How Many EDH Decks Do You Have?
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on Dec. 13, 2022, 11:32 p.m. by EnbyGolem
I am just curious and wanted to gather some informal, anecdotal data about the number of built, in paper, ready-to-play EDH decks players have in their arsenal. I have a grand total of 3 but that seems to be an outlier, at least in the circles I interact with. I run an after school game club and even kiddos that just learned the game less than a year ago already have more than I do!
I guess I am very slow with deck building. Finding any Commander I like enough to start a new project with is very, very rare. It took me a little over 5 years of searching to find a green Commander I liked. The vast majority of my decks never make it past the initial research stage and simply die as a half-baked idea buried in my ‘prototype’ file.
I’d love to hear from folx about their own collections. Do you like having a large number of decks on hand? Are you like me and also only have a couple decks in paper? Anybody out there with only one?
Whatever number of decks I keep built and ready to play is however many fits in my preferred transport container. So right now I keep six around because that's exactly the right number for them all to fit in a DEX Supreme chest along with associated tokens, my dry-erase blanks, and Planechase collection.
December 14, 2022 1:24 a.m.
Gidgetimer says... #4
I have nine EDH decks currently. I play at my LGS, so I need to be able to acomidate whatever level of play an open group is at. I also like to play different decks a lot and so need options.
December 14, 2022 6:56 a.m.
The answer is simultaneously not enough and too many
December 14, 2022 7:13 a.m.
TheOfficialCreator says... #6
In-paper, ready to play?
I have eight.
On Untap, I have nine.
On T/O?
...
December 14, 2022 10 a.m.
RiotRunner789 says... #7
I have 20, not including 5 precons I haven't messed with yet.
I started just building decks with off-theme or janky decks generally based on a tribe. Such as rats, just literally every black rat I could fit with no real synergy. Then walls with Doran that actually tried to play to walls/toughness-matters strengths.
I then grew to building commanders that seems unique or fit my playstyle. Then I built a few decks to counter my meta. Now I build decks that don't fit an archetype I have (voltron, super friends, etc.) or oddly unique commanders that aren't too popular or too weak. Though with 20 decks, I build less and tweak more.
The problem with so many decks is cycling through them. I had to make a W/L sheet to help gauge how strong and how often I play a certain deck.
December 14, 2022 10:34 a.m.
DrukenReaps says... #8
I have 9 currently ready to play in paper. 4 of them are precons so I didn't upload them here. They are the warhammer ones so I can't decide if I want to pull them apart or add anything or what... Kinda want to just leave them as they are.
The others, well I've really only been playing my colorless deck now for awhile. Trying different things with it. Between that and my friends not playing as much... It's almost more like I only actually have 1 paper deck. I'm not even 100% sure where the other paper decks are lol. I'd have to pull out my entire collection to find them xD
December 14, 2022 11 a.m.
KenKenrith says... #9
If I remember right, my last count came to 26. Some are modified pre-cons, but most are built from scratch.
December 14, 2022 1:06 p.m.
FormOverFunction says... #10
I bring fifteen with me to play at my LGS. I don’t have any precons, and I think in total I have about 20. Most, not quite all, are listed here on T/O. When I first started playing EDH I built them faster than I have been now. The sets that have been coming out over the past three or four years have been really bad for theme (which is basically all I play) because they are so fine-tuned to whatever story/characters they have made. It’s pretty frustrating, honestly, because it seems to lock the players into borderline-re-enacting their plots. What might have been a new Tornado is now “Glikmap’s magical blast from chapter four, page 319”... which is seriously demoralizing for this old grump. But to bring it back to your question: my deck building has nearly ground to a halt, so you’re on track to catch up with me!
December 14, 2022 2:11 p.m.
I have 7 EDH decks, and 8 Deck boxes, I must find an 8th, one day. Currently, I run.... (under construction given I haven't played since March 2020 and need new cards)
- Azusa - So fun! Lots of lands and big spells. Resilent(ish)
- Xenagos - My deck I bring out to assess the power level of the table. It's a solid 6.5-7/10. Like almost all my decks, it sacrifices speed for resiliency.
