EDH 101: How to Build a Commander Deck From Scratch
It helps players evaluate their strengths, weaknesses, and overall performance. Engage in gameplay for insights on deck dynamics, mana efficiency, and strategy interaction. Players use playtesting to identify strong and weak cards, improving the deck’s performance. This process aligns the deck with the player’s vision for optimal performance.
Baral provides card selection and Rowan lets us deal damage. You can ask them what about your deck was problematic. Then, if they say your counters were too good, you can tune your removal package to better suit the table, swapping out Force of Will for a Cancel.
How many pieces of ramp should be in a commander deck?
The specific rule for commander damage doesn’t specify that an opponent’s commander had to deal the damage, just that a specific commander needs to deal damage. If you somehow take 21 or more damage from your own commander, you still lose the game. Keep track of your results, ask for feedback, and experiment with different cards. This way, you can create a well-tuned and optimized deck that can hold its own in any playgroup.
Lands, Ramp, Removal, and Card Advantage
I hope I have helped you with this content, which despite being comprehensive is still just the tip of the iceberg. I look forward to your feedback in the comments and would like to know which template you would use to build your own Commander decks. I love playing Commander, but I’m also a big fan of Jazz music. I played it a lot when I was in High School and College. One defining characteristic of Jazz is that in the middle of just about every song is a section where the musicians can make up a solo. These solos are both what make Jazz so amazing and so tough to master.
A game has to have some standard rules, and “each turn, draw one card, and play at most one mana” are good natural rules that provide good pacing for a game. Besides, as you probably know, there are many ways to draw more than one card in Magic the Gathering. 103.7a In a two-player game, the player who plays first skips the draw step (see rule 504, “Draw Step”) of their first turn.
Or, for example, it can be a card that allows you to cast the top card of your library, like Bolas’s Citadel. Before you build your deck, ensure you clearly know what you want your deck to do. This will help you choose the right cards and create a cohesive game plan. For example, you might build a deck around a specific theme or mechanic.
When building a Commander deck, consider what kind of strategy you want to pursue. Consider a card with red in its color identity for a fast and aggressive strategy. Red spells are popular for their direct damage, haste, and combat tricks. Consider a blue or black color for controlling and disrupting your opponents’ plans.
Blue spells are great for countering spells and drawing cards. But black spells can destroy creatures and manipulate hands and graveyard resources. The number of suggested target removal cards are 6-12 with a range of 8-10 to be more popular and more to my personal liking. You never want to have very few removal options but on the other hand on the commander format the target removal is not as important as in 1v1 games because of the multiplayer factor.
Balancing low-cost spells for early-game interactions is essential. Attention to the mana curve helps use resources efficiently and prevent bottlenecks. It enables players to navigate Commander battles with finesse. Commander decks have to deal with building around a specific legendary creature. Players choose commanders matching their playstyle and build decks that synergize. To craft a fun Commander deck, players must know and handle these limits.
The number of protection spells you run varies much more than the other categories that we’ve talked about. If your deck really relies on the commander to get the job done, you’re going to want a lot of cards that protect it. If your deck gets shut down by a specific type of card, you’ll want mtg decks to run ways to protect against those.
Standard: Simic Tempo – Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide
Board wipes can clear everything away at once and give you another chance to start over. Same as with target removal flexible board wipes are better. Even better are one-sided board wipes that clear only the board of your opponents and leave you in a lead position in the game. Building your deck can be one of the best and most enjoyable parts of magic the gathering along with actually playing a game with your friends.
The cards above are generic examples for each category, with a focus on being good budget options. This guide aims for a casual power level, at or slightly above the preconstructed commander decks power level. Math and personal experience indicate to me that you’ll want to start with ramp cards and tweak from there. It’s also important to consider what you’re trying to ramp into.