Commander/EDH Deck Talk

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korvys
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Re: Commander/EDH Deck Talk

Postby korvys » 05 Jun 2013, 21:44

Commander seems like a format I'm not likely to be able to really get into until I've rebuilt my collection.

Like, I built a Melek deck in MTGO just to give it a go, but I only just had enough cards to put in it, compared to the other guys playing with cards like Sylvan Library, etc.

Being a more casual/fun format, it wasn't a big deal, and fun regardless, but I don't think I'm going to be too happy with the format until I have enough cards to come up with an interesting deck and put in cards that actually fit, rather than just making do.
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Re: Commander/EDH Deck Talk

Postby Dubious_wolf » 05 Jun 2013, 21:57

That's why I picked Zur. I think my deck was a grand total of $70
Most of that I got in trade. So I actually only ended up spending maybe $25 ish in actually pennies.
The build is solid with lots of board control to help lock everything out so Zur can shine. Usually I wait a really long time to actually cast him. while my opponents commanders are on the 3rd recast or more zur hasn't even come out to play yet. This is mostly because everyone hates him. Like a lot. Like I'm usually ganged up on.
So my early game is defense, defense, defense. It works well. I've come close to winning a number of times. Mostly I lose to misplays because I'm still pretty shaky on specifics at times.
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Re: Commander/EDH Deck Talk

Postby ArchieO » 05 Jun 2013, 22:17

My mazes end deck cost about 50 tix online, most of that was a couple of cards that make the deck tick, you can build a very fun but still competitive deck for a fairly decent price
All my current Commander Decks
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Re: Commander/EDH Deck Talk

Postby korvys » 06 Jun 2013, 14:50

It's not about the money, it's more the ability to go "You know what would be perfect for this deck? That uncommon from 4 blocks ago".
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Re: Commander/EDH Deck Talk

Postby Lurkon » 06 Jun 2013, 15:40

I have that same problem Korvys. Thankfully, it is relatively easy to fix. All you need is a ticket or two and the time and energy to devote to actually going and making the trades... I'll admit that for me, it's the energy that I can't find, and so I don't really play much constructed in MTGO at all.
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Re: Commander/EDH Deck Talk

Postby AzureDragoon » 19 Jun 2013, 08:16

Hey question for the masses. I have been playing EDH at a sort of LGS but some of the guys here can get sort of competitive with their deck building. So what my question is does anyone just have EDH ideas that are kinda balls to the wall just plain silly? Kinda like oh shit what have I drawn this turn OK everyone change places type of style.
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Re: Commander/EDH Deck Talk

Postby Clerik » 28 Jun 2013, 04:53

AzureDragoon wrote:Hey question for the masses. I have been playing EDH at a sort of LGS but some of the guys here can get sort of competitive with their deck building. So what my question is does anyone just have EDH ideas that are kinda balls to the wall just plain silly? Kinda like oh shit what have I drawn this turn OK everyone change places type of style.


I think it has to be a balance. Speaking for myself i think that a lot of the fun in magic comes from the mental game when everyone is trying to win without taking themselves too seriously. For that to really work, everyone needs a functional deck with interesting options for interaction and falling short of that most games are going to bee very one-sided as someone fails t draw/mulligan their mana correctly.

Back to the topic of the tread, I can recommend checking out Zerg's deckbuilding guide a friend of mine wrote a while back when we thought we had figured out the format. It's a pretty good primer to how to think EDH. The EDH deck database is an okay list of different generals although it isn't updated for the latest blocks. I'll hit back if i remember any more good resources/intros and try to answer questions.

http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75842/18884586/Zergs_EDH_Deckbuilding_Guide

http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=152979
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Re: Commander/EDH Deck Talk

