Who is the most UNDERRATED commander
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on Oct. 12, 2015, 3:26 a.m. by griffstick
I look at commanders, not only for what they can do for you, your hand, your lands, your creatures, ext, ext... But most importantly can they win with commander damage! Im excluding any commander set created cards. Besides they are not underated. Also, don't confuse underplayed, for underrated. Examples, of what I think is underrated, under used, neither, just plan bad.
Under used: Iname, Death Aspect, this is a good choice for building around. Not Underated
Underrated: Multani, Maro-Sorcerer, your in mono green. One color puts you at a disadvantage, but with some good mana ramp, this comes out quick. Four or more players are at the table, he is huge!
Neither: Ur-Drago, this card just overall sucks! Another one, just not as terrible, Xira Arien. Here's my reason. This commander isn't killing anybody at all, unless you play something like Hatred. He is also drawing only one card.
You see there is some argument here. One is bad, the other is better, but they are both bad. The only reason Xira Arien could be good, is its colors. Just because the rest of your deck is awesome, and just about every card in it is crazy good, doesn't mean its a good commander. It means your cards are good, and your commander sucks.
So who is your most "underrated" commander? I think its Multani, Maro-Sorcerer. Let me know if you agree, and let me know who is more underrated.
P.S. if you have a commander deck with Xira Arien as the commander take no offense to what i said. Its just my opinion.
scorchedskiddie says... #4
In my area Phenax, God of Deception is seriously underrated
October 12, 2015 7:54 a.m.
I think Momir Vig, Simic Visionary is underused for sure, possibly even underrated. I had a deck that wasn't exactly built around him, functioned fine as a deck its own, but with him out it just gained the speed it needed to dominate as soon as he was played. He allowed for infinite mana, infinite turns, infinite creatures, etc. he was insane and I have only ever seen him as 1 of the other 99 one time aside from my deck.
October 12, 2015 9:42 a.m.
griffstick says... #6
@capriom85 Yes he is sick he is definitely underrated. I never see him def under used too. I just thought of another underrated commander. Selvala, Explorer Returned. She always sticks around cause people like drawing cards , but she can generate so much mana
October 12, 2015 1:33 p.m. Edited.
griffstick says... #7
@scorchedskiddie Of all the gods there are that one is the most underrated. Its funny to cause all the god are slightly underrated cause they are so hard to remove it makes them a great commander and all of them can win with commander damage
October 12, 2015 1:40 p.m.
griffstick says... #8
@pryoplasm and @vampirelazarus both those guys are funny. they are definitely not underrated . i could be wrong though.
October 12, 2015 1:45 p.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #9
@griffstick: In my experience, anyone playing Selvala needs to be ready to fight the entire table simultaneously. A lot of people would rather not get the extra cards if it means their opponents aren't getting them either, and the best way to achieve this is to horribly murder the Selvala player as fast as possible.
She's actually a pretty good commander though. The fact she has a mana ability built in allows for some interesting plays; card draw that can't be responded to and an ability that produces a theoretically unknown amount of mana? Weird stuff. I've got a friend who has a pretty terrifying Selvala elfball deck. It ramps hard and fast while digging through the library for finishers.
Never going to be competitive, but she is probably underrated by many. I honestly think people building her for group hug are missing out on her true potential.
October 13, 2015 1:33 a.m.
griffstick says... #10
I can not agree more with that statement. But I have a selvala deck, and its pretty dam good. I also win a lot with it, but people still always say, "play your parley deck". So people love it probably cause it incurrages table interactions within your playgroup. also putting cards in hands make people happy. She can make a deck crazy good at the helm. But she's only like $0.75 probably cause she's underated or cause she sucks one on one, Selvala, Explorer Returned. If you are interested in checking it out here it is Selvala, Explored and Returned With Tokens that's my selvala deck
October 13, 2015 1:49 a.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #11
I'll have a look. Might even suggest tokens as a direction for the aforementioned friend who wants a new direction for the deck. Elfball that gives cards to opponents draws a lot of hate and he's tired of it.
