I have very little experience in EDH and only played a few games with my friend's deck. I am getting bored with the fast pace of modern and the meta changing standard so I decided to start playing EDH and build my very first deck. I know some of you might say "get the pre-con commander 2016 deck, they can be played straight outta the box", but the store around my area is running out of stock.
I have go through the list of available generals, and so far I am interested in Tolsimir Wolfblood and Rafiq of the Many. Could you guys provide some information on the play style of these two, because I only see Wolfblood build around tokens and Rafiq build around exalted. Are there any other build variant? is the build expensive to be playable? are they gonna draw hate? are they fun? My friends' playgroup isn't very competitive, but also not very casual, so I want to build a fun but somehow playable on competitive level.
TL;DR - Which of the commander above should I go for?
Rafiq typically would draw more hate because he can be a jerk Voltron, but it sounds like the group would understand that you are new.
I think Rafiq would give a better experience. You're starting in three colors, the traditional EDH deck setup, so you can learn to tinker with a manabase. Having blue adds so much more to your pool of cards from which to choose. Rafiq is always around as a wincon after a wrath. I think tokens can get boring.
You could build Tolsmir around Green/white efficiency creatures - as in creatures that are almost always both green and white. The trick will be getting evasion so you can punch through. Maybe a hate-bears/high efficiency aggro deck? (think Dryad Militant, Watchwolf) with other anthem effects (like Kaysa, Juniper Order Advocate, Wilt-Leaf Liege).
Depends on your budget. Rafiq is really good as a commander and having him in your command zone means he is always there for you to recast after a board wipe.
On the other hand... he would draw more hate and if you do not have the money to dish out for cards like SwordofXandY you may wnat to stay away form him as he gets costly.
If you have teh money, then by all means go Rafiq. or maybe look around for one of the older precons. (c13 should still be fairly cheap)
Tolsimir can also work with a simple Green/White aggro deck. First, pull up a list of green/white multicolour creatures, decide which ones you want to run. Those are the ones who'll profit mostly from his ability. Don't forget Wilt-Leaf Liege. Then, stockpile your deck with whichever Green and White creatures strike your fancy. You can keep things relatively budget here. Things like Acidic Slime, Fiend Hunter, Wood Elves, Terastodon, Luminate Primordial or Emeria Shepherd are all great cards that shouldn't be pricey. Add some drawpower - Green offers aplenty, albeit mostly in one-shot effects (Regal Force and Shamanic Revelation are really good, even without tokens), top it off with some powerful utility cards (Swords to Plowshares, Beast Within, Path to Exile, various ramp cards) and you should be good to go. Then, pick and add expensive cards as your budget allows. Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite is the first expensive card I'd go for, to go with your massive buff theme.
Rafiq is a bit harder to do differently. He's pretty linear in his strengths, and those strengths are VERY strong, but...linear. So if you want something a bit more flexible, I'd go for Tolsimir.
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My Commander decks:
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
Thank you guys. Although Rafiq is stronger and gives access to blue color, I think I would start with Tolsimir first, since he is more budget and I can get some experience of building EDH deck before I go for Rafiq.
I think you got the basic idea of how each of the commanders plays. I would also say Rafiq can be made more or less competitive based on what you put in. Personally I dislike the sweaty voltron (swords) and use enchantments instead. This means that your deck needs to be built well to reliably get your auras back after a wrath but are still strong (Armadillo Cloak, Shield of the Oversoul, Steel of the Godhead, Eldrazi Conscription) without totally ruining your ability to win as opposed to swords which turn a 1/1 into a terrifying and hard to remove issue.
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EDH BRGKresh the BloodbraidedBRG, A box of lands and ideas.
Modern: RG Titanshift. A deck made of cards too stupid for EDH.
Retired: Lots. More than I feel you should suffer through or I should type out.
Tolsimir makes a good w/g elves commander, with tons of anthem effects from all the elf Lords and things like mirari's wake. You end up being able to run a lot of cheaper creatures that get good through synergy, and a 2 color mana base is cheaper and easier to run mostly basics.
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The Meaning of Life: "M-hmm. Well, it's nothing very special. Uh, try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations"
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Whether its blue players countering your spells, red players burning you out, or combo, if you have a problem with an aspect of Magic's gameplay, you can fix it!
