Good late game commanders?
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on June 19, 2016, 1:20 p.m. by Kutdra1
Hey! so my play group has been running into a predictable pattern lately. Since most my decks run early game tactics then if they can't suppress the other late game decks it will usually loose. MY nekusar deck does a good job of being able to win during any phase, but besides that I need more ideas!
Vergil_Redgrail says... #3
Anything that costs a boatload of mana, but has a huge impact would probably be a decent option. You could also try to build a deck with one of the Eldrazi titans, as those usually tend to be focused toward late game, though it's a very abbreviated late game in which you spike from "yeah, I'm doing a little bit" to "Holy board state Batman!"
Not sure what you're budget is looking like though. Any colorless commander deck is going to have a decently high price tag depending on how competitive you actually want it to be.
June 19, 2016 2:51 p.m.
Any commander that draws you cards, or has a color identity that can; should hold on strong late game. If you can steadily chew through the deck you'll be happy.
June 19, 2016 3:35 p.m.
Deckologist says... #5
I ran a Thraximundar deck that destroyed in the early game but became an absolute beast in the late game both due to Thrax himself. The deck was harsh control with Thrax being the only creature in the deck. I would make a deck built around surviving to the end round and then find a general that matches your game plan. The general is never more important than the 99
June 19, 2016 8:39 p.m.
PookandPie says... #6
There are a huge number of Commanders that are great late-game. The issue is what are you dealing with late-game?
Kemba, Kha Regent can snowball out of control quickly, for example, by coming down early and slamming enchantments like Cathars' Crusade. That said, she's only good until someone casts Merciless Eviction and annihilates all of your equipment. Animar, Soul of Elements is another Commander who comes down early and then snowballs: He's always going to be a little weak to sweepers, though, so that's why competitive people tend to run Combo Animar over Fair Animar.
What's your budget? What are you looking to accomplish? Do you want to control the game, or do you want to win uninhibited by other players? Each of these are easy to accomplish, but the Commander matters less (for the most part) than the actual cards you're running. If you want to get around control decks but aren't willing to get Cavern of Souls, or cards over or around $5 like Birthing Pod, Grand Abolisher, etc., the people making recommendations need to know this sort of thing.
If you just want to be able to win by out-valuing everyone at the table, play UW or Bant Blink with Brago, King Eternal, Derevi, or Roon of the Hidden Realm as your Commander. If you want to combo off but not have an extremely fast (read: un-fun) deck, you could do Ghave, Guru of Spores, who combos with practically any two other cards. You want balls to the wall combo to win ASAP and get around what your playgroup is doing? Brago, Zur the Enchanter, and Arcum Dagsson are probably where you want to be. You want to control until you can win? Damia, Sage of Stone, Azami, Lady of Scrolls, etc,. can be your best friends. You don't want to combo but still want to control the table and out-value everyone? Derevi, Empyrial Tactician stax/control or Grand Arbiter Augustin IV is where you want to be (maybe even Maelstrom Wanderer. You want combat damage? Edric, Spymaster of Trest.
The overall question is if you're willing to get the cards that make them do what they're capable of doing. Brago's probably a pretty cheap build, but you really shouldn't do Arcum without Mycosynth Lattice, for example.
Or, the more obvious part would be for you to extrapolate exactly what it is your playgroup does to win in the late-game, what Commanders you currently run, and what kind of cards you're willing to obtain to change them up, lol.
Gidgetimer says... #2
This question is a bit open ended bud. Any control commander is going to be a good late game option. So you are looking at Arcum, Damia, Oloro in an Esper control build, Sen Triplets, Derevi, and many others.
June 19, 2016 2:15 p.m.