Arbor Day (Lands control hybrid with Dredge elements and Natural Order)

[Begle1]

Here's a toy I've been developing recently. It started as a shuffle-up meld of Lands with Dredge, and ended up getting Natural Orders as a non-graveyard-dependent win condition. I'm wondering what the experts here think of it.


4x Dryad Arbor
4x Life from the Loam
4x Deathrite Shaman
4x Cabal Therapy
4x Natural Order
4x Exploration
2x Manabond
3x Intuition
3x Faithless Looting
2x Moment's Peace
1x Worldspine Wurm
1x Empyrial Archangel

4x Mox Diamond
4x Wasteland
4x Rishadan Port
4x Misty Rainforest
1x Wooded Foothills
1x Verdant Catacombs
1x Bayou
1x Tropical Island
1x Taiga
1x Tranquil Thicket
1x Forest
1x Island

Sideboard:
4x Gitaxian Probe
4x Abrupt Decay
3x Constant Mists
3x Ancient Grudge
1x Progenitus


Dryad Arbor and Life from the Loam is the backbone. There's six fetches, and each can fetch Dryad Arbor. You can cycle the fetches with Life from the Loam to fix your mana and get Dryad Arbor's really fast. Then the Dryad Arbors are used to flashback Cabal Therapies, chump block, make mana or get sacrificed to Natural Order.

Deathrite Shaman is a tool box. It's primarily used as defense against other Deathrite Shamans or Surgical Extraction. In a bind it's a back-up win condition or Natural Order fodder, and it is grave hate as well. It adds a lot of tenacity.

I get more mileage out of Cabal Therapy more than in any other deck I've ever played. After playing Dredge so much I almost forgot that I could hardcast Therapy before flashing it back! Moxes or the Bayou make black mana, and I usually have no shortage of Arbors, Shamans or Wurmrakul to flash it back with.

The landfall acceleration comes in form of Exploration and Manabond. A more Dredgy-build gets more use out of the Manabond, but the Natural Order's made Exploration a better option. Manabond can be damn explosive though.

A full playset of Wasteland and Rishadan Port is one of the main reasons to play this deck. A lot of decks don't like facing a Wasteland every turn, and most of the rest don't like one or two active Rishadan Ports on turn two or three.

Mox Diamond seems like an automatic inclusion on any high-land deck with Life from the Loam.

Intuition really fits well and adds much more tenacity. The only common time I grab three of one card is when I'm getting three Natural Orders. Otherwise, I tend to grab a combination of lands I need (Wasteland, Dryard Arbor, Tranquil Thicket), Cabal Therapy, Life from the Loam, Faithless Looting and Moment's Peace. These are all cards that are nearly as valuable in the graveyard as they are in my hand. (Against Storm or combo it's fun to grab three Cabal Therapies. Dryad Arbor recursion means it's not impossible to cast Therapy off of Intuition 3-4 times in one turn.)

Faithless Looting is invaluable to finding a Natural Order when I need it, as that's one of the few cards that I need in my hand and not in the graveyard. It can also dredge Life from the Loam, when I'm looking for the "critical mass" of Wastelands and Rishadan Ports it takes to lock down my opponent. Tranquil Thicket is the other "dig" card; I can either cycle it to dredge Life from the Loam, or keep Loaming it back to my hand when I'm digging for a Natural Order.

Moment's Peace and Empyrial Archangel are my "survive against aggro" plan, along with the Constant Mists in the sideboard.

Ancient Grudge is mostly anti-MUD tech, but I'm sure has uses apart from that. Progenitus is a better target than Worldspine Wurm against decks with white (ie. Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile) or decks with Maze of Ith. (Worldspine is definitely the primary target though. He survives boardsweepers and also has synergy with Cabal Ritual and Natural Order. I've had games where I land Worldspine, sac him to a Cabal Therapy, sac a token to another Cabal Therapy, and then cast a second Natural Order to get him back.)

Gitaxian Probe replaces the anti-aggro cards if I'm playing against combo; it makes Cabal Therapies all that much more dangerous, and makes my deck a bit faster.

Abrupt Decay kills most graveyard hate and various control permanents like Gaddock Teeg, Chalice of the Void, Counterbalance and Blood Moon.

I really like the deck. It does brutal land denial about as well as any other deck, and Cabal Therapy gives it quite a bit of game against combo, and Natural Order is a very reliable kill method. It is also capable of winning without any given card, and is also capable of playing without the graveyard if need be.

