Help Required for New Commander
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on April 27, 2017, 9:33 a.m. by Cmasa435
Hello again lovely people of TappedOut, I need your words of wisdom again. I've been trying to figure out a commander to fit my personal style of playing, and I have been hitting nothing but walls. I have been testing out different decks (online and by borrowing some of my friends) and nothing has felt right. Some things, while looking good in theory, just aren't fun for me. Brago, Derevi, Yidris, Azami (which I actually own), Karador, none of them can keep my interest. Instead of rambling I should say what I'm looking for. I'm looking for a more aggro based deck that wins by turning creatures sideways (preferably with the commander playing an important role, but not to the point that the deck is crippled without having it in play), but that also has some control aspects that allow me to keep up with some of the better decks. I know that aggro is not as good as control or combo, but I'm not looking to be the absolute best, I just wanna have fun and kick ass. that being said, I don't mind having some combos, and as I said before I would like a bit of control. Also colors dont matter to me, I love them all (though as I am rather poor the more colors there are the crappier the mana base will be to save $$). Im just lost here, so many choices so little time to see what fits with me. So I turn to those more experienced than I, please save me! (If I left out any important details do let me know so I can clarify, thanks in advance to any who comment)
My first thoughts are Momir Vig, Simic Visionary or Rashmi, Eternities Crafter , play value and counters, build army, win with Craterhoof Behemoth
April 27, 2017 9:42 a.m.
My thoughts turn to RUG, so Animar, Soul of Elements sounds like a decent choice. I'd lean more towards Surrak Dragonclaw as a commander, give your creatures support but you're still able to build a deck that supports itself without him. A third option, in naya this time, is Samut, Voice of Dissent, as another commander that will support you deck but that you can build a deck around without it. Those colors though lean more toward removal for control then counter magic, so it would be personal preference.
April 27, 2017 12:08 p.m.
I know it doesn't have much control, but Zada, Hedron Grinder is a ridiculous commander. Swing with some tokens, target Zada with some cantrips, then suddenly they all get +10/+10 and you have 6 more cards in hand, only for a few mana.
April 27, 2017 1:12 p.m.
Quietman988 says... #6
Xenegos, God of revels. Great commander. Throw down bombs, give them haste, double their power and swing. If they die, who cares, you've got more on the way.
Check out mine Xenagod, the Ruthless
April 27, 2017 1:35 p.m.
MoonTurtle7 says... #7
I think I may have the man for you. well Pair of ogres, maybe just ogre? Doesn't really matter, Ruric Thar, the Unbowed. Though on initial appearances he doesn't look like the commander you are looking for. He truly is what you've described, see you run him toolbox creatures for removal, like Reclamation Sage, Acidic Slime, Spellbreaker Behemoth, Ulvenwald Tracker + Bow of Nylea and our new friend Manglehorn. Throw in some mana dorks and a Blood Moon and you can summon anything you want and your opponents can't do jack. nice thing is, you're running Gruul. You got mana ramp like crazy , some fun planeswalkers, The god of doubling damage, and some cool stompers. Anyone tries to stop you with a counter they take 6 commander damage! I feel like this might be what your looking for. A lot of stompy control with plenty of aggro.
April 27, 2017 2:57 p.m.
First off, thanks to everyone who has commented. The ideas are fantastic.
Entrei : Animar is a force to be reckoned with, I have a friend who plays one and it wrecks people all the time. Only thing I don't like about him is that without him in play with counters on him the deck can slow down (at least based off of what I have seen from my friends deck, cant speak for more OP versions).
maxon : Like the look of those guys, Momir being a tutor on a stick is fantastic, and Rashmi with a Pseudo cascade is nice as well. I have seen some lists of them but it didn't really register that they might be my kinda thing... dur to me :P
Unlife : Surrak is one I have been considering, Flash as well as stopping counters and giving trample? Yes Plz. As for Samut, I haven't seen much around her though that is most likely due to her being new. And as for Removal Vs. Counter... I would say I prefer removal but I'm not adverse to some counters.
