So I've always been curious on Commander.
I've tried to build myself a deck every now and again but just can't seem to keep it consistent.
So here I'm just gonna bring up some of the questions I've come up with to help myself (and possibly anyone who reads through all this.)
To get a better understanding of EDH and this exciting format that I've yet to truly understand.
So here we go!
I suppose i'll start by asking a very simple one. What colors to use?
What combos to look for?
How matchups work, whats good whats not so good?
how do you go about picking a commander?
What are the essentials to every EDH deck? (Such as mana bases, removal, Aggro and the like) what kind of tempo do you try to pace yourself for when you play?
What's the higher tier commanders?
Lower tiers?
Do you look for that late game high mana costing bombshell of a commander who ensures victory?
Or do you throw out a low costing nuisance throughout the whole game to constantly wear and tear your opponent?
Lets have those that play Commander come here and share some stories about their adventures through the exciting and most certainly unique format of EDH.
(And if there's already a thread for this. My apologies. I've been interested in starting commander and curious on how common long time players approach the format. And just looking to learn myself up on the ins and outs from the players here at iMTG.)
First of all. Don't go mono red. Those seem to be the worst decks. Second of all. A good deck to start with is mono green. It's easy to use and relatively easy to upgrade and move along.
Buuuut {Norin the Wary} commander?
Just so you know, don't listen to me ;)
Quote from: E.kann1 on August 11, 2014, 10:50:38 PM
Buuuut {Norin the Wary} commander?
Just so you know, don't listen to me ;)
He's not very good but he's fun
Quote from: Munchlax on August 11, 2014, 10:49:36 PM
First of all. Don't go mono red. Those seem to be the worst decks. Second of all. A good deck to start with is mono green. It's easy to use and relatively easy to upgrade and move along.
Buuuuut {krenko mob boss}!!!
Quote from: Spencer Addington on August 11, 2014, 11:05:41 PM
Quote from: Munchlax on August 11, 2014, 10:49:36 PM
First of all. Don't go mono red. Those seem to be the worst decks. Second of all. A good deck to start with is mono green. It's easy to use and relatively easy to upgrade and move along.
Buuuuut {krenko mob boss}!!!
This is really one of the few exceptions. A lot of your questions are things that depend on you and your playgroup. But as far as colors my order would be:
Blue
Black
Green
White
Red
Top tier generals really don't exist, there are definitely really powerful ones vs bad ones but it really depends how you build them.
Quote from: DimirOverlord1300 on August 11, 2014, 11:18:49 PM
Quote from: Spencer Addington on August 11, 2014, 11:05:41 PM
Quote from: Munchlax on August 11, 2014, 10:49:36 PM
First of all. Don't go mono red. Those seem to be the worst decks. Second of all. A good deck to start with is mono green. It's easy to use and relatively easy to upgrade and move along.
Buuuuut {krenko mob boss}!!!
This is really one of the few exceptions. A lot of your questions are things that depend on you and your playgroup. But as far as colors my order would be:
Blue
Black
Green
White
Red
Top tier generals really don't exist, there are definitely really powerful ones vs bad ones but it really depends how you build them.
Well I'm curious as to what individuals find to be the funnest decks/most awesome in terms of winning everything.
Like what do you play? How do you play it?
Quote from: Destore117 on August 11, 2014, 11:20:23 PM
Quote from: DimirOverlord1300 on August 11, 2014, 11:18:49 PM
Quote from: Spencer Addington on August 11, 2014, 11:05:41 PM
Quote from: Munchlax on August 11, 2014, 10:49:36 PM
First of all. Don't go mono red. Those seem to be the worst decks. Second of all. A good deck to start with is mono green. It's easy to use and relatively easy to upgrade and move along.
Buuuuut {krenko mob boss}!!!
This is really one of the few exceptions. A lot of your questions are things that depend on you and your playgroup. But as far as colors my order would be:
Blue
Black
Green
White
Red
Top tier generals really don't exist, there are definitely really powerful ones vs bad ones but it really depends how you build them.
Well I'm curious as to what individuals find to be the funnest decks/most awesome in terms of winning everything.
Like what do you play? How do you play it?
Those questions are so hard to answer because there are som many different decks and play styles. I suggest you find a commander you like then do research about the different builds you can do with it. One of my favorite commander decks is my sygg voltron. It's built off a resilient commander being buffed with equipments and swinging for many commander damages.
I did a {Daxos of Meletis} deck that was based around milling and unblockables using {Trepenation Blade} and {Aqeuous Form} along with {Crosstown Courier} I just couldn't find a decent mana base that I was comfortable with. (Although I don't have any of the fancy lands like shocks, fetch, roo or anything so maybe that was a big part of it.)
