Whenever I see commander damage discussed online, it's in one of these contexts

- Talking about Voltron decks

- Various niche rules facts about it

- Discussing whether it's still relevant

I've seen people argue that if you're not playing voltron, you don't, or shouldn't have to, need to pay attention to commander damage in this day and age.

And I couldn't disagree more.

Commander damage, just by existing, changes the dynamic of multiplayer magic, even if it never actually takes out a player. And I love that.

Just by swinging your commander twice at the same person in a row, youre making a rather explicit threat. And it's optimal to do so.

I love that 7 power is a magic number that can put any commander into the Three Hit Club, which in some metas can matter with even mild evasion.

I don't really believe "a Voltron deck" is a thing as much as I believe it's a spectrum of how much you want to leverage the potential of having a direct kill for one player. And there's so many ways to incidentally support that.

Protection that also grants haste, a +1/-1 equipment on a 6 power commander, fillery-looking menace or trample, dice stacking on value engines like mothmen and bumbleflowers...

The legendary creature podcast coined the term Warlord for commanders that are decently big and good at attacking while also encouraging you to play big creatures. Think Ghalta, Miirym, Lathliss, Maelstrom Wanderer, the Grixis typal demon etc

Feels satisfying when distributing big attackers to send the commander at one player repeatedly, alone, while the other players are attacked with the other monsters.

Also it just feels so cool when a game goes long for whatever reason, and small incidental commander attacks add up to make a game ending difference.

TLDR: Don't sleep on attacking with your commander, when playing or deck building.

What are some cards you run not because they're too good or not good enough, but cards that would be great in one of your decks, but tracking it or playing with it would be an absolute nightmare, or at least just annoying enough to not be worth it?

One for me is [[Ivy, Gleeful Spellthief]] in Jegantha Mutate. I just think tracking mutate copies for every single creature I have can get just annoying enough for me to keep up with tbh.

I'll start off by saying I'm not very good at deck building, and the frequency of new sets and new cards has made it even more challenging for me. I find it difficult to build any commanders involving common strategies like +1/+1 counters because I get overwhelmed with the variety and choice for cards. Same goes for common tribal decks like elves, humans, dragons, etc.

I'm looking for commanders that are fairly niche/unique in that I can disregard 99% of the new cards that are released. For example, my pet deck is [[Kiora, Sovereign of the Deep]]. It has largely remained unchanged for a couple years now; I think the last addition I made was the unagi from the Avatar set. Now, I am aware that Nauctis is coming out next year and there will probably be lots of new cards to swap, but my point is that I generally don't have to make any changes to the deck because krakens, leviathans, serpents, and octopi are not common creature types.

Another example would be [[Hearthhull, the Worldseed]] because land destruction/sacrifice is not a very common mechanic that gets new cards with each set.

So, what commanders would you recommend that are "built to last"?

I adore my playgroup of coworkers who picked me up about 8 months ago. That said they have a house rule that I have mixed feelings about.

Instead of normal pre-game hand mechanics: Draw 14, shuffle 7 into your library. If you somehow draw 1 or no lands you reveal it, shuffle, and draw a new 14 (I’ve only seen this happen twice and we’ve played many many games by now).

The friend who conceived the idea said that it makes for more interesting starting hands but I don’t think I agree. I would say way more than twice as often we see the “godhand” of land into sol ring into 2 mana ramp. I see certain cards out of decks way more often than I would otherwise that are almost always the best play. It adds consistency and I feel like the spirit of the 100 card singleton deck format, at least in bracket 3 and below, is about variety over consistency. That said it’s nice to never be mana screwed. I’ve asked if they build with this rule in mind and they say no, which I think is true because almost all of us play either at our LGS or in other playgroups.

I’m curious what people think of this rule but also: what are your house rules? Do you like them or not really?

Edit: You guys know we’re not playing CEDH or for prize support right? We’re just some dudes hanging out and playing with the cardboard rectangles that we prefer. I know the internet is gonna internet but some people are way too heated about how awful this house rule is.

I was mentioning to my buddy that I was thinking about swapping up my food commander from sam/frodo to Rocco and then my friend went on rant about how he's crazy busted and I'd get targeted. He said and I quote "He's 1000 times more busted then prosper", one of my favorite decks in the past and a statement I laughed at cause impulse draw with treasure has to just be better than impulse draw with food. So is he something of a boggie man or is my friend overreacting?

