Once upon a time, rockondon maintained a thread entitled "The best and funnest top tier generals in EDH," which I would frequently reference and found to be of great interest. So many new legends have been made available since ~2012, and so much has changed about the landscape of EDH, that I thought it would be interesting to make a 2.0 version of that thread, which I will be happy to keep updated as long as people post.
So, please cast a vote for the commander of your choice in any or all of the following categories (for purposes of this poll, "best" = the one that you'll win the most with):
1) Best multiplayer COMBO commander
2) Best multiplayer CONTROL commander
3) Best multiplayer AGGRO commander
4) MOST FUN commander to play in multiplayer
5) MOST FUN commander to play AGAINST in multiplayer
6) Best 1v1 commander (Traditional)
7) Best 1v1 commander (Duel / French)
8) Best Pauper commander
9) Best Tiny Leaders commander
10) Best 2HG Commander
I'm looking forward to seeing how this shapes up in the coming days and weeks!
1.) Azami, Lady of Scrolls. She is just pure awesomeness. She is sweet, iconic, graceful, and elegant as the Best Combo General.
Thanks for your input!
She is classic Mono-U combo/control for sure. As a general rule, she's going to be a few turns slower than things like Sharuum or 5c Hermit Druid, though, isn't she?
#1-3 imply that we have consistent tournament results which we mostly do not for a national meta for this format so I am not under the impression that it can ever be answered with any sort of certainty.
4) Eye of the beholder but.... I guess I will go with anything that is whackey and or out of the norm. For me currently, I guess I will go with Kozilek, the Great Distortion right now just because there is some bit of rush just mashing the ramp button into an enormous end bringing eldrazi. Any and every answer will vary and my answer based on my mood and what decks I have together will change.
5) again eye of the beholder, I guess I would answer with some sort of interesting synergistic build that is not hug, fort, planeswalker, stax, stasis, combo, or MLD. In short, a fair deck that does something proactively rather than sitting back or reducing interaction.
#6-10) No idea I dont play.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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.
#1-3 imply that we have consistent tournament results which we mostly do not for a national meta for this format so I am not under the impression that it can ever be answered with any sort of certainty.
4) Eye of the beholder but.... I guess I will go with anything that is whackey and or out of the norm. For me currently, I guess I will go with Kozilek, the Great Distortion right now just because there is some bit of rush just mashing the ramp button into an enormous end bringing eldrazi. Any and every answer will vary and my answer based on my mood and what decks I have together will change.
5) again eye of the beholder, I guess I would answer with some sort of interesting synergistic build that is not hug, fort, planeswalker, stax, stasis, combo, or MLD. In short, a fair deck that does something proactively rather than sitting back or reducing interaction.
#6-10) No idea I dont play.
Thanks for your input!
I'm not sure that #s1-3 necessarily require that we have tournament results in order to arrive at informed conclusions (although they would obviously make it easier and more concrete to do so). I think that the community can do a pretty good job of determining by consensus which commanders have the greatest potential to win via different strategies. Similarly, fun/not fun is of course subjective, but I think that the community probably has commanders that stick out as having the most potential to be fun/the most potential to be miserable to play against.
Re: your particular vote for fun, I feel like I've seen a lot of talk that running a colorless deck with an Eldrazi at the helm is pretty fun. Might be something I have to try out someday.
#4 is all about opinion. It could be some group-hug deck that a bunch of newblits love to have at the table because it excels their own decks, it could be a chaos deck that makes games the "fun" kind of random. My personal favorite is akroma, angel of fury, in a big-red battlecruiser style of casual deck. The deck that can bate out removal/board wipes before resolving akroma, and then just 1-hitting opponents.
#5 Same, depends on the group. I although always enjoy playing against a skilled Nekusar, the Mindrazer opponent, because it makes every game a pseudo-race for them to kill/wreck me before I can use the card advantage against them.
#8 - IMO fallen angel, because my legends copy of her is uncommon and not rare. I am also not very experienced with pauper in recent years, and don't really have much information to work with, past how well my fallen angel grind deck did years ago.
#9 - I hate the format, so I have no information. If I were to ever play this format, I would most likely build nin, the pain artist. From an outsiders perspective, Geist of Saint Traft seems like an unfair commander for tiny leaders.
#10 - Any broad spectrum bonus to teammates, like Gahiji, Honored One, seem good. If the other players are not considered "opponents" then Nekusar, the Mindrazer seems ok.
