Quick Links
Magic: The Gathering’s Selesnya colors, green and white, aren’t just about life--it’s about organized life. It’s about revering nature and all things it produces but as caretakers. As such, Selesnya will share green’s propensity for casting lots and lots of creatures, but it’ll also still have white’s ability to clear the board when its opponents don’t follow Selesnya’s carefully orchestrated plan.
With both strong ramp and removal, green and white can be one of Commander’s most potent color combinations. If you’re looking at making your first Selesnya Commander deck, consider these staple cards. You’ll be glad you did.
Ramp
With full access to green's many, many ramp spells, it's no surprise to see cards like Cultivate, Kodama's Reach, and Farseek in Selesnya Commander decks. Likewise, Sakura-Tribe Elder, Delighted Halfling, and Birds of Paradise are fine additions for both ramp and mana fixing.
Once you add a splash of white, you get a few new interesting ramp options. Faeburrow Elder, Steward of Valeron, and Katilda, Dawnhart Prime are all great creatures that provide mana along with a little extra. Smothering Tithe is an excellent way of ramping yourself up or slowing your opponents down, but it can also draw a few angry glances in a casual playgroup.
Selvala, Explorer Returned is the exact opposite of Smother Tithe. Selvala makes everyone smile by drawing cards, but it lets the Selesnya player gain both mana and life.
- Cultivate
- Kodama’s Reach
- Farseek
- Sakura-Tribe Elder
- Delighted Halfling
- Birds of Paradise
- Faeburrow Elder
- Katilda, Dawnhart Prime
- Selvala, Explorer Returned
- Steward of Valeron
- Smothering Tithe
Card Draw
As with mono-green decks, the most efficient way Selesnya can grab extra cards is by harnessing its tendency to cast a lot of creatures. Camaraderie, Leinore, Autumn Sovereign, and Huatli, Radiant Champion all love it when you cast creatures or already have a lot of creatures on the board. Ditto Beast Whisperer.
Rite of Harmony not only lets you grab more cards whenever you cast creatures that turn, but it also works for enchantments too. Besides loving creatures, Selesnya is also a big fan of enchantments, which is why Sythis, Harvest's Hand is a great way to draw cards, alongside Mesa and Veruduran Enchantress.
But if you just want more cards without the strings, Harmonize and Ajani Unyielding are likely your best bets.
- Camaraderie
- Leinore, Autumn Sovereign
- Ajani Unyielding
- Huatli, Radiant Champion
- Rite of Harmony
- Sythis, Harvest's Hand
- Mesa Enchantress
- Veruduran Enchantress
- Harmonize
- Beast Whisperer
Removal
If you need to get rid of a problematic creature, Selesnya has the best spells in Magic with Path to Exile and Swords to Plowshares. Beast Within and Generous Gift are also there, and Banishing Light is especially good in enchantment strategies but is perfectly acceptable even without any additional deck synergy.
If you need artifacts or enchantments dead, Knight of Autumn, Sundering Growth, and Qasali Pridemage would like to have a word. Sylvan Reclamation can even get two at once. Aura Mutation is perfect for token strategies (something else Selesnya loves), and you can't go wrong with Krosan Grip or Nature's Claim.
- Knight of Autumn
- Sundering Growth
- Nature’s Claim
- Qasali Pridemage
- Aura Mutation
- Sylvan Reclamation
- Selesnya Charm
- Beast Within
- Generous Gift
- Krosan Grip
- Swords to Plowshares
- Path to Exile
- Banishing Light
Board Clear
If you want to get rid of a lot of artifacts or enchantments, green has you covered with Bane of Progress or Back to Nature. Throw in a bit of white and Fracturing Gust will give you some extra life on the side.
Getting rid of a lot of creatures, however, is white's wheelhouse. Wrath of God, Vanquish the Horde, and Farewell are all great ways to reset the board. But if you want an especially fun way of destroying all creatures, Novablast Wurm comes attached to a 7/7 body that repeatedly blows up the world every time it attacks.
- Novablast Wurm
- Fracturing Gust
- Back to Nature
- Bane of Progress
- Wrath of God
- Vanquish the Horde
- Farewell
Little Creatures With Big Dreams
There are a lot of smaller Selesnya creatures that have pretty big effects. Some sacrifice themselves for the good of the people, like Saffi Eriksdotter, Loxodon Hierarch, or Dauntless Escort, while others take a more active role in protecting your army, like Sigarda, Font of Blessings or Sigarda, Heron's Grace.
