I Need some advice on commander choice
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on Dec. 10, 2016, 10:25 p.m. by MoonTurtle7
Adun's Pact <- the deck in question
So I Know I wanna play Something with some black (I kinda like green and white a little less-so red (unless it's Rakdos)), I like black. I was considering Saskia the Unyielding But I'm not particularly interested in her, Most of the Mardu commanders aren't catching my eye. the same goes for Grixis. So for now I decided on Adun Oakenshield but I feel the deck has no real direction. Adun is kinda vague. My deck has only one kind-of wincon (outside of just swing with random crap), Master of Cruelties / Repay in Kind and some burn/aggro. I'm excited for my one combo for if they poke me out. I just play Platinum Angel which I can combo into Repay in Kind and then Murder. then no one wins. But in the end my deck is just a pain in the butt. The commander is just there, I'm not really that interested in him, I just like the colors and some of the creatures. I've been looking/testing for awhile trying to find something that interests me. Considering my last Commander deck hasn't really impressed me unfortunately.
it's just some allies Ally Commander Rainbow Build (MoonTurtle) Just waiting for my local shop to get some of the cards in the maybeboard to upgrade it. cough cough Gideon, Ally of Zendikar and Venser, the Sojourner other than that and maybe some draw power.
You could go mono-black and then slowly expand into the color(s) you want to add on. There's a fair amount of diversity in terms of strategy when it comes to mono-black but the color can ramp insanely well but, of course, has it's drawbacks (mostly enchantment and artifact removal).
If you want to incorporate green, then I would highly recommend either Meren of Clan Nel Toth or The Gitrog Monster. Both are very fun and very powerful commanders.
Rakdos opens up some fun tribal options beyond just a good stuff build which can focus on either Vampires or Demons primarily. Of course you can always build just a solid good stuff build in the colors.
I personally think Queen Marchesa is quite fun if you want to give Mardu a chance. The monarchy mechanic adds such an interesting dynamic to the game and encourages interaction.
It really all depends on what you want to get out of a deck and how competitive you want it to be.
December 10, 2016 10:48 p.m.
DrukenReaps says... #4
Master of Cruelties works great with Alesha, Who Smiles at Death. toss in Gonti, Lord of Luxury, Siege-Gang Commander, Solemn Simulacrum and other 2 power and less stuff and some self mill. Behind the Scenes works wonders with her. ends up being aggressive control with the right stuff.
December 10, 2016 11:29 p.m.
MoonTurtle7 says... #5
See, in my playgroups it doesn't need to be that competitive. it just has to have a way to win that's realistic.Wizno I honestly have a similar problem with Meren i have no idea how I would really wanna play her and Adun. And Gitrog honestly scares me. I don't like losing lands and have literally even less of an idea of how I'd play him. I suppose I'm just not seeing how he's fun.
Rakdos has a lot of Demon support, which is cool. But I'm not super interested in the demon commanders themselves. (I've looked a lot) Then a lot of the rakdos vampire stuff leans on madness which I feel is harder to pull off in a format that you can only have one copy of each card.
As for Dear sweet Marchesa, My friend has already made a deck around her and I just hate feeling like I mimicked them. Though I do kind of look at her longingly, I may just have to settle with playing his.
Mono anything, I just dread the couple of cards my playgroups have that just shutdown certain colours. I really gotta love the commander to do it, tho admittedly I haven't done too much digging.
Thank you for the suggestions, I'm just kinda Dumb and fickel
December 10, 2016 11:46 p.m.
MoonTurtle7 says... #6
MagicalHacker I'm someone who's still not exactly found there place in terms of play style. Tho I know I'm not the greatest at predictions and threat evaluation. So I don't think I'm cut out for control. I'm not a huge fan of burn (dealing with or playing) and I've been told that good voltron takes a lot of money.
December 11, 2016 12:06 a.m.