- Sidisi, Undead Vizier - My favorite and most expensive deck. Foils, alters, Egypt/Plague theme. Truly, a work of art. Cabal coffers 3x + Deserted temple = Good times!
- Baral Chief of Keef alter - Two Headed giant deck with nothing but counterspells and extra turns! It's the best 2HG deck as it is a solid companion to almost any other deck. Being able to counter spells (also, learning which of the 2 opponents to counter) while giving the entire team another turn is just too good
- Thassa, G-d of the Sea - My 2nd weakest deck. 2 counterspells only (as I have enough counterspells in Baral). Lots of mindcontrol effects. Purposefully didn't make it powerful, I just like scrying and having a commander that doesn't die. Speaking of commanders that don't die....
- Norin - My weakest deck, but can still pack a punch under the right circumstances. Filled with ETB ramp and draw effects, this deck sacrifices some synergy in order to ensure it can hold a candle to the inevitable late game. Also, it's fun to say guess whose back, back again, Norin's back! Tell a friend
- Freyalise - My 1v1 deck that has mana crypt and sol ring (not a duel commander deck, just play 1v1) and can be swapped for other elves or something. Its my only deck that's low to the ground simply because elves shine there. Making a mana dork, naturalize and regal force effect into a commander (that creates blockers) is just so good. Elf-drazi storm is what I call it. I remember one time I had Glimpse of Nature in the deck and intentionally decked myself because it was too fun!
No idea what my 8th is gonna be. Probably something mono white because I hate white. Maybe boros? Maybe Sultai as I don't have a 3 color deck yet (mana base makes my wallet cry).
December 14, 2022 3:23 p.m.
The first step in beating an addiction is admitting that you have a problem. I have a problem.
I have 60 EDH decks in paper that are all double-sleeved and in boulders plus two of the W40k pre-cons that I'll probably disassemble sooner or later. All but two are fully up to date on TappedOut. I rotate through playing and updating them fairly slowly. It's way too many I know, but I love deck building and I really hate to pull apart a deck that I've already built. I only have a handful of decks that are at a higher power level. Most of my decks are pretty casual.
This past year I did force myself to set a limit of 60 decks that I'll maintain. I won't go beyond that with decks that I build. I don't rule out buying a pre-con and sleeving it up to play for a few weeks.
Currently my favorite deck to play is my Tinker Tailor Soldier Bear deck based around Wilson, Refined Grizzly being a spy. It's pretty budget but I'm considering upgrading the card advantage and mana base.
December 14, 2022 3:59 p.m.
Noire_Samhain says... #13
Five in paper I've made myself, I'm not counting my precon collection since those basically exist for me to find new cards to use, or my tappedout decks since those are brainstorming/fun ideas. Ruxa tokens, Ghave aristocrats, Gadwick wizard tribal, Prosper Theft+Treasure, and Tomik hatebears+voltron. Current plans to break at least two down, combine some of their parts for a Grixis deck.
I rarely touch my Tomik deck or Gadwick deck anymore, they severely need caught up to my current standards and what I find fun to play. So I generally only carry Ruxa, Ghave, and Prosper with me to stores.
December 14, 2022 4:59 p.m. Edited.
ZendikariWol says... #14
Let me think... Sisay, Krark/Sakashima, Tayam, Wyleth, Haldan/Pako, Prosper, Brudiclad, Baba Lysaga, Henzie, and Chainer. Ten decks, total.
Just because I'm curious, we've got Rainbow, Izzet, Abzan, Boros, Temur, Rakdos, Izzet, Golgari, Jund, and Rakdos. 3 White pips, 4 Blue pips, 6 Black pips, 8 Red pips, and 5 Green pips. Wow, I didn't peg myself for a red player! The more you know, I guess.
