Welcome to the the Sunday Spice Bazaar, because one day wasn't enough!
Is your commander list a bit boring? Need some quick ideas to spice it up? Have some spice of your own? Please use this thread to ask about and share the spiciest of cards to your hearts content.
If you're looking for staples, check out Playing With Power's list of staples for the most common staples in the top decks.
Tldr I think the foil version of my precon got me kicked for cheating.
I've played magic for years but always with friends or coworkers. Recently with people moving, getting married, changing jobs we haven't had a 4 stack this year so I tried to go yesterday to my local card shop and play with strangers for the first time. Not sure what power level is played at the card shop I brought several decks 5,6,7,8 precon jank and pauper. After finding a group we agreed to play precons. I love my blast from the past dr who precon so I replaced every card with there foil versions. Every card is the same as the original box just foil cause I'm a magpie. We start I rolled low so I go last and dispite my commander on the board no one noticed it's foil till my turn when I play a foil island and foil k9 at that point the table gets mad at me saying I'm cheating we agreed to play precons. I explain it's all the same cards and show them my deck list even my hand trying to convince them it's the same cards as the precon. Well im telling them this one gets up and fetches an employee. The employee walks over says I've been accused of cheating and asked the other two at the table to confirm. Before I can explain they say I did cheat and the employee kicks me out.
I honestly don't know what I've done wrong. I know I'm autistic so I miss a lot of social rules but I didn't cheat. I had a precon like agreed I had another player cut my deck, I didnt lean over to look at another players hand, i drew 7 cards at the start, I didn't even get past my first main phase. I know the stigma of Smelly players so I showered before going. I had no proxys only official cards. My sleeves were dr who sleeves nothing offensive or lewd. My deck box is a green quiver so nothing offensive there. There's only 2 card shops in a 30 min drive range from me so I don't want to get kicked out from the only other card shop near me so for card shop regulars can you please tell me what I did wrong. Are foil cards not allowed or has the precon I used been banned.
Thank you all for any help or insight you have for me.
My brother and I bought the Inalla and Kalamax precons a few years back to play against each other, and we’re looking to get back into the game with some new decks for variety, but I’m facing a glaring issue.
After doing some “market research” I’m finding that preconstructed commander decks from even two years ago have skyrocketed in price. It’s my understanding that the Standard format is more or less dead and Wizards is focusing on EDH now, but can popularity really be driving these prices up by so much? Or do they just not print enough decks? I don’t really understand what’s going on.
I used to think that the precons were a good way for getting a decently competitive experience for a reasonable price, but an overwhelming majority of the decks that I look up from recent years are simply no longer worth the asking price. And yes, I understand that these decks contain valuable cards, but I’m not a reseller so that’s useless to me. I just want to play the game.
How do I find precons that aren’t double or triple the MSRP? What other ways can I build commander decks for a more fair price?
EDIT: To clarify, I am fully aware that the Starter Commander Decks are not the baseline for other precons. I know that the average precon MSRP is $50. I’m just curious as to why precons from recent years (i.e. LOTR precons from one year ago) are sitting at $80+. I’m also seeing many decks older than 1-2 years ago that are easily sitting within $100+.
EDIT: Sorry for asking, I guess
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I tried Commander for the first time today and I don't understand how it is supposed to work as a casual format without rules in place to govern what players can / can't do. Since I'd never played before and I like card draw I thought Arcades would be the best fit. Across both games, 100% of the times that I played Arcades he was either countered or removed before my next turn. 7 times across the 2 games I played, one person even chucked a Force of Will at him. Can anything be done to prevent Commander from being a 3v1? I certainly don't see diplomacy as a way to fix situations like this because I hadn't attacked anyone nor did I have the top board position. In 3 of the cases it was against the player eliminating Arcades' best interest to eliminate him, and by using up the spot removal / counter they ultimately lost.
