I'm sure we all have a commander that looks great and in most cases operate quite well, but they miss something. A prime example would be Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer. He is great, does exactly what many people wanted Izzet decks to focus on... and then, we get a Myr, that does not have the Myr typing. In most cases it is not an issue, but I like tribal decks and have wanted to build Myr for a while. Sure I could still do it, but myr bonuses given by Myr Galvanizer does not benefit Brudiclad. Sure i mean i guess I could run Arcane Adaptation, but it;'s not the same.
Another one is The Ur-Dragon. While he Does exactly what i need a dragon deck to do why couldn't he also reduce Avatar spells? I mean it would open options for an avatar tribal instead of just dragon. (Not that Avatar decks have a lot of tribal synergy, but you know, you would have the option.)
Granted these are Commander printed products as they were created with Commander in mind, but i guess we could look at non commander printed generals who do something but just kind of miss the mark.
Thantis, the Warweaver has a similar problem imo. I want to like him so bad, but his cmc just seems too high to me. Im only going to be able to cast him once or twice per game at that cost and its just not enough of an immediate impact for a 6 drop if someone has the removal.
Restrictions breed creativity. I get that you like Avatars, but The Ur-Dragon is about making a tribal deck for the most popular tribe in the game. That's why it is made for dragons. If you want an Avatar deck, which is not a popular build, you have to work with the restrictions you have.
Brudiclad has a loaded type line, and they could only choose between Myr or Artificer, not both. I agree that they chose poorly. I am sure that others are happier that it is an artificer.
I was very disappointed with Lord Windgrace's ultimate. It is a fine ultimate, I guess... but it has so little to do with the other abilities, I just find it disappointing.
Restrictions breed creativity. I get that you like Avatars, but The Ur-Dragon is about making a tribal deck for the most popular tribe in the game. That's why it is made for dragons. If you want an Avatar deck, which is not a popular build, you have to work with the restrictions you have.
Brudiclad has a loaded type line, and they could only choose between Myr or Artificer, not both. I agree that they chose poorly. I am sure that others are happier that it is an artificer.
I was very disappointed with Lord Windgrace's ultimate. It is a fine ultimate, I guess... but it has so little to do with the other abilities, I just find it disappointing.
Well Yea I am happy with the Ur-dragon, But I would be willing to give avatars a go if it was offered. I am a dragon fan and had wanted to make a dragon for ages, just with Scion as the only option, i kind of ignored it as he was not the general i wished to play. The Ur-dragon was the one i was waiting for.
Brudiclad does have a loaded card type line, but still Myr was the proper choice, and it is not like Myr have a strong tribe, but they made the same mistake with Breya (Making her a human instead of an artificer)
All 4 of c18's walkers are garbage. I mean Estrid can combo but you really have to hope for the right draws. The rest are sub par at best.
#1 for me has always been basandra, battle seraph. The idea itself is fun but why god why does it prevent YOU from casting combat spells, one of RW's greatest strengths? It's not like it'd be OP for only affecting opponents. Meanwhile UG got edric because balance is not wotc's strong suit.
Thantis, the Warweaver has a similar problem imo. I want to like him so bad, but his cmc just seems too high to me. Im only going to be able to cast him once or twice per game at that cost and its just not enough of an immediate impact for a 6 drop if someone has the removal.
I was going to post this guy as well. Just really poor design, like the creator should be ashamed of themselves and fired from ever doing a commander set again.
They needed to give it something extra like giving it the ability to block additional creatures (you know it has web to do this), so perfectly on flavor. Maybe "Can block an additional three creatures each combat".
On a less serious note Rohgahh of Kher Keep could have been just a tiny bit more supportive of the already little undercooked Kobold tribe, lol.
Tibor and Lumia just needed to be "Whenever you cast a red spell, Tibor and Lumia deals 2 damage to each creature without flying.". I think that extra point of damage would have made this a much more feasible general.
Soraya the Falconer just needs to add blue to her color identity and then I can build a greater masterpiece of avian horror than Alfred Hitchcock could have ever dreamed of...
Ulrich of the Krallenhorde is the biggest ofender. What a joke they made with this card, that it even got heavilly criticized by the community to the point they had to re-evaluate tribal commanders.
