Commander Deck Help

[Penny Bozic]

Fromtime to time I see people create threads about "How do you build a commander deck?" and so I thought I would create this resource thread - the aim of which is not about specific deck help but where people can share more generic advice about how they approach deckbuilding. Please also note that while poeple can post about cEDH here, that is not the primary purpose of the thread (please indicate that if you're posting about it to avoid confusion).

Win Condition - It's surprising how many decks actually forget this. But every deck should have a way of closing the game out. And not just "I've got some creatures, I guess I can turn sideways with them?". An actual strategy. If it's combo, then have a game ending combo (not just gaining infinite life or mana). If it's combat, then is it voltron damage, tokens, battlecruier? Once you have a strategy selected, ensure that you're adding cards to the deck which actually help move this forwards.

Card Advantage - This covers both tutors and draw. While most tutors are one-for-one (or sometimes less than one-for-one), it's important to have a way to get to the cards you need to win the game. Even 75% decks (i.e. decks specifically designed without tutors) should be running some kind of card draw to stop the game from stagnating. A good mix of repeatable card draw, one off card draw and tutors is important.

Ramp - Is a lot more nuanced than most people realise. From "how much ramp do I run?" to "What is that ramp?", there are a lot of ways to build a deck. The first rule about ramp is that there's no hard and fast you-must-do-this. But realistically your ramp should be based on the both the average CMC of your deck and its distribution, i.e. bigger spells means you need more ramp. The other thing to remember is that not all ramp is equal - big ramp spells (ones that create a large step change in your available mana moving forward) are good, but often times cost more to play. Cheaper ramp doesn't have as much single card impact, but can accelerate your early game allowing you to do more, sooner. If possible, splitting ramp between card types (mana dorks, mana rocks, land fetching, etc.) if possible is good as it provides your deck with more resilience. Similarly, balancing ramp spells between cheaper and more powerful effects is important. Though typically I would recommend leaning towards cheaper spells with more of them.

Removal - It's super important to have enough removal to make it effective. Having one kill spell in your deck is basically the same as having zero, if you can't consistenly enough hit some sort of removal then it's no good. The same goes for countermagic. Similarly with ramp, you having a mix of both efficient removal (1-2 mana if possible) and more flexible removal (for example the ability to destroy/exile any nonland permanent) is good. You don't want to always pay 5 mana for a kill spell, but you also don't want to lock yourself into very niche removal. It's also important to ensure that you have removal for multiple card types (only having creature rmoval to be hosed by an artifact sucks) and having some kind of mass removal is generally a good idea. You don't need a huge amount of mass removal when coupled with card advantage.

Have any advice you want to share here? Please feel free to. I would ask that people please try to keep advice more on the generic side and that poeple refrain from posting decklists here. Similarly, if you have a question then please ask but try to keep it more generic (also no decklists) as the point of this thread is to be a generic how-to.

I see quite often decks select a Commander, but the cards within the +99 or +98 (or even +97 if you're a madlad) have almost no true synergy with what their Commander wants. For example, if you want to build Basandra, Battle Seraph then you need to understand her personal goal: "Players can not cast spells during combat". The best way to build her is to lock yourself in as much combat as possible, preventing anyone from interacting with you. Cram as many additional combat spells and abilities into the deck and ensure you are hitting 3, 4, hell even 7 combat phases per turn and win before you reach the end step.

Want to build Horde of Notions? Ask yourself: If I am able to play Elementals from my graveyard, how do I get them into there? Answer: Discard and mill. Dump your library ASAP to play everything. Your graveyard becomes one massive tutor.

Please. Build around your Commander at all times. That's how you'll win. It's also how you'll have the most fun. Why is that? Because your Commander is realistically the only card you can cast as often as you'd like in the game. If you build around your Commander, no card you draw into will ever truly be a dead card in hand, because you'll always have some sort of synergy you can build into.

That said, remember that you won't always have access to your commander, and that you must be able to play without them. If your deck can't function without its commander, you'd better be packing the best protection package in the universe. Or just make sure the internal synergy of your deck is good enough to carry on alone.