Edit; possibly just my own meta, but we are more interested in playing 2-headed giant before any other edh variants like horde. There is also archenemey and planechase, you could add in three more selections for these supplements.
1-3 - idc
4 - Phelddagrif (control)
5 - People seemed to like my circu deck. I feel a bit weird voting for my own deck, especially since it always lost, but all the people I play with these days either build goodstuff ramp or a slightly modified 2016 precon so it's hard to give a crap.
6-7 - idc
8 - no one plays it (sadly)
9 - no one plays it (happily)
10 - no one ever played it (???)
Re: your particular vote for fun, I feel like I've seen a lot of talk that running a colorless deck with an Eldrazi at the helm is pretty fun. Might be something I have to try out someday.
A lot of it really comes down to the fact that they play sooo differently. Its also sort of fun having the mortality of relying on a bunch of fragile artifacts as you mash the turbo ramp button harder than most. The two variants of Kozilek act as control, draw, and wincon in most cases so its sort of fun to see people squirm as you rush towards your goal. For me, average games seem to be something like a turn 5 eldrazi with fast games being as quick as turns 2-3 and slow games sometimes being literally when I hit 10 lands in play. Its fun though in that you have to sort of embrace what you can and cannot do and just see if anyone can stop you.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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.
First of all, I'd like to say its great that we're starting one of these threads as I remember referring to Rockondon's thread when I was first getting into EDH and I remember how much it helped me as a newcomer.
1) Best Multiplayer combo commander: Its the undisputed fastest clock with a great degree of control and consistency to boot; Zur the enchanter for sure. 2) Best Multiplayer control commander: I'd say Derevi, empyrial tactician Stax. The whole deck isn't designed to win; its designed to stop your opponents from winning while you attack with hatebears. 3) Best Multiplayer aggro commander: Purphoros, god of the forge if going for an aggro full-table knock-out. Xenagos, god of revels for the best aggro burst commander. 4) Most fun commander to play in Multiplayer: easily Norin the wary. Watching your opponents go from laughing to horrified in minutes is gold. Everytime. 5) Most fun commander to play against in Multiplayer: Lazav, dimir mastermind. Every game is different VSing this guy. 6) Best 1v1 commander (Traditional): don't know. only play multiplayer. 7) Best 1v1 commander (Duel / French): see above. 8) Best Pauper commander: see above 9) Best Tiny Leaders commander: see above 10) Best Horde commander: see above
"Best" would seem tend to imply a primary concern for winning, i.e., a fairly competitive mindset, and I'll pass. That's not at all why I play this format. Honestly, I detest most of the commanders that are widely considered among the "best." I've never had an enjoyable game against the likes of Arcum, Derevi or Zur; rather, I find them memorable only for how tedious they are to play against.
#4 is hard for me to judge, because I like a wide range of commanders quite a bit, and because different people have such radically different ideas of "fun." I'm going to vote for my favorite, though, which is Ruric Thar, the Unbowed. Ruric Thar messes with a lot of favored strategies without being entirely oppressive. He's particularly enjoyable when combined with Possibility Storm, which ranks high among my personal favorite EDH cards and which is the only "chaos" card I truly enjoy, but I like that it's difficult to reliably tutor for P. Storm in Thar's colors, which prevents games from playing too much alike.
#5, I'm going to cast a vote for Experiment Kraj, simply because I have never, ever had a boring game with Kraj across the table. Kraj decks built with even a modest degree of skill tend to pull all sorts of interesting shenanigans, and the games never seem to play out the same. In my experience, Kraj decks can reliably take games without being overpowering or unpleasant to play against.
#6, I don't play those formats and have no opinions regarding them.
#4 I am pretty keen on my Squee, Goblin Nabob deck. It is not really designed to win it is more or less to blow people out of the water when their let there guards down. It consists of Big Red mana. Big mana sinks. And Doublers..... like mana doublers damage doublers. It is fun not very competitive though. Just make sure you get the old art if you build it. I got most of my inspiration from another list on this site called double this double that. But I only have like 3 win cons... wurmcoil.......inferno titian......fireball..... and a bunch of threaten effects
I am going crazy I need to start brewing real decks.
Not trying to be snarky (figured I'd get out in front of that one, since things tend to come across that way on teh interwebz), but do Yisan and Sidisi function on the same level as Zur? I'm speaking out of ignorance considering Yisan, but on her face she seems slow (like Fauna Shaman), and creature-based combos are the most easily-disrupted. Sidisi I could see being much more competitive, but still being limited to mono-B leaves you without counterspell protection when you try to go off.
