Hey everyone, I'm new to edh and I'm looking to get into the format. The deckbuilding and opportunities for strategy seem awesome. Problem is: I'm really competitive, in that my enjoyment in magic comes from trying to win (note: not necessarily winning, but trying to win), and from technical play and good deck building. Etc, etc, I like the competitive aspect of magic, and I like playing and playing against a high level of magic. Hopefully you get the point. I also like doing cool stuff, Johnny-style, but always with an intent to make it work. I don't mind losing at all.
But the edh playgroup in my area seems to be the opposite, in that the whole point of games is "not to win, but to say 'look at the cool thing I'm doing right now'", to quote the guy I talked to from the group. Fair enough, I'm not here to critique why other people play magic. I'm looking for tips on trying to integrate myself into this group without clashing with them. I don't want to play edh in a manner that I don't enjoy - what's the point, then? - so I don't want to make a deck that just builds up a board state and throws it at the opponent's and see who wins. I like interaction! But too many counterspells, sweepers, and spot removal is bound to clash with their playstyles, right? And I assume fast combos and board lockdowns are a no-go.
Anyway, I'm looking for tips on choosing a general and building an edh deck that's fun to play for me, but not too "unfun" (whatever that means) for people to play against. I could use a casual game of magic now and then. Or am I better off not even trying to play edh, and sticking to modern?
Here are my preferences:
1) I like mono-colored, but it's not a requirement.
2) My least favorite colors are green and red, but it's not like I hate them. I'm up for something cool that involves green or red.
3) Ramp and stompy decks aren't that much fun for me.
I thought about building an underpowered deck so I could have a good time trying to beat 3 or more other people playing fully-optimized decks, but I'm not sure if that's a good idea. Plus, I would then be missing out on half the fun: deckbuilding.
Thanks!
tl;dr: Spike looking for a general and deck that is fun to play while not pissing off a group of casual players.
You should definitely handicap yourself in some regard, I was in your shoes ~2 years ago and learned that lesson quickly. As a good/competitive player you will have zero trouble breaking the format and dominating locally if you don't set some limits for yourself.
Personally I do that by going completely tutor-less. That simple rule keeps me from consistently pulling off early game-winning combos.
Another useful approach is to pick a theme for a given deck and actually stick to it, at least when it comes to how the deck wins (for removal/answers it can be tough to stick with a theme). Don't just play a bunch of good stuff that can win you the game, like Insurrection, Consecrated Sphinx, Mike/Trike. Instead make it a challenge to win with the deck in a given way.
Ok, that seems like a good idea! I personally hate searching my library (it's such a hassle!) so that handicap appeals to me. What are some other limitations that I can work under?
Some additional info: I made 1 edh deck previously. Kami of the crescent moon, which at first was a cantrip-based tempo based deck that gradually turned into a pretty terrible card-draw deck with aether vial + laboratory maniac as the only wincon as I realized I was being too competitive for most edh groups.
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Modern: UR storm
Legacy: dragon stompy
Pauper: UG madness
MTGO: big_hat
I would say play some other people's decks a few times. It can give you a good look at what the group is doing to know the power level and speed of combo (if it is played).
If people are sick of reading about stuff just stop taking part. You have 100% control over what you read. Simic Ascendancy isn't going to get banned just because you didn't tell someone to shut up on the internet.
Yeah I'll second the theme idea as a fun way to somewhat handicap yourself.
I just chose Ephara prison/control for my 1v1 deck and we all know how miserable it
can be to play 1v1 against Azorius. So I've decided to keep it to a city theme to
limit the power level a bit and hopefully make for some more interesting games.
Also just as a tip for someone new to the format, G is probably the best color overall.
What it sounds like you could use is some kind of "engine" deck. Decks that use niche build around cards to aquire card advantage to eventaully win with. Something like Life from the Loam + Seismic Assault + cycling lands, or some weird Trading Post/Mimic Vat/Blasting Station loop. I really like Golgari alligned shards for sweet synergies, as it lets you use your graveyard, hand and creatures in interesting ways to accrue advantage. Mimeoplasm, Shattergang Brothers and Glissa can all be built in fun, interesting ways that can "combo off" in neat ways without being too broken. Sydri is also quite good for this style of deck if you want to avoid green.