Tariel would have been subpar as a 5-drop, let alone 7. The random aspect hurts, a lot, but the 7cmc is what makes it unplayable.
C18 planeswalkers all have really subpar ults.
I've always found Gisa and Geralf kind of lacking, and Muldrotha, the Gravetide really showed me what. They need to do more, like Raise dead when you cast a zombie spell, or let you cast two from the grave, but just something else. Thematically speaking, there's no reason 2 necromancers shouldn't do more than raise one zombie at a time.
I also really wish the Legendary Vehicles were playable as commanders, especially the Weatherlight, but I see why they don't and it still makes me sad.
Arahbo, Roar of the World almost all of the cat support seems to support going wide but for some reason he is trying to go big with cats. It doesn't make much sense if you ask me. I don't know why they tried designing him to go this direction and almost none of the cats really benefit from this. If you ask me he should have somehow aided equipment or swarming which tend to be the two things cats do.
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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.
Another one is The Ur-Dragon. While he Does exactly what i need a dragon deck to do why couldn't he also reduce Avatar spells? I mean it would open options for an avatar tribal instead of just dragon. (Not that Avatar decks have a lot of tribal synergy, but you know, you would have the option.
Apologies if this doesn't sit as well with you as with me, but my Vorthos sense are tingling (quite obviously as well) and I simply have to spit this out:
The Ur-Dragon (and its Scion) is only an Avatar because it is the "Ur-" (original) of their species altogether. It doesn't demonstrate any other special positioning among Avatars (although also in-lore Avatars are also sort of all-over-the-place) to be able to influence them (and Avatars mechanically definitely aren't a Sliver-like tribe with each individual contributing to each other like they're all lords of some kind, even if lore-wise they may feel like part of some "Club of Power".)
I'd argue the closest thing to a Avatar Commander is Karona, False God - Oracle Text indicates it's an Avatar of all colors and mechanically it can function as a "lord" of any tribe, which represents what an "Avatar of Avatars" should be if Ur-Dragon is an indicator of a "regular Avatar" being a "exemplar" of a specific tribe.
Talking about underwhelming tribal Commanders - O-Kagachi stands out like a sore thumb - screaming volumes at me on how he isn't a Spirit tribal commander to begin with, especially when lore-wise he is literally the source where all Kami derive their spiritual essence from.
All 4 of c18's walkers are garbage. I mean Estrid can combo but you really have to hope for the right draws. The rest are sub par at best.
I disagree here. Estrid, the Masked is the Bant enchantments-matter commander I've always wanted. She enables Stasis locks & has a powerful ultimate. Lord Windgrace & Aminatou, the Fateshifter are both fun & solid. I don't use Aminatou in the command zone, but he's great in my Dakkon Blackblade deck. I've toyed with building Windgrace but decided against it. Saheeli, the Gifted doesn't really excite me, but she's fine.
I would have added "sacrifice a land: Thantis is indestructible until eot" to make it land-matter and able to survive the forced combat and removals
Oh man that + can block more than 1 creature (even if it was just 1 additional creature) would have me playing it in a heartbeat.
Edit: Also, I think Windgrace and Saheeli are fine. Not crazy good but good enough. They do what I want to do with walkers in the zone which is play lots of board wipes. Saheeli fits in well with that strategy by rewarding you when you play noncreature artifacts that survive board wipes and Windgrace is pretty decent resource generation. Saheeli is actually a pretty stupid good Stax General
I kinda get what they were going for but especially when looking at the other partners just falls so short.
My vote for this one as well, consider Ludevic was suppose to be a one of a kind stitcher. Given Mirri though, we might see another version of him later?
For the record, Gyrus could still be a hydra commandeer since many cards that boosts it (Like Doubling Season) also boosts hydras.
She's expensive, otherwise I like her color combination and ability. I'd prefer her being smaller, or revive smaller creature, at a lower cc. Though, Mardu color pie never lacks graveyard removal, allow you to pick out the creature you want, repeatedly, if you exile ones you don't want. (Like with Withered Wretch)
Tariel just so happens to combo with any free sac outlet and Thornbite Staff.
Zurgo and Licia are both just beats though. And one if them literally just attacks. At least Tariel breaks the symmetry by wiping resources and then crushes you with your own cards while you're trying to rebuild. That's what I was getting at.
