new to Commander, looking for advice

Commander Deck Help forum

Posted on Sept. 6, 2015, 10:58 a.m. by deaddeerguts

My first EDH deck:BG Golgari EDH

I have a limited budget and a limited collection of cards, but I'd still like to get some ideas from people.

DarkHero says... #2

General New to EDH Comment:

A lot of cards that are great in EDH are actually fairly cheap because they are not played in other formats. If you spend the $25 on one of the pre made EDH decks at a local store, you'll get some staples for that color, and namely Sol Ring, which shows up in just about every deck. Otherwise, just be original. It's ok to pull some ideas from people, but it is essential to make something at least a little unique, especially when your working on a budget.

September 6, 2015 3:12 p.m.

deaddeerguts says... #3

This feels like very awesome advice. I just want to make sure I can jump in without getting clobberized right out of the gate. The folks I know who play Commander play much more casually than the FNM crowd, but I still wanted to bounce my ideas around.

Thanks for the advice! I'll look into one of the precon decks too.

September 6, 2015 3:18 p.m.

DarkHero says... #4

As others have said, 34 to 36 is usually plenty of land. Most standard legal cards, just don't cut it in terms of power for EDH. You want the most bang for your buck possible, as I'm just noticing that most of the deck is standard legal. Utility is key, because there are literally countless situations you can run into in any game. cards like Hero's Downfall, Beast Within, Go for the Throat, Bramblecrush, and many others like them all really shine in EDH because there are tons of possible threats that pop up in the longer games, both creature and otherwise permanent. Life is really not as important, because you now start with 40. So, anything that makes you pay life, now seems a lot more appealing, and things like Staff of the Wild Magus and Wurm's Tooth really just don't do enough to warrant the spot in the deck list. Skullbriar, the Walking Grave is a very good commander, but you need to realize that a deck built around him, wants to win with only him. Your goal then is to swing for 21 commander damage, which kills your opponent. Jarad is in a similar boat, but he also has a sac outlet and a means of dealing damage across the board without actually attacking. It's purely whatever direction you want to take the deck. I would like to point out that you only have 28 creatures in the deck, very few ways to dump cards into your graveyard, and you commander demands creature in the graveyard. So look at things like Splinterfright, Ghoultree, Boneyard Wurm, Wreath of Geists, Spider Spawning, Kessig Cagebreakers, Stinkweed Imp, Commune with the Gods, Jarad's Orders, Mulch, Cellar Door, Life from the Loam (idk how much that is), Filth, Brawn, Varolz, the Scar-Striped, Creakwood Liege (again, not sure on price), Disciple of Bolas, Buried Alive and things along those lines. Hope this helps a little.

September 6, 2015 3:36 p.m.

DarkHero says... #5

I said 28 creatures I meant 18

September 6, 2015 3:46 p.m.

ae0n5105 says... #6

also do not sweat the expensive lands. for the most part the cheap tap duals (guildgates or kahns/fate life duals) and evolving wilds, terramporphic expanse are perfectly fine.

also do not worry about picking a janky (dollar or less) general from super old sets since it is really political and if you don't seem like a threat, you will probably go much further in the game than you think.

just keep being creative!

September 6, 2015 8:41 p.m.

DarkHero says... #7

when your first starting out, building something a little off the grid will help keep you alive in a multiplayer game, mostly because people don't know what to expect. And ae0n5105 is completely right. Hell I run largely basic lands in all of my decks, and in a lot of situations they are more beneficial than the expensive lands. Wave of Vitriol, Blood Moon, Helldozer, From the Ashes, Encroaching Wastes, Trailblazer's Boots, There are quite a few reasons out there to stay heavy on the basic lands. Even aside from the dollar value

September 6, 2015 9:43 p.m. Edited.

ThEpicMTG says... #8

I told one of my younger friends that really any half decent card in your colors that fits the general theme of the deck can be perfectly ok. Really one of the only things you need to thing about is if this card will be relevant at any time in your deck. Commander games take a really long time, with all the life aggro commander decks are few so go ahead and play some eh creatures that can be powerful late game because in just about every case you will get there. Using your early turns to get lands out is what many decks in Commander do. My Mormir Vig Commander spends its first couple turns just building up mana by playing various elves and such to get as many mana sources as quickly as I can. Then all you really need to do is build up threats. From my experience just about anything can go in Commander.

September 7, 2015 1:44 a.m.

NinurtahRS says... #9

Get yourself on Gatherer and look up cards in your colour combination that have some pretty cheeky interactions, like Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth + Cabal Coffers = Profit.My own deck, for example, is similar to this but updated.http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/cheeky-top-notch-bant-er/

Find a commander that suits your playstyle in a casual setting - remember in EDH your goal isn't necessarily to win as soon as possible like other formats, but more be certain of your ultimate win over the other players.My own personal favourites from Golgari-on-a-budget are Glissa, the Traitor, Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord, and Nath of the Gilt-Leaf

Make a rough plan of what you want your deck to do. Discard? Ramp? Creature spam? EDH is not like other formats where everything is clear cut around a triangle of Control, Aggro, Combo, with midrange somewhere in the middle.So for example if you're going to run discard, you'll be running Nath of the Gilt-Leaf with something like Waste Not to support his ability. FYI Discard elf tribal is something i've never seen before if you want to be original.Edh is more a spider diagram with a few hundred too many legs. Anything is possible if a pauper morph is possible.

Next step, find infamous cards and staples - Vedalken Orrery Sol Ring Reliquary Tower Genesis Wave Rites of Flourishing Explosive Vegetation Liliana Vess Demonic Tutor or it's poor man's equivalents Diabolic TutorMost of the infamous and staples will drive your deck price up, but assuming you have a budget of your average video game, you'll be fine collecting them.

Then, as hinted before, find a cheaper alternative for budgetting, so Demonic Tutor = Diabolic Tutor, for example.

Finally, and the absolute most important thing, mana base.Sort out that nasty mana base and make it something quick and fluid. Even on a budget for golgari you can get things like Golgari Guildgate Golgari Rot Farm Llanowar Wastes Thran Dynamo Golgari Signet etc to sort it out.

Then, when your deckbuilding is done, play it. If it aint fun, it aint worth your time and money.

September 8, 2015 10:14 a.m.

deaddeerguts says... #10

So much awesome. Thanks for the advice everyone!

September 8, 2015 10:22 a.m.

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