Is this a decent commander?
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on Dec. 30, 2017, 11:09 p.m. by Theawesome14ever
I am a pretty new player, and am trying to make a commander deck. I own Dragonlord Ojutai and am wondering if it is a decent pick for a commander. Can anyone help? Also, what kind of deck should I make if I do use him?
Theawesome14ever says... #3
My budget is fairly low, but that commander looks fairly cheap. I'll take it into consideration.
December 30, 2017 11:35 p.m.
Hyperalgialysis says... #4
I agree with the above comment, and there are a lot of better commanders. That being said commander is a more fun format, so if you would like to use ojutai do so. Ojutai, Soul of Winter would be nice in the same deck. I would want to focus on ojutai's ability, so I would want a lot of effects giving your creatures vigilance. Brave the Sands Always Watching Akroma's Memorial etc. The next thing would be to make sure combat damage gets in so either things like Steel of the Godhead Aqueous Form and the like. One nice thing is your colors offer a lot of draw and ways to interact with your opponent, so the rest would be how you want the deck to play. If you want to be more control, Cyclonic Rift Rout Austere Command Sphinx's Revelation. You could easily run tokens, this isnt a good commander for it but azorious can do them pretty well. You could also try some niche ideas like an army of flying or just hard to remove creatures, but these are likely to be less effective than control.
December 30, 2017 11:37 p.m.
DrukenReaps says... #5
Well you could definitely make a deck for him. Here are a bunch of decent suggestions for it https://edhrec.com/commanders/dragonlord-ojutai
I would build him as a voltron commander which generally means killing people with commander damage. Fairly inefficient but it can be fun, bonus here is evasion and hexproof so just need sources of vigilance and pump. He isn't a bad commander choice.
Are you new to commander or new to mtg? Commander decks are most fun if they are a reflection of yourself. The more personal the more fun, at least for me.
December 30, 2017 11:40 p.m.
Theawesome14ever says... #6
DrukenReaps I have been playing magic for about a year, but never invested money in the game so I have a fairly small collection. This is my first commander deck, and this is my only legendary creature with multicolor so I was wondering if he was a decent choice. I figured he would be as he has hexproof and could just use him as a consistent body. Thanks for the decks link.
Hyperalgialysis Thanks! I might purchase the other Ojutai, but I don't want to spend too much on the deck for now. I may buy some of the more powerful cards you recommended. Which cards should I purchase to have the most power in a commander deck?
December 31, 2017 12:06 a.m.
Hyperalgialysis says... #7
Cyclonic Rift Sphinx's Revelation are very strong. The enchantments, and then you can load up on budget board wipes. Hour of Revelation Planar Cleansing River's Rebuke are all cheap. Get some good utility spells. Ojutai's Command Azorius Charm Render Silent Lavinia of the Tenth Collective Effort Blessed Alliance. Dont skimp on counterspells, run like 10-12, a lot of 1 mana ones are good in commander like Outwit Annul Invasive Surgery Dispel Turn Aside and they are all pretty cheap.
December 31, 2017 12:18 a.m.
Dragonlord Ojutai is a fairly decent value commander. A 5/4 flyer for 5 isn't to be sniffed at. However, he gets a lot better with Minamo, School at Water's Edge which is 21 dollars currently.
You could also pair him with stuff like Taigam, Ojutai Master who works as both as value or theme commander, or just a value card and a lot of there "cares about dragons" cards
December 31, 2017 4:36 a.m.
Ojutai is great! She protects herself and draws you cards, what's not to like?? Just make sure you have a bunch of ways to make her have vigilance. You can start out with a very budget deck and it can still be good with a commander like that. Just work on enhancing the commander's stats with auras and equipment and finding ways to protect her with interactive spells so she can attack every turn. There's usually a cheap (albeit less effective) alternative to most expensive cards, so you can definitely get a reasonable deck built even though you are starting out. Honestly I think Ojutai is perfect for a budget beginner deck because she is so strong on her own. I mean using budget cards like Pacifism and Sword of Vengeance instead of Path to Exile and Batterskull will still deal with an opposing blocker and give you a flying vigilant hexproof card drawing dragon.
December 31, 2017 9:07 a.m.
Theawesome14ever says... #10
What about cards like AEtherize, Blind Obedience, Fated Retribution and Azorius Signet? Are they worth putting in? Also, should I purchase more creatures that have effects when their attacks deal combat damage, such as Medomai the Ageless? And I am assuming I should purchase Command Tower since I don't own one.
December 31, 2017 1:23 p.m.
Theawesome14ever says... #11
Another question; since I seem to be running a very control-centered deck, is Time Reversal a decent card? I've owned it for a while but never had a deck to run it in.
December 31, 2017 2:23 p.m.
DrukenReaps says... #12
if you are doing something with it like Nekusar, the Mindrazer it is fun otherwise i'd rather use something that only gets me a new hand. it could disrupt graveyard decks though if that becomes an issue for you.
December 31, 2017 2:45 p.m.
Those cards are all fine if you ask me. Ramp is good. Every Green deck you play against it's going to be ramping like crazy if you don't do at least something you are likely to get left behind. I recommend Thran Dynamo and other Mana rocks that tap for 2 Mana or more honestly. Interactive spells need to be good in as many situations as possible, and those ones seem like they could be good in many situations. But I also recommend some catch-all spells like Echoing Truth and Detention Sphere especially because they can take out token armies.
December 31, 2017 2:54 p.m.
Hyperalgialysis says... #14
I agree they are all solid spells. To jump off what the above comment is getting at, spells with multiple modes are going to be very good. Insidious Will is a good example, since it is rarely a dead card because it gives you many choices to pick from. Unsubstantiate is another good one not mentioned yet. Failure / Comply Farm / Market and even things like Sapphire Charm and Piracy Charm are good for the same reason. The more situations the card can be used in the more likely it is you wont be stuck with "dead card".
December 31, 2017 5:08 p.m.
firecast92 says... #15
Ojutai is one of the best control commanders next to Kefnet and Baral (considering the format you are playing Baral might be banned), and the white splash gives you a couple more options as far as control spells are concerned, but you want to play as many counter spells as possible. heres a list of my favorite: Miscalculation, Counterspell, Condescend, Mana Leak, Rewind, Censor, Arcane Denial, Dismiss easy to cast for a cheap mana base
December 31, 2017 6:19 p.m.
OpenFire_V2 says... #16
Dragonlord Ojutai is plenty good to build a deck around. I would recommend making a sample deck list, only listing the cards you actually own, and then linking it in this forum. Power of commanders only really matters when you start getting into the $2000 competitive decks.
January 1, 2018 12:23 p.m.
firecast92 says... #17
dont listen to OpenFire_V2 dude, you can have a fairly competitive deck with less than 300Euro (including ojutai) that can have a decent match up against any other deck, thats why EDH is the best format
January 1, 2018 6:54 p.m.
Hyperalgialysis says... #18
A couple more good counterspells that are blue and white are Overrule Render Silent Hindering Light Fall of the Gavel
January 1, 2018 7:01 p.m.
Personally I like Commit / Memory over Time Reversal. It's a nice effect to have waiting until late game when you can really take advantage of it. And Commit is a decent spell to have too!
Spirit_Logan says... #2
This Commander is better and has a kinda similar effect. Albeit it's complicated. What's your budget?
December 30, 2017 11:20 p.m.