Building My First Commander deck
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on June 30, 2016, 8:25 p.m. by Ping24
I just recently got into magic and have really enjoyed playing with my roomates. we switch off between 60 card casual and commander a lot, I have built a pretty good aggro mono white 60 card deck and now I want to target a personal commander deck. I've been playing with a slightly modified version of the Oloro Blue/White/Black pre-made deck. I'm working with a kind of limited budget, and have access to cards my buddies have laying around (a lot of them too). So with that I've narrowed down my options which are as follows:
Black and White Vampire (may add blue if Oloro is my commander) - I really like the original Sorin Markov plainswalker, my friends would let me use him or another Sorin as my commander. Life drain and gain is the route i want to take here.
Mono White Human/Ally Angel - one of the Odric's would be my commander, but I've had trouble getting the cards I want in and not having draws.
Red/Green Werewolfs - I really like double sided cards, especially Huntsman Of The Fells. This one is the deck I've least researched.
I'm down for any kind of input or suggestions, money is tight so cheaper cards and/or help finding places I can find them cheap will be a huge help. Also they are ranked in the order I most like the decks, so the Vampire is my favorite.
Thank you everyone, so far you guys have been a huge help.
Richard
Thanks Peanut! I really like the idea of Ayli, also the fact that she cost two mana to cast is really nice, potential commander damage on turn 3? That's basically unheard of at the tables I play at. I've been eyeing a lot of cards that give me life too so her skill could be really easy to use. I have some removal cards too like Angelic Purge and resurrection cards too like Defy death and Emeria Shepard. These are all from my mono white sixty card and have yet to play with them in Commander. I haven't tested them with my vampire's, which I should do. Are there any good vampire support cards out there?
June 30, 2016 9:05 p.m.
lazarusdraigon says... #4
Peanut3181 is totally right about the general proportions of the deck and EDHREC i'd like to add that depending on the colors you are running, you want to have between 36-40 lands. I personally find in slower colors I want 38-39 and I start my builds at 37. there are a number of articles that Epochalyptik has on their page all about different considerations in EDH that I found VERY helpful.
If you figure on a definite commander then we can be of even more assistance.
June 30, 2016 9:08 p.m.
Peanut3181 says... #5
Blood Artist is super good. He is a must include.
I would run all the cheap soul sisters like Pious Evangel Flip, Soul Warden, Healer of the Pride, Suture Priest, and perhaps Angelic Chorus.
For card draw Vampiric Rites is on theme and gains you life, Well of Lost Dreams is amazing Phyrexian Arena is a no brainer, along with Mentor of the Meek, and also Greed
Anguished Unmaking is my favorite removal spell, along with Utter End. For board whites Merciless Eviction, and Terminus along with basic board whipes like Wrath of God and Day of Judgment.
Creature wise Pontiff of Blight is sweet for draining life, along with Blind Obedience and Loxodon Gatekeeper for some added control. Karlov of the Ghost Council is sweet too. Erebos, God of the Dead prevents people from gaining life.
For a game ender you can sac your board with Ashnod's Altar and then cast Exsanguinate
June 30, 2016 9:31 p.m.
Thank you guys! I defiantly added those cars to my list Peanut. And i have decided to go W/B Vampire, I'm debating between Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts and Ayli for my commander. I could also use Oloro as i have him already but that would add blue and i think could get confusing with mana.
June 30, 2016 9:44 p.m.
Soul's Attendant. Can't forget him. Also, Alhammarret's Archive can make for some amazing plays. Also, if you REALLY want an explosive card, go for Storm Herd. A good draining vampire is Malakir Bloodwitch.
June 30, 2016 9:56 p.m.
lazarusdraigon says... #8
ayli here's my ayli deck hope you can get some solo ideas from it.
June 30, 2016 10:31 p.m.
OmegaAura113 says... #9
If you go the R/G route, the new Ulrich, uncontested alpha is a good werewolf commander (it's in EMN, can't link it since it isn't out yet). Besides that, I'd probably stick with Xenagos, God of Revels or Ruric Thar, the Unbowed. Xenagos can buff your creatures to double their strength and let them attack that same turn, while ruric punishes everyone for playing any noncreature spells.
I know it could be expensive, but you can also try Animar, Soul of Elements or Omnath, Locus of Rage for more R/G shenanigans in creatures and land-tokens, respectively.
June 30, 2016 10:34 p.m.
Thanks Regigigas23 I googled Ulrich, he looks sick. That might be a later deck once I can get him. I considered Ruric as one of my friends has about 3 copies, but i think my first deck will B/W.