Postby Jamfalcon » 28 Jun 2013, 21:03

I'm thinking of making a few upgrades to my primary commander deck, built around Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs this weekend. Here's my current decklist:
Click to Expand
Slumbering Dragon
Bloodmark Mentor
Iron Myr
Soulbright Flamekin
Varchild's War-Riders
Rage Nimbus
Sisters of the Flame
Lavafume Invoker
Fumiko the Lowblood
Lord of Shatterskull Pass
Obsidian Fireheart
Hunted Dragon
Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs
Malignus
Charmbreaker Devils
Hoard-Smelter Dragon
Hellkite Charger
Moonveil Dragon
Steel Hellkite
Balefire Dragon
Dragon Mage
Hamletback Goliath
Hateflayer
Shivan Hellkite
Magmatic Force

Street Spasm
Incite War
Seismic Strike
Wild Ricochet
Aggravate
Savage Beating

Vandalblast
Spitting Earth
Chain Reaction
Ruination
Mark for Death
Mogg Infestation
Reforge the Soul
Jaws of Stone
Disaster Radius
Alpha Brawl
Insurrection

Accorder's Shield
Sol Ring
Fire Diamond
Lightning Greaves
Mask of Avacyn
Foriysian Totem
Heart of Ramos
Pristine Talisman
Tenza, Godo's Maul
Whispersilk Cloak
General's Kabuto
Ogre's Cleaver
Spine of Ish Sah

Captive Flame
Curse of the Nightly Hunt
Breath of Fury
War's Toll
Curse of Bloodletting
Homura, Human Ascendant
Rage Reflection
Warstorm Surge

Stalking Vengeance
Spire Barrage

34 Mountains
Temple of the False God


And here are the changes I'm thinking of making:
Click to Expand
Lavafume Invoker – Anger
Spire Barrage – Chandra Nalaar
Stalking Vengeance – Koth of the Hammer
Avatar of Fury – Dragon Mage
Hellkite Charger – Inferno Titan
Ruination – Staff of Nin
Ruthless Invasion – Spine of Ish Sah
Pristine Talisman – Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle


Any thoughts? The main theme of the deck is protecting Kazuul and forcing people to attack, either unfavourably into me because of Kazuul's ability, or, more commonly, into someone else. While I realize it might be good for the deck and is kind of red's thing, I'm also trying to avoid too much burn. I feel like in commander, especially in my meta, it rarely does enough to justify a card. My meta is also pretty slow, so while obviously a red deck could be a lot faster, speed hasn't been a major issue for it most of the time. Other than that, I'm trying not to spend too much, ideally no more than $20 for these upgrades. That list is currently around $18.50, though there's nothing there I wouldn't mind swapping out if I found a better fit.
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Re: Commander/EDH Deck Talk

Postby Lurkon » 29 Jun 2013, 03:43

I'm kind of sad to see Hellkite Charger go, but if he isn't doing what you want then those are all really solid cards.

I'm honestly surprised to see anyone running Aggravate, but that makes so much sense in your deck that it's basically an auto-include. That card has some of my favorite flavor text ever, so that makes me pretty happy.

Going with planeswalkers is almost insidious. Those hit the field and now everyone WANTS to attack you. Except they'll want to do damage to the planeswalker, not you, so you might not even want to block with your new ogre tokens! I know you're on a budget, but if it won't break it, I'd suggest taking a look at the other Chandras and include them ALSO.

Finally, you say that this is a slower game, so my question is, is Anger really better than Lavafume Invoker in your deck? +3/+0 to your entire war band until end of turn or your warband has haste. Your ogres never need haste, because they are created on your opponent's turns, so they don't have summoning sickness by the time your turn runs around, and giving that many creatures +3/+0 can really ruin someone's life total.
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Re: Commander/EDH Deck Talk

Postby Jamfalcon » 29 Jun 2013, 08:32

Thanks for the advice, and don't worry about Hellkite Charger, he's going to a much more appropriate home in my Animar deck.

You make a good point about Anger and Lavafume Invoker. The main reason I'm considering making that switch is that the deck rarely actually has a huge army of ogres, which surprised me at first. Generally I'll only get five or six in an entire game, because usually people just don't attack until they can pay to prevent Kazuul's ability. I've found it's more a deterrent than anything else, so most of the damage actually comes from all the dragons and other big creatures, which are the ones that really benefit from haste. That said, I could definitely see an argument to cut something else instead.

