How can I even spend the time writing anything if I read the decklist and I do not see the secure the wastes on it. Just ignore me…

We all expect -2/-2 effects (or 2 dmg with kozilek’s return). But the deck is so resilient with this cards that you can play around them. Once you manage to play Gideon glorious anthem effect, you are only 1 pump spell away to save your creatures from this effects (Nissa, another Gideon, or cracking a fetch to trigger retreat of emeria landfall). Also we all know eot secure the wastes followed by a gideon was a great play and it will still be. Now we have Nissa to do exactly the same thing.

A pity we do not have the GW manland to recreate the days where treetop and Elspeth knight errant made a great GW tokens T2 deck.

Cutting a Painland or two would be pretty easy. I wanted to maximize coming into play untapped for the manabase, but if a lot of games go long/ are otherwise close Spires sounds great.

It’s certainly replaceable, though it’s very good. Den Protector is the only better “three drop” that I can think of, though this isn’t a great shell for Den Protector given the general lack of instants and sorceries. What’s your objection to her?