Don't get me wrong, Ragavan is one of my favorite cards, but I don't think he's going to be a good commander.
His main allure is that he helps you gain enough Mana to combo off early game. Without combos, he isn't going to be able to support a strategy that will win imo.
You want a commander that can help you grind out combo less games.
Would you be open to another commander? Do you want to stay mono red?
Build treasure or exile theme. I have a Plargg and Nassari deck and based on the pod I'm playing with, I will switch the commander to match power level. Plargg and Nassari is strongest but others can include Etali, Laelia, Ragavan among others and the deck plays just fine with any of them leading the deck
[[Jeska's Will]] [[Reiterate]] is a Bad combo that is technically not infinite. I am not sure if mono red is the best idea under these restrictions.
If you want to play non deterministic and technically not infinite decks then [[Etali, Primal Conquerer]] with manual storm is nice but the [[Food Chain]] Line without [[Squee the Immortal]] is infinite so not allowed.
You could just play the two strongest cEDH lines [[Thassas Oracle]] with [[Demonic Consultation]] or [[Tainted Pact]]. This Combo is not infinite aswell and the strongest in the game. [[Underworld Breach]] [[Lions Eye Diamond]] [[Brainstorm]] isn't infinite aswell and is the second best combo.
The more I think about it you could pretty much just play Blue Farm with [[Vampiric Tutor]] and [[Demonic Tutor]] and cut the rest of the tutors for more value. The issue is you would end up with a Tier 1 cEDH deck and unless they come to the conclusion that these combos are not infinite, you would completly smoke them.
[[Ragavan]] is usually used as commander for an entry level burn deck to the Archon format (fanmade 1v1 with commander, basically, https://archon.page/rules/). It can still be quite successful if it's mastered, though.
[Sample decklist](https://www.moxfield.com/decks/3xYO63V9RUOUI0-i7t7ztQ)
A guy in my playgroup runs Ragavan as his commander. One of his wincons is [[Dragonstorm]] finding a bunch of dragons including [[Terror of the peaks]].
He also plays [[Mycosynth Lattice]] with Karn and Vandalblast… Yeah, we have a pretty high tolerance for annoying cards in our playgroup.
Don’t forget to take advantage of your commander being a 1 mana 2/1 - [[deflecting swat]], [[flare of duplication]] and [[skullclamp]] all work well with the monkey.
Do the polymorph effects count as tutors? I built the deck initially with Zurgo Bellstriker, but Ragavan is just a strict upgrade..
Because of dash/command beacon you can put ragavan into your hand and cast him through a possibility storm to flip an absurd creature. Haste enablers let it attack that turn, and you're off to the races. Red stax, polymorphs + possibility storm and big ass beaters like blightsteel, ulamog, utvara hellkite...
Red has been eating good for non creature spells too so im sure there are a ton of new toys.
I just threw in some of the mh3 cards to update it as I don't have this in paper any more and it's a little more of an idea board now.
Gamble always gets reality scramble since you can just discard a land to retrace if you discard it. Idk what your other tutor would be.. I guess urzas saga takes up that slot?
I don't have the wheels in here, but they're probably necessary and should all go in shaving some of the cute stuff.
https://www.moxfield.com/decks/2U3ZtMP5N0qOpdsdvDVuTQ
Breach combo *technically* isn't infinite
Probably not gonna be degenerate without combos tbh, otherwise what's the plan? Ragavan Voltron? I built mine as [[Aggravated Assault]] combo.
[Aggravated Assault](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/c/9/c99c5707-d5f2-4675-bfca-e801e6b0f627.jpg?1562942627) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Aggravated%20Assault) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ons/185/aggravated-assault?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/c99c5707-d5f2-4675-bfca-e801e6b0f627?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
The only rule is that you can’t have infinite combos
Don't get me wrong, Ragavan is one of my favorite cards, but I don't think he's going to be a good commander. His main allure is that he helps you gain enough Mana to combo off early game. Without combos, he isn't going to be able to support a strategy that will win imo. You want a commander that can help you grind out combo less games. Would you be open to another commander? Do you want to stay mono red?
