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.
If I might also make a suggestion as I have done something similar with a card I have created and took much time to balance...
Aiyanna, The Great Guide2 Legendary Creature - Human Mystic (C)
If Ayianna is your Commander, you may have an additional commander.
When building your deck, choose a color. Aiyanna’s color identity becomes the chosen color while she is your commander.
When the game starts, your maximum hand size becomes six for the rest of the game and it can’t be changed by other card effects. 2/2
"Walk with me and I shall take you upon a journey of countless paths that you never knew had existed before."
- Aiyanna, the Great Guide
Purpose: In exchange for locking your maximum hand size to six you get a color-flexible commander that effectively grants partner, without actually granting partner. She effectively expands your second commander's color identity by one color. The main reason I even invented her in the first place was because I wanted to add a color to a specific commander without necessarily having to make a new version of them.
Can she get out of hand with certain corner cases that could crop up? Yes, I don't hide from the possibility. Yet the way I envision handling such problems would be something akin to a blacklist when regarding Aiyanna, the Great Guide. Like lets say for whatever reason it turned out Zurgo Bellstriker became this monstrous deck for whatever reason when partnered with Aiyanna because of the more options you now have when deckbuilding. He would be blacklisted from being partnered with her and it would be considered illegal to do so. To frame it in a different way, it can be considered a light banning rather outright banning Zurgo or Aiyanna wholesale.
The current blacklist consists of just Animar, Soul of Elements. If more problematic cards are found, they will be added to the blacklist.
Closing thoughts: In my opinion, this is a more fair way to do a Bonnie & Clyde format.
I would play a bonnie and Clyde format. I think the most precious thing I've ever read was commander players passing on a format because it's too aggressive.
I would rather play 10-man multiplayer Commander where each person is an Archenemy and we have also have a shared Plane deck from Planechase. Than play 1v1 against a Krenko + Purphoros deck.
fwiw, I've been brewing something called "the odd couple" where every legendary creature has partner, but your two commanders must share a creature type but not a color. This was born out of wanting to pair ink eyes with higure, but had proven fun otherwise as well
This would actually limit deckbuilding to a drastic degree since almost every deck should be nothing but mana accel and counterspells/removal; just use any two generals who infinite combo together as your win con rather than diluting your deck.
There are definitely a few legends I feel should have some sort of exception, such as the two halves of Brisela, Voice of Nightmares, but as a general rule of having all legends combine with all other legends this is only fair at the very most casual level.
I would rather play 10-man multiplayer Commander where each person is an Archenemy and we have also have a shared Plane deck from Planechase. Than play 1v1 against a Krenko + Purphoros deck.
That would at least be bad in a hilarious way, rather than bad in a "to hell with this entire game" way.
This would actually limit deckbuilding to a drastic degree since almost every deck should be nothing but mana accel and counterspells/removal; just use any two generals who infinite combo together as your win con rather than diluting your deck.
There are definitely a few legends I feel should have some sort of exception, such as the two halves of Brisela, Voice of Nightmares, but as a general rule of having all legends combine with all other legends this is only fair at the very most casual level.
Is a good thing we are talking about casual play then.
When you sad "there can only be two" what my mind went to is a doubleton format, instead of singleton.
I think the concept might work, if you put some limits on what can be paired up, to prevent rampant degeneracy. Requiring that their colors match up (that they would be normally legal in each other's decks) would help for many of the suggested broken combos, that would bring it down to just a few degenerate combinations. There are already some pretty degenerate generals, so that wouldn't be that much different from current EDH.
Is a good thing we are talking about casual play then.
If your view of casual play is "no infinite combos" (not an unreasonable view), then that's not as much a problem. Many people play casual decks with infinites, though.
The issue is that it obviates the other 99 cards in your deck. You no longer need them to win, and in some cases they could actually all just be lands and not make much difference.
Certainly, no one can stop you from having some fun with double-commanders in your own local gamestore or with friends, but I assume you brought it up in the forums for a critical view and/or to propose it to other folks who enjoy commander. You can easily respond to criticism of any proposed format with "yeah, but it's casual!" and it doesn't really add anything.
Here's a thought: what if the format didn't allow you to have both commanders in play at the same time? Then all these degenerate combos kind of disappear, but the deckbuilding possibilities go through the roof. Bonnie or Clyde.
As suggested, the format is utterly degenerate. Every player is racing to their broken combo, so things like Lotus Petal and spirit guides become the entire game. You can't ban enough cards to save the format from degeneracy. Vintage proves that a degenerate format can be fun, but I think this is a step too far. Even if your commanders had to be creatures at common rarity (does pauper EDH exist?), there would still be busted combos everywhere.
Is a good thing we are talking about casual play then.
Some people like games that are both fairly casual and reasonably balanced. This idea doesn't just defy any sense of balance, it knees it in the groin, kicks and stomps on it while it's down, then pees all over it.
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What cards would you say should be added to the supplemental banlist for this format?
What do you think would be some of the top tier combinations?
Suggestions I've heard so far are:
-Borborygmos Enraged + The Gitrog Monster
-Grand Arbiter Augustin IV + Gaddock Teeg
-Ruric Thar, the Unbowed + Kambal, Consul of Allocation
-Narset, Enlightened Master + Rafiq of the Many
-Mizzix of the Izmagnus + Melek, Izzet Paragon
-Pick 2 Slivers
-Prossh, Skyraider of Kher + Ghave, Guru of Spores
-Karn, Silver Golem + Kruphix, God of Horizons
-Animar, Soul of Elements + Karador, Ghost Chieftain
Yosei, the Morning Star + any legend with a sac outlet.
