Hilariously, there is an infinite combo with new, terrible Teferi, if you want to go down that road.Eldrazi Displacer + Deepglow Skate + Teferi, Timebender is infinite turns. Its super janky, but you know, its there.
I am probably in the minority here, but I am super, super lax on rollbacks. As long as no new information was revealed, I'm totally cool with going back, especially for new players or very complicated boardstates. Honestly, if I can, I try to remind players of their triggers, even 'may' triggers, as it helps me remember mine, and they tend to be more forgiving if I make a mistake. Also, in that environment, many people prefer to take the bad beats if they forget, and it helps them remember better for next time.
Its funny, if you give people a hand, they tend to act better. And happy players make happy games.
Also, I don't want to win a game based on someone not seeing that Stranglehold sitting behind a pile of manarocks or that untapped Dryad Arbor mixed in with other lands that can block/be sacrificed. On more than one occasion I had to remind a player how the Mikaeus, the Unhallowed and Triskelion combo actually worked, even if it lost me the game.
The point is, its not a tournament, theres not money on the line, and we are going to see eachother and play again next week. Have a good time, and let some stuff slide, its just a game.
I've been playing commander regularly for about six years now, and have gone through many, many phases. I have played in several states, in dozens of LGSs, and at GPs. After a while, I boiled down a rather over-simplified philosophy of deck-building and gameplay.
Most cards can be put in at least one of three catergories: asking questions, answering questions, and 'doing research.'
1. Asking Questions: These are the cards that help you reach the goal of your deck, or help you in your advance your game-state. When I play a 'question' card, it feels like I'm asking the table: "I've got this big scary card. What are you going to do about it?" or more literally, "Does this resolve?"
Most of the time, these are threat cards. These are the cards that you use to end the game, or get you closer. They can be your commander, a big effect on a creature, planeswalker, or a combo. The big part of asking questions, is that they demand answers, or the game ends.
Typically in the flow of a game, players ask questions, and they get answered. The winner of the game is typically the last player to ask a question without an answer. In other words, the last threat ends the game. Some examples are Maelstrom Wanderer, Ad Nauseum, or Paradox Engine. There is tons of variety in this category, not just big attackers or draw spells. You can get really creative here.
2. Answering Questions: These are what people normally call 'answer' cards. Removal, counters, stax, and hatebears all typically fall into this category. These are the cards that stop your opponents' threats, or slow down the game. These cards are important because they help the game flow. If everyone only ever asked questions, the game would end pretty quickly, and probably not be very fun or interesting.
When someone 'asks a question' at the table, there had better be an 'answer' or the game will end. This can be anywhere from Negate to Armageddon to Nature's Claim. Sometimes a Fog is the exact card you need to answer that Craterhoof Behemoth. Many times, its situational.
Of note, many cards are both questions and answers, and often at the same time. Cyclonic Rift can stop your opponents while setting you up for a huge, uninterrupted turn. Winter Orb can help a question be unanswered for long enough to end the game.
3. Doing Research: These are the support cards that help you do the asking and the answering. Small ramp spells, tutors, cantrips, protection cards, and equipment fall into this catergory. These cards help you with your plan, but are not necessarily threats. These are not typically worth answering directly. For example, its usually not worth it to spend your premium answer card like Anguished Unmaking on a Orzhov Signet. Land cards are typically also in this category.
This category can blur with the other two depending on the situation. Sensei's Divining Top can help smooth out your draws and hit land drops, or can be a win condition with Future Sight and a cost reducer.
Again, I know its way oversimplified, but it helps me when I am trying to make decisions during deck-building or in game. My Maelstrom Wanderer deck is just jam-packed with ramp and question cards. I like playing that style, and it suits my personality. My other 'main' deck, Thasios/Tymna, is filled with research and answer cards, with only a few 'threats.'
They are both fun to play, but they have significantly different design philosophies and playstyles.
edhrec.com has a pretty good resource. For example, this page lists the cards from the most recent set in order from most to least popular. If you look at the past few sets, it should give you a good idea of the cards that are popular, or commonly used in commander.
Also, cards that gain you life will preferably be repeatable, and not cost you mana on the turn you would want to cast your commander. So things that happen on upkeep/draw/mainphase without costing mana are ideal. You want to be able to attack with your commander with haste if you can, so that means setting up some lifegain beforehand, then casting your commander, then attacking right away. Relying on lifelink creatures isn't ideal because creatures die really easily. Enchantments and artifacts would probably be much better at consistently gaining life. So a card like Vizkopa Guildmage
won't help you cast Licia because it costs mana for the ability, which feels really slow.
Maybe something like Venser's Journal?
I guess the exception would be cards that can power out an early Licia anyways, so Serra Ascendant would be a must-include.