Okay. Let's see. We know we want to get tokens out, and we see his activated ability is not a tap ability. So we should take advantage of this and have an immense amount of mana rocks. Yes these are artifacts, but what we want is to be able to activate his ability 3, 4 or even 5 times per turn. We need the mana, so we need the slots.

Next, we know we want enchantments. Let's look at what type of tokens he creates: They are both and tokens, so enchantments such as Bad Moon and Honor of the Pure work beautifully as early-game curve pieces, or late-game fast plays. Then you also have Righteous War which will hold synergy with both colors.

But all things should revolve around Daxos pumping up his tokens. True Conviction, Whip of Erebos, Ethereal Absolution, Brave the Sands, Commander's Insignia, Death Pit Offering (Wonderful after a wrath, or early game), Etchings of the Chosen will protect Daxos... and these are just pump spells. There's so much more you can have going on in there, such as: Anointed Procession, Divine Visitation, Song of the Worldsoul, Sigil of the Empty Throne... you can combo Conspiracy with Endless Ranks of the Dead... if you give them lifelink, through the plethora of enchantments that do so, you have Necropotence, Greed and Erebos, God of the Dead who all serve as draw engines...

When i build a commander deck i only focus on function and timing.

Functions that interact with each other will naturally develop synergy, while focusing on timing will naturally develop a healthy mana curve.

To build i play out a perfect game in my head then i lay out what cards i played in what order i played them in and use that as my base to build around.

Over the years i have developed two templets that support my needs

removal: about 10 to 12 sources of targeted removal or counterspells and at least 2 board wipes. P.s. try to find removal on cards that coexist with your deck idea.for instance, if your building an Elf deck then run Reclamation Sage over Filigree Fracture.

enablers and enhancers: find cards that make the deck hum. Cards that lean into the deck idea. Cards that make your cmdr better. For instance Selvala, Explorer Returned really likes cards that untap her like Instill Energy. Cards that pair well with multiple cards in the deck, synergy.

test: play the deck and find what's working and find what's not working. If you play a game and a certain card sits in your hand for several turns and you continue to not use it. Consider it for another card and make the change. Testing will help you fine tune your deck and build a deck that can win and have fun doing it.

Look for overlap: this is the last part of improvements to the deck. Find cards in the deck that only hit one part of what the deck is doing and look for a card to replace it with that does the same thing but also does other things as well. For instance if your mono black vampire deck has Caged Sun try replacing it with Nirkana Revenant.Anyway I have never put together something like this, but I was trying to keep it short and simple. If I would add more I would but maybe next time.

legendofa advice is never ending and so is my posting. Lol

The only things that mater about a commander deck is that you enjoy playing it and that your on par in your meta. (Meaning you deck fits in with the friends you play with)

Everything else is just hype

Yeah, the deck I have in mind isn't fun yet. I think it's got potential, but it's not ready for my local meta at the level I'm looking for yet. Nothing too powerful, I'm not going competitive, but it's slower and clunkier than I want.

Building isn't a one-and-done, you should always be testing. It's really ideal to build one deck and play it a whole lot. You'll find out real quick which cards seemed a good idea but aren't, which are hidden gems, and what the hidden synergies are that you want to amplify. You'll learn whether you are able to draw cards consistently and whether or not your mana and ramp actually work. If you are mana screwed every time, it isn't just bad luck! It isn't about just adding cards when a shiny new set comes out- it's about really knowing what your deck is good at, what it needs, and what you enjoy. You can't learn that without playing it a lot.

Case in point, one of the guys in my playgroup played the same deck every week for a year and a half before starting his second deck. And darn, he got so good at it. He was running synergies and combos that even I didn't see coming, and we'd think we had cut him down to size and he would win out of nowhere. His deck didn't start out this good- he learned it really well and made the changes he needed to. Meanwhile, other friends would swap around precons here and there with a few janky cards going into and out of them for good measure, and enjoyed far less success. Every game is a rehearsal for the next, and as far as decks go, you'll be a happier and better player if you go deep before you go wide.

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