An interested player wondering about cEDH meta
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on Sept. 3, 2020, 5:05 p.m. by GenericToaster
Hi guys! I'm definitely a casual commander player, but I've always kind of had my eye on and been interested in seeing what happens when you take it to the extreme.
I've thought about starting to get in to the format, but I'm concerned about the meta. It seems to me that the only decks that are really viable are either combo decks (like pre-ban flash hulk or thrasios and OracleLabmanJace yourself) and stax decks specifically meant to slow those decks down. So here's my question:
Are there any other types of decks that are common in cEDH? Are there any creature based decks that are relevant? And finally, is loading a deck with synergies viable or is it just combo or bust?
Thanks in advance!
This may not be the best analogy
But if your a car buff edh could be compared to nascar and cedh could be compared to nhra
Both play with power and require a investment
edh/nascar is about being able to perform in the long hall while surviving the twist and turns
cedh/nhra is just a drag race to get to the finish line first
I hope that helps atleast one person
September 3, 2020 5:27 p.m. Edited.
GhostChieftain says... #4
Ok, so you def can play aggro, midrange, control, and stax as well as combo. The big thing is that you want to still have a combo (or lock I suppose) as a finisher.
Synergies are fantastic so long as you keep the cmc down and don't eschew interaction in lieu of more synergy pieces. For example, an edric deck synergises with lots of evasive 1 cmc creatures but without interaction you wont last long enough to get your value out of them.
September 3, 2020 6:36 p.m.
Aggro isn’t really reliable in cEDH. You have to go for 120 dmg to kill in a 4 player game while all your opponents just need to assemble a 2 card combo. Also cEDH needs a ton of ramp, fast mana and interaction. With like 50% of your deck being lands or ramp and around 30% being instants, there’s not much room left for aggro strategies.
September 3, 2020 6:52 p.m.
Here you go links to cedh game play videos to see cedh in action. Fun to watch and see the interactions these are the channels I enjoy watching of cedh.
Playing with power https://www.youtube.com/c/PlayingWithPowerMTG/videos
Spike Feeders https://www.youtube.com/c/TheSpikeFeeders/videos
Enjoy
September 3, 2020 7:04 p.m. Edited.
Also based on your other decks, it might be fairly expensive to buy into cEDH. Expect a cEDH deck to be 3000$+ with the exception of mono colored decks like Godo that are cheaper. But even they are like 2000$ or more
September 3, 2020 7:04 p.m.
Pikobyte: Edric, Spymaster of Trest is a good example of an aggro cEDH deck with a combo finisher. While there are only a handful of playable ones, there are still a few. That being said, most of them with transition from aggro into a combo out, but worst case scenario can still beat players to death.
With a lot of decks running 9 fetches and 3+ shocks, not to mention cards like Necropotence, City of Brass, Mana Confluence, Tarnished Citadel, Pain and draw lands, Sylvan Library, Mana Crypt, etc. there are enough effects that most players will dome themselves a fair bit so it's not exactly 120, it can be as low as 60 or 70 in some games which is much more reasonable.
September 3, 2020 7:16 p.m.
I have also seen some experimenting with Pako, Arcane Retriever and Haldan, Avid Arcanist partner with commanders in cedh
September 3, 2020 7:23 p.m.
enpc: edric usually tries to go infinite turns, that’s more combo than combat. Yes it wins with combat dmg but the extra turns are the true wincon there. But whatever, if you wanna build aggro in cEDH go for it, I don’t mind it
September 3, 2020 8:18 p.m.
I completely agree aggro could never be reliable in cedh
Cough Najeela, the Blade-Blossom cough
September 3, 2020 9 p.m.
Pikobyte: While Edric does usually end with "infinite" turns yes, the premise of the deck is to use an aggro weenie boardstate to generate huge amounts of tempo which then can transition into chaining extra turn spells. Because while the infinite turns thing is how the deck actually closes, you wouldn't cast your first extra turn spell without being in a situation where you're drawing at least 3-4 cards off weenies alones (but you generally want more than that) so that so that you whiff the chain.
Najeela is another good example of cEDH aggro. Yes, she is typically going for hte infinite combat steps out and typically needs less of a boardstate to start than Edric does, Najeela can (and I have seen this done) just close out the game through sheer strength of warrior tokens. And since Najeela effectively doubles your boardstate each time, theyre are plenty of opportunities to just attack wit ha buttload of tokens, activate her ability once and then swing for lethal without the requirement to go infinite.
September 3, 2020 10:07 p.m.
RNR_Gaming says... #13
Lol I love Edric. It just snowballs into insurmountable value. One you have Notorious Throng and Nexus of Fate
in your juggle you're almost guaranteed a win. Additionally, it dodges so many of the hate cards like Null Rod, Gilded Drake (barring a 1 v 1), and even Cursed Totem isn't that bad.
RambIe says... #2
Absolutely synergy and creature decks could be competitive
The only catch is, can your deck win before they do
In most situations in order to meet that requirement a combo is required
September 3, 2020 5:20 p.m.