I just recently started going to a new game store and the EDH/Commander players there are significantly less competitive than my last group, which is making my current line-up of decks seem rather bad mannered. My last group was very control heavy and infinite combos were typically the only way you could win, but the new group doesn't seem to have combos at all and are all using aggro as their win conditions. In the new group, even the "I have 11 turns" player won through commander damage.
Now, I don't actually have access to my collection so I'm going to have to construct a deck entirely, if not almost entirely, of proxies and hope I can find time to fetch my collection out of storage. I only go to the lgs every two weeks, so that shouldn't be much of an issue, but I have no clue what to play. I've always been a pretty heavy control and combo player, so switching to aggro that isn't Maelstrom Wanderer surprise eliminate half the table or Voltron is going to be tough. I've never actually built a straightforward aggro deck in EDH/Commander before.
So, anyone have ideas or suggestions on some easy to build aggro commanders I can try out?
***EDIT***
Also, because I forgot to mention before, I haven't played MTG in ~4 years. I have next to no new cards. I have gone out of my way to buy a VERY select few cards through the years: Heliod, Pharika, Teshar, Thrasios and the ally-colored fetchlands when they got reprinted. I can try to trade for newer stuff, but I don't have the budget to buy cards as my budget is expended just paying for gas and food on those nights.
Xenagod and a tribe like Hydras that really, really go huge with the commander’s influence, but a tribe isn’t required. Ramp with moderate disruption can make for a surprisingly consistent aggro experience.
I'd recommend Kresh the Bloodbraided as a decent build. He's aggro, suits a ton of splashy spells and creatures and should be cheap to build for the most part. He's a LOT of fun, too.
It's a new card, but it's cheap. I think you could build a really good Multani, Yavimaya's Avatar deck and fill it with just a bunch of ramp and big dumb creatures. Throw in a bit of recursion, evasion, and card draw, and you've got a great deck. If you want to see such a deck in action, you could do a search for a recent Commander Versus video. The deck seems cheap to build, fun to play, and quite effective in an unknown environment. As a bonus, big green stompy hasn't changed much in the past 4 years. Sure it's gotten new tools, but they're all just different flavors of the old ones.
It's a new card, but it's cheap. I think you could build a really good Multani, Yavimaya's Avatar deck and fill it with just a bunch of ramp and big dumb creatures. Throw in a bit of recursion, evasion, and card draw, and you've got a great deck. If you want to see such a deck in action, you could do a search for a recent Commander Versus video. The deck seems cheap to build, fun to play, and quite effective in an unknown environment. As a bonus, big green stompy hasn't changed much in the past 4 years. Sure it's gotten new tools, but they're all just different flavors of the old ones.
I'll second this. He looks a lot of fun, and plays in nicely with big ramp, big mana, which green does well, obviously. Also plays nicely with classic mono-g control like Constant Mists, Titania, Protector of Argoth, Crucible of Worlds, Ramunap Excavator and so forth. I bet you could get pretty cunning with him. He's in my 99 for Nissa. Have yet to playtest him, but I expect good things.
Also wanted to make Neheb, the Eternal, but the card has shot up in price since the last time I looked at it. Last time I checked it was ~$0.60, but now it's ~$4-6 and sold out in half the stores I have bookmarked with the foil and promo sold out everywhere I have bookmarked. So... woot.
Also wanted to make Neheb, the Eternal, but the card has shot up in price since the last time I looked at it. Last time I checked it was ~$0.60, but now it's ~$4-6 and sold out in half the stores I have bookmarked with the foil and promo sold out everywhere I have bookmarked. So... woot.
Neheb can get pretty cutthroat at any rate, not sure he'd be a fantastic choice for a casual group.
Also wanted to make Neheb, the Eternal, but the card has shot up in price since the last time I looked at it. Last time I checked it was ~$0.60, but now it's ~$4-6 and sold out in half the stores I have bookmarked with the foil and promo sold out everywhere I have bookmarked. So... woot.
Neheb can get pretty cutthroat at any rate, not sure he'd be a fantastic choice for a casual group.
I just looked at the Neheb art, and I thought, “hmm, Hollywood called and wants The Predator back...”
Also wanted to make Neheb, the Eternal, but the card has shot up in price since the last time I looked at it. Last time I checked it was ~$0.60, but now it's ~$4-6 and sold out in half the stores I have bookmarked with the foil and promo sold out everywhere I have bookmarked. So... woot.
Neheb can get pretty cutthroat at any rate, not sure he'd be a fantastic choice for a casual group.
I just looked at the Neheb art, and I thought, “hmm, Hollywood called and wants The Predator back...”
Accurate. He looks badass to my mind. But yeah, he can close a game pretty quick, I've heard.
I know you said your last EDH league was really cutthroat and degenerate with infinite combos, and I don't know what decks you had beforehand, but I'm currently running a Ghave, Guru of Spores deck that isn't just another broken cEDH deck that aims to kill through infinite combos within the first few turns.
