There have been several of these I've noticed over the years, but more in the recent legendaries printed for Commander products. The one that recently stood out to me was Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign. I built her like a lot of people, focusing a lot on odd-costed bombs and top deck manipulation. Thing is, she's also a 3/5 flyer for 5 that has Vigilance and Menace. And if you don't have a single odd costed card in your deck she draws you a card whenever she hits. Realizing that, she's got a lot of potential and if you have a handful of odd bombs, cool. I too am guilty of looking at a new commander and trying to figure out the magical Christmas land scenario I want to build, but sometimes just half of a commander is plenty decent.
The other one that stands out to me is Atraxa... if you just cut off the bottom half of the card, took away the proliferate nonsense, she'd still be plenty playable at her cost. I was wanting to build her and looking at various uses of proliferate and finally realized I wanted to build her enchantress voltron. I've got a Spike Weaver I can proliferate, but that's it.
I have a friend who put Horde of Notions in his EDH cube even though there is just a smattering of elementals because he's a 5/5 haste/trample/vigilance for 5.
Anyways, my point in this thread is to discuss commanders you've found that are plenty good even if you don't build to their abilities and also to point out that assessing a commander doesn't necessarily mean looking at how good a deck you can build according to the card's salient abilities.
Sure, there's still color identity and stuff to take into consideration, but overall most of these are easy to assemble just to smash/have simple interactions with.
I built my Karador, Ghost Chieftain with this kind of philosophy; he's value on the command zone, rather than something to get the 'most out of'. Things will die anyway, and the deck focuses largely on tokens, and getting life & cards out of said tokens. The deck has sac outlets mostly to get more out of the tokens the deck makes, and no self-mill. And... the definite plus side is that I can shrug off grave hate far better than most Karador builds because I don't consider my graveyard a 'second hand'.
That said, I forgot about Yennett, and sorta want to build her now, just as a pseudo-voltron approach of oddities with no topdeck manipulation. And Grozoth. Deckbuilding philosophy there would be along the lines of 'Is this a cool card with an odd mana cost that I haven't been able to find a home for? In it goes.'
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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
I find Meren of Clan Nel Toth really doesn't need to be tricked out at all. A lot of value etb creatures in her colors go into other decks, such as Acidic Slime and Plaguecrafter, but also cards like Sakura-Tribe Elder which work perfectly fine as ramp in Green go nuts with Meren herself.
If you are playing a commmander for the colors and not for any synergies, then I would suggest choosing a commander that doesn't have a lot of synergies. If you build Prossh, Skyraider of Kher, I am expecting combos and token synergies.
If you build Adun Oakenshield, then I have no idea what you are doing.
So, if you want to play Yennet as an efficient beater, you can, but your opponents may be expecting something else.
How i feel about competitive players and casual players in EDH: The competitive are german tourists, the casual are italian tourists, both in a italian beach. The italians asking themselves "why are the germans here?" make a legitimate question, the answer is because the beach is beautiful, no matter the country you came from. The italians wanting to ban the germans are dumb, because if the germans pay for their stay and follow the rules like everyone else, they have the right to be in the beach. Hovewer, if the germans started to ask themselves "why are the italians here?"... they would be dumb as hell.
So, if you want to play Yennet as an efficient beater, you can, but your opponents may be expecting something else.
But I reckon that's part of the beauty. It's enjoyable to subvert expectations, even if that makes me the target on the first round. I can then post-game reveal my 'plan', that is, no plan; Yennett with no topdeck tutors or topdeck manipulation. I consider it a challenge and added variance (and fun!) for the deck when even I don't know what I'll be revealing.
Flying, menace and vigilance are really durn effective anyway, as an ability combo. But, I get your point about people expecting the worst on the first round.
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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
Anafenza's second ability, assuming your deck doesn't care about your opponents' GYs for stealing shenanigans, can do so much work. She's also stacked for three mana.
Prime Speaker Zegana is a big one for me. Every beginner can easily make a deck where Zegana does great work simply by supplying gas and being a massive beater. Tishana, Voice of Thunder is much alike but does like a little bit more support than her Ravnican counterpart does.
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My Commander decks:
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.
Rakdos, Lord of Riots is actually really fun no matter the budget and can be effective.
Selvala, Explorer Returned can get out of control easily without being too optimized. My build started as a budget deck, ended up this weird Elf-Ball/Selesnya Goodstuff hybrid. But when you're generating 5-7 mana on Turn 3 every game and playing in colors with good removal, recovery and ramp options it's just really easy to add fun stuff and go nuts.
With the focus on all in multiplayer that commander sort of has, a 'less optimal' general is easily hidden. A lot of players even play to that, deliberately using less threatening commanders.
To answer your question, I love my commander Keranos, God of Storms as I only have a single deck, he was quite cheap and easy to build around (he offers a bit of creature control and a bit of draw) and in multiplayer he doesn't threaten any instant win combo, plus being indestructible and often an Enchantment he is a lot of effort to remove.
In 1v1 he is a bit slow but still serviceable if your deck can stall or control early.
But he is not as optimal as a lot that have been mentioned. He's just a great all rounder.