Quote from: Destore117 on August 11, 2014, 09:53:03 PM
What colors to use?
What combos to look for?
How do you go about picking a commander?
I'll group these in the same boat. It all depends on what you like. Just experiment! Originally, I just built around whatever I had on hand, but I've created others that I've planned out for a long time. Just look at a list of commanders and pick the first that catches your eye. Or choose your favorite color combo and choose a good general for that color scheme. Or just choose a style of play (like Tribal, Voltron, etc.) and find a good match. Combos aren't a requires thing for EDH, but they often form unintentionally with the cards you have. I try to not put too many infinite combos in my decks because it's no fun for everyone else.
Quote from: Destore117 on August 11, 2014, 09:53:03 PM
How matchups work, whats good whats not so good?
Everything is possible in Commander! I haven't seen a deck that is too awful against something all the time. Sure, sometimes their cards wall your strategy, but that doesn't mean it's awful, there are some work-arounds.
Quote from: Destore117 on August 11, 2014, 09:53:03 PM
What are the essentials to every EDH deck? (Such as mana bases, removal, Aggro and the like) what kind of tempo do you try to pace yourself for when you play?
{Command Tower}, {Sol Ring}, {Sensei's Divining Top}, {Skullclamp}, Wraths, Draw Engines, Ramp, etc.
Quote from: Destore117 on August 11, 2014, 09:53:03 PM
What's the higher tier commanders?
Lower tiers?
There certainly be good "lower tier" commander decks and bad "higher tier" decks, but here are a few.
Higher tier: {Arcum Daggson}, {Grand Arbiter Augustin IV}, {Sharuum, the Hegemon}, {Gaddok Teeg}, {Uril, the Miststalker}
Lower Tier: Anyone from Legends, {Norin the Wary}, {Phelddagrif}
But still, I've seen great builds of all sorts of generals.
Quote from: Destore117 on August 11, 2014, 09:53:03 PM
Do you look for that late game high mana costing bombshell of a commander who ensures victory?
Or do you throw out a low costing nuisance throughout the whole game to constantly wear and tear your opponent?
That is the balance, isn't it? Playing {Isamaru, Hound of Konda} or {Progenitus} is an interesting choice... Truly depends on the deck. Do you want to play a quick aggro before your opponents get running, or do you want to wait it out to ensure your victory? The choice is yours.
Hope this helps and I'm glad you're interested in the format.
Quote from: The1337Magician on August 12, 2014, 01:05:30 AM
Quote from: Destore117 on August 11, 2014, 09:53:03 PM
What colors to use?
What combos to look for?
How do you go about picking a commander?
I'll group these in the same boat. It all depends on what you like. Just experiment! Originally, I just built around whatever I had on hand, but I've created others that I've planned out for a long time. Just look at a list of commanders and pick the first that catches your eye. Or choose your favorite color combo and choose a good general for that color scheme. Or just choose a style of play (like Tribal, Voltron, etc.) and find a good match. Combos aren't a requires thing for EDH, but they often form unintentionally with the cards you have. I try to not put too many infinite combos in my decks because it's no fun for everyone else.
Quote from: Destore117 on August 11, 2014, 09:53:03 PM
How matchups work, whats good whats not so good?
Everything is possible in Commander! I haven't seen a deck that is too awful against something all the time. Sure, sometimes their cards wall your strategy, but that doesn't mean it's awful, there are some work-arounds.
Quote from: Destore117 on August 11, 2014, 09:53:03 PM
What are the essentials to every EDH deck? (Such as mana bases, removal, Aggro and the like) what kind of tempo do you try to pace yourself for when you play?
{Command Tower}, {Sol Ring}, {Sensei's Divining Top}, {Skullclamp}, Wraths, Draw Engines, Ramp, etc.
Quote from: Destore117 on August 11, 2014, 09:53:03 PM
What's the higher tier commanders?
Lower tiers?
There certainly be good "lower tier" commander decks and bad "higher tier" decks, but here are a few.
Higher tier: {Arcum Daggson}, {Grand Arbiter Augustin IV}, {Sharuum, the Hegemon}, {Gaddok Teeg}, {Uril, the Miststalker}
Lower Tier: Anyone from Legends, {Norin the Wary}, {Phelddagrif}
But still, I've seen great builds of all sorts of generals.
Quote from: Destore117 on August 11, 2014, 09:53:03 PM
Do you look for that late game high mana costing bombshell of a commander who ensures victory?
Or do you throw out a low costing nuisance throughout the whole game to constantly wear and tear your opponent?
