Things Players Hate

I touched on this in a few previous posts, but now seems as good a time as any to list my personal rules for deckbuilding since I am adding a new "no-no" to the list.

Okay, here's the thing: You can build your Commander deck any way you want to. It's a great idea to follow the banned list if you are going to be playing against strangers since it puts everyone on the same page. At the same time, lots of us play with the same group week after week, so if your group has a separate banned list, go with that.

Now, with that out of the way, there are a few main themes and game mechanics that suck to play against. This isn't a universal truth, but it's probably close to one. If you are the kind of player that takes special joy in playing with the things on this list, that's cool. Just know that the rest of the table is probably going to start looking for excuses to not invite you to the next gaming session. :)

Off the top of my head, here's the list of major items that I won't include in a deck. I might put one or two cards in that do something on this list, especially if they serve a good purpose; but, I won't make it a "main theme."

No-no List

• Hand Destruction
• Land Destruction
• Eldrazi (Annihilator, See Land Destruction)
• Combo
• Bounce
• Creature Steal (This one is new.)

Watch List

• Taking Extra Turns
• Life Gain
• Counter Magic
• Poison / Infect

Hand Destruction / Land Destruction / Eldrazi

As it turns out, people like to play the spells they put in their decks. Who knew? Things that directly interfere with being able to play the game at a basic level are totally part of the game - a part of the game that sucks to play against.

My heart is sad that the Eldrazi fall into this category. They are damn cool. But, I hate the look on my opponents faces when I attack into them with one (or more!) of the monsters.



Combo

There's a big difference between synergy and outright combo. No one cares that you play Sylvan Library and Abundance in your green deck and draw three cards per turn with no loss of life. That's just cool. What people care about is your crazy, fifth turn, storm combo deck that kills everyone. It's neat once, maybe.

Bounce

Same deal here. One or two bounce spells are fine. Bouncing everything, over and over, falls into the "not getting to play" camp. A camp that sucks.

Creature Steal

This one is new to my list. As usual, there's a story that goes along with this.

Chris (Kaervek), Will (Kemba), and I (Bolas) were playing a quick three-player game of Commander. Will played Kemba on turn two or three, equipped her up with a couple things including Darksteel Plate, and started pumping out filthy, filthy cats. I took Kemba with Treachery on turn five. I believe that if I hadn't done that, Chris and I would have gotten slaughtered with steriod-rage-kitty beat down. Will had Crusade out too, for good measure. But, that's not the point.

The point is that between Treachery, Slave of Bolas, Control Magic, and other similar spells, I was able to steal creatures left and right. When I took Kaervek, I saw the light dim in Chris' eyes. It's just not fun to play against that much creature steal. And I'm not having fun when it's at the expense of others.

The problem is that if I cast Murder, I'm down one card and my opponent is down one creature. But, if I cast Control Magic on that same creature, it's a double-plus swing. My opponent is down one creature still, but now I'm even because I gained a creature. Oh, and now I'm going to beat your face in with it. Thanks.



Taking Extra Turns

As for the Watch List, taking an extra turn once in a while is annoying. It's not that it's a powerful effect (which is really is), it's that it means they don't get to play. People are already waiting for 3-8 other people to finish their turns before they get a crack at casting the cools spells they brought to the table. When you take an extra turn, it means that they have to wait even longer.

Life Gain

You want to pick up a handful of life points here and there? Great. But, don't be that guy that spikes to hundreds or thousands of life. Yes, you can still lose to Commander damage, but too much life gain completely nullifies a lot of decks out there that can't chew through that much life before the universe suffers heat death.

Counter Magic

Counterspell (and it's ilk) is not quite as powerful in a multiplayer game, given that there are usually too many targets to stop everything from getting through. So, Counter Magic is only on my watch list. If I find myself cramming too much Counter Magic into a deck, I take a step back.

This also applies to "tucking" the Commander with Hinder. It's a valid strategy, but against the right deck and Commander, it means the player you target is basically out of the game. Is that their fault for relying so much on their Commander? Maybe. But, what if they love that particular Legend? What then?



