Almost everyone has heard of Narset Turns, Leovold Hand Disruption, Tasigur Control, Yisan Toolbox, etc.
But what are your favorite unconventional and out of the box ways to run different commanders? For example using Narset to play a pillowfort deck, or playing fairy tribal with Wydwen instead of voltron.
Favourite Deck: Elves (Modern & Legacy)
Standard: New Perspectives Combo
Modern: GW Hatebears | Death and Taxes | Eldrazi and Taxes | Abzan Liege | Abzan Company
Commander: The Gitrog Monster (Combo) | Noyan Dar, Roil Shaper (Control) | RIP Leovold Sultai (Elvestorm, no unfair locks) | Mono G (Yisan or Titania)
Tiny Leaders: Too many decks to keep track of
Pauper: RIP UR Drake | Mono B | GBx Goodstuff | Jund "Melira"
Fun pet decks:
Mimeoplasm +1/+1's instead of reanimator/combo
Sydri Rogue Thopters, instead of infinite/stax
Breya Golem Tribal
Intet, random permanents/spells
Bladewing the Risen is generally some sort of Dragon Tribal. And while mine has elements of that, it's also about reanimating/dashing small ETB and sacrifice creatures with Swift Warkite, with Warkite being kind of the unofficial commander of the deck.
Yisan all-but-storm. I don't care about any effects that don't get me more cards. Green in the purest form, run crap over with battlecruisers and let the other people shut down combo and fast win. 98 permanents, Genesis Wave and Primal Surge. The toolbox is not a box of tools, it is something to use as a bludgeon.
Private Mod Note
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Project Booster Fun makes it less fun to open a booster.
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!
I would be really curious to hear about alternate ways to play Edric, Spymaster of Trest aside from take extra turns and use CMC 1 creatures or tribal elves.
Fun pet decks: Mimeoplasm +1/+1's instead of reanimator/combo
Sydri Rogue Thopters, instead of infinite/stax
Breya Golem Tribal
Intet, random permanents/spells
I also have Wydwen Faerie tribal built. The deck isn't really sure what it wants to do - there's not quite enough support for fae as a tribe so it needs a subtheme.
Has anyone built around Atraxa using nonstandard counters - Darksteel Reactor, Umezawa's Jitte, and so forth? Seems like you could build around some cool alternate win conditions this way.
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A mere ten days after the Mending, a young knight of Valeron and a young ranger of Eos made a discovery that would change Alara forever.
I would be really curious to hear about alternate ways to play Edric, Spymaster of Trest aside from take extra turns and use CMC 1 creatures or tribal elves.
One dude from my playgroup uses him as Grouphug Commander...
Makes sense, as he's borderline hug anyway if your in a meta that plays creatures, and its very easy to round that out with blue and green cards. You could also take him to pillow fort town. He already encourages attacks to go elsewhere, but sometimes players need a little discouragement from attacking you to get the picture.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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!
I once tried to play Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury as a stax deck. I figured since I could pump out Llanowar Elves, I could just keep everyone's lands tapped with various Orbs or sac the tokens to Smokestack. I stuck some proliferate cards in there to help my general and keep Tangle Wire in play.
Has anyone built around Atraxa using nonstandard counters - Darksteel Reactor, Umezawa's Jitte, and so forth? Seems like you could build around some cool alternate win conditions this way.
I played against an Atraxa deck that used every mediocre/subpar card (especially lands) that revolved around counters. With Atraxa, those card became quite good. He did play Jitte too. It was a very refreshing take on Atraxa.
Oh god, my list of ridiculous commander decks is really long. I have an Arjun storm deck, a mono-green artifacts deck with Oviya, a few mono-enchantment decks, and a Jund Lifegain deck! (#jundlyfegain) I'd love some suggestions for off-beat commander decks to make, since they're really fun, trying to put together.
Hoo boy. This is one of my go-to reasons to build a deck. Gonna try limiting to ideas with commanders(or colors) that actually have a defined 'default' deckstyle in my eyes and I intentionally went the other way.
