Mayael & Zirda: An Elf, her Fox and Tons of Beef (EDH / Commander)

"Never subtle nor cryptic is the reckoning of the mighty."
—Mayael the Anima

Fox Sailor - Elven Kingdom: https://youtu.be/bbxJKhwitDo

INTRODUCTION

Being a Timmy at heart, I want at least one "stompy" EDH deck in my arsenal. Stampeding over my opponents with a horde of huge creatures is the most simple, but also most satisfying way to close out a game of Commander.
My previous attempt of such a build was my Intet, the Dreamer deck ( http://deck.tk/2hTo0Cna ), which I disassembled in early 2020. While designed to achieve victory through big creatures, Intet often failed to cheat out any behemoths (I guess I should've run more topdeck manipulation). As a result, I've resumed pondering over a list for Mayael the Anima, a legendary elf shaman in Naya colors, which sparked my interest many years ago due to her beautiful but slightly haunting artwork. My first design was basically Naya goodstuff and pretty boring. My next attempt was a "lands matter" build; but since my Nissa deck (https://deck.tk/3aed1ANI) has a similar theme and the finished result still felt too much like goodstuff.dec, I returned to the drawing board one more time.

STRATEGY

One of the main issues with my first two designs was that in many situations I would rather play a fatty from my hand than dig one out of my library with Mayael, since it's always an expensive gambIe to use her ability. Few things in Magic suck more than spending six mana for naught. Therefore I looked for ways to reduce the cost of her ability to make it more feasible, and stumbled across Zirda, the Dawnwaker. A cute pet for my elf with an interesting, outside-the-box brewing restriction AND combo potential? Bingo! Still, it was crucial to have a "critical mass" of suitable creatures in the 99 for Mayael to find. I considered a success propability of 80% to be sufficient as a starting point, and used a hypergeometrical calculator to find out that at least 27 creatures with power 5 or greater are needed to achieve that chance. A quick Gatherer query showed that there are ~180 creatures in Naya colors which meet Mayael's criterion and have an activated ability. Yay, a wide range to choose from! Let's brew! =)

Game pIan:

1. Ramp like there's no tomorrow.
2. Get 'em big beasties out.
3. Let the roflstomping begin!

Win conditions:

1. Turning creature cards sideways.
2. Direct damage.

TACTICS

1. Mayael the Anima
   It's important to note that Mayael's ability can be activated at instant speed, so it's best used a) before blocks if I'm on the defense or b) during an opponent's end step right before I untap. If I'm able to copy the activation with Lithoform Engine Mayael is able to take over a game real quick.
2. Zirda, the Dawnwaker
   ... (TBA)
3. Protecting my board
   Big threats are always big removal magnets, so protection is obligatory. Endless Sands, Mother of Runes, Boros Charm, Emissary of Grudges, Deathless Angel and Asceticism take good care of Mayael, her companion and my behemoths. If they fail, Evolution Charm, Reap the Past, Hua Tuo, Honored Physician and Naya Charm grant me access to my graveyard to retrieve my best creature(s).

CONCLUSION

Playtesting continues, but the first few games were a lot of fun. Mana is abundant, and there are always lots of ways to spend it.
I'd like to know what you think, so please leave a comment. Thanks!