Strangely, I had never really thought of MW as "aggro," more like ramp, ramp, ramp vomit your deck. But I guess most of the time the purpose of that is to use haste and turn things sideways into people's faces, so I guess that qualifies
Just double-checking that these are for Traditional 1v1 Commander, as I know they're stalwarts of French/Duel 1v1 Commander.
#9 - I hate the format, so I have no information. If I were to ever play this format, I would most likely build nin, the pain artist. From an outsiders perspective, Geist of Saint Traft seems like an unfair commander for tiny leaders.
This is one of several strong dislikes for Tiny Leaders voiced here already. I've always thought it looks interesting, albeit more limited in scope of deck construction. What's particularly unlikable about it?
Edit; possibly just my own meta, but we are more interested in playing 2-headed giant before any other edh variants like horde. There is also archenemey and planechase, you could add in three more selections for these supplements.
Yeah, I just pulled the tags that I see most frequently referenced in the Variant Commander subforum. I'll definitely consider editing the categories in the OP.
1-3 - idc
4 - Phelddagrif (control)
5 - People seemed to like my circu deck. I feel a bit weird voting for my own deck, especially since it always lost, but all the people I play with these days either build goodstuff ramp or a slightly modified 2016 precon so it's hard to give a crap.
6-7 - idc
8 - no one plays it (sadly)
9 - no one plays it (happily)
10 - no one ever played it (???)
Another dislike of Tiny Leaders? I'm really curious what puts people off. I've never played it, but it's always seemed like an interesting way to give the lower CMC commanders that might otherwise be outclassed a chance to really shine. And it seems like the games would play out a lot more similarly to 60-card Modern or Legacy (maybe that's what people don't like).
First of all, I'd like to say its great that we're starting one of these threads as I remember referring to Rockondon's thread when I was first getting into EDH and I remember how much it helped me as a newcomer.
1) Best Multiplayer combo commander: Its the undisputed fastest clock with a great degree of control and consistency to boot; Zur the enchanter for sure. 2) Best Multiplayer control commander: I'd say Derevi, empyrial tactician Stax. The whole deck isn't designed to win; its designed to stop your opponents from winning while you attack with hatebears. 3) Best Multiplayer aggro commander: Purphoros, god of the forge if going for an aggro full-table knock-out. Xenagos, god of revels for the best aggro burst commander. 4) Most fun commander to play in Multiplayer: easily Norin the wary. Watching your opponents go from laughing to horrified in minutes is gold. Everytime. 5) Most fun commander to play against in Multiplayer: Lazav, dimir mastermind. Every game is different VSing this guy.
Zur, Derevi, and Purphoros might be my three votes for Combo, Control, and Aggro as well. It seems like there isn't as much Zur these days (his is definitely an archetype that's been "solved"), but I'm not sure there's many new combo-enabling commanders that have really outclassed him. I think others like Sharuum, Arcum, etc. might have legitimate claim for the top spot, but Zur is definitely as deserving as any other.
Derevi and Purphoros are two of the most archetype-defining additions to the format since the 1.0 version of this thread, and some of the reasons I wanted to start up a new one. I think they might almost strictly outclass a lot of the older options.
"Best" would seem tend to imply a primary concern for winning, i.e., a fairly competitive mindset, and I'll pass. That's not at all why I play this format. Honestly, I detest most of the commanders that are widely considered among the "best." I've never had an enjoyable game against the likes of Arcum, Derevi or Zur; rather, I find them memorable only for how tedious they are to play against.
#4 is hard for me to judge, because I like a wide range of commanders quite a bit, and because different people have such radically different ideas of "fun." I'm going to vote for my favorite, though, which is Ruric Thar, the Unbowed. Ruric Thar messes with a lot of favored strategies without being entirely oppressive. He's particularly enjoyable when combined with Possibility Storm, which ranks high among my personal favorite EDH cards and which is the only "chaos" card I truly enjoy, but I like that it's difficult to reliably tutor for P. Storm in Thar's colors, which prevents games from playing too much alike.
#5, I'm going to cast a vote for Experiment Kraj, simply because I have never, ever had a boring game with Kraj across the table. Kraj decks built with even a modest degree of skill tend to pull all sorts of interesting shenanigans, and the games never seem to play out the same. In my experience, Kraj decks can reliably take games without being overpowering or unpleasant to play against.