Also, based on the comments, I should mention that all 3 decks were at roughly the same power level. If I had to rank all 4 decks based on power I'd have it a
2a) [[Arcades, the Strategist]] (Mine)
2b) [[Firja, Judge of Valor]]
3) [[Zedruu the Greathearted]]
Just came back to the game and man, it really feels like casual is dead these days. I get upgrading a bit to make your deck more consistent but it feels like every card released is a serious threat on the table. It has to be answered immediately or you will be very far behind. Maybe my LGS's are unique but everyone I've been playing against seems to generate tons of value within just a few turns. Anyone else feel the same?
I’m looking to jam as much 4 cmc ramp in my golgari deck as possible (I’m cooking don’t judge). I tried to look online, but there nothing specifically for 4 cmc and I was hoping you folks could help
If anyone is wondering it’s a fairly budget [[Glissa Sunslayer]] that ties to do the fallowing: Turn 1: mana dork. Turn 2: Glissa. Turn 3: [[explosive vegetation]] (or similar effect). Turn 4: Seven drop.
I appreciate your time
I've been playing a pretty standard Minn, Wily Illusionist deck but I'm getting a little bored of it. What would be a good commander that I could convert this deck into that also draws a million cards and would have a lot of crossover with all the blue card draw? Looking include things like nezahal, toothy, teferis ageless, consecrated sphinx, psychosis crawler, etc. Thanks for any suggestions!
Basically, from a power level and playability standpoint, what do you think about the MH3 precons? How do they fare against the top precons of the last 12 months? I've been mainly collecting precons that play well such as Velociramptor, Party Time etc so looking for something with a decent power level.
With the inevitable deluge of Eldrazi decks coming down the pike, am I crazy to be putting [[Break the Ice]] into all of my black decks?
Sure, it's MLD adjacent. But they're playing Eldrazis, so... get wrecked?
In the event there isn't an Eldrazi deck at the table, this hits a bunch of other busted lands: [[academy ruins]] and its ilk, [[ancient tomb]], [[field of the dead]], [[inventor's fair]], [[nykthos, shrine to nyx]], [[phyrexian tower]], [[thespian's stage]], [[urza's saga]]
Worst case, you can always pop a [[reliquary tower]], [[rogue's passage]], [[war room]], pain land [[adarkar wastes]], filter land [[mystic gate]], or whatever niche utility land their deck wants.
Hot take or new auto include?
When looking at the average mana value of your deck on moxfield, it gives you a number with and without lands. When others mention their average mana value, which are they usually referring to? Also, what do you all pay attention to when looking at your own decks’ average mana value?
Hello there guys and gals!
I've been playing Edh for a couple of months to a year now (been playin' mainly +1/+1 counters or wither/blossom decks) and I'm finding myself confident enough to try other archetypes.
I'd like to asemble my first spellslinger deck - suggestions on begginer friendly commanders? I thought about buidling a Vadrik, Astral Archmage Storm deck. Any ideas?
So i know Ulaleks ability is looking at the stack for when you copy a creature, but the part it says about copying all other activated and triggered abilities I control confused me. Is that too referring to only what's on the stack? Like If I have Eldrazi Displacer down on the field, his ability will only copy if I use it or since it is saying to copy all abilities I control is that saying I just get to do it? Idk why the wording is just confusing the hell out of me.
Besides the Kenshin/YYH deck II've posted about somewhat recently, i'm working on a reskinned [[Satoru Umezawa]] deck for a different friend as a surprise, with the focus being on his favorite show Naruto. I did consider Yuriko, but my read on my friend is he won’t like the playstyle.
Immediate disclosure, im working through the Naruto manga as part of this gift for him to get a better idea. I do not claim to be knowledgeful and am seeking guidance.
This is not a commander or tribe I have played before, so I’d like some suggestions on cards to cut/keep. I’d like the deck to be strong enough to have tolerance for “bad” cards that fit the show well.
Satoru being a creature-heavy deck works out great for a character lineup the size of the what’s in Naruto. I can use supporting characters, young versions of the cast, and lesser villains to the unblockable creatures. Major villains and powerhouses from the show are great for filling out the big mana creatures that will ninjutsu in.
However, as I have to play against this deck, I don’t want it to be oppressive, hence the lack of every Eldrazi titans except one Kozilek.
