Another thread asking for help picking your CMDR :)
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on March 15, 2017, 5:05 a.m. by WizardOfTheNorthernCoast
Hey guys!
So I'm new to the format (been a long time Modern player) and I managed to convince my friends to get into EDH as well while they were completely losing interest in MTG.
I'm the most experienced player in my playgroup and helped everyone to find their commander and tune their deck. However, I just can't seem to find something for me.
I'd say I'm more of a // player, with a preference for & as they fit my personality very well. That being said, I'm interested in all kinds of play styles and colors and I feel like EDH would be the chance for me to try out new things and go wild. I especially love chaos cards (Possibility Storm, Hive Mind, you name it.) and commanders that aren't overplayed (so no Atraxa).
So far I've built:
- The Mimeoplasm has amazing colors and abilities for example, but I can't decide if I wanna go full fun or not. Also, it has so many possibilities I can't pick 99 cards to keep...
- Feldon of the Third Path is typically the kind of cards I love but gets too repetitive imo.
- Keranos, God of Storms sticks for a long time and alows me to go chaos, but it's ability is a bit boring.
- Krond the Dawn-Clad is flavorful a.f. but 6 mana's a lot and going all voltron isn't my idea of fun.
- Intet, the Dreamer is amazing fun but 6 mana for a 6/6 with no protection and that requires you to pay 3 more mana every time to activate its ability is too much to ask.
- Riku of Two Reflections drove me crazy. Too many possibilities.
- Rashmi, Eternities Crafter is nice too, but a bit weak. Also, since I added Leviathans and Krakens to the deck I just can't decide anymore.
I've read tons of threads of other people experiencing the same problem (and the 'top-bottom' / 'bottom-top' solution) but I'd like to know what you guys would advise. I also know this will probably not be the only EDH deck I build, but I want to know how you guys do it so I don't invest money into something I won't like - done it in modern already.
I love the deckbuilding process but just can't get to finish a deck. I pick a commander, find about 90-100 cards from the top of my head and then go check EDHREC and discover 40-50 more cards to add with great synergy. Then I end up with 150 cards and since I just can't sort them out correctly I completely lose it and abandon the deck.
Did you guys experience the same thing? What was your solution? How do you stick to one strategy? Thanks! :)
I feel I'm about to go crazy with this format :)
PS : last guy I'm on is Brimaz, King of Oreskos. I find him OP as hell for its CMC, has lots of flavor and think he's decent for both 1v1 and multiplayer games. Would he be too weak for a format like EDH?
DrukenReaps says... #3
One more thing is you could put one of your 150 card lists up and ask for help with cuts, some of the people here are more than happy to rip apart what you built.
March 15, 2017 6:05 a.m.
Narset, Enlightened Master is an excellent choice but if you want something more money-cheap Jhoira of the Ghitu is true caos!!!
March 15, 2017 7:54 a.m.
Steelspike says... #5
You like a bit of chaos?
Allow me to introduce Kresh the Bloodbraided.
Or would you like a little more combo-y chaos?
March 15, 2017 8:10 a.m.
I take it your question is more about the deck building process and less about which commander to build?
The way I do it is look for a card that inspires/challenges me. This doesn't have to be the commander. My first deck was based around the ability of King Macar, the Gold-Cursed, while my latest work-in-process is based around the interactions of Dovescape.
Anyway, after finding my source of inspiration, I try to identify key interactions/themes to make it work. E.g. my king Macar was openly looking for untap triggers and after delving into those cards I realized I had to generate tons of mana which led me naturally to cards like Exsanguinate. In contrast, my Dovescape deck would love the assymetrical effect of Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, a permament heavy theme as well as uncounterable effects, in addition to heavy tutoring. These things give you a clear idea of which colours you want to be running.
Only after I figure out what the deck wants to do, do I start selecting cards. I always start with the most boring part of deckbuilding in EDH: Finding the available ramp and card-draw in my selected colours. After getting approximately 8-10 pieces of each I add a figure of 36 lands as "locked" slots. This leaves you with approximately 46 cards that will be your actual deck! :p
At this point I flesh out the key interactions I had seen before keeping in mind the hypergeometric distribution for the probability of drawing what i want when I need it (That 8-10 is not random at all: It's for getting at least 1 of those effects more than 50% of the time in the first couple of turns). Then I add removal pertaining to my current meta and a few win conditions, figure out the land base and voila: I have a deck!... sort of...
