From experience, Group Hug decks are rarely Fun or Interactive. By removing the basic resource restraints on the game, you heavily reward the greediest combo deck (that doesn't run enough mana fixing, cheap draw, etc, but does run doublers and similar) at the detriment of the rest of the table.
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Kami and Blue Braids shouldn't be built to be "fair". Kami should be hardcore lockdown, Braids should be like a one-sided Show and Tell every turn.
That said, I wouldn't recommend making "group hug". They rarely make the game more fun for everyone. You'll just give resources to someone to enable a win for themselves in an extremely unfair way.
I run a Zedruu deck. It's one part group hug, one part police, one part chaos deck. It needs some work, but it's not too bad of a deck...
The basic way it plays games is through a slight group hug... stuff like howling mine and font of mythos usually benefit everyone somewhat equally (though, stuff like green decks a little bit more, admittedly). It also pillow forts with stuff like wall of denial, fog bank, and guard gomazoa
Once everyone is in a good position, and everyone's happy, the policing starts. Pyromancer's Swath prevents the heavy card draw people. statecraft locks down the angry green deck. Steel Golem and Grid Monitor Help with that too. If someone's really a jerk, Dominus of Fealty can be used to steal their stuff, and then donate it to someone else.
I've run almost nothing but group hug, you have to change your goals for the game really. I'm currently running Roon and just play a very, very "sit back" type of game. Ramp, ramp, mess with board, help out people and always aim for 2nd place not 1st.
Every game is pretty fun as a result, it's not competitive but it's entertaining. At times just roll the dice and let others decide what target gets hit by acidic slime.
Notable cards are ones that give opponents creatures when they come into play, and then blink them to give them more creatures.
I don't think I've ever won with the deck in the last 3 months, but I gotta say I've probably had more fun playing it than someone running a combo or aggressive deck and losing most of the games. Or making it too good to the point where others aren't having fun.
I also tryed Zedruu, but didn't like him very much. A lot of the "sucky donate cards" suck to you, so you had to add in donation cost to get rid of it quickly. It was very uninteractive with the board, other than "Haha, sucks to be you" and "Everyone draws cards, wahoo, okay your turn." It was alright, but didn't find it much to my play style.
cards like rites of flourishing and font of mythos are stupid and annoying. As has been said, they tend to reward greedy combo decks or ramp decks. They just create chaos, making it easy for a combo player to win, or a ramp deck to spiral crazily out of control. Don't build that deck, it's obnoxious.
Phelddagrif is the posterchild for what group hug ought to be: TARGETED hugs. if someone is low on life, give them life. If someone is weak on board, give them tokens. If someone needs more answers, let them draw. But don't bolster what the leader is already getting.
So I recommend phelddagrif, with lots of cards that can benefit other people IF they need help, and ideally while helping you too. Cards like pulsemage advocate and diviner spirit are where you want to go.
As has been said, they tend to reward greedy combo decks or ramp decks. They just create chaos, making it easy for a combo player to win, or a ramp deck to spiral crazily out of control. Don't build that deck, it's obnoxious.
Phelddagrif is the posterchild for what group hug ought to be: TARGETED hugs. if someone is low on life, give them life. If someone is weak on board, give them tokens. If someone needs more answers, let them draw. But don't bolster what the leader is already getting.
So I recommend phelddagrif, with lots of cards that can benefit other people IF they need help, and ideally while helping you too. Cards like pulsemage advocate and diviner spirit are where you want to go.
From experience, Group Hug decks are rarely Fun or Interactive. By removing the basic resource restraints on the game, you heavily reward the greediest combo deck (that doesn't run enough mana fixing, cheap draw, etc, but does run doublers and similar) at the detriment of the rest of the table.
This. All of this. Group hug and kingmaker decks are pretty much the only decks that will get hated out of every game by multiple people in my playgroup for those exact reasons.
I do not view these decks as casual or fun or relaxing. I would strongly suggest that you do something along the lines of what dirkgently suggests.
My recommendation for that is also Zedruu the greathearted. Donate on a stick is not bad when your giving away wall of omens into that lethal attack or that extra land they need to sweep the board. Just make sure to not go with the "chaos is fun" or "Give away useless things" builds. Play useful cards that do something but you wouldn't mind giving to your opponent. The recent Akroan horse looks fun.