MoonTurtle7 says... #7
Bhaal666 Tho I agree with you that Alesha, Who Smiles at Death is an admittedly a good commander and I get exactly what you mean, she's a commander that I would totally recommend, even just bringing back Fiend Hunter and his kin Banisher Priest Fairgrounds Warden she's super powerful. But She just doesn't make me feel the fizz.
December 11, 2016 12:18 a.m.
DrukenReaps says... #8
since you are having trouble deciding i always go to this website https://edhrec.com/ when i need to find something interesting to play. not only is every possible commander on it but so are suggested cards giving even the newest players a good starting point. id also like to mention that while voltron can be expensive to build it doesnt have to be. im still working on my narset but it is a cheap voltron if a bit slow, Narset, Let Freedom Ring. a less expensive voltron can go the enchant route or just forgo swords, you lose their power but you can still do fine.
December 11, 2016 12:51 a.m.
nobody1234567890 says... #9
You should consider fiddling with the partner commanders with black. I personally love Tymna the Weaver and Ravos, Soultender, but you could try Vial Smasher the Fierce or maybe a Reyhan, Last of the Abzan or Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper. If you like artifacts try Akiri, Line-Slinger and Silas Renn, Seeker Adept, or use Breya, Etherium Shaper. Other good commanders could be Anafenza, the Foremost, Sen Triplets, Oloro, Ageless Ascetic, Tariel, Reckoner of Souls, and Kresh the Bloodbraided. They are all fun.
December 11, 2016 1:04 a.m.
joshuaizac says... #10
I completely agree with Bhaal666's statement about checking out EDHREC.com ... that is the place to get inspired by commander choices and cards most commonly used per commander, which they figure out by indexing this and one other sites decklists made by us users. Then come back here and flesh out the deck.
December 11, 2016 1:25 a.m.
MoonTurtle7 says... #11
This is actually kinda funny a buddy of mine just sent a link to that site. Right before he said that.
December 11, 2016 4:03 a.m.
First, let me say that I understand what your going through MoonTurtle7. It can be difficult to find a commander to play with in the beginning. Instead of recommending cards to you today, I will recommend ideas instead.
Build a deck around the first legendary creature you ever played.
Build a deck around the color-scheme/ theme of your very first deck. Don't worry about the commander, just build the deck.
Put all of your favorite cards together in a pile and randomly select one to build your deck around, then select two more to determine you colors, then select a commander that permits said colors.
Build a deck around your favorite mechanic/ ability in magic.
Build a deck around your favorite block/ set/ or format.
Steal your friends commander and build a dual/ mono colored deck to support her.
Build a deck around your favorite archetype or creature type.
Build a deck around similar characteristics in artwork/ artist. (this is very challenging but a hella fun at the table)
Build a deck with cards that all start with the same letter.
Build a deck with cards of the same rarity.
I hope these suggestions help you on your journey. No matter what you decide, Commander is a social game. Having fun is a top priority.
December 11, 2016 4:17 a.m.
MoonTurtle7 says... #13
mdc7233 I admire what you're saying, but I only just got back into magic after not playing since I was super young. These days I buy singles. So I don't really have a huge selection. And the only legendary creature I have that isn't in a deck already is Olivia, Mobilized for War I'll see what i could make with what I have.
December 11, 2016 6:18 a.m.
I've been there man. If you're on a budget, how about you and your friends look into the Pauper Commander format. It's a great wallet friendly alternative that still captures the essence of commander and allows you to build exciting new decks as well.
December 11, 2016 6:25 a.m.
MoonTurtle7 says... #15
The budget's not a huge concern. I mean dropping 500$ on a deck day one isn't going to happen unless I know for a fact 10,000% that it will be my fav and best deck eva. otherwise I'll stick to my slow build as I go method. if I like the deck I invest a little more, until I feel it's in a nice spot.
December 11, 2016 7:11 a.m.