The difference wtih Coalition Victory is that it literally has two modes: win the game, or nothing. Neither scenario is interesting. There is a reason that planeswalker ultimates, even very difficult to obtain ones, never say "win the game." They can get pretty close to that, but at least in an interesting way. Every other alt-win card can conceivably do something else. Felidar Sovereign can gain 4 life a turn and is a reasonable blocker, or a worse Batterskull. Other alt-wins require tons of support like Helix Pinnacle or Laboratory Maniac.
I'm assuming the card would be played in Oloro, Ageless Ascetic, where getting the high life total is trivial. Even with above-average ramp, you would probably get the Sovereign down on t3, maybe t4 with protection. If you pulled that off without having to spend mana on tutors, then good for you. Thats akin to the Flash Hulk deck naturally drawing the combo pieces instead of having to tutor. So yeah, I think its a fair card. More than that, I think its an actively bad card, and your deck is worse off for playing it.
Those two cards make it hard to justify playing non-blue decks. Time Walk is essentially a free card, and worst case its 2 mana to replace it self and give you your mana back. Ancestral Recall is so much better than any other cantrips, it would be worth tutoring regularly. It instantly negates any card disadvantage you would have accrued over the game, and allows you to be much more reckless with your gameplay. Its also an amazing topdeck. Can you imagine imprinting it on Isochron Scepter...
I feel like Brawl will be alot like Super Smash Bros.: Brawl. That game had a ton of hype but no long-term appeal. I might build a single deck out of draft chaff, but unlikely to keep it in rotation. I would miss playing sweet, wonky old cards too much.
Besides being the first legendary djinn, its really, really not interesting. And its a rare...
Also, I'm pretty sure this doesn't dodge commander tax, because you still have to cast the spell.
For mono blue voltron, I think I'd rather have something like Thada Adel, Acquisitor who comes down earlier and accrues value over the game, or Uresh, Criosphinx Sovereign who has an ETB. This guy is certainly the largest for the cost.
I'm not inspired by this guy.
As for the other spoilers, I'm looking to pick up a foil of Urza's Ruinous Blast. I'm loving that card frame and art.
Yisan, Wanderer Bard can be built decently on a budget. Most of the expensive cards a pretty much staples in green decks, so you can pick them up slowly and still have them be useful for other decks.
My go-to recommendation for a budget friendly EDH deck is The Gitrog Monster. It doesn't have blue, it plays some really obscure cards, and it doesn't really care about playing against counterspells. The expensive cards do make the deck better, but only marginally, and you can just play more removal spells instead.
The other more budget way to play CEDH is to slow down the table to your speed, not try to keep up with them. Cards like Cursed Totem, Rest in Peace, and the new Damping Sphere can really put the hurt on alot of CEDH decks. I've had some really memorable moments playing Kaalia Geddon against decks that were technically much better.
The other thing you can do is ask your playgroup if you can proxy some of the more expensive cards. It would be good to just test the cards out to see if you even like them before you invest in them anyways. Encourage your group to do the same. Honestly, I find it more fun to play with the cards you want to play anyways, instead of the cards you can afford, even for casual metas. Even something as simple as improving your manabase can lead to more memorable games.
For Wanderer, its pretty easy to build on a budget. 34 lands, 30ish ramp spells, and tons of bombs. Try to play spells that give you +2 mana on cast (so avoid stuff like signets and kodama's reach, and play skyshroud claim and explosive vegetation instead), or +2 card advantage. Good considerations are things that are good to cascade into and also good to cast before wanderer comes out.
I cannot stress how important it is to have literally 30 ramp spells. Luckily many ramp cards pull double duty and perform other functions.
I think its rude to prevent triggers, and its rude to abuse a scoop to change game actions. For example, Player A has a choice to kill Player B, or Player C, but not both. Player B says, screw it, I scoop, then Player A attacks Player C and wins. In that scenario, I think its appropriate to decide who you would have attacked if there wasn't a scoop, and stick with that decision.
Also, don't scoop in that scenario. Let the game play out.
If there is a stax lock or some such, yeah scoop and let the player have it. If you are pressed for time, then scoop. If the next pod only needs one more player and you don't have a realistic chance of winning, sure scoop and join them.
Its funny, if you give people a hand, they tend to act better. And happy players make happy games.
Also, I don't want to win a game based on someone not seeing that Stranglehold sitting behind a pile of manarocks or that untapped Dryad Arbor mixed in with other lands that can block/be sacrificed. On more than one occasion I had to remind a player how the Mikaeus, the Unhallowed and Triskelion combo actually worked, even if it lost me the game.
The point is, its not a tournament, theres not money on the line, and we are going to see eachother and play again next week. Have a good time, and let some stuff slide, its just a game.
Most cards can be put in at least one of three catergories: asking questions, answering questions, and 'doing research.'