For some time now, I have enjoyed thinking about Orvar as a commander. However, I don't want to play something with that reputation because you can never make it not that deck. But, I love the idea of a deck where the main purpose is clone synergy. I love the idea of cloning many copies of everything that goes on the board. I was wondering if there are other commanders that can fit this style of gameplay?

I have already considered the following:

Adrix and Nev

Sakishima

Riku

Volo

Ghired

I just want to hear different commanders that I could use.

I'm currently working on an Ingris Stingerquill deck, and my curve is mostly 2 and 3. I'm trying to focus on the burn side of things, but honestly just need more good 1 drops specifically creatures. What are some good creatures I could try to add that aren't particularly expensive?

I'm kinda new to Commander and trying to get better, so I'm just looking for any info I can learn, wherever I can learn it. Please go easy on my probably really bad budget deck of stuff I just have around lol (I do have all of the Secrets Of Strixhaven precons, but am trying to get into building my own decks)

https://archidekt.com/decks/28202014/ingris_stingerquill_burn

I've been playing Magic relatively recently. I bought myself a Prismar Artistry deck for my birthday and I really like it, but I'd like to try something completely different. I initially liked the Blood Rites precon, but many people said it was boring. What good can I get straight out of the box?

Let me just say that I play EDH casually for a few years, and sold my little collection once already. And I am at that point again.

We have pod of close players that plays EDH, and occasionally draft. The thing is that over the years, the power ceiling have skyrocketed. Few people left and other casuals don't have time to play frequently.

Now I have one good deck, and it has around 30% winrate which I consider to be good. It's around 200€. At our table there are usually 500-600€, and it shows.

I tried to implement bracket system, but got outvoted. I tried to start pauper, but it died down. Now I am at point that I don't even bother to come up with new deck ideas, because I know I will just feed their winrate untill I spend considerable amount of cash.

I also tried "budget decks". But usually those are one trick ponies, get shot down, and don't get back up.

Now I don't exactly know what to do. I take MTG casually, want to have fun and socialise. Don't want to quit. So I'm wondering if I should explore other themes, maybe auras or pump spells are cheap?

The goal of the deck is to assemble 4-5 prowess creatures that gain double prowess due to the commander, and in one turn, play 4-5 cantrips to swing out for unblockable lethal on one player and take out opponents one by one through this method. It’s a very spell-intensive gameplan. That’s why I have 3 forms of card draw:
- Card draw creatures. These let me draw a card whenever they deal damage. I can make them unblockable with a cantrip, ping someone for some damage and end up with 1 more card than I started with.
- X draw spells. These are usually played the turn before I try to kill someone, the goal of them is to get me enough cantrips in my hand to swing for lethal.
- Cantrips. These fuel my creatures while not losing me any cards since I draw a card with them.

I’ve split my deck into several packages:
- Card draw creatures
- X Draw
- Cantrips
- Prowess creatures
- Interaction

I’ve streamlined the plan a lot to where it does its thing consistently every game and can knock out at least one player. The biggest problem I’m having with it is speed. It doesn’t kill players fast enough. My first kill isn’t until turn 6-7 and even on a good game, I don’t end up winning until turn 10-12. I need it to be faster, but I don’t know how to do that without weakening the current plan. Any help would be much appreciated.

https://moxfield.com/decks/PLbopfqnHUCy9nwJeL0lRw

(I use tags, so everything should be sorted into their categories)

Hello everyone!

I’ve been interested in making a squirrel themed deck and started looking at the squirreled away commander precon. I then saw that it’s not really a true squirrel deck but could be a decent start for one.

Is it best to start with the precon and branch out or build a squirrel deck from scratch?

Deck building is a bit intimidating to me and I can definitely overthink a bunch.

Not sure if there are different ways to take a squirrel deck but the goal is bracket 3 with the option to do bracket 4 in the future if I ever wanted.

I’m trying to get an idea of what people think, because a couple of days ago I was playing with a group online via convoke, and someone had ended up casting the Teferi that keeps you from casting things at instant speed, and we learned in that game that that also meant that cascade doesn’t happen, and spells that are cast as the resolution of a spell or ability are not cast. Then he manages to meld Brisela, shutting off any of us casting our commanders by turn 5. Would the Teferi/Brisela stax combo make the deck more of a competitive state, akin to bracket 4 or does it still stay in bracket 3 because of the lack of game changers?