Lorthos, the Tidemaker big mana blue, with the 'moral victory' of equipping him with 8 different spatulas. Ephara, God of the Polis spirit tribal. Ravos, Soultender & Silas Renn, Seeker Adept the Esper creatures and lands only deck. Roon of the Hidden Realm: Clues and Maro effects, with blinking only somewhat-supporting. Roon because trample vigilance rhino. Zedruu the Greathearted voltron. Tariel, Reckoner of Souls has almost no control elements or graveyard interaction. Instead it runs on what I have dubbed 'persistent f*ckery': repeated pinging/lifedraining effects that pile onto a snowball that might eventually win me the game. If not, I'm spending 17 mana to cast a 3-mana spell with nine different 'when you cast a spell' effects tacked on and laughing like a maniac. Damia, Sage of Stone: Landfall matters, self-mill is interesting, spellshapers are fun and I will play fifteen spells/activated abilities per turn. I might even win... eventually. Yasova Dragonclaw 'more power than sense' balls-to-the-walls aggro with no sense of self-preservation whatsoever. Creatures must bring more power to the table than their mana cost is. Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis 'Wall of Beefcake': walls, scrying, drowning people in card advantage and killing them with tíny 'damage to each opponent' pings.
X Hope of Ghirapur Swordpile W Ghosty Blinky Anafenza U Nezahal- Big, Blue and HERE! B Gonti Can Afford It R Etali, Primal 'Whatjusthappened?' G Polukranos Wants More Mana WU The Exalted Vizier Temmet WB Home, Athreos WR Basandra, Recursive Aggression WG Karametra, Momma of Lands UB Wrexial Eats Your Brains UR Arjun, the Mad Flame UG The Fable of Prime Speaker BR Hellbent, Malfegor Style BG Jarad, Death is Served RG Running Thromok WUB Varina and ALL the Zombies WUBYennett, the Odd Pain-Train WUR Zedruu the Furyhearted WUG Arcades' Strategy, Shmategy, Sausage and Spam WBR A Case of Mathas' Persistent F*ckery WBRLicia's League of Legendary Lifegain Layabouts WBG The Karador Advantage PackageWRG Gahiji Rattlesnake Collection UBR Jeleva... does... things UBG Damia's Just Deserts URG Yasova's Has More Power Than Sense BRG Wasitora, Bad Kitty WUBRBreya, Eggs, Breya'd Eggs WUBG Tymna and Kydele, Extended Borrowing WURG Kynaios and Tiro, Landfall Impersonations WBRG Saskia Pet Card EnchantressUBRG Yidris of the Chi-Ting Corporation WUBRG Tazri's Amazing Allies
-Riku, Nothing but clones (Seriously i have so many clones packed into that deck. Twincasts, Heck i even run the clone lands.)
-Ghave Fungus Tribal (It eventually got converted into a more traditional ghave deck but still)
-Purphoros Goblin Tribal (Granted i chose goblin tribal due to how many tokens it ca produce but it is still goblin tribal. i have maybe 4 non goblin creatures)
-Sliver Hivelord superfriends
Leovold, Emissary of Trest morph tribal. The deck started as Damia only because no BUG general really fit the theme and Damia offers some CA. Leovold got swapped in, and I changed a few cards out to support him like Kira, Great Glass-Spinner and Spellskite, and added in cards that are normally symmetrical draw like Howling Mine and Font of Mythos. The deck does not have any wheels.
Silas Renn, Seeker Adept/Tana, the Bloodsower landless. The commanders are kind of immaterial, since I designed the deck right after learning we were getting 4C commanders, long before we knew what they were. Silas synergizes with the deck a little bit (Lotus Petal, Chromatic Sphere, Misha's/Urza's Bauble, etc.), but the deck has no means to give him evasion, so he doesn't get in very often. The deck also has more trouble producing blue than any other color (unless it's going off on infinite colored mana), so he doesn't see the field all that often.
Zurgo Helmsmasher fight club. Lots of fighting effects (although unfortunately I'm missing out on the green ones). I've also got means to give my creatures wither/infect, for those fight effects that don't use the fight mechanic (and therefore don't deal the damage simultaneously), like Tahngarth, Talruum Hero. Effects like Tahngarth's deal damage before receiving any, and although SBAs aren't checked to kill off the enemy creature before it hits back, wither/infect will still put the -1/-1 counters on before it hits back. So, while Tahngarth on his own trades with a 4/4 creature, Tahngarth with Grafted Exoskeleton trades with a 12/6. The -1/-1 counters also mean that I can fight with and win against indestructible creatures, and wear big creatures down over several turns of fighting.
Narset, Enlightened Master pillowfort. The deck contains zero extra turn cards and only one extra combat card. It does have a fair amount of topdeck manipulation, though, and is capable of one-shotting people with Ethereal Armor (plus unblockable with Steel of the Godhead). Enchanted Evening just makes Ethereal Armor overkill.
