Commanders by Power Level [EDH Tier List]

Commander / EDH* thegigibeast

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Big changes incoming! —July 9, 2018

Hello everyone!

I am here to announce that some important changes are coming to this list.

I know that for a lot of people (even in cEDH), tier lists should not be a thing, because we can't gather enough datas about decks, so we end up ranking commanders based on preferences and personnal experiences mostly...

Things are going to change a lot. After seeing that many people here wanted some change, I reached for help on the cEDH subreddit and some people stood out to help. Some people that also wanted to help improving a great resource that could be way better.

Without further ado, I am here to introduce the new helpers, and new mods of the list: ShaperSavant, LabManiac_Sigi, tw0handt0uch, RattleAndHum (and of course me, thegigibeast)

We all have different visions on how we should approach cEDH, and we will all try our best to make this list a better resource.

This means there will be a lot of changes, from the formatting of the list, the division of the tiers, event a change in the philosophy of what we call tiers here!

For now, we are starting to Brainstorm about how we could make the list better. Stay tuned for some more updates!

Ohthenoises says... #1

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Looks Like Kraj got a friend

January 3, 2017 12:36 a.m.

NarejED says... #2

Ironically, I did almost make the list myself . This tier list was based off of Pmonk's. He was the first to make a list on Tappedout sorting all legal commanders into five tiers. But his creation was extremely flawed. He had things like Iona, Shield of Emeria in Tier 1. After it became clear that he had no intention of updating it to stay accurate, several of the users actively commenting on it, including Gigi and myself, decided a new one should be made. I copied Pmonk's list, but at the time there was a bug going around Tappedout where decks wouldn't display their custom categories. My copy kept showing up as an unreadable lump of cards instead of being sorted into Tier 1-5. I spent over an hour trying to remedy the issue, editing and deleting the list, refreshing, even attempting to contact the moderators for help. Before I could sort it out, Gigi made his own working list. By this time I'd given up hope of getting my own working. Gigi was quite active at the time, so I readily agreed to help with his.

That was over a year ago. This list now has over 300 upvotes and appears in dozens of folders. It's both of the top two results on Google when searching for EDH tier lists. It would take a true crisis to abandon the current list in order to transfer to a new owner. Short of one of Tappedout's developers physically stepping in and transferring ownership of this list, which I'm not sure is even feasible, the current setup won't change.

January 3, 2017 3:31 a.m.

merrowMania says... #3

NarejED - Can't we just copy the current list, have discussions there, keep that list updated, then send Gigi the list every once in a while? That way, we can keep an up-to-date list AND keep this Tier list. We could still use this list for discussion of what decklists to use to represent commanders, but quibbling over what tiers said commanders are at would not clutter this page.

January 3, 2017 5:42 a.m. Edited.

MagicalHacker says... #4

Is it just me, or do I remember a feature where you can give other users the ability to edit your decklist?

January 3, 2017 6:26 a.m.

merrowMania says... #5

Sharing only works with private decklists :(

January 3, 2017 7:54 a.m.

thegigibeast says... #6

Im sorry guyz for not being the most active here and I c an understand your frustration... I am currently reading the 400+ comments to edit properly according to what was said, and there is going to be a comment reset right after.

If you prefer, we could try to ask an admin to see if they can do a trasnfer of the decklist in their database... I am pretty sure it is something that is possible... That way someone more active than me would be able to edit more often... Again, I am really sorry guyz...

January 3, 2017 9:46 a.m.

Noctem says... #7

No worries bro, life happens.

January 3, 2017 11:52 a.m.

Noctem says... #8

Thanks for the comment reset and updates :D

January 3, 2017 1 p.m.

Lilbrudder says... #9

thegigibeast: Thank you for all the updates. I know its alot to manage and appreciate the overhaul. I see you used my list for Thrasios. Thank you for that, however, that particular list is somewhat out of date. I have further tuned it into this:

Let's Make Hermit Druid Great Again!

Also if you want a red/black partner version, I have been tuning a storm variant, which I think is better than my HD list. It is admittedly more in the prototype stage right now. I will eventually write a primer for this list as well. Paradox Engine Storm

January 3, 2017 1:11 p.m.

Ohthenoises says... #10

You know if you are using vial smasher you could just make it a turns deck.

casting time walk every turn is fairly easy and with vial smasher in play it's lethal

January 3, 2017 1:29 p.m.

ZomBee_Hunt says... #11

I am glad to see a rest on the comments and we can now start a more current discussion. I do like that you are doing tier 3 lists. I would like to put my Zedr(YOU), Zed(WHAT) up for the spot for Zedruu the Greathearted. I feel it is tuned enough to be on the list but not complete as I want it.

I would also like to argue about zedruu moving up to tier 2. I do not think zedruu is tier 1 by any means but as I have ran it and tuned it it can fit in the category of tier 2.

The reasons I feel like this is that though most of the tier 1 one are combo heavy, Zedruu is able to keep them under control relatively quickly. a few quick spells and can slow them down to one spell a turn or possibly none depending on their build.

I have had experience against tazri, Prosh, yidris, jeleva, and yisan. (Not all in the same pod) with this build I was able to shut down prosh, yidris. Prevent yisan from doign anything worth while. SLow down jeleva enough to play some magic. And Tazri was the only one I had issues with as it is very redundant.

When looking at the tier 2 generals, there is none that I am really worried about in a multiplayer format.

