Playing the Deck

From its guildhome Vitu-Ghazi, the Selesnya Conclave engages in a relentless campaign of growth, sending its tendrils out into the never-ending streets of the Ravnican metropolis. With the "Strength of Selesnya" deck, you sow the field of battle with a variety of troops, many of them creature tokens. Then you can grow a mighty army using populate effects, which give you another a copy of one of your creature tokens. And finally, as your forces stretch to the horizon, your enemy will crumble in the face of your relentless expansion.

At the start of the game, your goal is simple: plant the seeds of your token army. Innistrad block all-stars Doomed Traveler and Lingering Souls are joined by Call of the Conclave and Grove of the Guardian, some of the best token-creating cards in the Return to Ravnica set. Dragon's Maze adds an exciting new addition to the menagerie: Advent of the Wurm delivers a trampling, 5/5 creature for only .

Once your token army is in place, it's time to reap the rewards. Wake the Reflections makes a copy of your best token for just . That kind of brutal efficiency can quickly swing the game in your favor. On the other hand, Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage, Wayfaring Temple, and Growing Ranks can pump out a new token every turn. Few enemies can withstand such relentless inevitability. If you'd like something a little trickier and more defensive, Rootborn Defenses is your card, making your team indestructible for the rest of the turn. It's perfect for setting up a devastating ambush or for answering an opponent's boardsweeping removal spell.

Your other cards allow you to maximize the effectiveness of your flourishing army. Intangible Virtue turns even your lowliest token recruit into a two-way force of nature. Rancor makes sure Wayfaring Temple never has trouble connecting to trigger its populate ability. Parallel Lives doubles your fun at the same time as it doubles all of your token generation. And when you're finally ready to deliver the killing blow, Champion of Lambholt and Odric, Master Tactician help you easily push through your opponent's defenses.

Your main deck focuses on expanding your army and overwhelming your enemies. Sideboarding gives you the tools to deal with opponents who aren't especially cooperative. If the opposing deck starts attacking quickly with cheap creatures, Centaur Healer is valuable as a roadblock and a quick burst of extra life. Sundering Growth is the perfect antidote for pesky enchantments and artifacts. Some opponents will sit smugly behind a seemingly impenetrable thicket of defenses. Bring in Rogue's Passage to punish their overconfidence.

Once you've had a chance to play the "Strength of Selesnya" deck, you're ready to make it your own. If you enjoyed building up an unstoppable army with Growing Ranks and Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage, try adding Trostani, Selesnya's Voice from Return to Ravnica. Not only can the Selesnya guild leader populate every turn, you also gain life whenever a creature joins your team. If you were more excited about dominating the board with oversized creatures like the ones you get from Advent of the Wurm and Call of the Conclave, creatures like Loxodon Smiter and Armada Wurm pack quite a punch.

Sideboards

Each Magic™ deck may have a sideboard – a group of extra cards that are particularly good against certain opponents. For example, a card that says "Destroy all artifacts" is great against someone playing a deck that relies on lots of artifacts, but useless against opponents who aren't playing with artifacts. After you play a game against an opponent, you may move cards from your sideboard into your main deck, then play that opponent again. You must reset your deck to its original configuration before playing someone new.

In a Constructed game, your sideboard consists of exactly 15 cards. Your combined deck and sideboard can't have more than four copies of any card other than basic land cards. Between games, you may swap in cards from your sideboard in exchange for the same number of cards from your main deck.

In a Limited game, all the cards you opened that aren't in your main deck are in your sideboard. Between games, you may swap in cards from your sideboard in exchange for the same number of cards in your main deck. You may also simply add cards from your sideboard to your main deck