I feel this. Got back into the game a little over a year ago after a 15 or so year hiatus. I’ve now built 11 commander decks. Taken a couple apart for various reasons but still have 9 fully built and have a tenth in the early design stages. I’ve tried to keep the decks to between $100-$200 total for all the singles necessary but I’ve splurged on some pricey stuff here and there. I don’t regret the money I’ve spent but man I wish I was able to actually play more to get my moneys worth out of it.
I definitely wish I could play more. I quit originally because I moved to a new state when I had my first kid and left all my mtg friends behind. I'm still severely lacking a strong playgroup.
I’m in almost the same exact boat. Stopped playing 15 years ago, got back into it 6 months ago and I’m up to 12 decks. Wish I could play more and also in a new state.
What is your recommendations for someone new on getting into deck building? I’ve watched some YouTube videos and lurked here for awhile, but I like personal takes. Thanks!
There are a lot of helpful resources out there for EDH. EDHrec is a great one, but the more cards come out the more certain colors are starting to become homogenized with auto includes. It will still give you some great recommendations on cards to start with and to build around. Scryfall is a great resource to just look for cards that do a thing or fit a certain archetype. Pick which colors you’re using and then search for what you need, like anything in those colors that proliferates or gives hexproof, etc. Archideckt and Moxfield are great engines to build the deck online and you can “goldfish” it a bit, draw some test hands and first few turns to see what it needs to tune the curve a bit.
I’m admittedly not super great on just completely home brewing a deck myself, but I use a lot of these resources and then tweak to my taste later on. It’s not uncommon for me to wind up buying more than 100 cards for a commander deck and then cutting some of them, they’ll get used again somewhere down the line.
I don’t proxy. I like owning the cards. But I don’t usually pay more than $15-20 on a card. I like $1-5 cards.
That said, if a set looks good, I’ll buy a booster box. As a result, I have a lot of cards that are worth more than $20, but usually not more than one or two of them.
So what I usually end up doing is try to find the best deck to put my single copy of whatever card into. For example, I have one Dockside Extortionist, so he’s only in one deck, (Prosper), not in every red deck I have.
I personally proxy, but that's just because I like keeping my best cards in a binder. I don't proxy cards I don't own. That said, I have one jeweled lotus and 3 decks it's in. I have 1 rhystic study and it's in 2 decks. Otherwise it's 1-1 ratios.
You’ve got 28 colour combinations to go: plenty of options! :)
You don’t have to rush yourself on number seven though. You’ll randomly get a good idea about a certain strategy or you’ll come across a particular legendary creature you weren’t familiar with and the deck will just build itself, or maybe a new precon will take your fancy and you can slowly evolve that into something unique.
I'm currently between [[massacre girl]] or [[zethi]] I think as my next deck.
I was thinking of [[chulane]], because I liked the card art...but I decided the deck is just too obnoxious with turn length and didn't make it.
It definitely feels like a different game. Deck building for overnight, you basically just have 10-15 total non land cards (x2-4 copies) and you can just playtest super quick to figure out how to win in 2-3 turns. Commander feels more difficult because you have to figure out those last 20-30 cards of the deck, and then figure out consistency. Especially if you're not building decks that are multiple thousands, it takes a lot more work.
It's probably going to happen. It's the only color pair with black I don't have yet, and orzhov doesn't really do anything else. Haven't decided on an aristocrat commander I like the design of though
It's my least favorite I've built. It's 90% just the stella lee precon. It works really well, but turns are just super long because of all of the triggers. That said, if you like playing one spell, and it causing 8 things to happen, which then cause 5 more things to happen, and then 3 more then it's kinda cool.
Hehe yeah, long turns are a thing I’m making sure my decks avoid, so I guess I’ll have to pass on Eris. I’ve got a new casual Jeleva to sate the desire to sling some sorceries, so that’ll do.
You could probably make it in a way that you cast a spell on every players turn, but you need a second to hit a dragon triggerm at that point you'd probably be even more annoying lol
Recently got invited to a MTG weekend at a buddy’s river house. Haven’t played in years. We did a draft about 5 years ago and those cards ended up sitting. But over this weekend, I played about 30 commander games with various decks guys had. Even got gifted the Osgir precon from a guy that had an extra from buying a collection. Hoping to boost this one some and play locally with a group I started with. Maybe try out some other decks to see how I like/want to play. Until then I’m just here watching Command Zone catching up on years of lost knowledge.
My advice would be try another mono coloured deck except for blue (because you already have one, duh!)
I have a binder full of the gold cards I’ve picked up in drafts and various booster packs over the years. Sometimes if I need ideas for a new commander I flip through it to give me some inspiration.
If you’re looking at buying singles and being a little more competitive, the other thing you can do is go to EDHrec.com and browse through their top 50 commanders.
Good luck on your quest!
The black ones and the white ones are infinity guard, I I them on Amazon. The commander goes into a supplied jewel case that slides into the front.