Still others, like Fleeceman Lion and Bronzehide Lion, merely offer big, efficient bodies that can help protect your board in the early game while becoming a big threat later on. Gaddock Teeg is especially noteworthy as he can completely shut down certain deck archetypes all on his own.
Captain Sisay is a fantastic tutor, Knight of the Reliquary is a great way to grab particular lands, and Mirri can keep you relatively safe while she's off dueling with your opponents.
- Sigarda, Font of Blessings
- Arwen, Mortal Queen
- Saffi Eriksdotter
- Sigarda, Heron's Grace
- Dauntless Escort
- Loxodon Hierarch
- Fleecemane Lion
- Bronzehide Lion
- Captain Sisay
- Gaddock Teeg
- Knight of the Reliquary
- Mirri, Weatherlight Duelist
- Shanna, Sisay’s Legacy
- Kitchen Finks
Big Creatures With Even Bigger Dreams
Lest we forget, Selesnya can also cast some pretty big bodies too. Dromoka, the Eternal and Dragonlord Dromoka are both big, helpful dragons, while Archon of Valor's Reach and Sigarda, Host of Herons can cripple opposing strategies. Best to play those at the right time.
If hexproof wasn't enough both Phantom Nishoba and Arashin Sovereign offer tricky creatures for your opponents to deal with, while Autochthon Wurm and Worldsoul Colossus can convoke their way into the early game with the right strategies.
And since we're green, Woodfall Primus remains one of the best big beasts for any Commander to cast.
- Dragonlord Dromoka
- Dromoka, the Eternal
- Archon of Valor's Reach
- Sigarda, Host of Herons
- Phantom Nishoba
- Arashin Sovereign
- Autochthon Wurm
- Worldsoul Colossus
- Woodfall Primus
Tokens, Tokens, Tokens
Besides enchantments, which we'll get to later, Selesnya has a love of producing tons of creature tokens. Whether they be +1/+1 tokens or just 1/1 human tokens, Selesnya will make as many as it can. Creating a deck that centers around this strategy can be very potent, but even without doing so, some token-centric cards are powerful enough even on their own.
For example, Rhys the Redeemed is great in a token deck, but he's also perfectly capable of creating a token army without any help whatsoever. March of the Multitudes is a great spell to cast even if you don't gain anything else other than those tokens. Trostani, Selesnya's Voice doesn't need a token in play to be a life-gain machine, but it certainly helps.
There are loads more cards that can supercharge a token strategy, but these are the cards that you should pay attention to first.
- Farmer Cotton
- Ajani, the Greathearted
- Trostani, Selesnya's Voice
- Rhys, the Redeemed
- March of the Multitudes
- King Darien XLVIII
- Good-Fortune Unicorn
- Hamza, Guardian of Arashin
- Emmara, Soul of the Accord
- Selesnya Evangel
- Ironroot Warlord
- Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage
- Maja, Bretagard Protector
- Torens, Fist of the Angels
- Voice of Resurgence
Enchantments
As with tokens, Selesnya can supercharge an enchantment-based strategy such that it's all your deck is about. But even without being part of a theme, these enchantments are great to play with on their own.
Rancor and Armadillo Cloak turn any creature into a threat. Mirrari's Wake and Karametra, God of Harvests are monstrous ramp cards that can help power out that Autochthon Wurm. Privileged Position, Ghostly Prison, and Glare of Subdual are great for protection while you're building your army.
And let's not forget Aura Shards, the enchantments that turn every creature into a Disenchant. If you play with no other enchantments, play with Aura Shards.
- Rancor
- Mirari's Wake
- Aura Shards
- Karametra, God of Harvests
- Privileged Position
- Armadillo Cloak
- Glare of Subdual
- Ghostly Prison
Lands
As with any multicolor deck, you'll want to use as many green and white-producing lands as you can. Pay special attention to lands with Forest and Plains keywords, so they can be fetched by Farseek or Karametra.
Beyond that, there are a few lands worth considering. Both Grove of the Guardian and Stirring Wildwood can turn into surprise creatures, while Vitu-Ghazi, the City-Tree and Gavony Township can help produce an army even if you run out of cards.
Bretagard Stronghold only offers the bulk of its benefits for one turn, but with Rogue’s Passage, one turn might be all you need.
- Bretagard Stronghold
- Grove of the Guardian
- Vitu-Ghazi, the City-Tree
- Stirring Wildwood
- Gavony Township
- Rogue’s Passage