As for the planeswalkers, I would definitely like to include the other Chandras, but I don't think they do enough for the deck for me to justify the cost.

Also, I took another look at that list and realized it has a couple cards I haven't actually bought yet (I updated it a couple weeks back, and just reversed it to its current state to post here). I'm planning to buy Steel Hellkite and put it in instead of the current Magnetic Web, which has never been able to preform as well as it should in this deck. I also don't own Malignus, and I actually thought I had decided not to run him, so I could put one of my cut cards back in instead of him, or add something else.
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Re: Commander/EDH Deck Talk

Postby Lurkon » 29 Jun 2013, 11:14

This deck looks like it would be a lot of fun to play. I'm going to have to take another look at what I have. I tried to put together a Kazuul deck awhile back, but I definitely didn't get into the right mindset for it. Aggravate alone sets off that lightbulb for me. Now I want to build a defensive black-red deck. Or maybe a different color combo if I can't find a decent commander in that one.


*edit* How do you feel about Heckling Fiends in that deck?
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Re: Commander/EDH Deck Talk

Postby Jamfalcon » 29 Jun 2013, 12:29

It is a lot of fun, yeah. It doesn't play anything like mono-red normally does, and it's actually pretty competitive, in my group at least. The great thing I've found with Kazuul is that he can fit into pretty much any other commander deck with red. I run him in my Niv-Mizzet one as well, where he's great at stopping all the aggression that's usually a problem for Niv.

I did look at Heckling Fiends, when I built the deck, but I decided it was too inefficient. This deck has so many expensive creatures and spells that it rarely has more than a couple of mana open, and I've found the single target attack forcers rarely see an opportunity, whereas cards like Fumiko or Curse of the Nightly Hunt are very impactful. That may just be my play style, however.

Also, if you want to put a deck like this together, the most hilariously fun combo I've found is Varchild's War–Riders and anything that forces attacks, particularily Fumiko. War–Riders is hilariously fun, especially in a larger game where you can use the free soldiers are a bartering tool. I actually had one game where I'd give them to the same player each turn, and in exchange he agreed to attack me with three of them every turn and just let them get eaten by my ogres.
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Re: Commander/EDH Deck Talk

Postby Wolfwood723 » 01 Jul 2013, 02:45

Here is a Planeswalker deck I am building right now. Wanted to post it up and get peoples thoughts. Its heavy on Ikea Gun combos.

Planeswalker Commander: The Wallet Killer
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Re: Commander/EDH Deck Talk

Postby Lurkon » 01 Jul 2013, 05:34

Liliana of the Dark Realms with four swamps doesn't seem like she'll do much of anything. What is she supposed to do, fog?
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Re: Commander/EDH Deck Talk

Postby Wolfwood723 » 01 Jul 2013, 17:13

Good point. I built the mana base last and now she doesn't make much sense. Well now I have a slot to fill.....what to add?
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Re: Commander/EDH Deck Talk

Postby Clerik » 02 Jul 2013, 03:37

Yu'll likely want to add a bunch more support for handling creatures. As most EDH decks average around 35-40 dudes you'll want to be able to ignore that without having to match it stick-for-stick.

Consider running effects like moat. It can keep you quite safe and you already have the protection for it. There are a few i can think of:

* Moat
* Propaganda
* ghostly prison
* magus of the moat
* Kazuul (might also leave you with dudes)
* Gomazoa (to keep peoples generals attacking other players)

And even more important (if you feel like printing a few proxies, you might not want to pay for some of these):

* Maze of ith
* mystifying maze
* tabernacle of pendrell vale


To make some room for stuff like this i'd probably throw out

* indestructability (you seem to have a bit too few targets for this. Mostly it will be a dead card)
* DomriRade (Apart from his ultimate, how relevant will this guy be?)
* Ob nixilis (i guess tis guy is in for some combo. If it isn't your main wincon i'd consider ditching him)
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Re: Commander/EDH Deck Talk