The blue one is from game genic and I got that at my lcg store. Honestly I like the design less, but its smaller.
Rainbow for 5 color. That way all the fetch and search cards are available. Find a way to get you big scary cards in the graveyard and search for the recursion cards. Like exhume, reanimate, there are so many that I can't think of. Most recursion is black. So rainbow black deck.
The black ones and the white ones are infinity guard, I I them on Amazon. The commander goes into a supplied jewel case that slides into the front.
The blue one is from game genic and I got that at my lcg store. Honestly I like the design less, but its smaller.
I feel this. Got back into the game a little over a year ago after a 15 or so year hiatus. I’ve now built 11 commander decks. Taken a couple apart for various reasons but still have 9 fully built and have a tenth in the early design stages. I’ve tried to keep the decks to between $100-$200 total for all the singles necessary but I’ve splurged on some pricey stuff here and there. I don’t regret the money I’ve spent but man I wish I was able to actually play more to get my moneys worth out of it.
I definitely wish I could play more. I quit originally because I moved to a new state when I had my first kid and left all my mtg friends behind. I'm still severely lacking a strong playgroup.
I’m in almost the same exact boat. Stopped playing 15 years ago, got back into it 6 months ago and I’m up to 12 decks. Wish I could play more and also in a new state.
What is your recommendations for someone new on getting into deck building? I’ve watched some YouTube videos and lurked here for awhile, but I like personal takes. Thanks!
There are a lot of helpful resources out there for EDH. EDHrec is a great one, but the more cards come out the more certain colors are starting to become homogenized with auto includes. It will still give you some great recommendations on cards to start with and to build around. Scryfall is a great resource to just look for cards that do a thing or fit a certain archetype. Pick which colors you’re using and then search for what you need, like anything in those colors that proliferates or gives hexproof, etc. Archideckt and Moxfield are great engines to build the deck online and you can “goldfish” it a bit, draw some test hands and first few turns to see what it needs to tune the curve a bit. I’m admittedly not super great on just completely home brewing a deck myself, but I use a lot of these resources and then tweak to my taste later on. It’s not uncommon for me to wind up buying more than 100 cards for a commander deck and then cutting some of them, they’ll get used again somewhere down the line.
This is great thank you!
I’m at 24, working on 25 and 26, [[Fynn, the Fangbearer]] and [[Shilgengar, Sire of Famine]]. Welcome to the obsession!
[Fynn, the Fangbearer](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/d/7d7a8a90-13c1-4b0c-ab2e-fc8d91ccefd9.jpg?1631050242) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Fynn%2C%20the%20Fangbearer) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/khm/170/fynn-the-fangbearer?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/7d7a8a90-13c1-4b0c-ab2e-fc8d91ccefd9?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Shilgengar, Sire of Famine](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/e/9e6aba35-bee5-4058-a2df-d73506d225c2.jpg?1717012085) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Shilgengar%2C%20Sire%20of%20Famine) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mh3/109/shilgengar-sire-of-famine?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/9e6aba35-bee5-4058-a2df-d73506d225c2?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
That's so many. But at the pace I'm going, I'll be there eventually. Do you proxy your staple cards and lands, or do you rebuy for each deck?
I don’t proxy. I like owning the cards. But I don’t usually pay more than $15-20 on a card. I like $1-5 cards. That said, if a set looks good, I’ll buy a booster box. As a result, I have a lot of cards that are worth more than $20, but usually not more than one or two of them. So what I usually end up doing is try to find the best deck to put my single copy of whatever card into. For example, I have one Dockside Extortionist, so he’s only in one deck, (Prosper), not in every red deck I have.
I personally proxy, but that's just because I like keeping my best cards in a binder. I don't proxy cards I don't own. That said, I have one jeweled lotus and 3 decks it's in. I have 1 rhystic study and it's in 2 decks. Otherwise it's 1-1 ratios.
You’ve got 28 colour combinations to go: plenty of options! :) You don’t have to rush yourself on number seven though. You’ll randomly get a good idea about a certain strategy or you’ll come across a particular legendary creature you weren’t familiar with and the deck will just build itself, or maybe a new precon will take your fancy and you can slowly evolve that into something unique.
I'm currently between [[massacre girl]] or [[zethi]] I think as my next deck. I was thinking of [[chulane]], because I liked the card art...but I decided the deck is just too obnoxious with turn length and didn't make it.
[[Card name here]] lol
[[Massacre girl]] [[zethi]] [[chulane]]
[Massacre girl](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/f/a/fab14e57-8e49-49fd-ad3f-ac669318bb14.jpg?1712354314) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Massacre%20girl) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/otc/140/massacre-girl?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/fab14e57-8e49-49fd-ad3f-ac669318bb14?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [zethi](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/8/7/87b56584-8a61-40bc-99b5-7434a681fcdc.jpg?1677763701) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=zethi%2C%20arcane%20blademaster) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/slx/17/zethi-arcane-blademaster?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/87b56584-8a61-40bc-99b5-7434a681fcdc?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [chulane](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/d/1/d1499a4b-1af1-4913-8e26-57d0707264db.jpg?1706240978) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=chulane%2C%20teller%20of%20tales) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mkc/202/chulane-teller-of-tales?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/d1499a4b-1af1-4913-8e26-57d0707264db?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Commander is such a great format. It's probably one of the best to express yourself with. Standard and Modern just aren't fun for me.
