Getting back
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on Feb. 24, 2022, 3:39 p.m. by Bell-Master_Hatake
Hi,
My collection of 12 years burned with my house about 3 years ago and I'm slowly getting back at it and commander being the most popular format I thought I'd give it a go.
I went on edhrec for about 2 weeks and came up with 35 commanders I'd like to build, I've tried to narrow it down but I can't decided.
What are your tips and tricks when you have multiples choices and can't seem to decide ?
VensersJournalist says... #3
My personal strategy usually is a combination of looking at what cards I currently have available and then seeing if there’s a commander/deck style that I’m really gravitating towards.
I’m a fan of certain combos and card interactions, so if I’m curious to see how I can use/abuse those synergies in a deck, I’ll usually try to go with a commander that I can work that into. Once I have the commander and the strategy planned out, then I can really get an idea of what cards I’ll need.
Although it’s not always the most competitive way to build a deck, I found that it’s also fun to pick a commander who’s story you like and try to go for some flavor wins in your build.
Hope that helps get you started again!
February 24, 2022 3:58 p.m.
That's horrible sorry to hear about your collection.
Since your just getting back into magic I would suggest buying any $40 precon. Yaya I know "no body wants to play a precon". But this will give you an opportunity to scout out local stores and potential play groups. Then once you know your meta deciding what deck to build will be alot easier.
February 24, 2022 4:34 p.m.
Grubbernaut says... #5
Completely depends on what power level you want to play at, really. I'll happily recommend cEDH if you're an experienced player. Never having to have the rule zero conversation is great, especially if you're going into a new pod blind. People are really, really bad about evaluating the power level of their own decks, and others, which leads to a lot of awkward feelbads.
Either way, though, I strongly recommend watching a bunch of deck techs and gameplay on YouTube.
February 24, 2022 5:56 p.m.
Last_Laugh says... #6
I personally recommend picking a commander that is versatile and can be built in several different ways, can upgrade from budgetish to competitive over its lifetime, and always gets new toys to play with.
Animar, Soul of Elements is a good example of a deck that has limitless possibilities of cards (although always extremely creature heavy) to run and can slowly be upgraded (top tier Animar lists are expensive though).
Marchesa, the Black Rose can be tribal (usually wizards or zombies), etb/death trigger abuse, permanent creature theft, aggro, or a combination of a few of these. It's easy to swap out 10-15 cards and you're playing a different deck. She can be pretty competitive if there's not a whole lot of combo in your meta and can be built on any budget.
February 24, 2022 6:10 p.m.
First and foremost, I'm really sorry to hear about the house. That kind of thing is a personal nightmare of mine and I can't even imagine how to cope with something like that. I'm glad you're getting back into the game, though! Hopefully you find Commander/EDH as fun and exciting as we do!
As for advice on who/what to build, I'm a very Vorthos kind of player, so I'd recommend finding characters from your favorite planes that really appeal to you as the first step and then continue to narrow it down from there based on colors/abilities etc.
If you narrow it down to a handful and post them here, I'd love to throw my two cents in on the options!
February 24, 2022 6:54 p.m.
TriusMalarky says... #8
i put fun looking shiny cards in a pile and then something happens and it tends to involve spontaneously killing the entire table, or myself, on accident
oh and I also have a stax deck. that one actually has a theme
February 24, 2022 11:43 p.m.
P.s. I would suggest avoiding the cedh table untill you get back into the swing of things. ALOT of changes have happened in the past 3 years you have been gone and I promise you will find it extremely difficult to fit in and make friends if you keep pausing cedh games to read what cards do or look up rulings.
February 25, 2022 11:42 a.m.
Bell-Master_Hatake says... #10
Prossh, Skyraider of Kher Aristocrat or pod.
Lavinia, Azorius Renegade Stax
Selvala, Heart of the Wilds Stompy
Brago, King Eternal Blink
February 25, 2022 1:23 p.m.
Out of the four, I'd probably go with either Selvala or Brago. I think both of them could be pretty decent, even at a lower starting budget. They've also both gotten some stuff in the past few years that have basically become staples.
Selvala has stuff like Return of the Wildspeaker, Kogla, the Titan Ape, Unnatural Growth and Garruk's Uprising on the lower end and stuff like The Great Henge, Finale of Devastation and Cultivator Colossus on the higher end.
Brago has gotten some great stuff as well. Teleportation Circle, Spirited Companion, Ranar the Ever-Watchful, Charming Prince, Hero of Bretagard and Yorion, Sky Nomad alongside more expensive ones like Thassa, Deep-Dwelling, Agent of Treachery (card is pure evil, by the way), Fierce Guardianship and Lithoform Engine.
February 26, 2022 9:16 a.m.
Bell-Master_Hatake says... #12
I forgot to add these on the list my bad.
Belbe, Corrupted Observer Big mana or pod.
Urza, Lord High Artificer Stax (also have a bunch of myr from a bundle I bougth I could use for more casual games).
Marwyn, the Nurturer Elves tribal.
February 26, 2022 3:32 p.m.
Queen Marchesa for versatility & monarch. Extus, Oriq Overlord Flip for versatility & being the road less traveled. I'd recommend an oddball outside of the top 50 EDREC most played, then you can experience the fun of making something that is all you. I would say just proxie up some of your ideas first, then you don't buy up all that stuff & find a deck to be too linear for your taste.
February 26, 2022 3:36 p.m.
I'm so sorry to hear about your house! That's really rough. I would have to echo Ramble's advice about the pre-con though. You'll upgrade it a ton before you play it, but it will still give you an easy and inexpensive starting point. It's so much easier to start with a shell and modify than to buy one hundred singles. The other advantage of pre-cons is that there are a lot of reviews, and it is easy to separate the good ones from the failures. Tough reviewers like Tolarian Community College can help with this.
March 1, 2022 10:42 a.m.
@Guerric thats a really good point saving money, and checking reviews to see what your getting into
i was mainly suggesting getting a feel for the meta before investing. I've played at alot of stores and when it comes to edh it can get weird. most stores push draft,standard, pioneer, and other non-mtg formats the stuff they feel they make the most money on and offer edh on off days like sundays and if your lucky cedh once or twice a month if at all. but on edh days every single one of them have some sort of weird "house rules" that can ruin a perfectly good deck. ive seen "no wins till after turn five", "infinite limited to 3 loops", "no stax", "no cedh", "1 player out ends the game", and much much more that i don't even care to mention.
When it comes to play groups no body knows what type of house rules your going to walk into
That's why i feel its crucial to experience your meta before you invest in any deck. can you imagine investing in any of the decks Bell-Master_Hatake listed just to find out the only lgs you can goto doesn't support cedh ?
March 1, 2022 5:31 p.m.
Ramble I definitely feel the meta thing! I mostly play with a friend group and the student group I advise at the school I teach at, so figuring out power level and such is more intuitive. I have had two lgs locations that I've played at as well, but thankfully they don't have any weird house rules, only an understanding that people aren't playing cedh. It would be quite frustrating to go somewhere and not have my decks be valid. And those are some weird rules you are describing! It's also frustrating that places wouldn't have more commander play given that it is overwhelmingly the most popular format. I hope that you can find a good place to play, because that definitely makes a ton of difference.
Omniscience_is_life says... #2
I generally start by beginning to build each of the commanders--you'll quickly see which ones you're excited about finishing and which are duds.
If that fails (or takes too long), try loosely grouping the commanders into categories, then picking your favorite from each. That might help you lose a few from your list.
Good luck, hope you enjoy commander!
February 24, 2022 3:45 p.m.