Voltron Commander Help

Commander Deck Help forum

Posted on July 13, 2016, 9:39 p.m. by Ryne91

I was hoping to get some suggestions from other users regarding a Voltron EDH deck I'm planning on building.

Well, it's not so much the deck as the Commander that I need help with. Ideally, I'd like a fairly cheap Commander (in mana and price) that is only one or two colors so I don't have too much trouble with mana fixing.

I've seen a number of possible commanders that would be powerful in a Voltron role, but considering the politics of EDH, I don't want to go with something that is so powerful that it makes everyone else at the table gang up on me, like Thalia, Heretic Cathar, Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, Bruna, Light of Alabaster, or Daxos of Meletis.

At the moment, I'm considering Kytheon, Hero of Akros  Flip or Geist of Saint Traft, but I am open to other suggestions.

My voltron deck is a creature-less Tromokratis deck.


Creature-less Promokratis

Commander / EDH Raging_Squiggle

SCORE: 2 | 3 COMMENTS | 76 VIEWS


He may be expensive to cast, but mana rocks and mana buffers like Extraplanar Lens help you get there.

And lots of cards like Evacuation, War Tax, and Propaganda will help keep you alive until you can cast him.

July 13, 2016 9:48 p.m.

Ryne91 says... #3

I have looked at Tromokratis. My sister has one in her Nekusar deck, and the idea of Tromokratis wielding a ton of weapons does amuse me more than it should. I'm not sure I want such a high cost Commander though. Knowing my playgroup, he'd probably be countered or they'd boardwipe before I could attack.

July 13, 2016 9:56 p.m.

EmblemMan says... #4

I would say Sigarda, Host of Herons but im also a GW fanboy

July 13, 2016 10:19 p.m.

Ryne91 says... #5

I like Sigarda, though I sadly don't have one. Well, that Sigarda at any rate. I have Heron's Grace.

I actually run those colors in another EDH deck, and I'm not opposed to Selesnya at all, though I lack the manabase to build a second Selesnya EDH deck.

July 13, 2016 10:26 p.m.

EmblemMan says... #6

just share the mana base and use the same sleeves

July 13, 2016 10:39 p.m.

Ryne91 says... #7

I'm not too concerned about that. Getting a Sigarda would be more expensive than the manabase considering I don't use expensive lands.

July 13, 2016 10:44 p.m.

EmblemMan says... #8

I would also reccommend Krond the Dawn-Clad but hes 6 mana or Uril, the Miststalker but hes three colors.

July 13, 2016 11:37 p.m.

greyninja says... #9

My friend had an amazing Lazav, Dimir Mastermind deck for a while.

It has built-in protection and uses your opponent's deck against them! He ran it as a pseudo-mill deck with cards that are fairly cheap ($) like Traumatize. Thinking about it makes we want to go out and build it myself...!

July 14, 2016 12:16 a.m.

Gidgetimer says... #10

Kemba, Kha Regent is my go to suggestion when people ask about cheap to cast monocolor commanders. The ideal deck she fits into does include some fairly expensive cards, but she scales well to whatever budget.

July 14, 2016 12:17 a.m.

Ryne91 says... #11

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'd prefer to run white in whatever deck since it leaves me open to so many good spells, including Sigarda's Blessing from EMN. Even the non-white suggestions help with other ideas though.

I just wish I had Kemba or Sigarda in my collection. Closest to them I have is Brimaz and the new Sigarda.

July 14, 2016 1:41 a.m.

Gidgetimer says... #12

Kemba is 30 cents. You should be able to find one relatively easily.

July 14, 2016 2:11 a.m.

Ryne91 says... #13

I'm aware that she is cheap. Sadly, that is exactly why I can't find one locally. The local game shop doesn't bother carrying cards that aren't worth a little more than that. I can order one online though.

I just have to choose a commander so I can decide what to order.

July 14, 2016 2:19 a.m.

enpc says... #14

I personallyhave really enjoyed playing Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief as a voltron commander. Becasue she has natural evasion as well as the ability to buff herself, it means you can sink a lot more card slots into ramp and get her down quickly and consistently.

Here is my list if you're looking for some ideas: In the Black

July 14, 2016 2:30 a.m.

Isamaru, Hound of Konda? It's practically the staple/OG mono-white voltron commander.

July 14, 2016 2:37 a.m.

enpc says... #16

One other commander you could look into is Silvos, Rogue Elemental. He's in green, so ramp is a piece of cake.

July 14, 2016 2:41 a.m.

