Commander/EDH Deckbuilding Philosophy for newbies
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on May 7, 2016, 3:45 a.m. by Calivess
Hello!
My name is Calivess, and Im relatively new here (long time lurker, brand new member). My absolute favorite format in M:TG is Commander/EDH. I play this format to the virtual exclusion of all others (although, I still enjoy sealed deck).
As Ive been browsing these forums, and looking at some of the deck reviews/questions, I thought Id compile a list of my personal philosophies for building EDH decks. While there are tons of resources out there (YouTube, discussions on Gatherer, and the forums here just to name a few), the things I put on this list arent intended to sound like this is the only correct way to do things. But, these things would cover the most common answers that Id put on someones EDH deck.
Unlike other guides, that deal with mana curve, which commanders to use, and which specific cards are better than others, this post deals more with a general, overall philosophy behind deckbuilding; ideas that can go behind nearly every deck, to allow the builder to think outside the box. And these ideas are intended more for people newer to the format, as veterans most likely already have a system they use. Either way, this list is casual in nature, and not intended to sound like an authority on the issue.
So, with that being said, here are some of the deckbuilding philosophies I use for Commander/EDH:
Figure out what you want to do first, then pick a commander/colour that does it.
With the exception of 4-colour commanders (Cmon, WotC!!), you can usually find multi-colour (and mono-colour) commanders of all different types/colours. You should never pick a commander solely for colour identity. Trust me, theres a commander out there that has the colour identity youre looking for, and also supports the deck concept youre trying to build. You may hate playing Blue, but if your deck idea is counter-control, then chance are you might want to take a look at blue. Its so much easier to start with an idea, then find a commander that suits the idea, rather than picking a commander and trying to force that commander to do something unrelated (such as Hanna, Ship's Navigator in a direct-damage deck).
Expect opponents to kill/lock your commander.
Some people (like myself) try to build a deck where the commander improves/supports the deck concept (such as my Horde of Notions), so that the deck runs on its own merit, but the commander in play makes it more dangerous. Others build around their commander as the primary focus of the deck (where the deck usually requires her to be in play). Both are perfectly fine ways to build. But, if your focus is on your commander, youll need to find ways to protect her and keep her in play. Find counters for things like Arrest, Linvala, Keeper of Silence, or the dreaded Song of the Dryads. People will shut down or lock down your commander if its the primary win condition, so add cards to keep the advantage.
Imagine your combos are broken
I played against a guy once whos deck was full of Shadowborn Apostle and big, big demons. He ran land-light, and relied on getting those apostles out to bring massive demons into play over and over. At the time, I was playing an instant/sorcery-heavy Melek, Izzet Paragon deck, which mainboarded a Phyrexian Revoker. With a single card, I broke his combos (and, indirectly, his deck). I spent the rest of the game passively protecting my revoker while dealing with the other people at the table. The point is, on the odd chance your First Turn Super-Flashy Victory doesnt go off, will your deck still run? I use this failsafe; I explain all the combos in my deck to one of my friends. Then, I have them pull out any 10 cards they want from my deck before we test it. If the deck still runs, then it can function without those combos (and sometimes without the commander; see #2).
You have more than one opponent
A lot of folks test their commander decks against a single opponent, just to see how it runs. If it wins, they pat themselves on the back. Then, when theyre at a table of 5 people, they cant figure out why theyre getting trounced. Usually, its because they forget the multiplayer essence of commander. Remember that youre building against multiple players, and not just one. Build with that in mind.
Dont underestimate the commanders that people ignore.
When I started, some of the commanders I was up against were Krenko, Mob Boss, Grimgrin, Corpse-Born, and Obzedat, Ghost Council. All heavy-hitters, and their decks did exactly what you think they did; killed every creature imaginable, flooded the table with goblins, and drained everyones life. I picked a legendary creature that was basically ignored in my circle of friends: Hanna, Ship's Navigator. Hanna, the sweetheart that she is, quickly evolved to one of the most relentless (and obnoxious) decks in the group. While Im aware that shes probably a popular commander in other circles, the point is that in my group she was basically ignored and considered useless. Take a second look at those useless legendaries in your group of friends. You might just find a gem that can be a springboard for a creative and unique deck concept; something new that your friends never thought of. Nearly every commander can be a good one, if you give it some TLC.
