Hello! I'm new to the site and the commander format. My friends and I wanted to jump into commander and bought the 2016 reconstructed commander set. We rolled to decide the order in which we pick decks, I got last pick and was left with Stalwart Unity. We have played several games thus far and the results leave me bitter towards the deck. I like the group hug aspect of the deck but at a certain point when everyone else has big baddies on the field I just have things to stall. It seems that I lack cards to help me challenge bigger creatures or even win games. I heard your suppose to group hug to make your opponents fight each other and be the last man standing but the opposite happens to me where I become the focus of everyone's attacks. Out of the majority of games we have played I'm usually eliminated first. Is there a better way to playing the deck? What are some budget friendly upgrades I could do to at least be competitive? Any advice on improving the deck would help me a lot.
Keep in mind I haven't played the deck straight out of the box and made major tweaks as soon as I got it. I think there are two things happening that you need to focus on. If you are dying first every game I am going to assume it is because you are one of the lowest threats on the table. In other words, the other players feel like they can attack you without consequences so they go for you instead of a more difficult target. The other issue as you have pointed out is you don't have a strong win condition.
The most obvious way to address both of these simultaneously would be to add creatures as they can block to deter attacks and attack themselves to close out the game. As you will be drawing cards and playing lands with your commander you could focus on creatures that take advantage of those things like Rampaging Baloths . Obviously there are a lot more options but that would be a pretty easy fix.
pucatrade
big receipts
alpha mox emerald
beta time walk
4 goyfs received
3 liliana of the veil
4 karn liberated
3 force of will
4 grove of the burnwillows
snapcaster mage
3 horizon canopy
2 full art damnation
It seems like all the other 2016 commanders can win except Stalwart.
Stalwart Unity certainly has troubles closing out the game. It's not IMPOSSIBLE, the bigger problem is that the wins are so fragile. I have eliminated multiple opponents at once with Treacherous Terrain. Or just beat down with Blazing Archon. But neither of those are reliable.
First, the deck needs more defense. The hug stuff like Howling Mine are great for making people not WANT to attack you, as if you die, they get less cards. Now, that only words if you can convince them you are better alive then dead, and if you show any amount of threat, that may change their mind. To ACTUALLY defend yourself, you want more cards along the lines of Propaganda, Ghostly Prison, etc. You can go several ways with this: heavy control, like adding in lots of board wiping effects to keep the creatures and damage down, or super pillowfort, where you build up walls and defenses until your opponents just CAN'T attack you.
Hope that helped. The Stalwart Unity deck is a bit of a pain for someone aiming to win, and even worse if your playgroup doesn't understand to NOT kill the person giving them cards (or you just, well, don't get those group hug cards...) But it has some great potential and can really dish out some pain.
I'm playing a c16 league with Stalwart Unity and am currently on top. You have precious few wincons so you have to keep a low profile through the game and protect those cards. Make allies. Like trading a Humble Defector back and forth with one other player. When another player complains, bribe them; help them get a key spell through, or fog to keep them from taking a big hit. You won't eliminate a lot of players, but you can be last man standing.
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The most obvious way to address both of these simultaneously would be to add creatures as they can block to deter attacks and attack themselves to close out the game. As you will be drawing cards and playing lands with your commander you could focus on creatures that take advantage of those things like Rampaging Baloths . Obviously there are a lot more options but that would be a pretty easy fix.
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/articles/budget-commander-20-stalwart-unity-upgrade
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJOwa_BWp0g
pucatrade
big receipts
alpha mox emerald
beta time walk
4 goyfs received
3 liliana of the veil
4 karn liberated
3 force of will
4 grove of the burnwillows
snapcaster mage
3 horizon canopy
2 full art damnation
Stalwart Unity certainly has troubles closing out the game. It's not IMPOSSIBLE, the bigger problem is that the wins are so fragile. I have eliminated multiple opponents at once with Treacherous Terrain. Or just beat down with Blazing Archon. But neither of those are reliable.
First, the deck needs more defense. The hug stuff like Howling Mine are great for making people not WANT to attack you, as if you die, they get less cards. Now, that only words if you can convince them you are better alive then dead, and if you show any amount of threat, that may change their mind. To ACTUALLY defend yourself, you want more cards along the lines of Propaganda, Ghostly Prison, etc. You can go several ways with this: heavy control, like adding in lots of board wiping effects to keep the creatures and damage down, or super pillowfort, where you build up walls and defenses until your opponents just CAN'T attack you.
Defensive cards to consider: Collective Restraint, Mystic Barrier, Pariah or Pariah's Shield combined with unkillable creatures like Stuffy Doll or Cho-Manno, Revolutionary or even dangerous creatures like Boros Reckoner or Spitemare.
Next, you need to of course, win the game. With all the "everyone draw" effects, you can supplement them with Kami of the Crescent Moon and Otherworld Atlas and aim for a LATE game mill plan. Combine that with Sphinx's Tutelage and Jace's Erasure, as well as your Keening Stone and you will win...eventually. You could do nearly any win conditions. Win by token spam (Assemble the Legion or Secure the Wastes with pumps like Beastmaster Ascension or Overrun) or you can win by big mana burn (double your mana with Heartbeat of Spring or Mana Flare and just Fireball everyone out) or just big beats, adding nasty value creatures like the Primordials, the Titans, the Gearhulks, etc. and maybe an Insurrection or even voltron by suiting up Kynaios and Tyro with Empyrial Plate and other equipment like Loxodon Warhammer and Whispersilk Cloak and just smash face. If you add Assault Formation to that, then they even start out big! You only need 21 Commander damage to win then!
Hope that helped. The Stalwart Unity deck is a bit of a pain for someone aiming to win, and even worse if your playgroup doesn't understand to NOT kill the person giving them cards (or you just, well, don't get those group hug cards...) But it has some great potential and can really dish out some pain.