So...Gates
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on May 26, 2022, 11:50 p.m. by tonylomas
Hi all, so with the realease of Baldur´s Gate set, we got many gates and Nine-Fingers Keene do u think its enough to try and build around gates, ofc including the maze? some part of me feels like...its just not enough. What do you think? and how would u build an EDH with these new cards?
TypicalTimmy says... #3
If, however, you wanted to build them... She (??) Wants to deal combat damage. Ergo, Voltron. Use something like an early tutor for Amulet of Vigor to have your Gates ETB untapped. You may want to look into landfall effects, too, since you'll be dropping lands often.
Try graveyard synergy such as Crucible of Worlds and Muldrotha, the Gravetide to get back the cards you lost to her effect.
Your goal is essentially wincon via Commander damage. She triggers on combat damage, and has both menace and ward. So focus on combat and making her beefy and powerful.
Ergo, Voltron.
May 27, 2022 12:26 a.m.
Nine-Fingers Keene feels like a 99 card in a gates deck. If you're playing gates, gut feeling is that you still want to stay 5 colour as if you're playing agtes then let's face it, you're playing Maze's End. So you want to optimise around being able to hit 10 different gates.
With the banning of Golos, Tireless Pilgrim (who was the go-to gate commander), you're probably looking at something like:
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Kenrith, the Returned King for generic utility
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Go-Shintai of Life's Origin shrines + gates feels like it could work, maybe
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Kyodai, Soul of Kamigawa to protect Maze's End and give you a backup win con
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Sliver Queen as a good defensive commander since she pumps out tokens (and you can devote more cards to land tutoring at that point)
I don't actually like Child of Alara as a commander here as well. You'll have a lot of permaenet based utility that you'r relying on and as much as it's a bit cute having a wrath in the command zone, you're not playing a traditional lands.dec control deck.
May 27, 2022 12:46 a.m.
TypicalTimmy says... #5
I apologize, I misread her last line. The cards go on the bottom in a random order, not the graveyard.
My mistake.
May 27, 2022 1:56 a.m.
As a Commander, you get the Golgari, Simic, and Dimir Guildgate, plus Gateway Plaza, plus the black, green, and blue (Sea Gate when it gets added) color gates and the 4+ colorless gates in Baldur's Gate Commander. That's at least eleven, so you can squeak by with the Maze's End wincon.
I'm going to agree with enpc and say that Keene is better served in the 99 in a five-color deck. Even adding one more color gets you access to three more Guildgates and one more color gate (I don't know if there's a general term), and adding the last color gets you five more gates on top of that, almost double the count for three colors. That's a whole lot of reliability that's left out in a deck with only three colors.
May 27, 2022 2:42 a.m.
yeah i mean she/he looks like a 99 card. I still need a rare gate that provides an additional "wincon" or something close, like dmg per turn, etc(? not gonna lie, i was pretty hyped with 9-fingers but now im like ...well...still nothing :V
May 27, 2022 3:13 a.m.
TypicalTimmy says... #8
Yeah I felt the same way about Shrines. Really wanted a solid Shrine deck, but they just aren't powerful enough. Some are pretty solid, but most are bleh. Not worth the time and efforts for a 5c deck that does "nothing".
May 27, 2022 3:27 a.m.
i suppose with card accesses like Scapeshift, Bear Umbra and Old Gnawbone there is potential for some amazing plays in post combat main phase.
but it would take alot of set up. most the deck functions would be built around pre combat ramp, unblock able, post combat ramp, gate fetching, protecting the commander, counter spell, key card tutors, and splash removal. once you include the land base there wont be many cards left in the deck to make amazing plays with
May 27, 2022 9:58 a.m.
griffstick says... #10
She has ward 9 and menace. Build her with voltron in mind.
May 27, 2022 10:12 a.m.
JANKYARD_DOG says... #11
You do you boo. You have 11 gates to work with so... Also, if you wanna get extra Janky with it... menace is evasion, ward 9 life stings a bit, and commander dammage is a thing... you could toss in some commander damage wincons. I don't mean voltron it up (unless thats your things, w/e) I just mean surprise hits like Hatred et al. One more Janky cherry to toss on top... Panglacial Wurm. Do eet!.