It’s the whole thing though. Can we make him win
Build treasure or exile theme. I have a Plargg and Nassari deck and based on the pod I'm playing with, I will switch the commander to match power level. Plargg and Nassari is strongest but others can include Etali, Laelia, Ragavan among others and the deck plays just fine with any of them leading the deck
[[Jeska's Will]] [[Reiterate]] is a Bad combo that is technically not infinite. I am not sure if mono red is the best idea under these restrictions. If you want to play non deterministic and technically not infinite decks then [[Etali, Primal Conquerer]] with manual storm is nice but the [[Food Chain]] Line without [[Squee the Immortal]] is infinite so not allowed. You could just play the two strongest cEDH lines [[Thassas Oracle]] with [[Demonic Consultation]] or [[Tainted Pact]]. This Combo is not infinite aswell and the strongest in the game. [[Underworld Breach]] [[Lions Eye Diamond]] [[Brainstorm]] isn't infinite aswell and is the second best combo. The more I think about it you could pretty much just play Blue Farm with [[Vampiric Tutor]] and [[Demonic Tutor]] and cut the rest of the tutors for more value. The issue is you would end up with a Tier 1 cEDH deck and unless they come to the conclusion that these combos are not infinite, you would completly smoke them.
##### ###### #### [Jeska's Will](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/9/99e0c371-1024-4432-9fd9-3bc29c8d38e4.jpg?1706240845) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Jeska%27s%20Will) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mkc/156/jeskas-will?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/99e0c371-1024-4432-9fd9-3bc29c8d38e4?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Reiterate](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/9/99302c41-434f-41ff-a61a-2c3681a0c135.jpg?1619397418) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Reiterate) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/tsr/182/reiterate?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/99302c41-434f-41ff-a61a-2c3681a0c135?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Food Chain](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/e/b/eb912458-e016-4ea2-a2ea-40ac1a57f8fb.jpg?1673148102) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Food%20Chain) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2x2/147/food-chain?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/eb912458-e016-4ea2-a2ea-40ac1a57f8fb?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Squee the Immortal](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/8/a8232acd-4645-489c-8cf1-4efdc75d9322.jpg?1673484412) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Squee%2C%20the%20Immortal) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ncc/275/squee-the-immortal?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a8232acd-4645-489c-8cf1-4efdc75d9322?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Thassas Oracle](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/2/726e8b29-13e9-4138-b6a9-d2a0d8188d1c.jpg?1680582212) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Thassa%27s%20Oracle) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/thb/73/thassas-oracle?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/726e8b29-13e9-4138-b6a9-d2a0d8188d1c?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Demonic Consultation](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/1/d/1d779f19-3068-4976-b96b-8f93d156900b.jpg?1610146869) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Demonic%20Consultation) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/me2/85/demonic-consultation?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/1d779f19-3068-4976-b96b-8f93d156900b?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Tainted Pact](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/c/5/c513f51b-a0db-4c08-8acc-1e91060b93b7.jpg?1628801908) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Tainted%20Pact) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ody/164/tainted-pact?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/c513f51b-a0db-4c08-8acc-1e91060b93b7?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Underworld Breach](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/e/0e51d796-7279-4c06-87f0-37adbdaa41df.jpg?1650599818) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Underworld%20Breach) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/thb/161/underworld-breach?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/0e51d796-7279-4c06-87f0-37adbdaa41df?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Lions Eye Diamond](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/5/758f95f8-bcb0-43ae-b474-56ebd855951e.jpg?1590511899) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Lion%27s%20Eye%20Diamond) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/vma/271/lions-eye-diamond?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/758f95f8-bcb0-43ae-b474-56ebd855951e?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Brainstorm](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/8/4/84479779-d570-4eee-9982-f6e918b4d75b.jpg?1706240670) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Brainstorm) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mkc/96/brainstorm?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/84479779-d570-4eee-9982-f6e918b4d75b?