Combo Commanders
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on May 31, 2015, 8:27 p.m. by KillKid20095
I Would Like To Know What Some Highly Synergistic and Combo Like Commander. I Was Thinking Savra, Queen of the Golgari, but I Dont Know If She Is A Combo Commander
KillKid20095 says... #3
yea i was thinking her but my friend uses her. I Dont Wanna Double Up
May 31, 2015 8:30 p.m.
KillDatBUG says... #4
Cromat is the best combo commander.... if you know what I mean.
;)
May 31, 2015 8:31 p.m.
NoPantsParade says... #5
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, Zur the Enchanter, Arcum Dagsson, and Azami, Lady of Scrolls are the others that I can think of. Zur is just stupidly good and not necessarily "combo," but he cant put in some work. Kiki Jiki is mono red so the deck might be a bit weaker, but he is still pretty powerful from my experience.
May 31, 2015 8:34 p.m.
Azami, Lady of Scrolls is probably the best mono-blue one. Aside form her, you could try Sydri, Galvanic Genius, Sharuum the Hegemon, Ghave, Guru of Spores, The Mimeoplasm, Maelstrom Wanderer, Sliver Queen, Animar, Soul of Elements, etc.
May 31, 2015 8:42 p.m.
Karns_Pyromancer says... #7
Narset, Enlightened Master is a great combo commander. So is Maralen of the Mornsong (check out Maralen's Pact for detail).
I'm not too sure about Memnarch or Olivia Voldaren, but they might be worth considering.
May 31, 2015 8:52 p.m.
Countertop says... #8
pretty much every general in esper colors is good for combo, Oloro, Ageless Ascetic, sharuum and sydri, Sen Triplets, Merieke Ri Berit
May 31, 2015 9:01 p.m.
KillKid20095 says... #9
TheDevicer i was thinking of Animar, Sydri, and Savra for my third commander, But How Would Sydri Work. Azami is my second commander deck. My Friend Uses teneb Combo and its pretty funny when it goes off. but i guess savraa would be more of a control commander.
May 31, 2015 9:07 p.m.
Sydri's used to gain access to the the esper color identity. It's really strong in terms of both control and tutor elements, both of which are good for combo decks. She's used in artifact synergistic decks. Her combos include things like Ashnod's Altar+Sword of the Meek+Thopter Foundry or Etherium Sculptor+Future Sight+Sensei's Divining Top. There's a few really good decks for her floating around TappedOut. Look em up.
May 31, 2015 9:12 p.m.
NoPantsParade says... #11
I don't know much about Esper, or artifact-based combo decks for that matter, but wouldn't Sharuum the Hegemon be better for combo?
May 31, 2015 9:15 p.m. Edited.
NoPantsParade says... #13
I used to play a Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord combo deck that won off Phyrexian Devourer and Jarad himself, but it also included other combos. I think Jarad would be better for combo than Savra, but I have no experience playing against or with Savra.
May 31, 2015 9:31 p.m.
angrychains says... #14
sharuum is the face of esper combo--she can get back pieces that have been destroyed and enables a few infinites herself (sculpting steel/ phyrexian metamorph)
May 31, 2015 9:34 p.m.
The thing with Sharuum the Hegemon is that her combos usually revolve around her + a clone and something extra. Those pieces aren't exactly high on utility outside of the combo itself. Besides, she's 6 mana herself. It's hard to get her out AND combo on the same turn. She and Sydri do many of the same things. However, sydri decks usually take a more control-based route while Sharuum decks tend to be more proactive. This is mainly due to Sydri's synergy with artifacts like Mycosynth Lattice and Caltrops. Being able to kill all attackers for 3 mana or killing lands for 1 mana are both very nice things to do.
May 31, 2015 9:40 p.m.
If you play Zedruu the Greathearted you can prison people until you draw the combo. Sure it's the slowest way ever to get a combo but it's definitely a valid method. Don't ask me what combos you use with him though cuz I don't play any.
If you Grixis or a 5 color deck then the best feeling is to be the first one in your playgroup to ultimate Tamiyo, the Moon Sage and cast Tormod's Crypt 100x and then cast Bitter Ordeal.
Lastly 5 color allies is extremely good tribal. The deck can function under a Static Orb or Winter Orb just fine because so many of the cards are 1-2 mana and have cumulative ETB effects.
May 31, 2015 9:59 p.m.
KillKid20095 says... #18
Sydri, Galvanic Genius Seems Like A More Advanced Way To Go With Things. I Imagine Making A Darksteel Plate A Creature xD
May 31, 2015 10:12 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #19
Please stop capitalizing the first letter of every word. It makes your posts unnecessarily difficult to read.
Savra, Queen of the Golgari is not a combo commander.
There are plenty of commanders that are combo enablers, but the selection is so varied that you might want to start by thinking of what colors or combos you want to play and then proceed from there.
May 31, 2015 10:18 p.m. Edited.
KillKid20095 says... #20
I wanted black for reanimation, white for access to exile, and karmic guide etc.. I was thinking green for ramp, or blue for counters and reliable draw. So i figured id be Abzan or Esper.
May 31, 2015 10:22 p.m.
NoPantsParade says... #21
Karador, Ghost Chieftain seems like he's the right commander for you.