First of all, I'd like to say you're already waaaay ahead of the game in that you're able to recognize that you're a spike and that playing competitively is one of your priorities. Many, MANY, spikes who make their way into the format never seem to come to grips with this realization and the format is better when people like yourself pick it up.
Break yourself of some early desires to play cards that are the formats most douchie offenders....Right off the bat, say no to proxies (this will keep you from playing you know are OP but don't own--you know, things like Mishra's Workshop. This will not only make you a better player, it will make you a better deck builder as well. Additionally, say to yourself "I will not play the following generals and the following cards:"
Generals
Zur
Derevi
Jhoira
Ghave Guru of spores
Maelstorm wanderer
Animar
Skithrex
Cards
Prophet of Kurphex
Consecrated Sphinx
Magisters Sphinx
Mindslaver
Winter Orb
Any thing that blows up lands en mass (Armegedon/Apocalypse etc.)
and never take more than 3 turns in a row--that's just awful to sit an watch.
No cards are inherently evil, but some lead you down a path of spikieness which will naturally be alluring to you. That isn't necessarily bad, but as you're learning the format and learning your meta it's good to just ease off the cards that scream to everyone at the table, "I'm new and I am in love with winning...so much so that I'm willing to sacrifice your fun in order to do it."
Just remember, EDH is about fun--the maximum amount of for everyone. If you're the Spike at the table your win comes at the cost of their fun, then they won't play with you. And then, you'll be on the outside of a group, watching others, never playing--and never having fun. Get to know your own level of restraint--If it's turn 5 and you can combo off how long can you wait until you ruin everyone's game with some combo that everyone has seen a thousand times. If you can't do this, just know that EDH isn't for you...there's nothing wrong with that, just pop into legacy or vintage--spikey decks in EDH probably cost just about as much as they do in those formats anyway.
Now if you play online and you will never have to worry about pissing people off--douche it up, chances are you'll need to because people are going to do the same to you.
No one spoke. There was no need. The threat of the Eldrazi presented a simple choice: lay down your arms and die for nothing, or hold them fast and die for something.
Given that you want mono-colored and something Jhonny-esque, try Arcum Dagsson. A good primer can be found here.
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Standard
>implying Modern
>implying Legacy UWMiracles/Countertop EDH UUUMemnarch, Steal your grillUUU RWUZedruu, Queen of ChaosRWU GWUBRReaper KingGWUBR My Trades
Given that you want mono-colored and something Jhonny-esque, try Arcum Dagsson. A good primer can be found here.
Don't do this. If you're a naturally spikey person trying to hold back a bit, picking a general notorious for consistently and quickly setting up hard locks and combo kills is going to be an exercise in frustration. You're either going to have to build a massively powered down version of the deck, or you're going to alienate the group that you described. Based on what you've told us about them, I doubt they're running the answer density that Arcum demands.
The best suggestions I've seen for what your trying to do are to build heavily within a theme. If you pick a terrible theme and stick with it, you can optimize to your heart's content without making something overpowered. Obscure tribes and weird mechanics are a great starting point for that.
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[Pr]Jaya | Estrid | A rotating cast of decks built out of my box.
I also like doing cool stuff, Johnny-style, but always with an intent to make it work.
1) I like mono-colored, but it's not a requirement.
2) My least favorite colors are green and red, but it's not like I hate them. I'm up for something cool that involves green or red.
3) Ramp and stompy decks aren't that much fun for me.
I thought about building an underpowered deck so I could have a good time trying to beat 3 or more other people playing fully-optimized decks, but I'm not sure if that's a good idea. Plus, I would then be missing out on half the fun: deck building.
Just off the top of my head, after reading the following snippets of your post, these generals come to mind:
1) Darien, King of Kjeldor (one of the better mono-whites imo)
2) Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker
3) Teysa, Orzhov Scion
I think these commanders can offer opportunities to utilize good deck building skills, and they can also illuminate your Johnny senses. Two of them are mono-colored, and they avoid red and green. They also avoid Blue so that you are not tempted to go down the road of degeneracy that is easily offered with that color! Hope this helps and good luck!!
Another option could be to build a 1v1 EDH deck to get your competitive fix in. EDH doesn't tend to have lots of tournaments, but when it does, it usually uses the Duel Commander (aka French EDH) banlist- which is a banlist designed specifically for competitive 1v1 play. Just note that this banlist was designed by the player base, and isn't endorsed by WotC in the same way the multiplayer banlist is. If you're interested to learn more, just check out the 1v1 EDH section.