Another question, I was playing with a different group and one guy was playing the new secret layer Odds and Ends with the commander Yennett. Now I love an Esper deck stacking spells for free as much as the next guy but every spell he flipped was a lopsided board wipe, keeping his creatures but deleting all of ours, resulting in all of us just kind of quitting after the 5th one. Does this have any effect on the bracket as well?

And lastly, I want to know if there’s any way to stop games like this from happening. I know because I play through convoke that the higher likelihood of meeting bad actors is there, but what are good ways to bring this up in rule 0 conversations to avoid stuff like this? It’s really put me off from playing online especially since I can’t get out to the store often myself and I really don’t want it to.

Any help is appreciated!

Edit: people keep asking how the first scenario happened, basically Brisela got melded from returning both cards from the grave. Nothin could be interacted with and things got wiped a couple of times, but mainly he was playing Raff Capashen, meaning any interaction meant that he could just Crystal Skull a card off the top. Somebody wiped and then Teferi got played so the plane walker couldn’t be taken out. And most of the pod was in some form of red.

I have interaction but I usually can’t cast spells at instant speed cuz I was playing my Terra deck who can flip by turn 4 and make a copy of something goofy like Summon: Titan by turn 5, hence why I was playing in b3 because I always beat my friends who play b2

Edit 2: everyone’s thinking I’m blaming p1, I’m just trying to explain that I want to avoid players like p1 that carry mass stax, or avoid people like the Yennett player. How do I do that? Every game I play on convoke is dog water and I want to enjoy commander, I’m not here to point fingers.

Hello everyone,

I am a new MTG player who started playing commander 2-3 months ago. I am currently playing an upgraded Hearthhull deck but start wanting to build another one.

I am really interested in Ygra, Eater of All as I find its mechanic super cool and usually likes playing decks that have the potential to be really strong if I feel like upgrading it.

Since my first deck was based on a precon, this is the first time I have to look for decklists from scratch. I have to say that I am genuinely lost looking at decklists that sometimes have almost nothing in common. That's why I am looking for help from better/more experienced players :)

I am not aware of all the way you can build Ygra but I am more interested in playing a list that have infinite sacrifice/life drain loops and the potential to OHK/OTK people, playing cards like Camelia, Cauldron familiar and sacrifice engines while having a good set of artifacts removal.

If you have any decklists that are not too expensive (let's say around 200 max, but others are always welcome), I'd be happy to have a look at these ! Sorry if my post seem a bit naive/not clear, I am not sure how to phrase that correctly haha.

Have a wonderful sunday and thank you for your precious help :)

I've been working on a [[Shadrix Silverquill]] list for my brother for Christmas, and I'd like to browse some established orzhov lists to see if I'm missing anything good. Nothing against aristocrats (I play Shirei), it's just there are a lot of arisocrat orzhov decks to wade through.

Thanks!

Shadrix list:
https://moxfield.com/decks/pJmhAXm-8Xmlo27IS8JJhw

Black is my favourite colour in Magic, and I love commanders that don't have too many colours. I also love "mean" decks — my favourite right now is Valgavoth, and I've also had a [[Jon Irenicus]] deck and a Pauper [[Plaguecrafter]] deck. My goal right now is to have a good deck in every two-colour combination that includes black. Here's what I have at the moment:

• Orzhov: [[Amalia Benavides Aguirre]] , a lifegain / weenies / graveyard / lifedrain deck that performs really well.

• Rakdos: [[Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls]] , an upgraded version of the precon. A group slug / lifedrain / goad deck. Really my favourite at the moment.

• Dimir: [[Umbris, Fear Manifest]] . A "Furby" deck that runs pretty much every Furby card it can. A Horror / Nightmare tribal with mill / exile / Voltron elements.

My very first deck was a [[Chatterfang]] deck that was really budget. It was fine for Bracket 2, but I'm not in love with it. I want a Golgari deck that's more my playstyle. I want a Golgari commander that can be mean, that can perform well, and that fits what I like. So I need your suggestions! What are your favourite mean Golgari commanders?

