My local group has started a commander league with the four precons from the 2018 set. I got Lord Windgrace. First, the rules of our league are as follows:
- We only play about once a month (most of us have young children, so time is a luxury).
- We started with the base precon, no changes.
- We usually manage to get two games in before we start getting tired (cuz we're old, this will be a theme).
After each round of play, we get to make a round of changes.
- One round consists of a set number of card changes, and a set dollar amount that we can use as a budget.
- We started with a $25 budget each round, plus $5 more for each kill we recorded in the previous two games.
- For prices, we went with StarCity, rounded to the nearest $0.25 for easy mathing. Also, only near-mint English cards were considered. Obviously there's a few exploitable gray areas here, but it's a casual league so no one's really going to look for that sort of thing.
- We also started with 10 card changes in round 1, then 9 in round 2, and gradually decreasing down to 2 card changes by the end.
So, we just finished up round 2, and I have several "packages" that I'm thinking about adding for the next round. In general, the deck has had a pretty easy time getting a large pile of mana, so I've pretty much been able to cast anything I want.
1. The enchantment package
- Cards like Sunbird's Invocation, Grave Betrayal, Warstorm Surge, Vicious Shadows, The Mending of Dominaria, Zendikar's Roil, Phyrexian Reclamation, etc.
- The main perk of this package is that enchantments in general are pretty hard to deal with in this format, so unlike creatures that get killed every which way, these cards might stick around a bit longer and provide more value. I also noticed that a lot of my landfall guys would make some tokens, but those tokens wouldn't necessarily have a big impact before they got wiped away, so cards like Warstorm Surge and Vicious Shadows would give them some extra value. I was impressed with the reach that Retreat to Hagra provided, so more of that would be desireable.
- The downside of this package is that most of the cards don't exactly fit the landfall theme of the deck very well, with the exception of Zendikar's Roil.
2. The planeswalker package
- Cards like Chandra, Flamecaller, Garruk Wildspeaker, Ob Nixilis, Reignited, and a few other cheaper 'walkers.
- The main perk of this package is that I run a lot of explosions already, none of which hit planeswalkers. So, if creatures don't survive very long, then it becomes harder to deal with planeswalkers.
- The downside here is that most planeswalkers are pretty expensive, so the budget would dry up real quick.
3. The land tutor package
- Cards like Ulvenwald Hydra, Realm Seekers, Realms Uncharted, plus utility lands like Kessig Wolf Run, High Market, Glacial Chasm, Ghost Quarter, Geier Reach Sanitarium, Hissing Quagmire, Reliquary Tower, Dakmor Salvage, Arch of Orazca.
- The main perk here is that this package falls in line pretty well with the general theme of the commander: lands, and ways to find them.
- The downside is that the budgetary rule prevents the really good lands (Dark Depths, Valakut) from joining the party.
4. The ETB package
- Cards like Demon of Dark Schemes, Ravenous Chupacabra, Inferno Titan, Eternal Witness, Sidisi, Undead Vizier.
- The perk here is that these guys provide immediate impact, plus a mostly-relevant body.
- The downside is that they are somewhat redundant with all of the removal I already have.
5. The Saproling combo package
- I heard about this combo on another podcast, but I cannot remember where, so credit to whoever came up with this one (it wasn't me).
- Cards like Life and Limb, Slimefoot, the Stowaway, Sporemound, Tendershoot Dryad.
- The perk is that this gives me a way to just win the game and kill the whole table at once. I already have two tutors available to find the pieces, and Lord is real good at drawing cards. Plus, Tendershoot is just a friggin' awesome card.
- The downside is that the package is kinda small, the bodies aren't very big on their own, and my group doesn't exactly like douchey infinite combos.
6. The dual land package
- Cards like Farseek, Wood Elves, Overgrown Tomb, Cinder Glade, Smoldering Marsh, Sheltered Thicket, Canyon Slough.
- The main perk here is that Overgrown Tomb was recently reprinted, so it's as cheap as it will ever be right about now.
- The downside is that this package doesn't really add much power, and real fetches are still totally out of the question.
7. Random good cards that everyone else adds
- Cards like Tireless Tracker, Titania, Protector of Argoth, Constant Mists, The Gitrog Monster, Mina and Denn, Wildborn.
- The main perk is that these cards are generically good in any Lord Windgrace deck.
- The downside is that most of them are relatively expensive.
My first draft basically pulls a few things from several packages (see OP above).