1. Asking Questions: These are the cards that help you reach the goal of your deck, or help you in your advance your game-state. When I play a 'question' card, it feels like I'm asking the table: "I've got this big scary card. What are you going to do about it?" or more literally, "Does this resolve?"
Most of the time, these are threat cards. These are the cards that you use to end the game, or get you closer. They can be your commander, a big effect on a creature, planeswalker, or a combo. The big part of asking questions, is that they demand answers, or the game ends.
Typically in the flow of a game, players ask questions, and they get answered. The winner of the game is typically the last player to ask a question without an answer. In other words, the last threat ends the game. Some examples are Maelstrom Wanderer, Ad Nauseum, or Paradox Engine. There is tons of variety in this category, not just big attackers or draw spells. You can get really creative here.
2. Answering Questions: These are what people normally call 'answer' cards. Removal, counters, stax, and hatebears all typically fall into this category. These are the cards that stop your opponents' threats, or slow down the game. These cards are important because they help the game flow. If everyone only ever asked questions, the game would end pretty quickly, and probably not be very fun or interesting.
When someone 'asks a question' at the table, there had better be an 'answer' or the game will end. This can be anywhere from Negate to Armageddon to Nature's Claim. Sometimes a Fog is the exact card you need to answer that Craterhoof Behemoth. Many times, its situational.
Of note, many cards are both questions and answers, and often at the same time. Cyclonic Rift can stop your opponents while setting you up for a huge, uninterrupted turn. Winter Orb can help a question be unanswered for long enough to end the game.
3. Doing Research: These are the support cards that help you do the asking and the answering. Small ramp spells, tutors, cantrips, protection cards, and equipment fall into this catergory. These cards help you with your plan, but are not necessarily threats. These are not typically worth answering directly. For example, its usually not worth it to spend your premium answer card like Anguished Unmaking on a Orzhov Signet. Land cards are typically also in this category.
This category can blur with the other two depending on the situation. Sensei's Divining Top can help smooth out your draws and hit land drops, or can be a win condition with Future Sight and a cost reducer.
Again, I know its way oversimplified, but it helps me when I am trying to make decisions during deck-building or in game. My Maelstrom Wanderer deck is just jam-packed with ramp and question cards. I like playing that style, and it suits my personality. My other 'main' deck, Thasios/Tymna, is filled with research and answer cards, with only a few 'threats.'
They are both fun to play, but they have significantly different design philosophies and playstyles.
Maybe this rambling essay helps someone.
Also, cards that gain you life will preferably be repeatable, and not cost you mana on the turn you would want to cast your commander. So things that happen on upkeep/draw/mainphase without costing mana are ideal. You want to be able to attack with your commander with haste if you can, so that means setting up some lifegain beforehand, then casting your commander, then attacking right away. Relying on lifelink creatures isn't ideal because creatures die really easily. Enchantments and artifacts would probably be much better at consistently gaining life. So a card like Vizkopa Guildmage
won't help you cast Licia because it costs mana for the ability, which feels really slow.
Maybe something like Venser's Journal?
I guess the exception would be cards that can power out an early Licia anyways, so Serra Ascendant would be a must-include.
Also, I'm pretty sure this doesn't dodge commander tax, because you still have to cast the spell.
For mono blue voltron, I think I'd rather have something like Thada Adel, Acquisitor who comes down earlier and accrues value over the game, or Uresh, Criosphinx Sovereign who has an ETB. This guy is certainly the largest for the cost.
I'm not inspired by this guy.
As for the other spoilers, I'm looking to pick up a foil of Urza's Ruinous Blast. I'm loving that card frame and art.
My go-to recommendation for a budget friendly EDH deck is The Gitrog Monster. It doesn't have blue, it plays some really obscure cards, and it doesn't really care about playing against counterspells. The expensive cards do make the deck better, but only marginally, and you can just play more removal spells instead.
The other more budget way to play CEDH is to slow down the table to your speed, not try to keep up with them. Cards like Cursed Totem, Rest in Peace, and the new Damping Sphere can really put the hurt on alot of CEDH decks. I've had some really memorable moments playing Kaalia Geddon against decks that were technically much better.
The other thing you can do is ask your playgroup if you can proxy some of the more expensive cards. It would be good to just test the cards out to see if you even like them before you invest in them anyways. Encourage your group to do the same. Honestly, I find it more fun to play with the cards you want to play anyways, instead of the cards you can afford, even for casual metas. Even something as simple as improving your manabase can lead to more memorable games.
I cannot stress how important it is to have literally 30 ramp spells. Luckily many ramp cards pull double duty and perform other functions.
Also, don't scoop in that scenario. Let the game play out.
If there is a stax lock or some such, yeah scoop and let the player have it. If you are pressed for time, then scoop. If the next pod only needs one more player and you don't have a realistic chance of winning, sure scoop and join them.