Postby AzureDragoon » 24 Jul 2013, 09:31

http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/a%20...%20rcana/1281
Anyone else excited for the New commander decks that are going to be released later this year.
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Re: Commander/EDH Deck Talk

Postby Jamfalcon » 24 Jul 2013, 12:13

I'm a huge fan of the original decks, so I'm absolutely looking forward to them. I'm not crazy about the new mechanic (I'd rather play a commander that stays on the battlefield and has a static effect, rather than one designed to be replayed over and over) but I'll still likely buy the Jund and Grixis decks (unrelated to the fact that those are the only two they've spoiled things from, just my favourite two shards.)
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Re: Commander/EDH Deck Talk

Postby Lurkon » 24 Jul 2013, 13:31

I like the shards, and while I'd love to see the wedges getting some more love, new Commander product is something I absolutely can't wait to see more of. :D
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Re: Commander/EDH Deck Talk

Postby AzureDragoon » 24 Jul 2013, 13:38

I have to agree the new come into play commanders are a bit different from the previous static abilities. But hopefully the new 51 cards will complement these new abilities.
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Re: Commander/EDH Deck Talk

Postby Kapol » 24 Jul 2013, 21:49

Lurkon wrote:Liliana of the Dark Realms with four swamps doesn't seem like she'll do much of anything. What is she supposed to do, fog?


He could fetch his badlands or B/U dual with her. If he threw in shocks, she'd be a mana-fixer.
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Re: Commander/EDH Deck Talk

Postby Lurkon » 24 Jul 2013, 22:02

Alright, I'm still not sure six swamps is worth running Liliana of the Dark Realms. It's really interesting just how much more work that version of Lilly can do with 2 more swamps, though. Her +1 can actually hit a land far more often, her -3 can kill a creature with 2 more toughness, and her ult can permanently give you 6 more mana. So definitely more work.

Sorry I didn't notice those were swamps before.
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Re: Commander/EDH Deck Talk

Postby Kapol » 24 Jul 2013, 22:53

Right. Didn't mean to scold you or anything about it. I was pointing it out more for him than anything. I also mentioned the shocklands part because adding those five would make it so she could get any color that he needed. And by the time you can get her ult off, he should have all the fixing he needs, and will be able to make a ton more mana. Of course, adding in the other black duals would make her even better, but also be much more expensive.

Of course, that was from almost a month ago. I just noticed the post and figured I'd mention it.
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Re: Commander/EDH Deck Talk

Postby Kapol » 01 Aug 2013, 22:14

So I did a game of EDH today and tried out my deck. It went pretty awful for me.

There were three of us. One guy played an enchantment that has 'X: Put X counters on ~. If ~ has 100 or more counters on it, you win the game.' He also played the 1/1 that lets you store mana in him to make him huge. He played a whole bunch of elves, made all his creatures able to tap for mana, brought out the creature that doubles the mana your land produces, and brought out Garruk Wildspeaker.

Both me and the other guy, however, got screwed on mana. He was playing a rats deck. I was playing Ghave. I had a Merciless Eviction in my hand the entire game, which would have at least bought us time to gang up on him... but never hit a black mana source. I didn't really cast any spells the entire game. It sucked so hard, cause I could have wiped out ALL of his creatures, even though he could have regenerated them as many times as he wanted.
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Re: Commander/EDH Deck Talk

Postby Raphnarock » 17 Aug 2013, 08:25

My issue with EDH is I have a bunch of hypothetical decks, but only 2 physical decks. Those two decks are a "I'm here but not really" Karador deck, where I essentially take myself out of the game and watch everyone else beat each other up until I see fit to intervene. And a Stonebrow, Krosan Hero deck, where everything has trample and gets out other creatures. But I'm trying to make a "Suddenly, tokens!" deck with Hazezon Tamar.
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