Need help!!
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on March 11, 2019, 1:27 p.m. by Darkfighter
So me and my friends all like to play magic i just started playing around a month ago and one of my friends has a jodah deck. This deck completely destroys us everytime we go against it. All of the other players including me play the pre cons. Im looking for any deck ideas under 100$ dollars that could stand a chance.
bushido_man96 says... #3
I agree with Joe_Ken_. It'll be cheaper to do an upgrade on a precon, as most of the precons already have a pretty good skeleton to build around. Tell us which one you play with, and we can make suggestions.
You should also assess what it is about your friend's deck that makes it good. How does he win? Does he tutor a lot? That can help us out a bunch, too.
March 11, 2019 1:49 p.m.
Deadpoo111 says... #4
I would suggest this: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/the-only-good-10-commander-deck-on-tapped-out/
It's only $10, it can be easily upgraded, and it's been tested against a variety of expensive decks, and beaten most of them.
March 11, 2019 1:56 p.m.
Can you walk us through what specific difficulties you are having with your friend's deck? Does it have better lands than yours (i.e. their deck's lands do not enter tapped, while precon decks tend to)? What sorts of threats does it play and how quickly does it play them? What type of ramp does it use?
These are some important questions that make it a bit easier to figure out a deck that will work for your meta.
In terms of budget decks that could work, there area couple mono-coloured decks that can be pretty powerful for less than $100. One of the most expensive parts of building an EDH deck is your manabase--sticking with basic lands will help with that some.
What types of deck do you enjoy playing? That would also be a good piece of information to know--I presume you do not just want to beat your friend, you want to win with a deck you enjoy playing.
March 11, 2019 1:58 p.m.
Which precon do you own? By knowing that people will he able to help better.
Like said above the mana base is the first thing to address, as it allows you play your cards. Remove most comes into play tapped lands that don't have a big upside. , Bojuka Bog (if you play black) is one to consider keeping/getting that comes into play tapped if you have an opponent who uses their graveyard. But lands are not the only thing to consider when talking about mana base. Artifact ramp, and other spells that put lands into play from library are good also. As well as creatures that produce mana, but these are mainly in green.
Also knowing how the judah deck operates will help also. Is it a tribal deck (a bunch of wizards), a good stuff deck (just good cards from each color), a combo deck ( does he just win on one turn by playing an infinite combo), or a storm deck (where he just keeps casting a bunch of spells in a row that wins the game). Each type requires different response cards to stop him.
March 11, 2019 2:49 p.m.
multimedia says... #7
Hey, what precon do you like or are playing? Once we know what precon you like or are playing then we can further help you choose a Commander to build a deck around. Precons have a few good playable cards these cards could also help to determine what colors or direction you could go.
If your budget for a complete Commander deck is $100 or less than my advice is choose two colors from the precon deck you like and make a deck around those two colors. I suggest only two colors because this way you don't have to spend a lot of the $100 for lands for a playable manabase. The key point is a playable manabase which precons don't have and that's an important thing to have to give you advantage in a game.
Green as one of the colors helps a lot with a budget Commander deck. It gives you access to a lot of land ramp which can search for basic lands and put them onto the battlefield. Due to the budget you're going to be relying on basic lands more than dual lands therefore being able to play cards that can help to find basic lands is good.
March 11, 2019 3:11 p.m. Edited.
Darkfighter says... #8
Im playing aminatou. He uses a jodah deck that just plays alot of op creature and he has cards that make his other cards indestructible. He usuall casts omniscience and goes off from there. multimedia
March 11, 2019 3:19 p.m.
Darkfighter says... #9
So basically he has this mana that enters wirh 2 counters on it. He can remove a coumter and tap for any mana. He does have tutors that get other card or gets other tutors like a card he has called conflux he grabs omniscience and a angel that gives his permanents indestructible and more tutors. bushido_man96
March 11, 2019 3:24 p.m.
Darkfighter says... #11
His deck has a bunch of everything but he normally tutors to get more tutors to get the cards he needs and there isnt anything we can do about it we just sit back and watch. pskinn01
March 11, 2019 3:31 p.m.
