Let me start by saying that I generally prefer competitive 1v1 60-card constructed formats. BUT people are always asking me if I play Commander so I feel like I'm missing out on something really cool and fun. I have had fun playing multiplayer in the past.
I'm interested in getting into the format to play for fun at my LGS in between rounds of Modern (1v1) and with a friend's playgroup. I think the playgroup is pretty casual and fun oriented but they are enfranchised and have a lot of cards at the same time.
Here's my problem: from what I can gather and have heard about the format, the things that I find "fun" are pretty much diametrically opposed to what most people seem to enjoy. What scares me from getting into the format is the social norms around using "unfun" strategies. From what I can tell the goal is not "abuse your opponents as much as possible" like it is in Modern for example.
Here is a list of strategies and cards that I find truly fun to play with and against (no I'm not joking).
In my opinion in Magic you should try to abuse your opponent in any way possible, and be prepared to defend yourself from the same, and disrupt your opponent's game plan so they can't do unfair things to you. Basically no hold barred, although I do agree with having a banlist to prevent things that are too broken or consistent.
So am I a bad person who will be shunned from this format, or should I finally put a deck together? I was thinking Hanna, Ship's Navigator as the commander. Thanks in advance.
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If you can cast a spell, you're doing well, If you can't, that's okay, too. It usually takes a few turns before you have enough mana to do anything. Meanwhile, you should figure out whether you need to discard (p.11). Then announce the end of your turn, and let your opponent have a go.
As long as you find a Commander group that has the same objectives you'll be fine. The biggest variable in enjoying Commander is how much everyone in the group likes the type of game being played.
You sound like you're geared towards slightly more competitive and less casual Commander, if you find a group that's into that you'll likely enjoy it a lot.
If by "abusing your opponents" you mean doing degenerate and broken things to try and win as fast and as spectacularly as possible that's great, but if you mean trying to make the game as unenjoyable as possible for other players you may run into more resistance and find fewer and fewer players that enjoy that kind of game. Extreme stax decks are enjoyed by far fewer players (as in playing against) than just brutally fast combo decks.
That can work. A lot of people, once they get into the format, will make a more competitive deck, which tends to be a combo deck that tries to win ASAP, and then more casual decks that are more about the fun of throwing huge crap all over the place instead of cutthroat magic. 100 card singleton means that a lot of tight strategies will struggle without a plethora of tutors.
Some people dislike STAX effects, but that's usually when you're just casting Jokulhaups for kicks and giggles instead of trying to cement victory with it. I haven't had complaints when I get board advantage, drop Realm Razer and just win by the altered board state. Counterspells are usually not that frowned upon, since it's hard to lock down a full table, rather than just one player.
Wow, thanks for all the quick replies. To be clear, my goal is not to make other people miserable at all, just afraid that the things that I find fun might do that by accident I think I will dip my toe in and see how it goes.
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If you can cast a spell, you're doing well, If you can't, that's okay, too. It usually takes a few turns before you have enough mana to do anything. Meanwhile, you should figure out whether you need to discard (p.11). Then announce the end of your turn, and let your opponent have a go.
Honestly given everything you have said, I would say if you can find a group that plays dual commander you probably will enjoy it. Multiplayer commander on the other hand you will need to find a competitive group for what you like to really mesh with other ppl. Generally speaking, most people who do play commander when you find a pickup game want to play battlecruser and duke it out with creatures and attrition tactics.
Its not that you cant play combo, pillowfort, and counterspell tactics but when you push the game to the extreme to see how fast you can win, commander (using the rules committee banlist) is not set up in such a way to play to an extreme. If you want to break the game, the game breaks. Commander is not a format that is balanced around the top end of being competitive.
Honestly, given everything you have said.... if that's how you want to play I would say you are better off saying something along the lines of sure, but I need to borrow a deck. If you play some games and really enjoy it, I would say go for it. If you cant stand the things in the deck and or the way the people are playing, I wouldn't.
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I have officially moved to MTGNexus. I just wanted to let people know as my response time to salvation decks being bumped is very hit or miss.
