Delta Commander Format
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on July 28, 2018, 7:27 p.m. by StopShot
For those unaware of the Pokémon TCG, the term "delta" refers to delta species that debuted in 2005. Some of the card-concepts typically associated in one color were color shifted to a different color to shake-up well established color themes and provide unique gameplay experiences.
Delta Commander or Planar Chaos EDH in MTG terms is to establish a game experience that accomplishes the same style of play noted above. Many players over the years have expressed how they wish a certain commander had color x instead of color y or that a different general was missing a color keeping it from reaching it's full potential or other players have expressed interest in a commander's unique abilities yet disliked the color combination it was associated with. Delta commander rectifies these desires and greater customization freedoms while still maintaining the importance of color identity found in a standard commander game.
Delta Commander mirrors the rules of standard EDH with a few simple rule changes. Decks are still 100 card singleton, 40 life each, 21 command damage is lethal, etc. etc. To color shift a deck you use the general that interests you and then you pick only 1 of the 10 lands listed below.
The land selected will represent the "Domain" your general resides in. The domain is not restricted by your general's color identity and will represent the color shift of your deck. When starting a game the Domain and your General will both start in the command zone indicating to your opponents what colors you are restricted to and vice versa for knowing what colors your opponents are running.
Color identity will work a little different in games:
-The color identity of your General will restrict you on what lands you can play.
-The color identity of your Domain will restrict you on what nonland cards you can play.
As you may have surmised players will be able to play their Domain from the command zone in order to help cast spells outside of their General's color identity. This makes the domain special since your other lands will only produce the colors of your general's color identity, which adds more depth to deck building as players will have to compromise for the right balance of on-colored and off-colored spells used in their deck.
EXAMPLE: Say Baral, Chief of Compliance is your General and Frontier Bivouac is his Domain. The lands in your deck can not contain any mana symbol other than and the spells in your deck can not contain any symbol other than . Hence in order to cast the Red and Green spells in this deck you'll be limited to just the Frontier Bivouac in order to cast them.* (*Typically there would be other ways to cast those spells, but the Domain will be the primary source due to it's consistency of being readily available in your command zone.)
Now that you're familiar with how a deck is color-shifted there are only three more rules to keep in mind to accommodate these changes.
.) The Domain will share many of the same properties as your commander such as being a able to play it from the Command Zone and being able to place it back in the Command Zone if the land is to change zones. There are only two exceptions: 1.) you can not play your Domain if you played another land that turn, and 2.) your Domain will not have a command tax to pay since lands aren't ever cast. (The land enters tapped which makes up for the lack of taxation.)
.) Another key difference is if any source (be it a land or mana-rock-etc.) is to produce one or more mana of any color instead that source will only produce any color of mana in your commander's color identity. This applies to cards such as Mana Confluence, Mana Bloom, Gilded Lotus, etc. This rule is in place to put greater emphasis on your Domain being the chief hallmark to casting off-color spells with. Do note however since your domain restricts the color identity of your spells you are allowed to use signets and other mana-producers that fit into your domain's color identity even if they're outside of your general's color identity.
EXAMPLE: If my General is and my Domain is I could still run cards like Fire Diamond, Moss Diamond, Talisman of Impulse, Gruul Signet for color fixing, but cards like Mana Confluence and Darksteel Ingot would only generate blue mana. This is so the Domain retains some level of importance being used in the deck.
.) The last additional rule to this format is unlike all your other lands your Domain will have "Protection from lands." This means your Domain can never be the target of effects from the likes of Strip Mine, Wasteland, or Ghost Quarter due to their abusability with other cards such as Crucible of Worlds or Life from the Loam. Do note this does not stop the effects of cards like Sinkhole, Blood Moon, or Spreading Seas being used. (Hence the importance of running color-fixing mana rocks.)
You have now read up on the rules of Delta Commander or Planar Chaos EDH. Please keep in mind that when building in this format that your general determines the color identity of your lands and your domain determines the color identity of your spells. While it's possible to have a general and a domain that share no colors your deck will likely run a lot better if your domain shares at least one or two colors with your general.
Bonus: If you were to build a deck for this format what general and domain would you build your deck around? What off-color synergies would you include in your deck?
rob_shifflett says... #3
Drop rule 2, for it being restrictive, and this sounds like a fun time.
July 28, 2018 10:10 p.m.
I wouldn't say rule 2 is too restrictive. The restrictions make sense. However, you need to simplify it.
July 29, 2018 12:02 p.m.
perhaps reword #2 to something like:
2) You may include mana-producing, non-creature artifacts in your Delta Commander deck that share a color identity with your Domain. However, any permanent that can add mana of "any color," can instead only produce colors of mana in your Commander's color identity. This is to put more emphasis on your Domain being your main "off-color" mana source.
So yeah, this sounds pretty interesting to me.
I've been trying to figure out if this will allow my dream of adding to a Marath, Will of the Wild deck (so I can play Corpsejack Menace, of course) to come true. I don't think it can. =(
July 29, 2018 4:55 p.m. Edited.
rob_shifflett says... #6
I didn't say too restrictive. The fact that there is any restriction to mana, outside of not being able to use colors outside your CI and Domain, is the problem. If the whole idea is to open parts of the color pie to Commanders that would not have those parts, what is the point of restricting?
shadow63 says... #2
I like the concept but it just seems clunky and opens too much design space. Maybe only allow people to change one color or add one
July 28, 2018 9:01 p.m.