Competitive Marath (GRW, Naya combo)

Commander / EDH cgomes

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Camaraderie: Aye or nay? —Oct. 11, 2018

I have not had time to properly review the newest sets but people have asked me about Camaraderie. Should it take the slot occupied by Collective Unconscious or Regal Force? No, it shouldn't and I'm not even sure we should include it in our list. First, unconscious and regal do not compete for the same slot because they play a different role in the deck. Yes, both draw us cards once we get degenerate mana but it's much easier for us to find Regal than it is to find Unconscious (GSZ, Chord, Eladamri's, evolution, etc.). Unless we get a creature that does something better than Regal (the existence of Elves in modern and legacy will probably never let WoTC print something like that though), we should always play Regal. So, the real question is whether we should run camaraderie over unconscious, and even then, I think we should not. It's the same CMC and the other effects that camaderie has are not relevant for us. The problem with camaraderie is the presence of W mana in its cost. Our sources of degenerate mana will not normally generate W mana but they will always generate G mana and possibly, R mana (Xenagos, or Earthcraft untapping our basic mountain; all the options that generate W mana can also generate either G or R mana). If we have to choose between situational vs. certain, in which the expected value of a risky choice is lower than of the certain option, we go if with what we know we'll be able to cast once we generate at least 6 mana.