Atarka, world Render + Xenagos, God of Revels.
I think it would be a bad idea.
8.RG Green Devotion Ramp/Combo 9.UR Draw Triggers 10.WUR Group stalling 11.WUR Voltron Spellslinger 12.WB Sacrificial Shenanigans
13.BR Creatureless Panharmonicon 14.BR Pingers and Eldrazi 15.URG Untapped Cascading
16.Reyhan, last of the Abzan's WUBG +1/+1 Counter Craziness 17.WUBRG Dragons aka Why did I make this?
Building: The Gitrog Monster lands, Glissa the Traitor stax, Muldrotha, the Gravetide Planeswalker Combo, Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix + Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa Clues, and Tribal Scarecrow Planeswalkers
Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest WUR Voltron Control
Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun WU Unblockable Mirror Trickery
Ra's al Ghul (Sidar Kondo) and Face-Down Ninjas
Brudiclad, Token Engineer
Vaevictis (VV2) the Dire Lantern
Rona, Disciple of Gix
Tiana the Auror
Hallar
Ulrich the Politician
Zur the Rebel
Scorpion, Locust, Scarab, Egyptian Gods
O-Kagachi, Mathas, Mairsil
"Non-Tribal" Tribal Generals, Eggs
Purphoros, God of the Forge + Krenko, Mob Boss = Because Goblins didn't kill you fast enough yet.
Edric, Spymaster of Trest + Any Elf or Goblin General = Yeah, this sounds fair.
Kaalia of the Vast + Prime Speaker Zegana. Get ALL colour angels, demons and dragons, and get some drawpower while you're at it to refuel.
Yeah, let this never be a true format.
Aiyanna, The Great Guide 2
Legendary Creature - Human Mystic (C)
If Ayianna is your Commander, you may have an additional commander.
When building your deck, choose a color. Aiyanna’s color identity becomes the chosen color while she is your commander.
When the game starts, your maximum hand size becomes six for the rest of the game and it can’t be changed by other card effects.
2/2
"Walk with me and I shall take you upon a journey of countless paths that you never knew had existed before."
- Aiyanna, the Great Guide
Purpose: In exchange for locking your maximum hand size to six you get a color-flexible commander that effectively grants partner, without actually granting partner. She effectively expands your second commander's color identity by one color. The main reason I even invented her in the first place was because I wanted to add a color to a specific commander without necessarily having to make a new version of them.
Can she get out of hand with certain corner cases that could crop up? Yes, I don't hide from the possibility. Yet the way I envision handling such problems would be something akin to a blacklist when regarding Aiyanna, the Great Guide. Like lets say for whatever reason it turned out Zurgo Bellstriker became this monstrous deck for whatever reason when partnered with Aiyanna because of the more options you now have when deckbuilding. He would be blacklisted from being partnered with her and it would be considered illegal to do so. To frame it in a different way, it can be considered a light banning rather outright banning Zurgo or Aiyanna wholesale.
The current blacklist consists of just Animar, Soul of Elements. If more problematic cards are found, they will be added to the blacklist.
Closing thoughts: In my opinion, this is a more fair way to do a Bonnie & Clyde format.
There are definitely a few legends I feel should have some sort of exception, such as the two halves of Brisela, Voice of Nightmares, but as a general rule of having all legends combine with all other legends this is only fair at the very most casual level.
- Rabid Wombat
That would at least be bad in a hilarious way, rather than bad in a "to hell with this entire game" way.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Is a good thing we are talking about casual play then.
I think the concept might work, if you put some limits on what can be paired up, to prevent rampant degeneracy. Requiring that their colors match up (that they would be normally legal in each other's decks) would help for many of the suggested broken combos, that would bring it down to just a few degenerate combinations. There are already some pretty degenerate generals, so that wouldn't be that much different from current EDH.
If your view of casual play is "no infinite combos" (not an unreasonable view), then that's not as much a problem. Many people play casual decks with infinites, though.
Too many cards which were explicitly made for commander become nonsensical with this, even without infinites. Try: any two experience commanders; Azusa, Lost but Seeking and Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger; Vorel of the Hull Clade and Skullbriar, the Walking Grave; Derevi and Leovold; Rakdos, Lord of Riots and any legendary eldrazi; Freyalise and Teferi for superfriends-in-a-can; the list almost literally does not end.
The issue is that it obviates the other 99 cards in your deck. You no longer need them to win, and in some cases they could actually all just be lands and not make much difference.
Certainly, no one can stop you from having some fun with double-commanders in your own local gamestore or with friends, but I assume you brought it up in the forums for a critical view and/or to propose it to other folks who enjoy commander. You can easily respond to criticism of any proposed format with "yeah, but it's casual!" and it doesn't really add anything.
- Rabid Wombat
As suggested, the format is utterly degenerate. Every player is racing to their broken combo, so things like Lotus Petal and spirit guides become the entire game. You can't ban enough cards to save the format from degeneracy. Vintage proves that a degenerate format can be fun, but I think this is a step too far. Even if your commanders had to be creatures at common rarity (does pauper EDH exist?), there would still be busted combos everywhere.
Low-power cube enthusiast!
My 1570 card cube (no longer updated)
My 415 Peasant+ Artifact and Enchantment Cube
Ever-Expanding "Just throw it in" cube.
Some people like games that are both fairly casual and reasonably balanced. This idea doesn't just defy any sense of balance, it knees it in the groin, kicks and stomps on it while it's down, then pees all over it.