Commander Deck Tech: Ghalta and Mavren

Selesnya deck of vampires and dinosaurs? Sure, why not!

We had access to many interesting cards with the release of March of the Machine(March of the Machine) but the ones that made the eyes of many people to really shine were the legendary creatures' duo, with their references to battles on various planes.

In this article, we're going to talk a little about the Ghalta and Mavren deck, the vampire and dinosaur duo that nobody asked for, but that we needed.

Who are Ghalta and Mavren?

Ghalta is an ancient dinosaur from Ixalan who represents the color green and the hunger that consumes nature. Therefore, his first print was the card below:

Mavren Fein is a vampire and a high-ranking member of the Legion of Dusk. In his solo card, Mavren is represented with the white color.

When New Phyrexia began encroaching on the plane of Ixalan, Mavren and other vampires were freed to fight the invaders alongside Huatli, who summoned the ancient dinosaurs to battle.

Those Phyrexians who survived Ghalta's rampage soon met their end at the hands of Mavren's legionaries.

That's how the legendary card that will rule this deck came about. Meet Ghalta and Mavren!

The effect of this card can confuse less attentive players, so let's go through the details that compose it:

Ghalta and Mavren is a commander with trample 12/12, and their power alone has the potential to scare opponents. Also, it has effects that trigger when you attack (meaning, even if that creature wasn't declared an attacker in that combat, the effect will still happen). You will be able to choose between:

• Create an X/X green Dinosaur creature token with trample tapped and attacking, where X is the greatest power among other attacking creatures.

• Create X 1/1 white Vampire creature tokens with lifelink, where X is the number of other attacking creatures.

It is important to detail the effects, because, even if the commander puts a lot of pressure on the board, it needs support from the deck so that the controller has greater use.

Therefore, this deck has three pillars:

1. Ramp;

2. Creation of small tokens (vampires);

3. Creation of large tokens (dinosaurs).

If a more defensive posture is needed, the lifelink 1/1 Vampires can help you. If you want something more active and aggressive, Dinosaurs with trample do some damage.

Ramp and Mana

A commander with that much power and toughness doesn't usually cost little mana, and the sooner Ghalta is cast, the faster she can create her tokens. With that in mind, we have separated some very interesting ramps for this list:

However, a Selesnya deck has other very interesting options that may not bring land to your field, but help increase your mana production. For example:

Arcane Signet, Selesnya Signet and Sol Ring are classics for any Commander deck. Llanowar Elves is a welcome addition to help generate green mana and, if necessary, have one more defending creature on the board.

In a field full of creatures, Circle of Dreams Druid makes a huge difference and the extra mana generated with it will help you to cast even more threatening creatures. In addition to it, we have the legendary enchantment Growing Rites of Itlimoc that helps you take a creature from the top of your library and transforms into the land Itlimoc, Cradle of the Sun if you control four or more creatures. Just like the druid, the legendary land makes a big difference in the game.

The same goes for Cryptolith Rite which, unlike the creature and insert mentioned above, allows your creatures to generate mana of any color. This effect will be put to good use with our tokens.

Last but not least, Mirari's Wake, an enchantment that gives your creatures a small buff and makes your lands generate one more mana of the color they can produce when tapped.

It's also worth noting that the card itself specifies "add one mana", so a basic forest might generate two green mana, but Itlimoc, Cradle of the Sun will generate for each creature you control and add one more.

Creatures and Tokens

A Selesnya deck that creates tokens is nothing new, but for this one you need to have a certain balance between small creature tokens that will help you create more lifelink Vampires and creatures with more power to contribute to the creation of Dinosaurs.

Furthermore, having multiple creatures increases the number of blockers on your board, and as shown earlier, can also increase the amount of mana you have available.

The cards chosen to support this deck and help Ghalta and Mavren on their mission are:

The landfall effects of Rampaging Baloths, Scute Swarm and Maja, Bretagard Protector - we even have a decklist of her as a commander that you can check here – are welcome to help you create tokens as you play lands.

If Queen Allenal of Ruadach is on the battlefield, then you'll create that many tokens plus a Soldier.

Ancient Gold Dragon and Myrel, Shield of Argive are two cards that perform their effects alone, with Myrel having the bonus of preventing your opponents from casting or activating abilities of artifacts, enchantments, and creatures during your turn.

Oketra's Monument creates 1/1 Warrior tokens whenever you cast a creature spell and takes from the cost of white creature spells.

Nesting Dovehawk grows as creature tokens enter the battlefield under your control and helps you populate at the start of your combat, while Trostani, Selesnya's Voice can also help populate and compensates you with small life gains whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, token or not.

The list also has Gala Greeters that may not create creature tokens, but create tapped treasure whenever one enters the board, in addition to growing and giving you life.

Second Harvest helps you double the number of tokens you control, as it will make a copy of each of them when cast.

Sandwurm Convergence will certainly frustrate your opponents who like a deck full of flying creatures, and as a gift gives you a 5/5 Wurm token during your end step.

