I'm running a weekly Commander livestream with three colleagues (think Game Knights, but live) and so far, I've just been playing the same decks I run in my regular games (mostly control, steal and graveyard shenanigans, the playstyles I love the most). However, I'm looking to build more decks that are specifically geared to make for fun and interesting viewing.
By that, I don't mean chaos decks for the lulz, but decks that elicit unique interactions, memorable moments and interesting twists around the table. For example, one of my colleagues built a deck with all the good Will of the Council and Council's Dilemma cards, constantly getting people to vote and bicker and try to influence each other. That was what got me to thinking about other decks that really create fun and unique dynamics. They should still be trying to win, but do it in a more unorthodox fashion. Other examples could be Queen Marchesa reliably bringing the Monarch mechanic into play every game, creating that power struggle. That's a bit of an obvious candidate, though (and usually built as rather straightforward stax/pillowfort), so I was wondering if you guys had any more weird or interesting ideas in that direction - if so, I'd love to hear them! All suggestions are appreciated
This is not what you asked, and for that I apologize, but what my playgroup does about 90 percent of the time is play with the complete planechase anthology of planes. It can lead to some very crazy interactions and is a forever mana sink for every player, in theory.
I was trying to build a Grand Melee style deck a few years ago to force everyone to attack all the time. The opposite version of that would be something like a Silent Arbiter-type deck where you have to carefully choose your attacks/blocks.
While looking for the name of Silent Arbiter, I forgot about Portcullis: yet another card that keeps the field relatively clear but still allows you to utilize your ETB effects.
Eye of the Storm produces extremely bizarre stacks, which become difficult to keep track of if anyone responds to something in the Storm with an instant.
Timesifter is responsible for my favorite multiplayer interaction: Done skillfully, the table won't be able to determine who's turn it is.
The above card inside a Prototype Portal along with a few mana rocks, an unwinding clock and one or two more cards that we'll get to later.
Timesifter isn't legendary - so really, any way to have 3+ copies of them triggering each turn (like mechanized production)will work - the goal is to let a handful of turn iterations go around and have these solid stacks of cards exiled from the multiple copies of timesifter.
Then, after everyone gets used to just tracking only the next turn to play, you hit 'em with a Time Stop (preferrably with rebound) during the second main or end step of a particularly long and complex turn.
Rarely will there be enough awareness by your opponents to know who's turn it becomes - particularly if you're modifying their exile piles with a Riftsweeper.
Nonetheless, I would have thought the best games to watch are those with 'oh damn' moments. So make sure whatever each deck is doing, the other decks have appropriate answers, prefereably at instant speed. And obviously not all doing the same thing.
So for instance maybe 4 decks could look like:
- An aggro/burn deck
- Something controlly (but not stax)
- A Reanimator
- A Tokens Deck
Timesifter is responsible for my favorite multiplayer interaction: Done skillfully, the table won't be able to determine who's turn it is.
Every single game I have participated in where a Timesifter landed was not fun, for anyone at the table. The only exception was the guy who ran it in his trolly chaos deck that he only built because he didn't actually like Magic, he just liked screwing with people; for him, making the game miserable was fun. But he's also not the only person who I've seen play Timesifter, and the others didn't actually enjoy the games they played it in either.
The above card inside a Prototype Portal along with a few mana rocks, an unwinding clock and one or two more cards that we'll get to later.
Timesifter on a Prototype Portal was Trolly McTrollerson's favorite combo in his chaos deck. As long as there are Timesifters in play, the combo isn't actually any more infuriating than a single Timesifter, since the next turn is based on the last 'sifter trigger to resolve and that turn will trigger the 'sifters again. Creating a pile of Timesifters is only a problem when somebody finally destroys all artifacts (or eliminates the Timesifter player), because you needed to keep track of who won all those Timesifter triggers to figure out the turn order for several more rounds.
Timesifter is one of those cards you put into a deck only to loan it to someone you don't like very much to play against other people you like even less.....
Some ideas off the top of my head:
1) A deck with a lot of Morph/Megamorph cards that lead to some interesting guessing by your opponents as to what they are (Hint: It's always Willbender). You can even show the Morph to the audience so that they know what it is to potentially increase the entertainment value. Animar, Soul of Elements is a typical commander for this.
2) Run a Zndrsplt, Eye of Wisdom/Okaun, Eye of Chaos coin-flipping deck, where you don't necessarily need to get crazy with pure chaos cards, but you can get some pretty wacky and unexpected results with coin flipping. Win with Chance Encounter for bonus points.
