Has anything changed in the last year since a similar question was asked? It's been a while since I've been around, and I'm trying to put together a new list.
Looking for competitive generals that can hold their own against Tier 2 Commanders, or possibly take on a Tier 1 list. Suggestions?
Anything Bant Edric, Spymaster of Tres Talrand, Sky Summoner
Edric and derevi are about it but aggro generally loses to combo and control.
Derevi is mostly stax effects so they can kill with creatures that way and edric controls the board after hitting with lots of creatures. As far as ourr aggro against competitive control or combo it's a far cry for consisntant wins
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Hey guys so I've actually moved on from commander on to 60 card decks so I don't have any commander decks.
Anyway I've started my own gameplay channel in which I play games (Magic also)
You guys are right that it would likely be neigh impossible to keep up with tier 1 decks, so maybe let's make it a little less competitive. What might be the best aggro options available? Thanks for the input thus far.
You guys are right that it would likely be neigh impossible to keep up with tier 1 decks, so maybe let's make it a little less competitive. What might be the best aggro options available? Thanks for the input thus far.
My Xenagos is able to get early kills while still having at least a chance late game. That might be what you're looking for.
Build Zurgo Helmsmasher with lots of artifact ramp and all the LD you can find.
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I can't say I'm pleased to see you and must warn you I may have to do something about it.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: URDelver
Modern: UGRDelver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
It's really hard to do aggro in EDH without green. I've tried mono-red, rakdos, kaalia, and (if you want a real redzone deck and not a land destruction/control deck) I just can't get them to perform anywhere near as well as a rampy green deck.
If you're ok with Bant, Jenara, Asura of War isn't a bad choice, and she'll give you access to manadorks, the good green/white hatebears, the stoneforge/equipment package, and the blue tempo essentials
It's really hard to do aggro in EDH without green. I've tried mono-red, rakdos, kaalia, and (if you want a real redzone deck and not a land destruction/control deck) I just can't get them to perform anywhere near as well as a rampy green deck.
If you're ok with Bant, Jenara, Asura of War isn't a bad choice, and she'll give you access to manadorks, the good green/white hatebears, the stoneforge/equipment package, and the blue tempo essentials
I think I'm going to try and assemble a bit of a knowledge base on the subject. But I think you're right, the colors that are usually great in aggro (White/Red) just don't have the card advantage to knock out several players life totals before the game ends.
Second Marchesa. She's a lot of fun to play. It's also entertaining to watch people shock themselves and the like to keep from being the high life total.
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[Pr]Jaya | Estrid | A rotating cast of decks built out of my box.
Wort, Boggart Auntie goblins can put down tons of damage fast. And with black you get graveyard recursion to help fight the wraths which are a big problem for aggro decks.
Been a while indeed. Aggro is ill-suited towards being able to compete against anything stronger than Tier 2 decks. Playing aggro requires an emphasis upon resource denial or stax to buy the time required to beat down those opponents playing competitive decks. Pure aggro doesn't work. I've been trying to get a Derevi landfall with a Craterhoof finish and some light stax elements to work. But it's been very vulnerable to targetted removal and early disruption; can't get around the higher landcount and lower card quality. My tempo version is just better.
Probably the most effective aggro commander I have played is Kozilek, Butcher of Truth. If you can resolve him and attack with him relatively early (Turn 4 or 5) then you can often take over the game and put out a lot of opponents. He is definitely not ridiculous high end tier 1 but he is solid tier 1.5 or tier 2. Surrak Dragonclaw has also been a solid creature based deck for me and tends to be pretty resilient but he's more ramp/lite control into unstoppable trampling monsters of doom but it definitely would not hold up at the most competitive of tables but it is pretty fun.
sygg, river cutthroat functions similar to edric, spymaster of trest in many respects. Both are quick to take the offensive and generate card advantage for doing so. Sygg costs only 2 mana so it's safe to say that he will also be on the battlefield from beginning to end.
And why not Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest? You run some unblockable/trample dudes and you can have quite great removal/counterspell/draw package, which you use to protect your general and boost him or creatures you have as well. T4 or T5 wins aren't that uncommon with him..
Someone mentioned Marchesa and that is my current fave. I've won games with 6/6 Rakdos Cacklers and 7/7 Thrumming Birds using her as the general. Her combination of anthem effect AND wrath protection at just the right spot on the curve makes her a legit aggro general. General game plan for me is to curve out 1-2-3-Marchesa with aggressive/synergistic creatures then work to disrupt my opponents (creatures with ETB are perfect here, but I find it worthwhile to run some of the better cheap counterspells too) while steadily increasing pressure. Not a broken deck by any means, but probably one of the few places in EDH where you can profitably run tons of 1-2 drops and not just get crushed in the mid-late game. Helps that Marchesa's wrath-protection ability can transform into a combo enabler as the game goes on and you have the resources to set up recursion loops, that gives you a stronger late game than you might expect.
I'll also second the Krenko mention. He makes for a very powerful aggro general that can also mix in some amount of disruption or combo depending on which way you want to go. But just jamming him + good goblins + token makers + lords will put lethal on the board very quickly. I played him for a while but actually ended up tiring of him because the games felt a little too straightforward, w/o enough ability to interact.
I also play Edric, but at this point I think everyone knows how good he is.
And why not Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest? You run some unblockable/trample dudes and you can have quite great removal/counterspell/draw package, which you use to protect your general and boost him or creatures you have as well. T4 or T5 wins aren't that uncommon with him..