December 14, 2022 5:13 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #15
I answered early and want to get in on some of the extra info that people were sharing. Decks in order from strongest to weakest are
Tayam, Luminous Enigma Rube Goldberg Combo
Chulane, Teller of Tales Mana dork tribal/"Honest" Thoracle
Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons -1/-1 Synergies
Minsc and Boo, Timeless Heroes Fast combat damage (used to be Xenagos, God of Revels big dumb beaters. My son took over the deck and then wanted to switch the commanders so I retooled it)
Ghave, Guru of Spores Tokens
Sythis, Harvest's Hand Enchantress
Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm Dragon tribal
Jodah, the Unifier Legendaries
Alela, Artful Provocateur Vehicles
First three are pretty hard combo and I would play them at cEDH tables despite missing some pieces that would make them truly over the top. Next three are for what I find the average playgroup to be. Playing impactful cards but nothing that people can't deal with. Last three are for when there are new players with out of the box or slightly upgraded precons or when I am throwing games. They do stuff but it is slow.
Pip count:
White 7
Blue 4
Black 5
Red 3
Green 8
Unsurprising to me red is my least played color. The fact that green and white are so close is interesting to me. The "strongest" and "weakest" colors in commander are only 1 apart and first and second in how much I play them. Though there are 6 decks that have both so maybe I am just a Selesnya player.
December 14, 2022 8:29 p.m.
I tend to only keep 4 together ready to go. I don't get to play with my local group much, I travel a lot for work so most of my games are pick up games at what ever lgs I stumble upon near my hotel. I try to keep 1 "cedh"ish deck, 2 mid to high power and 1 casual deck.
December 14, 2022 8:39 p.m.
I keep seven assembled, albeit I really only play one to two. I only really get to play once a week, and I've been having far too much fun with one of my decks lately that it's all I've really played for the last five or six months. I run the following:
- Sythis, Harvest's Hand - This was my main deck for around a year. It's a prison deck focused on preventing your opponents from playing Magic. High power to borderline cEDH.
- Titania, Protector of Argoth - My favorite deck I have assembled right now and in contention for my favorite deck I've ever played. It's a land combo deck based around Aluren + Temur Sabertooth + Eternal Witness combos. This is the deck I play the most right now. High power.
- Adeline, Resplendent Cathar - I recently put this deck back together. It's human tribal, and is explosive but folds over easily. Medium to high power.
- Kaalia of the Vast - I have played this deck once since putting it together. It's a mix of Angel Tribal and Kaalia goodstuff. High power.
- Oona, Queen of the Fae - This was a degenerate combo deck, but I wanted to include more faeries. A mix of degenerative combo and tribal faerie. High power.
- Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain - Artifact storm. Can win turn one but is also the most glass cannon deck I've ever built. I don't play this much because this deck is pure solitaire. High power.
- Celestial Kirin - This is a $100 budget deck. It's a tribal spirit/boardwipe deck that isn't very good, but I keep it around for the memes. Low power.
I prefer the high power field of play. It's much more open than cEDH and you have a lot more variety in commanders and viability in other wincons that aren't Demonic Consultation into Thassa's Oracle or Underworld Breach lines.
December 14, 2022 9:50 p.m.
i did the 32 deck challenge and maintained them for several years...however, i dont play weekly. decks got played once a year, so i started cutting down. (playing for 18 years, we all have become dads now etc). i developed a style, preferences, always with UW control pillowfort/stax. first i have cut down to 9 decks, fitting my 3 dragonnest boxes in my ultra pro suitcase. i still felt some decks where not my jam, like mono U, jeskai and mono W. i also started double sleeving and adding solo deckboxes, i can only carry 6 now. So my go to is UW, i have 3 maindecks GAAIV lock/stax (knowledge pool), Falco pws combo/stax emblems (doubling season) and esper artifacts (lattice+karn). 4th an atraxa, which is a themedeck with all the praetors (hello elesh norn 2.0). to mix things up/balance, i have a 5th jund lord windgrace (valakut). i was struggling with the 6th deck even, i do collect ''the swords'' in brown foil version, number 6 became daxos voltron (UW). My powerrange is tree on lvl8, two on lvl7, and the daxos on lvl6. build to play is say ;)
December 15, 2022 6:11 a.m.
