Best color for this type of strategy

Commander (EDH) forum

Posted on Feb. 4, 2025, 10:09 a.m. by GTDreadScythe

So I figured out that I don't particularly like to swing with creatures much and I'd rather burn my opponent's out or win with an alternate wincon.

I was wondering what colors was the best to hold off my opponents while I assemble either my combos or while i'm burning them down (or groupsluged them to death).

lil_cheez says... #2

Hiya friend, I assume you're talking about Commander Format.

Blue and white are the colors for buying time: Propaganda, Ghostly Prison, AEtherize, Holy Day, Silence, Counterspell.

Green has "Fogs", namesake Fog, Spore Frog, etc.

If you want to slowly "burn" your opponents, red and black are your friends: Impact Tremorsfoil, Blood Artist.

I'd recommend to do a little research and be creative, but, top of my head, maybe you'd like a Kykar, Wind's Fury deck, play the "buying time" enchantments, hold countermagic and other interaction, use the tokens to burn players, etc!

February 4, 2025 10:22 a.m.

RiotRunner789 says... #3

Orzhov (black and white) would be my recommendation. You have Eriette of the Charmed Apple, Kambal, Profiteering Mayor, Kambal, Consul of Allocation, and Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim. All of which drain your opponents while gaining you life. Each has a unique way of winning without swinging.

Second best options could be golgari's Dina, Soul Steeper or Slimefoot, the Stowaway for Aristocrats build. Izzet (red/blue) or any spell slinging deck with a bunch of Guttersnipe effects are also solid.

Some black cards to consider, Hissing Miasma effects (of which there are many), Koskun Falls, or potential blanket protection effects such as Grave Pact or No Mercy.

Green has Elephant Grass and plenty of death touching deterants.

White has Peacekeeper and Sphere of Safety.

Blue has Dissipation Field and Propaganda.

Red has Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs plus all of your Guttersnipe effects as mentioned above.

You can easily make a deck that kills (or mills) people to death without ever swinging. Just depends on the flavor you want to do the murdering with.

February 4, 2025 2:21 p.m.

Crow_Umbra says... #4

My main play group runs various flavors of Goad, or combat manipulation (we love swinging at each other). Why swing at other people, when you can force them to hit each other? A few suggestions off the top of my head:

  • Karazikar, the Eye Tyrantfoil/Kardur, Doomscourge - Either of these could be the commander of the deck. Karazikar simultaneously incentivizes and punishes your opponents for smacking each other. Playing in Red/Black also opens up access to all the direct burn stuff in Red, as well as attack trigger group slug like Hellrider, Vicious Conquistador, or Far Fortune, End Boss.

  • Breena, the Demagogue - Help your opponents draw cards from hitting each other. The access to white also gives you plenty of options for the Ghostly Prison effects in white, plus its suite of removal.

  • Gonti, Night Minister is a new option that could also slot into the 99 of some of the other commanders mentioned above. The theft aspects will likely draw the ire of the table, but if everyone is stealing from everyone...

  • Alexios, Deimos of Kosmos or Slicer, Hired Muscle  Flip- You could donate a big Voltron threat around the table and make the table kill each other for you. One of my friends runs Alexios, and it feels like a game of hot potato with Voltron damage. Technically, you're not the one hitting people.

  • Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuserfoil can Goad your opponents creatures, but also rewards your opponents for hitting each other. You can Goad everyone while hiding behind the Ghostly Prison/Propaganda effects.

  • Isshin, Two Heavens as One can be built as a combat control deck, since he checks the attack triggers on most stuff I previously mentioned, and house those all in his 99. Additionally you can run stuff like Lightmine Field and Caltrops.

  • The Lord of Painfoil is a lot of fun to play as a commander, and to play against. Maybe my friends and I are just masochists. A couple of my friends run the Lord of Pain as a commander, and typically play it very politically, where they "donate" the option to target the damage. You don't have to swing, and can run all the burn and damage multipliers to your heart's content.

February 4, 2025 2:48 p.m.

What you're looking for is a Stax deck. Basically it uses cards to disable conventional paths to victory (I'm fond of Winter Orb and Meekstone in this way.) while using things like Black Vise or Zulaport Cutthroat to slowly chip away at an opponent's life total.

Stax decks come in all colors, since a lot of the pieces are artifacts, but you're usually looking for or for the lockdown effects, for forced sac effects, and possibly for direct damage or to make sure the controllish aspects of the deck don't apply to you.

February 9, 2025 11:37 a.m.

Oh, I forgot: Propaganda and cards like it are your friends.

February 9, 2025 11:39 a.m.

Sliverguy420 says... #7

if you wanna play "burn" in commander, i'd recommend just playing every color if you can. Unbound Flourishing with cards like Red Sun's Zenith and Torment of Hailfire, plus white for Idyllic Tutor and Academy Rector as well as removal.

February 9, 2025 11:55 a.m.

I'm not sure how fast you want to burn them. But in case you want to do some hand-shaping until you can explode into either a table-kill or at least a big turn that sets you up for a win within some rounds, you might want to try Neheb, the Eternal. Casting Flame Rift main phase 1 to have 12 mana in main phase 2 is fun.

Whenever I play the deck, I feel like a teen with way too much fireworks at hand.

February 9, 2025 12:26 p.m.

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