Bounteous Dawn Lifegain
BrawlDeck Strategy
A White-Green lifegain and +1/+1 counters deck that uses Lathiel, the Bounteous Dawn to convert every point of life gained into permanent counters, snowballing into an unstoppable board of giant creatures.
Lathiel, the Bounteous Dawn turns any life gain into +1/+1 counters spread across your creatures, so every Soul Warden, Daxos, Impassioned Orator, and Beza trigger makes your whole team bigger. Resplendent Angel and Griffin Aerie reward you for gaining life by producing Angels and Griffin tokens, which then get pumped by Lathiel, Anthem of Champions, and Mirari's Wake. Light of Promise on an evasive creature like Healer's Hawk turns each lifegain trigger into a permanent +1/+1 snowball, and Doubling Season doubles both the counters from Lathiel and the tokens from your token makers. Heliod, Sun-Crowned is a second copy of Lathiel's effect stapled to an indestructible enchantment, and Roaming Throne doubles your lifegain and token triggers when you name Angel or Cleric.
Keep hands with two to three lands, at least one ramp piece (Avacyn's Pilgrim, Elvish Mystic, Ilysian Caryatid, Llanowar Visionary, Arcane Signet, or a land-fetch spell), and one lifegain payoff such as Lathiel, Heliod, Daxos, Cleric Class, or Light of Promise. A hand with early lifegain plus Swiftfoot Boots to protect your commander is ideal. Mulligan any hand with fewer than two lands, no green source, or no way to gain life by turn three.
Early game: ramp with one-mana dorks and Signets, then deploy cheap lifegain engines (Soul Warden, Healer's Hawk, Impassioned Orator, Daxos) to start stockpiling life and setting up payoffs. Mid game: resolve Lathiel, Heliod, or Light of Promise and begin converting every lifegain trigger into counters; go wide with Leonin Warleader, Regal Caracal, Archon of Sun's Grace, and Griffin Aerie, then buff the team with Anthem of Champions and Mirari's Wake. Late game: close with Doubling Season plus Lathiel for explosive growth, or a huge Ghalta, Primal Hunger, Rampaging Baloths, Mossborn Hydra, or Goring Ceratops; use Day of Judgment and Fumigate to clear blockers when you need a path through, and The Eternal Wanderer as a flexible removal/rebuild piece.
The deck is soft to exile-based and -X/-X board wipes, which bypass indestructible and erase accumulated counters; Rest in Peace effects and graveyard hate can also hurt Valkyrie's Call and Scavenging Ooze lines. Very fast combo or aggro decks can race you before your engines come online, since the deck spends its first turns developing mana. Additionally, because the deck leans on its commander, repeated commander removal plus counter-hate like Solemnity effects will slow you down, so hold Swiftfoot Boots or Sterling Grove for protection.
| Type | Rarity | Card Name | Mana |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creatures (37) | Rare | Archon of Sun's Grace | |
| Uncommon | Armorcraft Judge | ||
| Common | Avacyn's Pilgrim | ||
| Mythic Rare | Beza, the Bounding Spring | ||
| Rare | Bloated Contaminator | ||
| Rare | Danitha, Benalia's Hope | ||
| Rare | Danitha, New Benalia's Light | ||
| Uncommon | Daxos, Blessed by the Sun | ||
| Common | Elvish Mystic | ||
| Rare | Ghalta, Primal Hunger | ||
| Rare | Giada, Font of Hope | ||
| Rare | Goring Ceratops | ||
| Common | Healer's Hawk | ||
| Mythic Rare | Heliod, Sun-Crowned | ||
| Common | Ilysian Caryatid | ||
| Common | Impassioned Orator | ||
| Rare | Inspiring Commander | ||
| Rare | Lathiel, the Bounteous Dawn | ||
| Rare | Leonin Warleader | ||
| Common | Llanowar Visionary | ||
| Mythic Rare | Lyra Dawnbringer | ||
| Rare | Minwu, White Mage | ||
| Mythic Rare | Monastery Mentor | ||
| Rare | Mossborn Hydra | ||
| Mythic Rare | Ocelot Pride | ||
| Mythic Rare | Questing Beast | ||
| Rare | Rampaging Baloths | ||
| Rare | Regal Caracal | ||
| Mythic Rare | Resplendent Angel | ||
| Rare | Roaming Throne | ||
| Rare | Scavenging Ooze | ||
| Rare | Solemn Simulacrum | ||
| Common | Soul Warden | ||
| Rare | Sram, Senior Edificer | ||
| Mythic Rare | Vizier of the Menagerie | ||
| Rare | Werefox Bodyguard | ||
| Rare | Yenna, Redtooth Regent | ||
| Planeswalkers (1) | Rare | The Eternal Wanderer | |
| Instants (1) | Uncommon | Enlightened Tutor | |
| Sorceries (6) | Uncommon | Bushwhack | |
| Common | Cultivate | ||
| Rare | Day of Judgment | ||
| Rare | Fumigate | ||
| Uncommon | Harmonize | ||
| Common | Rampant Growth | ||
| Artifacts (7) | Common | Arcane Signet | |
| Uncommon | Mind Stone | ||
| Rare | Nettlecyst | ||
| Uncommon | Selesnya Signet | ||
| Uncommon | Swiftfoot Boots | ||
| Uncommon | Talisman of Unity | ||
| Common | Wayfarer's Bauble | ||
| Enchantments (12) | Mythic Rare | Angelic Destiny | |
| Rare | Anthem of Champions | ||
| Uncommon | Cleric Class | ||
| Mythic Rare | Doubling Season | ||
| Uncommon | Griffin Aerie | ||
| Uncommon | Light of Promise | ||
| Rare | Mirari's Wake | ||
| Mythic Rare | Primeval Bounty | ||
| Rare | Sterling Grove | ||
| Rare | Sylvan Scavenging | ||
| Rare | Terrasymbiosis | ||
| Mythic Rare | Valkyrie's Call | ||
| Lands (36) | Common | Command Tower | |
| Common | Evolving Wilds | ||
| Rare | Fabled Passage | ||
| Basic Land | Forest | ||
| Rare | Fortified Village | ||
| Rare | Great Hall of the Biblioplex | ||
| Rare | Multiversal Passage | ||
| Rare | Nesting Grounds | ||
| Basic Land | Plains | ||
| Common | Radiant Fountain | ||
| Rare | Temple of Plenty | ||
| Common | Terramorphic Expanse |