Duel Commander - Deck Tech: Lumra, Bellow of the Woods

This Lumra list deserved this article for many reasons. It is the sixth most popular deck in the meta, which says a lot. It overcame Azusa, one of the most popular decks centered around lands before, mostly because it can end the game in its own turn.

On the official Duel Commander Discord server, the graphs show this deck performs quite well in tournaments and often wins them once it gets to the top 8. Many players even thought some of its cards would be banned. I believe this didn't happen because these lists are too new and the meta hasn't adapted to them yet.

Lumra is, essentially, a lands deck. It leans heavily into ramp in the first few turns so it can create a mana advantage. It also plays two main creatures: Primeval Titan, so that you can get your utility lands, and Lumra itself in the command zone.

It plays many ways to do many things, including cards that are good on their own and that together form a loop. Before we go over the list, let's see some of these loops.

Loops

Crystal Vein gives you . Hickory Woodlot gives you . Courtyard gets a Forest for you. With this 5 mana, you can activate Mirrorpool and target Lumra. Once you get your copy, you'll return all of these lands (untapped because of Spelunking, so you can activate them again) into play. This loop could mill your entire deck, but it is limited to the number of Forests that are still there. Obviously, an Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth could solve this, as Courtyard would stay in play and give you mana before it is sacrificed...

This combination, with the other 8 lands that give you mana, forms the same loop. Play Lumra for 6 mana. As an answer to her trigger, activate Sanctum of Eternity and return her to your hand. Sacrifice all your lands to Zuran Orb. Resolve the trigger, and all lands (plus the ones you mill!) will return to the battlefield. Tiller Engine will untap them. Cast Lumra again and repeat this process as many times as you'd like.

If you have enough lands, you can put Lotus Field in play, sacrifice lands, destroy your own Dust Bowl by sacrificing Lotus Field, then keep activating Mirrorpool and put more lands in your graveyard. As Lotus Field, Dust Bowl, and the two lands you sacrificed when Lotus Field entered play return to the battlefield, you'll have enough mana to play Mirrorpool again.

This loop costs 9 mana (6 for Lumra + 2 for the ability + Quarry itself), and then you'll have to recast Lumra for 2 more mana. It's not a very convincing loop, but with the ability that lets you sacrifice Lumra so that you can cast her again, it is interesting.

After this loop, you can mill your entire deck.

How do I Effectively Win the Game?

This is the most important question, as well as the hardest to answer. There are many ways to win the game, and don't be fooled: they're all bad.

Desert and Rath's Edge deal 1 damage to the opponent. A Woodland that isn't affected by summoning sickness can become a copy of Lumra, and Rogue's Passage can make it unblockable. It can also become a copy of Six, which can retrace an Emrakul, the Promised End. Even if you don't have any lands in hand, Guildless Commons can bounce a land.

There are many ways to win the game relatively easily, as this deck already plays lots of lands. Rath's Edge is another way to sacrifice them, which will be quite helpful during the first loops if you don't have all your pieces yet (Zuran Orb or Sylvan Safekeeper, for instance).

Now that we know what this deck does, let's see the actual list.

Decklist

There are actually many versions of this archetype, as well as many ways to ramp with it. You'll certainly use Arboreal Grazer, but what about Krosan Wayfarer? Sakura-Tribe Elder? There are many options, truly.

When we compared some versions on Mtgtop8, we noticed many of the same cards see play and that a smaller number of them see play in 20% of all versions. This means that there is a solid core for this archetype and that you can just complete the list with your own personal preference. When I play this deck, I really enjoy playing Titania, Protector of Argoth as another way to end the game (and often without having to create any loops).

Interaction and disruption like Eldrazi Confluence and Thought-Knot Seer also shows up in several lists as ways to do things Monogreen usually doesn't. The same goes for Spatial Contortion as well, one of the few removals this deck can play.

Is It Good Against Aggro?

Against aggressive decks, the key card is certainly Glacial Chasm. Zuran Orb buys a lot of time, but it's more difficult to find. In the past, a Chasm on the board meant certain victory. With Echoing Deeps and Vesuva, you can "reset" your Chasm several times. Nowadays, this card has become so popular that people are prepared to face it.

There are many "free" cards that destroy your Charm or stop you from preventing damage.