Poison / Infect

Until or unless they make it more than 10 poison counters to take a guy out, this one stays on the watch list. There are a handful of ways to sail in under the radar with some sort of evasion and take a guy out in one or two swings. Unless your opponents are set up to handle this particular line of attack, it's like the ultimate way of saying "you don't get to play."

Playing against more than one opponent makes the "no-no" list flexible. I mean, if you start to show strength at the table, these things have a way of self-correcting when everyone targets you with their bombs and their guns. But, just because everyone wants to put pressure on you doesn't mean they can. Destroying lands and stealing Commanders can push a player towards irrelevance in short order.

Playing for Points

A long time ago, when we started playing the Commander format, we did a lot of sitting around, posturing and not attacking one another. In addition to being new to the format, the reason we did this is that we played with the understanding that "Last Man Standing" wins the game.

While I don't have a problem with that approach, it tends to incentivize a certain kind of deck-building and a certain style of play. These incentives lead to really long games. It also tends to choke out creativity in deck design since cards that would be spectacular, fun, new, different, or just plain funny get passed over for cards that keep you alive or push through that last point of damage.



Last weekend, we had a 4-player game going with Nicol Bolas (me!), Zur the Enchanter, Teneb, the Harvester, and Captain Sisay. Fun stuff. I lost first. Let me explain. We were testing the modified Commander rules I posted earlier, the rules for new players. The exception was that we were all playing our standard Commander decks (not the 60-card version in the rules).



I lost first when Chris, playing Zur, hard cast Battle Mastery on his Commander, giving him double strike. That's bad enough, but in the modified rules, Commanders deal double damage to players. In other words, Zur + double strike = Quad Damage. When Zur attacked, Chris tutored up Edge of the Divinity (I think) and ended up swinging for lethal. Mind you, I had Chris dead-to-rights the turn before, but Ben, playing Captain Sisay, saved Chris by untapping my attacker with Maze of Ith.

Ben is a good player. And kudos to him for keeping Chris alive and pushing his vengeance my way the following turn. Ben ended up as "Last Man Standing" that game, but right after the game my mind started racing to figure out what cards I could pull and replace to counter the strategies that lead to my untimely demise. But that would mean taking out cards I really like, neat cards. Or, sitting back for an hour and not getting to use my beasties.

The way around this is to create other ways to win. We played for points for a while and really liked it. For one, it encouraged a certain recklessness because if you could take someone out it was often worth the points you'd pick up even if you weren't the last one left in the game. Armada Games posted the points and conditions they use (lots of them!). We never used this many conditions, but we are thinking of going back to points. It makes it so that you can't simply win by killing everyone. Or, maybe you can, but maybe the guy brings a deck to the table that is designed to pick up lots of points from meeting other conditions. Can you kill him quick enough to stop him from racking up those points?

Bolas Starts Taking Heads

Lots of changes to my Nicol Bolas deck now that the new Dimir cards are out in Gatecrash. Let's review.

Cards I took out:

Void
Slice and Dice
Oblivion Stone



Sweepers are fine, but I got tired of wiping the board so much. Resetting everything prolongs the game and tends to wear players out. It's a great control strategy, but I wanted to tone it down in this deck. Besides, with all the control magic in this deck, I don't actually want to kill the creatures; I want to take them!

Savor the Moment



I'm still a fan of this card. It is especially useful with Planeswalkers. For 1UU, it replaces itself with a draw, gives you another attack, and gives you another round of planeswalker activations. I still have two other "time walk" spells in the deck, but I might pull Walk the Aeons and put this back in.

Tidings
Dreamstone Hedron
Recurring Insight



Most of the time, I have spells that I want to play that actually do something. Drawing cards for the sake of drawing cards almost never takes priority. Taking these cards out made some room for the stuff I added (below). I still have Fact or Fiction, the flying Fact or Fiction (Sphinx of Uthuun), Kozilek, Rhystic Study, the Jaces, Future Sight, the walking Future Sight (Magus of the Future), and more. Getting access to more cards is rarely a problem.