As has been said, Spike players have often had great results in EDH by setting their own restrictions. Making a pre-set theme for your deck is a good one. I've known players to restrict themselves in terms of cost (no cards worth more than $5 in the deck) or rarity (no mythics) or even expansion (only cards from the current standard, only cards from the original Ravnica block, etc).
Making a winning deck that doesn't use its general or any tutors is a real challenge, but something to be proud of when you accomplish it.
Think of it like training at the gym. It could have great results for your game and deck building skills in the long run. Also, it might just be fun.
Oh, didn't know you were trying to restrict yourself. Sorry.
In that case, try some fun tribal general like Atogatog.
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Standard
>implying Modern
>implying Legacy UWMiracles/Countertop EDH UUUMemnarch, Steal your grillUUU RWUZedruu, Queen of ChaosRWU GWUBRReaper KingGWUBR My Trades
I suggest you make a Thassa, God of the Sea deck, and build it like you would some kind of "fish" deck - so lots of blue creatures that want to get in for damage, especially ones that trigger effects when they do. This will feel a lot like a kind of deck you might be familiar with and enjoy playing, but here's the trick: Trying to win by attacking with creatures is really awful in this format. So even if you build the most optimised fish deck you could, you probably won't break anything.
Monored and monoblue are probably the most interesting. Blue is a very strong colour in this format with numerous powerful cards, but it's also a very limited colour that doesn't have the breadth of tools that green, black, or white have. Red is the flat-out worst colour in the format; without intimate knowledge of Commander and how it works, and as long as you're not building (say) a Zo-zu, the Punisher deck, monored is unlikely to yield a highly dominating power deck (Zo-zu and Heartless Hidetsugu aren't overly powerful, but they frustrate people). Even Kiki-jiki, Mirror Breaker is an eminently fair general simply because monored has so much trouble finding broken things to do with him.
I've seen a lot of people in a similar boat to you. I would suggest one of the following:
1. Look for people who are up for French EDH (http://duelcommander.com/)
2. Go for one of the more durdly competitive multiplayer decks. Some examples: 5-color Burning Vengeance, Dreamcrusher (ehh, has some ramp focus), and Jenara Bant Enchantress.
3. Go for a purely "synergies" deck rather than a combo deck with WUB or GUB that controls the board but avoids comboing out.
I'm also going to throw my support to a Synergy deck.
They let you be competitive by maximizing what you accomplish on your turn, but the results don't actually end the game quickly. Other have already mentioned it, but Golgari is great for this task. If you want a bit more control, you can go BUG.
My Savra, Queen of the Golgari deck runs this way. It can make strong plays, but they're all creature based, which most players will have answers too compared to artifacts and enchantments. An example of a decent but durdly play I had the other day:
Thanks everyone for the replies! I really like everyone's suggestion to run a synergies deck rather than combo. That's more of what I like doing, anyway. I also like the idea of going tutorless and mono-colored. That should get the creative juices flowing; plus, I wont' ever have to shuffle my library after the game starts, which is a pain. I think I'll stick to mono-blue or mono-white... now, to choose a general! I'll have to take a look at what's available.
Thanks again!
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Modern: UR storm
Legacy: dragon stompy
Pauper: UG madness
MTGO: big_hat
Remember that multi-player games are political. The (perceived) strongest player can quickly become the weakest player! You have to walk a fine line to maximize your win rate. Playing abusively powerful strategies (relative to the field) is a good way to be the first player out most of your games.
Unless your opponents decks are so underpowered that you can easily roll over everyone. But you wouldn't enjoy that anymore than they would! If this is the case, build a strategically interesting but underpowered deck, than challenge yourself to play it optimally.
First of all, I would like to welcome you to EDH. It's a big format with a lot of variety and flexibility, and it has room for just about every playstyle, deck idea, and so forth. If you give yourself a chance, it can be a lot of fun.
Second, I'd like to remind you of something regarding Spikes that you mentioned yourself: They are competitive. However, this does not mean it has to be against other players. Competition, by its definition, requires a goal. All it requires is to change what that goal is, from "defeating all my enemies" to something else. Perhaps you want to win with the highest life total. Perhaps you want to roll a die when you sit down at the table and you want to do what you can so *that* person wins. Maybe it's something completely different - you enjoy Lord of the Rings enough that you want to build the best deck you can that fits the story. Regardless, a change in focus will make a huge difference.
