t really matter too much because this deck has plenty of ways to go exponential with triggers like that. Love my exponential deck!

[@kennedynguyen2251]

I feel like you guys should also recommend what cards to replace cards that you guys consider "not good" or low grade. There a lot of " what not to play" but that just leaves a lot of holes in my decks now if I adjust according to your suggestions

[@NitpickingNerds]

A lot of it depends on synergy. Some cards in this video fill in for the ones we'd cut

[@1991locked]

You are just missing the interaction between fetch and sylvan library. One of the best deck manipulation set-up

[@NitpickingNerds]

We are aware of the fetch interaction

[@mrtaco321123]

I think krosan grip goes up to a B If your commander is prone to get countered because you can hold priority and close the stack

[@danielwydola486]

You guys are so close!!! 50k 🤟🤟🤟🤟🤟🤟

[@darthrevan8376]

i personally play thrashing Brontodon over Reclamation Sage it has a really nice 3/4 body and even though its one more total mana to kill something it sends itself to the graveyard so in graveyard decks like Meren it is a little easier to play multiple times.

[@randyvalentine134]

Sylvan library in multicolored decks with fetchlands = grab the cards you want, then shuffle away the ones you don’t. Very powerful strategy. And if you’re running a fair amount of life gain (say Trostani, lathiel ect) then it just turns into a draw 3 cards every turn.

[@deadNdivine12]

Can't help, but have a Seedborn Muse in my Sisay deck.. So good.

[@Uefeti]

Seedborn muse, is an absolute autoinclude, in lots of control commanders. Its an autoinclude , and absurdly strong in kenrith, thracios, rashmi, kadeena, kinan, cruphix, eva, omnath (fisrt one), and Yisan of course. How dfq did it get a B-?

[@brandt_gaming555]

Another one of my favorite parts about Sylvan Library is that it allows me to manipulate top deck. Its great in Atla Palani!

[@say12thebear]

I know they're supposed to be "nitpicky" but they squirminess of Beezy and his arrogance on Joe's every opinion without giving alternatives just reminds me of gatekeepers. It's such an "ugh" attitude all around

[@zackkelley2940]

Sylvan Library isn't used for card draw. It's used for top deck manipulation with a bonus of card draw.^^

[@lorcanawithluke]

I did get rekt by a Krosan Grip many a time by the split-second thing. I dont think I'll be cutting those

[@nickvalentinetti6911]

Sylvan library getting less than an auto include is ludicrous

[@theteddy1487]

It's not like it's one of the best draw engines in the entire game. In green there's no better draw spell.

[@nickvalentinetti6911]

@@theteddy1487 not just that, but for 2 mana...they said a bunch of cards were bad because of mana...oh guardian project...fuck 4 mana guardian project that requires fuel to draw you cards...

[@theteddy1487]

@@nickvalentinetti6911 I bet they gave Rhystic Study an A+ though 🙄

[@nickvalentinetti6911]

@@theteddy1487 I mean, rhystic study is huge adv for 3 mana with no drawback to you other than other players paying the extra, because players hate doing it. I won't argue rhystic study is an auto include, but sylvan library should be too.

[@theteddy1487]

@@nickvalentinetti6911 unlike Study Library is guaranteed draw. Study is amazing but if I want draw I'd rather have Library.

[@melles1097]

Not to put too fine a point on it, but if you guys rate Krosan Grip a C, you clearly don't play in a combo meta. That card is *essential* for escaping certain combo situations. All those "better" removal spells cannot stop someone from going off with Mind Over Matter; Krosan Grip can. And I don't even think this is a CEDH thing, I have seen playgroups die from the life getting sucked out of players sick of seeing the same nearly uninterruptible loops. Please do not tell your audience to cut their Split Second cards, lest you make them into combo food.

[@Hysube]

I always felt that cultivate/rampant growth being a staple is because they are so common

[@Turkin4tor]

I run Acidic Slime in a Chulane blink deck as an annoying good win con. Blink it a ton and blow up all your opponents lands

[@dustinjohnson2224]

Split second help so much when you playing against multiple player

[@freefoodftw]

sylvan library straight up combos with Abundance to draw you 3 cards a turn. Also Joe needs glasses. The squinting makes me sad. I love all of your content keep it up!

[@charles-andrevincelette9009]

Everything is rated as if it was played in a karador deck. I like what you do, but you are thinking a little narrow, i think.

[@karimgrygiel5267]

I actualy play acidic slime in my Yarok deck and in this deck it is very good, and when you start to blink it it become even better and cause it can destroy lands with deadeye nabigator and peregrine drake it's a win conditions . Very cool card imo .

[@tulo478]

I straight up made a food deck where everything had to be food so I needed explosive veggies for the ramp LOL. Can't believe I got called out so hard.

[@andynonya1490]

I honestly prefer using Farseek over cultivate

[@NitpickingNerds]

Same!

[@steveme6664]

You guys really need to do an episode where you look at the average grade each color gets and talk about what means for the color, who is the strongest or weakest with this metric vs who you think is strongest

[@dustinjohnson2224]

Run a Riku of two Reflections, you will grade alot of those card different. Ramp in that deck is all A then your top decking all your good cards

[@orgazmo686971]

Great video, it was about green. Could've used more Grave Titan though.

[@NitpickingNerds]

He'll get his time to shine

[@MrArlatan]

Cultivate and Kodama's are both mvp in my monogreen stompy

[@apiranha1]

Harmonize has its home in my Toothy deck:)

[@NitpickingNerds]

Do you play concentrate?

[@connoringram4948]

@@NitpickingNerds i play harmonize in one deck only and that is my riku thousand year storm. Reason being its got wilderness rec growth spiral explore a bunch of sorcery ramp stuff so im more likley to have green and red mana for pirates pullage or ritual stuff. I dont run concentrate but i do run that one from mh tahats draw 3 an discard a card. My blue cards tutor for spells and untap my lands. It probably could be upgraded but considering i loot so much with my red spells and its a combo deck harmonize feels like the rigjt power level. Plus i love the art

[@apiranha1]

@@NitpickingNerds I don’t! But only out of ignorance, I’m still in the refining stages. But the main concept is I use him as a draw engine (of course) which is activated at will by “return creature to your hand” like run away together:) (love that card for the theme of an imaginary friend haha). And then one win condition is “if you draw your last card you win”. I really wish there were more blink effects in blue though...so much better than return to hand. Do you feel draw 3 for 4 mana cost is worth it? When you also get 6 +1+1 counters from Pir, I feel like it’s a ton of value. Especially when those counters turn into 6 more draws lol. You do draw cards individually right? Like when it says draw 3...it’s not all at once? The trigger activates on each individual card draw correct?

[@johnathanrhoades7751]

So...what ARE you playing for ramp if you're cutting rampant growth and all 3 mana ramp? Just Steve, three visits, and nature's Lore with mana dorks? I'm looking for 10 or so ramp.

[@stormrose8839]

I really hope you two rank staples for the the allied and enemy pairs!

[@NitpickingNerds]

We will do multicolor

[@willpatterson7125]

Gonna have to really disagree with the sylvan library take, drawing two extra cards every turn for two mana is always worth it, even on lower power levels.

[@everythingisbizzaaaaaro3694]

Sylvan Library plus Underrealm Lich = Amazeballs.

[@HomeCookinMTG]

@@everythingisbizzaaaaaro3694 It's really sweet w/ Tomorrow Azami's familiar, you just get to keep all the cards lol.