Shiny Bant

Everyone has a favorite color in Magic, a favorite Guild, Shard, and Wedge. I'm no different. Bant used to be my favorite color combination. It fit right into my play style, lifegain, removal, enchantments, counterspells, card draw, voltron, etc. So this has been one of the most difficult colors for me to explore in this Make EDH Weird Again series. I was so ingrained in the colors that everything felt natural. So I was stuck for a long time. I had to broaden my horizons for this one. What if I could do a riff on an existing strategy, do it in a way all my own, and let a niche idea really take a central role in the deck? Well, I did just that.

I'm not sure how I found Amareth, the Lustrous. It could have been that I was exploring dragons when Khans of Tarkir was initially announced. I might have found it on a deep dive through Bant legends at the end of last year when I was figuring out how to close up a deck of each color for MEDHWA. I'm not really sure, but I eventually found this beauty. A quick look at her, this dragon is expensive to cast with good stats, a 6 mana 6/6. That's great, but it's her ability that really stands out. When a permanent of mine enters the battlefield, I get to reveal my top card and draw it if they share a type. She wants me to draw cards. This would be easy to push. All I have to do is play all the same card type, just like an Umori, the Collector Companion deck.

That whole single permanent type deck strategy would get old fast. It also had a big hole in it, Lands. My lands wouldn't jive with my chosen permanent type. What was I to do? Instead of controlling what was in my deck, I could just control what was on top of it to make sure I'm always drawing cards. There was my hook. That's great for me, but what about you? We'll see more about that later.

The easiest way to make sure the card type I need is on top of my deck is if I put it there. If I know more than one, I can sequence the order of cards I play to maximize my draw potential. Scrying is the easiest way to make this happen. I look at some cards from the top of my deck and put the one that matches the next permanent I'm playing on top. It's simple but effective. You might be over there saying “Surveil is even better,” but not so much here. This isn't a graveyard deck, and I'm drawing a lot of cards here, so I don't want to thin out my library too much.

So, what are my options to Scry? With such a focus on permanents entering the battlefield, Season of Growth was a no brainer. I stack my triggers so this triggers before Amareth when a creature enters the battlefield to ensure I match my types. Even the second ability is relevant. Scry 1 is good, but going further is even better. Crystal Ball is a reliable way to look 2 deep. 1 mana is so cheap for the effect, I easily fire it off every turn without concern. Deliberate is a simple draw spell with Scry 2 added on. I can stack that turn and really fuel Amareth since Deliberate is so cheap, and I get to choose the card I draw to set up casting and drawing.

Scry has been a great way to smooth out the deck and maximize value from my commander. But sometimes I want to be a little lazy in a game and not think about maximizing my sequencing 5 turns in the future. So I made it easier on myself. If I need to match types between the card that enters and the top card of my library, why not improve my odds? Cards that have more than one type are key for this kind of streamlining. Sythis, Harvest's Hand, and Eidolon of Blossoms are creatures and enchantments that feed off each other and reward me with more cards. Sanctum Weaver works similarly, and the creature is a good source of ramp. I'm not a huge fan of creature based ramp like Llanowar Elves in most decks, but the Weaver has the potential to generate a lot of mana, so I'll keep it around. It's not just my creatures, though. Bow of Nylea is a favorite of mine to add in. It makes attacking much safer for me, but more importantly, here it's both an artifact and an enchantment.

I found a way to be even lazier, or at least move past the uncertainty that comes with the top card of the library. We can just play with the top card revealed. This takes the guess work out of which spell to cast and really lets me chain together my spells for maximum effect. Magus of the Future goes hard. Not only does it allow me to play with the top card revealed, but it also lets me cast that spell. I'm less likely to get stuck if I can power through the top card. Future Sight does the same thing but is less vulnerable to removal since it's an enchantment. Oracle of Mul Daya is a little more limited, but has been a great way to ramp out additional lands. When I said we can play with the top card revealed, I meant it. Me for sure, but you too. Wizened Snitches expands the effect to the whole table. I had a game where I played the Snitches, and someone got more upset than usual about it. Like I was giving away part of his strategy. He was really trying to get consensus from the table to remove the creature or me. Until our mutual opponent had to reveal a game winning spell on top. I don't remember what that card was, but I do remember how fast the discourse changed from targeting me and my creature to the mutual threat.

Even with this top deck viewing and card type matching, there are instances where I don't have a card in hand that matches what's on top of my deck. Should I give up? Should I just wait until my next turn and hope to draw the right card? No way. I'm just going to reuse what I already have available to me. You're probably familiar with me using Crystal Shard and Essence Reliquary to great effect in my Zinnia Clone deck. They work even better here. I didn't want to overload the deck with this kind of effect, but 2 options were not enough. I had a choice between Erratic Portal and Meticulous Excavation for the final spot. Meticulous Excavation won out for a couple of reasons. It's cheap to play, it's an Enchantment, and it hits all permanent types. Portal is more expensive. Worst case scenario, my card gets removed before I even get to activate it. I would rather spend 1 mana than 4 if that was the case. Shard and Reliquary are both Artifacts, so I wanted a little diversity in the deck. As for potential targets, Excavation provides more options. Portal only hits creatures, and sometimes I may want to return a land or noncreature option. Portal does come with the option to target opponents' creatures, but paying 1 mana overcomes the effect.