Good to hear from someone who's more focused on the "fun" aspect of the format than the "competitive," although I myself am more drawn to the latter!
#4 I am pretty keen on my Squee, Goblin Nabob deck. It is not really designed to win it is more or less to blow people out of the water when their let there guards down. It consists of Big Red mana. Big mana sinks. And Doublers..... like mana doublers damage doublers. It is fun not very competitive though. Just make sure you get the old art if you build it. I got most of my inspiration from another list on this site called double this double that. But I only have like 3 win cons... wurmcoil.......inferno titian......fireball.....
I am going crazy I need to start brewing real decks.
Suggestions welcome... PM me
I could see a Squee deck being lots of fun. Mono-R almost certainly has the most "fun" cards out of any particular color.
#4 I am pretty keen on my Squee, Goblin Nabob deck. It is not really designed to win it is more or less to blow people out of the water when their let there guards down. It consists of Big Red mana. Big mana sinks. And Doublers..... like mana doublers damage doublers. It is fun not very competitive though. Just make sure you get the old art if you build it. I got most of my inspiration from another list on this site called double this double that. But I only have like 3 win cons... wurmcoil.......inferno titian......fireball..... and a bunch of threaten effects
#4: Glissa the Traitor and Toshiro Umezawa. The playstyle being so far out of what those colors are typically allowed in the color pie makes for really fun games. I really wish there were more like these, like a legendary Monastery Mentor or something.
#6: Glissa the Traitor and Toshiro Umezawa. The playstyle being so far out of what those colors are typically allowed in the color pie makes for really fun games. I really wish there were more like these, like a legendary Monastery Mentor or something.
Just wanted to double-check before I record them - since you mentioned "fun" in your response, were you putting Glissa and Toshiro up for #4/5 (fun to play with or against) or for best Traditional 1v1 Commanders? Thanks!
#6: Glissa the Traitor and Toshiro Umezawa. The playstyle being so far out of what those colors are typically allowed in the color pie makes for really fun games. I really wish there were more like these, like a legendary Monastery Mentor or something.
Just wanted to double-check before I record them - since you mentioned "fun" in your response, were you putting Glissa and Toshiro up for #4/5 (fun to play with or against) or for best Traditional 1v1 Commanders? Thanks!
Welp, that's a **** up. I meant fun to play with. I have absolutely no clue why I got the number 6 stuck in my head for that, sorry.
From experience, I've had most fun playing Linessa, Zephyr Mage, but it's gimmicky so it's not lasting fun. Most consistent fun is probably Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge but that has more to do with the deck than the commander.
I might be the only person who thinks this, but I really like playing against Narset, Enlightened Master.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
UG Arixmethes Combo UGR Wanderer UGB Tasigur Control URB Jeleva Storm RW Gisela Control
I've been mulling over my own votes. I know Leovold, Emissary of Trest is pretty beastly in 1v1 and very potent in multiplayer as well, but I'm not sure that he qualifies as "best" multiplayer control commander. In the aggro category, Purphoros, God of the Forge is perhaps the best at burning the whole table out in quick fashion, but he doesn't really feel like an "aggro" commander to me - in the same way that people argue about whether Legacy/Modern Burn is an aggro deck or a combo deck. Have any new commanders cracked the ranks of top combo held by the likes of Zur, Sharuum, Azami, etc? Not sure. I like to mull
2) Best multiplayer CONTROL commander = Norin the Wary
3) Best multiplayer AGGRO commander = Krenko, Mob Boss
4) MOST FUN commander to play in multiplayer = Norin the Wary or Animar, Soul of Elements
5) MOST FUN commander to play AGAINST in multiplayer = bwah?
6) Best 1v1 commander (Traditional) = buh.
7) Best 1v1 commander (Duel / French) = muh.
8) Best Pauper commander = fuh.
9) Best Tiny Leaders commander = Animar, Soul of Elements
10) Best 2HG Commander = wuh.
2) Best multiplayer CONTROL commander = Norin the Wary
3) Best multiplayer AGGRO commander = Krenko, Mob Boss
4) MOST FUN commander to play in multiplayer = Norin the Wary or Animar, Soul of Elements
5) MOST FUN commander to play AGAINST in multiplayer = bwah?
6) Best 1v1 commander (Traditional) = buh.
7) Best 1v1 commander (Duel / French) = muh.
8) Best Pauper commander = fuh.
9) Best Tiny Leaders commander = Animar, Soul of Elements
10) Best 2HG Commander = wuh.