Thanks for the advice. I originally had my eye on shenanigans like Nekusar, the Mindrazer and Arcanis the Omnipotent but I decided to keep the combo side of things (as well as my love for taking extra turns) to a bare minimum because I can definitely see how things like infinite comboing everyone out at the same time or taking all the turns is not fun for anybody.
I'm not just into winning the game as quickly as possible, I also like things long and drawn out.
I think I will be happy with a fair U/W controllish deck with an enchantment/light prison theme so we'll see how it goes. I can see JohnnyDegenerate's point that once you get into the fun of it you loosen up and find the things that really make the format cool.
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If you can cast a spell, you're doing well, If you can't, that's okay, too. It usually takes a few turns before you have enough mana to do anything. Meanwhile, you should figure out whether you need to discard (p.11). Then announce the end of your turn, and let your opponent have a go.
Of the things you through out, I think the prison-ish stuff is the way to go. People don't really like Stasis, but the real reason is that U/W lends themselves to something that is, by it's very nature, good if you haven't settled on a meta and a playgroup. Play cards that use your opponents cards. If your opponents are playing powerful decks your Bribary is really good. If they're playing weaker decks, it's still good, but not game breaking.
Probably the most important thing to keep in mind with regards commander is that it is first and foremost a social format. It's a format where you sit down with some friends, have fun, laugh and joke about the game (and things outside the game), have a beer or two while playing and so on. And although it tends towards the lower powered "casual" side of deckbuilding, it doesn't have to, as long as the players are OK with things being more powered up. So whether cards or decks are appropriate for the format isn't really the right question, instead, you should be asking whether or not those cards are what the people you're playing with will enjoy - and the people you should be asking aren't those on an online forum, but those people you're going to be playing with. Go and ask the potential playgroup whether or not they're OK with you playing Stasis and similar (my personal answer would be "yes, as long as it's not the only deck you have so I don't have to deal with it every game", but I know people who would outright say no), see if they're OK with combo decks (I'm fine with them, but again, I know plenty of people who aren't) see what kind of decks they're playing, and, if you do decide to join them, try to build something that will fit in - and as a general rule, if you're new to a group, tend towards a weaker deck, it's a lot easier to ramp your deck up to match theirs than it is to build a friendship with people you've utterly crushed the first time you met.
If you have the luxury of choosing between playgroups and can find the right people, it sounds like you would definitely enjoy "competitive" commander (aka cEDH) - it's basically singleton multiplayer vintage and if you have a group that enjoys it, it's incredibly fun. However, that's a big if. Taking a deck designed for cEDH into a "casual" playgroup is not going to be fun for them, and unless you're the kind of person who enjoys beating helpless seal cubs to death, probably not much fun for you.
For a u/w prisonish control deck what kind of cards would you guys recommend for closing out the game? I have no idea how these games play out but I guess I'll find out soon. Thanks.
I love the idea of using the opponents' stuff against them.
If you can cast a spell, you're doing well, If you can't, that's okay, too. It usually takes a few turns before you have enough mana to do anything. Meanwhile, you should figure out whether you need to discard (p.11). Then announce the end of your turn, and let your opponent have a go.
The Zedruu deck in my sig is Jeskai prison-ish and usually finishes the game by resolving Enduring Ideal to put some odd combinations of cards into play. Or it hard locks opponents with Possibity Storm while breaking symmetry with something like Future Sight. U/W has some issues finding game enders, so that's where the red came in. Conversely, if you are playing clones, bribery and similar cards, you may just end the game using a threat they put into play (or was in their deck).
As a person who greatly enjoys those strategies as well, where else BUT EDH are you going to be able to enjoy all of those strategies and ALL AT ONCE?
1. Counter-magic is miserable in Standard, Modern, and relegated to a very small suite of playables in Legacy (FOW, Daze, Flusterstorm). Counterspell is a powerful card in EDH.
2. Combo is not longer supported archetype by WOTC and when it is, it's in a hybrid form. And Combo is neutered in every format by bans or Workshops. Every well built deck in EDH is supported by strong card synergies.