My Ghave deck is focused all around Saprolings. Saprolings are the bread and butter of the deck; they make you mana, give you blockers, sacrifices, and eventually an army. I would say it's a fairly powerful deck because it can generate a lot of value, has good access to ramp, removal, and micro synergies, but it's nowhere near the power level it could be.
Also, the only tokens the deck can produce are Saprolings.
I know you said your last EDH league was really cutthroat and degenerate with infinite combos, and I don't know what decks you had beforehand, but I'm currently running a Ghave, Guru of Spores deck that isn't just another broken cEDH deck that aims to kill through infinite combos within the first few turns.
My Ghave deck is focused all around Saprolings. Saprolings are the bread and butter of the deck; they make you mana, give you blockers, sacrifices, and eventually an army. I would say it's a fairly powerful deck because it can generate a lot of value, has good access to ramp, removal, and micro synergies, but it's nowhere near the power level it could be.
Also, the only tokens the deck can produce are Saprolings.
Yeah, Ghave can do more than just combo. My brother, who always goes to the card shop with me, is having a similar issue to mine but I'm just helping him edit his decks to remove the combos in favor of other things. He's currently running Ghave and trying to convince him that removing the combos doesn't make the deck terrible or make having Ghave as the commander pointless.
I know you said your last EDH league was really cutthroat and degenerate with infinite combos, and I don't know what decks you had beforehand, but I'm currently running a Ghave, Guru of Spores deck that isn't just another broken cEDH deck that aims to kill through infinite combos within the first few turns.
My Ghave deck is focused all around Saprolings. Saprolings are the bread and butter of the deck; they make you mana, give you blockers, sacrifices, and eventually an army. I would say it's a fairly powerful deck because it can generate a lot of value, has good access to ramp, removal, and micro synergies, but it's nowhere near the power level it could be.
Also, the only tokens the deck can produce are Saprolings.
Yeah, Ghave can do more than just combo. My brother, who always goes to the card shop with me, is having a similar issue to mine but I'm just helping him edit his decks to remove the combos in favor of other things. He's currently running Ghave and trying to convince him that removing the combos doesn't make the deck terrible or make having Ghave as the commander pointless.
The important thing is that you can still have combos (or very synergistic cards) within the deck, just don't make them infinite combos (that usually win on the spot).
I think I've decided on what deck to build. I've only ever built one straight-up AGGRO deck that wasn't voltron and that was Maelstrom Wanderer. While I do want to build something new, all the things I would want to build use new cards I don't have and might not get for quite a while. If my lgs has some precon commander decks, then I'll look at just editing one of those, but for now I'm just going to rebuild Maelstrom Wanderer and play it.
I want to try Edgar Markov Vamp tribal, Tetsuko Umezawa, fugitive aggro, Depala, Pilot Exemplar, Zada, Hedron Grinder Goblins, Ishkanah, Grafwidow Spiders/tokens, and so many others, but I don't have any of them or any of the cards printed for them along side them. I have no Vehicles or Dwarves for Depala. The only Vampires I have for Edgar Markov are original Zendikar and original Innistrad Vampires. I just don't have the ability to build any of the decks that I really have interest in.
As an aside, Edgar is, for the most part, very cheap to build. Predominantly what you want are super low-costed vampires. The janky one drops from zendikar and innistrad. You might be closer to a working list than you think.
Just play Wanderer! 34~ lands, 30+ ramp spells, and a bunch of fun cards from 4-7cmc.
Some personal favorites: Pathbreaker Ibex, Scourge of the Throne, and Diluvian Primordial.
As a bonus, every set typically has a cheap card that you can add to the deck.
I have a funny story I feel like sharing. Started looking through card boxes to get sleeves and cards for Maelstrom wanderer and came across a box with a copy of Alesha, Who Smiles at Death and a ~30 card landbase excluding Basics from when I decided I wanted to build her a few years back and just never finished. I have an Alesha, Who Smiles at Death deck now, cause why not?
Still going to rebuild Wanderer, but I now have one more deck than I was expecting to have.
Now, I don't actually have access to my collection so I'm going to have to construct a deck entirely, if not almost entirely, of proxies and hope I can find time to fetch my collection out of storage. I only go to the lgs every two weeks, so that shouldn't be much of an issue, but I have no clue what to play. I've always been a pretty heavy control and combo player, so switching to aggro that isn't Maelstrom Wanderer surprise eliminate half the table or Voltron is going to be tough. I've never actually built a straightforward aggro deck in EDH/Commander before.
So, anyone have ideas or suggestions on some easy to build aggro commanders I can try out?
***EDIT***
Also, because I forgot to mention before, I haven't played MTG in ~4 years. I have next to no new cards. I have gone out of my way to buy a VERY select few cards through the years: Heliod, Pharika, Teshar, Thrasios and the ally-colored fetchlands when they got reprinted. I can try to trade for newer stuff, but I don't have the budget to buy cards as my budget is expended just paying for gas and food on those nights.
