The ZOO by Doyleluschen

Format: Commander

Commander: Volo, Guide to Monsters

Bracket: 2

DeckCheck Threat Index: 26

Deck overview

This deck is a Simic creature-centric midrange strategy built around Volo, Guide to Monsters. The game plan maximizes Volo's ability to copy creature spells by utilizing a diverse creature base spanning distinct types such as Elementals, Beasts, Insets, Serpents, and Avatars. Early turns focus on establishing mana acceleration through 1-2 CMC dorks like Elvish Mystic and Sakura-Tribe Elder, landing Volo safely by Turn 3 or 4. Once operational, the deck casts high-impact enter-the-battlefield creatures, generating double the value on cards like Mulldrifter, Amphin Mutineer, Hornet Queen, and Avenger of Zendikar. It controls the tempo of the game using Junk Winder's repeatable freeze triggers and ETB removal before closing out the game with overwhelming combat damage through End-Raze Forerunners or Return of the Wildspeaker. While vulnerable to mass board wipes due to light countermagic and protection, the deck possesses high natural threat density and recovers reliably.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Acidic Slime
  • 1 Amphin Mutineer
  • 1 Avenger of Zendikar
  • 1 Beast Within
  • 1 Blue Dragon
  • 1 Broken Wings
  • 1 Chorus of Might
  • 1 Commander's Sphere
  • 1 Compel Brutality
  • 1 Diluvian Primordial
  • 1 Djinni Windseer
  • 1 Edgar, Moonlit Sovereign
  • 1 Elemental Bond
  • 1 Elvenking's Halls
  • 1 Elvish Mystic
  • 1 End-Raze Forerunners
  • 1 Eternal Witness
  • 1 Eureka Moment
  • 13 Forest
  • 1 Forgotten Ancient
  • 1 Gift of Paradise
  • 1 Harmonize
  • 1 Hinterland Harbor
  • 1 Hornet Queen
  • 1 Ilysian Caryatid
  • 8 Island
  • 1 Junk Winder
  • 1 Kiora's Follower
  • 1 Lakeside Shack
  • 1 Leyline of Anticipation
  • 1 Llanowar Elves
  • 1 Loot, the Nexus
  • 1 Loyal Drake
  • 1 Man-o'-War
  • 1 Managorger Hydra
  • 1 Memorial to Unity
  • 1 Migration Path
  • 1 Mulldrifter
  • 1 Murkfiend Liege
  • 1 Naturalize
  • 1 Negate
  • 1 Noggle the Mind
  • 1 Ornithopter of Paradise
  • 1 Paradox Gardens
  • 1 Path of Ancestry
  • 1 Peregrine Drake
  • 1 Progenitor Mimic
  • 1 Prosperous Innkeeper
  • 1 Quandrix Campus
  • 1 Rampaging Baloths
  • 1 Reclamation Sage
  • 1 Reef Worm
  • 1 Return of the Wildspeaker
  • 1 Return to Nature
  • 1 Ruric Thar, Magecrusher
  • 1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
  • 1 Scavenging Ooze
  • 1 Secluded Courtyard
  • 1 Self-Reflection
  • 1 Shamanic Revelation
  • 1 Simic Guildgate
  • 1 Slice in Twain
  • 1 Solemn Simulacrum
  • 1 Something Worth Saving
  • 1 Spark Double
  • 1 Sphinx of Clear Skies
  • 1 Spider-Man No More
  • 1 Temur Sabertooth
  • 1 Tendershoot Dryad
  • 1 Terastodon
  • 1 Terramorphic Expanse
  • 1 Thornwood Falls
  • 1 Traxos, Academy Guardian
  • 1 Unexpected Results
  • 1 Unknown Shores
  • 1 Unsummon
  • 1 Vineglimmer Snarl
  • 1 Volo, Guide to Monsters
  • 1 Wild Roads
  • 1 Woodland Stream
  • 1 Zimone's Experiment