How to Never Build a Good Commander Deck Again
Sometimes choosing what Commander to build next feels like an impossible decision. Kristen sits downwardly to work through the often complex decision making procedure past sharing some thoughts on how to break through the indecision paralysis.
Under the monitor are a seemingly random assortment of Magic cards, numbering in the multiple-hundreds. To any uninvested onlooker, it might seem a chaotic mess, in need of a good sort. To you lot? Well, information technology'due south actually quite organized. You lot meet, those iii larger piles? Each has a potential Commander on top, and it's the cards you've pulled out to brew with. That pile in the dorsum? That'southward stuff that's arrived in the mail that you need to sort through — though yous've already fished out the bang-up new removal spell for your existing Orzhov deck. Beyond the scattered tokens, prerelease spindowns and random sleeves, there's a pile to the side that looks a little messier. You tin say for certain those are offcuts from previous experiments, and they but demand to be put back. Simply that's a task for future-you, correct?
The scene I've just described is probably i you're intimately familiar with. It's what graces our workstations, often for weeks — or even months! — at a fourth dimension. Some of those piles of cards will proceed to course decks, but just as ofttimes, they'll sit down in that location, in the dark-green room, waiting for their fourth dimension to shine. Sadly, when it comes time to audience? They won't be what you lot're looking for, and they will be amalgamated with the pile marked "to sort". Eventually, you'll become frustrated and file information technology all away again.
It'south a familiar experience, sure. But why does it happen?
What Are Y'all Waiting For?
There are a few different reasons why ideas and decks end up accumulating in your dumping ground. The primary i for many people right now is that in that location is just way too much choice when it comes to what deck to build. We are absolutely spoiled for choice, and information technology'due south never been a ameliorate time to play Commander. With that choice, still, comes some amount of indecision. It feels like there'due south a new product every five seconds, and when a new piece of candy drops and so frequently, you're likely to end up in a food coma — passing upwards on the opportunity to exist creative by filling upwards on carbs.
Preview seasons are exciting — lord knows I'm prepare for Kamigawa: Neon Destiny already — but they can oftentimes distract from getting a deck congenital. At the tail terminate of 2020, I experienced a frustrating journey of deck building. I pulled out a pile of cards to build an Orzhov tokens deck with, and while it was originally meant to exist Regna and Krav, I was of a sudden excited about building Clerics with Orah, Skyclave Hierophant.
Before long, Commander Legends brought Thalisse, and and so my tokens deck that was already on the backburner of a sudden had a make new Commander to consider! Crawly. Well, until Kaldheim. Kaldheim brought some sugariness Angel and token back up with cards like Rampage of the Valkyries, and and so my deck edifice thought shifted somewhat. Should I practise traditional tokens? Or concentrate on Angel tokens? What if I built two? Which deck should I put Ophiomancer in?
That pile ended upwardly being dismantled when I moved house, and the deck went on the backburner again. Since Kaldheim, Black-White Tokens decks have received cool additions in nearly every gear up, and so have many other archetypes. It became apparent that my inaction was causing me to miss out on enjoying the deck. I never built information technology — and all the same haven't to this day — considering something else always came forth to occupy my fourth dimension or my passions.
Ultimately, overthinking is what puts the nail in this coffin, and beingness too preoccupied with what'due south coming down the road. The matter is, Magic cards are printed in such quantities that few cards from each gear up truly become unobtainable. Build your idea, even if information technology's not perfect. You can pick up other cards later on, and if new cards come out? You'll have a ameliorate idea of whether y'all want them or not if yous've actually built and tested the deck idea. That way, you're actually saving money.
Fast Fashion
The other prevailing barrier to building a deck is finding out that others in your playgroup accept already jumped on the thought. It's a natural reaction to exist balky to hype, or to feel like existence a contrarian. If everyone is already invested in making something happen, then maybe in that location's less value in you building information technology, besides. This is often felt more keenly in smaller playgroups with players that have fewer decks in their repertoire. While information technology's nice if everyone has a dozen decks to choose from to go along things fresh and match power levels, in practise, this tin be prohibitively expensive, which is an unfair bar to set for your friends.