Dangerwillrobinson79 says... #19
I’m at 29 with an additional 5 that are built and have been ordered. The hardest thing to keep up with is boxes and sleeves! I have a couple that are upgraded precons and I left the new 40k necron precon intact. Most of my decks are commanders I thought had fun build options or themes. Several were to make something competitive with what my meta was building. A few are still around because I don’t like disassembling decks and would rather find cards/combos to make them better.
I play two nights a week with a core pod and several solid extras that jump in and out. I usually bring 6 decks each night, often playing at least 4 of them. I have some favorites that show up more often like Syr Konrad, Volo or chatterfang. I typically rotate the other 4 each week to make sure I don’t get bored of one or to try the new cards I put in another. Some of my early decks have fallen by the wayside (looking at you Breya and Omnath) as I’ve evolved my gameplay and built with my meta in mind. - list text here We tend to keep our power level between 5-8.- list text here We have banned infinite combos so my builds are more focused on creating token engines or board states that are difficult to address.
December 15, 2022 6:33 a.m.
FormOverFunction says... #20
Yisan as an extrovert I’m super jealous and would love to try that “drop into and alien LGS” some day. I SO want to inflict my random theme decks on a new batch of people. Props to you!
December 15, 2022 10:42 a.m.
I have too many decks, but I'm not entirely sure what I'll do about it because I also want to build some new ones. We'll have to see, I'm not too proud to run a Trade Binder deck, those cost very little to build unless you want to upgrade them (and for them to actually win). Here is a list of the decks, followed by a very brief description and 'what I think it's power level is out of 10', take with a slab of rock salt. AFAIK cEDH proper is 8.5-10, High Power is 7-8.5, with most of the remainder being built to be Casual decks, ie decks that prioritize everyone having fun somewhat above winning. If I think a deck is getting too pushed for it's preferred power level, I tend to slip in more explicitly bad or narrow cards to power them down. Most of these are reasonably up-to-date, but I haven't been following stuff as much lately, just too much going on to watch all the preview vids. I have some decks that are highly permissive (ones that run limited removal and very little other interaction), so if I have no idea what I'll be playing against, I'm more likely to bring a lower interaction deck instead of a deck where that's a major element, but I usually bring at least one deck that's absolutely crawling with solutions.
- OG Zur: Brutal stax and infinite combo, uses some proxies ~9.5
- Talrand: Proteus Staff and significant interaction ~8
- OG Multani: My first deck ~7
- OG Tatyova: Dedicated infinite combo ~8
- Meren: Dedicated infinite combo ~8
- UB Sygg: Discard + Stax ~7
- Reaper King: Non-infinite combo, David Bowie Vorthos elements ~6
- Pavel Maliki, Tobias Andrion, Riven Turnbull, Sunastian Falconer, Lord Magnus: Pod of Legends Beaters, Riven has infinite combos ~7-5.5
- WUBRG Sisay: Infinite combo with non-infinite combo, but also Shrines 'just in case' ~7.5
- Kosei: Budget Voltron in Green ~6
- Anax and Cymede: Boros Stax with significant Snowdrop Vorthos elements ~7.5
- Okaun/Zndrsplt: Not yet sleeved, not sure how much I'll change ~6
December 15, 2022 11:05 a.m.
rshistorysmuf says... #22
I have 19 but each is based on a theme.
Phenax - Mill Keranos - Ping Traxos - Dog Attack Kozilek GD - Timmy Uril MS - Voltron Omnath - Clones Zurgo - Haste Gyrus - X Deveri - tap untap Sisay - Bushido Trample Saskia - Trample Ironas - Banding Xyris - Snake Tribal There are decks for Shadow, Infinite Monkey Cage, pump it up, Skulk, Flanking, Horsemanship.