Third, remember that EDH is primarily seen as "beer and pretzels" or "chips and soda" Magic - the kind of Magic you play to relax and unwind with friends. The kind of Magic you probably were more accustomed to when you first heard about it. The kind where people play with whatever they have laying around and people tell stories about the games afterward, like getting beaten soundly by a double-Spirit Linked Abbey Gargoyles with Divine Transformation on it.
Lastly, read articles on the format. At SCG there are no less than three different columns for EDH, including one by the Godfather of EDH, Sheldon Menery. There are also websites that are aimed toward the format. The 'official' rules for the format are here and the forums there are useful for coming up with ideas of your own. And don't be afraid to try something different! I have a tendency of designing all sorts of odd lists, mostly around "doing X in the 'wrong' colours". I currently have Dosan monogreen control and am busy writing up Thada Adel monoblue ramp. I've already sketched out (4of, 60card) monoblack Group Hug. I've also taken Sharuum and turned her into a tribal leader in EDH rather than using her for major artifact recursion. The format's big enough to entertain any ideas you might have.
Again, welcome and good luck!
As a fellow Spike who crushed a few EDH tables and ruffled more than a few feathers before I "got it", the best advice I can offer you is this:
Don't try to break the format. Try NOT to break it.
This doesn't mean that you should take a powerful deck and dumb it down. This usually leads to a high-variance deck and a bad experience for someone. Either the good part of your deck works in spite your attempts to weaken it and the other players get steamrolled (and steamed!). That's a bad experience for them. Or, you get the bad cards and just sit there taking a beating and thinking "if only I had my REAL cards". That's a bad experience for you. I'm having this exact problem with my Kozilek, Butcher of Truth deck right now. Either I flatten the whole table or play draw-go for 10 turns before someone gets around to killing me. Maybe it's just not possible to build a Kozilek deck that fits the nature of the format. (But I'm not giving up.)
Rather, find something unique/fun/interesting, however you define those things. Then build the best deck possible with that theme/goal in mind. Playing a "casual" format does not mean "I have to play crap." It just means "my goal is different in EDH than it is in a Constructed tournament." In a Constructed tournament, if you're a Spike, you just want to win as efficiently as possible, and forget the rest. In EDH, my goal is to build decks of which I'm proud, that have a reasonable chance of winning a fair game and that are fun to play and fun to play against. My favorite thing is when an opponent says "Hey man, cool deck", even if I win. Another good test is "if I swapped decks with my opponent, would I enjoy playing against my own deck?" If the answer is no, back to the drawing board.
Just because you build a unique/fun/interesting deck doesn't mean that it has to be poorly designed. If you want to build a Baron Sengir Vampire Tribal deck, for crying out loud, do it right. Have a mana curve. Have some synergy. Play some answers. Play good cards. Some might label you a "try-hard", but that's just nonsense. You probably can't be a "try-hard" if you're playing Vampire Tribal in EDH. I'm an engineer by trade. Things which are poorly designed make me sad. If you're going to do something, do it all the way. Don't confuse "casual" with "mediocre" or "sloppy". (Nothing against the Baron. He's in my Olivia deck. I just used him as an example of a fun and flavorful but not super-competitive creature)
For a specific recommendation, you might want to try Darien, King of Kjeldor. He's mono-colored, not green or red, and has a very unique effect. Soldier tribal is fine (and he counts as a Soldier in the Oracle text). But, you can do better. Think of the ways to damage yourself for fun and profit (City of Brass, Mana Vault, etc). Think about what to do with all those soldiers. Then figure out a way to reliably cast a 6-drop commander in a color with mediocre ramp options and awful card draw. If you decide to go that route, PM me or ping the thread. I've build the deck before and it's a blast.
Good hunting.
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I'm always open to suggestions for my decks. Thanks in advance.
But the edh playgroup in my area seems to be the opposite, in that the whole point of games is "not to win, but to say 'look at the cool thing I'm doing right now'", to quote the guy I talked to from the group. Fair enough, I'm not here to critique why other people play magic. I'm looking for tips on trying to integrate myself into this group without clashing with them. I don't want to play edh in a manner that I don't enjoy - what's the point, then? - so I don't want to make a deck that just builds up a board state and throws it at the opponent's and see who wins. I like interaction! But too many counterspells, sweepers, and spot removal is bound to clash with their playstyles, right? And I assume fast combos and board lockdowns are a no-go.