2. any characters that seem like a no-brainer to assign to a specific card? Any characters that seem like jokes that don’t deserve a card?
3. any ideas on cool jutsu, items, locations, techniques from the show that would be worth making into artifacts, sorceries, and land cards. For instance, someone suggested [[Rite of Replication]] for a shadow clone jutsu card.
Tentative Decklist: https://www.moxfield.com/decks/ANJRqEVBm0WfS74pkzA5eA my sideboard has cards I felt borderline on and had to cut to reach 100, while considering was cards cut earlier on.
Spreadsheet with tentative assignments: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dPRvUM7IFyz-Yp22z35-CoaQzcCncxAm1GG8yyIL-T4/edit?usp=sharing
For the curious, some of the first pass alters can be seen here: https://www.reddit.com/r/mpcproxies/comments/1d68ash/start_of_narutosatoru_edh_deck/
When I build, I've found that there are two kinds of decks: those I struggle to find cards to add, because the idea and strategy are so tight that it's very clear to me what goes in and what goes out, and those decks to which I would like to add way too many cards, and cutting to 99 becomes a confusing ordeal.
For me reanimator decks are in the latter category. I love the graveyard, and I love jund colors, so I found myself happy when looking at the new [[Coram, the Undertaker]].
I decided to build a deck around him. I thought the deck should have a good number of sizeable creatures to give him some zing. Then some reanimation spells that I can use when he's not around, or to cheat big stuff for little mana. And of course, since I'm running a bunch of big fat critters, I'd need a hefty ramp package. And don't forget a lot of draw spells, so that I don't get stuck with all that mana and nothing to do with it. Then some removal, of course, and a couple of board wipes. Given the nature of the deck I'll want to play a bunch of mill cards too, that goes without saying. And finally some fun cards that feel like they belong, even if they don't fit those previously mentioned categories.
And just like that I have over 120 cards.
Maybe I'm being not focused enough, or maybe I've been giving too much space to some categories that don't need to be so present.
Even if not specifically Coram, how would you build a reanimator deck?
Here's the (still way too long) list, if anyone is interested. https://www.moxfield.com/decks/fYAsR3Yv4EGyrE04pHV-jg
Are there any other cards like [[Silent Arbiter]] and [[Dueling Grounds]] that restrict the number of blockers? I'm trying to create a token army that can get through (I know there are other ways but I really like this effect if there is enough support for it). For right now I'm looking Naya colors but I'm willing to change that to get this effect if it is other colors instead.
https://www.moxfield.com/decks/WKunsfWFEESr1aPEXNJ6Wg
Disclaimer: I KNOW that Omo, vesuva and other cards already have a canon lore. I do not care about that, the lore I decided to go with for my deck is the one I created last night while high lol. Also, the deck is ~30 upgrades of the precon, with no expensive cards, should be easy to build if you bought it.
So! First of all, a small story on the lore of the deck:
Omo is the queen of pacifist plain where she, her followers and nature live in perfect harmony. A mystical land where the only humans present are those that fully embraced her way of living, among beasts and knowleadge of everything.
They are pacifists, baring a few exceptions:
1- The queen herself will eventually go on diplomatic missions on other planes trying to spread her way of living.
2- Theres a grumpy frog among her followers that likes to pick up fights even when told not to.
Apart from those cases, no creature in the deck is going to pose any threat to the oposing planes. No matter how big it is, they preffer to live in peace, studying and living as god intended. Even the giant hydras, elemental's and giants decided attacking is for those with weak purposes
BUT THERES A PROPHECY THAT WILL CHANGE IT ALL! It is said that once Omo and her follower's gather the understanding of EVERYTHING, the doomsday will come, and all other planes are going to face an event of catastrophic revelations. Vesuva will rise against the sinners and lay upon them enought knowleadge to obliterate their minds or the beasts will take their true aspects and terraform everything arround.
Translating: The deck does not need to attack unless it is to get a trigger. Your only focus is to gather ALL THE MANA and ALL THE CARDS to end the game in a so over the top way that your oponents are going to be glad to witness said wonder.