Ryne91 says... #17

If I was going mono black, I'd choose Drana hands down. In that color, I haven't seen one I've liked so much. The only issue with it is that black has issues dealing with aftifacts and enchantments. After having my commander mind controlled once before, I'm wary of not having an answer to that.

Also, five mana is as high as I want to go for a commander. I'd prefer 1-3. Even With ramp, any higher than five is too risky for my tastes.

And I like Kytheon more than Isamaru. Indestructible for three mana helps me more than one more point of toughness.

July 14, 2016 2:59 a.m.

enpc says... #18

Ryne91: Typically a card that all voltron decks should be running is Homeward Path. And while yes, mono-black isn't great at non-creature removal, therh is a decent enough chunk of colourles sreomval to make it work. For example, you have Spine of Ish Sah, Unstable Obelisk, Scour from Existence, Karn Liberated, Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, etc.

As for CMC, the issue that you run into with most CMC 1-3 commanders is that they really quickly become irrelevant. The abilities they have are generally more limited and their damage output isn't great. But in the 4-6 CMC band, you'll find a lot more really solid choices. And with a decent ramp package, you can drop your commander pretty quickly. It's not uncommon for me to get Drana down turn 3-4 and mine is a casual deck.

July 14, 2016 3:20 a.m. Edited.

Omnath, Locus of Mana can be built very cheap and since he has no build in evasion or protection he is usually not considered a very high risk card early on

July 14, 2016 6:18 a.m.

Ryne91 says... #20

enpc: Can't any Voltron commander be relevant later on if you run enough equipment?

That is more colorless removal than I was aware of though. I have Scour from Existence, but I haven't actually seen most of the other before. Obviously, I know about Karn and Ulamog.

bjarneudenarme: Omnath isn't one I really considered. He could be an interesting choice. I've looks at him for other builds before.

July 14, 2016 10:14 a.m.

enpc says... #21

Ryne91: Building voltron is a little bit more complicated than that unfortunately.

Voltron builds actually require a good balance of different card functionality, so typically you dont actually have the space in the deck to cram in every semi decent equipment.

This means that the actual getting to the point of fully suited up commander is not as easy as people might think, especially if your meta is more removal heavy. So while yes, you could quite possibly build a commander based around any creature, there are definitely benefits of pick ones that are relevant by themselves.

July 14, 2016 11:29 a.m.

Ryne91 says... #22

enpc: That makes sense. I am still fairly new to the format. Removal is one reason I looked to hexproof and indestructible Commanders. I know there are still ways they can be dealt with of course.

July 14, 2016 11:46 a.m.

Sigarda, Host of Herons is usually people's first choice because it eliminates the main weakness of voltron decks which is that you be forced to sac your own commander. Honestly I wouldn't go voltron though. Voltron decks almost never win because its a big threat everyone sees coming and you have to take out opponents 1 by 1 and it puts all your eggs in the basket of 1 creature.

July 14, 2016 11:34 p.m.

Sigarda, Host of Herons is usually people's first choice because it eliminates the main weakness of voltron decks which is that you be forced to sac your own commander. Honestly I wouldn't go voltron though. Voltron decks almost never win because its a big threat everyone sees coming and you have to take out opponents 1 by 1 and it puts all your eggs in the basket of 1 creature.

July 14, 2016 11:34 p.m.

enpc says... #25

Ryne91: There are a few effects that you want to have for voltron, namely evasion, protection and buff. The reason that Drana is so good is that she naturally fulfils 2 of the three critea, so offsetting the other one with equipment is easy.

AwesomeOctopus: While voltron decks do have a lower glass ceiling than a lot of other deck archetypes, they can still be quite eefective depending on your playgroup.

July 15, 2016 12:37 a.m.

Ryne91 says... #26

I will admit I am hesitant to go with something competitive enough to make myself the target, but I'd be more wary of Rhys the Redeemed or Odric, Lunarch Marshal than a typical Voltron Commander.

enpc: You have some excellent points. How would you deal with token decks in mono-black? I know blue has Propaganda, white has Ghostly Prison, and green can use The Great Aurora to deck a token player.

July 15, 2016 2:37 a.m.
July 15, 2016 2:47 a.m.

enpc says... #29

Typically a few sweepers is all you need. I also run some single target removal and the other two cards which work wonders are Bitterblossom and Springjack Pasture. A few token producers of your own is surprisingly effective. Sometimes just having the blockers is enough deterrent for people attacking.

July 15, 2016 8:33 a.m.

Ryne91 says... #30

Thanks for all the suggestions. I really appreciate it. There are quite a few cards in there I've never even heard of.

July 15, 2016 10:28 a.m.

This discussion has been closed