[metamet]

No Terastodon?

[georgjorge]

As someone who really goes out of his way to put Natural Order into various decks, I like your approach quite a lot. Arbor is a lot less vulnerable in a deck like that. The big problems would be the combo matchup (you rely solely on Therapies which you might not draw or might not be enough) and the stupid little Deathrite Shaman that pops up so often and can screw your deck up somewhat if Order gets dealt with somehow (countered or discarded). I would cut some grave-reliant cards for a bit of board control and Deathrite removal like Engineered Explosives or Pernicious Deed, and also replace the Probes in the sideboard with real discard (also to force through Orders) or even Thorns. You definitely need at least four slots, probably more, to have a chance against combo.

I would also cut the Lootings and red mana for blue mana and Brainstorms, which is overall a better card and works even when your graveyard is under attack somehow. Three mana for flashback is too much in a deck that isn't the fastest like this I think. Then you could also play Flusterstorms in the side against combo.

Another (but maybe too cute) suggestion would be Boseiju for uncounterable Intuitions and Natural Orders. Uncounterable Natural Orders! Sounds nice.

[Greenpoe]

No Glacial Chasm? Not even SB?

I agree that Brainstorm>Faithless Looting. Brainstorm goes well with dredge abilities, digs deeper, and perhaps most importantly, can save your Loam from being hated out of the grave.

[baghdadbob]

As someone who really goes out of his way to put Natural Order into various decks, I like your approach quite a lot. Arbor is a lot less vulnerable in a deck like that. The big problems would be the combo matchup (you rely solely on Therapies which you might not draw or might not be enough) and the stupid little Deathrite Shaman that pops up so often and can screw your deck up somewhat if Order gets dealt with somehow (countered or discarded). I would cut some grave-reliant cards for a bit of board control and Deathrite removal like Engineered Explosives or Pernicious Deed, and also replace the Probes in the sideboard with real discard (also to force through Orders) or even Thorns. You definitely need at least four slots, probably more, to have a chance against combo.

I would also cut the Lootings and red mana for blue mana and Brainstorms, which is overall a better card and works even when your graveyard is under attack somehow. Three mana for flashback is too much in a deck that isn't the fastest like this I think. Then you could also play Flusterstorms in the side against combo.

Another (but maybe too cute) suggestion would be Boseiju for uncounterable Intuitions and Natural Orders. Uncounterable Natural Orders! Sounds nice.

[ESG]

Interesting deck, and I love the name. (Truly, this deck is like catnip to me.) I have some doubts about whether the Natural Order plan is good enough against the format as a whole, but this list seems relatively solid against the top-tier noncombo decks. Miracles might be a pain, being able to counter your Natural Order or Terminus away your creatures, keeping graveyards empty with Rest in Peace, and running all those basic lands. At least the Ports delay Jace or Helm of Obedience.

Manabond gets worse the more spells a deck runs, and this list runs more than Lands does, so I suspect it can be replaced. Have you done any testing with Personal Tutor? I would also think Brainstorm would be stronger in this deck than Faithless Looting, because it allows you to save Natural Order from discard.

[Begle1]

Cabal Therapy is an anti-combo card, but Wasteland and Rishadan Port are also anti-combo cards against any combo deck that needs more than one land to win. (Which granted, is maybe only around half of them at the moment.)

I haven't had a problem of getting Natural Order countered. Against aggro I usually need an un-protected turn 2 or 3 Natural Order, but against control I don't need to be as aggressive and can slow down until Cabal Therapies, Wastelands and Rishadan Ports have cleared the way. I have a pretty good ability to know ahead that it's not going to be countered. Boseiju might have use as a land in a Living Wish wishboard? What do we think about that idea?

Deathrite Shaman is scary mostly in the same way that anything 1 cmc is scary to the deck; 1-drops are largely immune to Wasteland and Rishadan Port. And now it's just dawned on me that perhaps I could make use of Chalice of the Void here. What do we think about that idea?

I had Terastodon at one point, since big green creatures to get with Natural Order are rather limited. I just didn't see the match-up where I'd need him. A deck running Ensnaring Bridge? What else? What I really wish is that there was a green creature that shut Storm down... To my knowledge the best is Gaddock Teeg, and I'd feel so incredibly stupid Natural Ordering for a Gaddock Teeg. (Now, as a Living Wish target, it doesn't seem so bad...)