And please...please stay away from symmetrical draw effects like Howling mine
in my zedruu group hug build, much like hydrophobicfish, it has many aspects of it. But by far my favourite is it's policing aspect. in my opinion, if you just straight up say that you're running a group hug, everyone becomes suspicious, and the best players generally try to take you out first. But if you say that you have a part hug-part chaos or whatever, people are more inclined to leave you alone.
That being said, zedruu lends herself to do some pretty crazy stuff:
Once, i built up to like 50 or 60 eyeball counters on jar of eyeballs, donated it to the strongest player on the table, then mindslaver-ed him, activating the jar of eyeballs, reordered his entire deck so he had about 30 turns or so worth of lands to topdeck for the rest of the game.
a lot of what zedruu does is along the lines of donating something a little innocuous, then mindslaver them and make them do something rather silly. Good fun though.
Don't listen to the naysayers! Group hug doesn't have to hand the game to the combo player if you play it smart. Give out boons to the rest of the table in small doses, building the player of your choice into the archenemy. And don't forget to include spot removal and board wipes - the enemy of the archenemy is the table's friend.
That's just not the case in my experience. But I can take a hint. If people gang up on my deck before it even does anything, I'll stop using it for a while.
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Commander DecksUB Sygg - Stream of Answers UBGWU Phelddagrif - Hugs and Handshakes GWURW Gisela - Firebender RWB Endrek - Correct! 6,000 Thrulls BBU Wrexial - Wrist Deep In Your Graveyard BUGW Trostani - My Wife's Deck GWBR Lyzolda - Chaos Hug BR
WUBRG Reaper King - The Trouble With Tribals WUBRG
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Open to suggestions
From experience, Group Hug decks are rarely Fun or Interactive. By removing the basic resource restraints on the game, you heavily reward the greediest combo deck (that doesn't run enough mana fixing, cheap draw, etc, but does run doublers and similar) at the detriment of the rest of the table.
Currently Playing:
Legacy: Something U/W Controlish
EDH Cube
Hypercube! A New EDH Deck Every Week(ish)!
That said, I wouldn't recommend making "group hug". They rarely make the game more fun for everyone. You'll just give resources to someone to enable a win for themselves in an extremely unfair way.
I run a Zedruu deck. It's one part group hug, one part police, one part chaos deck. It needs some work, but it's not too bad of a deck...
The basic way it plays games is through a slight group hug... stuff like howling mine and font of mythos usually benefit everyone somewhat equally (though, stuff like green decks a little bit more, admittedly). It also pillow forts with stuff like wall of denial, fog bank, and guard gomazoa
Once everyone is in a good position, and everyone's happy, the policing starts. Pyromancer's Swath prevents the heavy card draw people. statecraft locks down the angry green deck. Steel Golem and Grid Monitor Help with that too. If someone's really a jerk, Dominus of Fealty can be used to steal their stuff, and then donate it to someone else.
Win conditions are usually Felidar Sovereign and Test of Endurance. A really nice combo is Venser, the Sojourner and Illusions of Grandeur Just blink and donate the illusions every turn... gain 20 life, make them lose 20 life. Venser also can get back gifts if people are abusing them.
Again, it needs work (and I can provide a decklist if you want), but it's kinda fun playing kingmaker.
Every game is pretty fun as a result, it's not competitive but it's entertaining. At times just roll the dice and let others decide what target gets hit by acidic slime.
Notable cards are ones that give opponents creatures when they come into play, and then blink them to give them more creatures.
I don't think I've ever won with the deck in the last 3 months, but I gotta say I've probably had more fun playing it than someone running a combo or aggressive deck and losing most of the games. Or making it too good to the point where others aren't having fun.
I also tryed Zedruu, but didn't like him very much. A lot of the "sucky donate cards" suck to you, so you had to add in donation cost to get rid of it quickly. It was very uninteractive with the board, other than "Haha, sucks to be you" and "Everyone draws cards, wahoo, okay your turn." It was alright, but didn't find it much to my play style.
cards like rites of flourishing and font of mythos are stupid and annoying. As has been said, they tend to reward greedy combo decks or ramp decks. They just create chaos, making it easy for a combo player to win, or a ramp deck to spiral crazily out of control. Don't build that deck, it's obnoxious.