After this, I proxy the whole thing play with it with my friends, see if I like it, and if I do, I will then build it for real, making changes from an extensive maybeboard as required.
I make card choices based both on power and for self expression: I run Damnation and Muck Drubb in the same deck. One is a black staple powerhouse, the other is the saddest and cutest creature ever printed :p
March 15, 2017 8:46 a.m.
In the colours you mentioned I find Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest and Adriana, Captain of the Guard to be both flavourfull and diverse, while posing a mediocre-to-high difficulty of a deck-building challenge.
March 15, 2017 8:51 a.m.
WizardOfTheNorthernCoast says... #8
Well for the deckbuilding process I basically go like this :
- Find a commander that inspires me or that I own to save money (got quite a lot of expensive cards being a Modern player), not paying much attention to the colors tbh.
- Find cards I'd like to play for their effects, whether they follow a common strategy or not.
- Go check what other people built, add the cards I like from there.
- Get lost in the amount of possibilities and switch to another deck.
- Restart the process.
I'm definitely an indecisive person even though I most of the time can help the people around tune their decks to fit the mana curve/mechanics/synergies. The problem is more sticking to a strategy and making it work rather than building the deck.
Example : for my The Mimeoplasm deck, I started off with cool fun interactive cards like Jace's Archivist, Dark Deal or even Ill-Gotten Gains. I find them fun.
Then I go check EDHREC and I see really strong interactions. From there I don't know if casting Fascination for 5 mana with X=3 would be better than casting a Lord of Extinction.
So I stand between two/three builds and can't choose any one of them because everything seems strong to me.
March 15, 2017 9:45 a.m.
WizardOfTheNorthernCoast says... #9
There, please help yourself (and me? :D)
March 15, 2017 9:49 a.m.
chaosumbreon87 says... #10
I'll second the jhoira nomination seeing as though the reprint we're getting looks amazing.
For raka inspiration, Zedruu the Greathearted and Numot, the Devastator are all decent at chaos.
Mishra, Artificer Prodigy is good at controlled chaos
Norin the Wary is chaos incarnate.
i've had no trouble finding a commander cause I just focus on commanders i've found to love. Azusa, Lost but Seeking, and Norin are such but mostly azusa. If I want to get a feel of a new commander, i'll build it here and see if It fits my playstyle or help someone who asks. (ill look through the decks when I get home). The most recent commander to garner my attention is Ayesha Tanaka because 90s mechanics really should not be brought back.
March 15, 2017 10:55 a.m.
MagicalHacker says... #11
It seems to me that three color decks and more have too many options for you, so my advice would be to look at mono-white, mono-red, and boros commanders on edhrec.com and post your favorites here. We can help you narrow down what you want! (On that website, you can also see the top cards for each of those commanders and even an average decklist!)
It can't hurt to check it out, right?
March 15, 2017 11:12 a.m.
Honestly I think the best way to approach this format is:
1) pick your favorite colors2) Buy all the staples for that color/colorless support
If you are like a lot of players including me, you will cycle through commanders on a weekly basis. I have almost all the white/black/red staples I want so I can throw almost any combination together with minimal cost. Also along the way you may find ones you really like you can come back to occasionally. I agree with MagicalHacker though, if you have trouble finding direction mono colored decks are much easier because of the limited good stuff to choose from, it's also a challenge to finely tune red and/or white decks in this format.
March 15, 2017 12:30 p.m.
FYI, this is my thought process (roughly) when brewing for commander.
First, I choose a commander I'm interested in for both their colors and their abilities. e.g. The Mimeoplasm
Second, I choose 2-3 main tactics that commander and those colors have synergy with. e.g. graveyard recursion, +1/+1 counter crazyness, card advantage
3rd, I choose 2-3 awesome plays the commander/tactic combination provides for me - plays I feel I will never tire of making. e.g. Never played The mim, so you tell me...
Then it is time to count down the 100 slots....
first I set aside 36 land slots and 10 rock/ramp slots. Some people will think this is light for land, but it's just a starting point.
Second I set aside 3 slots each for removal, board wipes, protection, and disruption.
Third I set aside 5 tutors which most any deck should be able to find for their colors and their key card types.
