Normally, I want every block listed on my “Magic on a Budget” page to have three feature decks, showcasing what one, or preferably multiple, cards of the block in question can do. This is not always that easy, seeing as the Mirage block still only has two examples since the cards that I find interesting are normally too expensive while the rest is either boring or power-crept into oblivion. Well, the first Ravnica block only features two decks at the moment, and with ten themes in form of the guilds of Ravnica there is really no good excuse for not making a third one. So, here it is: A White-Green, and therefore Selesnya-themed, deck that is going to make use of an enchantment that seems to never have had its moment in the sun; which I am trying to change.
The picture up top gives you an idea of what I want to focus the deck on: “Glare of Subdual“, an enchantment for four mana that allows you to tap a creature you control in order to tap target artifact or creature. Not only is this a card that I thought was cool way back when it first released, but it also seems like people are not sharing my opinion on this one since its one of the Rares from the original Ravnica block that actually went down in price. Now, it was never that expensive, but going from around 2€ to the 0.40€ it costs now is already a solid price drop and enough for me to give this card a go. To make the most out of “Glare of Subdual“, you need to have more creatures than the opponent so you can keep their board in check while your beaters can run through. This is what I think is so interesting about the card: Depending on the situation, it can be both a Control and an Aggro option.
Selesnya as a guild seems to pretty much invite anything into its ranks: Centaurs, humans, dryads, elementals, but also lots of Saproling creatures. Now why those are mingling around lore-wise I cannot say, but this sure means that White-Green has gotten some solid token support, both producing tokens as well as giving them more stats, making them a resource via Convoke, or even just being around to give your “Scion of the Wild” some extra power. That is the other change I am going to introduce to the deck in 2024, since “Scion of the Wild” was power-crept by quite a few creatures in White-Green. Do not get me wrong, giving this thing Trample when you control a rammed board is still going to hurt, but other creatures manage to cost even less and do additional stuff on top of being a huge beater, which is crazy to me.
There are a few engines this deck will need in order to function, so let us start with the primary resource I am going to work with: Tokens. We do need lots of creatures to keep the opponent in check via “Glare of Subdual“, but since this is going to be a list centered on tokens they can do as you are about to see. So, the main token producers are as follows: “Selesnya Evangel” might seem weak at first but can produce a steady stream of tokens with some excess mana, while “Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage” can populate when necessary. However, the main token production happens in the hand of non-creature cards, a trio of my absolute favorites: “Fists of Ironwood” as a “Raise the Alarm” for Saproling tokens that also happens to double as an enchantment that gives Trample to the big beaters. “Scatter the Seeds” as a solid token producer that can be made cheaper by tapping tokens that are already available. And, of course, “Sprout Swarm” as a token producing card that you can constantly recycle once the board is filled enough.
Tokens in combination with “Glare of Subdual” might hinder the opponent, but they do not win the game without some solid hands do the fighting. Luckily, I am spoiled for choice: “Woodland Champion” grows with every token entering the battlefield and can grow out of control rapidly. “Shanna, Sisay’s Legacy” is basically “Scion of the Wild” but for one less mana and with Hexproof, making her one hell of a deal for the deck. “Bess, Soul Nourisher” has a similar approach to “Woodland Champion“, but while she also grows with 1/1 tokens entering the battlefield, she will give her bonus to all your 1/1 creatures when attacking which could be huge. “Queen Allenal of Ruadach” is another creature that takes the “Scion of the Wild” approach, but to bolster her stats even further she creates additional Soldier tokens whenever tokens are created, filling your board even further. And to give every creature the potential of being a big beater, there is “Sigil of the Nayan Gods” which can even be cycled if you have no need for it.
