So, my bud Cassidy said it was okay for me to hijack a post of his blog to discuss my view on deck building… and maybe a future post or two on another matter I find pressing.
The most common question I get when introducing people to EDH (or “Commander” if you will), is about deck construction. How do you build a deck with such a huge pool of cards? What’s a good general? I give the same advice time and again. Go back to basics. When in doubt, look up a classic deck that you think is cool and fun and build it out into a 100 card pile of awesome. Here’s an Example:
The most common question I get when introducing people to EDH (or “Commander” if you will), is about deck construction. How do you build a deck with such a huge pool of cards? What’s a good general? I give the same advice time and again. Go back to basics. When in doubt, look up a classic deck that you think is cool and fun and build it out into a 100 card pile of awesome. Here’s an Example:
LANDS
Ancient Tomb
Barren Moor
Blinkmoth Nexus
Bojuka Bog
Boseiju, Who Shelters All
Cabal Coffers
Caves Of Koilos
Dark Depths
Evolving Wilds
Fetid Heath
Flagstones of Trokair
Godless Shrine
Isolated Chapel
Marsh Flats
Maze of Ith
Nomad Stadium
Orzhov Basilica
Salt Flats
Secluded Steppe
Scrubland
Terramorphic Expanse
Thawing Glaciers
Urborg, Tomb Of Yawgmoth
Vivid Meadow
6 Plains
8 Swamp
Spells
Coldsteel Heart
Crucible of Worlds
Expedition Map
Orzhov Signet
Scroll Rack
Sol Ring
Specter's Shroud
Sword of Feast and Famine
Sword of Fire and Ice
Worn Powerstone
Land TaxNecrogen Mists
Oppression
Phyrexian Arena
Phyrexian Reclamation
Oblation
Mortify
Swords To Plowshares
Vampiric Tutor
Elspeth Tirel
Karn Liberated
Liliana of the Veil
Liliana Vess
Sorin Markov
Delirium Skeins
Demonic Tutor
Catastrophe
Martial Coup
Nightmare Void
Reverse the Sands
Sever the Bloodline
Syphon Mind
Unburial Rites
Unnerve
Vindicate
Yawgmoth's Will
Creatures
Baneslayer Angel
Eight-And-A-Half-Tails
Hero of Bladehold
Kor Duelist
Mirran Crusader
Mother of Runes
Ranger of Eos
Serra Ascendant
Stoneforge Mystic
Sun Titan
Weathered Wayfarer
Bloodgift Demon
Cabal Interrogator
Cunning Lethemancer
Desolation Angel
Graveborn Muse
Hypnotic Specter
Rune-Scarred Demon
Tormented Soul
Vampire Hexmage
Vampire Nighthawk
Withered Wretch
Divinity of Pride
Tidehollow Sculler
Solemn Simulacrum
Now, how did this deck come about? I based it on two fun black/white deks. Dead Guy Ale and Angel-Geddon.
How do they work? Dead Guy Ale is a BW agro-control deck that wins through aggressive creatures and discard effects. Cards like Hymn To Tourach and Thoughtseize are bad in EDH, but there are better replacements in the format. Liliana Of the Veil, Cunning Lethemancer, Unnerve, Syphon Mind, and the like are all excellent multi-player discards that are reasonable in 1v1 as well. Dead Guy Ale plays cards like Mother Of Runes, Swords To Plowshares, Stoneforge Mystic, etc. So, I added in similar cards. Eight and a Half Tales and Mother protect your threats, Serra Ascendant, Divinity of Pride, Vampire Nighthawk, and Bloodgift Demon are powerful bombs with powerful effects. You add in things like graveyard hate, format staples and you have most of the deck. Dead Guy Ale is a Legacy deck, EDH allows the power to port over well.
Incorperating Angel-geddon was a little harder. Angel-Geddon was generally a 3 color deck (the third color was blue), and was designed to close out the game with Desolation Angel. The deck played light artifact mana, counterspells, and disruption like Meddling Mage. It dominated in Invasion Block Constructed Season (yeah, taking it back to the 00s). With the discard effects from Dead Guy, and some reasonable replacements available (cards like Voidstone Gargoyle and Tidehollw Sculler) you can beef out the higher end of your curve and add more late game to the generally aggressive Dead Guy strategy.
Finally, I added the general. I wanted an aggressive B/W option that could keep up with Alex B’s (from Cass & I’s play group) Vish Kal list. Vish is very much a late game deck and borders on Combo. It’s more mana hungry. I didn’t want to do Teysa, as BW tokens will be a future project. I opted for the classic (and super cheap) Selenia, Dark Angel. She’s reasonably costed as a 3/3 evasive creature for 5 mana. She can actually kill someone with a reasonable number of hits in the air with or without a sword. She is a blinking spirit with a manaless activation, and rarely costs more than the initial 5 mana. Now, to take it up another notch, that 2 life blink is a sick ability when cards like Mirror Universe, Magus of the Mirror, Soul Conduit, and Reverse the Sands exist. How does that work?
Tap 8 for Reverse the Sands, using a Boseiju so it can’t be countered if need be. With Reverse the Sands on the stack, Blink Selenia as many as 18 times (going from 38 life to a paltry 2 points) and then swap the life totals around so you are well ahead and someone is knocking really hard on death’s door. Every deck deserves a trump, and since the deck mostly plays “fair magic” and non-busted mana, it’s only reasonable to play one too.
So, that’s how you take an EDH deck from zero to competitive when you are just getting in the format. What do you like? Goblins, Elves, Faeries, B/W Tokens, Cephalid Breakfast, Replenish, Oath, Dredge, Lands, Swans? Do a little research and you may have yourself a fun EDH deck for your troubles.
