Do you switch between Commanders for a particular deck?
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on Nov. 13, 2019, 8:59 a.m. by Mortlocke
Question - how many of you have EDH decks where you swap between different commanders based on the meta? I just came to the conclusion that for one of my decks, I definitely need to have two different commanders (that aren't partner commanders) because they're both awesome and represent everything I love about Dinosaurs.
Currently, i'm suggesting that tappedout give players the ability to tag an additional card as an "Alternate" commander - to better represent their builds and how they operate. I made a feature request thread (linked here) and want to see how many other players would be interested in such a feature. Please comment on the thread so that it'll gain traction - and hopefully the attention of one of the devs!
Additionally, which separate commanders do you have for your decks? I'll go first: For my Dinosaur tribal deck The Predator of Predators I normally go with Zacama, Primal Calamity . But for more casual fun metas I use Grimlock, Dinobot Leader Flip. Real story - I pulled out Grimlock at an LGS, and a little kid (around 12, I think) said "That a transformer? Huh, shame that they're so lame now". That hurt my soul - kids these days don't know nothin' about nothin.
GhostChieftain says... #3
shadow63 gonna have to disagree on the best dino commander. Zacama is easily the best as he can combo with Temur Sabertooth and any mana doubling enchantment to make infinite mana and do infinite creature burn/destroy artifacts and enchants and I find that way better than getting more dinos.
That being said, I have zero interest in a secondary commander feature personally. I don't swap between commanders because I literally have to swap decks so I am not playing a deck that wins against no interaction fairly consistently t3-6 vs some weenie hut jr. horse tribal deck. I have seperate decks depending on opponents unless it is for a league or tournanent.
November 13, 2019 11:43 a.m. Edited.
GhostChieftain then your playing infinite combos and the like rather then playing dino tribal. Not saying theres anything wrong with playing combos
November 13, 2019 12:11 p.m.
GhostChieftain says... #5
Fair enough. I was reading your comment as best commander that is a dinosaur rather than best commander for dino tribal. Either way, we both agree that the suggested feature is not necessary.
November 13, 2019 12:23 p.m.
shadow63, that sounds like some old fashioned anti-Zacama propaganda! lol. To each their own, I guess - but yeah I agree with GhostChieftain: Gishath should know it's place - with the rest of the 99. So, it's interesting to see two players who are so outspoken about not swapping commanders. Do you just philosophically have an issue with it? Are you just adverse to the idea of having another commander in a deck that isn't quite built with it in mind?
November 13, 2019 12:52 p.m.
GhostChieftain, oh and an after thought - not everyone plays the same brand of commander as you do. For example the more competitive Duel Commander actually has Commander swap rules stating that players are allowed to swap Commanders between rounds - source. So while you and shadow63 probably wouldn't use the feature, I think that some Duel Commander decks would appreciate it.
November 13, 2019 12:58 p.m.
I usually try to build as much synergy as possible around my general. So swapping what commander I want to use will make the deck weaker. I could see doing it of I'm playing something like Chulane, Teller of Tales and switching it around with Roon of the Hidden Realm but they're just so similar the game plan wouldn't change.
I play Muldrotha, the Gravetide and no other legend does what she does and the deck was made with her in mind so using a different general would be putting a needless handicap on the deck. And I'm by no means playing cEDH
November 13, 2019 1:23 p.m.
GhostChieftain says... #9
Fair enough, in that case I can see a decent case for it. However, I still don't feel as though it is necessary due to the fact that you can swap with any legal card to command your deck. Many decks have none that would be able to swap, and some could have 7 or 8 swaps if they are mono color.
November 13, 2019 1:25 p.m.
GhostChieftain interesting point you made there - for some decks an alternate commander may not even be considered...but others, there might be even too many options to choose from. Doesn't that seem exciting? I mean, the design space that opens up seems awesome! You could build a deck that's meant to play slightly or completely different depending on the commander that is at the helm that game. shadow63 - I completely understand what you mean about a deck becoming weaker with a different commander, but isn't that the point? Say you're wanting to play a completely fun casual game? Why not swap out your more synergistic commander for something that still works but does something interesting? Or different? At least that's my perspective on it.
November 13, 2019 2:03 p.m.
The only deck i would even consider this in is my Jurassic Pork monogreen stompy deck. And the only reason is because all of the legends serve the same purpose. They're all big dumb donkeys that you turn sideways. Unless they have vigilance, then you just slide it back and forth at the player you're attacking in a menacing way.
Even so, Ghalta is still the best commander, so i'd have to be sitting down to a really casual game.
November 13, 2019 4:45 p.m.
Personally I think it would be interesting and a lot of my old decks had multiple alternate commanders but it does seem kind of niche.
Also I think the best is probably Gishath, but also this is Atla Palani erasure.
shadow63 says... #2
Seems like a kinda pointless feature only a few people would use it. And if you want your deck to perform as best as possible you build it around the commander. And Gishath, Sun's Avatar is the best dinosaur commander
November 13, 2019 10:56 a.m.