- Chandra, Flamecaller and Ob Nixilis Reignited do multiple things that this deck wants/needs, and my other two planeswalkers were fairly easy to protect with all of the explosions happening.
- Overgrown Tomb, Eternal Witness and Gitrog were always going to be staples of this type of deck, but their prices dropped enough that they had to be added sooner.
- Sunbird's Invocation and Warstorm Surge are hard-to-kill enchantments. The former is one of my favorite cards to play, and the latter adds the immediate value to all of the big creatures I already have.
So many choices...any help here would be much appreciated.
First and foremost you are a 3 color precon deck, so you are bound to have some mana inconsistencies. Improving what your deck already does is a very easy way to gain an advantage. Windgrace's synergy with even the simplest fetchlands, like Terramorphic Expanse, is undeniable, and the existing landfall cards in your deck with love that synergy as well.
I also recommend these cards that you mentioned, seeing as they have great value with a very low price: The Mending of Dominaria, Splendid Reclamation, Ulvenwald Hydra, Sheltered Thicket, etc.
I do think that you should put some thought into some meta cards. Since we are talking precon, you will be vs Animatou, Saheeli, and Estrid. All of them will be using artifacts and enchantments as a pretty big part of their deck, so Bane of Progress will do you wonders. I also think Wave of Vitriol is worth a look.
WizardMN made a thread a while back with the same premise as yours, and it seemed to get pretty popular. I'd look for some suggestions there.
WizardMN made a thread a while back with the same premise as yours, and it seemed to get pretty popular. I'd look for some suggestions there.
I've seen the thread, and part of the reason I made this one was to not intrude on it.
Both Bane of Progress and World Breaker certainly pulled their weight in the last session. My group also made several comments about bringing in their own grave hate next time, which makes me less inclined to bring in things like The Mending and Splendid Reclamation that rely on having a big yard.
After goldfishing a few games with the first draft, I'm a little concerned about adding in as many expensive spells. While most of my games have ended with a large pile of mana in front of me (sometimes as many as 20 lands), I don't want it to get too clunky. Sunbird's Invocation is probably the odd one out, even though it's a pet card of mine. Chandra, Flamecaller and Warstorm Surge have a lot more synergy with what the rest of the deck wants to do.
Round 3 is in the books! As usual, we played two games.
- The first game was pretty uneventful. I kept a hand with no ramp and none of the 19 new cards, didn't do much, and got rolled over.
- The second game was about as good as it gets. I had a T2 Sol Ring, T3 Nissa, Vital Force, and T4 Nissa emblem plus Lord Windgrace on the table. The rest of the game was basically arch-enemy, and I still managed to kill all three opponents (two with a regrown Lavalanche and one with a 20-point Rubblehulk that was just filthy). Afterwards, the other guys were commenting about how the Nissa emblem totally won me the game, and while there was an early Sol Ring ahead of it, it was hard to argue with the how quickly the emblem was achieved and how much gas it provided over the course of the game.
A few notes from other players:
- The Saheeli player seems intent on using her second ability to make big stuff cheaper, essentially crossing out the colorless part of the casting cost for a bunch of fatties. I saw both Etali and Nezahal, as well as several larger artifact creatures. Game one, Nezahal drew about 20-30 cards en route to victory.
- The Tuvasa player seems focused on going the hexproof/aura route. Bruna, Light of Alabaster and Troll Ascetic both made an appearance. It didn't feel too threatening until a Starfield of Nyx came out, and I got the impression that the budgetary restriction was preventing the deck from achieving its full potential more than any other.
Going forward, the biggest need of this deck was some form of reach. I was able to build up one board after another with Baloths, Sunbird's Invocation, and other threats, but someone always had an answer before I could do anything with them. Warstorm Surge would have been the answer, but it got exiled early. Between the three kills I got and the extra $3 from last round's budget, I should be able to afford the #1 priority on my list: Purphoros! He's exactly what the deck needs right now. Kessig Wolf Run is a land that provides reach as well as a mana-sink, so it'll also be a good addition. Finally, due to its recent reprint in UMA, Raging Ravine will be a nice upgrade over a lesser dual land.
I'd already mentioned Ulvenwald Hydra. It might seem underwhelming at first, but it stops just about any flier, and fetches you whatever utility land you need.
I'm also surprised at your lack of Multani, Yavimaya's Avatar. That card is a powerhouse built for this deck. Groundskeeper can read "1G: Draw two cards" with Windgrace.
How was Centaur Vinecrasher? I always thought it could be pretty good in this deck, but you seemed to take it out from the precon.