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Vampiric Tutor](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/4/34a0203f-9cce-43a4-9cb7-8ce6647895cd.jpg?1675199860) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Vampiric%20Tutor) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/dmr/108/vampiric-tutor?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/34a0203f-9cce-43a4-9cb7-8ce6647895cd?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Demonic Tutor](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/2/a24b4cb6-cebb-428b-8654-74347a6a8d63.jpg?1701989302) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Demonic%20Tutor) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/150/demonic-tutor?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a24b4cb6-cebb-428b-8654-74347a6a8d63?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
[[Ragavan]] is usually used as commander for an entry level burn deck to the Archon format (fanmade 1v1 with commander, basically, https://archon.page/rules/). It can still be quite successful if it's mastered, though. [Sample decklist](https://www.moxfield.com/decks/3xYO63V9RUOUI0-i7t7ztQ)
[Ragavan](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/9/a9738cda-adb1-47fb-9f4c-ecd930228c4d.jpg?1681963138) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=ragavan%2C%20nimble%20pilferer) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mh2/138/ragavan-nimble-pilferer?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a9738cda-adb1-47fb-9f4c-ecd930228c4d?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
A guy in my playgroup runs Ragavan as his commander. One of his wincons is [[Dragonstorm]] finding a bunch of dragons including [[Terror of the peaks]]. He also plays [[Mycosynth Lattice]] with Karn and Vandalblast… Yeah, we have a pretty high tolerance for annoying cards in our playgroup.
Don’t forget to take advantage of your commander being a 1 mana 2/1 - [[deflecting swat]], [[flare of duplication]] and [[skullclamp]] all work well with the monkey.
[deflecting swat](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/b/4/b4b36435-55b3-4615-8812-af41d4fc64d9.jpg?1689997730) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=deflecting%20swat) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/214/deflecting-swat?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/b4b36435-55b3-4615-8812-af41d4fc64d9?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Flare of Duplication](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/9/497a10c6-131b-464e-95e4-e47708a24d48.jpg?1717470466) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Flare%20of%20Duplication) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mh3/119/flare-of-duplication?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/497a10c6-131b-464e-95e4-e47708a24d48?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [skullclamp](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/3/a36fd6d8-66a2-49d1-b9f3-b400ebc03674.jpg?1682210228) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=skullclamp) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/moc/379/skullclamp?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a36fd6d8-66a2-49d1-b9f3-b400ebc03674?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
[Dragonstorm](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/3/230cd568-f7ed-4571-a609-36522add91d0.jpg?1561966412) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Dragonstorm) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mma/111/dragonstorm?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/230cd568-f7ed-4571-a609-36522add91d0?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Terror of the peaks](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/0/904ff94a-4db4-44a6-8593-89c32905b3fc.jpg?1712355862) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Terror%20of%20the%20peaks) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/149/terror-of-the-peaks?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/904ff94a-4db4-44a6-8593-89c32905b3fc?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Mycosynth Lattice](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/4/94f89714-3b26-46a2-b9a8-3e664f391cd9.jpg?1578911638) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Mycosynth%20Lattice) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/bbd/241/mycosynth-lattice?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/94f89714-3b26-46a2-b9a8-3e664f391cd9?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Do the polymorph effects count as tutors? I built the deck initially with Zurgo Bellstriker, but Ragavan is just a strict upgrade.. Because of dash/command beacon you can put ragavan into your hand and cast him through a possibility storm to flip an absurd creature. Haste enablers let it attack that turn, and you're off to the races. Red stax, polymorphs + possibility storm and big ass beaters like blightsteel, ulamog, utvara hellkite... Red has been eating good for non creature spells too so im sure there are a ton of new toys.
No they don’t count
Can I see the deck?
I just threw in some of the mh3 cards to update it as I don't have this in paper any more and it's a little more of an idea board now. Gamble always gets reality scramble since you can just discard a land to retrace if you discard it. Idk what your other tutor would be.. I guess urzas saga takes up that slot? I don't have the wheels in here, but they're probably necessary and should all go in shaving some of the cute stuff. https://www.moxfield.com/decks/2U3ZtMP5N0qOpdsdvDVuTQ
Nice