Glacial Chasm is a thought I did not have, and I don't entirely know why considering that I've used that card before. I have tried Maze of Ith's and found them a passable sideboard card. Glacial Chasm seems like it'd serve much the same role as Constant Mists, only be harder to counter. I think I could very well put those in.

I do like the idea of Brainstorm replacing Faithless Looting. I grabbed Lootings because they are relevant when dredged or in an Intuition pile, but it's a very valid point about being able to hide the Natural Orders from my own Manabond-triggers, forced discard or graveyard hate. Especially since a straight-up replacement could extirpate red from the deck. (If I take out Ancient Grudge's my MUD matchup will drop back to "crap", but maybe I can put some Leyline of the Void's in to give me a shot against the Turn 1 self-mill Rogue Brunch decks that are a thing now.) Good reminder that one should never forget the best card in the format. I think one Looting for an Intuition target could still have merit, maybe not worth the whole extra color for though.

Thoughtseize's or Duress's in place of Gitaxian Probe's? That seems a valid point as well, especially if I'm now getting card draw from the Brainstorms.



4x Dryad Arbor
4x Life from the Loam
4x Deathrite Shaman
4x Cabal Therapy
4x Natural Order
4x Exploration
2x Manabond
3x Intuition
4x Brainstorm
1x Worldspine Wurm
1x Empyrial Archangel

4x Mox Diamond
4x Wasteland
4x Rishadan Port
4x Misty Rainforest
1x Wooded Foothills
1x Verdant Catacombs
1x Bayou
1x Tropical Island
1x Tranquil Thicket
1x Forest
2x Island
1x Glacial Chasm

Sideboard:
4x Thoughtseize
4x Abrupt Decay
3x Glacial Chasm
3x Leyline of the Void
1x Progenitus

I think that's better overall. Not entirely sold on Thoughtseizes over Probes yet. Probe's given me some very explosive Turn 1's...

[DireLemming]

Wouldn't 1-2 Arbors be better as fetches? As a mana source, the Arbors really suck.

If you run Glacial Chasm, is Empyrial Archangel really needed maindeck?

Also, I always liked Tops in this sort of decks (admittedly I only played Eternal Garden). Although here, since you don't really have a draw engine, Sylvan Library might be better. Speaking of which, in Nic Fit Top+Future Sight and Recycle are both ferocious draw engines and here you have Explorations to make them even more so.

[Begle1]

Hmm... At first I was using Golgari Grave Trolls and Dread Returns along with more traditional reanimator targets like Jin-Gitaxis, and in that build it was critical to have 4x Dryad Arbors.

Now that I don't need to ever sacrifice 3 at a time, why couldn't I cut one or two? (Also, come to think of it, a single Dread Return could at one point be an Intuition-pile option, along with a mid-range green drop like Primeval Titan. I don't think Archangel would be necessary anymore with Glacial Chasm. Primeval Titan seems like a real good replacement?)

Frequently, they're recurring chump blockers. They can chump Tarmogoyf and Knight of the Reliquary all day, and keep coming back. Three or four of the little bastards are also an occasional attack force; that's never Plan A or Plan B, but it has happened. If I can't Loam for some reason, I don't want to run out of them ever.

I could see cutting one for a fetch though. Sounds reasonable. (Then I could put the cut one in a Living Wish-board...)


As for Recycle and Future Sight, both seem like real Win More cards here. If I ever get to the point where I have a large enough of a board to generate 5 or 6 mana, I better have the game under control through Wastelands and Rishadan Ports, and I have more than enough mana to Natural Order and win. I don't tend to get to that point unless the Wastelands, Ports and Therapies are working, and if they aren't more of the same probably won't help. Life from the Loam is the "draw engine", arguably the best in the game... A Sylvan Library is always nice to have on the table, but with no way to reliably find one, I don't know what it could replace.

A more Lands-type build might make use of Recycle and Future Sight to drop man-lands as a win condition, but I cut the Treetop Villages to the sideboard after a while, and then cut them from there. I really haven't had trouble getting Natural Order's through when they're backed with land denial and Cabal Therapy, and any time where things degraded to the point where Natural Order wasn't an option and I was attacking with lands, it's possible for Dryad Arbors and Deathrite Shamans to go the distance.