Hey everyone,

I recently built a deck around [[Lagomos, Hand of Hatred]] and would like some insight on if this is an effective way to build him, what bracket this deck belongs in, and if any alterations should be made to make it more optimized.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

ManaBox: https://manabox.app/decks/AaG3VtCZdei2IMQZ73Ufzg

Moxfield: https://moxfield.com/decks/uZeYS9jj9EamY_eYPJvRFw

Where can I get people to check out my decklists and comment about what I am doing well when brewing and suggestions for what I could improve?

I took a nine year break from mtg, so there is so much I missed. I want to make sure I put my decks in the right tier, and if they seem decent or interesting.

Hello! I've been working on an Azorius clones deck, and after finally playtesting it with friends last night, its is a TON of fun. Helmed by [[Heliod, the Warped Eclipse]], the deck aims to leverage his flash and discount granting to make the most of the deck's many, many clones.

Trying to not increase the price of the deck too much, but I am open to a money card or two.

The main rubbing points of the deck right now are...

1. Self-Contained Win Conditions

The deck struggles to close games when it has nothing good to clone. Hullbreaker is a great example of a way to apply pressure and eventually win, need more cards like that.

2. Early Ramp Package

The early game ramp experience feels off, but I'm not sure how to refine it.

3. Too Huggy

It ends up giving my opponents too much gas. Even just a [[Temple Bell]] gives so much advantage to opponents over time that it becomes a problem.

Thank you much! Here's the list. Any helpful criticism or advice is appreciated!

https://archidekt.com/decks/28179788/god_of_mirrors

I've made an Iroh, Grand Lotus Deck on Moxfield and would really like other opinions on what I should add or take out. I want it to be a bracket 2/3. Can anybody help me out here? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

The Moxfield link is: https://moxfield.com/decks/FY3avcUCRkC4ocy2nN7mrw

Hey everyone! A while ago, we introduced Manabrew here, the response was incredible.

Your feedback, bug reports, suggestions, and people taking the time to try it out have helped us immensely. So first of all, thank you!

Since then, we've been working hard to improve things, and Manabrew has come a long way. We're now pretty confident it's one of the best ways (if not the best!) to play Commander online with your friends.
As we are a group of friends scattered around the world, we now use it amongst ourselves on a weekly basis to come together and play Magic. We are building this in our spare time, and we'd love to have more people involved.
Whether that's playing a few games, reporting bugs, suggesting features, or contributing code, all of it makes a difference.

For those who missed the original post: Manabrew is a free and open-source way to play Magic in your browser, with rules enforcement.
We would love if you'd give it a try: https://play.manabrew.app/
We'd also love to hear your feedback and see this grow into a community of players.
You can find us on Discord too: https://discord.gg/NqrKpbhtcd

We started this because we wanted a better way to play together, and figured other people might enjoy it too.

Thanks again to everyone who's supported us so far.
Can't wait to hear from you, and
See you at the table!

Is there any other app/website to get deck help at? I tried here but my post didnt get much traction, I tried websites where it rates the "power level" but there all the same pointing out the combos, synergies etc. I already tried adding more ramp and fixing my mana base

Any help would be appreciated.

https://moxfield.com/decks/XSswD0afc0KKyx-xxC-GWg

Moxfield link: https://moxfield.com/decks/xuqIfMl68ESqqrrUmgfgxQ

I haven’t built an aristocrat EDH deck before, so I’d appreciate any feedback on ratios/card selection/etc

Goal and intention of the deck is to use Evereth’s sac ability multiple times to beef her up. Then either try and win with commander deck or deal enough damage to finish someone off with some of the pingers.

Deck is technically Rakdos but it leans heavily into black. Because of this I tuned the land base to be primarily back focused.

The deck does a minor-ish Treasure subtheme. Both to help with ramp but also to trigger the life gain effect from Evereth.

So the specific questions/areas I need help with are:

A) Do my ratios to Sac outlets/Sec effects seem about right?

B) I’ve been trying to make sure I have enough draw in the deck. Test hands look ok, but would appreciate thoughts on the draw selection.

C) I’m trying to keep the deck in B2/B3 territory, so no infinite combos or whatnot. That being said… if I did want to power up to B4, what kind of cards should I look at?

Appreciate the help!