Selesnya Turtle
Selesnya Turtle
Fecund Greenshell updates for the post ban meta
Since the bans I have been trying out a few different decks, but the deck I have been working most on has been trying to adapt my Fecund Greenshell list for the post ban meta.
I’ve got it to a place I am very happy with, with an 80% winrate through three leagues with a Selesnya version. There are a few reasons I have been focusing on Greenshell lists.
I think the core I have is strong and worth continuing to explore
When the format goes through a big change it is valuable to play a deck you are familiar with. You are able to pick up on subtle changes that you may have missed otherwise (i.e. “why does Aether Gust feel much better now, even relative to Change the Equation”). Those are the exact kind of changes that can lead to original brewing insights.
This is one of the most fun decks I have brewed and I want to keep playing it
The Problem
Like I discuss in the article the Simic Turtle list was crafted to specifically target the meta of Vampires, Amalia, and Phoenix.
That was a meta that could be described as being “vertical”, which the deck was quite good at dealing with. A Vein Ripper, no problem I’ll just go ahead and gain control of that. A 20/20 Amalia, I’ll just stun it. A Phoenix that can keep coming back, I’ll just keep blocking it.
However, three 1/1 Phyrexian Goblins…now we’ve got a problem. The format has gotten both faster and “wider” in line with what I discuss here:
Here is my updated version of the Simic Greenshell list post bans.
Decklist Link
I took it into a challenge, went 3-4. The wins were solid wins and the losses were to Boros Convoke, Elves, and Jund Sac twice, all “wide” decks that the deck just cannot deal with.
The Changes
As I have discussed, I think your best bet with brews is to aggressively target the top three decks in the format. The top three that have emerged post ban are:
Phoenix
Jund Sacrifice
Heartfire Hero Decks (there are a few different flavors of these, but for targeting purposes I think they can be lumped together)
Given that mix what are some of the most powerful cards to target them:
Fully turning off the graveyard is huge at hitting both Phoenix and Jund Sacrifice. Cards like Unlicensed Hearse and Go Blank that were good options for the board against Phoenix in the prior meta, do not do much against Jund Sacrifice, so Rest in Peace and Leyline of the Void that fully turn off the graveyard have shot up in importance.
Unfortunately, these do little against the Heartfire Hero decks, so I have had to keep them in the board. A promising brewing direction is if you can figure out a deck that wants to maindeck either of these.
These two are great against Jund Sacrifice. Temporary Lockdown is great against Heartfire Hero and Culling Ritual is good. They both have some play against Phoenix as well, so can be maindecked.
They are also good against other decks you are likely to encounter most notably Boros Convoke.
This set of cards points to wanting to play either White or Black, so you have access to fully turning off graveyards and efficient wraths for low mana value nonland permanents.
Given the current meta, Rest in Peace, Temporary Lockdown, Leyline of the Void, and Culling Ritual are likely the best cards in the format at the moment, even better than Treasure Cruise and Fable of the Mirror Breaker. They are strong enough that they are worth brewing around.
Selesnya Turtle List
I tested out some Sultai and Golgari versions of Turtle decks, aimed at leveraging Culling Ritual. They were good and I think I could get them to quite good with some more tuning.
However, I tested a Selesnya version and it felt very powerful out of the gate even with some obvious build issues. I have gone through a few iterations, continually going 4-0 and then losing a close trophy match.
Here is my current version:
Decklist Link
It has a lot going for it. The Temporary Lockdowns, Beza, and a bunch of blocker are great at putting the breaks on anyone trying to go under you. Giving you time to drop a Greenshell and take over the game.
The ramp, Greenshells, and Storms make it easy to go over the top of anyone trying to operate on a more midrange gameplan.
The Rest in Peace’s are devastating against anyone counting on a graveyard plan.
Reidane is kind of good against everything. The Shield side shutting down Mayhem Devil, slowing aggro, and making Phoenix way less threatening while borderline shutting off their removal. The front side really slows down the Enigmatic, Lotus, Nivs, and Controls of the world. All while also triggering Greenshell.
Yasharn is great for ensuring you hit your land drops to get to Greenshell and Storm, while also maindeck shutting down Jund Sac and even pairing with Lockdown to make the Map Tokens from Get Lost a somewhat palatable downside. Though I am constantly asking “why couldn’t Yasharn be a 4/5 like Beza.”
Some key cards I tried in earlier versions:
All of these were good and are worth considering for future versions besides The Birth of Meletis. I particularly liked Elesh Norn, but the options at 4 are good for not many slots.
Five mana Elesh Norn and Kenrith are the cards I am probably most conflicted on. When they are good, they are so good, but they can also feel a bit low impact when curving into them.
Areas of Focus
The biggest issue I see with the list is I am not happy with my Niv, Control, and Lotus matchups and I am trying to figure out how to shore those up or if I should give up on any of them to improve my matchups elsewhere.
Current cards I am considering.
For Lotus:
For Niv and Control. The problem is the wraths in particular. That was the thinking for running Werefox Bodyguard as a card that can be anti-aggro, but also help against wraths. But I think I need more for these matchups. These are some of the cards I’ll be testing in future versions.
Wrap
I think this might be the first Selesnya deck I have ever seriously brewed. To that, if you have Selesnya expertise please let me know any suggestions you have.
The deck feels very strong. Most importantly, it meets my core criteria of crushing the main decks in the format, which is a strong place to start and then optimize further from.