Thanks for your votes, and a good laugh (mwah, buh, much, fuh, wuh)
1) Best multiplayer COMBO commander: Ghave, Guru of Spores
2) Best multiplayer CONTROL commander: Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
3) Best multiplayer AGGRO commander: Marton Stromgald
4) MOST FUN commander to play in multiplayer: Daretti, Scrap savant
5) MOST FUN commander to play AGAINST in multiplayer: Azusa, lost but Seeking
6) Best 1v1 commander (Traditional): Zur the Enchanter
7) Best 1v1 commander (Duel / French): Vendillion Clique
8) Best Pauper commander: Child of Alara
9) Best Tiny Leaders commander: Leovold
10) Best 2HG Commander: I don't know, I don't need help to kill a table.
1) Best multiplayer COMBO commander: Sidisi, Undead Vizier
2) Best multiplayer CONTROL commander: Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
3) Best multiplayer AGGRO commander: Prossh, Skyraider of Kher
4) MOST FUN commander to play in multiplayer: Phelddagrif
5) MOST FUN commander to play AGAINST in multiplayer: vial smasher the fierce
6) Best 1v1 commander (Traditional)idk
7) Best 1v1 commander (Duel / French)idk
8) Best Pauper commander idk
9) Best Tiny Leaders commander: idk
10) Best 2HG Commander: Purphoros
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
So, please cast a vote for the commander of your choice in any or all of the following categories (for purposes of this poll, "best" = the one that you'll win the most with):
1) Best multiplayer COMBO commander
2) Best multiplayer CONTROL commander
3) Best multiplayer AGGRO commander
4) MOST FUN commander to play in multiplayer
5) MOST FUN commander to play AGAINST in multiplayer
6) Best 1v1 commander (Traditional)
7) Best 1v1 commander (Duel / French)
8) Best Pauper commander
9) Best Tiny Leaders commander
10) Best 2HG Commander
I'm looking forward to seeing how this shapes up in the coming days and weeks!
3 Zur the Enchanter
2 Azami, Lady of Scrolls
2 Prossh, Skyraider of Kher
2 Sidisi, Undead Vizier
1 Animar, Soul of Elements
1 Atraxa, Praetor's Voice
1 Ghave, Guru of Spores
1 Gishath, Sun's Avatar
1 Mizzix of the Izmagnus
1 Teferi, Temporal Archmage
1 Thrasios, Triton Hero
1 Yidris, Maelstrom Wielder
1 Yisan, Wanderer Bard
2) Best multiplayer CONTROL commander
4 Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
4 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
3 Derevi, Empyrial Tactician
1 Atraxa, Praetor's Voice
1 Brago, King Eternal
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Karador, Ghost Chieftain
1 Leovold, Emissary of Trest [banned]
1 Norin the Wary
1 Shatterhand Brothers
3) Best multiplayer AGGRO commander
2 Edric, Spymaster of Trest1
2 Krenko, Mob Boss
2 Maelstrom Wanderer
2 Marchesa, the Black Rose
2 Prossh, Skyraider of Kher
1 Kaalia of the Vast
1 Marton Stromgald
1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
1 Sliver Overlord
1 Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
1 Xenagos, God of Revels
3 Norin the Wary
2 Glissa, the Traitor
2 Kozilek, the Great Distortion
2 Phelddagrif
1 Akroma, Angel of Fury
1 Animar, Soul of Elements
1 Daretti, Scrap Savant
1 Godo, Bandit Warlord
1 Gonti, Lord of Luxury
1 Intet, the Dreamer
1 Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge
1 Marchesa, the Black Rose
1 Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
1 Sliver Queen
1 Toshiro Umezawa
1 Yahenni, Undying Partisan
1 Yidris, Maelstrom Wielder
5) MOST FUN commander to play AGAINST in multiplayer
2 Nekusar, the Mindrazer
2 Vial Smasher the Fierce
1 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
1 Circu, Dimir Lobotomist
1 Experiment Kraj
1 Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis
1 Lazav, Dimir Mastermind
1 Narset, Enlightened Master
1 Nicol Bolas
1 Norin the Wary
1 Queen Marchesa
1 Sliver Queen
1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
2 Nin, the Pain Artist
2 Zur the Enchanter
1 Derevi, Empyrial Tactician
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Wydwen, the Biting Gale
7) Best 1v1 commander (Duel / French)
1 Baral, Chief of Compliance
1 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
1 Vial Smasher the Fierce
1 Vendillion Clique
8) Best Pauper commander
1 Baleful Strix
1 Fallen Angel
9) Best Tiny Leaders commander
1 Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
1 Animar, Soul of Elements
1 Leovold, Emissary of Trest
1 Geist of Saint Traft
1 Leovold, Emissary of Trest
10) Best 2HG commander
1 Gahiji, Honored One
1 Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
1 Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa
Tallied through post #30
R.I.P. Sundering Titan (6/20/12) and Braids, Cabal Minion (9/12/14)
Thanks for your input!