Fourth, with the 36 remaining, I carve up slots according to the 2-3 main tactics the deck applies. Usually there will be a dominant and secondary split here, something like 18/9/7.
Once I have this shell, I start jamming cards my colors/artifacts can offer that do any of these things (tutor, ramp, wrath, removal, etc.). I put them in and don't worry about counting to 100. Usually I'll have ~150 or so for this first draft of the deck.
Now the important part - cut cards that are the worst at what their their job is. Slowly, trim down to ~110-120. These final cuts are often decided by what is more flexible, with modal spells or spells that accomplish more than one feat at the same time often trumping ones that only do one thing really well. Sometimes more tutors come in here too, allowing the count on tactic 1-3 to reduce as I'll be getting the best of them when I need them with my tutors.
Playtesting will help you decide if your land count is right, your color ratio, if your primary and secondary tactics have good enough representation for the typical draw/game play, etc. Tune and continue from here till your 100 feels smooth and consistent. Then show up at commander night and play away, paying attention to dead draws and other evidence of MVP/dud cards to tinker with later on.
Hope this helps!
March 15, 2017 1:03 p.m.
Aslo fi you're looking at Jhoira of the Ghitu, who I love, you can check our my Polymorph jhoira deck here Jhoira's Dream Scheme
March 15, 2017 1:09 p.m.
WizardOfTheNorthernCoast says... #15
Thank you all for your input! I should have enough content to make it out by myself :)
I'll try out MoJoMiXuP's technique and see if I can make it through. If not I'll come ask for help. If so, I'll come back to show you what I came up with :)
Hope this thread will be helpful for other people later on.
NE LVE! <3
March 15, 2017 3:12 p.m.
n3cr0manc3r1979 says... #16
If you want true chaos go with Yidris, Malestrom wielder he,s in the colors you like and can get out of hand in a skinny
March 15, 2017 5:26 p.m.
Ya know, another card you run as your commander is either Melek, Izzet Paragon or Mizzix of the Izmagnus. Both are interesting to run as commanders, and double-casting spells, or casting spells for free or much less never gets old. It is fun to take multiple turns (say with a well-timed Time Stretch from Melek). Yeah, some people will hate on you for the deck, but it is interesting to play regardless.
Just something to think about.
March 15, 2017 6:19 p.m.
fadelightningmm says... #18
For me building a deck is a very interesting process.
Someone above mentioned building around a card whether it be a commander or a card in the 99. I believe the most fun decks are the build around decks. For instance Predatory Instinct is basically a mono green Yisan, the Wanderer Bard good stuff deck, but it's built in a way that you use each cmc as a stepping stone. It's my favorite deck.
Another deck I'm really enjoying currently is my Rishkar, Peema Renegade deck Grass Roots Rebellion. For this deck I really wanted to play mono green 1/1 counters and make Baloth Pup a real beast.
A friend of mine built a Villainous Wealth deck that's really cool too.
The beauty of edh is that if you like a card most likely it's something you can build around.
It can be difficult to get a solid idea down, but if you bounce ideas off your play group or the community you'll get a hang of it. In my group if I goof up on a build someone in the group will be interested in the pieces.
March 15, 2017 8:18 p.m.
KeelHaul10 says... #19
If you never build a deck, you won't get anywhere! throw together a deck of cards you like and fine-tune it through gameplay! That's what I do with all my CMDR decks, especially my golgari deck. There's so many options, and so many swaps to make and to see what works best for you!
DrukenReaps says... #2
You mention liking america colors so my first thought is Narset, Enlightened Master throw in chaos cards instead of extra turns for your own style. You however dont want to play something over done so maybe not. All the ones you listed would range from decent to good. Brimaz would make for a killer voltron being white and low cost. He is played but not heavily. As for having too many ideas I also have that issue most of the time. I find picking one main strategy and a supporting one or two helps. My Marchesa (still in progress) is a group slug supported with group hug. This significantly limited my card choices. It also helps that I won't spend more than $10 per card with the very occasional exception. You can try more silly limitations too like only including things your commander would use from a story view point. Would Brimaz use an artifact or would he be more prone to use enchantments? Are there cards based off things he did? Are there cards you could use that he actively fought against (these would be no goes if using a story limitation)?
March 15, 2017 6:01 a.m.