I think I would run Torment of Hailfire FAR sooner than Lavalanche.
Multani will probably be in the next round of changes. The trample, the ability to bounce lands, and the ability to recast himself over and over again are all nice fits.
I would love to run Titania, but she's gotten too expensive for this particular set of budget rules. She might get in towards the end when I have fewer cards to change.
A few of the changes I plan to make are updated in the OP now. I'm also trying to take advantage of some recent price drops from Ultimate Masters.
My local group has started a commander league with the four precons from the 2018 set. I got Lord Windgrace. First, the rules of our league are as follows:
- We started with the base precon, no changes.
- We usually manage to get two games in before we start getting tired (cuz we're old, this will be a theme).
After each round of play, we get to make a round of changes.
- One round consists of a set number of card changes, and a set dollar amount that we can use as a budget.
- We started with a $25 budget each round, plus $5 more for each kill we recorded in the previous two games.
- For prices, we went with StarCity, rounded to the nearest $0.25 for easy mathing. Also, only near-mint English cards were considered. Obviously there's a few exploitable gray areas here, but it's a casual league so no one's really going to look for that sort of thing.
- We also started with 10 card changes in round 1, then 9 in round 2, and gradually decreasing down to 2 card changes by the end.
1 Lord Windgrace
Creatures (26):
1 Budoka Gardener
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Eternal Witness
1 Farhaven Elf
1 Gyrus, Waker of Corpses
1 Ramunap Excavator
1 Turntimber Sower
1 Yavimaya Elder
1 Centaur Vinecrasher
1 Mina and Denn, Wildborn
1 Acidic Slime
1 Kagemaro, First to Suffer
1 Loyal Guardian
1 Nesting Dragon
1 The Gitrog Monster
1 Bane of Progress
1 Flameblast Dragon
1 Rampaging Baloths
1 Rubblehulk
1 Soul of Innistrad
1 Whiptongue Hydra
1 Avenger of Zendikar
1 Charnelhoard Wurm
1 Omnath, Locus of Rage
1 Rune-Scarred Demon
1 World Breaker
Planeswalkers (2):
1 Nissa, Vital Force
1 Ob Nixilis Reignited
1 Sol Ring
Enchantments (6):
1 Khalni Heart Expedition
1 Pernicious Deed
1 Retreat to Hagra
1 Deathreap Ritual
1 Sunbird's Invocation
1 Warstorm Surge
Instants (7):
1 Grapple with the Past
1 Grizzly Salvage
1 Consign to Dust
1 Harrow
1 Putrefy
1 Fury Storm
1 Windgrace's Judgment
Sorceries (14):
1 Explore
1 Savage Twister
1 Stitch Together
1 Cultivate
1 Far Wanderings
1 Gaze of Granite
1 Lavalanche
1 Ruinous Path
1 Chain Reaction
1 Decimate
1 Explosive Vegetation
1 Hunting Wilds
1 Final Parting
1 Worm Harvest
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Cinder Glade
1 Smoldering Marsh
1 Barren Moor
1 Forgotten Cave
1 Tranquil Thicket
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Jund Panorama
1 Mountain Valley
1 Myriad Landscape
1 Rocky Tar Pit
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Akoum Refuge
1 Command Tower
1 Golgari Rot Farm
1 Gruul Turf
1 Jungle Hollow
1 Kazandu Refuge
1 Khalni Garden
1 Rakdos Carnarium
1 Savage Lands
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Haunted Fengraf
1 Memorial to Folly
1 Temple of the False God
6 Swamp
5 Mountain
7 Forest
+ Ramunap Excavator, - Bloodtracker: $4.00
+ World Breaker, - Baloth Woodcrasher: $4.00
+ Bane of Progress, - Reality Scramble: $4.00
+ Nissa, Vital Force, - Zendikar Incarnate: $5.00
+ Pernicious Deed, - Scute Mob: $3.00
+ Omnath, Locus of Rage, - Borderland Explorer: $10.00
+ Rune-Scarred Demon, - Loyal Subordinate: $2.50
+ Final Parting, - Emissary of Grudges: $0.25
+ Memorial to Folly, - Warped Landscape: $0.25
+ Kagemaro, First to Suffer, - Loyal Apprentice: $2.00
+ Eternal Witness, - Moldgraf Monstrosity: $5.00
+ The Gitrog Monster, - Xantcha, Sleeper Agent: $5.00
+ Ob Nixilis Reignited, - Moonlight Bargain: $3.00
+ Mina and Denn, Wildborn, - Seer's Sundial: $2.00
+ Sunbird's Invocation, - Crash of Rhino Beetles: $2.00
+ Warstorm Surge, - Thantis, the Warweaver: $1.00
+ Overgrown Tomb, - Grim Backwoods: $9.00
+ Cinder Glade, - Blighted Woodland: $3.00
+ Smoldering Marsh, - Forge of Heroes: $2.00
+ Purphoros, God of the Forge, - Gyrus, Waker of Corpses: $22.00
+ Gamble, - Deathreap Ritual: $5.00
+ Courser of Kruphix, - Budoka Gardener: $3.50
+ Multani, Yavimaya's Avatar, - Centaur Vinecrasher: $3.00
+ Sepulchral Primordial, - Charnelhoard Wurm: $2.00
+ Comet Storm, - Rubblehulk: $1.50
+ Kessig Wolf Run, - Haunted Fengraf: $4.00
+ Dakmor Salvage, - Myriad Landscape: $1.00
1. The enchantment package
- Cards like Sunbird's Invocation, Grave Betrayal, Warstorm Surge, Vicious Shadows, The Mending of Dominaria, Zendikar's Roil, Phyrexian Reclamation, etc.