But what are your favorite unconventional and out of the box ways to run different commanders? For example using Narset to play a pillowfort deck, or playing fairy tribal with Wydwen instead of voltron.
Anafenza enchantress
Shu Yun artifacts
Shu Yun Wild Research
Riku Voltron
Not sure what Multani should be, but I ran a Multani group hug deck with a treefolk subtheme.
(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'
UR Melek, Izzet ParagonUR, B Shirei, Shizo's CaretakerB, R Jaya Ballard, Task MageR,RW Tajic, Blade of the LegionRW, UB Lazav, Dimir MastermindUB, UB Circu, Dimir LobotomistUB, RWU Zedruu the GreatheartedRWU, GUBThe MimeoplasmGUB, UGExperiment Kraj UG, WDarien, King of KjeldorW, BMarrow-GnawerB, WBGKarador, Ghost ChieftainWBG, UTeferi, Temporal ArchmageU, GWUDerevi, Empyrial TacticianGWU, RDaretti, Scrap SavantR, UTalrand, Sky SummonerU, GEzuri, Renegade LeaderG, WUBRGReaper KingWUBRG, RGXenagos, God of RevelsRG, CKozilek, Butcher of TruthC, WUBRGGeneral TazriWUBRG, GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
Favourite Deck: Elves (Modern & Legacy)
Standard: New Perspectives Combo
Modern: GW Hatebears | Death and Taxes | Eldrazi and Taxes | Abzan Liege | Abzan Company
Commander: The Gitrog Monster (Combo) | Noyan Dar, Roil Shaper (Control) | RIP Leovold Sultai (Elvestorm, no unfair locks) | Mono G (Yisan or Titania)
Tiny Leaders: Too many decks to keep track of
Pauper: RIP UR Drake | Mono B | GBx Goodstuff | Jund "Melira"
Mimeoplasm +1/+1's instead of reanimator/combo
Sydri Rogue Thopters, instead of infinite/stax
Breya Golem Tribal
Intet, random permanents/spells
WUBRGCommander Decklists - PaperWUBRG
CCCCCommander Decklists - TheorycraftCCCC
Sig Credit: Pegasus Bishop
i personally run
nissa, vastwood seer monogreen control (as opposed to ramping into creatures)
grenzo, havoc raiser monored control
llawan, cephalid empress fish tribal (when people let me, i use island fish jasconius as the general - he is actually invovled in IRL legends, it's a complete robbery that he isn't a legendary creature)
Tymna & Ishai, ie Esper Edric
Crosis Turbotrash
Nekusar control and punisher without wheel effects.
Glissa Sunseeker artifacts and control.
Hightower | Vial/Thrasios | Mogis | Grenzo | Endrek |
Tatyova|Sisay|Zurgo|Breya|Chisei|Marchesa|Olivia|KaradorPauper | Pauper |
Legacy|4fun|4fun|Modern|Frontier|StandardYdris Wizard Tribal (poop out wizards)
Sliver Queen tokens matter
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!
UBRKess, Dissident MageUBR - Controlling Dissidents
GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate
Tatyova | Anje
Alela | Marchesa
Wanderer
I have this built too - it's really fun and can often pull off Laboratory Maniac wins because of Fathom Mage and friends. Lord of Extinction makes commander damage kills pretty easy.
I also have Wydwen Faerie tribal built. The deck isn't really sure what it wants to do - there's not quite enough support for fae as a tribe so it needs a subtheme.
Has anyone built around Atraxa using nonstandard counters - Darksteel Reactor, Umezawa's Jitte, and so forth? Seems like you could build around some cool alternate win conditions this way.
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
Makes sense, as he's borderline hug anyway if your in a meta that plays creatures, and its very easy to round that out with blue and green cards. You could also take him to pillow fort town. He already encourages attacks to go elsewhere, but sometimes players need a little discouragement from attacking you to get the picture.
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!
I played against an Atraxa deck that used every mediocre/subpar card (especially lands) that revolved around counters. With Atraxa, those card became quite good. He did play Jitte too. It was a very refreshing take on Atraxa.
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
Lorthos, the Tidemaker big mana blue, with the 'moral victory' of equipping him with 8 different spatulas.
Ephara, God of the Polis spirit tribal.
Ravos, Soultender & Silas Renn, Seeker Adept the Esper creatures and lands only deck.
Roon of the Hidden Realm: Clues and Maro effects, with blinking only somewhat-supporting. Roon because trample vigilance rhino.
Zedruu the Greathearted voltron.