Lazarus i really like that deck, and the idea. I for sure stole a little from it ;P As you guys can see I really want a Sorin Plainswalker in my deck, Why did you pick the Innistrad one?
Lanzo, I didnt know Bloodwitch existed she looks pretty sweet guess I'm going to my local shop to pick her up tomorrow.
June 30, 2016 10:53 p.m.
Peanut3181 says... #11
Thief of Blood is absolutely hilarious if your friends are running planeswalkers.
I would also run Butcher of Malakir and Dictate of Erebos along with Grave Pact for some added control.
Whip of Erebos also gives your guys lifelink and some much needed reanimation.
May I also suggest the Exquisite Blood + Sanguine Bond infinite life loss combo? It's pretty sweet...
Serra Ascendant is quite cheeky in commander, Mother of Runes will protect your commander, and Defiant Bloodlord fits the tribe. I know this is a expensive card, but Archangel of Thune is a total badass. Well worth the money.
June 30, 2016 11:09 p.m.
You could run oloro and just not run blue, or run as small splash with no islands (use command tower and other ways of producing blue without limiting you options or straining your mana base or budget). You still net 2 life per turn.
But I suggest run Ayli as its a commander with life gain built in, and control once you are "full of life". But I have a deck of each, so either way.
June 30, 2016 11:25 p.m.
lazarusdraigon says... #13
Token generation and early emblem and removal if needed.
July 1, 2016 1:16 a.m.
IgnisMachina says... #14
if you decide on Ayli here is my deck: Ayayayayam], to help with card choices. Good luck with commander
July 1, 2016 3:22 a.m.
Hey guys I'm back! I had some stuff to work on last night and didn't get a chance to get back on before I went to bed. But I've been working on building a deck this morning and this is my prototype so far B/W/U Vampires (First Commander Deck) there is no mana in it as of now because mana is easy to get down I feel. I have 57 cards and my commander, was planning on about 38 mana. I took all of you're guys advice and put it in here, thank you all once again. Please feel free to tear it apart and make suggestions as I feel I will need it.
July 1, 2016 10:58 a.m.
I certainly wouldn't go with werewolves. It's a cool tribe but has limited support in terms of lords, and the shifting back and forth is a pain especially in multiplayer since more opponents means more people messing around with which side you are trying to keep face up. I for one would go for the new Odric, Lunarch Marshal. Just drop an Akroma, Angel of Wrath and go crazy :p Joking aside, it is an interesting and relatively cheap deck to build, you have good removal (spot and mass), protection, lots of relevant creatures and some recursion. Problem is ramp and card draw. Drawing cards in mono white can be a huuuuuuuge problem, while ramp can come in the form of artifacts quite easily. Also, the manabase will be a breeze :p
July 2, 2016 8:31 p.m.
Hey guys! So i've been thinging about my commander deck a lot. And Penas suggestion makes sense. My standard deck in a mono-white with multiple Odrics and cards that work around him. So why not build a commander around him. Since the deck is so big I've thought about maybe trying to get a lot of token soldiers too? Swinging with 20 1/1 white tokens with flying double strike vigilance and life link could be deadly. Mono White Odric is my deck, please give me suggestions. Right now its basically what i own and some cards I want to get, I've focused mostly on creatures at this point.
July 4, 2016 1:57 p.m.
the link got messed up here it is, I had to change the name!
Peanut3181 says... #2
Hey man! First let me just say that Commander for me is a hole that you put your money into, but oh so worth it. I want to lay down a few ground rules into making a really good EDH deck.
1)9-14 cards that ramp
2)no less then 10 card draw spells
3)10 cards that get rid of threats
4) some form of recursion from the graveyard
That's about 35 of your 60-64 cards that are made for utility. Then use the rest of it to go into your "strategy". The deck runs like a machine, you need gears (ramp, card draw, removal, recursion, etc) to be able to run and build the finished product that you want to obtain.
I was a dumbass and made my first deck a Scion of the Ur-Dragon 5 color deck. Don't do that. The mana base is a nightmare. If I were you, to avoid mana troubles and a cheap mana base, pick a 2 color general. EDHREC.com is a amazing source to finding cool commanders and the cards that go with them. Also, feel free to check out my decks for any ideas that you may have.
For B/W Vampires I would maybe go with Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim. She's awesome and you have access to the best removal in B/W. Good luck!!
June 30, 2016 8:38 p.m.