You say you like black, followed by green and white. You also said you don't like control, at least the make predictions and split second decisions variant.
Based on these, I would recommend an Attrition list with Ghave, Guru of Spores focused on board control through Dictate of Erebos and Aura Shards. It's easy to build if you have the cards, it's relatively powerful and can be really fun to pilot.
If you like the idea of going voltron but can't afford the swords, then one of the most underplayed voltron-ers(?) in those colours is Varolz, the Scar-Striped. Black and green rump, some low CMC/high power bodies in the yard (Phyrexian Dreadnought, Death's Shadow and many many more... check for budget options), some evasion and BAM!!! One shots for everyone! There's Hatred too if you really want to send a message! ;)
I also highly recommend EDHRec for some ideas and a point of reference, just don't net-deck from it. Your deck will be a generic good-stuff mish-mash of things that work good with your commander... Just no personal flair :p
December 11, 2016 8:46 a.m.
MoonTurtle7 says... #17
Actually I got kinda bored and thought about what mdc7233 said, and i made a quick deck with some cards i have laying around. it's rakdos, so colours I liked, I'm not super in love with the comander, but hey I already own this one. Shrug* I might upgrade it and take it for a spin after I throw a sol ring and mana artifacts in there. so Thank you mdc7233. Panas now i get what you're saying using Attrition Dictate of Erebos and Aura Shards. Tho to set it up leads to either really good luck, or a decent amount of tutors. And personally I don't own the cards. But I do gotta ask, what is the rest of your deck doing? I know part of it is going to go into token generation, but what else? Like Malakir Cullblade Gavony Unhallowed Overseer of the Damned Rot Shambler?
December 11, 2016 9:24 a.m.
MoonTurtle7 says... #18
Almost forgot to post the deck
I'm well aware it needs things, but it's not like I can just pull a Sol Ring and some extra dual lands out of my bum.
December 11, 2016 9:27 a.m.
The deck is practically saprolings :p make saprolings, sac them for effects. Either gain life, destroy things, force discards, pump, regenerate... funsies :) I don't run a very strong tutoring package myself since there is enough redundancy (not for the shards though sadly). But for dictate, you also have Grave Pact and Butcher of Malakir then extra control in Attrition, Martyr's Bond and sort-of-ish in Glare of Subdual.
Then you win in a number of ways. You have Blood Artist and Ashnod's Altar with your commander to do tons of life drain. You have the old classy Craterhoof Behemoth, hell you could even include Helix Pinnacle if you wanted :p
If the engine gets going it's incredibly hard to stop!
December 11, 2016 9:54 a.m.
MoonTurtle7 says... #20
I see, saprolings... I might take a look into this Commander, I'm just not really sold to be honest. like I get what it's doing but I feel a number of other commanders do relatively the same thing. like Teysa, Orzhov Scion. not that it's bad, I'm just not sure it's for me. though with Teysa there's that stupid Darkest Hour + Blasting Station combo.
December 11, 2016 10:57 a.m.
MoonTurtle7 says... #21
Korlash, Heir to Blackblade was a commander whom caught my eye, but he'd be Voltron-ish, though he wouldn't be the easiest to remove. Side note -> wtf is up with his border tho? His art is fine, the border just looks awful.
December 11, 2016 11:03 a.m.
MoonTurtle7 says... #23
but Panas only some of futuresight's things are printed like that?
December 11, 2016 3:34 p.m.
That is true. All cards that were new in Futuresight, which represented crazy possibilities never seen before in magic (e.g. Artifact - fortification... equipment for lands :p ), as well as some vanilla concepts that showed worlds we hadn't seen before, had the futuristic border. Effectively, it was wizards' way of showing the player base which cards were from the "future" of magic.
MagicalHacker says... #2
Tell me what you want your deck to do, do you want to go heaby demon tribal, gain value from creatures that control the board, or go all out aggro? Or something else?
December 10, 2016 10:31 p.m.