Anyway, I'm looking for tips on choosing a general and building an edh deck that's fun to play for me, but not too "unfun" (whatever that means) for people to play against. I could use a casual game of magic now and then. Or am I better off not even trying to play edh, and sticking to modern?
Here are my preferences:
1) I like mono-colored, but it's not a requirement.
2) My least favorite colors are green and red, but it's not like I hate them. I'm up for something cool that involves green or red.
3) Ramp and stompy decks aren't that much fun for me.
I thought about building an underpowered deck so I could have a good time trying to beat 3 or more other people playing fully-optimized decks, but I'm not sure if that's a good idea. Plus, I would then be missing out on half the fun: deckbuilding.
Thanks!
tl;dr: Spike looking for a general and deck that is fun to play while not pissing off a group of casual players.
Legacy: dragon stompy
Pauper: UG madness
MTGO: big_hat
Personally I do that by going completely tutor-less. That simple rule keeps me from consistently pulling off early game-winning combos.
Another useful approach is to pick a theme for a given deck and actually stick to it, at least when it comes to how the deck wins (for removal/answers it can be tough to stick with a theme). Don't just play a bunch of good stuff that can win you the game, like Insurrection, Consecrated Sphinx, Mike/Trike. Instead make it a challenge to win with the deck in a given way.
Some additional info: I made 1 edh deck previously. Kami of the crescent moon, which at first was a cantrip-based tempo based deck that gradually turned into a pretty terrible card-draw deck with aether vial + laboratory maniac as the only wincon as I realized I was being too competitive for most edh groups.
Legacy: dragon stompy
Pauper: UG madness
MTGO: big_hat
I just chose Ephara prison/control for my 1v1 deck and we all know how miserable it
can be to play 1v1 against Azorius. So I've decided to keep it to a city theme to
limit the power level a bit and hopefully make for some more interesting games.
Also just as a tip for someone new to the format, G is probably the best color overall.
GWB Junk Stax Ghave BWG
Break yourself of some early desires to play cards that are the formats most douchie offenders....Right off the bat, say no to proxies (this will keep you from playing you know are OP but don't own--you know, things like Mishra's Workshop. This will not only make you a better player, it will make you a better deck builder as well. Additionally, say to yourself "I will not play the following generals and the following cards:"
Generals
Zur
Derevi
Jhoira
Ghave Guru of spores
Maelstorm wanderer
Animar
Skithrex
Cards
Prophet of Kurphex
Consecrated Sphinx
Magisters Sphinx
Mindslaver
Winter Orb
Any thing that blows up lands en mass (Armegedon/Apocalypse etc.)
and never take more than 3 turns in a row--that's just awful to sit an watch.
No cards are inherently evil, but some lead you down a path of spikieness which will naturally be alluring to you. That isn't necessarily bad, but as you're learning the format and learning your meta it's good to just ease off the cards that scream to everyone at the table, "I'm new and I am in love with winning...so much so that I'm willing to sacrifice your fun in order to do it."
Just remember, EDH is about fun--the maximum amount of for everyone. If you're the Spike at the table your win comes at the cost of their fun, then they won't play with you. And then, you'll be on the outside of a group, watching others, never playing--and never having fun. Get to know your own level of restraint--If it's turn 5 and you can combo off how long can you wait until you ruin everyone's game with some combo that everyone has seen a thousand times. If you can't do this, just know that EDH isn't for you...there's nothing wrong with that, just pop into legacy or vintage--spikey decks in EDH probably cost just about as much as they do in those formats anyway.
Now if you play online and you will never have to worry about pissing people off--douche it up, chances are you'll need to because people are going to do the same to you.
I hope that helps
Ely
>implying
Modern
>implying
Legacy
UWMiracles/Countertop
EDH
UUUMemnarch, Steal your grillUUU
RWUZedruu, Queen of ChaosRWU
GWUBRReaper KingGWUBR
My Trades
The best suggestions I've seen for what your trying to do are to build heavily within a theme. If you pick a terrible theme and stick with it, you can optimize to your heart's content without making something overpowered. Obscure tribes and weird mechanics are a great starting point for that.