Now, there is also the option of having loads of creatures but none of the beaters for whatever reason. However, that is hardly a problem when we can just weaponize the army of small tokens into a deadly force. “Selesnya Guildmage” is a pretty vanilla way to do it, which either produces more tokens or buffs your board by +1/+1, which depending on the number of creatures you control might already be bad for the opponent. But there is more: “Wilt-Leaf Liege” gives +1/+1 to mono-colored creatures and +2/+2 to anything White-Green, while “Arcus Acolyte” can provide every creature without a +1/+1 counter with an inexpensive way to get one. “Sigil Captain” boosts your 1/1 creatures to 3/3 by giving them two +1/+1 counters when they come into play, while “King Darien XLVIII” gives a flat +1/+1 to everything except himself, while his noble sacrifice can protect all your tokens from harm. And if you are tired of interesting solutions, you can just play “Collective Blessing” and go gorilla mode on your opponent that way.
Now, there is also token tech that gives you more options but does not necessarily fall under any of the themes I listed above. “Essence Warden” works in any Green deck, but having so many creatures entering the battlefield means that you will gain life points like crazy, which is definitely a good thing. “Utopia Mycon” not only slowly produces more Saproling tokens and serves as a decent early-game blocker, but can also turn any Saproling into mana, which can be used for all kinds of things. “Conclave Guildmage” is the Selesnya variant of “Elvish Herder“, giving Trample to whoever needs it for little cost while also being able to produce more tokens. “Jasmine Boreal of the Seven” might seem like an odd addition, but since your creature tokens do not have abilities they will possibly become unblockable to the opponent, which spells bad news seeing how many tokens this deck plans on making. And if everything fails, you can be sure that “Fecundity” is going to give you a lot more cards than the opponent. And if I put all that into a deck, it would probably look something like this:
Creatures (20):
2x Essence Warden (G)
2x Utopia Mycon (G)
2x Woodland Champion (1G)
1x Selesnya Guildmage (W/G W/G)
1x Arcus Acolyte (WG)
1x Conclave Guildmage (WG)
2x Selesnya Evangel (WG)
1x Shanna, Sisay’s Legacy (WG)
1x Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage (WG)
1x Bess, Soul Nourisher (1WG)
1x Jasmine Boreal of the Seven (1WG)
2x King Darien XLVIII (1WG)
1x Queen Allenal of Ruadach (WWG)
1x Wilt-Leaf Liege (1 W/G W/G W/G)
1x Sigil Captain (1WGG)
Spells (19):
2x Swallow Whole (W)
4x Fists of Ironwood (1G)
2x Sprout Swarm (1G)
2x Fecundity (2G)
1x Sigil of the Nayan Gods (1WG)
2x Glare of Subdual (2WG)
2x Scatter the Seeds (3GG)
1x Collective Blessing (3WGG)
2x Flower/Flourish (W)|(4WG)
1x Hour of Reckoning (4WWW)
Lands (21):
10x Forest
10x Plains
1x Vitu-Ghazi, the City-Tree
Admittedly, there is not as much removal in the deck as I would like, but with “Glare of Subdual” the deck might be able to tap away any meaningful threats before they can do any harm; and keep them tapped for all eternity. But there are also nice cards that simply did not make the cut for the final deck while still providing interesting effects. “Ancient Imperiosaur” can become an utterly massive creature if you bring it into play with just Convoke to pay for it. “Voice of Resurgence” is an utterly stupid card that basically produces “Scion of the Wild” tokens when things happen, but did massively drop in price over the years which makes semi-purchasable now. Speaking of “Scion of the Wild“, there is “Wayfaring Temple” which is exactly the same creature but Populates when it deals combat damage to a player. And “Conclave Mentor” can make spreading +1/+1 counters much more profitable. On the spell front, there is “Join Shields” as a counter to field-wipes, and “Rite of Harmony” as a massive draw option if you set up the field right. And in case you want a little bit more jank, it should be relatively easy for the deck to transform “Westvale Abbey” into “Ormendahl, Profane Prince” since you should have five creatures to sacrifice with all the Saprolings you make. So, this is my take at a Selesnya token deck, which is not the most budget-friendly deck I have ever built but should still be in reach for most players.
Cubic Creativity 