As a general, bsides Marchesa and Newvictis Asmadi, i can suggest Thantis, the Warweaver maybe?
Personally i have always liked the randomness of Ruhan of the Fomori. In a control deck, it's hilarious.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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.
Potential Suggestions:
1. Have everyone build a deck with an interesting shared theme for themed episodes:
|-Bears (2 CMC 2/2s): e.g. Emmara/Hapatra/Karlov/Lavinia
|-Gods (Theros, Ahmonket)
|-Elder Dragons (Old or New)
|-Ravnica Guild Leaders
|-Legendaries from a new set
2. Random deck assignment (or of commanders to build around), playing someone elses deck mixes things up a lot.
3. Utilise variants to mix things up:
|-Planechase
|-Two-headed Giant
|-Star
|-Emperor or similar
I would avoid chaos cards for a livestream tbh, otherwise you may have long stretches of just debating rules or the complex state of the stack. My two cents.
Potential Suggestions:
1. Have everyone build a deck with an interesting shared theme for themed episodes:
|-Bears (2 CMC 2/2s): e.g. Emmara/Hapatra/Karlov/Lavinia
|-Gods (Theros, Ahmonket)
|-Elder Dragons (Old or New)
|-Ravnica Guild Leaders
|-Legendaries from a new set
2. Random deck assignment (or of commanders to build around), playing someone elses deck mixes things up a lot.
3. Utilise variants to mix things up:
|-Planechase
|-Two-headed Giant
|-Star
|-Emperor or similar
I would avoid chaos cards for a livestream tbh, otherwise you may have long stretches of just debating rules or the complex state of the stack. My two cents.
Strong agree here. Chaos decks are somewhat groanworthy unless everyone is happy with it. I can only see the stack being an absolute bastard to livestream, too.
The theme deck idea is an interesting one. Guild leaders/new legends is obviously relevant and watchable. You could do stipulation games too - only commanders >6CMC, only bi/tri colour commanders, whatever takes your fancy I guess. This sort of variant is probably your best way to get a decent enjoyable livestream rather than going for chaos or crazy game states.
it's a pretty insane build that i have.. very explosive, and then either kills itself or kills the table.
...also, there is the possibility of killing the table (almost), and just when that last player thinks they've survived that turn, dark ritual for kaervek's spite for the win.
I'm running a weekly Commander livestream with three colleagues (think Game Knights, but live) and so far, I've just been playing the same decks I run in my regular games (mostly control, steal and graveyard shenanigans, the playstyles I love the most). However, I'm looking to build more decks that are specifically geared to make for fun and interesting viewing.
By that, I don't mean chaos decks for the lulz, but decks that elicit unique interactions, memorable moments and interesting twists around the table. For example, one of my colleagues built a deck with all the good Will of the Council and Council's Dilemma cards, constantly getting people to vote and bicker and try to influence each other. That was what got me to thinking about other decks that really create fun and unique dynamics. They should still be trying to win, but do it in a more unorthodox fashion. Other examples could be Queen Marchesa reliably bringing the Monarch mechanic into play every game, creating that power struggle. That's a bit of an obvious candidate, though (and usually built as rather straightforward stax/pillowfort), so I was wondering if you guys had any more weird or interesting ideas in that direction - if so, I'd love to hear them! All suggestions are appreciated
Trap your friends in an endless game with this 23-card combo!
While looking for the name of Silent Arbiter, I forgot about Portcullis: yet another card that keeps the field relatively clear but still allows you to utilize your ETB effects.
Two Score, Minus Two or: A Stargate Tail
(Image by totallynotabrony)
The above card inside a Prototype Portal along with a few mana rocks, an unwinding clock and one or two more cards that we'll get to later.
Timesifter isn't legendary - so really, any way to have 3+ copies of them triggering each turn (like mechanized production)will work - the goal is to let a handful of turn iterations go around and have these solid stacks of cards exiled from the multiple copies of timesifter.
Then, after everyone gets used to just tracking only the next turn to play, you hit 'em with a Time Stop (preferrably with rebound) during the second main or end step of a particularly long and complex turn.
Rarely will there be enough awareness by your opponents to know who's turn it becomes - particularly if you're modifying their exile piles with a Riftsweeper.
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
Nonetheless, I would have thought the best games to watch are those with 'oh damn' moments. So make sure whatever each deck is doing, the other decks have appropriate answers, prefereably at instant speed. And obviously not all doing the same thing.
