Commander/EDH Deck Talk

[Antitonic]

Quoth Wiki: "Excluding the 13 "Conspiracy"-type cards, which can be only used in Conspiracy or Cube drafts, all of the new cards are legal in the Vintage, Legacy, and Commander formats." I mean there are cards in the set Conspiracy that would do literal nothing in non-draft formats, but they're legal. The actual conspiracys, not so much.

And I know that "no-one has fun but me" decks are kinda counter-Commander style, but I've got Karn (Golem Tribal-ish) and Rhys (The Squirrelening) for more "this is fun, but I'm never going to win" games. I've never been a Blue player, so Narset is my introduction of sorts.

[Atifexe]

Conspiracies (the card type) are not. Cards from Conspiracy (the set) are. Basically, everything that's not silver bordered or explicitly on the ban list is allowed.

[chetoos]

I think you may be missing the point of Commander ... :p

The more I think about it, the more I want.a Marchesa deck. Dethrone, Unleash, Undying, Outlast ... Mer-Ek Nightblade is a straight monster in this deck. Grixis, Rakdos, Izzet, Dimir ... such value!

Alas, most of the things that really care about +1+1 counters are in green and/or white, but I think there's enough there to make it work.

Does anyone know if Conspiracy cards are legal in Commander? If they're not, these fevered dreams of someday claiming the throne for my own are naught but formless wisps.

They are legal in commander, the only exception is the actual conspiracy cards, like "name a card, reveal this thing at the start of the game" cards. Also, a thought to run with Marchesa: Mikaeus, the unhallowed

[Gildan_Bladeborn]

I think you may be missing the point of Commander ... :p

The more I think about it, the more I want.a Marchesa deck. Dethrone, Unleash, Undying, Outlast ... Mer-Ek Nightblade is a straight monster in this deck. Grixis, Rakdos, Izzet, Dimir ... such value!

A couple fun facts about Marchesa - if a creature already has Dethrone, with her in play it has Dethrone twice. Also her ability essentially lets her avoid the commander tax as long as you get a counter on her, with almost no risk involved (other than somebody else using instant-speed resurrection on her to bring her under their control while she's briefly sitting in the yard, or a stifle effect).

[Anagram_of_Omega]

Hey folks! I've been thinking a lot about the feasibility of 4-color commanders. I had some ideas, wanted to get opinions on them.

[chetoos]

Hey folks! I've been thinking a lot about the feasibility of 4-color commanders. I had some ideas, wanted to get opinions on them.

for the anti-blue plagarist, only spells that you own are supposed to go into your hand. A better way to do that ability may be "exile target instant or sorcery card from a graveyard. You may cast it as long as you control plagarist"
bookbiter seems fine mechanically, if not colorpie wise
I like the groundsalter, though putting them onto the library is a bit harsh, I think. Maybe exile them, but allow the opponent to put two back each turn.
caltroper just seems weak, not worth 4 color deck
I think the equalizer should function similar to the wurm that keeps you at 7 life through damage, can't think of the name off the top of my head, but it should allow damage through. So the loss of life keeps everyone at 10, but then an invisible stalker sneaks through 1 point of damage, and suddenly that opponent's phyrexian arena starts killing them again
I like gravespeaker, but graveyard matters stuff is usually in black, with some stuff in green. I understand using black's stuff against it, but it's just odd to me.
getting stuff back from exile is really powerful, and only done on one card unconditionally. Exile is supposed to be utter finality, so I think you should rethink the retriever into something else
The saboteur seems weak, again.
I like the shockeater, but maybe a tap ability on a defender that redirects all spells is a bit much, especially when he can't really die from them. Maybe like the glarecaster, where it's just a lot of mana?
I very much like the tripper, though. I think it's a well made creature, though the abilities don't really "feel" very color specific, plus direct damage is usually red. If you made it the U/W and B/G creature, it'd work better, but the damage ability should still be reworked into something that feels black and green.

[Aeralis]

So I have all of these awesome ocean creatures and want to make a deep-sea themed commander deck. The only problem is the only viable commander I have is Teferi, who breaks the theme and prevents me from using my Kiora. Anyone have any good suggestions for commanders I could try to get ahold of? Something both oceanic and has at least a blue/green profile.

[fantôme]

Only one that comes to mind is Prime Speaker Zegana (is Merfolk). Could be a really cool deck thematically.

[RadioshackRaider]

After a quick search, I've found 8 Legendary Blue/ Green Legendary Creatures. There are 3 I feel would suit the deck you're going for. The first is Experiment Kraj, who doesn't really have any synergies with your theme, but is a big Ooze Mutant, which is the closest you can get to a Kraken or similar things. The second is Prime Speaker Zygana, who fits the Sea theme and has an effect that works with your creatures (She draws cards and gets big when you cast her). The last is Kruphix, God of Horizons. He lets you store up mana, so you can cast your big creatures easier.

To help with your theme, I suggest Quest for Ula's Temple if you can get one. It lets you put all of Blue's big creature's into play for free once you've got some counters on it. Good luck with the deck. I suggest using Magiccards.info to search for cards for the deck.

[Aeralis]

Ooh, yeah, those are all some really cool suggestions. Thanks! I'll see what I can get my hands on.

[GG Crono]

So I'm looking to make my first paper commander deck. I pulled a Surrak (as well as a couple of other cool Temur cards) from a draft a couple months ago, so he's going to be my commander. But I'm also on something of a tight budget. Here's a rough draft of the deck:

tappedout(dot)net/mtg-decks/budget-surrak-1/

I'm going for a beast/high-power synergy theme, since a lot of those cards are inexpensive. But I'm still really new to commander, so I'd appreciate some advice. I'm trying to keep the total cost of the deck under 30 USD, so please keep that in mind when making suggestions. Especially in regards to the manabase. That said, I'd really appreciate some feedback.