Redace878 : I haven't really looked into Zada before, certainly interesting. Main thing I don't like is that without him the deck might fizzle out (Though as I have never played with or against him before I could be off in my assumption).
Quietman988 : Ah yes, the God of smashing things. Xenagos is a powerhouse, one I have considered. Basically Gruul personified, sadly I haven't had a chance to play with or against him (my friends are somewhat limited in their choice of decks) but I'm thinking he is in the running (and I will probably be looking at your list for ideas if i go for him).
MoonTurtle7 : Now that is one I had never really though of, but now that I look at him he is better that I though at first glance. 6 to the face anytime they play something besides creatures is nice, though as it also applies to me it might bit me in the ass (though as I'm looking to prioritize creatures it wouldn't be a major issue compared to the pain it would be for my opponents).
Lots of great suggestions, keep em coming there is no such thing as too few of em. And if you have any lists you want to promote send em my way, those are always useful for the planning process. thanks again all of you.
April 27, 2017 3:46 p.m.
Just to get some clarification, when you say "some control aspects", are you after counterspells specifically or are you just referring to running a removal suite in general?
If it's the latter, I have personally been rather enjoying running Tymna the Weaver and Tana, the Bloodsower as partnered commanders. Tymna provides the deck with tempo and her colours give you access to the best removal available. Tana can act as a beat stick and provides you with an instant board state (which works well with Tymna).
April 27, 2017 8:40 p.m. Edited.
My first thought is Yisan, the Wanderer Bard. You essentially shit out a billion elves, play Craterhoof Behemoth, and swing for stupid amounts of damage. It's a very fast deck, but is considered more combo than aggro. However, it still wins from combat damage and is creature based. The best part is that Yisan, being a tutor on a stick, allows you to also play a bit of a toolbox game. Lots of fun and you can adjust the power level to anywhere from kitchen table fun to tournament level.
April 27, 2017 9:54 p.m.
killroy726 says... #11
Ever thought about tribal allies? General Tazri isn't central to the deck and you do win by turning things sideways but! There's a ton of etb effects and copies of allies always add to the fun! Take a look at Allies to War! (EDH)
April 27, 2017 11:42 p.m.
bushido_man96 says... #12
Kamahl, Fist of Krosa and Ezuri, Renegade Leader are generals that provide great beatdown potential. Ghoulcaller Gisa can give you a fun option to go wide with tokens and do some fun recursion aspects, and you can't beat for creature removal. Also in , I really enjoy Volrath the Fallen. You can make him big, and there are fun options out there to give him evasion and swing for big damage. Purphoros, God of the Forge provides opportunities for damage, combo, and removal.
April 27, 2017 11:44 p.m.
ArchangelAlchemist says... #13
I'm going to suggest Zurgo Helmsmasher here. He likes offense but he doesn't need to be on the field for the deck to work and he's in great colors for removal. There is great combat support from Ankle Shanker plus the Raid and Battalion effects. If you want more control I'm sure Scythe Specter, Barbed Shocker, and friends could help to truly disrupt your opponents.
Also, if you're still interested in Ruric Thar, the Unbowed... Basilisk Collar
April 28, 2017 6:17 a.m.
I'm gonna go out on a limb here and suggest a more obsolete commander: Thromok the Insatiable. You can go for a more token based build that uses thromok as a backup plan or you can mix voltron and tokens and create a truly versatile deck. You are also in prime ramp colors, which makes large token generators fun.
April 28, 2017 2:34 p.m.
KeelHaul10 says... #15
I suggest Jhoira of the Ghitu for a commander. You can chock the deck full of Eldrazi and other huge izzet flavored crap and dump them all out in suspension,Which is all fine, if you want to keep things vanilla, I'll just leave this link for one of my all time favorite decks I made that I enjoy everytime I take it out of the box I Have A Gambling Problem
Entrei says... #2
Animar stompy. Allows for efficient attacking and when needed a few combos
April 27, 2017 9:41 a.m.