In addition to these cards, we also have the creatures Ghalta, Primal Hunger and Giant Adephage, great for helping in the creation of dinosaurs, and Eternal Witness that enters the field and returns a card from the graveyard to your hand.

We can't forget Surrak and Goreclaw which gives haste and counters to non-token creatures and trample to all creatures. If trample isn't enough, Champion of Lambholt can help make your creatures less "blockable".

Doubling Tokens

They say that less is more, however, in this deck we want even more tokens and luckily, we can count on the support of some cards that promise to double them.

The three cards will double the tokens that would be created under your control (including Gala Greeters' treasure). The Mondrak, Glory Dominus deserves a mention, because, even though it is a Phyrexian and an enemy of Ghalta and Mavren, the card can receive an indestructible counter that makes it a great blocker or an interesting attacking creature.

Buffs and protections

We separate some cards to increase the power of the creatures.

One more Phyrexian has found its place on this list, and it's welcomed: Defiler of Vigor is a large creature, puts +1/+1 counters on each creature you control, and lets you cast green permanent spells by paying 2 life to reduce the cost of .

Intangible Virtue is a very present card in token decks, and its effect helps a lot in the game and guarantees its place here. Starlight Spectacular was recently released and has an effect too fun to ignore, especially in a token deck.

Depending on the board, Craterhoof Behemoth is a strong wincon that will give plenty of counters to your creatures to end the opponents' life totals, and Eldrazi Monument can leave you very close to victory.

Trample is such a well-received ability in this deck that Garruk's Uprising cannot be left out of the list, in addition to helping with the draw.

Even if temporarily, the effect of Unnatural Growth happens at the right moment for you to create even bigger Dinosaur tokens.

Protections like Druid's Deliverance and Rootborn Defenses help populate and protect you and your field, while Heroic Intervention proves its worth by protecting all permanents you control.

King Darien XLVIII is an interesting card, as it gives +1/+1 buff to other creatures, can create Soldier tokens and when sacrificed it protects your tokens.

The hexproof to you, creatures, and planeswalkers you control of Shalai, Voice of Plenty and the instant Tamiyo's Safekeeping need no introduction and can be used in a variety of situations.

Swiftfoot Boots and Lightning Greaves are classics for boosting or protecting a key creature, if not both at the same time, for example your commander.

Removals

With white available, the list of removals was full of options, but we've selected the ones that have the most connection with the deck's theme.

It is worth mentioning Aura Mutation which promises some saprolings in exchange for the opponent's enchantment and Sundering Growth which helps to populate. With so many creatures entering the battlefield, Aura Shards can glow while destroying opponents' artifacts and enchantments.

Our board wipe, Hour of Reckoning, has convoke and destroys only non-token creatures.

Beast Within and Path to Exile are one-off removals, but very efficient and deliver what they promise masterfully.

Draw

Draw is essential for any deck. In this list, it is worth highlighting Idol of Oblivion and Rumor Gatherer that interact with the creation of tokens/entry of creatures on the battlefield. Elemental Bond can also help a lot, especially if you have plenty of big dinosaurs.

A full board and Shamanic Revelation being successfully cast benefits you greatly, while Rishkar's Expertise can fill your hand and allow you to cast a card “for free”.

Battle and Planeswalker

Bringing a little more flavor from the lore, we've selected a battle and a planeswalker that are useful for this deck.

This battle works as a tutor that seeks out and puts a non-human creature on the battlefield. When transformed, it becomes a beautiful 8/8 dinosaur with reach that maes every non-human assign its combat damage as if it weren't blocked. A little strong, don't you think?

In addition to creating tokens, our new favorite "archangel" can give counters, flying, and turn a creature into an angel, as well as return permanent cards with a mana value of 3 or less from the graveyard to the battlefield.

Imagine having Ghalta and Mavren as angel vampire dinosaur, flying with 14/14 power and toughness? Simply amazing for you and terrible for any opponent.

Companion and dinosaurs have everything to do, especially if the companion in question is none other than Kaheera, the Orphanguard.

What is Companion? These are legendary creatures that can be your commander's companions, as long as the deck respects your Commander's color identity, and are exiled in their own zone (similar to the command zone). If your deck has a companion, you may put it into your hand for 3 as a sorcery.

Kaheera's Companion rule is: every creature card in your starting deck is a Cat, Elemental, Nightmare, Dinosaur, or Beast card.

In this alternative list, you can have fun with friendly creatures like Zetalpa, Primal Dawn and use Ghalta's familiars to create huge dinosaur tokens with each combat.

The only creatures outside the tribe are Murasa Rootgrazer and Vine Gecko that still respect the Companion rule.

Unlike the first list, this one runs tokens as bonuses and focuses on dinosaurs.

As with the Phyrexians in March of the Machine, your opponents' creatures will have to dodge dinosaurs, vampires and many other creatures to deal any damage to you, and you can benefit greatly from this.

And the image of your dinosaurs trampling promises to be the last thing your opponents' life totals will ever see in the game.

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