Commander:
Selvala, Explorer Returned (G/W) Selvala is a great pick for this group hug EDH deck because her ability allows all players to draw cards and gain mana, fostering a friendly atmosphere at the table. Furthermore, her Parley ability can help you gain life when you reveal a nonland card, which synergizes well with the deck's focus on health gain and obscure win conditions.
Deck Strategy:
The deck aims to create a group hug atmosphere by helping other players ramp their mana, gain life, and draw cards. It also focuses on gaining life for yourself, setting up obscure win conditions based on life total.
How to Play:
1. Ramp your mana: Use spells like Cultivate, Kodama's Reach, and Rampant Growth to ramp your mana and accelerate your game plan. Take advantage of group hug cards like Heartbeat of Spring and Oath of Lieges to benefit everyone while furthering your strategy.
2. Draw cards and gain life: Selvala's Parley ability lets you draw cards and gain life alongside your opponents. Other cards like Well of Lost Dreams, Alhammarret's Archive, and Rites of Flourishing provide additional card draw and life gain.
3. Protect yourself: Use enchantments like Ghostly Prison and Sphere of Safety to make it difficult for opponents to attack you. You can also use instant spells like Constant Mists, Dawn Charm, and Fog to prevent combat damage.
4. Assemble combos: This deck features many fun and synergistic combos. As you play, look for opportunities to assemble these combos to create powerful interactions and eventually win the game.
### Primary card combos:
1. Archangel of Thune + Spike Feeder: Use Spike Feeder's ability to gain life and place +1/+1 counters on all your creatures, including Spike Feeder, making your board stronger.
2. Divine Visitation + Awakening Zone: Create 4/4 Angel tokens with vigilance and flying instead of Eldrazi Spawn tokens.
3. Vizier of Remedies + Devoted Druid: Generate infinite green mana by tapping and untapping Devoted Druid without receiving -1/-1 counters.
4. Mirror Entity + Avenger of Zendikar: Turn all your creatures, including Plant tokens, into powerful creatures with the chosen power/toughness based on the amount of mana spent.
5. Earthcraft + Squirrel Nest: Generate infinite Squirrel tokens by tapping them to untap the enchanted land.
6. Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite + Kamahl, Fist of Krosa: Destroy opponents' lands by turning them into creatures that die due to Elesh Norn's ability.
7. Glacial Chasm + Life Gain: Offset the life loss from Glacial Chasm's upkeep with your life gain strategy and protect yourself from damage.
### Sideboard
Consider including cards that can adapt your strategy based on your opponents' decks or provide additional interaction and protection. Here are some suggestions:
- Austere Command: A versatile board wipe that can handle various types of permanents.
- Swords to Plowshares / Path to Exile: Efficient single-target removal for troublesome creatures.
- Rest in Peace: Graveyard hate to deal with recursion strategies.
- Nature's Claim / Krosan Grip: Artifact and enchantment removal for problematic cards.
- Luminarch Ascension: An alternate win condition that can create a horde of Angel tokens.
- Archon of Valor's Reach: A creature that can hinder opponents by restricting certain card types.
- Heroic Intervention: Protection against board wipes and targeted removal.
- Hushbringer: Shuts down enter the battlefield and death triggers, disrupting certain strategies.
- Seedtime: A green counterspell that provides an extra turn if you cast it during an opponent's turn after they cast a blue spell.
- Norn's Annex: An additional pillowfort card that makes it harder for opponents to attack you.
- Teferi's Protection: Temporary immunity from any harm or targeting, a great way to avoid board wipes or other harmful effects.
- Rebuff the Wicked: A counterspell to protect your permanents from targeted spells.
- Return to Nature: A versatile removal spell for artifacts, enchantments, or cards in graveyards.
- Prowling Serpopard: Gives your creature spells protection from counterspells.
- Overwhelming Splendor: A powerful enchantment that can lock down a single opponent, making their creatures less threatening.
#### Obscure Win Conditions:
1. Felidar Sovereign - Win the game if you have 40 or more life at the beginning of your upkeep.
2. Test of Endurance - Win the game if you have 50 or more life during your upkeep.
3. Aetherflux Reservoir - Pay 50 life to deal 50 damage to any target, potentially eliminating opponents.
4. Helix Pinnacle
#### Key Health Gain Cards:
1. Beacon of Immortality - Double your life total.
2. Boon Reflection - Double any life you gain.
3. Serra Ascendant - Gains lifelink and becomes a huge threat if you have 30 or more life.
4. Alhammarret's Archive - Doubles the amount of life you gain.
#### Group Hug Cards:
1. Heartbeat of Spring - Doubles mana produced by lands for all players.
2. Collective Voyage - All players ramp together, searching for basic lands.
3. Rites of Flourishing - Allows all players to play additional lands and draw extra cards.
#### Mana Ramp:
1. Rampant Growth, Cultivate, and Kodama's Reach - Classic green ramp spells.
2. Smothering Tithe - Generates Treasure tokens when opponents draw cards.
3. Sol Ring, Mana Crypt, and Mana Vault - Fast artifact mana sources.
#### Defensive Cards:
1. Sphere of Safety - Protects you from attacks based on the number of enchantments you control.
2. Ghostly Prison - Deters opponents from attacking you by making them pay additional mana.
3. Fog, Dawn Charm, and Constant Mists - Prevent combat damage to buy time for your win conditions.
### More fun interaction cards:
1. Tempt with Discovery: Offer each opponent the chance to search for a land card and put it onto the battlefield. For each player who accepts, you get to search for a land too. This card encourages cooperation and can lead to some interesting negotiations.
2. Dubious Challenge: This unique card lets you look at the top ten cards of your library, exile two creature cards, and then let an opponent choose one of them. You put the chosen creature onto the battlefield under your control, and the other under your opponent's control. This creates a fun gamble and can lead to exciting board states.