Find mana dumps
You ever play one of those games where you just keep drawing land, land, and land around mid-game? Sometimes the Mana Screw happens, and you get flooded with mana. Try to put some cards in your deck that are great both early game and late game. Cards like Oracle of Nectars, Bloodhusk Ritualist, and even the volvers (Cetavolver)) can be dropped on the table early game, or can have vast (and sometimes devastating) uses late-game, when youve got a ton of mana. Any card that has an early use, but then gets nastier as the game goes on, is possibly a nice addition to your deck. Having a use for all that mana is always a good thing.
Dont fear the tap
Some lands come into play tapped. For a lot of newcomers to Commander, thats a terrifying prospect; the idea that you might not play something big every turn. Well, commander is a slow game. Whereas in Standard or Modern (or especially Legacy) theres the chance that someones going to be too far ahead by turn 2 or 3 for you to catch up, things are different in Commander. In commander, you might not see the table start to go crazy until around turn 7 or 8 (sometimes later). Remember, a commander like Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius usually wont hit the table until turn 6, and thats most likely if his player drops a land every single turn. So, when a land comes into play tapped, the extra versatility/utility of it can possibly outweigh the fact that its tapped for a turn.
Build to your group
This last one is a touchy subject for me, but I add it here so that newbie deckbuilders can mitigate frustration (which happens from time to time). Commander, in spirit, is supposed to be a casual and entertaining multiplayer format. Players are supposed to enjoy the game, and everyone should be having fun watching each others decks come to life. But, some groups are extremely competitive, and theyre more focused on who wins rather than simply playing for fun (which is fine! Theres nothing wrong with that). Have a good idea of the mindset of the group you play in. If theyre competitive, dont expect to have too much fun with a deck thats casual and light-hearted. And if theyre a casual group, they wont necessarily enjoy it when you bring a finely-tuned, genetically-engineered killing machine to the table, swiftly tearing everyone to pieces within three turns. Build a deck that fits the group dynamic, and you are more likely to enjoy playing it when you get together with your friends.
So, those are my general philosophies behind deckbuilding for Commander. While this may not be what most people are looking for, hopefully someone feels a little reassurance or inspiration from what Ive written here, and it helps them with their first few Commander decks.
MagicalHacker says... #3
Calivess, yeah I don't know why, but apparently there are two types of apostrophes?! lol
Welcome to the spotlight, I love this article! Hits a lot of good points, and I agree with what you have said!
Something to add to point 2, I believe each deck should have 2-3 ways to lock an opponent out of using their commander, because it is turns the tables by making the decks that abuse their commander (which usually are powerful) unable to do so. These types of cards are on MagicalHacker - List of All "Tuck" Cards for everyone's convenience.
May 7, 2016 8:55 a.m.
Solid work. Thanks for writing this.
I want to add one more thing, though; popularity is a resource. In some cases, it's more important than mana. Do things and play cards which make people like you, not hate you.
May 7, 2016 11:03 a.m.
I like it.
Another thing to possibly point out is the need for mana ramp, card draw, and field wipes in every edh deck. When playing with newer people those are areas their decks tend to be lacking in.
May 7, 2016 11:47 a.m.
To Sol Ring I would add that just about every deck should also run Swiftfoot Boots and/or Lightning Greaves.
May 7, 2016 12:33 p.m.
I have to say that while tapped lands may be unavoidable (mainly due to budget constraints), that bounce lands are a bad idea. I do see a lot of people running the original ravnica bounce lands and I would highly recommend against them.
May 7, 2016 6:50 p.m.
MagicalHacker says... #9
I don't know, getting to play that Temple of Abandon again via Gruul Turf in an Omnath, Locus of Rage screams value to me... XD
May 7, 2016 7:09 p.m.
Sure, there are a few corner cases where the policy doesn't apply, however on the whole they are just a bad idea.
