I'm working on making a new commander deck led by Maelstorm Wanderer, but my knowledge of the game is nothing compared to some of the people on these forums. What are some must-haves that I should be running? I'm on a budget, so none of the cards can exceed $5 (unless there's an absolute necessity in the $10-20 range). Any input is greatly appreciated.
The deck is mainly based around ramping into Wanderer and cascading into massive value. I usually try to end the game by the turn after my big cascade if I hit two good creatures; otherwise, I can play the long game by hard-casting all of my biggest threats and using cards like Mind's Dilation to maintain a powerful board state.
I don't run any removal, and only two counterspells (Spelljack and Plasm Capture, both of which are expensive and not ideal. I only run them because Spelljack is an amazing cascade and Plasm Capture is a nice cascade that can also help me cast Maelstrom Wanderer a few turns early and counter something along the way).
I don't run any cards like Prime Speaker Zegana or Rishkar's Expertise, because they often were completely useless cascades and only ended up being helpful when I already had a massive lead. For the sake of consistency, I removed all cards like that very early in the deckbuilding process.
Rashmi, Eternities Crafter and Fathom Mage provide unique utility, but aren't necessarily good to cascade into. I still run both of them because the amount of times they help me out is higher than the amount of times they completely ruin my tempo.
One issue with the deck is the lack of low-mana drops. I tend to shy away from those, because they completely ruin a cascade. I run every ramp card that I think is viable in this type of deck in order to quickly get to the point where I can cast big things with ease, but sometimes I start off slowly and can only get Wanderer out after six relatively uneventful turns.
The deck is mainly based around ramping into Wanderer and cascading into massive value. I usually try to end the game by the turn after my big cascade if I hit two good creatures; otherwise, I can play the long game by hard-casting all of my biggest threats and using cards like Mind's Dilation to maintain a powerful board state.
I don't run any removal, and only two counterspells (Spelljack and Plasm Capture, both of which are expensive and not ideal. I only run them because Spelljack is an amazing cascade and Plasm Capture is a nice cascade that can also help me cast Maelstrom Wanderer a few turns early and counter something along the way).
I don't run any cards like Prime Speaker Zegana or Rishkar's Expertise, because they often were completely useless cascades and only ended up being helpful when I already had a massive lead. For the sake of consistency, I removed all cards like that very early in the deckbuilding process.
Rashmi, Eternities Crafter and Fathom Mage provide unique utility, but aren't necessarily good to cascade into. I still run both of them because the amount of times they help me out is higher than the amount of times they completely ruin my tempo.
One issue with the deck is the lack of low-mana drops. I tend to shy away from those, because they completely ruin a cascade. I run every ramp card that I think is viable in this type of deck in order to quickly get to the point where I can cast big things with ease, but sometimes I start off slowly and can only get Wanderer out after six relatively uneventful turns.
The current decklist:
1 Thran Dynamo
1 Sol Ring
1 Momir Vig, Simic Visionary
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Avenger of Zendikar
1 Nezahal, Primal Tide
1 Bloodbraid Elf
1 Etali, Primal Storm
1 Kalonian Hydra
1 Pathbreaker Ibex
1 Soul of the Harvest
1 Combat Celebrant
1 Thunderfoot Baloth
1 Diluvian Primordial
1 Fathom Mage
1 Giant Adephage
1 Pelakka Wurm
1 Rashmi, Eternities Crafter
1 Molten Primordial
1 Somberwald Sage
1 Hydra Omnivore
1 Siege Behemoth
1 Spellbreaker Behemoth
1 Surrak Dragonclaw
1 Moldgraf Monstrosity
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Shaman of Forgotten Ways
1 Angrath's Marauders
1 Maelstrom Wanderer
1 Combustible Gearhulk
1 Prowling Serpopard
1 Warstorm Surge
1 Zendikar Resurgent
1 Mind's Dilation
1 Lurking Predators
1 Spelljack
1 Plasm Capture
1 Brainstorm
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Worldly Tutor
1 Temple of Epiphany
1 Temple of Abandon
1 Frontier Bivouac
6 Island
4 Mountain
1 Command Tower
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Gruul Turf
1 Izzet Boilerworks
1 Simic Growth Chamber
1 Temple of the False God
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Temple of Mystery
1 Myriad Landscape
1 Shivan Reef
1 Karplusan Forest
1 Yavimaya Coast
9 Forest
1 Mosswort Bridge
1 Spinerock Knoll
1 Hunting Wilds
1 Ranger's Path
1 Farseek
1 Skyshroud Claim
1 Jokulhaups
1 Apocalypse
1 Selective Memory
1 Rampant Growth
1 Nature's Lore
1 See the Unwritten
1 Search for Tomorrow
1 Boundless Realms
1 Cultivate
1 Explosive Vegetation
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Rite of Replication
1 Part the Waterveil
1 Nissa’s Renewal
1 Selvala's Stampede
1 Vivien's Invocation
1 Rude Awakening
1 Nissa's Revelation
1 Circuitous Route