She is classic Mono-U combo/control for sure. As a general rule, she's going to be a few turns slower than things like Sharuum or 5c Hermit Druid, though, isn't she?
R.I.P. Sundering Titan (6/20/12) and Braids, Cabal Minion (9/12/14)
#1-3 imply that we have consistent tournament results which we mostly do not for a national meta for this format so I am not under the impression that it can ever be answered with any sort of certainty.
4) Eye of the beholder but.... I guess I will go with anything that is whackey and or out of the norm. For me currently, I guess I will go with Kozilek, the Great Distortion right now just because there is some bit of rush just mashing the ramp button into an enormous end bringing eldrazi. Any and every answer will vary and my answer based on my mood and what decks I have together will change.
5) again eye of the beholder, I guess I would answer with some sort of interesting synergistic build that is not hug, fort, planeswalker, stax, stasis, combo, or MLD. In short, a fair deck that does something proactively rather than sitting back or reducing interaction.
#6-10) No idea I dont play.
Signature by Inkfox Aesthetics by Xen
[Modern] Allies
Thanks for your input!
I'm not sure that #s1-3 necessarily require that we have tournament results in order to arrive at informed conclusions (although they would obviously make it easier and more concrete to do so). I think that the community can do a pretty good job of determining by consensus which commanders have the greatest potential to win via different strategies. Similarly, fun/not fun is of course subjective, but I think that the community probably has commanders that stick out as having the most potential to be fun/the most potential to be miserable to play against.
Re: your particular vote for fun, I feel like I've seen a lot of talk that running a colorless deck with an Eldrazi at the helm is pretty fun. Might be something I have to try out someday.
R.I.P. Sundering Titan (6/20/12) and Braids, Cabal Minion (9/12/14)
#2 would be Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir for spell-heavy metas, Grand Arbiter Augustin IV for average metas, and Derevi, Empyrial Tactician for voltron heavy meta's
#3 is Maelstrom Wanderer due to value.
#4 is all about opinion. It could be some group-hug deck that a bunch of newblits love to have at the table because it excels their own decks, it could be a chaos deck that makes games the "fun" kind of random. My personal favorite is akroma, angel of fury, in a big-red battlecruiser style of casual deck. The deck that can bate out removal/board wipes before resolving akroma, and then just 1-hitting opponents.
#5 Same, depends on the group. I although always enjoy playing against a skilled Nekusar, the Mindrazer opponent, because it makes every game a pseudo-race for them to kill/wreck me before I can use the card advantage against them.
#6, IMO is Wydwen, the Biting Gale due to personal preference and fandom. Zur the Enchanter, Vendilion Clique, and Nin, the Pain Artist are all good contenders as well.
#7 - i'm not exposed to this, so I have no clue
#8 - IMO fallen angel, because my legends copy of her is uncommon and not rare. I am also not very experienced with pauper in recent years, and don't really have much information to work with, past how well my fallen angel grind deck did years ago.
#9 - I hate the format, so I have no information. If I were to ever play this format, I would most likely build nin, the pain artist. From an outsiders perspective, Geist of Saint Traft seems like an unfair commander for tiny leaders.
#10 - Any broad spectrum bonus to teammates, like Gahiji, Honored One, seem good. If the other players are not considered "opponents" then Nekusar, the Mindrazer seems ok.
Edit; possibly just my own meta, but we are more interested in playing 2-headed giant before any other edh variants like horde. There is also archenemey and planechase, you could add in three more selections for these supplements.
Links to my most current deck lists;
Primary EDH; Rakka Mar Token Perfection, Crosis Mnemonic Betrayal, Cromat Villainous, Judith Gravestorm, Rakdos Empty Storm, Exava Artifacts, Bant Trash, & Fumiko Voltron!
EDH kept at home; Ruzzian Isset & Rakdos LoR!