3. Prison cards and Mass-LD cards are extinct in modern magic. They are useful in EDH.
I think the best way for you to approach a U/W control deck is to try to hinder opponents as much as possible only when they hinder you. In my experience, people don't mind control decks but do mind if they can't play the game at all. If you can build your deck in such a way that it is hard for the opponents to interact with you but not with each other I think you'd have a good sweet spot. So by all means play cards that make it harder to attack you (Ghostly Prison, Teferi's Moat, Crawlspace) but not cards that make attacking hard in general Peacekeeper, Moat, Ensnaring Bridge, Meishin, the Mind Cage etc.
Bonus hidden gem: Palliation Accord. Stack up counters as opponents attack each other, use them to prevent damage to you.
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The secret to enjoyable Commander games is not winning first, but losing last.
If my post has no tags, then i posted from my phone.
Simply follow my philosophy on the matter: "I don't see the problem, I'm still playing Magic."
Based on your description, might I suggest Hitler as your first Commander? The only real problem with him is that it can be difficult to find Invoke Prejudice, which is a mandatory inclusion for flavor reasons.
Side note: I still have not received a good explanation for that cards nickname.
Everything you like to do in magic revolves around the same colors. Build a greenG, blackB, and/or redR deck and see what happens. A fellow player whom I was playing against got fed up with me one day and said (no this was not a fight nor was there yelling) that I use certain cards as a crutch and challenged me to try to use other elements of the game instead of the same X cards that I liked. It was the best advice because then I was trying out different things and learning how to use a lot more cards and game aspects better than just the same ones over and over.
Meh, depends on the group. Lots of people like their casual format where you don't counter stuff, remove stuff, attack them too much, or really try to win the game at all. My group (before I left for lack of free time) had started to move in a direction of playing more counterspells and 2-card combos, but still would've frowned on LD or heavy Stax. If you can find a group out there that likes that stuff, then congrats!
The point is mostly that EDH is pretty much nonviable as a completely competitive (aka tournament) environment, but that just means that the social contract matters. If people around you agree to play with what you're playing, then that's all that matters.
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"It is better for all the world if, instead of waiting to execute degenerate offspring for crime or to let them starve for their imbecility, society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind. The principle that sustains compulsory vaccination is broad enough to cover cutting the Fallopian tubes... Three generations of imbeciles are enough."
--Buck v Bell, 1927. This case, regarding the compulsory sterilization of inmates at mental institutions, has -- somehow -- never been overturned. Just a wee PSA for ya.
Dude seriously? OP is coming here asking for real advice and you have to be a jerk about it and pull a Godwin?
I was being serious.
While there is some merit in making concessions for the group you play with, this has limits. If you do not enjoy what you are playing, why are you playing at all? Grand Arbiter is likely the best Commander available for what Luthier has stated his preferred build archetype is.
For eight years now, I have seen/heard that card be referred to (in the context of Commander) as Hitler, both locally and in online discussions, and have never been given a real explanation as to why, so when he comes up, I tend to take the opportunity to again ask why, though I admit to not hearing him referred to as such as often anymore. Invoke Prejudice, while being a joke given the cards nickname, happens to also be a strong card for the type of deck being discussed.
There is also value in forcing a group to play against strategies they normally try to avoid.
While some of the people in my area are just bad, and others were good enough that it did not matter, I feel confidant saying there are people I play with that have become better players, because they had to learn how to deal with my fondness for Desolation Angel.
One last thing I will add for Luthier, is to try to avoid playing the truly competitive decks, as the format is poorly suited to it. That is, avoid decks designed to win large events, to the exclusion of all else (probably the most notorious example being Hermit Druid combo).
Like i said, he can play what he wants, but for commander in general (yes, this differs from group to group) people don't like playing against decks that prevent them from playing. Take land destruction as an example. I don't know anybody who gets mad whem people have some targeted land destruction to deal with Maze of Ith or Cabal Coffers or some specialty lands. But most people I know hate it when their mana base is attacked in such a way that it makes it hard/impossible for them to play their cards. That's where the line is usually drawn (again, varies from group to group, but generally speaking).
GAAIV and Invoke Prejudice are both very strong cards for this archetype yes, but are also global effects that make the game harder for everybody. In the groups I play, dropping these kind of cards means the game becomes "everybody vs the controller of said card" until someone is able to remove it or the controller of the card is removed, whichever comes first. So while these cards may be fun for OP to play with, I think he will quickly be fed up with always being picked on and kicked out of the game first, having to spend the next hour watching the remaining players play form the sidelines. And of course, theoretically it is possible that his deck is strong enough to handle such situations, but then the group will soon just not play against that deck anymore. End result: having spend a lot money only to not be able to play with it.
