“Nature is the endless dance between life and death.”
— Seton, centaur druid
A Champion of the Wild
Dominaria is famously known as the center of the multiverse. This is where the history of Magic was written, the greatest among the great wars was fought. This is also where many heroes and villains of Blind Eternities was born.
Among the tumults and calamities that wrought the plane, a small island known as Otaria thrive. While it was a small region left untouched during the Phyrexian War, this was the main stage where the clash for the very essence of magic herself occurred. The battle between the crusaders known as The Order and the not-so-underground crime syndicate the Cabal, the intrigue and machination of the Mer Empire, the ferocious barbarians tribe of the Pardic Mountain, and the mysterious Krosan Forest that host a wilderness unmatched by any other jungle on the plane. This is where the goddess of Magic, the world’s very essence of magic and mana, Karona, was born, fought over, and perished.
Risen among the war and battle was a single centaur druid known as Seton. Chosen as the champion of the Krosan Forest, he was sent to investigate the magic disturbance caused by the Mirari at the Cabal City, the syndicate’s greatest city. A master druid and a ferocious fighter, Seton was tasked to determine the source, and if needed be, neutralize it.
I have to admit, I always has a soft spot for this druid. His access to mana very early in the game allows me to cast gigantic spells faster that opponents. What makes Seton interesting is his ability allows you to ignore summoning sickness on your druids, allowing them to produce mana the turn they enter the fray. While in a Commander deck, having up to 10 mana of your fourth turn can turn the table early with cards like Kozilek, Butcher of Truth rendering your opponent hapless against an annihilating 4 by the fifth turn. However, this new format totally brings a different approach, with no access to high converted mana cost spells. So, what makes this commander still playable in Tiny Leaders?
In the format that allows only spells with converted mana cost of three and below, what is the use of having so many mana producers? No gigantic beasts can make its way to the format, nor can the mob overrun the whole battlefield after transformed by a spell. But there is another way a green mage can make use of all those mana – the Hydras. With little to no access to mass removals, a hydra can thrive and trample over a lot of small creatures that make their home in the format.
Interested with the one that can keep on growing heads?
Or maybe you like something big that can later breed more big bodies?
Or, perhaps you like to browse your whole deck for something that you really before sweeping for the kill?
With very small numbers of creatures that can go as big Hydras, and limited number of mass removals to handle these pesky multi-headed serpents, its just a matter of time for you to trample over the battlefield to victory.
Without further ado, lets view the future army of tiny Seton:
Interactions and Shenenigans
Rather than focusing on one-time used of instant and sorcery spells, the deck relies on a heavy numbers of enchantments that take advantage of your creatures. Beastmaster Ascension and Gaea’s Anthem can buff up you creatures, both druids and hydra alike. Contagion Clasp, Bow of Nylea, and Curse of Predation also works well with Hardened Scales, growing more in size, or maybe heads, to the already growing armies.
This deck also has another winning condition. Should the army of hydras is insufficient to bring your enemies to their knees, perhaps a timely investment on Helix Pinnacle can grants you the lottery ticket to victory. After all, building a majestic tower (or a hundred) is never a hard task for the deck that can produce tons of mana in a single turn.
Strengths and Weaknesses
While I haven’t really tested the deck yet (well, most of my cards are in my EDH Seton deck as of wright now…), I am unable to see how well the deck can perform, especially against the really fast deck like Alesha or removal-heavy deck like Toshiro Umezawa. However, the deck most probably face similar problems like how Seton deck would in the Commander format. Since the deck rely heavily on Seton and his druidic circle to produce mana, the land count on the deck is slightly lower compared to the norm. In fact, the deck has less land then what usually found on a 40-card decks in limited. While limited, a number of mass removal available in the set could cripple this deck early, like Infest or the black Zenith. Also, the deck has little to no defense against offensive decks while setting up early in the game. However, with enough time and investment, once the hydras start making their appearance, it will be hard for the opponent to stop your rampaging monster. Even Sudden Spoiling won’t be enough to deter their rampage .
Eligibility
Few people may question the eligibality of casting a hydra, for example, Hooded Hydra, with X for five. Wouldn’t that makes the spell’s converted mana cost as seven? As per FAQ on the official Tiny Leaders site dated December 1st, 2014:
Q: What’s the deal with X spells? Can I play my Genesis Wave, ____ Sun’s Zenith?
A: The converted mana cost of a card is the sum of the numbers and mana symbols in the cost. Cards with X in the cost treat X as 0 when determining the converted mana cost of the card. Note that the word “card” is used, since the converted mana cost of an X spell (when the card is on the stack) is determined by what value you have chosen for X, plus all other numbers and mana symbols in the cost of the card.
A (short): Count the symbols and numbers, treat X as 0. Did you count to 0, 1, 2, or 3? yes? you can play it.
Sideboard Ideas
Here are some ideas of what you can include in the sideboard:
- Melira, Sylvok Outcast – useful against black Zenith and other -1/-1 counters, as well as the infect deck (since you’ll still lose with 10 poison counter).
- The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale – good when facing swarming decks. Since this deck is very good at producing mana, the penalty most likely be one-sided only.
That’s it for now. Wait for more deck ideas from me on more Otarian Tiny Leaders soon. Meanwhile, have fun stomping other tiny leaders with the gigantic hydra.
Warm Regards,
Ichi.
“Tiny Leaders™” is a trademark of Bramwell Tackaberry and Steven Hamonic 2013-2015.
The Commander Chronicles 
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