- The main perk of this package is that enchantments in general are pretty hard to deal with in this format, so unlike creatures that get killed every which way, these cards might stick around a bit longer and provide more value. I also noticed that a lot of my landfall guys would make some tokens, but those tokens wouldn't necessarily have a big impact before they got wiped away, so cards like Warstorm Surge and Vicious Shadows would give them some extra value. I was impressed with the reach that Retreat to Hagra provided, so more of that would be desireable.
- The downside of this package is that most of the cards don't exactly fit the landfall theme of the deck very well, with the exception of Zendikar's Roil.
2. The planeswalker package
- Cards like Chandra, Flamecaller, Garruk Wildspeaker, Ob Nixilis, Reignited, and a few other cheaper 'walkers.
- The main perk of this package is that I run a lot of explosions already, none of which hit planeswalkers. So, if creatures don't survive very long, then it becomes harder to deal with planeswalkers.
- The downside here is that most planeswalkers are pretty expensive, so the budget would dry up real quick.
3. The land tutor package
- Cards like Ulvenwald Hydra, Realm Seekers, Realms Uncharted, plus utility lands like Kessig Wolf Run, High Market, Glacial Chasm, Ghost Quarter, Geier Reach Sanitarium, Hissing Quagmire, Reliquary Tower, Dakmor Salvage, Arch of Orazca.
- The main perk here is that this package falls in line pretty well with the general theme of the commander: lands, and ways to find them.
- The downside is that the budgetary rule prevents the really good lands (Dark Depths, Valakut) from joining the party.
4. The ETB package
- Cards like Demon of Dark Schemes, Ravenous Chupacabra, Inferno Titan, Eternal Witness, Sidisi, Undead Vizier.
- The perk here is that these guys provide immediate impact, plus a mostly-relevant body.
- The downside is that they are somewhat redundant with all of the removal I already have.
5. The Saproling combo package
- I heard about this combo on another podcast, but I cannot remember where, so credit to whoever came up with this one (it wasn't me).
- Cards like Life and Limb, Slimefoot, the Stowaway, Sporemound, Tendershoot Dryad.
- The perk is that this gives me a way to just win the game and kill the whole table at once. I already have two tutors available to find the pieces, and Lord is real good at drawing cards. Plus, Tendershoot is just a friggin' awesome card.
- The downside is that the package is kinda small, the bodies aren't very big on their own, and my group doesn't exactly like douchey infinite combos.
6. The dual land package
- Cards like Farseek, Wood Elves, Overgrown Tomb, Cinder Glade, Smoldering Marsh, Sheltered Thicket, Canyon Slough.
- The main perk here is that Overgrown Tomb was recently reprinted, so it's as cheap as it will ever be right about now.
- The downside is that this package doesn't really add much power, and real fetches are still totally out of the question.
7. Random good cards that everyone else adds
- Cards like Tireless Tracker, Titania, Protector of Argoth, Constant Mists, The Gitrog Monster, Mina and Denn, Wildborn.
- The main perk is that these cards are generically good in any Lord Windgrace deck.
- The downside is that most of them are relatively expensive.
My first draft basically pulls a few things from several packages (see OP above).
- Chandra, Flamecaller and Ob Nixilis Reignited do multiple things that this deck wants/needs, and my other two planeswalkers were fairly easy to protect with all of the explosions happening.