Elves are scary. Combo players with lots of cards in hand is scary!
The fact reactions to the "draw everyone cards" thing can vary so widely is interesting in and of itself. Some groups will love it and keep you around. Others will come at you so hard over it that you may as well be playing Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon or one of the Praetors.
However, if you build her well she can handle either scenario in a casual group.
October 13, 2015 2:06 a.m.
griffstick says... #12
Hahaha Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon. That's very true. when I play this in casual with my friends she sticks around. But when I play this at the store. All the spikes have seen what sevala decks can do and keep killing her and all my shit lol. Very true
October 13, 2015 2:10 a.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #13
A lot of Johnnies (e.g me) will kill her too, because I can't do my thing if my opponents are drawing answers to it. The hilarious thing is the Spiky players may actually be more fearful of what Selvala is enabling their opponents to do, rather than what she can do herself. They'll react the same way to any Selvala deck for that reason and it's very funny to watch sometimes.
Although, dumping lots of creatures out early and then a Craterhoof Behemoth is nothing to sneeze at.
October 13, 2015 2:16 a.m.
MagicalHacker says... #14
griffstick, I'd say that the most underrated commander is a commander that has two qualities:
1) He appears so bad of a commander, that people will actually question why you are running them. In even more extreme cases, players may actually say that they flat-out suck before even asking why you are even using them. (If your commander looks good to most people, it's hard to say that it's underrated, since it's rating is positive.)
2) The synergies they are involved in are extremely difficult to beat because they are faster than normal decks or built in a way that they cant be countered, destroyed, etc. (Anybody can build a good deck with a commander just for the colors. In those cases, the commander would accurately be rated a 0, meaning it can't be underrated.)
So I will list all the commanders I think COULD fit these two criteria with a decklist that would showcase the synergies I'm talking about:
- Norin the Wary: I know he was mentioned, but he does look like a bad general. MagicalHacker - Norin the Wary says otherwise.
- Squee, Goblin Nabob: Okay, so I know it looks like I'm just mentioning previous suggestsions, but this list would be incomplete without MagicalHacker - Squee, Goblin Nabob.
- Sasaya, Orochi Ascendant: Although his ability would work only rarely in a normal deck, MagicalHacker - Sasaya, Orochi Ascendant isn't a normal deck.
- Reveka, Wizard Savant: A pinger legend is already considered to be marginally viable in EDH, but unlike Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile, Jeska, Warrior Adept, Nin, the Pain Artist, Olivia Voldaren, or Tor Wauki (all of which are playable, as seen by my respective decklist for each one), blue is also considered to be the worst color to support a strategy like that. In MagicalHacker - Reveka, Wizard Savant, you will find a gem of a card called Charisma.
- Phelddagrif: If you have never seen this card played before, maybe you would think he is bad since all three abilities would normally help opponents more, but when you have stuff like Gather Specimens, Kavu Predator, Timely Reinforcements, and especially Suture Priest, which you can find in MagicalHacker - Phelddagrif, things get crazy very quickly.
- Diaochan, Artful Beauty: Although she seems bad since people can just target her the first time, if you play a ton of hexproof/shroud/pro-red equipment (special mention to Akroma's Memorial), your deck will be a beauty.
- Chisei, Heart of Oceans: If you want a crazy fun deck, Chisei is calling you with his multitude of cumulative upkeep permanents. MagicalHacker - Chisei, Heart of Oceans is built to abuse cumulative upkeep cards by removing counters from them, or just straight up skipping your upkeep via Eon Hub.
- Horobi, Death's Wail: Horobi seems bad for the same reason as Diaochan, but instead of providing protection since it would kill creatures trying to be equipped, I have packed MagicalHacker - Horobi, Death's Wail with so many free targeting cards that you are guaranteed to always have more ways to get rid of opponents' creatures before they get rid of yours.