Thirst for Knowledge
Brainstorm



For similar reasons as above, I wanted to tone down the deck manipulation and put in more effects (below). I still have Ponder, Impulse, Halimar Depths, Forbidden Alchemy, and Scroll Rack.


Cards I put in:

Consuming Aberration
Mind Grind
Keening Stone



Consuming Aberration and Mind Grind are from Gatecrash. Both are pretty damn cool. Both can take big bites out of every opponents' library at the same time. Along with Keening Stone, these spells bolster the milling theme and go along with Geth, the Jaces, and Telemin Performance. These make Bloodchief's Ascension, Liliana Vess, Sepulchral Primordial, and Wrexial better.

Whispersilk Cloak



This should probably be Darksteel Plate, but since I am not running the Whispersilk Cloak in any of my other decks it's "okay" to put in here. My Bolas deck is only running cards that I am not running anywhere else. I wanted at least one way to keep my creatures from getting jacked or killed since they form one of the major themes in this deck.

Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief
Wrexial the Risen Deep
Sepulchral Primordial



I wanted to up the creature count for two reasons. One, it helps me protect my planeswalkers. And two, it pushes the "useful creature" theme I'm working on. I like the idea of creatures with reusable (or powerful) abilities. These three creatures fit the bill.

Dark Depths



The flavor on this land is awesome and very Bolas. You drop the land. Load it up with counters. Then, sit back and slowly funnel mana into it until, well, the thing that should not be. I don't have any tricky ways to remove the counters. And, I'm okay with that. Plus, I have the foil Marit Lage token. It'll be a personal victory to get that guy into play at some point.

All Is Dust




I know that I said I wanted to get rid of the sweepers. And I did tone it down some by removing the three spells above. But, bringing a knife to a gun fight isn't a great idea either. All Is Dust takes care of most problems by getting around those pesky "indestructable" permanents, regenerators, and more! It's a one-stop death shop. When you absolutely, positively, need (almost) everything dead, accept no substitutes. Great artwork, too. :)

Gatecrash Pre-release Top 4

Just finished up the Gatecrash pre-release. Made top 4 with Dimir. Milled a couple of people out, so I feel like I represented House Dimir, but it didn't feel like there were enough defensive cards to sit back on and just mill away. It played like a small flyer / removal UB deck with some monster milling from Mind Grind, Consuming Aberration, Paranoid Delusions, Balustrade Spy, Grisly Spectacle, and Sage's Row Denizen.



Here's how it went down, roughly. :) Actually, now that I am looking over my notes, I have no idea what half my opponents were playing. I know that Dimir didn't do well across the board as no one from my "guild table" was in the top 8 (I believe). Compared to some of the other guilds, winning with Dimir was tricky (as it should be). One guy was really bent out of shape. He kept saying, "This is annoying," and, "I can't believe I'm not winning." Oh, Dimir. So true to form.

You know what worked well? Green / Red with Bloodrush. Top 2 decks. Only guy who beat me was running that and it was close, 1-2. Mana was a problem for me first game and for him the second game. He beat me in the end, though. Otherwise, I won most other rounds 2-0. To be fair, I felt lucky all day.

As it turns out, the Black primordial, Sepulchral Primordial, does in fact animate a creature from each opponent's graveyard. I pulled one and actually got to cast it in a game. Took a creature. Then, had Voidwalk encoded on one of my unblockables. So, I got to use his trigger more than once. By then, it was over anyway. But, still cool.