EDH (nostalgic/pimp/retired) in storage;
Latulla Burns, Akroma Smash, Jeska Voltron, Rakdos Storm, Bladewing Darghans, Lyzolda Worldgorger, Xantcha Steals your Heart, Jori Storm, Wydwen Permission, Gwendlyn Paradox, Jeleva Warps, & Sigarda Brick!
Legacy Showanimator and High Tide!
4 - Phelddagrif (control)
5 - People seemed to like my circu deck. I feel a bit weird voting for my own deck, especially since it always lost, but all the people I play with these days either build goodstuff ramp or a slightly modified 2016 precon so it's hard to give a crap.
6-7 - idc
8 - no one plays it (sadly)
9 - no one plays it (happily)
10 - no one ever played it (???)
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
A lot of it really comes down to the fact that they play sooo differently. Its also sort of fun having the mortality of relying on a bunch of fragile artifacts as you mash the turbo ramp button harder than most. The two variants of Kozilek act as control, draw, and wincon in most cases so its sort of fun to see people squirm as you rush towards your goal. For me, average games seem to be something like a turn 5 eldrazi with fast games being as quick as turns 2-3 and slow games sometimes being literally when I hit 10 lands in play. Its fun though in that you have to sort of embrace what you can and cannot do and just see if anyone can stop you.
Signature by Inkfox Aesthetics by Xen
[Modern] Allies
1) Best Multiplayer combo commander: Its the undisputed fastest clock with a great degree of control and consistency to boot; Zur the enchanter for sure.
2) Best Multiplayer control commander: I'd say Derevi, empyrial tactician Stax. The whole deck isn't designed to win; its designed to stop your opponents from winning while you attack with hatebears.
3) Best Multiplayer aggro commander: Purphoros, god of the forge if going for an aggro full-table knock-out. Xenagos, god of revels for the best aggro burst commander.
4) Most fun commander to play in Multiplayer: easily Norin the wary. Watching your opponents go from laughing to horrified in minutes is gold. Everytime.
5) Most fun commander to play against in Multiplayer: Lazav, dimir mastermind. Every game is different VSing this guy.
6) Best 1v1 commander (Traditional): don't know. only play multiplayer.
7) Best 1v1 commander (Duel / French): see above.
8) Best Pauper commander: see above
9) Best Tiny Leaders commander: see above
10) Best Horde commander: see above
#4 is hard for me to judge, because I like a wide range of commanders quite a bit, and because different people have such radically different ideas of "fun." I'm going to vote for my favorite, though, which is Ruric Thar, the Unbowed. Ruric Thar messes with a lot of favored strategies without being entirely oppressive. He's particularly enjoyable when combined with Possibility Storm, which ranks high among my personal favorite EDH cards and which is the only "chaos" card I truly enjoy, but I like that it's difficult to reliably tutor for P. Storm in Thar's colors, which prevents games from playing too much alike.
#5, I'm going to cast a vote for Experiment Kraj, simply because I have never, ever had a boring game with Kraj across the table. Kraj decks built with even a modest degree of skill tend to pull all sorts of interesting shenanigans, and the games never seem to play out the same. In my experience, Kraj decks can reliably take games without being overpowering or unpleasant to play against.
#6, I don't play those formats and have no opinions regarding them.
I am going crazy I need to start brewing real decks.
Suggestions welcome... PM me
[center][color=Blue]
Edric Spy and die
Azami the lady of the draw
Naya Zoo
Past decks
Orloro
sharuum the hegemond
Mono black control
splinter twin
Not trying to be snarky (figured I'd get out in front of that one, since things tend to come across that way on teh interwebz), but do Yisan and Sidisi function on the same level as Zur? I'm speaking out of ignorance considering Yisan, but on her face she seems slow (like Fauna Shaman), and creature-based combos are the most easily-disrupted. Sidisi I could see being much more competitive, but still being limited to mono-B leaves you without counterspell protection when you try to go off.
I think this is a good analysis. All seem like solid choices.
Strangely, I had never really thought of MW as "aggro," more like ramp, ramp, ramp vomit your deck. But I guess most of the time the purpose of that is to use haste and turn things sideways into people's faces, so I guess that qualifies
Just double-checking that these are for Traditional 1v1 Commander, as I know they're stalwarts of French/Duel 1v1 Commander.
This is one of several strong dislikes for Tiny Leaders voiced here already. I've always thought it looks interesting, albeit more limited in scope of deck construction. What's particularly unlikable about it?