WBG Karador, Ghost Chieftain
B Toshiro Umezawa
BG Pharika, God of Affliction - Necromancy and Politics
WWW The Church of Heliod
WBR Zurgo, Helmsmasher
RG Wort, the Raidmother
UBR Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge
UG Vorel of the Hull Clade
Currently Playing:
Multiplayer EDH Lists (click italics for a link to the thread!)
[Primer] Lord of Tresserhorn - Don't Tell Me What I Can't Do[Primer] Roon of the Hidden Realm - Rhino Blink
5 Color Tribal Guide (Slivers, Atogs, Allies, Spirits)
Also Playing (most decklists can be found on my profile)
MarathGeistKamahlGrenzoBolasThassaGitrog
PiratesZurVial Smasher&ThrasiosYennettJhoira(cEDH)Strix(Pauper)
Legacy: Maverick
Modern:
Melira PodRIP 1/19/15GWHatebearsI'll second this. He looks a lot of fun, and plays in nicely with big ramp, big mana, which green does well, obviously. Also plays nicely with classic mono-g control like Constant Mists, Titania, Protector of Argoth, Crucible of Worlds, Ramunap Excavator and so forth. I bet you could get pretty cunning with him. He's in my 99 for Nissa. Have yet to playtest him, but I expect good things.
Also wanted to make Neheb, the Eternal, but the card has shot up in price since the last time I looked at it. Last time I checked it was ~$0.60, but now it's ~$4-6 and sold out in half the stores I have bookmarked with the foil and promo sold out everywhere I have bookmarked. So... woot.
WBG Karador, Ghost Chieftain
B Toshiro Umezawa
BG Pharika, God of Affliction - Necromancy and Politics
WWW The Church of Heliod
WBR Zurgo, Helmsmasher
RG Wort, the Raidmother
UBR Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge
UG Vorel of the Hull Clade
Neheb can get pretty cutthroat at any rate, not sure he'd be a fantastic choice for a casual group.
Accurate. He looks badass to my mind. But yeah, he can close a game pretty quick, I've heard.
My Ghave deck is focused all around Saprolings. Saprolings are the bread and butter of the deck; they make you mana, give you blockers, sacrifices, and eventually an army. I would say it's a fairly powerful deck because it can generate a lot of value, has good access to ramp, removal, and micro synergies, but it's nowhere near the power level it could be.
Also, the only tokens the deck can produce are Saprolings.
Dunes of Zairo
SHANDALAR
Innistrad - The Darkest Night
~THE RAVNICAN CONSORTIUM~
A Community Set
Commander: Allies & Adversaries
Yeah, Ghave can do more than just combo. My brother, who always goes to the card shop with me, is having a similar issue to mine but I'm just helping him edit his decks to remove the combos in favor of other things. He's currently running Ghave and trying to convince him that removing the combos doesn't make the deck terrible or make having Ghave as the commander pointless.
WBG Karador, Ghost Chieftain
B Toshiro Umezawa
BG Pharika, God of Affliction - Necromancy and Politics
WWW The Church of Heliod
WBR Zurgo, Helmsmasher
RG Wort, the Raidmother
UBR Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge
UG Vorel of the Hull Clade
The important thing is that you can still have combos (or very synergistic cards) within the deck, just don't make them infinite combos (that usually win on the spot).
Dunes of Zairo
SHANDALAR
Innistrad - The Darkest Night
~THE RAVNICAN CONSORTIUM~
A Community Set
Commander: Allies & Adversaries
I want to try Edgar Markov Vamp tribal, Tetsuko Umezawa, fugitive aggro, Depala, Pilot Exemplar, Zada, Hedron Grinder Goblins, Ishkanah, Grafwidow Spiders/tokens, and so many others, but I don't have any of them or any of the cards printed for them along side them. I have no Vehicles or Dwarves for Depala. The only Vampires I have for Edgar Markov are original Zendikar and original Innistrad Vampires. I just don't have the ability to build any of the decks that I really have interest in.
But, at least I always found Maelstrom Wanderer fun to play.
WBG Karador, Ghost Chieftain
B Toshiro Umezawa
BG Pharika, God of Affliction - Necromancy and Politics
WWW The Church of Heliod
WBR Zurgo, Helmsmasher
RG Wort, the Raidmother
UBR Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge
UG Vorel of the Hull Clade
Some personal favorites: Pathbreaker Ibex, Scourge of the Throne, and Diluvian Primordial.
As a bonus, every set typically has a cheap card that you can add to the deck.
Still going to rebuild Wanderer, but I now have one more deck than I was expecting to have.
WBG Karador, Ghost Chieftain
B Toshiro Umezawa
BG Pharika, God of Affliction - Necromancy and Politics
WWW The Church of Heliod
WBR Zurgo, Helmsmasher
RG Wort, the Raidmother
UBR Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge
UG Vorel of the Hull Clade