Who to build next?
Deck Help forum
Posted on July 25, 2016, 2:01 a.m. by ComradeJim270
So right now I'm working on my Azami EDH and still tuning Krenko (yes, I still love tribal decks), but I like to plan ahead so I can start working on lists for the next commander. Problem is, I can't decide what to do next. Maybe you can help! Here's some ideas I had:
- Ghave, Guru of Spores: Ghave is awesome. You can build this crazy-resilient combo deck full of value plays. Also, I like tokens. You can never have enough saprolings... to sacrifice... to do broken things. Can be built hyper-competitive but also have a de-powered board for more casual games.
- Alesha, Who Smiles at Death: I've always liked Mardu for some reason. I'm also really attached to the card for sentimental reasons. Ideal for a reanimator deck, though less potent than the Abzan options. Still, her ability is a nice way to get a combo piece out of the yard.
- Teysa, Orzhov Scion: Cheaper to build than either of the aforementioned decks, she can be upgraded into them in the future since they both want those W/B staples. Orzhov is one of my favorite color pairs; tutors, card draw and plenty of interaction. This is a deck where it's particularly easy to make two versions; one for cutthroat playgroups and another for more laid-back ones.
- Sygg, River Guide: I love tribal! Especially Merfolk. I feel Sygg is the best commander for them, but I've found Merfolk very hard to build in EDH. This would be a very fun casual deck with potential for wins through combat damage, locks, or combos.
- King Macar, the Gold-Cursed: Janky as hell Black artifacts/ramp. I've always wanted to do this, and put it in gold sleeves and a gold deckbox. It'll never be that good, but it should be fun.
- Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord: Golgari's not my fave, but Jarad shenanigans could be fun. There's a fair amount of interaction and resilience here and saccing a massive fatty to kill the table should be satisfying.
So, do you think one of these should be next in line? Sell me on it! Or perhaps suggest another commander I might enjoy. You'll certainly notice some patterns here... help me decide.
if you like mardu you could always make a Kaalia of the Vast
July 25, 2016 5:22 a.m.
If you want fun, I'd go for Alesha. If you want irritating and the magic equivalent of an eternal middle finger while blowing a Raspberry, King Macar.
Having played against Zedruu (and having had a flick over to your profile to see what you've built already), I honestly think that you'd hate playing a Zedruu build if it was balls to the wall group slug. you'll get it to run as described once in your playgroup, then as soon as they saw the deck hit the table again, it'd essentially be an X vs 1 until you were out. I've never seen Zedruu not get straight up hated off a table in my little splintery playgroups, even when there've been objectively better decks on table, because it doesn't foster a fun play enviroment.. It's a neat mechanic at its core, and if it weren't for the fact that it just gets straight up hated, i'd probably run one.
But enough negativity! if you want something a little more positive
Zur the Enchanter - Gives a decent shell for either Esper Humans or Esper Wizards. Can be as spiky as you need it to be for individual playgroups. Can be straight up aggro-control; can play more Tempo-ish, and opens the way into a whole array of silly combos
Sidisi, Brood Tyrant - a little bit of personal bias here. I have 5 EDH decks as it stands (need to get around to putting the decklists up) but if I ever what to play something that I've built which is straight up funny, I run this. My build doesn't win often - turns out that playing a deck as a bit of a one trick pony whose trick is "deck out -> play lab Maniac -> win " isn't exactly the best way to go, but there are a whole BUNCH of disgusting things you can do with it. you can run it round an aggro shell; you can run it around a hard control shell ( Anticipate + Psychic Spiral + Tunnel Vision is a brutal combo which can straight up turn games. If you want to go the tribal route, it shifts into zombie tribal at the drop of a hat. I personally think it's one of the most versatile commanders to build around.
they're the first two off the top of my head. i'm sure there're others, but i personally think that by the looks of things, they're two builds you could have a lot of fun with
July 25, 2016 6:32 a.m.
For group slug or stax, try Ertai, the corrupted... theres a primer in my profile
July 25, 2016 6:58 a.m.
ducttapedeckbox says... #6
I was going to suggest Ertai, the Corrupted as well mostly because I'm working on him at the moment. You can take so many directions with him from tribal to stax to combo control.
July 25, 2016 9:49 a.m.
Come jump on the Jarad train, it's hilarious when you borrow and Fling creatures at your opponents!
July 25, 2016 11:12 a.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #8
@Raging_Squiggle: If I want to do zombies I'd do Grimgrin or Gisa, though. Anyway, I've decided that if I make yet another tribal deck it's gotta be Sygg. I do look forward to seeing your Gisa and Geralf deck, though!
@McKz:I've never been a big fan of her, personally. I've seen some really mean Kaalia decks, but you kind of have to fill your deck with clunky, even bad cards that only work when you're able to trigger Kaalia. I also have some sentimental attachment to Alesha and think that a fully-tuned Alesha deck will be stronger.
@RossDee: Your description of Macar increases my determination to build him someday, I'm just not sure if I want him to be the next commander I build. Alesha seems just awesome, though. You've also talked me out of Zedruu, since multiple people have now said the same thing. So that's good! We've eliminated one possibility.
I don't think I'd build Zur because people will treat it like the bullshit "I can kill you before you do anything relevant" build even if it isn't. Sidisi is interesting though because she has a similarly high ceiling (yay, Ad Nauseam + Tendrils of Agony !) but can also be built more casually. I think for Sultai I'd prefer a more controlling route with Tasigur, but I'll keep her in mind!
@h20 and ducttapedeckbox: Worth considering and in a fun color identity. I'll check him out.
@Atony1400: It does sound fun! Right now I'm just having a hard time convincing myself not to do Ghave instead if I want to do a graveyard-abusing deck.
Maybe you can show me what Jarad brings to the table that Ghave does not, and I'll be more excited about him. It's likely I'm missing something.
July 25, 2016 1:06 p.m.
Right now, my deck is is a little bit of disarray, but I'll link it anyways! (Jarad Commands the Dead)
July 25, 2016 1:21 p.m.
Raging_Squiggle says... #10
The finalized deck is on my profile if you wanna check it out. :) It's looking pretty good so far.
July 25, 2016 1:23 p.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #11
@Atony1400: I see what you mean! It still gives me fun ideas, though.
Raging_Squiggle says... #2
You could build Gisa and Geralf with me. :P
July 25, 2016 3:10 a.m.