Review

Commander 2019 Ghired, Conclave Exile: reinforcing the Primal Genesis Deck

09/17/19, updated 10/06/21, 0 comments

Upgrades for your populate deck!

Vinicius Sorin here brings another episode of our marathon refurbishing the decks of Commander 2019 edition. Remember that this content is focused only on talking about card replacements. If you are looking for a better understanding of decks and their strategies and moves, I recommend watching the review videos I made on my channel on YouTube.

Today we will talk about the deck that is possibly the “strongest” in the collection. I'm talking about the Primal Genesis - the Naya with populate habilities: Ghired, Conclave Exile.

REMOVING THE BAD STUFF

It's normal to find that more than half of the cards on a prebuilt Commander deck are just there to be replaced (or for other decks). But this one is definitely not the case. Primitive Genesis comes fairly cohesive from the factory, and the number of dead slots in the original list is somewhat lower than usual. I would venture to say that only about 15 to 20 cards there deserve to be kicked off the list without remorse (which is little, believe me) - the rest even survives a less focused look. However, the fact that there are many synergistic cards within the prec does not mean that there are no better and more synergistic cards outside it that can take their place. One criticism I make of Primal Genesis is that it is on average a little too heavy, so one of my goals with reinforcements is to try to decrease the deck's mana curve a little too. In many cases this will be a determining factor in whether a card deserves to come out or stay on the deck.

Lands: : Just like the other precons of past episodes, Ghired's deck comes with some useful lands that serves well to fix our mana and come into play untapped. But it is also similar to the others in the amount of tapped lands that need to be replaced. In addition, the deck has a total of 40 lands that can be quietly reduced to 36 without damaging the mana base, thanks to the ramp pack (which in turn will increase after reinforcements). As a result, the following land will leave the deck:

3 Plains

3 Forest

1 Mountain

Unlike other decks, here we will not give up the “Poor fetchlands” (Terramorphic Expanse, Evolving Wilds and Naya Panorama) because of possible synergies with Staples like Rampaging Baloths and possible other Lands upgrades.

Ramps: Primal Genesis has a very dwindling acceleration card pack. There are only 6 cards capable of fulfilling this function within the precon which is usually a heavy deck. Much will need to be added here, and I don't think it will take much. I would only give up on Scaretiller.

Drawing: This precon's drawing and card selection package is very good, with a total of 9 cards. All are very good, except one for being, in my view, very conditional and heavy: Voice of Many.

Removals and interactions: We have a total of 10 removals in the precon (8 target and 2 global). It may be interesting to lighten some of them and bring lighter and faster responses. I am withdrawing:

Slice in Twain

Trostani's Judgment

Heart-Piercer Manticore

Bombs: Usually in the precons you find several heavy cards occupying unnecessarily slots on the deck. Some are indeed very good, but we need to focus on the purpose of our deck: to exploit our commander's potential to the best of our ability. Here are some outs to consider:

Atla Palani, Nest Tender – A legend that can yield very epic moves. But your skill can be slow and slow to do something really relevant here. I think she fits better on a deck made to exploit her to the fullest.

Commander's Insignia – Our creatures are already very strong, what they need most is evasion. This pump doesn't deliver it.

Doomed Artisan – Your tokens may get big, but it will take several turns before that happens. Not to mention that the card itself is sabotaged. Too bad.

Tectonic Hellion – Large, heavy and without evasion. It can still hurt you. A very clumsy bomb.

Tahngarth, First Mate – Very cool, but it has nothing to do with the deck.

Idol of Oblivion – Slow card. Makes big tokens but no evasion.

Cliffside Rescuer – Interesting card that can confer some protection or evasion. However, it will give way to another card that can do something similar for all your creature and not just a single creature.

Druid's Deliverance – Defending yourself is not exactly the main concern of this deck. Populate is a plus, but if it's just because of that, there's much better stuff.

Fresh Meat – This card is a way to return to the game after a global removal. But there are cards there that fulfills the same function more satisfactorily.

Emmara Tandris – Protects your table, but only the chips. Too heavy to be worth it.

Roc Egg – This card is only here because of Atla Palani, not Ghired.

Soul of Zendikar – Interesting bomb that can create tokens on a recurring basis (that's good). However, the cost to do this is too high.

Desolation Twin - One of the biggest bombs on the deck. The token he makes is huge and can create havoc, but if you have no evasion it won't do much good. Even so, it is one of the cards you draw withdraw with heartache.

REINFORCING THE DECK WITHOUT SPENDING MUCH

Lands

Sunpetal Grove enters in the place of Selesnya Sanctuary.

Karplusan Forest enters in the place of Gruul Turf

Battlefield Forge enters in the place of Boros Garrison

Grove of the Guardian enters in the place of 1 plains.

Brushland enters in the place of Blossoming Sands

Clifftop Retreat enters in the place of 1 Mountain.

Rootbound Crag enters in the place of Rugged Highlands

Canopy Vista enters in the place of Graypelt Refuge

Kessig Wolf Run enters in the place of Kazandu Refuge

Slayers' Stronghold enters in the place of 1 Plains.

Mirrorpool enters in the place of 1 Plains.

Skyshroud Claim enters in the place of 1 Mountain.

Zendikar Resurgent enters in the place of 1 Mountain.

Alcance do Kodama enters in the place of 1 Mountain.

Helm of the Host enters in the place of Roc Egg.

God-Pharaoh's Gift enters in the place of Soul of Zendikar.

Combat Celebrant enters in the place of Tahngarth, First Mate.

Boros Charm enters in the place of Cliffside Rescuer.

Wrap in Vigor enters in the place of Commander's Insignia.

Swiftfoot Boots enters in the place of Fresh Meat.

Bigger investment

There is still much to talk about upgrades in the populate deck, as many cards that are above $ 10 price range play a lot on it. Here's the list with unlimited budget reinforcements can be so you are aware of all the possibilities to improve your Ghired commander! In this case the deck changes slightly, and considering the volume of cards added, if you are interested in reinforcing it this way, be aware that it may be better to buy the more interesting single cards than to buy the pre-con.