Lumra creates a discreet board with creatures that can block 1-drops and 2-drops or even chump block before you sacrifice them. You'll hardly win with the first Lumras - they'll return Brokers Hideout and Misty Rainforest into play so that you can set up a loop in the future. You'll often pay mana to turn your Woodland into Amulet of Vigor so that you can do that as well. If you manage to buy time with a Glacial Chasm, this matchup will be easy. Otherwise, you must try to get as much ramp and lands that give you two mana as possible so that you can take control of the game.

The easiest ways to lose this matchup include taking a Cataclysm or a Ravages of War. It's practically impossible to rebuild the board after the opponent plays one of these cards (and you don't really have ways to prevent these cards from hitting the board, so the best plan is to pray your opponent doesn't draw them...). Some aggro matchups are unwinnable, but most are good matchups.

Is It Good Against Control?

Yes. Lumra plays against control lists as if they were mirror matches, like "land, go" matchups. Your best spells (Lumra and Primeval Titan) will be countered, but you have other ways to put pressure on the opponent.

Besides, of course, Emrakul itself (which you can tutor with Eye of Ugin). You must play your lands whenever possible. You can cause a lot of problems for the opponent with them (playing your big spells, for instance), even more considering you won't lose on the spot if they play Atraxa, Grand Unifier right afterward. If they give you an opportunity, though, you can combo once it's your turn again.

These matchups aren't 100% free because they'll have tools. Cling to Dust and Cremate can disable key cards in your deck. Opposition Agent is too strong against a list that plays so many tutors (fetchlands and creatures), and if you get to a point in which you can't put pressure on them anymore (for instance, if you don't have cards in hand or mana to cast Lumra again), you'll lose.

Still, with a bit of skill, these matchups are relatively easy. They're exactly what you want to play when you get into a tournament with Lumra.

What Are the Worst Matchups?

You don't have interaction when you play Lumra. Your biggest nightmares will be decks that are faster than you (like any deck that uses Hoarding Broodlord and Saw in Half or Acererak the Archlich), decks that can stop you from playing your combo and play decisive win conditions (like Lier with High Tide or Hidetsugu and Kairi in a combo), as well as some key cards.

These cards don't represent any deck. They're simply high-quality generic cards. You'll find many of them in several matchups, and, whenever your opponent draws them, you'll be in trouble.

Only a few commanders will actually be scary for you, but many cards will send a shiver down your spine when you see them. Furthermore, considering this is a Monogreen list that doesn't draw and plays 56 lands... The list itself is often its worst enemy.

Is It Easy To Play?

No!

The loops might seem simple, but executing them will be complicated at first. It all starts with the deckbuilding. You'll need lots of basic lands, lots of fetchlands (so that Lumra can return them), utility lands... You'll have to find a balance between lands and land tutors. Another common question is: should I use my tutor to get an Icetill Explorer (a great card that will give you a huge advantage in the game) or do I save it for a Primeval Titan, which is more decisive and guarantees a strong late game?

Recently, I played a turn in which I was taking lethal damage. My options were, I thought, to cast a Primeval Titan and get Glacial Chasm (and try to buy time) or get more mana to cast a Lumra and see what could happen (I'd gain a little bit of life thanks to the lands in my graveyard). I lost that game, but later I saw that the right answer was to get Glacial Chasm + Vesuva and copy my Lotus Field. Like so, I would be able to put Lumra in play and buy time with Glacial Chasm. Would I have won? I don't know. It wasn't looking good. But this was an answer, and I simply didn't see it at the time.

As most of the loops don't solve anything, you'll need to play the combo. If you mess up when you sacrifice your lands once Lotus Field comes in, for instance, you may have to stop unexpectedly (you won't have, for instance, colorless mana to activate Mirrorpool, or you'll have less mana than you'd hoped, etc...). It's not rocket science, but, for a "linear Monogreen" list, it has a surprising amount of choices.

This deck plays a solid core, but you can adapt it to your meta. It plays lots of different lines (outside the main cards), and it will likely be able to play lots more as new sets come out and green landfall sees more play.

Countless decks can't interact with Lumra, and the ones that do well against her (decks with counterspells) usually struggle against Sandman, which is often difficult to interact with, or Dust Bowl, which prevents them from getting mana. This list is also relatively cheap (particularly because you can cut City of Traitors) and very fun to play.

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

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!