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
He will be easier to win with and has a wider spectrum to build for and applies to different versions of the deck; obviously, Voltron is on the table. Bant is resilient color set. Green can assist with mana fixing and relevant creatures and auras. White equates efficient target removal (Exile being most significant), auras and applicable tutors. Blue provides consistency and control.
Nothing feels better than casting the 7-9th Edition Might of Oaks on a naked Rafiq for the win (Read the flavor text).
Rafiq is silly strong, and you may draw a lot of board hate because of him.
I have a G/W Tolsimir deck that lacks some identity right now. I think he's much better in the 99 as a lord, than as an anthem commander, but do whatever feels right.
As others have said, Rafiq is going to make him and you a high priority target most games because of how fast Rafiq can kill people. I think playing Tolsimir would be a safer option and would allow you to get a feel for how EDH games play out, a feel for your meta, and a feel for what types of decks may interest you in EDH. You will also come to find out, especially coming from the competitive scene, that some ideas dont work out so well in multiplayer games. I guess what I am trying to say is that you may come away with a negative impression of the format if you play Rafiq because players are going to actively work to keep you shut down. Its no fun being on the receiving end of that.
I have go through the list of available generals, and so far I am interested in Tolsimir Wolfblood and Rafiq of the Many. Could you guys provide some information on the play style of these two, because I only see Wolfblood build around tokens and Rafiq build around exalted. Are there any other build variant? is the build expensive to be playable? are they gonna draw hate? are they fun? My friends' playgroup isn't very competitive, but also not very casual, so I want to build a fun but somehow playable on competitive level.
TL;DR - Which of the commander above should I go for?
I think Rafiq would give a better experience. You're starting in three colors, the traditional EDH deck setup, so you can learn to tinker with a manabase. Having blue adds so much more to your pool of cards from which to choose. Rafiq is always around as a wincon after a wrath. I think tokens can get boring.
(U/B)(U/B)(U/B) JUMP IN THE LINE, ROCK YOUR BODY IN TIME
(R/W)(R/W)(R/W) RISING FROM THE NEON GLOOM, SHINING LIKE A CRAZY MOON
(U/R)(R/G)(G/U) STEALIN' WHEN I SHOULD HAVE BEEN BUYIN'
Custom Set
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hu9uNBSUt92PwGhvexYlwFvsh6_SJBlEEIUV3H9_XyU/edit?usp=sharing
On the other hand... he would draw more hate and if you do not have the money to dish out for cards like Sword of X and Y you may wnat to stay away form him as he gets costly.
If you have teh money, then by all means go Rafiq. or maybe look around for one of the older precons. (c13 should still be fairly cheap)
UB Vela the Night-Clad BUDecklist
WBG Ghave, Guru of Spores GBW
WUBRGThe Ur-DragonWUBRGDecklist
Rafiq is a bit harder to do differently. He's pretty linear in his strengths, and those strengths are VERY strong, but...linear. So if you want something a bit more flexible, I'd go for Tolsimir.
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
BRGKresh the BloodbraidedBRG, A box of lands and ideas.
Modern:
RG Titanshift. A deck made of cards too stupid for EDH.
Retired: Lots. More than I feel you should suffer through or I should type out.
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
He will be easier to win with and has a wider spectrum to build for and applies to different versions of the deck; obviously, Voltron is on the table. Bant is resilient color set. Green can assist with mana fixing and relevant creatures and auras. White equates efficient target removal (Exile being most significant), auras and applicable tutors. Blue provides consistency and control.
Nothing feels better than casting the 7-9th Edition Might of Oaks on a naked Rafiq for the win (Read the flavor text).
Keep brewing.
I have a G/W Tolsimir deck that lacks some identity right now. I think he's much better in the 99 as a lord, than as an anthem commander, but do whatever feels right.
The Mimeoplasm || Karador, Ghost Chieftain
Prossh, Skyraider of Kher || Vial Smasher/Tymna Group Slug
Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief || Talrand, Sky Summoner
Yidris - Unblockable Saboteurs || Kiki-Jiki, ETB breaker
Kess, Dissident Mage