cEDH Deck Tech: Disa, The Restless - Tarmogoyf!

A while ago, I got a Disa, The Restless as a gift, and, ever since, I've been trying to make her work. After weeks of playing with this deck, I can confidently say that it is not exactly tier 1. However, that doesn't mean there's no space for Tarmogoyf Tymna in the meta!

This list leans heavily on a questionable strategy, but, still, Disa makes it viable, as she turns combat damage into a real win condition. The star at the center of this entire list is obviously her, Disa, the Restless, and the main game plan is simple: either you play your combo and win all at once, or dominate the game with an avalanche of Lhurgoyfs. In a meta full of ultra-efficient lists, this strategy could stand out considerably.

Before we move on, I need to mention two things. Though I tried to be creative and change as much as I could, I used jhintzy's "Steady as She Goyfs" as a base. If you see them around, give them my thanks! Without their original list, I wouldn't be able to get to such a refined deck!

The main idea behind this deck is putting Disa in play and attacking with creatures. Disa is critical to both put pressure on the opponents' life totals and combo. As you'll see later on, you can't do either of these two things without her in play. But, seriously, don't pay too much attention to your combo or your speed. In slower matches, your tokens will start dominating the table quite fast.

Unlike any typical cEDH strategy, which often relies on winning fast and efficiently or filling your hand with cards to find a Rhystic Study, this deck can focus on putting pressure on the opponents' life totals instead. This essentially will force them to make rushed decisions, and this, in turn, will give you enough space to try to win the game. Once again, you'll need Disa to make all of this work. All the main strategies in this list center around her, and, without her in play, the deck itself becomes quite weak. Without Disa, you can't play any combos or build a strong board.

With this in mind, your best plan is to put Disa in play as fast as possible, either on turn 2 or 3, and protect her or recast her whenever necessary. Oh, and remember: this is a midrange deck that doesn't play blue. This means you probably won't have interaction to prevent another player from winning. It's all part of the game, and you can only do so much with a Red Elemental Blast and an occasional Endurance.

Disa Decklist

Here's the list we're working with:

Pyrogoyf: The Grind Monster

I must confess. When other players told me Pyrogoyf is a monster on the board, I didn't believe it, but it's true. If your match is running a bit slow and this card is on your board, you'll probably win, even if you don't have a clear combo to play.

Pyrogoyf can dominate entire games, particularly against commanders like Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy. Once Disa is in play, this small, flaming Lhurgoyf will turn into a real nightmare for any strategy based around the board. It will deal a lot of damage quite fast, put a lot of pressure on your opponents as a result, and force them to try to win as fast as possible. As they do, they'll often end up giving you openings to tip the scales in your favor.

But, honestly, whenever I kept this card on the board, I won with combat damage alone. Believe in this Goyf.

Mulligans

At first glance, it might seem like you can't mulligan aggressively with this list, but actually, that's not exactly true. Your opening hand just needs to put Disa in play fast and do something on the same turn or the following turn. A turn 3 with Disa and an attacker is already an excellent starting point, and this deck makes this possible. Of course, you won't be able to create card advantage with her, but, still, she is incredibly powerful and fast, so she makes up for what she lacks in value with sheer strength.

On the other side, if your opening hand can't play Disa on the board early on, it needs to have another clear game plan that can stand on its own two feet. Usually, this includes a tutor or maybe a Six, which, by the way, is quite powerful in this list.

Below, you'll find a few of the most interesting interactions in this list, both because of what they give you or because they're very unusual strategies. They show how this deck can work really well and put a lot of pressure on the opponents even though it isn't like other traditional cEDH decks.

All of these combos were, as far as I know, created by the player who originally built this entire list, Jhin.

Hermit Druid Combo

This is the most classic and straightforward combo of all. With Survival of the Fittest and a Mountain in play, any creature in your hand, and five mana available (four of them green), start by discarding any creature to get Anger.

Next, discard Anger to get Hermit Druid, and put it in play. If you can get haste, like through Anger itself on the graveyard (a Concordant Crossroads or a Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler also work), you can activate it immediately and win on the same turn.

All you need to do is use it, mill your entire deck, resolve Disa's triggers, do the math, and win. Believe me, it's game over.

Breath of Fury Combo

This combo centers around Breath of Fury, an enchantment that seems pathetic but actually wins games in this list. All you need is Disa, a way to give haste to the board, and at least one opponent open to attacks.

Enchant a creature with Breath of Fury and attack. When Disa's token enters play, transfer this enchantment to it.

This will give you another combat phase, another token, and so on and so forth. Yeah, you'll have as many combat phases as you want. If you have evasion or trample, it'll be even easier to win.

Infinite Plant Combo with Insidious Roots + Tortured Existence

This interaction is very common in casual decks, but it actually scales very quickly. With Insidious Roots and Tortured Existence in play, a creature in your hand, another in your graveyard, and black mana, activate Tortured Existence's ability. This will let you discard a creature and return another to your hand.

In turn, this will activate Roots, create a Plant token, and put +1/+1 counters on all others. If you have a way to create mana with these plants, like with a Phyrexian Altar or an Earthcraft, you can keep going as much as you want. You'll quickly be able to take over the board with invasive Plants.

Greater Good

Greater Good turns any Goyf into several cards, so it is very obviously excellent in this list. If you sacrifice a creature like Terravore or Necrogoyf, you'll already draw a decent number of cards, so when you start doing this again and again with Disa in play, you'll quickly spiral out of control.

When you discard more Goyfs with Greater Good, Disa will activate and bring them back, and this, in turn, will let you draw even more cards. This card is one of the reasons why you can use more Goyfs, even though they won't be as valuable as other cards.

Add Pyrogoyf to this equation, and any new creature that enters the board will deal damage directly to a player, which will speed up your strategy considerably. If all goes well, you may even get to use Endurance to shuffle your graveyard and keep going. Just keep a reasonable number of card types in play to get the most out of each card that enters.

Besides this, you might also be able to put an Anger in your graveyard.

Sheer Value with Buried Alive

Buried Alive is also a great plan by itself. Look for Pyrogoyf, Polygoyf, and Anger to set up your graveyard and eventually Reanimate all of them with a single card - Disa. When Pyro and Poly come back, they will have haste and deal damage straight away. Polygoyf also has myriad, so it will create copies when it attacks and deal even more damage with Pyro.

When each of these copies deals damage, Disa will create tokens, and they'll deal even more damage. This strategy will quickly snowball and win games very suddenly, even if you don't play any combo.

At the end of the day, you shouldn't play Disa, The Restless if you want to win as many matches as possible. You should play her if you want to have fun, learn, and see how creative you can be in cEDH. It's not everyday you see someone trying to win with combat damage and an unorthodox combo and still remain relevant on the board as they do. This deck rewards you for knowing each strategy, each interaction, and exactly when to go for the win. So, I must congratulate Jhintzy again, as they were definitely very creative!

In some matches, everything will go wrong. Disa will be countered, removed, and Staxxed, and still, even in a game you consider lost, a flaming Goyf will tip the scales and remind everyone on the table why you can't underestimate this commander... And then they won't let you play for a long time after...

So, if you enjoy weird creatures, convoluted plans, and making your opponents ask themselves, "What the hell just happened?", give Disa a chance. This may not be the most efficient or clean list, but it is, unquestionably, one of the most unforgettable.

What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Don't forget, be careful with Pyrogoyf!

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!