Just off the top of my head, after reading the following snippets of your post, these generals come to mind:
1) Darien, King of Kjeldor (one of the better mono-whites imo)
2) Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker
3) Teysa, Orzhov Scion
I think these commanders can offer opportunities to utilize good deck building skills, and they can also illuminate your Johnny senses. Two of them are mono-colored, and they avoid red and green. They also avoid Blue so that you are not tempted to go down the road of degeneracy that is easily offered with that color! Hope this helps and good luck!!
Making a winning deck that doesn't use its general or any tutors is a real challenge, but something to be proud of when you accomplish it.
Think of it like training at the gym. It could have great results for your game and deck building skills in the long run. Also, it might just be fun.
How To Keep Your FOIL Cards From Curling: http://youtu.be/QTmubrS8VnI
The Best Deck Boxes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEwgLph_Pjk
The Best Binders: http://youtu.be/H5IauASYWjk
In that case, try some fun tribal general like Atogatog.
>implying
Modern
>implying
Legacy
UWMiracles/Countertop
EDH
UUUMemnarch, Steal your grillUUU
RWUZedruu, Queen of ChaosRWU
GWUBRReaper KingGWUBR
My Trades
Monored and monoblue are probably the most interesting. Blue is a very strong colour in this format with numerous powerful cards, but it's also a very limited colour that doesn't have the breadth of tools that green, black, or white have. Red is the flat-out worst colour in the format; without intimate knowledge of Commander and how it works, and as long as you're not building (say) a Zo-zu, the Punisher deck, monored is unlikely to yield a highly dominating power deck (Zo-zu and Heartless Hidetsugu aren't overly powerful, but they frustrate people). Even Kiki-jiki, Mirror Breaker is an eminently fair general simply because monored has so much trouble finding broken things to do with him.
1. Look for people who are up for French EDH (http://duelcommander.com/)
2. Go for one of the more durdly competitive multiplayer decks. Some examples: 5-color Burning Vengeance, Dreamcrusher (ehh, has some ramp focus), and Jenara Bant Enchantress.
3. Go for a purely "synergies" deck rather than a combo deck with WUB or GUB that controls the board but avoids comboing out.
They let you be competitive by maximizing what you accomplish on your turn, but the results don't actually end the game quickly. Other have already mentioned it, but Golgari is great for this task. If you want a bit more control, you can go BUG.
My Savra, Queen of the Golgari deck runs this way. It can make strong plays, but they're all creature based, which most players will have answers too compared to artifacts and enchantments. An example of a decent but durdly play I had the other day:
Board consists of Birthing Pod, Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth is in play. I play Puppeteer Clique, reviving an opponent's Crypt Ghast. All my lands are swamps, so tap my remaining four for eight mana. Pod the Crypt Ghast into Phyrexian Delver, which revives Reaper from the Abyss. Play Gray Merchant of Asphodel, drain the other four players for nine each, gaining 36. Move to end step, Morbid trigger kills a Gisela.
Stuff like that gives the opponents plenty of time to do something about it, but you still get to do a bunch along the way.
EDH Decks
BGGlissa, the TraitorGB
URTibor and LumiaRU
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticBUW
UBSygg, River CutthroatBU
RGXenagos, God of RevelsGR
UGVorel of the Hull CladeGU
GBSavra, Queen of the GolgariBG
URGMaelstrom WandererGRU
Thanks again!
Legacy: dragon stompy
Pauper: UG madness
MTGO: big_hat
Unless your opponents decks are so underpowered that you can easily roll over everyone. But you wouldn't enjoy that anymore than they would! If this is the case, build a strategically interesting but underpowered deck, than challenge yourself to play it optimally.
https://fieldmarshalshandbook.wordpress.com/
RUGLegacy Lands.dec
RUGBLegacy Lands.dec
RGLegacy Lands.dec
WUBRG EDH Lands.dec
UBR EDH Artificer Prodigy
B EDH Relentless Rats
Second, I'd like to remind you of something regarding Spikes that you mentioned yourself: They are competitive. However, this does not mean it has to be against other players. Competition, by its definition, requires a goal. All it requires is to change what that goal is, from "defeating all my enemies" to something else. Perhaps you want to win with the highest life total. Perhaps you want to roll a die when you sit down at the table and you want to do what you can so *that* person wins. Maybe it's something completely different - you enjoy Lord of the Rings enough that you want to build the best deck you can that fits the story. Regardless, a change in focus will make a huge difference.
