When players think of finishers in Commander, one of the first cards that comes to mind is almost certainly Craterhoof Behemoth. Craterhoof Behemoth has the ability to take a board of puny creatures and make them all massive threats. In many cases, Craterhoof Behemoth will end the game the turn it gets cast.
Of course, as an eight-drop, the card hasn’t made a huge dent in Constructed over the years. It’s shown up in some strategies like Legacy Elves, but for the most part, has remained a Commander staple.
With the card getting reprinted in Tarkir: Dragonstorm and therefore becoming Standard and Pioneer legal, there was some hope that the card would make some noise. For the most part, that hasn’t been the case… until now. Yesterday, Craterhoof Behemoth made a big splash in the Magic Online Pioneer Challenge winning decklist! If any deck is built to abuse the big bomb, it’s this one.
Craterhoof Behemoth and Collector’s Cage
At its core, this Selesnya deck is focused on generating value and putting lots of creatures into play. By utilizing creatures that produce creature tokens with different power when they enter, you’re well set up to maximize Collector’s Cage.
Collector’s Cage is a very strong build-around. Alongside creatures like Pawpatch Recruit and Sanguine Evangelist, it’s not too difficult to assemble a board with three creatures of different power. Besides, Collector’s Cage can help you grow creatures of your choice to meet the different power requirements.
Once you succeed, you get to play the card you exiled via Hideaway for free. As you might expect, Craterhoof Behemoth is definitely the best of the bunch. Growing your whole squad and giving each creature Trample should be more than enough to cross the finish line.
Prior to Craterhoof Behemoth’s printing in Tarkir: Dragonstorm, Selesnya Cage decklists would often resort to finishers like Moonshaker Cavalry. Moonshaker Cavalry serves a similar purpose but isn’t quite as reliable of a kill condition.
Assuming you have three other creatures in play when you activate Collector’s Cage, both Craterhoof Behemoth and Moonshaker Cavalry would give your team +4/+4. The difference is that Craterhoof Behemoth has Haste and gives Trample instead of Flying.
Against decks like mono-green Devotion, being able to attack with Craterhoof right away and Trample over Cavalier of Thorns can let you win games you otherwise might lose with Moonshaker Cavalry in the same spot.
Now, you won’t always hit Craterhoof Behemoth off Hideaway, but this deck has a few other solid cards to hit. Emeria’s Call doubles as a land and a strong Hideaway target. Meanwhile, Overlord of the Mistmoors is a bomb that you can easily hard cast thanks to the Impending cost if you draw it naturally. In most situations, though, Craterhoof Behemoth is going to be your all-star Hideaway choice.
Quickly Generating Value
What’s nice about the Selesnya Cage deck is that even in the games where you don’t draw Collector’s Cage, you can still win just fine. You can always win via traditional beats with your tokens. Sanguine Evangelist lines up very well versus removal and can pump your small tokens when you attack all out.
The biggest edge you have in grindy games, though, is without a doubt Enduring Innocence. Enduring Innocence can come down as early as turn two if you have Llanowar Elves or Elvish Mystic in your opening hand. From then on, you’ll be able to draw a plethora of cards.
If your opponent can kill it, the Enchantment will still generate tons of value. Your opponent needs to have exile-based removal such as Torch the Tower or they’re in some trouble.
This deck’s midrange gameplan is elite. Against strategies like Rakdos midrange and mono-black midrange, you have so many cards that go wide that it’s tough for traditional kill spells to keep you in check. Some cards, like Elspeth, Storm Slayer, make it trivial to beat Wrath effects as well.
Lack of Removal
If there’s anything to be concerned about with this deck, it’s mainly its lack of removal. Your slew of creatures does a good job stemming the bleeding in a lot of instances, but mono-red is good at fighting through blockers with Monstrous Rage and Screaming Nemesis.
While Portable Hole out of the sideboard helps, you don’t want to dilute your deck too much or your Collector’s Cage gameplan becomes less reliable. With so many token producers in the mix, you have less room for interactive creatures, including Skyclave Apparition.
Luckily, Collector’s Cage is capable of racing the red decks. You always have the out of putting a fast Craterhoof Behemoth kill together, which goes a long way against combo decks, too. The deck’s excellent performance should put it back on the radar, and there’s a lot to like about its position in the current metagame.