So no matter how you look at it, assuming your desires differ from the group, you will always have to make concessions for the group you play with (if it's a regular group at least) until the group concensus is that you did so enough. Wether you still want to play with the group at that point is another discussion all together.
@OP: Isperia, Supreme Judge would make for a perfectly viable control commander following my earlier guidelines. She can get there with Commander damage and makes attacking you less interesting than attacking the other players, while at the same time not being so threatening that it immediately paints a target on your head when you get her on the table.
Ha, well I definitely don't want to be Hitler, especially considering my Jewish heritage.
I actually tried putting together some non-blue decks like a R/G creature/ramp deck and a G/W token/anthem thing but I think if I'm going to get excited about this format I have to pick the low-hanging fruit of what I really enjoy first and then maybe try out other strategies later.
I've gotten a ton of useful advice out of this thread and my Hanna, Ship's Navigator deck is starting to come together.
It's looking like it will have:
-Only 2 counterspells (Counterspell and Arcane Denial) because they don't fit that well in the deck anyway.
-I think the only silly infinite combo I have is Parallax Wave, Parallax Tide, Opalescence.
-Only pillow fort type effects that affect people attacking ME, not the entire game so no Moat, Stasis or the like.
-A single Armageddon for LD just because it works so well with artifact mana and Propaganda effects
I threw in a few Angels and Sphinxes to help win the game hopefully.
This deck has a lot of things that are close to my heart... I won multiple type II tournaments when I was 13 with the Replenish deck and also top 16'd the JSS Championship with it. Also throwing in lots of cards that were awesome back in the day like Jester's Cap, Mystic Remora, Grinning Totem, Browse, Island Sanctuary, etc.
If the people I play with complain I can always switch some things out.
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If you can cast a spell, you're doing well, If you can't, that's okay, too. It usually takes a few turns before you have enough mana to do anything. Meanwhile, you should figure out whether you need to discard (p.11). Then announce the end of your turn, and let your opponent have a go.
Sounds like you've found a great general to start with. You asked about what cards win games in UW decks a bit further up. What win conditions have you got so far? You've got resilience built in to Hanna which is great. How do you use it to your advantage?
What you find very quickly is online is largely contained to online and people in stores play all kinds of decks at all skill levels from control to combo aggro and everything in between, regardless of what is talked about in philosophy or ideals or what have you.
Commander being the primary multiplayer magic format right now means it is a very wide umbrella you should be fine.
The key is finding a group for the type of play you desire. I play commander in different groups, some are extremely competitive (e.g. infinite combos, land destruction, competitive commanders, stasis, lots of counterspells, etc.) and allow proxies to level the play field for those who don't want to (or can't) dump tons of money on the game, while others are much more casual. Don't let anyone tell you commander should be one way or another. Also, I find with my very competitive commander group that even though everyone plays hyper cutthroat the games are pretty balanced, because everyone is constantly getting better at recognizing threats (including potential threats) and so long as you have more than one control player (and/or players play wraths, removal, counterspells, etc.) the games swing back and forth a lot.
A little late to the game, but my friends and I play almost only commander, and we all run some viscous combos/control. One friend had a Brago, King Eternal deck that usually stalled with Capsize and Stasis, which was was awful. On friend has a tax deck, that doesn't win simply because he chose to not care about winning and just ruining everyone's life.
A little late to the game, but my friends and I play almost only commander, and we all run some viscous combos/control. One friend had a Brago, King Eternal deck that usually stalled with Capsize
I love me some 'viscous' combos, especially with the river-of-blood version of Capsize. (Unintentional puns FTW!)
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"It is better for all the world if, instead of waiting to execute degenerate offspring for crime or to let them starve for their imbecility, society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind. The principle that sustains compulsory vaccination is broad enough to cover cutting the Fallopian tubes... Three generations of imbeciles are enough."