Darkfighter says... #12
His deck has a bunch of everything but he normally tutors to get more tutors to get the cards he needs and there isnt anything we can do about it we just sit back and watch. pskinn01
March 11, 2019 3:32 p.m.
Deadpoo111 says... #13
Have you tried playing control? I've found that Baral, Chief of Compliance is relatively cheap when you just fill it with counterspells.
March 11, 2019 3:40 p.m.
Deadpoo111 says... #14
From your description, it seems like your friend is playing a pretty expensive deck, I would suggest playing Aminatou combo. It goes infinite with Felidar Guardian . Run some tutors, use aminatou for filtering and boom you've got a solid deck that should be able to stop that deck.
March 11, 2019 3:43 p.m.
Darkfighter says... #15
Could you give me a list of tutors like i said im fairly new so i dont know what tutors would work. And how would the combo win? Deadpoo111
March 11, 2019 3:45 p.m.
I agree with Deadpoo111's suggestion of Baral, Chief of Compliance . If you need more aggression for your meta, Talrand, Sky Summoner is another option that plays very similarly (fill it with counterspells, card draw, and bounce spells, so you both control the board and generate tokens).
To win with the combo Deadpoo111 mentioned, you need something like Altar of the Brood which triggers whenever a permanent enters the battlefield.
Another combo you can run involves Tezzeret the Seeker , which only requires two cards on the battlefield to go infinite, as Tezzeret fetches the remaining combo pieces. SynergyBuild just walked someone else through this very same combo earlier today, so, rather than reinvent the wheel, I will just copy and past their guide below:
Requirements on field: Tezzeret the Seeker , Aminatou, the Fateshifter
Requirements in deck or on field: Basalt Monolith , Rings of Brighthearth , Goblin Cannon
Use Tezzeret's -3 to fetch a Rings of Brighthearth , -1 Aminatou targeting Tezzeret, then -4 Tezzeret, copying the ability with Rings to fetch Basalt Monolith & Goblin Cannon , use Monolith&Rings to make infinite mana, stack infinite Cannon triggers killing each opponent.
That said, I would not recommend running combo on a budget. Good tutors, like Demonic Tutor , Mystical Tutor , etc. are all pretty expensive, and budget options, like Diabolic Tutor are just incredibly mediocre.
I also would try to stay away from three colours on a budget, as budget three-colour mana bases tend to be very slow, and any improvements will eat up your budget very quickly.
March 11, 2019 3:59 p.m.
Deadpoo111 says... #17
So aminatou exiles a creature and returns it immediately, guardian does the same but for any nonland permanent. Aminatou exiles the cat, the cat returns and exiles aminatou. Now Aminatou can activate her ability again, do this forever, you win.
Here's the link to all the tutors: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/list-of-edh-tutor-cards/
March 11, 2019 4:12 p.m.
Well if his creatures are all getting indestructible a board wipe like Merciless Eviction could be good.
March 11, 2019 5:31 p.m.
sub780lime says... #19
It might not compete every time, but it would be more competitive than the precon and gives you a different wincon - try an infect deck. Some people aren't big on them or view them as cheap way to win, but they actually rarely outright win a multiplayer game. They do, though, give players something else to think about and often take out at least one player, like focusing on your friend :). There's one here that is sub-$100 that isn't bad: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/100-budget-infect/
March 11, 2019 5:32 p.m.
DerektheRed says... #20
I'll make two suggestions, one based on managing the dynamics of your play group, and the other to improve the deck.
1) This is just my opinion and others may disagree, but I think your friend shares some responsibility for closing the gap in power level. You can make your deck more powerful, but they can also make their deck less powerful. The easiest way to do that and still have fun is for them to remove some (or all) of the tutors. Tutors take a powerful deck and make it predictably powerful. Lots of people play with few or no tutors for exactly this reason; predictably powerful doesn't = more fun.
2) As for increasing the power of your deck - and especially considering what you're up against - I strongly suggest looking into 'Aminatou blink'. Add some cards that blink both your stuff and theirs; the former lets you abuse enter the battlefield effects, and the latter makes it hard to attack. Blink doesn't care about indestructible, so that won't help them at all.