Zurgo and Licia are both just beats though. And one if them literally just attacks. At least Tariel breaks the symmetry by wiping resources and then crushes you with your own cards while you're trying to rebuild. That's what I was getting at.
I get your point. Maybe it's because I didn't play ld, but my Tariel deck was always a lot better when I didn't cast Tariel.
Zurgo and Licia are both just beats though. And one if them literally just attacks. At least Tariel breaks the symmetry by wiping resources and then crushes you with your own cards while you're trying to rebuild. That's what I was getting at.
I get your point. Maybe it's because I didn't play ld, but my Tariel deck was always a lot better when I didn't cast Tariel.
I get that. I'm like an outlier as a player of Mass Land Destruction tribal 🤣
Another one is The Ur-Dragon. While he Does exactly what i need a dragon deck to do why couldn't he also reduce Avatar spells? I mean it would open options for an avatar tribal instead of just dragon. (Not that Avatar decks have a lot of tribal synergy, but you know, you would have the option.)
Granted these are Commander printed products as they were created with Commander in mind, but i guess we could look at non commander printed generals who do something but just kind of miss the mark.
UB Vela the Night-Clad BUDecklist
WBG Ghave, Guru of Spores GBW
WUBRGThe Ur-DragonWUBRGDecklist
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
Esper - Sydri - Alternate take on the Artifacts meta
Orzhov - Regna and Krav - Tokens and Lifegain and +1/+1 counters
Mono Green - Multani, Yavimaya's Avatar - Land Matters
WURG Kynaios and Tiro Grouphug/Fistbump
Brudiclad has a loaded type line, and they could only choose between Myr or Artificer, not both. I agree that they chose poorly. I am sure that others are happier that it is an artificer.
I was very disappointed with Lord Windgrace's ultimate. It is a fine ultimate, I guess... but it has so little to do with the other abilities, I just find it disappointing.
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
Brudiclad does have a loaded card type line, but still Myr was the proper choice, and it is not like Myr have a strong tribe, but they made the same mistake with Breya (Making her a human instead of an artificer)
All 4 of c18's walkers are garbage. I mean Estrid can combo but you really have to hope for the right draws. The rest are sub par at best.
UB Vela the Night-Clad BUDecklist
WBG Ghave, Guru of Spores GBW
WUBRGThe Ur-DragonWUBRGDecklist
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
They needed to give it something extra like giving it the ability to block additional creatures (you know it has web to do this), so perfectly on flavor. Maybe "Can block an additional three creatures each combat".
On a less serious note Rohgahh of Kher Keep could have been just a tiny bit more supportive of the already little undercooked Kobold tribe, lol.
Tibor and Lumia just needed to be "Whenever you cast a red spell, Tibor and Lumia deals 2 damage to each creature without flying.". I think that extra point of damage would have made this a much more feasible general.
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Feather, the Redeemed
Estrid, the Masked
Teshar
Tymna/Ravos
Najeela, Blade-Blossom
Firesong & Sunspeaker
Zur the Enchanter
Lazav, the Multifarious
Ishai+Reyhan
Click images for decks->
-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
(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'
I kinda get what they were going for but especially when looking at the other partners just falls so short.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Tariel would have been subpar as a 5-drop, let alone 7. The random aspect hurts, a lot, but the 7cmc is what makes it unplayable.
C18 planeswalkers all have really subpar ults.
I've always found Gisa and Geralf kind of lacking, and Muldrotha, the Gravetide really showed me what. They need to do more, like Raise dead when you cast a zombie spell, or let you cast two from the grave, but just something else. Thematically speaking, there's no reason 2 necromancers shouldn't do more than raise one zombie at a time.
I also really wish the Legendary Vehicles were playable as commanders, especially the Weatherlight, but I see why they don't and it still makes me sad.
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
Signature by Inkfox Aesthetics by Xen
[Modern] Allies
Apologies if this doesn't sit as well with you as with me, but my Vorthos sense are tingling (quite obviously as well) and I simply have to spit this out:
The Ur-Dragon (and its Scion) is only an Avatar because it is the "Ur-" (original) of their species altogether. It doesn't demonstrate any other special positioning among Avatars (although also in-lore Avatars are also sort of all-over-the-place) to be able to influence them (and Avatars mechanically definitely aren't a Sliver-like tribe with each individual contributing to each other like they're all lords of some kind, even if lore-wise they may feel like part of some "Club of Power".)
