Good cheap staples to pick up

Commander (EDH) forum

Posted on July 21, 2020, 10:20 a.m. by TriusMalarky

I've been considering selling out of 60-card formats as they're getting more expensive to keep up with. If I do, I have some decent lands(some shocks and such), but I'll probably sell a lot of them. I can get quite a lot out of a copy of Breeding Pool, and likely will be able to for quite a while.

So, what are a bunch of real cheap staples I should pick up? I know I need 1 of each Signet(Dimir Signet, etc), plus some more(i got a 5c deck), and I should probably get a couple Sol Rings and Mind Stones.

But what else is there?

TriusMalarky says... #2

Ha! No way in honkus can I afford even the basic lands from Double Masters.

BTW my commanders are God-Eternal Kefnet, Sisay, Weatherlight Captain, Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion, Tuvasa the Sunlit, Korvold, Fae-Cursed King, and sometime soon Mairsil, the Pretender will replace Lazav, the Multifarious. Neheb is up for changes.

I would proxy some things, but I'll do that after I've traded into more stuff. I'll probably start picking up fairly cheap cards over time.

July 21, 2020 10:51 a.m.

Steelspike says... #3

I would STRONGLY advise against selling any valuable cards.

Commander is such a diverse format that you're GOING to want to build more than one deck. I seriously regret selling my Ulamog, Mana Echoes, Craterhoof, etc. before I got seriously into edh.

Were I you, I would pick up all 10 of the filter lands from the Morningtide block.

July 21, 2020 11:11 a.m. Edited.

TriusMalarky says... #4

Clarification: Selling the extra copies. i.e. I only really need 3 copies of Breeding Pool, so I'll sell one. Also, I really don't need Fatal Push for EDH. Stuff like that.

I already have most of these decks built, I just sorta would like to know any decent cards to pick up overtime to help support these and eventual decks.

July 21, 2020 11:38 a.m.

griffstick says... #5

This are the staple cards you need to get.

Creatures

Instants

Sorceries

Artifacts

Enchantments

Planswalkers

I hope this helps because it took forever to type out.

July 21, 2020 2:51 p.m.

Drorian says... #6

honestly if you check edhrec you'll see the same staples (best cards) on basically every commander, this doesn't mean much tho, you won't be needing that swords to plowshares in every white deck. for instance if you have green, imho, you don't really need artifact mana ramp like signets (but yeah, sol ring is a must).

you should first choose a commander with a "playstyle" that you like and build around it, I wouldn't limit myself to the legendary creatures you mentioned, if you went kefnet for instance you'd just probably cut out ~4/5 of your cards :P

there are A LOT of really cheap and fun commanders to build around and ofcourse you can choose how much commander dependant your deck will be.

July 21, 2020 3:33 p.m.

Drorian says... #7

another example on why staples aren't for every deck: in my atla palani deck I just can't put in even a single low cost high value creature cause they would just work against my plan (put the next random big creature into play with atla). many decks revolve around combos which need your deck to only have 2 creatures, others focus on some card types, others, obviously, work better with mostly a single creature type, there's a companion that requires your whole deck to share a card type.

also there are different staples based on the deck strength, having a dockside extorsionist turn 1-2 against non competitive decks would make it just a 2/1 for 2, a smothering tithe would be so much better against normal decks, A LOT of CEDH staples just don't shine in a casual environment, take mental misstep, how many 1 cost spells are you expecting to counter? wouldn't a 3-4 cmc counter that also draws you a card be better?

and lastly there are almost always alternatives to staples, expecially to the ones that cost a lot of money, try to check some cheap commander deck techs on youtube channels, you won't believe how many underplayed good cards are out there.

July 21, 2020 3:46 p.m.

Guerric says... #8

You mentioned Tuvasa. Tuvasa is a great enchantress deck and not overly expensive to build around. Keep that Breeding Pool though! Contrary to what someone else said though, while you can voltron her she's better built as a pillowfort combo commander with a superior draw engine. Your main staples for the format though are ramp, removal, and board wipe cards since you'll use these in every deck. You are running signets usually if you are not in green to ramp, if you are in green and not running enchantress or elfball, you're using the almighty suite of rampant growth, nature's lore, farseek, cultivate, kodama's reach, skyshroud claim and other like cards. For removal, you only want flexible cards (ex. Generous Gift destroys any permanent) or incredible efficient ones (Swords to Plowshares and Path the Exile only hit creatures, but also only cost one mana at instant speed. For boardwipes, I favor the potentially one-sided ones lie cyclonic rift, winds of abandon, plague wind, in garruk's wake, etc. You'll also want to invest in some tutors in each color. Tutors can make a huge difference in EDH.

July 21, 2020 4:20 p.m.

TriusMalarky says... #9

Oh yeah, Tuvasa's all-in pillowfort. I don't have Ghostly Prison or Propaganda yet, but I have quite a lot of the other cards. Ixalan's Binding is fun against commanders :)

July 21, 2020 4:33 p.m.

Guerric says... #10

You definitely have the right idea for Tuvasa! Unfortunately Ixalan's Binding won't work that way with a commander. Once they choose to put it in the CZ it won't function to prevent casting. Removal effects that are enchantments are key though. I run Imprisoned in the Moon, Darksteel Mutation, Song of the Dryads, Grasp of Fate, and Stasis Snare. The first three will effect their commander by turning them into a useful land or indestructible bug. Lesser versions of this effect from recent sets would be frogify and kenrith's transformation. If you are interested in Tuvasa my list is here.https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/21-05-20-tuvasa-enchantress/

July 21, 2020 5:36 p.m.

griffstick says... #11

Oh btw its $795 dollars on tcgplayer.com for that entire list of staples I gave you. Funny because it's about the price e of a modern deck.

July 21, 2020 6:34 p.m.

Steelspike says... #12

Also, if you're running Gruul, or any deck that runs R/G in it, Gruul War Chant with Familiar Ground is godamn hilarious.

Also, Lifeline with Leyline of the Void. Lifeline has been errata'd to apply to all players' yards.

Bottled Cloister with Ensnaring Bridge means only you can attack, if you want.

Norn's Annex and Angel of Jubilation if your opponents aren't playing W... At least, I think this works...

July 21, 2020 8:48 p.m.

enpc says... #13

Steelspike: The ruling for Norn's Annex is:

"The controller of each creature attacking you or a planeswalker you control pays either or 2 life as attackers are being declared."

So it's not an activated ability, it's just an extra cost that must be paid when attacking.

July 22, 2020 3:10 a.m.

DarkHero says... #14

I'd buy Legends that you want to build around. You don't NEED much of anything, they just speed up the process. Lands would be the only exception I guess, but even still, lots of Basics are not terrible in some decks. Command Tower, Mana Confluence, Forbidden Orchard, City of Brass, maybe triland sets like Seaside Citadel or Indatha Triome...ect.

July 22, 2020 8:04 a.m.

griffstick says... #15

You know what else I would consider a staple, Cabal Coffers and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth. You are gonna need these for every mono black build. Also Expedition Map

July 22, 2020 8:36 a.m.

griffstick says... #16

And the Medallions like Jet Medallion, Ruby Medallion and so on and so fourth

July 22, 2020 8:37 a.m.

Steelspike says... #17

enpc Thank you. Someone had mentioned the combo to me and I hadn't looked it up yet.

More cards I feel are commander staples: Thought Vessel Rogue's Passage Shadowspear Manifold Key Orbs of Warding Darksteel Plate Reliquary Tower Thousand-Year Elixir Vedalken Orrery

I'll probably think of more as soon as the edit window closes...

July 22, 2020 9:56 a.m.

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