Yeah, I just pulled the tags that I see most frequently referenced in the Variant Commander subforum. I'll definitely consider editing the categories in the OP.
Another dislike of Tiny Leaders? I'm really curious what puts people off. I've never played it, but it's always seemed like an interesting way to give the lower CMC commanders that might otherwise be outclassed a chance to really shine. And it seems like the games would play out a lot more similarly to 60-card Modern or Legacy (maybe that's what people don't like).
Zur, Derevi, and Purphoros might be my three votes for Combo, Control, and Aggro as well. It seems like there isn't as much Zur these days (his is definitely an archetype that's been "solved"), but I'm not sure there's many new combo-enabling commanders that have really outclassed him. I think others like Sharuum, Arcum, etc. might have legitimate claim for the top spot, but Zur is definitely as deserving as any other.
Derevi and Purphoros are two of the most archetype-defining additions to the format since the 1.0 version of this thread, and some of the reasons I wanted to start up a new one. I think they might almost strictly outclass a lot of the older options.
Good to hear from someone who's more focused on the "fun" aspect of the format than the "competitive," although I myself am more drawn to the latter!
I could see a Squee deck being lots of fun. Mono-R almost certainly has the most "fun" cards out of any particular color.
R.I.P. Sundering Titan (6/20/12) and Braids, Cabal Minion (9/12/14)
This does sound like a fun deck.
#4: Glissa the Traitor and Toshiro Umezawa. The playstyle being so far out of what those colors are typically allowed in the color pie makes for really fun games. I really wish there were more like these, like a legendary Monastery Mentor or something.
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
#4 Intet, the Dreamer
#5 Vial Smasher the Fierce +/- X
Just wanted to double-check before I record them - since you mentioned "fun" in your response, were you putting Glissa and Toshiro up for #4/5 (fun to play with or against) or for best Traditional 1v1 Commanders? Thanks!
Thanks for your input!
R.I.P. Sundering Titan (6/20/12) and Braids, Cabal Minion (9/12/14)
2) Best Multiplayer Control Commander - Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
3) Best Multiplayer Aggro Commander - Edric, Spymaster of Trest
4) Most Fun Commander To Play In Multiplayer - Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
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
Welp, that's a **** up. I meant fun to play with. I have absolutely no clue why I got the number 6 stuck in my head for that, sorry.
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
I might be the only person who thinks this, but I really like playing against Narset, Enlightened Master.
UGR Wanderer
UGB Tasigur Control
URB Jeleva Storm
RW Gisela Control
R.I.P. Sundering Titan (6/20/12) and Braids, Cabal Minion (9/12/14)
2) Best multiplayer CONTROL commander = Norin the Wary
3) Best multiplayer AGGRO commander = Krenko, Mob Boss
4) MOST FUN commander to play in multiplayer = Norin the Wary or Animar, Soul of Elements
5) MOST FUN commander to play AGAINST in multiplayer = bwah?
6) Best 1v1 commander (Traditional) = buh.
7) Best 1v1 commander (Duel / French) = muh.
8) Best Pauper commander = fuh.
9) Best Tiny Leaders commander = Animar, Soul of Elements
10) Best 2HG Commander = wuh.
Thanks for your votes, and a good laugh (mwah, buh, much, fuh, wuh)
R.I.P. Sundering Titan (6/20/12) and Braids, Cabal Minion (9/12/14)
2) Best multiplayer CONTROL commander: Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
3) Best multiplayer AGGRO commander: Marton Stromgald
4) MOST FUN commander to play in multiplayer: Daretti, Scrap savant
5) MOST FUN commander to play AGAINST in multiplayer: Azusa, lost but Seeking
6) Best 1v1 commander (Traditional): Zur the Enchanter
7) Best 1v1 commander (Duel / French): Vendillion Clique
8) Best Pauper commander: Child of Alara
9) Best Tiny Leaders commander: Leovold
10) Best 2HG Commander: I don't know, I don't need help to kill a table.
2) Best multiplayer CONTROL commander: Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
3) Best multiplayer AGGRO commander: Prossh, Skyraider of Kher
4) MOST FUN commander to play in multiplayer: Phelddagrif
5) MOST FUN commander to play AGAINST in multiplayer: vial smasher the fierce
6) Best 1v1 commander (Traditional)idk
7) Best 1v1 commander (Duel / French)idk
8) Best Pauper commander idk
9) Best Tiny Leaders commander: idk
10) Best 2HG Commander: Purphoros