Here are a few good ones: Felidar Guardian , Peregrine Drake , Eldrazi Displacer , Mulldrifter , Reflector Mage , Flickerwisp , Magister Sphinx , Hostage Taker
Last but not least, pack a little more exile removal, since it also doesn't care about indestructible: Utter End , etc.
Good luck!
March 11, 2019 6:23 p.m.
With that commander I would go with exile effects for removal to get around indestructable. Swords to Plowshares is a good cheap one.
Counter magic works well also, countering big spells like omniscience.
Taking his commander out is a sometimes required act. Darksteel Mutation and Imprisoned in the Moon are great at this.
There are also cards which will stop omniscience and other cost reduction spells in this color combo. Cards that won't allow free spells to resolve. Just depends on how much of your deck you want/need to devote to shutting down the top threat.
And yes, with 3 color you would need to devote at least half your $100 budget to upgrade mana. There are cheaper ways to go about it, but 99% of the comes into play tapped lands need to go. This will allow you to speed up your deck alot.
And as suggested already, blink deck would be a way to go with your commander.
March 11, 2019 10:55 p.m.
multimedia says... #22
Hey, an idea to consider is to use Aminatou, but play base white and blue, just splashing black only for her. This would simplify the manabase making it essentially a two color manabase with a few budget dual lands/mana rocks that can make black such as Command Tower , Caves of Koilos , Exotic Orchard , Sunken Hollow , Signets/Talismans, Fellwar Stone , Commander's Sphere and Chromatic Lantern .
Lavinia, Azorius Renegade and Aven Mindcensor are cards to consider to help against your Jodah opponent. Lavinia counters spells that are cast for free, she shuts down Omniscience. Her other ability stops your opponents from casting noncreature spells that are higher mana cost than the amount of lands that they control. Jodah's ability lets your opponent ignore normal mana costs of cards, but Lavinia stops this for noncreature cards because she looks at the actual mana cost of a card that's cast no matter what.
Mindcensor helps to even the playing field against your opponent's tutors. Instead of your opponent searching their entire library for a card they can only search the top four cards which is a big difference. This card stops Conflux. Against Jodah you want to try to keep him off the battlefield or shut him down when he's on the battlefield. Imprisoned in the Moon , Deep Freeze and Darksteel Mutation are enchantments that when Jodah is enchanted by one of them he loses his ability to change the mana cost of spells. They also don't kill Jodah this means that enchanted Jodah stays on the battlefield, but is useless for your opponent until he/she or another opponent can remove the enchantment. Since they're enchantments you can blink them with Aminatou and change what creature you enchant.
Another idea is if you want to make a completely new deck with a new Commander is consider Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow ? She's one of the strongest cards in the precon and is only two colors. A deck built around her however will be completely different than one with Aminatou. To make a deck from start to finish I think would be a very good learning experience for you.
March 11, 2019 11:25 p.m.
bushido_man96 says... #23
Is your friend as new to Magic as you and the rest of your playgroup are? If so, then it sounds like he's picking the game quicker, which is going to cause the rest of the playgroup to either catch up or fall behind.
It appears to me that two things need to happen:
-
Address your buddy, and see if he can change things to help make the group have more fun. Find out if he has a less powerful deck that he can play, or if he'll dial back the power on the current deck, like others said, but removing the tutors and such.
-
The rest of you need to get better, and that may mean putting a little effort into your deck building. Now this takes time, as Magic is a pretty complicated game, and everyone picks things up a little differently. But its important to make an effort to get better, so you don't always have to ask buddies to power down their decks.
Neither of these suggestions necessarily requires you to start spending a ton more money. There are plenty of ways to build focused decks on a decent budget, and then upgrade here and there as you keep playing them. There are resources out on the web that offer quality budget builds if you need help getting started there.
The final option to take, if your buddy just continues to be ruthless in games and not making them fun, is to basically play Archenemy against him.
Joe_Ken_ says... #2
Well maybe just look to upgrading your precon deck with the money instead of buying a whole new deck? Which precon deck do you have?
March 11, 2019 1:43 p.m.