I'd argue the closest thing to a Avatar Commander is Karona, False God - Oracle Text indicates it's an Avatar of all colors and mechanically it can function as a "lord" of any tribe, which represents what an "Avatar of Avatars" should be if Ur-Dragon is an indicator of a "regular Avatar" being a "exemplar" of a specific tribe.
Talking about underwhelming tribal Commanders - O-Kagachi stands out like a sore thumb - screaming volumes at me on how he isn't a Spirit tribal commander to begin with, especially when lore-wise he is literally the source where all Kami derive their spiritual essence from.
At least she makes a pretty decent Wildfire commander.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
I disagree here. Estrid, the Masked is the Bant enchantments-matter commander I've always wanted. She enables Stasis locks & has a powerful ultimate. Lord Windgrace & Aminatou, the Fateshifter are both fun & solid. I don't use Aminatou in the command zone, but he's great in my Dakkon Blackblade deck. I've toyed with building Windgrace but decided against it. Saheeli, the Gifted doesn't really excite me, but she's fine.
Oh man that + can block more than 1 creature (even if it was just 1 additional creature) would have me playing it in a heartbeat.
Edit: Also, I think Windgrace and Saheeli are fine. Not crazy good but good enough. They do what I want to do with walkers in the zone which is play lots of board wipes. Saheeli fits in well with that strategy by rewarding you when you play noncreature artifacts that survive board wipes and Windgrace is pretty decent resource generation. Saheeli is actually a pretty stupid good Stax General
BChainer, Dementia Master(Big Mana/Reanimator)
BRRakdos, The Showstopper (Mass Life Loss/Ramp)
BUThe Scarab God (Zombie Tribal/Control)
BWKarlov of the Ghost Council (Life Gain)
BGJarad, Golgari Lich Lord (Stompy/Dredge)
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher (Tokens/Non-infinite Combo)
My vote for this one as well, consider Ludevic was suppose to be a one of a kind stitcher. Given Mirri though, we might see another version of him later?
For the record, Gyrus could still be a hydra commandeer since many cards that boosts it (Like Doubling Season) also boosts hydras.
Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest WUR Voltron Control
Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun WU Unblockable Mirror Trickery
Ra's al Ghul (Sidar Kondo) and Face-Down Ninjas
Brudiclad, Token Engineer
Vaevictis (VV2) the Dire Lantern
Rona, Disciple of Gix
Tiana the Auror
Hallar
Ulrich the Politician
Zur the Rebel
Scorpion, Locust, Scarab, Egyptian Gods
O-Kagachi, Mathas, Mairsil
"Non-Tribal" Tribal Generals, Eggs
So does Zurgo Helmsmasher and Licia, Sanguine Tribune.
Tariel just so happens to combo with any free sac outlet and Thornbite Staff.
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
She's expensive, otherwise I like her color combination and ability. I'd prefer her being smaller, or revive smaller creature, at a lower cc. Though, Mardu color pie never lacks graveyard removal, allow you to pick out the creature you want, repeatedly, if you exile ones you don't want. (Like with Withered Wretch)
Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest WUR Voltron Control
Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun WU Unblockable Mirror Trickery
Ra's al Ghul (Sidar Kondo) and Face-Down Ninjas
Brudiclad, Token Engineer
Vaevictis (VV2) the Dire Lantern
Rona, Disciple of Gix
Tiana the Auror
Hallar
Ulrich the Politician
Zur the Rebel
Scorpion, Locust, Scarab, Egyptian Gods
O-Kagachi, Mathas, Mairsil
"Non-Tribal" Tribal Generals, Eggs
Zurgo and Licia are both just beats though. And one if them literally just attacks. At least Tariel breaks the symmetry by wiping resources and then crushes you with your own cards while you're trying to rebuild. That's what I was getting at.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
I get your point. Maybe it's because I didn't play ld, but my Tariel deck was always a lot better when I didn't cast Tariel.
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 get that. I'm like an outlier as a player of Mass Land Destruction tribal 🤣
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.