[fantôme]

Beastly goodness: Snarling Undorak is great if you have lots of mana available, Bloodstoke Howler is a nice trick if you're going to have a lot of beasts, Elemental Bond is up there with your Wirewood Savage in being able to draw you an awful lot of cards, Krosan Groundshaker gives your beasts trample, Fresh Meat is a nice trick after a boardwipe. If you check out Gatherer or magiccards.info search functions, you'll find loads of beast token makers - if you wanted to go heavier into the tribe.

There are plenty more budget mana fixing options too: Thornwood Falls/Swiftwater Cliffs/Rugged Highlands/Kazandu Refuge, the Vivid lands, Command Tower, Unknown Shores.

[Atifexe]

Well, it might push the total investment out of the $30 range, but picking up a preconstructed Commander deck can be a great way to get plenty of the ramp/fixing cards you're looking for. Plus, if you're willing to engage in some trading, I'm sure there are folks here or in your local community who would be willing to help you find what you're looking for. It really depends on whether you want to keep the total value of the deck below $30 USD, or just your personal investment in it.

And now that I've looked at the decklist, I feel... Well, kind of like there's something missing, but I can't quite put my finger on what. Maybe it's the lack of big splashy spells or of typical power cards like Planeswalkers, I'm not sure.

My first instinct was to recommend Levitation as a card you may want to include (2UU Enchantment - Creatures you control have flying). The second was Zendikar Resurgent (5GG Enchantment - Your lands tap for 1 extra, plus draw a card whenever you cast a creature). Both cards are priced at under $0.40 on CardKingdom.

[GG Crono]

Well, I already have Surrak. I pulled him from a draft and that's why he's my commander. But I also don't have anything worth trading. (I did pull a Windswept Heath from that same draft but I traded it for credit at my local card shop.)

I will, presumably, do more drafts in the future and pad out my collection a bit that way, but as it is, I'm basically buying 90% of the deck straight up, which is why I'm looking to not break the bank. I may just go ahead and pick up one of the precons if I can find it at MSRP, because a lot of the staples (Command Tower, Sol Ring, etc) are still pretty pricey as individuals. Planeswalkers and such are right out.

Zendikar Resurgent might be worth grabbing, though, thanks.

EDIT: Made a few tweaks on tappedout. Still iterating a bit. Thanks again for the feedback.

[chetoos]

I'd like some feedback on these three decks, seeing what I can do with them, any cards I may have missed:
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/mono-multi-with-ulashi/ Mono-multicolored creatures, other spells can be either mono color, to use Ulasht to his completion

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/if-there ... errunning/ This deck is scary when it goes off hard. I had earthcraft in here, but took it out because it made the deck too good when I got some stuff that would give me either double tokens or double mana. I could be persuaded to put it back in, but I feel it's good enough as is. Not a single creature spell suggestion, though, this one has no creature spells by design. I don't care if scion of the wilds, nullmage shepherd, or hamletback goliath would be utter beasts in this deck.

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/put-a-ne ... on-things/ This is my newest deck, a rosheen deck focused on Hydras and other X cost spells, like gelatinous genesis, which I managed to get off for 60 in one of my playtests. Mana echoes and doubling season, yo.

[chetoos]

I'm trying to come up with cards to put into a Madacyn deck, the new version of Avacyn from SoI, for when she comes out, and I'm trying to look up cards that can sacrifice themselves. How should I go about searching that?

[fantôme]

My preferred card searching tool is the Advanced Search on magiccards.info , you can search by card text, card type and colour identity.

[chetoos]

I used that, but I couldn't figure out how to search that one for the card's name. I know that gatherer uses regular expressions, but not magiccards.info

[fantôme]

Do you mean creatures that specifically sacrifice themselves? If so, include o:"sacrifice ~" in the search, (including quotations). The site uses tilde for <cardname>.

Edit: I guess sacrificing as the cost of an activated ability would be o:"sacrifice ~:"

[Tinfish]

I picked up an Omnath, Locus of Rage as it was going around late in an MTGO draft the other day, and it got me thinking. Red/green elemental tribal? Seems like it'd be decent. Ramp out Omnath early and he'll add value to all your lands by pooping out 5/5s ... and then all your elementals, including the Omnath-poop ones, turn into really punishing prickly things whenever someone wraths the board.

[AdmiralMemo]

I picked up an Omnath, Locus of Rage as it was going around late in an MTGO draft the other day, and it got me thinking. Red/green elemental tribal? Seems like it'd be decent. Ramp out Omnath early and he'll add value to all your lands by pooping out 5/5s ... and then all your elementals, including the Omnath-poop ones, turn into really punishing prickly things whenever someone wraths the board.

I already built one... I'll post it later today when I get back on the computer.

Edit: And here it is: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/21-03-16-elementary/

[Tinfish]

Interesting ... I was picturing something much more like ebMusicMan's modern elemental tribal deck. Yours feels less like "an Omnath deck" and more like "an elemental deck in which Omnath is present". Not that it isn't good, though.

[AdmiralMemo]

Yeah, when I started talking about it, it was more Omnath, but then I ended up looking too much at blue and was like "I DO have this Maelstrom Wanderer... and it IS an Elemental..."

I think it would be very easy to cut the blue and bring it back to RG with Omnath commanding again, though.

[fantôme]

Frog Horror legendary creature with a graveyard/card-draw ability? Yes please!

[Tinfish]

And its own Uncharted Realms article!

And isn't there that artifact that lets you play lands from your graveyard? From Mirrodin I think? Plus all the landfall stuff from Zendikar ... yes, this frog is straight value. I am tempted by the Frogmander.