May 27, 2022 6:51 p.m.
griffstick says... #12
Yes jank and while we are talking jank, equipment like Infiltration Lens will generate 2 cards of draw when blocked. So stopping her from connecting by blocking her with 2 creatures, will net you 4 cards. This will act as evasion as people will not want you to draw 4 cards, thanks to menace.
May 27, 2022 6:57 p.m. Edited.
Looking at the new colorless gates, Baldur's Gate, Gond's Gate, and Heap Gate are all different styles of mana production, as ramp, fixing, and treasure respectively. Basilisk Gate is more interesting with Keene, giving a potential +11/+11 to a commander that's already a 4/4 pseudo-hexproof menacer. You already have to be attacking to get the benefits, but if you dig up Basilisk Gate quickly, that Voltron idea can start developing fast. Attack, pump, deal damage, find gate, repeat.
May 27, 2022 8:02 p.m.
griffstick says... #14
Those two gates are commons too! Wow. Pauper is getting g upgrades!
May 27, 2022 9:03 p.m.
golgarigirl says... #15
It could work, but I would definitely be prepared with an alternate win-con or two outside of gates. From my own experience with decks that use lands to win, if people in your group get wise, they will remove your lands (most people in my group at very least pack a Field of Ruin) and exile your graveyard. And at 11-ish gates, you can't rely on a Maze's End out if even a few get exiled.
May 27, 2022 10:42 p.m.
When golos was legal, I found that having a mazes end wincon is best as a secondary wincon. It played out better and didn't become boring as it's a very linear gameplan. Especially if people you play with run basic interaction, it's fairly easy to disrupt considering how telegraphed it is. I do plan on reworking the deck and sticking to the same idea, but not sure what plan A is going to be yet. Nine fingers should def be run as a Voltron commander, double strike, etc. Meanwhile, you use the mazes end as a way to close games once attacking becomes difficult.
May 28, 2022 1:21 a.m. Edited.
my thoughts exactly xd like , i always play in a table of 4 guys so ...mi thinkin, ok i can have mazes end wincon...but once they see it theyre gonna try to stop me, what am i gonna have on battlefield? wich nonlands are gonna grant me defense or maybe another wincon?
May 28, 2022 11:32 a.m.
golgarigirl says... #18
Well, if you're getting lands onto the battlefield as a main strategy anyways, packing a few large spells that are known closers (Torment of Hailfire and Expropriate come to mind, but you definitely don't have to use those exact cards, since they're expensive, but you get the idea) are a solid backup. Landfall-type strategies is another natural fit, with Scute Swarm, Avenger of Zendikar and Field of the Dead as example closers.
The biggest trick with gates is that they're nonbasic, so a lot of the traditional ramp and landfall-enabling, like fetchlands, doesn't work on them. So I feel the deck would be leaning heavily into drawing a lot of cards (something all three of your colors are really good at), and then getting extra land drops per turn with Azusa, Lost but Seeking- effects. You could even lean into self-mill (which black and blue excell at), and then recur lands with World Shaper, Ramunap Excavator, and Splendid Reclamation. That, however, is risky again from the graveyard-removal angle.
Some of the other posters mentioned a voltron angle for the commander, and I definitely see that as a possibility too! I just wanted to lay out some other options.
May 28, 2022 11:56 a.m. Edited.
davidsays1 says... #19
One of the members in our playgroup has been playtesting his new mazes end deck with the new gates on Moxfield. He can win as early as turn 5-10. Seems fun. His commander currently is Kenrith, which is kind of just there if he needs extra draw.
May 28, 2022 12:15 p.m.
griffstick says... #20
I like what golgarigirl said. Making use of all the ramp with big spells seems legit. Also Genesis Wave and Villainous Wealth
May 28, 2022 12:54 p.m. Edited.
I think that any gates deck is gonna be wise to use cards like Archelos, Lagoon Mystic and Amulet of Vigor. Finding Gond Gate as quickly as possible would be good too. Getting those gates to come into play untapped is a huge advantage.
TypicalTimmy says... #2
Absolutely not. For Sultai, there are far better land tutor cards. Given that's all 9-fingers does, it's basically a dud Commander.
If it's a deck you want to build and think you'll have fun with, go for it. Otherwise, just go with someone like Muldrotha
May 27, 2022 12:18 a.m. Edited.