And how we get there? Let me break down some key aspects of the deck:
1- LAND TUTORS: We have 7 of them because cloudpost is the key of it all, and we need a BUNCH of them. The deck can easily assemble 3 to 6 at once! The original, [[vesuva]], [[thespian stage]], [[moritte]], [[copy land]], [[replication technique]] are our cloudposts and should be searched ASAP. [[deserted temple]] also may count as one.
They also do double duty since we have so many utility lands that you can get basically everything you need with them.
2- RAMP: The heavy lifting is done by the posts, so all the pieces in this category are either early game acelerators like [[azusa]] and [[dryad of the elisian grove]] or ways to explode on mana like [[magus of the candelabra and [[mana reflection]].
3- DRAW: The deck runs only a few pieces of interaction and a bunch of lands, so instead of drawing a bit each time we do it in waves. I also tried to keep it thematic, using books, temples, powerfull rituals performed by cultists and the followers themselves. [[drown in dreams]], [[stroke of genious]] and [[folios of fancies]] also serve as wincons for the ending day.
4-BLOCKERS: All creatures in the deck should be viewed as blockers with bonus lines of text (some of those lines also hide the doomsday). I'll not talk about each of them, but their purpose should be clear once you read it.
5-THE END: The best part! The deck is designed to create wincons so absurd and exagerated that its going to be impossible to not be amazed and join the cult after the first game. Here are some of them:
[[Drown in dreams]] with X~60 copied with [[Sunken Palace]] Is going to bring knowleadge of EVERYTHING to our opponents. This is to much to bear and they will enter a catatonic state, unable to continue fighting.
[[Dopplegang]] and [[Aggresive Biomancy]] Proves that the physical body is man-made ilusion, and the true nature of conscience goes beyong a single husk of meat.
[[Hydra Broodmaster]] will cause a rumbling that would leave Eren and his titans ashamed.
[[March from Velis Veil]] is the result of years of torment upon the land, making it take form and take over whats theirs.
You can also mix and match to make fun stories for your group. Maybe they awakened Marit lage and her sisters from their slumber (her copied with rite of replication should probably be enought to win). Or in the end, roaches ([[scute swarm]]) are really the superior lifeform and will inherit the paradise.
Once you get ~60 mana and half of your deck you will be able to find multiple ways to show your friends how amazing this cult is.
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: The deck goes very deep and has a BUNCH of cute lines using basically all cards present, but mostly the multiclones. Using march from velis veil to make your lands into tatyova so you can refill and gain some life. [[Timeless witness]] goes great with out bounce-wipes, Moritte is a great cloudpost, but can also be a second azusa to make sure i'll be hitting your 6th landdrop of the turn. Even replicating Omo to get a burst of counters is valid.
I've playtest the deck a dozen of times on moxfield and everytime something new appears.
I decided to not include extra turns or haste enablers like [[concordant crossroads]] just so my friends have time to appreciate the end and maybe fight against it, after all, once we have 30 30/30 hydras on board we already won right? This also leaves you open to say before game "I'll do big dumb stuff, but I need a full rotation after assembling the apocalypse to win" But you do you!
Maybe the deck needs some fogs and ways to stay alive, but trust me, I've heard so many people say "What Eusebio is doing looks so fun and cute I'll leave this piece on board to see what this doomsday he is talking about is.
I was hanging out with my wife and brewing an EDH deck. She jokingly asked "Did you add a slute card?". I being funny said "lets see what card that is" and to my shock it actually spit out a card...
Did anyone else know about this? Are there any other cards with "alternative" search names?
[[slute]]
I’ve seen a ton of different interpretations like Nine Fucking Sol Rings, but I love Eldrazi nonsense and I want to play around with it. Does all spells I control include all my creatures on the field, as well as artifacts and all that, or are artifacts ruled similar to lands? Very new to Magic if you couldn’t tell.
I haven’t played magic in like a decade. But my sons want to learn, they are 6 and 8. I’d play with and help the 6 year old.
What are some affordable, prebuilt commander decks, that aren’t super complex?
Maybe creature focused decks would be easiest for them to learn?