3. Oath of Lieges: This enchantment helps everyone ramp by allowing each player to search for a basic land during their upkeep if they control fewer lands than an opponent. This catch-up mechanic ensures that all players stay engaged and competitive.
4. Selvala's Stampede: A voting card that can lead to exciting outcomes. Each player votes for "Wild" or "Free." Then, for each "Wild" vote, you reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a creature card and put it onto the battlefield. For each "Free" vote, you put a permanent card from your hand onto the battlefield. This card adds a layer of unpredictability and excitement to the game.
5. Lurking Predators: This enchantment adds a fun twist by revealing the top card of your library whenever an opponent casts a spell. If it's a creature card, you can put it onto the battlefield. This keeps your opponents on their toes and creates interesting interactions.
6. Penance: A unique enchantment that lets you put a card from your hand on top of your library to prevent damage. This can lead to surprise plays and set up combos.
### Card Combos in-depth:
1. Approach of the Second Sun + Abundance: Cast Approach of the Second Sun to gain 7 life and put it back 7 cards from the top of your library. Then, use Abundance's ability to replace your draws, allowing you to dig for Approach of the Second Sun and *cast it again to win the game.*
2. Archangel of Thune + Spike Feeder: Remove a counter from Spike Feeder to gain 2 life, which triggers Archangel of Thune to put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control, including Spike Feeder. *This results in an infinitely growing army of creatures with no net loss of life.*
3. Vizier of Remedies + Devoted Druid: With Vizier of Remedies on the battlefield, Devoted Druid can tap for an extra green mana without receiving a -1/-1 counter. *This results in infinite green mana,* which you can use to fuel your group hug spells or activate powerful abilities like Mirror Entity or Helix Pinnacle to win the game.
4. Earthcraft + Squirrel Nest: Enchant a basic land with Squirrel Nest to create Squirrel tokens. With Earthcraft on the battlefield, you can tap a Squirrel token to untap the enchanted land, *creating infinite Squirrel tokens.*
5. Blasting Station + Squirrel Nest: Create a Squirrel token by enchanting a land with Squirrel Nest, then sacrifice it to deal 1 damage with Blasting Station. This creates a reusable damage engine while also providing a fun and quirky combo.
6. Well of Lost Dreams + Selvala, Explorer Returned: Selvala's Parley ability can gain you life, allowing you to draw additional cards with Well of Lost Dreams. This provides additional card advantage while staying on theme with the group hug strategy.
7. Suture Priest + Essence Warden: Suture Priest drains opponents for each creature that enters the battlefield under their control, while Essence Warden gains you life for each creature that enters the battlefield. This combo makes it harder for opponents to play creatures without benefiting you.
8. Crested Sunmare + Soul Warden: Soul Warden gains you life whenever a creature enters the battlefield, which can trigger Crested Sunmare's ability to create a 5/5 indestructible Horse token at the end of your turn. As long as you consistently gain life, you'll have an army of indestructible Horses in no time.
9. Darien, King of Kjeldor + Soul Warden/Suture Priest: Whenever you take damage with Darien on the battlefield, you create that many 1/1 Soldier tokens. Soul Warden and Suture Priest can gain you life for each token created, offsetting the damage taken and creating a sizeable army.
10. Storm Herd + Congregate: Cast Storm Herd to create a large number of 1/1 Pegasus creature tokens equal to your life total. Then, cast Congregate to gain life for each creature on the battlefield, further boosting your life total and making it even harder for your opponents to defeat you.
11. Divine Visitation + Awakening Zone/Eldrazi Spawn tokens: With Divine Visitation on the battlefield, any tokens you create become 4/4 Angel tokens with flying and vigilance instead. Use Awakening Zone to create Eldrazi Spawn tokens, which will enter as 4/4 Angels, providing a powerful board presence.
12. Mirror Entity + Avenger of Zendikar: Mirror Entity can turn all your creatures into copies of itself with the chosen power/toughness. With Avenger of Zendikar on the battlefield, you can create a lot of Plant tokens. Activate Mirror Entity's ability to make all your creatures, including Plant tokens, as big as you want based on the amount of mana you spend.
13. Seedborn Muse + Quest for Renewal: Seedborn Muse allows you to untap all your permanents during each other player's untap step, while Quest for Renewal provides a similar effect once you have four or more quest counters. This combo allows you to take advantage of Selvala's Parley ability on each player's turn, providing more mana and card draw for you and the table.
14. Tangle Wire + Seedborn Muse: Tangle Wire taps down your opponents' permanents, while Seedborn Muse untaps all your permanents during each other player's untap step. This allows you to maintain your resources while hindering your opponents' board states.
### Cheeky Combos:
*Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite + Kamahl, Fist of Krosa:* Elesh Norn reduces your opponents' creatures' power and toughness, while Kamahl can turn your opponents' lands into creatures. By animating their lands with Kamahl and having Elesh Norn on the battlefield, you can destroy their lands without being overly aggressive.
### Land Combos:
1. *Glacial Chasm + Life Gain:* Glacial Chasm prevents all damage dealt to you, at the cost of an increasing cumulative upkeep. With your deck's life gain strategy, you can offset the life loss from Glacial Chasm's upkeep and protect yourself from damage.
2. Maze of Ith + Seedborn Muse: Maze of Ith can untap a creature and prevent it from dealing combat damage. With Seedborn Muse in your deck, you can untap Maze of Ith during each player's untap step, providing you with a reusable way to protect yourself from potential threats.
3. Serra's Sanctum + Enchantments: Your deck contains several enchantments, and Serra's Sanctum can tap for white mana equal to the number of enchantments you control. This can provide you with significant mana acceleration.