As I read the description of the tiers also, I dont believe that I am a turn slower then tier 1, I am possibly more. but I can control the board state by turn 5 and with relative consistency. I have many more tutors then most zedruu builds I see and a lot more control over my draw.

I would say zedruu would be low tier 2 (if there was a sub ranking within each tier)

January 3, 2017 1:30 p.m.

Lilbrudder says... #12

Ohthenoises: This is true. I havent tested extra turn spells and they may do wonders. Vial smashers only current role is to occassionally kill off an opponent randomly with an infinitely large chord of calling or green sun's zenith in case my other win conditions are exiled. He really is like plan z, I just like his colors

January 3, 2017 1:37 p.m. Edited.

thegigibeast says... #13

Thanks guyz! I will get the other Thrasios list you mentionned, and if the other one you are currently working on proves to be better, I will change it in a near future.

January 3, 2017 1:47 p.m.

p0megranates says... #14

Breya, Thrasios and GAAIV moved up to t1. Zada and Dralnu moved up to t3. Saffi and Titania moved down to t3. I can get behind these changes. Great work and thanks for listening to our collective feedback.

I'd like to nominate Breya Ad naus for the Breya list as this is the one I've always had in mind when I advocated for Breya as t1.

January 3, 2017 1:52 p.m.

thegigibeast says... #15

Thanks p0megranates, for sure it is a great list, but since I never played with or against Breya, I will wait for others to vote on this, but yeah, I get your point!!!

January 3, 2017 1:56 p.m.

Noctem says... #16

Will the Derevi Prison deck we currently have for tier 1 make use of Thrasios / should it?

January 3, 2017 1:59 p.m.

NarejED says... #17

@Noctem: No. Thrasios is a 3-card combo at minimum, and none of the cards that easily combo with him (Dramatic-Scepter, Basalt-Rings, Bomberman, etc) are worth running in the deck on their own. Much like any other commander-based combo, he's not worth playing in the 99 of another deck. Much like Prossh, Sharuum, and any other commander-centric deck, Thrasios loses a lot of his power when he's not in the command zone.

@merrowMania: We tried it once. The problem was getting everyone on board. It ended up just splitting activity, much what happened for the first few months after transitioning from Pmonk's list to Gigi's. Given enough time it might work, but it ends up being extremely inefficient.

@MagicalHacker: Actually, there is! There's an option to share decks with specific users to grant editing power. I haven't personally tested it much, but it seems to work on public decks. We'll have to test this further and see if it works here.

@thegigibeast: Care to weigh in on the deck sharing to grant editing power idea?

January 3, 2017 2:55 p.m.

thegigibeast says... #18

@NarejED

Definitely worth testing to share deck. I will try this ASAP, as giving you some editing powers on this list could only be good.

January 3, 2017 2:59 p.m.

thegigibeast says... #19

Some editing powers have been given to NarejED after popular demand ;)

January 3, 2017 3:03 p.m.

Noctem says... #20

Thanks for the answer NarejED. Is the current list for Derevi up to date? I'm building it at the moment.

January 3, 2017 3:08 p.m.

Noctem says... #21

I for one welcome our new overlord!

January 3, 2017 3:08 p.m.

NarejED says... #22

@Noctem: Indeed it is. I try to update all of my decklists at least once per set release in order to stay current with meta changes and new cards entering the format. As of Kaladesh, Derevi is up to date.

@thegigibeast: Excellent! Thank you so much. With my new editing power, I vow to go completely crazy with power and ruin-- err, I mean, keep the the list up to date and as accurate as possible.

With that line of thought, now seems as good a time as any to introduce this survey. I've been collecting feedback on the tier list from various sources including here and the competitive EDH subreddit. Based on suggestions, I've created the following poll for changes. Link to Survey. It consists of eight commander movements, one feedback question on the survey itself, and one open-ended question for any questions/concerns/suggestions you might have. I'll edit it into the Tier List description for visibility until the poll closes (probably on the 20th, when Aether Revolt officially releases).

Thoughts?

January 3, 2017 5:07 p.m.

Wee_Dragonaut says... #23

Yay for T3 lists!

January 3, 2017 5:24 p.m.

Lilbrudder says... #24

The ad naus Breya deck by mmcgeach is one of the best Breya decks out there.

I think the polls NarejED is implementing are a great idea. It feels like a great way to facilitate focused discussion about particular generals. I dont think they should be the sole basis for demotion or promotion as not all votes are necessarily equal in terms of the understanding of why a general is good. For instance at first glance Jeleva and Tazri look to be horrible tier 3 at best generals and Ruric Thar seems bad unless you know of how well he punishes some top tier decks.

One name on the survey that suprised me is Nath of the Gilt-Leaf. Can someone who has played Nath or against a tuned list give me an idea of how he could compete with tier 1-2 generals?

January 3, 2017 5:36 p.m.

trorax says... #25

Lilbrudder I agree. While a good method, the voice of the majority is not the same as the voice of the informed individual. The majority of the people viewing this list are not cEdh players but spikey players looking to get into cedh or just simply like to read some of the more informative conversations. So as it stands it should not be in anyway,a way to promote or demote any commander. It should simply be a way to gauge the communities feeling on it. Then to demote or promote, you take one commander, and focus on it at one at a time, and hold an open forum where people can argue who should be moved up or done...we do that as it is....but this will show who actually understands why the chose their position and who has the knowledge to back it up.

January 3, 2017 5:56 p.m.