The Selesnya Company deck first caught my eye a few weeks ago when Joe Pennachio went 6-0 in an SCG Satellite. The deck is a ton of fun, and I’ve been tinkering with it ever since, playing the deck to Mythic the last two months. As the metagame evolves, there are a lot of adjustments you can make within the 75 for what you expect to face. The power of Collected Company makes this deck a threat whether you are ahead or behind in a game.
Most games are won with the flyers, often piling counters from Luminarch Aspirant onto them, while the beefy creatures like Lovestruck Beast and Yasharn clog up the ground. Of course, they are good attackers too, so if you can clear out a defender with Skyclave Apparition, it does not take long for them to finish the game.
The taxes part of the deck is what brings it together. Archon of Emeria is sneaky good, and it’s become one of my favorite cards this year, even though I’m not a white mage by any stretch! I giggle every time an opponent shocks for a tapped Breeding Pool or they immediately play a land for turn and then pause when they realize they are a mana short of what they wanted to do. I see you highlighting Archon to read it!
Yasharn’s anti-sacrifice clause is certainly a powerful effect. It’s helpful for slowing down goblins and is backbreaking against Rakdos and Jund Sacrifice. I’ve currently got the third in the sideboard for when we need it and am trying Linvala, Keeper of Silence as a similar tool. She still stops Skirk Prospector, but also other creatures like Krenko, Conspicuous Snoop, Scavenging Ooze, and animated Nissa lands that Yasharn misses. Yasharn is better overall, but they are both legendary, and Linvala is another flyer to help close games.
Sideboard Guide:
Sultai/4c Midrange - It’s the best deck in the format. The matchup is tough, but I’ve held even against them. Uro is not that good against us, with the Skyclave Apparitions and Scavenging Oozes. Nissa is a much bigger problem. Tomik can stop Nissa from animating lands, but she still doubles mana, which lets them refill their hand with Hydroid Krasis. We need to pressure them with Lovestruck Beast and Luminarch Aspirant and disrupt them with Archon and Tithe Taker, but take care not to overextend into an Extinction Event. Vivien and Maul of the Skyclave help add to the board without getting caught up in the sweepers.
+2 Vivien, Monsters’ Advocate
+2 Questing Beast
+2 Banishing Light
+1 Giant Killer
-4 Llanowar Elves
-2 Yasharn, Implacable Earth
-1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
Goblins - We need to keep them from having “the big turn”. The haste lords, Goblin Warchief and Goblin Chieftain, are important to contain, so save your Skyclave Apparitions for them if possible. Kinjalli’s Sunwing also helps reduce their effectiveness. Archon of Emeria keeps them from dumping their hand if they have cost reducers, like Goblin Warchief or Herald’s Horn. The battlefield gets bogged down with all their goblins, so we cut the two-drops that aren’t able to get through and lean on our disruptive flyers to finish them.
+3 Kinjalli’s Sunwing
+2 Giant Killer
+2 Banishing Light
+1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
+1 Yasharn, Implacable Earth
-4 Scavenging Ooze
-3 Tithe Taker
-2 Tomik, Distinguished Advokist
Azorius Control - The control matchup is pretty straight forward. It’s just a matter of pressuring the opponent or their planeswalkers without losing too much from Shatter the Sky. Vivien and Questing Beast are great tools to rebuild after getting wrathed.
+2 Vivien, Monsters’ Advocate
+2 Questing Beast
+2 Knight of Autumn
-2 Yasharn, Implacable Earth
-2 Tomik, Distinguished Advokist
-1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
-1 Skyclave Apparition
Gruul Aggro - Sunwings come in to slow down their haste threats. Giant Killer and Banishing Light take care of their biggest creatures. Try to get a counter on Skyclave Apparition, so it can’t get Stomped.
+3 Kinjalli’s Sunwing
+2 Vivien, Monsters’ Advocate
+2 Banishing Light
+2 Giant Killer
-3 Tithe Taker
-2 Yasharn, Implacable Earth
-2 Tomik, Distinguished Advokist
-1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
-1 Luminarch Aspirant
Rakdos/Jund Sacrifice - Yasharn and Linvala do a lot of work in these matchups. Even Tithe Taker can hinder things like Witch’s Oven or Woe Strider. Skyclave Apparition can answer many of their problem permanents. Usually they just scoop to Yasharn though. If they have Korvold, you may want the Banishing Lights in place of the other Llanowar Elves.
+2 Vivien, Monsters’ Advocate
+1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
+1 Yasharn, Implacable Earth
-2 Tomik, Distinguished Advokist
-2 Llanowar Elves
Azorius/Orzhov Auras - Skyclave Apparition is a good answer to any of their threats. Yasharn and Linvala turn off Alseid of Life’s Bounty and Selfless Savior’s abilities. They typically win with a large flying, vigilant threat, so Giant Killer’s tap ability is a good way to neutralize the threat. Husbring
+2 Vivien, Monsters’ Advocate
+2 Knight of Autumn
+2 Giant Killer
+1 Linvala, Keeper of SIlence
+1 Yasharn, Implacable Earth
-4 Llanowar Elves
-2 Tithe Taker
-2 Tomik, Distinguished Advokist
The mirror - Just in case this is the next big thing, it’s good to have a plan!
+2 Vivien, Monsters’ Advocate
+2 Giant Killer
+1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
-2 Yasharn, Implacable Earth
-2 Tomik, Distinguished Advokist
-1 Scavenging Ooze
Author: Robert Taylor