Amareth plays well with lots of card types. There was one type that gave me some trouble early on. Lands proved to be a little sticky. Lands tended to be just lands and didn't play well with my other permanents. It wasn't great to continuously scry cards to the bottom either, since I need to draw and play lands to keep pace. My first reaction was to play Dryad Arbor. I was less likely to get stuck playing it. My instincts were correct. Land creatures work great here. Staff of Titania rewards me for being aggressive. A single token isn't very rewarding, but the fact I get one every turn makes it better. I just need to attack. Jyoti, Moag Ancient is better the later I cast it. The only thing really holding it back is how expensive Amareth is. I would love to include Awaken the Woods. It's a simple spell that would really let me churn through my deck. It's just cost prohibitive. Maybe next time.

That was a good spot for the deck to be in. But there was more potential. I'm already messing with the top card of my library. I'm revealing it and scrying it where it needs to go. Were there non-permanents that could take advantage of this? It would take a Miracle to find cards like that. That's the joke. Micarcle was the ability I was looking for. The likelihood that a miracle spell is the first card you draw in a turn is very low. Since I can move the top card of my deck around, practically at will, I can just improve my odds greatly. Even now I'm excited to have one at the top of my library. It's just something that makes you feel good.

So what kind of Miracles am I packing? Devastation Tide for starters. There's a big difference between a 5 mana board wipe and a 2 mana board wipe. Sticking with removal, I have Terminus. Tucking cards is a great way to get around Indestructible or fueling some graveyard strategy. Vanishment and Banishing Stroke are targeted. Paying full price is a big no, as they are overpriced for their respective effects. However, the Miracle cost is very much worth it. At least I'm in green and can afford to pay a premium. The last Miracle card to talk about is Redress Fate. This one shines in the deck since so many of the cards I'm trying to play are some combination of Enchantments and Artifacts. I really repopulate my board whenever I see this on top.

There are a couple of odds and ends left to talk about, mostly in the form of ramp, card draw, and removal. I do have more enchantments in the deck than average, so I added in some basic support that provides ramp and draw. Glimmers have been very helpful here. Not only do some enter as 2 card types, but once the creature gets killed, it reenters the field as an enchantment, providing more potential draw. Enduring Vitality turns all of my creatures into mana dorks. I don't love dedicated mana dorks in a deck, but passively providing the effect to all my creatures is very powerful at no cost. Enduring Curiosity turns my attackers into card draw. Flash on this effect is even more important since opponents don't expect a large amount of card draw coming my way once attackers have been declared. Inquisitive Glimmer makes my enchantments cheaper. The unlock ability is wasted here though.

My favorite board wipe is still Winds of Abandon. It's great at getting around indestructible or effects that prevent targeting and not fueling graveyard strategies. Most importantly, it gives opponents the opportunity to rebuild after the fact. It doesn't stall the game on their end since the extra mana means they can play multiple spells on their next turn and rebuild. Expose to Daylight and Skywhaler's Shot are a little expensive for their effects, but offer me the option to Scry. Requisition Raid is a flexible way to hit multiple permanents as needed and maybe pump up my team.

How shiny is the deck? Let's see

Amareth, The Lustrous

Flitterstep Eidolon	Bow of Nylea	Jyoti. Moag Ancient
Eidolon of Countless Battle	Spear of Heliod	Staff of Titania
Ghostblade Eidolon	Preston the Vanisher	Courser of Kruphix
Hopeful Eidolon	Arasta of the Endless Web	Wizened Snitches
Hypnotic Siren	Hanna, Ship's Navigator	Oracle of Mul Daya
Noble Quarry	Retreat to Coralhelm	Mul Daya Channelers
Springheart Nantuko	Felidar Retreat	Future Sight
Trikster Elk	Slumbering Keepguard	Magus of the Future
Archon of Sun's Grace	Soaring Lightbringer	Crystal Ball
Sanctum Weaver	Enduring Curiosity	Deliberate
Jukai Naturalist	Inquisitive Glimmer	Forsee
Starfield Mystic	Sythis, Harvest's Hand	Season of Growth
Enduring Vitality	Eidolon of Blossoms	Omen of the Hunt
Starnheim Courser	Satyr Enchanter	Farseek
Seal of Primordium	Guiding Bolt	Replicating Ring
Seal of Cleansing	Crystal Shard	Growthspasm
Requisition Raid	Meticulous Excavation	Omen of the Sun
Expose to Daylight	Essence Reliquary	Omen of the Sea
Winds of Abandon	Sunfall	Solemn Simulacrum
Temple of Enlightenment	Temple of Plenty	Temple of Mystery
Razortide Bridge	Thornglint Bridge	Tanglepool Bridge
Zalfirin Void	Scavenger Grounds	Island x9
Plains x10	Forest x10

There are a lot of pluses going on for the deck. I'm never stalled out on cards and things to cast. The best feature is how forgiving the deck can be. With so much card draw and the ability to know the top card of my deck, I never feel punished for not knowing the exact correct way to sequence my spells.

Do you have a deck that's very forgiving to play? I highly recommend it for new players or getting someone into the format.

I think my return to Bant has been a triumph. It feels consistent and powerful, but not quite what opponents expect out of the gate.

Thanks for reading and all the support to date. I have affiliate links with Mana Pool and TCG Player to help fund these off the wall strategies. It's what makes all this possible,

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