Tariel, Reckoner of Souls has almost no control elements or graveyard interaction. Instead it runs on what I have dubbed 'persistent f*ckery': repeated pinging/lifedraining effects that pile onto a snowball that might eventually win me the game. If not, I'm spending 17 mana to cast a 3-mana spell with nine different 'when you cast a spell' effects tacked on and laughing like a maniac.
Damia, Sage of Stone: Landfall matters, self-mill is interesting, spellshapers are fun and I will play fifteen spells/activated abilities per turn. I might even win... eventually.
Yasova Dragonclaw 'more power than sense' balls-to-the-walls aggro with no sense of self-preservation whatsoever. Creatures must bring more power to the table than their mana cost is.
Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis 'Wall of Beefcake': walls, scrying, drowning people in card advantage and killing them with tíny 'damage to each opponent' pings.
I think those are my most 'unconventional' decks.
Scion of the Ur-Dragon "S" Tribal
Atogatog "Chair" Tribal
BGGRock
Modern
BRGJund
BBGRock
-Ghave Fungus Tribal (It eventually got converted into a more traditional ghave deck but still)
-Purphoros Goblin Tribal (Granted i chose goblin tribal due to how many tokens it ca produce but it is still goblin tribal. i have maybe 4 non goblin creatures)
-Sliver Hivelord superfriends
UB Vela the Night-Clad BUDecklist
WBG Ghave, Guru of Spores GBW
WUBRGThe Ur-DragonWUBRGDecklist
Mogis, God of Slaughter enchantment lock
"Small" Yasova Dragonclaw
Sek'Kuar, Deathkeeper lands shenanigans: http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/commander-edh/773284-sekkuar-lands
Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest politics: http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/commander-edh/multiplayer-commander-decklists/772902-shu-yun-voltron-control
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
Leovold, Emissary of Trest morph tribal. The deck started as Damia only because no BUG general really fit the theme and Damia offers some CA. Leovold got swapped in, and I changed a few cards out to support him like Kira, Great Glass-Spinner and Spellskite, and added in cards that are normally symmetrical draw like Howling Mine and Font of Mythos. The deck does not have any wheels.
Silas Renn, Seeker Adept/Tana, the Bloodsower landless. The commanders are kind of immaterial, since I designed the deck right after learning we were getting 4C commanders, long before we knew what they were. Silas synergizes with the deck a little bit (Lotus Petal, Chromatic Sphere, Misha's/Urza's Bauble, etc.), but the deck has no means to give him evasion, so he doesn't get in very often. The deck also has more trouble producing blue than any other color (unless it's going off on infinite colored mana), so he doesn't see the field all that often.
Uril, the Miststalker Foglio tribal. With the exception of Uril and the lands, every card is illustrated by Phil Foglio or Kaja Foglio. (Plus Mishra's Factory and Rainbow Vale, as the only two lands illustrated by a Foglio.) The deck has some pretty bad chaff (Trade Caravan, North Star), but it also has some staples (Swords to Plowshares, Sylvan Tutor) and some hidden gems (Orcish Librarian, Black Scarab).
Zurgo Helmsmasher fight club. Lots of fighting effects (although unfortunately I'm missing out on the green ones). I've also got means to give my creatures wither/infect, for those fight effects that don't use the fight mechanic (and therefore don't deal the damage simultaneously), like Tahngarth, Talruum Hero. Effects like Tahngarth's deal damage before receiving any, and although SBAs aren't checked to kill off the enemy creature before it hits back, wither/infect will still put the -1/-1 counters on before it hits back. So, while Tahngarth on his own trades with a 4/4 creature, Tahngarth with Grafted Exoskeleton trades with a 12/6. The -1/-1 counters also mean that I can fight with and win against indestructible creatures, and wear big creatures down over several turns of fighting.
Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa/Vial Smasher the Fierce abilities for all. My mono-blue deck has no wincon, and relies on stealing my opponents' wincons to secure victory. My WBRG deck has wincons that anyone can theoretically make use of. The list started with the Monger cycle (Wishmonger, Scandalmonger, Warmonger, Squallmonger in its colors) and expanded from there. The MVP is probably Well of Knowledge.
Narset, Enlightened Master pillowfort. The deck contains zero extra turn cards and only one extra combat card. It does have a fair amount of topdeck manipulation, though, and is capable of one-shotting people with Ethereal Armor (plus unblockable with Steel of the Godhead). Enchanted Evening just makes Ethereal Armor overkill.
Two Score, Minus Two or: A Stargate Tail
(Image by totallynotabrony)