Phelddagrif is the posterchild for what group hug ought to be: TARGETED hugs. if someone is low on life, give them life. If someone is weak on board, give them tokens. If someone needs more answers, let them draw. But don't bolster what the leader is already getting.
So I recommend phelddagrif, with lots of cards that can benefit other people IF they need help, and ideally while helping you too. Cards like pulsemage advocate and diviner spirit are where you want to go.
EDH Primers
Phelddagrif - Zirilan
EDH
Thrasios+Bruse - Pang - Sasaya - Wydwen - Feather - Rona - Toshiro - Sylvia+Khorvath - Geth - QMarchesa - Firesong - Athreos - Arixmethes - Isperia - Etali - Silas+Sidar - Saskia - Virtus+Gorm - Kynaios - Naban - Aryel - Mizzix - Kazuul - Tymna+Kraum - Sidar+Tymna - Ayli - Gwendlyn - Phelddagrif 4 - Liliana - Kaervek - Phelddagrif 3 - Mairsil - Scarab - Child - Phenax - Shirei - Thada - Depala - Circu - Kytheon - GrenzoHR - Phelddagrif - Reyhan+Kraum - Toshiro - Varolz - Nin - Ojutai - Tasigur - Zedruu - Uril - Edric - Wort - Zurgo - Nahiri - Grenzo - Kozilek - Yisan - Ink-Treader - Yisan - Brago - Sidisi - Toshiro - Alexi - Sygg - Brimaz - Sek'Kuar - Marchesa - Vish Kal - Iroas - Phelddagrif - Ephara - Derevi - Glissa - Wanderer - Saffi - Melek - Xiahou Dun - Lazav - Lin Sivvi - Zirilan - Glissa
PDH - Drake - Graverobber - Izzet GM - Tallowisp - Symbiote Brawl - Feather - Ugin - Jace - Scarab - Angrath - Vraska - Kumena Oathbreaker - Wrenn&6
This. All of this. Group hug and kingmaker decks are pretty much the only decks that will get hated out of every game by multiple people in my playgroup for those exact reasons.
I do not view these decks as casual or fun or relaxing. I would strongly suggest that you do something along the lines of what dirkgently suggests.
My recommendation for that is also Zedruu the greathearted. Donate on a stick is not bad when your giving away wall of omens into that lethal attack or that extra land they need to sweep the board. Just make sure to not go with the "chaos is fun" or "Give away useless things" builds. Play useful cards that do something but you wouldn't mind giving to your opponent. The recent Akroan horse looks fun.
And please...please stay away from symmetrical draw effects like Howling mine
GUGEdric, Spymaster of Trest - Elfball
WUBOloro, Ageless Ascetic- Doomsday!
RWUEphara, God of the Polis - Blink + Control
GBGGlissa, the Traitor - Stax & Lands
URGMaelstrom Wanderer - Goodstuff RUG
RGWMayael the Anima - Timmy
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher - The One Hit Wonder
RGWMarath, Will of the Wild - Old-school Enchantress Hate
RWRAurelia, the Warleader - Equipment Aggro
GGGReki, the History of Kamigawa - Legends + Banding
UBRSedris, the Traitor King - Creatures with : Ability
BUBPhenax, God of Deception - Mill
*Sidenote, I specifically excluded infinite combos from all these decks with the exception of Marath and the squirrel nest + Earthcraft combo.
Looking for something Aggressive in modern? Try - BR Aggro
That being said, zedruu lends herself to do some pretty crazy stuff:
Once, i built up to like 50 or 60 eyeball counters on jar of eyeballs, donated it to the strongest player on the table, then mindslaver-ed him, activating the jar of eyeballs, reordered his entire deck so he had about 30 turns or so worth of lands to topdeck for the rest of the game.
a lot of what zedruu does is along the lines of donating something a little innocuous, then mindslaver them and make them do something rather silly. Good fun though.
Legacy - Solidarity - mono U aggro - burn - Imperial Painter - Strawberry Shortcake - Bluuzards - bom
Here's my Phelddagrif list: http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=549531
The only problem with this logic is that the group hug player is always the archenemy first.
After all, he helps people draw cards.
All of the cards.
Cheers!
Krichaiushii on PucaTrade.