Titania, Protector of Argoth: The Last Guardian (EDH / Commander)

"As Argoth's last defenders fell to Urza's juggernauts, Titania said, ‘Nature cannot be destroyed, only changed.'"
—The Antiquities War
"The Last Guardian" by David Eman: https://youtu.be/Dv6Pq295G08

=== P L E A S E _ N O T E ===

I disassembled this deck in February 2020.

=== L O R E ===

(Usually I don't add lore to my EDH deck primers, but the story of Titania is really awesome, so I made an exception.
I took most of the following text from mtg.gamepedia.com, and complemented it by some info gathered from flavor texts of actual Magic cards from the Urza block. I also added the names of cards which are part of my deck and directly or at least flavor-wise refer to the lore. Enjoy!)

Titania was the Maro-Sorcerer - the elemental manifestation of the land - for the lush, sentient forest of Argoth (Vernal Bloom, Primeval Bounty). Argoth was a large island off the mainland of Terisiare on Dominaria. It was rich in natural resources (Crystal Vein) and home to many elves since the time of the Thran. It was also inhabited by an order of druids, descendants of the survivors who had escaped the Thran Civil War, which disavowed the use of technology (Bane of Progress). They resided in the settlement of Citanul - some kind of capital city - in the heart of the wood (Sylvan Safekeeper). Argoth itself was connected with its inhabitants, and could warn them of intruders; it also harbored Gaea's Cradle, the legendary place from where Argoth was said to had begun growing.
Near the end of the Antiquities War - a world-encompassing conflict between the great artificers Urza and his brother Mishra - Urza's son Harbin discovered Argoth when he landed there in a storm (Exploration), and both Urza's and Mishra's drained armies soon moved operations there. Before long, the land's resources were nearly depleted by the two war machines (Strip Mine). Argoth's elves and native creatures were unable to stop the Brothers' plundering (Greater Good). Titania tried to negotiate with both of them, but they wouldn't leave. She then led the argothian campaign against both armies, but was weakened due to the defilement of the woods (Smokestack) and eventually killed in the midst of their combat. The Citanul druids found a haven in the cool limestone tunnels beneath Argoth (Safe Haven, Rogue's Passage), from where they planned their raids against the enemy (Citanul Flute). The battle for Argoth saw the fiercest fighting yet in the conflict, and culminated in the Sylex Blast, a devastating explosion set off by Urza when activating an ancient, powerful artifact named the Golgothian Sylex (Oblivion Stone, because the Sylex is unplayable). It nearly wiped Argoth from the map, killed most of its lifeforms, shattered the continental plate beneath it, and threw Dominaria into a time of ice (Glacial Chasm), which lasted for almost 2,500 years until the planeswalker Freyalise ended it with her World Spell (The Mending of Dominaria). Only a few small, scattered islands have remained in Argoth's location (Scorched Ruins). The few surviving elves eked out a meager existence, until migrating to Fyndhorn many centuries later.
The blast didn't kill Urza however, but instead ignited his planeswalker spark. Many centuries later, when Urza traveled throughout Dominaria to gain allies for the coming war with Phyrexia, he went to Yavimaya, a place he knew held deep hatred of him for the destruction of Argoth. Multani, Yavimaya's Avatar, feigned a peaceful welcome, but magically trapped Urza in a magnigoth tree for years, forcing him to experience all the pain Titania, the Maro-Sorcerer of Argoth, had felt.

(TL;DR - Titania was the Maro-Sorcerer for the lush forest of Argoth, which was attacked by both sides for supplies at the end of the Brothers' War. After her negotiations with the invaders had failed, she led a campaign against both armies. Titania eventually perished after Urza activated the Golgothian Sylex during his final battle with Mishra, leading to the extinction of most of the lifeforms on Argoth.)

=== I N T R O D U C T I O N ===

I'm a person with a great affinity for nature. I grew up in a small town near a beautiful reservoir lake in the wooded hills of western Germany, which may be one of the reasons why green (besides red) is my favorite color in Magic.

In the past few years I have built and played two mono green EDH decks: Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury (green goodstuff) and Verdeloth the Ancient (big mana saprolings). I dismantled both after some time, because neither provided the long-term, fun and diversified gaming experience I aim to achieve with all of my deck designs.

Now, after stumbling across some deck tech videos on YouTube, I decided to give Titania, Protector of Argoth a try, since she does something pretty unique by turning all land cards in the 99 - which make up at least 35 to 40 percent of any given EDH deck - into win conditions. She also manages to turn junk like Sandstone Deadfall or Primeval Force into not only playable, but outright powerful cards, which is another thing I love because of the looks I get from my friends when playing them.

=== S T R A T E G Y ===

Game plan:
a) Accelerate mana by playing extra lands. Titania is essential for this decks' strategy, so she has to enter the battlefield a.s.a.p. Cards like Myriad Landscape, Burgeoning and Edge of Autumn make sure she will.
b) Sacrifice lands after playing Titania to create 5/3 elemental creature tokens. Scapeshift, Primeval Force and Terastodon are able to create an army out of thin air.
c) Use cards like Life from the Loam, Crucible of Worlds, World Shaper and The Mending of Dominaria to recur the sac'ed lands from your graveyard.
d) Meanwhile, get additional value from permanents with the landfall ability.

Win conditions:

1. Most brutal beatdown. This is a mono green deck, after all.
2. Attrition. This deck can theoretically be played forever thanks to The Mending of Dominaria plus Eternal Witness or Nissa, Vital Force, and Glacial Chasm or Constant Mists are able to protract the game until your opponents' resources are depleted. Use Scavenging Ooze to empty their graveyards.

Mentionable cards & synergies:

• Lands
  This deck runs 45 lands in total, because they are essential for its strategy (yes, even more than usual).
• Command Beacon
  Titania doesn't approve of commander tax.
• Gaea's Cradle
  I had to include my one copy in this deck because of flavor alone, but it is also useful to compensate for sacrificed lands. For each created elemental, the cradle taps for one more green mana. Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx is a very decent substitute, and costs only a few bucks instead of hundreds.
• Smokestack
  Awesome flavor and function. You'll always have lands to spare, but your opponents won't. And while their side of the board is cleared, yours will be cluttered with 5/3's.
• Rogue's Passage, Brawn, Eldrazi Monument and Baru, Fist of Krosa
  Ways to give the elemental tokens evasion, since they're vanilla creatures after all. The artifact also protects your board.

Tips & tactics:
Not much to say here. I think the only thing to avoid is sacrificing too many lands without any backup, e.g. from Life from the Loam. But once that condition is met, this deck can be very explosive.

=== E V A L U A T I O N ===

This deck has the potential for extremely explosive plays. It is absolutely possible to have >20 power worth of creatures on the table by turn 5 or earlier. I may also be just one board wipe away from losing the game at any given time, but the "high risk, high reward" style gameplay is very exciting. After the first few games, I can say that Titania is a keeper.
If you have any questions or suggestions please leave a comment. Thanks!