Tempo - is it possible in EDH?

Commander (EDH) forum

Posted on June 3, 2016, 7:04 p.m. by JohnnyBaggins

Hey everyone,
ever since I've been more invested in Magic, I loved tempo decks. Cards like Lightning Bolt, Vapor Snag, Delver of Secrets  ^Flip backed up by effects like Mana Leak, Remand and Izzet Charm have been my favourites ever since I can think, Izzet and Grixis Delver were my favourite archtypes in Modern and Legacy from the day I started getting into these formats.

Now, funnily enough, none of the aforementioned cards are good in EDH. I miss the tempo feel a lot though and I was wondering: Is Tempo possible in EDH? If so, how does it look?

Arvail says... #2

It's possible. Play Geist of Saint Traft with Balancing Act, Cataclysm, Armageddon, etc. to control the number of permanents on the fields while using cheap voltron like Umezawa's Jitte or Steel of the Godhead.

June 3, 2016 7:43 p.m.

Karns_Pyromancer says... #3

Tempo is very different in EDH, at least until you get accustomed to it. If you're familiar with the Philosophy of Fire theory (which, as a tempo player, you should be), just expand your value to accommodate the additional players.

June 3, 2016 9:05 p.m.

greyninja says... #4

Play X with a ton of draw, then chain spells back to back

Phyrexian Arena, Necropotence, Rhystic Study, Consecrated Sphinx, Sire of Stagnation, Well of Ideas, Mind's Eye, Sword of Fire and Ice, etc

June 4, 2016 12:13 a.m.

kengiczar says... #5

Tempo cards are still great in EDH:
Show

Cyclonic Rift - Use one card to set back the opponents several permanents in play and possibly disrupt a mana investment of over 20 mana!

Cryptic Command - Still the best if you're playing in a group of good players who aren't just using the best decks aimed at winning turns 1-3.

Keranos, God of Storms - Creates a clock or draws you gas every turn. VERY good comander.

Sword of Fire and Ice - Still solid.

Sword of War and Peace - Better here than modern. You can punish somebody who is on 3 mana by T4 because chances are they have 6 or more cards in hand. That means for 5 mana you are gaining 4+ life every turn, dealing an additional 2 damage in combat, and dealing 6+ damage directly!

June 4, 2016 10:29 a.m.

rockleemyhero says... #6

Yup! I play "tempo" (more aggro-control) myself, for multiplayer, my deck feels as close to a delver deck as you can get.

It's all about mana dork -> threat with rafiq -> draw more fuel/ bounce stuff -> repeat. Here's my current list, it's been very fine tuned over the past few years.

My deck:

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Rafiq of the Many Wins (EDH competitive MP)

Commander / EDH* rockleemyhero

SCORE: 11 | 9 COMMENTS | 3636 VIEWS | IN 8 FOLDERS

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June 4, 2016 11:58 a.m.

JohnnyBaggins says... #7

Thanks for all the input. I'll start breing something sometime soon.

June 4, 2016 6:10 p.m.