Perhaps the choice not to build a deck is selfless rather than selfish, likewise. If a friend is super excited virtually an idea, you might want to simply get out them to information technology. Mayhap it'll brand them happy to experiment with an archetype or deck thought without the temptation of comparing their build to yours. Maybe you lot can beget to build more than decks due to a deeper collection, so you leave the easy-to-build deck to another player with fewer cards in their pool.
Regardless of how you approach this, what matters is that y'all're not actually one for picking the mainstream choice. The inevitable issue and so arises when your interest in a new Commander piques because it speaks to you on a personal level, and mainstream-be-damned, yous just have to build it.
On occasions similar this, I notice it helpful to truly ain that build. Make it yours with pet cards, make it yours by making it the best possible deck information technology can be. Maybe try an alternative strategy when it comes to building information technology, even. A skillful case is my recent deck edifice article on Tovolar, Dire Overlord. I espoused an approach that full-bodied more than on Wolves than Werewolves, a direction that tin distinguish the deck from the rest of the pack.
A Few Times I've Been Around That Track
Sometimes, a deck idea can feel fresh when you sit down to work it out, but later on you do the math, it can end up feeling a little too familiar. If yous're familiar with my way of Commander, you know that I love attacking. I accept a adept selection of gainsay-focused decks, from Wulfgar to Aurelia, from Edgar to Lyra, from Sigarda to Syr Gwyn. The deck I've built the almost is Voltron, and even in builds that don't aim for Voltron as a win condition — Elsha of the Infinite, Cosima, God of the Voyage — I cease up often having outs built in that tin can give me a Voltron win condition.
As such, brewing Adeline has been a bit of a journeying for me. It's very piece of cake to have her using Commander damage to terminate the game, and when I've added my favorite consistency cards like Sword of the Animist and Mask of Memory (amid others), the trounce of the deck ends upward feeling a little samey.
Some of that, no doubtfulness, comes down to the more narrow pick of "adept" cards that white has admission to. Just a lot of it invariably comes down to what I've establish to be empirically successful, and what cards I have in my collection. I still want to build her, especially because information technology lets me utilise some sweet cards like Dragon Throne of Tarkir, Intrepid Antagonist and Courtroom Street Denizen. She'southward merely been sitting around on my desk-bound a little too long, and the motivation to finish my deck edifice procedure merely isn't in that location.
At times like this, I find it good to check in with other people about their experiences playing a deck. Ask them how it plays, talk near your concerns, and ask them about any cool and interesting cards that they might recommend. If the deck does turn out a little similar to something you already have, so choosing to not play duplicate cards between decks can become a long way to making the deck experience unique. With Adeline, for instance, I don't need the likes of Blackblade Reforged or Sword of Vengeance. Stoneforge Masterwork and Haunted Cloak can do simply fine. While cards similar Archaeomancer's Map and Smothering Tithe might feel necessary nevertheless, I tin as well have fun with Strixhaven Stadium, Fey Steed and Crackdown. Just playing cards you don't play elsewhere can go a long fashion to making a deck feel attractive to build.
Making Do
Somewhat related to the previous points, what you have in your collection can actually accept a big impact on what you want — or can — reasonably build. If y'all've historically loved playing more than gainsay-focused decks but want to build Spellslinger or Artifact Matters, y'all might be short on staples. Nosotros can't possibly selection up every Magic product, and then if y'all missed precons in the by that can jump-first sure archetypes, you might find yourself sorely lacking certain cards. Precons are a keen manner to heave your drove, in that case, and an option I recommend if y'all're seeking ways to diversify the decks you play.
It can exist tempting to add everything to your handbasket earlier you've even built a deck, but more than people should consider testing their ideas and their decks before buying everything. By all means, pick upwards the key cards you know yous're going to play — I'm not suggesting for a 2nd to build sub-optimally. Only I would suggest that you take a wait at my article on the benefits and pitfalls of 1v1 Commander testing, as it goes in depth on how this approach can help y'all refine what your deck needs, and aid you lot to brand better researched and tested purchases.