- Circu, Dimir Lobotomist: This guy looks like he does nothing in EDH, and normally that's true, but if you build the deck similar to MagicalHacker - Circu, Dimir Lobotomist, you now have a great deck that punishes others for playing a great deck too if you always target yourself with his ability. Not the most amazing effect ever, but being able to get a random dimir Nevermore everytime you cast a spell seems pretty solid.
- Braids, Conjurer Adept: Although she looks like she gives more value to your opponents by letting them go first, MagicalHacker - Braids, Conjurer Adept is built to simply steal that value, getting rid of both the threats AND their gas all for free with Braids' ability.
- Mishra, Artificer Prodigy: If you haven't seen this guy's combos, you are in for a treat. Although he seems similar to the aforementioned Circu, his deck is completely different, using combos you will find in MagicalHacker - Mishra, Artificer Prodigy like Possibility Storm to turn this guy into a powerhouse.
- Selenia, Dark Angel: So while saving a commander for 1 life doesn't sound like a spectacular thing to be doing, when you combine it with cards like Soul Conduit and others in MagicalHacker - Selenia, Dark Angel, you can demolish opponents in the flashiest way there is.
Hope I've helped!
October 13, 2015 8:05 p.m.
griffstick says... #15
i think you've nailed every underrated commander lol. you certainly have a nac for creating decks around a unique commander abilities that on its own would otherwise seem to be a bad choice for a commander. well done sir
October 13, 2015 9:35 p.m.
griffstick says... #16
one problem Braids, Conjurer Adept is not underrated
October 13, 2015 9:40 p.m.
vampirelazarus says... #18
I don't think anyone ever doubted the power of Phelddagrif :3
October 13, 2015 10:05 p.m.
MagicalHacker says... #21
Thanks! As for Braids, she looks like she could have been underrated since she offers advantage to opponents first, and a huge one at that. Phelddagrif is someone that somebody could have underrated because giving him trample or flying doesn't seem like it's worth giving opponents life, cards, or tokens. If those two are so familiar that they don't count, then just cross them off the list lol.
October 14, 2015 6:18 a.m.
Draglord_Sim says... #22
There are enough scarecrows/shapeshifters for him to be good.
Maybe even artifact helpers.
October 14, 2015 1:12 p.m.
griffstick says... #23
Reaper King is not underrated. He is amazing. And when you read it, that's exactly what I think
October 15, 2015 12:27 a.m.
The WORST commander ever is Haakon, Stromgald Scourge. He is simply unplayable and any black legendary is probably better. Except maybe Phage the Untouchable at least you can try things like Platinum Angel or something...
Anyway. For the most underrated, I don't have any deck like this... I don't know, maybe Horobi, Death's Wail ? I would like to try it, just because EDH = Chaos. That would be a weird, amazing game to play. :D
October 16, 2015 12:30 a.m.
griffstick says... #26
Yea he is crazy. Your better off running Dismiss into Dream
October 16, 2015 12:42 a.m. Edited.
Named_Tawyny says... #27
There are some fun decks built around Phage, actually.
October 17, 2015 12:52 a.m.
griffstick says... #28
ive seen some too. just cause you make phage work at the command zone doesnt mean shes underrated. she still sucks at the helm. shes great in the 99
October 17, 2015 1:52 a.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #29
Phage is a playable commander. Torpor Orb, Platinum Angel, etc. You can tutor for those to play her, then make her unblockable (fear/intimidate or Rogue's Passage) and then just one-shot people. It's funny.
October 17, 2015 2:54 a.m.
griffstick says... #30
She might be safer as the commander cause if she's in the 99. She dies, goes to the grave. Boom! Someone cast's Twilight's Call. Its all over for that player
October 17, 2015 3:54 a.m.