I tried that...and it mostly just ended up being Shu Yun combo/voltron, because general damage just made it more efficient to pump/protect him than another creature. Nothing wrong with that deck, but it isn't really an aggro deck in the typical sense.
My Kemba, Kha Regent deck, promoted in my sig, is sporting a solid 50% win record in the semi-competitive meta that is my shop. While going tall and going wide are both valid options, I typically aim to go tall. That said, 1v1 anyway, it plays more like a tempo deck, tutoring for the sword of appropriate protections, and removing anything worrisome, swinging for modest commander damage for a few turns in a row, where the cat tokens are just blockers. Seems to work, anyway.
I've seen Glissa, the traitor done as an impressive aggro deck same as Radha, Heir to Keld to cards like Lu Xun, Scholar General. Basically aggro can be done well in every color combo as all you need for an aggro deck to work well is how you deal with end game. From the deciding Do you make it to end game and scale up you threats gradually to do you prevent others from making it to the end game by using MLD or a quicker kill any strategy can be done with an aggro deck but the main thing in making an aggro deck is how you play it. From knowing when to go hog wild to when to pull back in case of a board wipe you just need to assess your opponents as best as you can and prevent them from truly stabilizing.
But 4 commanders I love for Aggro as people don't expect them to work as well as they do:
Radha, Heir to Keld: Elfball Aggro is a very wellknown style of play but when you toss in Mass Land and Artifact destruction and Targeted land and artiact destruction you can outrace nearly everyone.
Lu Xun, Scholar General: Lu Xun Plays more like a cawblade/tempo deck than a straight up aggro deck but its worth noting as he already has powerful evasion and is cheaply costed so you can comeout fast.
Looking for competitive generals that can hold their own against Tier 2 Commanders, or possibly take on a Tier 1 list. Suggestions?
Anything Bant
Edric, Spymaster of Tres
Talrand, Sky Summoner
Derevi is mostly stax effects so they can kill with creatures that way and edric controls the board after hitting with lots of creatures. As far as ourr aggro against competitive control or combo it's a far cry for consisntant wins
Anyway I've started my own gameplay channel in which I play games (Magic also)
Twitch:
https://www.twitch.tv/dies_to_doom_blade
Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/UpsidedownHandshake
qualifier: kaalia with lots of mass LD, not the dragon/angel/demon tribal-esque style.
Legacy - Solidarity - mono U aggro - burn - Imperial Painter - Strawberry Shortcake - Bluuzards - bom
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: UR Delver
Modern: UGR Delver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
http://www.5colorcombo.com/magic/edh/turning/creatures/sideways/2016/03/27/turning-creatures-sideways-edh.html
Jarad Graveyard Combo[Primer]!
Sidisi ANT!
Playing Commander to Win - A guide on Competitive, 4-player EDH
LandDestruction.com - An EDH blog
If you're ok with Bant, Jenara, Asura of War isn't a bad choice, and she'll give you access to manadorks, the good green/white hatebears, the stoneforge/equipment package, and the blue tempo essentials
Full?! There's only four options, and three are green!
I think I'm going to try and assemble a bit of a knowledge base on the subject. But I think you're right, the colors that are usually great in aggro (White/Red) just don't have the card advantage to knock out several players life totals before the game ends.
I dig it. Good call!
In search of a foil french Dromar, the Banisher, pm me if you have one you want to part with, also foil Stratadon's.
BRGrenzo, Dungeon Warden EDH
GAzusa, Always in a Rush EDH
GWUDerevi, Empyrial Warlord EDH
Trade thread on MOTL
I'll also second the Krenko mention. He makes for a very powerful aggro general that can also mix in some amount of disruption or combo depending on which way you want to go. But just jamming him + good goblins + token makers + lords will put lethal on the board very quickly. I played him for a while but actually ended up tiring of him because the games felt a little too straightforward, w/o enough ability to interact.
I also play Edric, but at this point I think everyone knows how good he is.
I tried that...and it mostly just ended up being Shu Yun combo/voltron, because general damage just made it more efficient to pump/protect him than another creature. Nothing wrong with that deck, but it isn't really an aggro deck in the typical sense.
But 4 commanders I love for Aggro as people don't expect them to work as well as they do:
Glissa, the traitor: Between the Eggs you can run to help with card draw and the disruption effect that artifacts are known for like Winter orb to keep people in the early phases of the game, you can abuse cards like painsmith in pumping your affinity styled beaters such as Signal Pest, Vault Skirge, and Arcbound Ravager and you can scale it up to stuff like Wurmcoil Engine or Steel Hellkite for late game. the main idea with this deck is that Cranial plating and Skullclamp are very abusable.
Radha, Heir to Keld: Elfball Aggro is a very wellknown style of play but when you toss in Mass Land and Artifact destruction and Targeted land and artiact destruction you can outrace nearly everyone.
Lu Xun, Scholar General: Lu Xun Plays more like a cawblade/tempo deck than a straight up aggro deck but its worth noting as he already has powerful evasion and is cheaply costed so you can comeout fast.
Gahiji, Honored One: This deck focuses on the threats coming out from Zoo decks like Kird Ape and Dryad Militant and hatebears such as Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and then using your commander to scale up your threats into the mid and late game.
These decks are each ones i've played on top of more traditional aggro decks but I felt this might be what you are looking for.