- Overgrown Tomb, Eternal Witness and Gitrog were always going to be staples of this type of deck, but their prices dropped enough that they had to be added sooner.
- Sunbird's Invocation and Warstorm Surge are hard-to-kill enchantments. The former is one of my favorite cards to play, and the latter adds the immediate value to all of the big creatures I already have.
So many choices...any help here would be much appreciated.
I also recommend these cards that you mentioned, seeing as they have great value with a very low price: The Mending of Dominaria, Splendid Reclamation, Ulvenwald Hydra, Sheltered Thicket, etc.
I do think that you should put some thought into some meta cards. Since we are talking precon, you will be vs Animatou, Saheeli, and Estrid. All of them will be using artifacts and enchantments as a pretty big part of their deck, so Bane of Progress will do you wonders. I also think Wave of Vitriol is worth a look.
WizardMN made a thread a while back with the same premise as yours, and it seemed to get pretty popular. I'd look for some suggestions there.
I've seen the thread, and part of the reason I made this one was to not intrude on it.
Both Bane of Progress and World Breaker certainly pulled their weight in the last session. My group also made several comments about bringing in their own grave hate next time, which makes me less inclined to bring in things like The Mending and Splendid Reclamation that rely on having a big yard.
After goldfishing a few games with the first draft, I'm a little concerned about adding in as many expensive spells. While most of my games have ended with a large pile of mana in front of me (sometimes as many as 20 lands), I don't want it to get too clunky. Sunbird's Invocation is probably the odd one out, even though it's a pet card of mine. Chandra, Flamecaller and Warstorm Surge have a lot more synergy with what the rest of the deck wants to do.
- The first game was pretty uneventful. I kept a hand with no ramp and none of the 19 new cards, didn't do much, and got rolled over.
- The second game was about as good as it gets. I had a T2 Sol Ring, T3 Nissa, Vital Force, and T4 Nissa emblem plus Lord Windgrace on the table. The rest of the game was basically arch-enemy, and I still managed to kill all three opponents (two with a regrown Lavalanche and one with a 20-point Rubblehulk that was just filthy). Afterwards, the other guys were commenting about how the Nissa emblem totally won me the game, and while there was an early Sol Ring ahead of it, it was hard to argue with the how quickly the emblem was achieved and how much gas it provided over the course of the game.
A few notes from other players:
- The Saheeli player seems intent on using her second ability to make big stuff cheaper, essentially crossing out the colorless part of the casting cost for a bunch of fatties. I saw both Etali and Nezahal, as well as several larger artifact creatures. Game one, Nezahal drew about 20-30 cards en route to victory.
- The Tuvasa player seems focused on going the hexproof/aura route. Bruna, Light of Alabaster and Troll Ascetic both made an appearance. It didn't feel too threatening until a Starfield of Nyx came out, and I got the impression that the budgetary restriction was preventing the deck from achieving its full potential more than any other.
Going forward, the biggest need of this deck was some form of reach. I was able to build up one board after another with Baloths, Sunbird's Invocation, and other threats, but someone always had an answer before I could do anything with them. Warstorm Surge would have been the answer, but it got exiled early. Between the three kills I got and the extra $3 from last round's budget, I should be able to afford the #1 priority on my list: Purphoros! He's exactly what the deck needs right now. Kessig Wolf Run is a land that provides reach as well as a mana-sink, so it'll also be a good addition. Finally, due to its recent reprint in UMA, Raging Ravine will be a nice upgrade over a lesser dual land.
I'm also surprised at your lack of Multani, Yavimaya's Avatar. That card is a powerhouse built for this deck.
Groundskeeper can read "1G: Draw two cards" with Windgrace.
How was Centaur Vinecrasher? I always thought it could be pretty good in this deck, but you seemed to take it out from the precon.
I think I would run Torment of Hailfire FAR sooner than Lavalanche.
If you want to be a bit of a jerk you could run Destructive Flow, seeing as you'll be the one to be hurt from it the least.
You could also go for the Titania, Protector of Argoth + Zuran Orb + Ramunap Excavator package.
Torment of Hailfire is unfortunately a bit pricey right now. Comet Storm is a lot cheaper, and an instant.
I would love to run Titania, but she's gotten too expensive for this particular set of budget rules. She might get in towards the end when I have fewer cards to change.
A few of the changes I plan to make are updated in the OP now. I'm also trying to take advantage of some recent price drops from Ultimate Masters.