Named_Tawyny says... #31
griffstick actually, I was addressing Iron_Cube's claim that she was unplayable.
But I do think that she's an underrated commander. For most players, she's rated (as we've seen here) as 'Unplayable'. That's not a high bar to leap over. If she's anything more than unplayable, then she's underrated.
October 17, 2015 8:12 a.m.
I just said that she can be played with some cards like the ones you mentioned. Where Haakon, Stromgald Scourge can't even be cast from the command zone, wich means that he is usually useless. At least Phage the Untouchable can be cast, and is powerful if you can keep her on the board and survive after that.
October 17, 2015 2:12 p.m.
Linkdude74 says... #34
Yeva, Nature's Herald is one I feel might be underrated/underused. I never see Yeva decks anywhere a d it's a shame because I feel she's extremely strong for multiple different decks. Elves is awesome with Yeva, for instance, or you can do what I did years ago and make a Primal surge deck. When your creatures have flash, who needs instants. I might actually remake this list, as it's my old one and I could do better Yeva's Surge to Victory.
I also saw mention of the gods earlier, I'm pretty sure I'm the only one in my area to play Kruphix, God of Horizons. What's bad about this card? IMO it's better Omnath, locust of mana, and I've seen tons of Omnath decks.
October 18, 2015 6:33 a.m.
griffstick says... #35
Yea Kruphix, God of Horizons is insanely good. Why don't people make more deck with the card Kruphix, God of Horizons. You also get two of the most broken cards in edh in these colors Prophet of Kruphix, and Deadeye Navigator
October 18, 2015 9:44 a.m.
Draglord_Sim says... #36
Zada, Hedron Grinder, I just don't know why yet. I'm trying to find that one combo with her.
October 19, 2015 2:37 a.m.
Draglord_Sim says... #37
Btw I am obsessed with zada and am currently trying to put together a list with her at the helm.
October 19, 2015 2:43 a.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #38
I've been working on Zada, and choosing cards for her is easy. Choosing only 99 of them is very, very hard. I do feel she is stronger as an aggro commander with combo to enhance that strategy, but she isn't "solved" yet by any means. It's too early yet to say what people think of her but she seems to be the subject of much discussion.
October 19, 2015 2:51 a.m.
Draglord_Sim says... #39
The best "combos" I came up with was (it doesn't work in a Zada comm deck) are Rite of Replication or some lifelink thing, an indestructible giver and Arcbond.
But yes, IMO she is good.
October 19, 2015 5:57 p.m.
griffstick says... #40
Zada, Hedron Grinder, seems to be almost infinite with Cone of Flame
October 19, 2015 6:46 p.m.
griffstick says... #41
If you have one other creature you can target Zada, Hedron Grinder withe the 1 damage the total other 5 damage to your opponent get a copy for your one other creature use 1 damage targeting Zada, Hedron Grinder again send the other 5 to an opponent. Wash and repeat. You always will burn all your opponents out
October 19, 2015 6:53 p.m. Edited.
griffstick says... #44
i have an idea wait for it i think your gonna like it
October 19, 2015 7:03 p.m.
griffstick says... #45
oh boy im excited about this i hope im not wrong about how this works. here it is my zada deck idea
October 19, 2015 8:02 p.m.
Draglord_Sim says... #48
How about Heat Shimmer and/or Twinflame with Impact Tremors out.
October 20, 2015 2:34 a.m.
griffstick says... #49
yea im beginning to rethink it, i got to give it some more thought. in short time ill have him busted. or close to it
October 20, 2015 2:40 a.m.
ManPutnamobeballin says... #50
I think Tibor And Lumia is a highly underrated commander. When paired with things like charisma, basilisk collar,gorgon's head, and gorgon flail, you can one - sided board wipe every turn.
vampirelazarus says... #2
Squee, Goblin Nabob.
Seriously, super fun and capable of being way too f*cking terrifying.
October 12, 2015 3:33 a.m.