The Lost player Quest
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on Aug. 27, 2018, 6:47 p.m. by Segala
Hi I was hoping to find someone who could help me find my next build (that will also be my main build for my edh league for the next few months).
I do have a few build but for some reason I don't feel a connection to it (not sure how to explain it).
Someone told me to try describing myself to a few veteran players and maybe they could help me find a deck or at least a play style that could fit me, so here it goes.
I'm 23 years old,been playing mtg (mostly edh) for the past year or so.Studying to be an accountant,I'm a number maniac and borderline ocd for organizing and keeping everything in order, most of other tcg's I've played (mostly yu-gi-oh and cardfight vanguard) had a board control strategy (locking my opponents out of the game or preventing them to play like they want to). Making my opponents think they have a way to get around me only to make them realized that I allowed them to make that move so i could swing in with big beaters or burn their life away.
that's pretty much the only thing I can think of to say. I don't have any color that I specifically want to play or that I don't want to play.
So thanks in advance to any one who could think of something that could help me.
A couple of quick questions to help hone in on a list for you:
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It's clear you like playing control, but do you prefer proactive control (i.e. stopping people before they can do anything, usually via resouce denial) or reactive control (i.e. sitting back with a hand full of counterspells and removal, waiting for an opponent to try and do something)?
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Do you prefer control to be in your hand on on the board? As in, would you prefer a Counterspell in hand that your opponent doesn't know about or a Glen Elendra Archmage in play that your opponent does know about?
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For the deck's actual win condition, do you generally prefer:
- turning sideways with one or two big beaters
- attacking with lots of small creatures
- building up lots of mana and casting something like Exsanguinate, or
- setting up an infinite loop and then going from there
Since there are a lot of different ways to play control, hopefully these answers will help pick a colour/control subtheme.
August 27, 2018 7:50 p.m.
cdkime thanks it did help,only one question. What would be a good win con for great arbiter ?
enpc If i have to choose id say resource denial. For the second anwser I'm more of the type to show them a target but the real threat is hidden in my hand ready for an opening. And for the last question I don't mind between a few big beaters or stuff like Debt to the Deathless but i absolutely hate infinite loop.
August 27, 2018 8:06 p.m.
If you're a fan of numbers, Aetherflux Reservoir is a thing. Many people have brewed storm decks around it. Storm is a mechanic that can be very powerful, but also requires a ton of knowledge and practice to pilot correctly. Buffing your storm count by casting numerous spells in one turn just to cannon away your opponents may be what you're looking for. Additionally you could run stax pieces to buy you the time necessary to build resources and get the cards you need to essentially combo off.
August 27, 2018 8:09 p.m.
If you want to go down the beats option, I think your best bet is going to be a Zur the Enchanter deck. Zur himself gives you access to a lot of good proactive hate while allowing you to have answers sitting in your hand. He also provides a win condition by tutoring for things like Ethereal Armor and connecting in, or getting cards like Luminarch Ascension after pillow forting.
August 27, 2018 8:22 p.m.
Zur/Kess Doomsday could be a deck for you to look into. Or maybe a storm list since you enjoy numbers.
August 27, 2018 8:52 p.m.
Cyberseb; All good. Budget willing, I would also recommend including Bitterblossom in the deck. If you can, it is a really strong card when paired with Contamination but also helps protect against effects like Sheoldred, Whispering One which hose Zur hard.
August 27, 2018 9:49 p.m.
seshiro_of_the_orochi says... #10
There is a recent commander that likes putting things into the right order and loves to think turns ahead. Maybe you should try Aminatou, the Fateshifter.
August 28, 2018 4:01 a.m.
seshiro_of_the_orochiI was considering her in the first place but I can't really picture any win condition
August 28, 2018 11:47 p.m.
Aminatou, the Fateshifter decks generally win with Felidar Guardian infinite loops. So if you don't like infinite combo, Aminatou might not be the way to go.
Caerwyn says... #2
I took a look at the decks you've posted to see what you've found disappointing. For the reference of others:
An Inalla, Archmage Ritualist combo deck (Hogwarts deck of wizardry) that, at least as of its last update on this site, was not finished and lacking in win conditions.
A Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis deck (Hug and Backstab) with a pillowfort, group hug theme.
An aggressive Scion of the Ur-Dragon deck (DragonQuest) that was too aggressive for OP's taste.
It seems like you should try playing a control deck. There are two basic types of control in Magic--proactive and reactive.
Proactive control are your Stax and Taxes decks. These are powerful, but you need to be careful not to build them stronger than your meta allows. By definition, these seek to lock players out of the game, and your friends might find that unfun. Some good options include:
Grand Arbiter Augustin IV, who serves as a tax himself.
Brago, King Eternal, who can enable some nasty enters-the-battlefield effects.
Zur the Enchanter is in great colours and comes with some powerful locks (such as Solemnity + Phyrexian Unlife).
Sen Triplets makes it harder for your opponents to interrupt your plans, and allows you to take their threats.
Reactive control are your counterspells and removal spells. They allow an opponent to act first, which you respond to. The effectiveness of these decks decreases in multiplayer, as there are too many threats to remove, and not enough open mana. Some options include:
Talrand, Sky Summoner, who gives you creatures with your counterspells, at the cost of being mono-blue, and thus giving no hard removal.
Kess, Dissident Mage is in fantastic control colours and allows you to flashback kill spells.
Reaper King gives access to all colours and can be turned into a removal machine with some scarecrows/changelings and blink effects.
Hopefully some of this helps!
August 27, 2018 7:47 p.m.