--Buck v Bell, 1927. This case, regarding the compulsory sterilization of inmates at mental institutions, has -- somehow -- never been overturned. Just a wee PSA for ya.
Sounds like you've found a great general to start with. You asked about what cards win games in UW decks a bit further up. What win conditions have you got so far? You've got resilience built in to Hanna which is great. How do you use it to your advantage?
Well, I decided to use Meekstone as a primary control piece that can be tutored up early, along with Dream Tides (old favorite) so I have a few vigilance creatures including Sun Titan and Opal Archangel which seems cool in this deck.
Beyond the creatures I have Sigil of the Empty Throne, Starfield of Nyx, and Opalescence. Also decided to throw in Dance of Many to combo with Starfield and Opalescence. Also I guess Mindslaver recursion can kill people, hope nobody throws me out for that one
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If you can cast a spell, you're doing well, If you can't, that's okay, too. It usually takes a few turns before you have enough mana to do anything. Meanwhile, you should figure out whether you need to discard (p.11). Then announce the end of your turn, and let your opponent have a go.
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I'm interested in getting into the format to play for fun at my LGS in between rounds of Modern (1v1) and with a friend's playgroup. I think the playgroup is pretty casual and fun oriented but they are enfranchised and have a lot of cards at the same time.
Here's my problem: from what I can gather and have heard about the format, the things that I find "fun" are pretty much diametrically opposed to what most people seem to enjoy. What scares me from getting into the format is the social norms around using "unfun" strategies. From what I can tell the goal is not "abuse your opponents as much as possible" like it is in Modern for example.
Here is a list of strategies and cards that I find truly fun to play with and against (no I'm not joking).
-Counterspells
-Combos like High Tide, infinite combos, anything where I can draw my whole deck, do unfair things etc.
-Prison-style enchantments like Stasis, Propaganda, Ghostly Prison, Dream Tides
-Mass land destruction like Armageddon, Cataclysm
In my opinion in Magic you should try to abuse your opponent in any way possible, and be prepared to defend yourself from the same, and disrupt your opponent's game plan so they can't do unfair things to you. Basically no hold barred, although I do agree with having a banlist to prevent things that are too broken or consistent.
So am I a bad person who will be shunned from this format, or should I finally put a deck together? I was thinking Hanna, Ship's Navigator as the commander. Thanks in advance.
You sound like you're geared towards slightly more competitive and less casual Commander, if you find a group that's into that you'll likely enjoy it a lot.
If by "abusing your opponents" you mean doing degenerate and broken things to try and win as fast and as spectacularly as possible that's great, but if you mean trying to make the game as unenjoyable as possible for other players you may run into more resistance and find fewer and fewer players that enjoy that kind of game. Extreme stax decks are enjoyed by far fewer players (as in playing against) than just brutally fast combo decks.
Some people dislike STAX effects, but that's usually when you're just casting Jokulhaups for kicks and giggles instead of trying to cement victory with it. I haven't had complaints when I get board advantage, drop Realm Razer and just win by the altered board state. Counterspells are usually not that frowned upon, since it's hard to lock down a full table, rather than just one player.
Its not that you cant play combo, pillowfort, and counterspell tactics but when you push the game to the extreme to see how fast you can win, commander (using the rules committee banlist) is not set up in such a way to play to an extreme. If you want to break the game, the game breaks. Commander is not a format that is balanced around the top end of being competitive.
Honestly, given everything you have said.... if that's how you want to play I would say you are better off saying something along the lines of sure, but I need to borrow a deck. If you play some games and really enjoy it, I would say go for it. If you cant stand the things in the deck and or the way the people are playing, I wouldn't.
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[Modern] Allies
I'm not just into winning the game as quickly as possible, I also like things long and drawn out.
I think I will be happy with a fair U/W controllish deck with an enchantment/light prison theme so we'll see how it goes. I can see JohnnyDegenerate's point that once you get into the fun of it you loosen up and find the things that really make the format cool.