May 7, 2016 7:18 p.m.
Onion_duck says... #11
Excellent article. I think it'll be very helpful to new players. Although I would like to throw in something I've noticed many new players tend to miss the first time around:
Always have at least one Answer to everything.
Most Newbies will remember to include some creature removal but I've seen plenty get completely wrecked by a single artifact or enchantment with no way to deal with them. Stuff as simple as Disenchant, Acidic Slime or Hull Breach. Also a good idea to have something for Planeswalkers and even Lands.
May 7, 2016 7:28 p.m.
DERPLINGSUPREME says... #12
@enpc how so? if you wind up with only 2 lands in hand, at least it'll maximize those 2. And most decks already run landfall, so why not?
May 7, 2016 8:39 p.m.
MagicalHacker says... #13
Yeah, even without Omnath in the equation, it's still helpful to get two instances of scry 1 and three mana from 2 lands. Getting a karooland blown up is only worse than getting a normal land blown up until you miss a land drop. Once you miss a land drop, then you have caught up to what lands you would have had if that karooland were a basic.
The question becomes, "How important is tempo in a multiplayer format where everyone starts at twice the normal life total?"
May 7, 2016 8:54 p.m.
DERPLINGSUPREME: I wouldn't say most decks use landfall, and if the few that do they dont really abuse it so for most decks the bonus in landfall would make minimal impact.
As for the whole "if you only have two lands" argument, if you're relying on the extra mana to help you mana fix then it sounds like you have a larger problem with the deck's mana base.
MagicalHacker: Multiple players generally means they your tempo is even mote important. While yes, there are some decks designed to sit back and not draw attention to themselves, the hit in tempo, especially in the first few turns can become a big deal later on. And in your example, you don't actually have any mana from those lands for the first 3 turns which is a big deal.
And this is not just relevant in competitive play, having access to ramp and early game plays is huge, even in casual games.
May 8, 2016 2:05 a.m.
MagicalHacker says... #15
enpc, if the deck is a threat early on, then it better be able to play archenemy with no buffs and win. 99% of decks cannot do that, so generally, tempo doesn't matter. Secondly, this interaction isn't necessarily a plan for the first three turns. It depends on what you have in your hand! Lastly, you told DERPLINGSUPREME that if these are your only two land that the deck has mana issues. I have to disagree because even a deck with 70 lands could get mana screwed like that, and in that situation, a bounce land helps out a little bit. Would I run bounce lands in a three color deck? No because there are enough options for lands that don't come into play tapped while still fixing your colors. However, bounce lands seem pretty solid choices in a two color deck.
May 8, 2016 9:55 a.m.
MagicalHacker: I'm not saying it has to play archenemy however having access to things like early game ramp or card advantage pieces are crucial for pulling ahead or staying relevant.
And sure, it does depend on what you have in your openning hand as to how yo uplay your lands. But my issue is this - you want to play a ravnica bounce land as early as possible to get the whole ETB thing ut of the way so that you can get some benefit from it.
But if you play it turn 2 (since you can't play it turn 1) then unless you have a turn 1 play you have to discard a card (since you'll go to 8 cards in hand). And if you have a turn 2 play then you don't want to play your bounce land as it locks you out of your turn two play.
As you yourself said - if there are enough options for mana fixing for a three colour deck without having to resort to using bounce lands then why would you even bother in a two colour deck.
Also yes - I understand that decks can get mana screwed no matter how many lands they run (I've been there myself and I run a high land /ramp count compared to most decks on this site) however trying to use bounce lands as easy fixes for a deck's mana problems is not a good idea. A lot of decks that I see running bounce lands actaully need to look at their entire mana base and ramp suite as often times it is lacking.
Look, don't get me wrong - bounce lands definitely have their place in certain deck builds. I just think that they shouldn't be run in the majority of decks that actually run them as the downside stringly outweigh the upsides.
Calivess says... #2
And apparently copy/pasting from Word automatically edits out every apostrophe I put in my post. So, my apologies for the grammar.
May 7, 2016 3:50 a.m.