So for instance maybe 4 decks could look like:
- An aggro/burn deck
- Something controlly (but not stax)
- A Reanimator
- A Tokens Deck
Then make sure to add lots of appropriate blowout cards:
- Against Burn: Exquisite Archangel, Dromoka's Command
- Against control: Mindslicer, Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
- Against reanimator: Rakdos Charm, Containment Priest
- Against Tokens: Echoing Truth, Batwing Brume, Blasphemous Act
I guess you've got to think the same way R&D do when they make new duel decks... measure & counter-measure... makes for a good game.
Timesifter on a Prototype Portal was Trolly McTrollerson's favorite combo in his chaos deck. As long as there are Timesifters in play, the combo isn't actually any more infuriating than a single Timesifter, since the next turn is based on the last 'sifter trigger to resolve and that turn will trigger the 'sifters again. Creating a pile of Timesifters is only a problem when somebody finally destroys all artifacts (or eliminates the Timesifter player), because you needed to keep track of who won all those Timesifter triggers to figure out the turn order for several more rounds.
Two Score, Minus Two or: A Stargate Tail
(Image by totallynotabrony)
Some ideas off the top of my head:
1) A deck with a lot of Morph/Megamorph cards that lead to some interesting guessing by your opponents as to what they are (Hint: It's always Willbender). You can even show the Morph to the audience so that they know what it is to potentially increase the entertainment value. Animar, Soul of Elements is a typical commander for this.
2) Run a Zndrsplt, Eye of Wisdom/Okaun, Eye of Chaos coin-flipping deck, where you don't necessarily need to get crazy with pure chaos cards, but you can get some pretty wacky and unexpected results with coin flipping. Win with Chance Encounter for bonus points.
3) Speaking of Cahnce Encounter, maybe you run a deck that wins with Alternate Win-Cons like Barren Glory, Helix Pinnacle, or Darksteel Reactor (as opposed to alt win-cons that people groan about like Felidar Sovereign or Laboratory Maniac).
4) Another alternate method of winning would be to run a milling deck with something like Oona, Queen of the Fae, Phenax, God of Deception, or Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker at the helm.
Jalira, Master Polymorphist | Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder | Bosh, Iron Golem | Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Brago, King Eternal | Oona, Queen of the Fae | Wort, Boggart Auntie | Wort, the Raidmother
Captain Sisay | Rhys, the Redeemed | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight | Obzedat, Ghost Council | Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind | Vorel of the Hull Clade
Uril, the Miststalker | Prossh, Skyraider of Kher | Nicol Bolas | Progenitus
Ghave, Guru of Spores | Zedruu the Greathearted | Damia, Sage of Stone | Riku of Two Reflections
Personally i have always liked the randomness of Ruhan of the Fomori. In a control deck, it's hilarious.
1. Have everyone build a deck with an interesting shared theme for themed episodes:
|-Bears (2 CMC 2/2s): e.g. Emmara/Hapatra/Karlov/Lavinia
|-Gods (Theros, Ahmonket)
|-Elder Dragons (Old or New)
|-Ravnica Guild Leaders
|-Legendaries from a new set
2. Random deck assignment (or of commanders to build around), playing someone elses deck mixes things up a lot.
3. Utilise variants to mix things up:
|-Planechase
|-Two-headed Giant
|-Star
|-Emperor or similar
I would avoid chaos cards for a livestream tbh, otherwise you may have long stretches of just debating rules or the complex state of the stack. My two cents.
Strong agree here. Chaos decks are somewhat groanworthy unless everyone is happy with it. I can only see the stack being an absolute bastard to livestream, too.
The theme deck idea is an interesting one. Guild leaders/new legends is obviously relevant and watchable. You could do stipulation games too - only commanders >6CMC, only bi/tri colour commanders, whatever takes your fancy I guess. This sort of variant is probably your best way to get a decent enjoyable livestream rather than going for chaos or crazy game states.
it's a pretty insane build that i have.. very explosive, and then either kills itself or kills the table.
...also, there is the possibility of killing the table (almost), and just when that last player thinks they've survived that turn, dark ritual for kaervek's spite for the win.
Legacy - Solidarity - mono U aggro - burn - Imperial Painter - Strawberry Shortcake - Bluuzards - bom
I also enjoyed a Pharika, God of Affliction enchantress deck with Oath of Druid/Oath of Ghoul, which may of may not end the game in your favor, but always in a good way.
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