R Norin the Wary: I've Got a Bad Feeling About This
UG Thrasios & Kydele: Knowledge is Power
RG Borborygmos Enraged: The Breaking of the World
BG The Gitrog Monster: All Glory to the Hypnotoad
WUR Zedruu the Greathearted: Endless Possibilities, One Outcome
WBG Karador, Ghost Chieftain: What's Dead May Never Die
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If you have the luxury of choosing between playgroups and can find the right people, it sounds like you would definitely enjoy "competitive" commander (aka cEDH) - it's basically singleton multiplayer vintage and if you have a group that enjoys it, it's incredibly fun. However, that's a big if. Taking a deck designed for cEDH into a "casual" playgroup is not going to be fun for them, and unless you're the kind of person who enjoys beating helpless seal cubs to death, probably not much fun for you.
I love the idea of using the opponents' stuff against them.
R Norin the Wary: I've Got a Bad Feeling About This
UG Thrasios & Kydele: Knowledge is Power
RG Borborygmos Enraged: The Breaking of the World
BG The Gitrog Monster: All Glory to the Hypnotoad
WUR Zedruu the Greathearted: Endless Possibilities, One Outcome
WBG Karador, Ghost Chieftain: What's Dead May Never Die
Turn your junk into something great with PucaTrade!
As a person who greatly enjoys those strategies as well, where else BUT EDH are you going to be able to enjoy all of those strategies and ALL AT ONCE?
1. Counter-magic is miserable in Standard, Modern, and relegated to a very small suite of playables in Legacy (FOW, Daze, Flusterstorm). Counterspell is a powerful card in EDH.
2. Combo is not longer supported archetype by WOTC and when it is, it's in a hybrid form. And Combo is neutered in every format by bans or Workshops. Every well built deck in EDH is supported by strong card synergies.
3. Prison cards and Mass-LD cards are extinct in modern magic. They are useful in EDH.
Bonus hidden gem: Palliation Accord. Stack up counters as opponents attack each other, use them to prevent damage to you.
If my post has no tags, then i posted from my phone.
Simply follow my philosophy on the matter:
"I don't see the problem, I'm still playing Magic."
Based on your description, might I suggest Hitler as your first Commander? The only real problem with him is that it can be difficult to find Invoke Prejudice, which is a mandatory inclusion for flavor reasons.
Side note: I still have not received a good explanation for that cards nickname.
A Dying Wish
To Rise Again
Chainer, Dementia Master
Muldrotha, the Gravetide
Atraxa, Praetors' Voice
If my post has no tags, then i posted from my phone.
BURWGSliver Hivelord's alt wincon deck at Maze's EndBURWG
GWBSidar Kondo and Ikra Shidiq likes big butts
RUMizzix of the Izmagnus Super ThiefRU
BURWGGeneral Tazri, The Megazord AllyBURWG
BURJeleva Mill and Kill BUR
BRGrenzo's get out from under that deck!BR
WUG Roon's Enchanted Evening (enchantment deck) WUG
BUG The Undersea World of Tasigur CousteauBUG
BWGAnafenza, Counter QueenBWG
The point is mostly that EDH is pretty much nonviable as a completely competitive (aka tournament) environment, but that just means that the social contract matters. If people around you agree to play with what you're playing, then that's all that matters.
--Buck v Bell, 1927. This case, regarding the compulsory sterilization of inmates at mental institutions, has -- somehow -- never been overturned. Just a wee PSA for ya.
I was being serious.
While there is some merit in making concessions for the group you play with, this has limits. If you do not enjoy what you are playing, why are you playing at all?
Grand Arbiter is likely the best Commander available for what Luthier has stated his preferred build archetype is.
For eight years now, I have seen/heard that card be referred to (in the context of Commander) as Hitler, both locally and in online discussions, and have never been given a real explanation as to why, so when he comes up, I tend to take the opportunity to again ask why, though I admit to not hearing him referred to as such as often anymore. Invoke Prejudice, while being a joke given the cards nickname, happens to also be a strong card for the type of deck being discussed.
There is also value in forcing a group to play against strategies they normally try to avoid.
While some of the people in my area are just bad, and others were good enough that it did not matter, I feel confidant saying there are people I play with that have become better players, because they had to learn how to deal with my fondness for Desolation Angel.
One last thing I will add for Luthier, is to try to avoid playing the truly competitive decks, as the format is poorly suited to it. That is, avoid decks designed to win large events, to the exclusion of all else (probably the most notorious example being Hermit Druid combo).