December 15, 2022 2:49 p.m.
Dangerwillrobinson79 says... #23
Excellent topic EnbyGolem! I'm glad I'm not alone in my Deck Hording sickness. Some of you even make me look kinda normal! ---> Abaques :)
"Wow! You sure have a lot of Dragon Scales Boxes...!" -My wife
December 15, 2022 3:09 p.m.
Crockosneef says... #24
I have 12, all in different color combinations. I just like having variety I guess haha. I think some of it has to do with desired power level. Some people will build something which functions just fine and then build more while other people really get into the optimization. There's also budgets, etc. I'd say I'm pretty halfway in this regard as I've been playing for about 6 years.
December 15, 2022 4:45 p.m.
Last_Laugh says... #25
10, the original goal was 1 of each 3 color combination but my attempt at Bant turned into 4 colors with Reyhan/Ishai at the helm. Animar, Marchesa, Isshai, Muldrotha, Sidar/Tymna, Marisi, Alela, Prossh, and Pramikon cover the other 9x 3 color combinations.
December 15, 2022 10:03 p.m.
Crow_Umbra says... #26
I currently have 7 decks I own in paper. I'm currently playing Anhelo, Isshin, new Zur, Burakos/Folk Hero, Prosper, Saryth, and Okaun/Zndrsplt.
It feels weird claiming the slightly modified Okaun & Zndrsplt Secret Lair deck as a part of my rotation yet. Of those 7, I play 5 regularly, and usually save my Saryth, the Viper's Fang as a donation deck to people that are playing for a first time, or forgot their stuff at home.
Since I started playing EDH in 2019, I've built and recycled 13 other decks. I play Green the least now, with it being concentrated into my singular Mono-Green deck.
A rotation of 6 feels like my personal sweet spot. I tell one of my good friends that I have a Pokemon team rotation of decks. My current line-up feels varied enough to not feel boring or repetitive.
December 16, 2022 1:03 a.m. Edited.
12 - My Home Depot tool box fits that many :)
In my regular group there are a couple of dads, a new dad, & college students. There is a variety of high quality proxies (easy to make) & a variety of budgets. Pretty much no rhyme or reason on which decks have the most expensive cards. My more competitive deck has some proxied duals even though I have the actual duals in a few power tiers below that deck :) I don't think I have that much time to organize decks very often anymore.
Of the 12 I only get time enough to play maybe 5 of them regularly though. The 5 that I come back to are:
Atla Palani, Nest Tender - Direct damage "tribal" - near cEDH
Now that I know what I like, I am starting to sell off my overstock, mostly at lower price to friends & coworkers because I don't really need to lose out to the middle-man LGS & I don't need store credit for the occasional single that I pick up
December 16, 2022 9:11 a.m.
Wolfsbane706 says... #28
I recently put together a sixth EDH deck with Urza, Lord Protector Meld at the helm. I don't have any up-to-date lists of what I have built but I do have a couple lists on site.
Decks with lists:
Decks without lists:
- Riku of Two Reflections spellslinger with a focus on accumulating buttloads of mana for X-damage spells. Need to upgrade the mana base a little bit and probably run some better global damage spells.
- Lord Xander, the Collector obvious mill deck. Still in beta stages but it's plenty powerful.
- Golos Gatespam! but with Jodah, Archmage Eternal running it. The deck is still built around Golos so it needs some revamping.
- The aforementioned Urza deck.
Redace878 says... #2
I also have three EDH decks. I am a college student so it's mostly a budget thing (all of my decks are less than $150) but I also just don't have that much time to play or that many people to play with. My sister and my friends recently started getting back into Magic though so I just built and ordered a new EDH deck :-)
EDIT: I will add I'm also very picky about my decks/commanders and I only bother spending money on ones that feel special and I really enjoy. I have plenty of commander deck ideas that never made it to completion. You just kinda know when a deck is right!
December 13, 2022 11:49 p.m. Edited.