Zendikar Commanders Rising: Ashaya, Soul of the Wild

From token to full-fledged card, Ashaya, Soul of the Wild is one of the new Legendary creatures from Zendikar Rising that brings an interesting effect to the table. All your non-token creatures are Forest lands in addition to their types! Besides synergizing directly with Ashaya whose power and toughness are determined by your land count it also turns all your creatures into pseudo-Dryad Arbors. When everything becomes a mana dork things can get out of hand.

Dryad Arbor is an interesting card as are the rest of the animated lands. They can’t be hit with non-land removal for instance, so Cyclonic Rift no longer affects your creatures. I’ve been in a situation where a Craterhoof Behemoth board swung at me and because I couldn’t Cyclonic Rift the Dryad Arbor it got through for lethal. Now, this can be used proactively with Oblivion Stone and Perilous Vault, leaving your creatures untouched by their removal, everything else is collateral damage though.

Mono-Green has a lot of interactions Forests and mana dorks and now all your non-token creatures are both. Besides the Vernal Bloom/Nissa, Who Shakes the World additional mana, we have the 'bounce Forest creatures and land untappers'. A Quirion Ranger can bounce a Forest to untap a Ley Weaver normally, but now they’re both Forests with Ashaya, so with Quirion Ranger you can bounce and replay to bounce it again. Better yet, Ley Weaver and other creatures that can untap two or more land can untap a land and itself giving you infinite mana. Well, I guess that means it’s a good time to break out the big creatures and mana sinks then. This looks like a fun and deadly Mono-Green deck and I am all for it.

Forest of Ashaya

()

Commander (1)

1 Ashaya, Soul of the Wild

Creatures (30)

1 Arbor Elf

1 Argothian Elder

1 Avenger of Zendikar

1 Craterhoof Behemoth

1 Elvish Mystic

1 Eternal Witness

1 Fyndhorn Elves

1 Krosan Restorer

1 Ley Weaver

1 Llanowar Elves

1 Lotus Cobra

1 Nissa, Vastwood Seer // Nissa, Sage Animist

1 Nylea, Keen-Eyed

1 Wirewood Symbiote

1 World Breaker

1 Yeva, Nature's Herald

1 Oracle of Mul Daya

1 Priest of Titania

1 Quirion Ranger

1 Ramunap Excavator

1 Reclamation Sage

1 Regal Force

1 Sakura-Tribe Scout

1 Scryb Ranger

1 Surrak, the Hunt Caller

1 Timber Protector

1 Tireless Tracker

1 Titania, Protector of Argoth

1 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger

1 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth

Artifacts (13)

1 Caged Sun

1 Darksteel Garrison

1 Emerald Medallion

1 Lightning Greaves

1 Mana Crypt

1 Mana Vault

1 Oblivion Stone

1 Perilous Vault

1 Sensei's Divining Top

1 Skullclamp

1 Sol Ring

1 Sword of Feast and Famine

1 The Great Henge

Enchantments (6)

1 Growing Rites of Itlimoc // Itlimoc, Cradle of the Sun

1 Guardian Project

1 Leyline of Abundance

1 Sylvan Library

1 Vernal Bloom

1 Wilderness Reclamation

Instants (4)

1 Chord of Calling

1 Force of Vigor

1 Heroic Intervention

1 Worldly Tutor

Sorceries (3)

1 Finale of Devastation

1 Green Sun's Zenith

1 Seasons Past

Planeswalkers (7)

1 Garruk Wildspeaker

1 Garruk, Primal Hunter

1 Nissa, Vital Force

1 Nissa, Who Shakes the World

1 Nissa, Worldwaker

1 Vivien, Champion of the Wilds

1 Vivien, Monsters' Advocate

Lands (36)

1 Ancient Tomb

1 Blast Zone

1 Castle Garenbrig

1 Cavern of Souls

1 Deserted Temple

1 Dryad Arbor

1 Dust Bowl

1 Fabled Passage

1 Field of the Dead

12 Forest

1 Gaea's Cradle

1 Misty Rainforest

1 Myriad Landscape

1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx

1 Prismatic Vista

4 Snow-Covered Forest

1 Strip Mine

1 Tranquil Thicket

1 Verdant Catacombs

1 Windswept Heath

1 Wooded Foothills

1 Yavimaya Hollow