Edit: minor spelling corrections
A Dying Wish
To Rise Again
Chainer, Dementia Master
Muldrotha, the Gravetide
Atraxa, Praetors' Voice
GAAIV and Invoke Prejudice are both very strong cards for this archetype yes, but are also global effects that make the game harder for everybody. In the groups I play, dropping these kind of cards means the game becomes "everybody vs the controller of said card" until someone is able to remove it or the controller of the card is removed, whichever comes first. So while these cards may be fun for OP to play with, I think he will quickly be fed up with always being picked on and kicked out of the game first, having to spend the next hour watching the remaining players play form the sidelines. And of course, theoretically it is possible that his deck is strong enough to handle such situations, but then the group will soon just not play against that deck anymore. End result: having spend a lot money only to not be able to play with it.
So no matter how you look at it, assuming your desires differ from the group, you will always have to make concessions for the group you play with (if it's a regular group at least) until the group concensus is that you did so enough. Wether you still want to play with the group at that point is another discussion all together.
@OP: Isperia, Supreme Judge would make for a perfectly viable control commander following my earlier guidelines. She can get there with Commander damage and makes attacking you less interesting than attacking the other players, while at the same time not being so threatening that it immediately paints a target on your head when you get her on the table.
If my post has no tags, then i posted from my phone.
I actually tried putting together some non-blue decks like a R/G creature/ramp deck and a G/W token/anthem thing but I think if I'm going to get excited about this format I have to pick the low-hanging fruit of what I really enjoy first and then maybe try out other strategies later.
I've gotten a ton of useful advice out of this thread and my Hanna, Ship's Navigator deck is starting to come together.
It's looking like it will have:
-Only 2 counterspells (Counterspell and Arcane Denial) because they don't fit that well in the deck anyway.
-I think the only silly infinite combo I have is Parallax Wave, Parallax Tide, Opalescence.
-Only pillow fort type effects that affect people attacking ME, not the entire game so no Moat, Stasis or the like.
-A single Armageddon for LD just because it works so well with artifact mana and Propaganda effects
I threw in a few Angels and Sphinxes to help win the game hopefully.
This deck has a lot of things that are close to my heart... I won multiple type II tournaments when I was 13 with the Replenish deck and also top 16'd the JSS Championship with it. Also throwing in lots of cards that were awesome back in the day like Jester's Cap, Mystic Remora, Grinning Totem, Browse, Island Sanctuary, etc.
If the people I play with complain I can always switch some things out.
Commander being the primary multiplayer magic format right now means it is a very wide umbrella you should be fine.
Modern: URW Madcap Experiment
Pauper: MonoU Tempo Delver
My EDH Commanders:
Aminatou, The Fateshifter UBW
Azami, Lady of Scrolls U
Mikaeus, the Unhallowed B
Edric, Spymaster of Trest UG
Glissa, the Traitor BG
Arcum Dagsson U
I go for combo control with Ephara, God of the Polis or Keranos, God of Storms. Opting for Kiki Combo or Mindslaver Lock. It's all great fun...
Some people won't like playing against you, but it is about finding the people who will.
Modern
URGTemur ScapeshiftGRU
EDH
WGKarametra EnchantressGW
UBGSidisi, Brood Tyrant ReanimatorGBU
UBRKess DoomsdayRBU
WBGGhave TokensGBW
WUBZur RebelsBUW
WUBErtai CursesBUW
WRFiresong and Sunspeaker Spell SlingerRW
I love me some 'viscous' combos, especially with the river-of-blood version of Capsize. (Unintentional puns FTW!)
--Buck v Bell, 1927. This case, regarding the compulsory sterilization of inmates at mental institutions, has -- somehow -- never been overturned. Just a wee PSA for ya.
Well, I decided to use Meekstone as a primary control piece that can be tutored up early, along with Dream Tides (old favorite) so I have a few vigilance creatures including Sun Titan and Opal Archangel which seems cool in this deck.
Beyond the creatures I have Sigil of the Empty Throne, Starfield of Nyx, and Opalescence. Also decided to throw in Dance of Many to combo with Starfield and Opalescence. Also I guess Mindslaver recursion can kill people, hope nobody throws me out for that one