Edit: On the topic, I think you can build Marath, Will of the Wild without any synergy and he (she?) is still a boss. As long as you have enough lands, Marath provides inevitability all by him(her?)self.
This is not really in the spirit of the thread, but Zur the enchanter is one of the more extrem examples: You need something like 5 cards or so (honestly, you can get away with just necropotence, but it would likely be stronger with a few combos on top) for him in total and you are then having an extremly powerfull deck.
Edit: On the topic, I think you can build Marath, Will of the Wild without any synergy and he (she?) is still a boss. As long as you have enough lands, Marath provides inevitability all by him(her?)self.
He wants to get a token of Korlash with helm, sacing the original and then using reclamation on the original repeatedly (each time discarding to the surviving token) to get a lot of lands.
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"Hail to the speaker, hail to the knower; joy to he who has understood, delight to they who have listened." - Odin
The other one that stands out to me is Atraxa... if you just cut off the bottom half of the card, took away the proliferate nonsense, she'd still be plenty playable at her cost. I was wanting to build her and looking at various uses of proliferate and finally realized I wanted to build her enchantress voltron. I've got a Spike Weaver I can proliferate, but that's it.
I have a friend who put Horde of Notions in his EDH cube even though there is just a smattering of elementals because he's a 5/5 haste/trample/vigilance for 5.
Anyways, my point in this thread is to discuss commanders you've found that are plenty good even if you don't build to their abilities and also to point out that assessing a commander doesn't necessarily mean looking at how good a deck you can build according to the card's salient abilities.
Thoughts?
WUBRG Some of these decks can actually win games...WUBRG
How I know I should build a deck:
1. Keyword Soup - Solid beaters at CMC 5 or less, preferably.
Atraxa, Praetors' Voice
Aurelia, the Warleader
Dragonlord Ojutai
Ghalta, Primal Hunger
Gisela, the Broken Blade
Glissa, the Traitor
Kefnet the Mindful
Lyra Dawnbringer
Mirri the Cursed
Rorix Bladewing
Samut, Voice of Dissent
Saskia the Unyielding
Sigarda, Host of Herons
Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
Traxos, Scourge of Kroog
Yidris, Maelstrom Wielder
Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign
Zurgo Helmsmasher
2. Easy Utiliziers - Commanders with a built in tech thats so simple, you don't have to build around it too much, to make it work.
Brago, King Eternal
Gahiji, Honored One
Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain
Kaervek the Merciless
Kambal, Consul of Allocation
Karametra, God of Harvests
Kess, Dissident Mage
Maelstrom Wanderer
Narset, Enlightened Master
Niv-Mizzet, Parun
Samut, Voice of Dissent
Talrand, Sky Summoner
Tatyova, Benthic Druid
Tasigur, the Golden Fang
Traxos, Scourge of Kroog
Urabrask the Hidden
Yeva, Nature's Herald
Sure, there's still color identity and stuff to take into consideration, but overall most of these are easy to assemble just to smash/have simple interactions with.
That said, I forgot about Yennett, and sorta want to build her now, just as a pseudo-voltron approach of oddities with no topdeck manipulation. And Grozoth. Deckbuilding philosophy there would be along the lines of 'Is this a cool card with an odd mana cost that I haven't been able to find a home for? In it goes.'
Thrasios - terrific ability on a cheap, decent body
(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'
If you build Adun Oakenshield, then I have no idea what you are doing.
So, if you want to play Yennet as an efficient beater, you can, but your opponents may be expecting something else.
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
Sire of insanity + anthem of rakdos
But I reckon that's part of the beauty. It's enjoyable to subvert expectations, even if that makes me the target on the first round. I can then post-game reveal my 'plan', that is, no plan; Yennett with no topdeck tutors or topdeck manipulation. I consider it a challenge and added variance (and fun!) for the deck when even I don't know what I'll be revealing.
Flying, menace and vigilance are really durn effective anyway, as an ability combo. But, I get your point about people expecting the worst on the first round.
(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'
Rakdos, Lord of Riots is actually really fun no matter the budget and can be effective.
Selvala, Explorer Returned can get out of control easily without being too optimized. My build started as a budget deck, ended up this weird Elf-Ball/Selesnya Goodstuff hybrid. But when you're generating 5-7 mana on Turn 3 every game and playing in colors with good removal, recovery and ramp options it's just really easy to add fun stuff and go nuts.
(Also known as Xenphire)
To answer your question, I love my commander Keranos, God of Storms as I only have a single deck, he was quite cheap and easy to build around (he offers a bit of creature control and a bit of draw) and in multiplayer he doesn't threaten any instant win combo, plus being indestructible and often an Enchantment he is a lot of effort to remove.
In 1v1 he is a bit slow but still serviceable if your deck can stall or control early.
But he is not as optimal as a lot that have been mentioned. He's just a great all rounder.
I don't get it.
Edit: On the topic, I think you can build Marath, Will of the Wild without any synergy and he (she?) is still a boss. As long as you have enough lands, Marath provides inevitability all by him(her?)self.
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 1/19/15GWHatebearsHe wants to get a token of Korlash with helm, sacing the original and then using reclamation on the original repeatedly (each time discarding to the surviving token) to get a lot of lands.
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 1/19/15GWHatebearsClearly you weren't here for Phil.