This is a general MTG thing, but given EDH's casual nature comes up more I'd say. Not too frequently, but enough, I run into people casting a permanent with a targeted ETB effect (say like [[oblivion ring]], but announcing the targeting while casting it rather than once it's entered. My obvious response when targeting my stuff is "well in that case I'll counter it," but a few times someone has gotten upset since it's an ETB ability and it's technically already been cast...but when they themselves didn't leave any time to respond and announced the target mid-cast, it's sort of like they shared what should have been private info until it hit the board and are upset at other players about it.
Just curious others' thoughts on this, I don't like leaving folks salty at a table but I'm also not inclined to suffer consequences due to someone else not using as much strategy as they could have. Is it on them to clarify "does this resolve?" prior to targeting, or am I being sort of a butt?
Deathtouch commander deck ideas
I’ve got a loose idea of what I want to build but I’m not sure of a commander or if the idea is viable enough so any suggestions of cards, colors, commanders would be great! I was thinking about utilizing small powered creatures with Deathtouch so that people will be more inclined to take the little hits of damage and then having cards that have abilities triggered when an opponent is dealt damage, like I can draw a card or little things like that and then maybe having cards like viridian longbow so I can have those small Deathtouch creatures deal damage to an opponent’s creatures without having to be blocked. I know that toxic would probably be a likely suggestion but I feel like it would just become a proliferate deck and I’m just not super interested in that.
I was thinking of black and green but maybe there’s better colors or a third color that would open up some more cards? Any suggestions would be great or just flat out telling me this isn’t a viable idea lol thanks!
Posted thisna few days ago got great feedback and I think this is the deck. Again this is my first mill deck always been a little intimidated by them but I Went in on the mill. It's fun haha...... Only thing is my early game before I get Disa out can be a little tricky as I don't really want to mill until she is out. So any and all suggestions are welcome I love to see people different takes things.
[[Azlask, the Swelling Scourge]], the backup commander of the mh3 eldrazi precon, is genuinely baffling to me. There's a weird internal tension in the design that makes it feel incredibly awkward. The experience counter portion of the effect seems to want Azlask to sit in play, accumulating counters and pumping your board again and again, and also actively wants your spawns/scions to be sacrificed for mana. Meanwhile, the annihilator side of the effect wants you to keep as many of those tokens around as you can so you can wipe your opponent's boards away, and makes azlask a KoS commander. It's so intensly KoS it may as well be a sorcery, so sitting out and collecting experience counters is impossible. Plus, annihilator is a deeply divisive mechanic. Loads of players outright hate it and will either refuse to play against a deck with annihilator in it, or let you play but then hate you out of the game for it. This whole design is just strange, and leaves me wondering what on earth the design team was thinking.
(There's also the fact that, weird design tension aside, this random eldrazi we've never heard of before has better flavor as an eldrazi commander than the combination of ulamog and kozilek, but thats a whole seperate complaint to make.)
What are going to be some auto-include upgrades to the pre-con? I feel like the finishers are great but its missing a lot of ramp IMO.
I also can't believe that [[From Beyond]] wasn't included.
Cards I was looking into were [[Cryptic Gateway]] , [[Defense of the heart]] , [[Vile Aggregate]]
I am building a [[Ziatora, The Incinerator Deck]] and I need help. I want it to be relatively high power to keep up with my other pods. but I am willing to remove some of the other pieces to make it function without Ziatora on the field.
I saw a lot of deck techs with Ziatora and they either go all in on the Ziatora sac strategy without much protection or not very much instant interaction to deal with other problems on the board.
I want to make the deck relatively powerful with a sac theme but one that doesn't entirely revolve around Ziatora. I added cheap creatures that have major downsides mainly for Ziatora to sac, and a couple others that can perform without Ziatora, kind of like a few sleeper commanders. I was thinking of adding [[Exsanguinate]] and [[Torment of Hailfire]] methods to close out the game but I need a second opinion.
TLDR: I want to build a med-high power Ziatora deck that doesn't depend on Ziatora but maintains the same theme and I need suggestions/outside opinions on what to add and remove.
Here is the current decklist that I am cooking with: https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/ziatora-get-doinked/