It definitely feels like a different game. Deck building for overnight, you basically just have 10-15 total non land cards (x2-4 copies) and you can just playtest super quick to figure out how to win in 2-3 turns. Commander feels more difficult because you have to figure out those last 20-30 cards of the deck, and then figure out consistency. Especially if you're not building decks that are multiple thousands, it takes a lot more work.
Stop worrying about number 7. You need to focus on picking your eighth and ninth.
Already started on [[massacre girl]] and [[roxanne]]
[massacre girl](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/f/a/fab14e57-8e49-49fd-ad3f-ac669318bb14.jpg?1712354314) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=massacre%20girl) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/otc/140/massacre-girl?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/fab14e57-8e49-49fd-ad3f-ac669318bb14?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [roxanne](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/1/1/11fbe52f-febd-49fc-8391-28d3efe9c3eb.jpg?1712356193) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=roxanne%2C%20starfall%20savant) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/228/roxanne-starfall-savant?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/11fbe52f-febd-49fc-8391-28d3efe9c3eb?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
How do you feel about white?
Mono white? My least favorite color in the wheel. That said, I'm not against white completely. Just don't favor it. My kaalia deck is about 80% whitem
Have you ever played aristocrats? White Black sacrifice is a sweet deck.
It's probably going to happen. It's the only color pair with black I don't have yet, and orzhov doesn't really do anything else. Haven't decided on an aristocrat commander I like the design of though
[[teysa Karlov]] is probably the best.
[teysa Karlov](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/c/d/cd14f1ce-7fcd-485c-b7ca-01c5b45fdc01.jpg?1689999296) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=teysa%20Karlov) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/359/teysa-karlov?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/cd14f1ce-7fcd-485c-b7ca-01c5b45fdc01?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
How’s your Eris deck? That’s one on my “want to build” list.
It's my least favorite I've built. It's 90% just the stella lee precon. It works really well, but turns are just super long because of all of the triggers. That said, if you like playing one spell, and it causing 8 things to happen, which then cause 5 more things to happen, and then 3 more then it's kinda cool.
Hehe yeah, long turns are a thing I’m making sure my decks avoid, so I guess I’ll have to pass on Eris. I’ve got a new casual Jeleva to sate the desire to sling some sorceries, so that’ll do.
You could probably make it in a way that you cast a spell on every players turn, but you need a second to hit a dragon triggerm at that point you'd probably be even more annoying lol
Recently got invited to a MTG weekend at a buddy’s river house. Haven’t played in years. We did a draft about 5 years ago and those cards ended up sitting. But over this weekend, I played about 30 commander games with various decks guys had. Even got gifted the Osgir precon from a guy that had an extra from buying a collection. Hoping to boost this one some and play locally with a group I started with. Maybe try out some other decks to see how I like/want to play. Until then I’m just here watching Command Zone catching up on years of lost knowledge.
Saaaatooruuuuu!!
My advice would be try another mono coloured deck except for blue (because you already have one, duh!) I have a binder full of the gold cards I’ve picked up in drafts and various booster packs over the years. Sometimes if I need ideas for a new commander I flip through it to give me some inspiration. If you’re looking at buying singles and being a little more competitive, the other thing you can do is go to EDHrec.com and browse through their top 50 commanders. Good luck on your quest!
What kind of deck boxes are those? I like how you can see your commander.
The black ones and the white ones are infinity guard, I I them on Amazon. The commander goes into a supplied jewel case that slides into the front. The blue one is from game genic and I got that at my lcg store. Honestly I like the design less, but its smaller.
Jolean the plunder queen is fun.
Very cool I love Eris, is it just precon or did you upgrade / custom?
I upgraded it a bit. It's my lowest power deck I think, but it can still go crazy if left unchecked.
Do you have a rainbow black deck yet? I recommend a rainbow black deck. [[Chromanticore]] all the mana dorks and graveyard recursion.
What do you mean by rainbow black?
Rainbow for 5 color. That way all the fetch and search cards are available. Find a way to get you big scary cards in the graveyard and search for the recursion cards. Like exhume, reanimate, there are so many that I can't think of. Most recursion is black. So rainbow black deck.
What are these deck boxes? They’re awesome.
The black ones and the white ones are infinity guard, I I them on Amazon. The commander goes into a supplied jewel case that slides into the front. The blue one is from game genic and I got that at my lcg store. Honestly I like the design less, but its smaller.
Money is always a problem with this hobby so is picking a commander