May 31, 2015 10:23 p.m.
angrychains says... #23
Agree w/ NoPantsParade about karador, but if you really want junk combo--Ghave, Guru of Spores is a superior enabler
May 31, 2015 10:47 p.m.
Look up the Boonweaver Giant + Pattern of Rebirth combo for Karador. It wins just by resolving Boonweaver Giant with a sac engine in play. All the other pieces can be in your library or graveyard. Plus you can play him out of your 'yard with Karador, so you hardly ever need to tutor for much of anything.
May 31, 2015 11:38 p.m.
KillKid20095 says... #25
Ty guys so much Ill build an Abzan Karador Deck, and an Esper Sharrum, or Sydri Deck and see which one i like the most.
May 31, 2015 11:42 p.m.
Zarathustra616 says... #26
I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned Teysa, Orzhov Scion yet.
June 1, 2015 1:05 a.m.
@Zarathustra616 I run her, and honestly she's my favorite commander, but I really see her more as control/agrro with the possibility for a combo finish. The only real combo card in the deck is Darkest Hour (unless you're using the duel banlist and have access to Painter's Servant), and it's not really the most reliable strategy to go for that every game.
June 1, 2015 2:41 a.m.
Basically any commander can combo, is just a matter of what kind of combo you want, and what colors you want to play.
I've even seen Karrthus "combo out" and kill everyone just by attacking, not even entering declare blockers step.
That said, if you like Savra, Queen of the Golgari then play Savra. If you want to play combos, and play Savra, then I would start looking into graveyard strategies. My suggestion.
Unless you mean "I go infinite and I win because of that." If you -do- then I might suggest adding blue, and making it Damia as others have stated.
June 1, 2015 3:09 a.m.
@DudelRok Generally when people say combo in EDH they mean either infinite or a lock. The variance of the format is just too high to refer to every strong synergy as a combo. Also, every good commander deck should be running synergistic cards.
June 1, 2015 3:20 a.m.
Oh, every color combination can infinite something. Just a matter of creativity and card knowledge. Blue/black just makes it easier most of the time.
I also come from the train of thought that absurdly high numbers count as combo-ing out, too.
June 1, 2015 3:54 a.m.
KillKid20095 says... #31
DudelRok I understand that aspect but how does one win with Savra, probablly combat step right?
June 1, 2015 4:15 a.m.
Zarathustra616 says... #32
sonnet666, while it may be true that Darkest Hour is the main combo card of the deck, if that goes awry there's always the Fiend Hunter + Sun Titan infinite combo. With that you can still perform the same infinite mana / damage / mill / tokens / gravestorm combos. And of course the other three backups are Helm of Obedience + Leyline of the Void , Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Triskelion , and Exquisite Blood + Sanguine Bond / Exquisite Blood + Vizkopa Guildmage .
June 1, 2015 5:27 a.m.
When it comes to evaluating combos my benchmark is allways "Does each card in this combo individually further my main strategy?" If one or more of the cards in the combo does nothing on its own, then it's a dead draw that just sits around in my hand feeling useless for most of the game. (Inb4 tutors, not everyone wants to fill their deck out with them, and even if you do, tutoring for a combo piece is quite often not the best choice if there's a card in your deck that would more proactively effect the board.)
For the combos you mentioned:
- Fiend Hunter + Sun Titan - While Sun Titan is a great card that I have mainboarded in Teysa, I feel that Fiend Hunter is a bit lackluster as a form of removal when my commander has an activated ability that will permanently exile creatures.
- Helm of Obedience + Leyline of the Void - Leyline of the Void is a fantastic graveyard hoser that I will sometimes board into Teysa, but Helm of Obedience does nothing on it's own that Helm of Possession doesn't do better, and even when you combo off with it it only kills one player a turn.
- Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Triskelion - While Mikaeus is pretty neat, he doesn't provide much value in a deck mostly based around tokens, and without a way to recur it Triskelion is a six mana Lightning Bolt.
- Exquisite Blood + Sanguine Bond Unless your deck really focuses on life gain and life loss these are both overcosted enchantments that probably aren't going to get you very much value before someone blows them up out of fear. Viskopa Guildmage is at worst a sub-par a way to give your creatures lifelink, and at best a way to capitalize on alpha strikes that aren't aimed at you (not likely to happen).
Some examples from my Teysa of back infinite strategies where each card is good on its own are:
- Teysa, Orzhov Scion + Nether Traitor + Phyrexian Altar - Nether Traitor is a repeatable source of token production, and Phyrexian Altar is probably the best sac engine ever printed. If I see either of these cards in a game I am very happy.
- Ashnod's Altar + Nim Deathmantle + Teysa / Grave Titan - Ashnod's is a close second to Phyrexian Altar, the Mantle protects and recurs my creatures, and Grave Titan is two tokens and ten on-board power for six mana.
If you pull off a sac loop with Savra you can gain infinite life and clear your opponent's boards provided one of the creatures being sac'ed is 
/
.
That's about it as far as it goes though unless you start putting in combos unrelated to Savra.
NoPantsParade says... #2
Damia, Sage of Stone is really good for combo-control lists because she can refill your hand and whatnot.
May 31, 2015 8:29 p.m.