Third, remember that EDH is primarily seen as "beer and pretzels" or "chips and soda" Magic - the kind of Magic you play to relax and unwind with friends. The kind of Magic you probably were more accustomed to when you first heard about it. The kind where people play with whatever they have laying around and people tell stories about the games afterward, like getting beaten soundly by a double-Spirit Linked Abbey Gargoyles with Divine Transformation on it.
Lastly, read articles on the format. At SCG there are no less than three different columns for EDH, including one by the Godfather of EDH, Sheldon Menery. There are also websites that are aimed toward the format. The 'official' rules for the format are here and the forums there are useful for coming up with ideas of your own. And don't be afraid to try something different! I have a tendency of designing all sorts of odd lists, mostly around "doing X in the 'wrong' colours". I currently have Dosan monogreen control and am busy writing up Thada Adel monoblue ramp. I've already sketched out (4of, 60card) monoblack Group Hug. I've also taken Sharuum and turned her into a tribal leader in EDH rather than using her for major artifact recursion. The format's big enough to entertain any ideas you might have.
Again, welcome and good luck!
Mindstab Thrull
Sanity eater extraordinaire
Operator, #mtgcommander on EFnet chat network
Don't try to break the format. Try NOT to break it.
This doesn't mean that you should take a powerful deck and dumb it down. This usually leads to a high-variance deck and a bad experience for someone. Either the good part of your deck works in spite your attempts to weaken it and the other players get steamrolled (and steamed!). That's a bad experience for them. Or, you get the bad cards and just sit there taking a beating and thinking "if only I had my REAL cards". That's a bad experience for you. I'm having this exact problem with my Kozilek, Butcher of Truth deck right now. Either I flatten the whole table or play draw-go for 10 turns before someone gets around to killing me. Maybe it's just not possible to build a Kozilek deck that fits the nature of the format. (But I'm not giving up.)
Rather, find something unique/fun/interesting, however you define those things. Then build the best deck possible with that theme/goal in mind. Playing a "casual" format does not mean "I have to play crap." It just means "my goal is different in EDH than it is in a Constructed tournament." In a Constructed tournament, if you're a Spike, you just want to win as efficiently as possible, and forget the rest. In EDH, my goal is to build decks of which I'm proud, that have a reasonable chance of winning a fair game and that are fun to play and fun to play against. My favorite thing is when an opponent says "Hey man, cool deck", even if I win. Another good test is "if I swapped decks with my opponent, would I enjoy playing against my own deck?" If the answer is no, back to the drawing board.
Just because you build a unique/fun/interesting deck doesn't mean that it has to be poorly designed. If you want to build a Baron Sengir Vampire Tribal deck, for crying out loud, do it right. Have a mana curve. Have some synergy. Play some answers. Play good cards. Some might label you a "try-hard", but that's just nonsense. You probably can't be a "try-hard" if you're playing Vampire Tribal in EDH. I'm an engineer by trade. Things which are poorly designed make me sad. If you're going to do something, do it all the way. Don't confuse "casual" with "mediocre" or "sloppy". (Nothing against the Baron. He's in my Olivia deck. I just used him as an example of a fun and flavorful but not super-competitive creature)
For a specific recommendation, you might want to try Darien, King of Kjeldor. He's mono-colored, not green or red, and has a very unique effect. Soldier tribal is fine (and he counts as a Soldier in the Oracle text). But, you can do better. Think of the ways to damage yourself for fun and profit (City of Brass, Mana Vault, etc). Think about what to do with all those soldiers. Then figure out a way to reliably cast a 6-drop commander in a color with mediocre ramp options and awful card draw. If you decide to go that route, PM me or ping the thread. I've build the deck before and it's a blast.
Good hunting.
Captain Sisay - Efficient Toolbox Control
Kemba, Kha Regent - Equipment & Mini-stax
There's this special place in EDH-hell that's called mono-white.
Practically impossible to build tier-1 or close to tier-1 competitive.
[Primer] Kozilek, Butcher with Juice.
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/commander-edh/549162-optimizing-hokori-dust-drinker#c3
I like Hokori decks but it's not anything close to tier 1 though.
[Primer] Kozilek, Butcher with Juice.