How do you deal with hate decks?
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on Aug. 8, 2018, 4:50 a.m. by rohal
Whenever I play against Anafenza, the Foremost with my Karador, Ghost Chieftain deck I feel so helpless. Aside from adding in more removal how can I combat this? I’m currently running an aristocrat build, are there any builds that have an easier time against this commander?
Honestly, that is a meta strategy tailored to hit you hard: Early commander with graveyard hate vs. mid-late commander with graveyard reliance. Perhaps, focus on the green aspect more? Include more critters that have more permanent uses than ETB or graveyard reliance. Possibly more hexproofing to keep permanents safe from that removal-happy color combo? Not really sure.
August 8, 2018 10:20 a.m.
If you are a "aristocrat" style deck then you have even more problems than a normal Karador deck would have vs Anafenza. Fortunately it sounds like your problem is just about killing a 4/4 creature a few extra times, so not sure its a deal breaker kind of problem. Just amp up the creature killing with anything from Ravenous Chupacabra to Languish to Transmogrifying Wand. Specialized commander stopping spells like Darksteel Mutation are nice, but once Anafenza costs 7+ mana to cast, it might just be gone forever anyways.
August 8, 2018 12:13 p.m.
Homelessguy says... #5
I feel ya, I got a Feldon of the third path deck and I literally die a little inside when I see a Leyline of the Void
You're probably just going to have to build a second deck. I don't know if they made that deck specifically to hate yours or it's just a particularly bad matchup.
I have a Naya's token deck that I'm really proud of and it's fun to play but when one of my friends puts down they're elesh norn deck I've got to play something else if it hits the field my deck does nothing.
I can't make tokens and I can't put down the commander that makes the tokens.
August 8, 2018 2:13 p.m.
You can aim to have more removal to combat annoying things or you have to suck it up and realize that abusing the yard is a common thing to do in EDH so people will naturally hate on it.
August 8, 2018 8:21 p.m.
Yo dude I run a karador deck I consider very competitive. There are a lot of options as far as immediate creature removal: Shriekmaw, Merciless Executioner, Fleshbag Marauder, Lili of the Veil; problem is that deck is perfect for countering you. My suggestion: build a second deck and play it until they swap out anafenza, then go back to karador once they put her away.
August 9, 2018 9:14 a.m.
landofMordor says... #8
My Karador build is based around land recursion (The Gitrog Monster, World Shaper, etc), which dodges Anafenza. It still has tons of utility creatures, but they're more to stabilize until I can get tons of lands and win out of nowhere.
DrukenReaps says... #2
Nevermore, Lignify, and Song of the Dryads are great options for dealing with commanders.
Karador decks will always have issues with things like anafenza. That is kind of the point but you could focus more on being a reanimation build. Having a focus on bringing game ending cards back from the grave over and over will mean that even without being able to use the grave you still have big fatties that end games. Any eldrazi titan, Craterhoof Behemoth, Razaketh, the Foulblooded, Sun Titan, and Grave Titan are all good options for that strategy.
It does tend to be a slower strategy though so you might lose more often to fast decks... Always a trade off.
August 8, 2018 5:19 a.m.