I got the most headscratching from my opponents about Voidwalk. They was a lot of, "Wait, what?" and, "Can I see that card again?" If you follow what it says on step at a time, it's not too bad. But, in a pre-release where no one has had a chance to play with it yet, what it was doing seemed to confuse the people I played against. It goes a little something like this:

Cast Voidwalk and exile one of your opponent's creature. Now, encode Voidwalk on one of your creatures. Your opponent's best blocker is now out of the way, so attack. Your creature with Voidwalk encoded on it gets through and deals combat damage to your opponent. Cipher triggers. Now - here comes the fun part - target one of your own creatures with the Voidwalk copy, a creature with a comes into play ability. It gets exiled. When your turn ends, your creature and your opponent's creature will come into play, triggering your creature's ability.

I did this in several matches. The Ciphered Voidwalk copy triggers Consuming Aberration when cast. Sepulchral Primordial works well. And Sage's Row Denizen can really grind away if one or two creatures are coming into play every turn. Balustrade Spy coming into play turn after turn really eats away at a library.

Mind Grind and Consuming Aberration are as crazy as they look. I can't wait to see them in action in my next commander deck.

Gatecrash Spoiler: Lord of the Void

Oh man, oh man, oh man. This is going to be cool. Check out this demon!



Yes, he's 7cc mana. Yes, he's Mythic Rare. But, 7/7 Flying for 7cc isn't a terrible deal. Plus, check out that ability. It's dripping with flavor. He's lopping off heads. He's taking your creatures and using them against you. His eyes are blue... and glowing!

So far, we've seen these two "Primordials," one for Blue and one for White.






I'm hoping the Black Primordial reanimates one creature from each opponent, except that it gives the creatures to you. :)

Getting Your Deck's Mana Base Right

If you aren't plugged into a good network of EDH/Commander compadres, look around for one! Sometimes a gem like this pops up. PortlandEDH posted this site on Facebook and it's great!

http://manabasecrafter.com/

Just type in the name of your Commander, and check or un-check the boxes in the menu to get started. It'll show you all kinds of mana-producers (lands, artifacts, spells, etc) that fit into your Commander's colors.

You can do something similar on a site like magiccards.info, but ManabaseCrafter has a cool layout and makes it easy to scroll through the options. Check it out!

Gatecrash Spoiler: Diluvian Primordial, Leyline Phantom, Giant Adephage

What we have here today is a mixed bag. There are a lot of other cards in this set that I'm not really talking about because they either aren't in my colors or they just aren't that exciting. Visit MTGSalvation to see the rest of the spoiler so far.

Up first, Diluvian Primordial looks like it could go the distance in your next Blue Commander deck. At 5UU, for a converted casting cost of 7, he's topping out on the curve. When you cast something for this much mana, it had better make a difference. This guy delivers. This 7cc creature is a 5/5 flyer that can seriously swing the game in your favor by letting you cast an instant or sorcery for each and every opponent right from that player's graveyard. Mid-to-late game, graveyards are almost always stocked with juicy spells. When you drop this monster, you get to cast a bunch of them! At the same time!



Up next, take a look at Leyline Phantom. What would be really great - and I know you are thinking this - is if he returned to your hand before he died from combat damage, but no. It doesn't work that way. So, instead what we have is a 5/5 for 4U (5cc) that probably won't make a big splash in the Commander format. Do you have some crazy way to take advantage of his return-to-hand ability?



Last up, Giant Adephage is here for some green beats. I've played quite a few games of Commander and the one green creature that really gives me fits is Spawnwrithe. You know what I'm talking about. When I see it hit the table, my first instinct is to shout, "Kill it with fire!" The way I see it, you have two choices. Kill it immediately with direct damage or removal before it can attack, even once. Or, failing that, draw a sweeper before it overwhelms everyone. Giant Adephage looks like another one of those cards, only bigger.



There's almost always someone open to attack when Spawnwrithe hits the table. That, and for 3cc mana, he hits the table early. Once the train gets going, it's difficult to stop. You see, the token copies that the card makes also make token copies. 1 turns into 2, turns into 4, turns into 8. Giant Adephage is Spawnwrithe's bigger brother. At 7 power, Trample becomes a significant combat ability helping to push damage through to make a token copy. All aboard!