That is the balance, isn't it? Playing {Isamaru, Hound of Konda} or {Progenitus} is an interesting choice... Truly depends on the deck. Do you want to play a quick aggro before your opponents get running, or do you want to wait it out to ensure your victory? The choice is yours.
Hope this helps and I'm glad you're interested in the format.
As well as all of this, read all the thread that are pinned to the top of the actual Commander board. {{Dudecore}} has taken a lot of time putting together some amazing commentary for our benefit. I've learned a lot from them and I've been playing since EDH was new!
Best format ever to play with other magic players, casual or competitive
Commander IMO is both the most fun to play format, but the most fun to build. There are almost endless possibilities. If you want a simple easy build put together a {Talrand, Sky Summoner} deck, nice and cheap mana base, TONS of control and card draw options. Another fun, cheap and easy build is {Melek, Izzet Paragon}.
Commander for me is simply the most open format. Anything is possible and I've seen things from a creature toolbox using slivers to people who go and play {Zur the Enchanter} as a quick win. Usually you get 10 turns or so before people start winning, but that varies. I would suggest picking up the staple cards first as with any format. Also remember that board wipes are VERY common here and that the strength of small efficient creatures is not always best in this format. Since I usually play three man brawls cards like planes walkers or global enchantments like {Humility} make me a target. Usually I try to avoid this as I like combo madness, and 4 card combos are even more fun when they work.
Everything above was tldr but in EDH UGx is by far the best colour combo bc {Prophet of Kruphix} and {Seedborn Muse} are by far the 2 best EDH cards (they get really hated on lol)
But tbh depends on your playgroup if it's casual build a fun deck (check out Gorzos Chaos deck) and if your play group is competitive be that guy who plays {Boros Charm} and {Armaggedon} lol
Quote from: Mattao19 on August 12, 2014, 11:17:57 AM
Everything above was tldr but in EDH UGx is by far the best colour combo bc {Prophet of Kruphix} and {Seedborn Muse} are by far the 2 best EDH cards (they get really hated on lol)
But tbh depends on your playgroup if it's casual build a fun deck (check out Gorzos Chaos deck) and if your play group is competitive be that guy who plays {Boros Charm} and {Armaggedon} lol
I don't know about the U/G being the best. Prophet is amazing, but I think black is better than green because of it's amazing universal tutors.
Mono red keranos is fun... Play a bunch of token making cards like krenko
Quote from: Mattao19 on August 12, 2014, 11:17:57 AM
Everything above was tldr but in EDH UGx is by far the best colour combo bc {Prophet of Kruphix} and {Seedborn Muse} are by far the 2 best EDH cards (they get really hated on lol)
But tbh depends on your playgroup if it's casual build a fun deck (check out Gorzos Chaos deck) and if your play group is competitive be that guy who plays {Boros Charm} and {Armaggedon} lol
Yeah...this just isn't true. I'll agree that prophet is absolutely amazing, and that {seedborn muse} is pretty good, but at the end of the day they die to every peice of removal in the format.
Countless times I've witnessed people exhaust tutors trying to make something happen with these guys, just to have them pathed upon entering the battlefield. U/G is very strong but let's not get carried away.
On another note, most of the posts prior to this one contain some valuable information. Most of the things I would suggest can already be found in those! :)
Also, more staples include:
1. Dealing with generals - {spell crumple}, {hinder}, {chaos warp}, {spin into myth}, {banishing stroke}, {terminus}, {oblation}, {hallowed burial}, {unexpectedly absent}.
2. Board wipes - {wrath of god}, {austere command}, {damnation}, {in garruks wake}, {decree of pain}, {merciless eviction}, {blasphemous act}, {chain reaction}, and {all is dust}.
3. Mana ramp - {cultivate}, {kodamas reach}, {oracle of mul daya}, {skyshroud claim}, {explosive vegetation}, {sol ring}, {mana vault}, {mana crypt}, {thran dynamo}, {guilded lotus}, and signets.
4. Card draw - {rhystic study}, {phyrexian arena}, {fecundity}, {skull clamp}, etc...
5. Power spells and creatures (the biggest list of all) - {time warp}, {time stretch}, {insurrection}, {rise of the dark realms}, {craterhoof behemoth}, {cyclonic rift}, {storm herd}, {vorniex, voice of hunger}, {jin-gitaxias core augur}, {aurelia, warleader}, {scourge of the throne}, {avenger of zendikar}, {worst fears}, {kozilek, butcher of truth}, {ulamog, the infinite gyre} and many, many more.
Obviously there a lot of things I didn't list, but I hope this helps!
Don't know if you checked the commander section dudecore wrote up a good article on this.