On the flipside, building from your collection can often exist a liberating process. They say restrictions breed creativity (something I'll get onto more than afterward), and there's no better restriction than "cards I ain". Many players adopt this concept — some unknowingly — and it helps to keep gameplay fresh between decks. While a carte du jour like Teferi's Protection or Mana Drain is good in every deck, I ain only ane or two copies of each, and so I leave it at that. I run Semester's End in my Edgar deck (which cares virtually +i/+ane counters and Sorin planeswalkers, actually) and it's nice to have some variety.
Mo' Colors, Mo' Issues
I mentioned earlier that restrictions brood creativity. Information technology's a common enough concept at this signal that it doesn't bear laboring over, but there's i aspect of it that I practise desire to cover. Sitting down with a three-, four-, or even five-color Commander can give you way too many options to build from. With access to so many powerful Magic cards, it can go overwhelming to effort and cut down to 99 cards. And, in doing then, you might become disillusioned with a pile of "goodstuff" — at to the lowest degree, if that'south not what you're aiming for.
While there are e'er exceptions to rules — and in this instance, the exception is a V-Colour Goodstuff deck that's piece of cake to throw together because it'southward goodstuff — my point is rather that trimming downwards your options can make it easier to be artistic, and harder to rely on crutches like pure value.
Fewer colors isn't the just style to help zone in on a decklist. Brewing with companions has become pretty popular recently, with my good friend TheHermitDruid popularizing Keruga. While that deck might be more powerful than yous're later, information technology does show how inventiveness can be born from restrictions. Fewer colors, companions, tribal cards, cards you ain… it doesn't actually matter what the restriction is, simply lean into one.
Building for your playgroup is also a scenario in which restrictions present themselves, and in my experience, the best way to restrict yourself is to consider the commander you're playing. While a commander like Korvold, Fae-Cursed Rex might seem great for a Jund Food deck, it might exist too potent for your friends' more durdly decks. Removing consistency from the control zone can exercise a lot to temper a deck's power and the blazon of game it'll accept.
Besides, yous might observe a commander similar Vadrik super fun, but find that he's winning too rapidly for some of the tables you play at. In that scenario, I encourage y'all to build the deck that you lot want to build, rather than trying to arbitrarily power information technology downwards by removing individual cards, or tutors, or fast mana. All you'll end upwardly with in that location is an inconsistently powerful deck, which is frequently treated the aforementioned past opponents every bit if information technology were tuned to the max — considering some games, information technology'll feel like it. Instead, exist true to your vision, and just accept it might not e'er have a table to play at. Either encourage your friends to build something to play confronting it, or diversify your playgroups so you lot tin enjoy the best of both worlds. Trying to straddle the line between ability levels is more trouble than it's worth, and an unnecessary hurdle you don't need.
Inspiration on the Cutting Room Floor
The dwelling house of half-forgotten ideas and bursts of creativity, the cutting room flooring when it comes to building Commander decks is a place where dreams go to die. But it'southward likewise a place where yous can rediscover an idea and fall back in beloved with it, or even pick up a cool synergy for a different build. It'due south a place where nuggets of gold can be found, and a place that you'll get abroad from somewhen.
It'south besides a identify you should tidy up. So you should probably go on that earlier your next package arrives. 😉
Ultimately, I want y'all to be able to selection something that resonates with you. It doesn't matter if it's popular. It doesn't thing if a new carte or commander might come forth in the future. Information technology doesn't thing if it won't be perfect the first time, or if it might suck a bit. The beauty of the format is in how you can make something personal to yous, and that's what often gets left in the grit when we are distracted both by the process and what'southward around the corner.
Let me know your deck building stories on Twitter.
Kristen is a lover of both Limited and Commander, and tin can most often be found championing the Boros Legion when called upon to sit down and shuffle upward. As a member of the Commander Informational Group, Kristen lives and breathes Commander. When she'south not playing Magic, she works as a freelance writer and editor in the UK.
Source: https://blog.cardkingdom.com/when-choosing-what-commander-to-build-gets-tough/
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