Hi, my name is FunkyDragon, and I am a compulsive deckbuilder. I have built and played a lot of EDH/Commander decks and have no intention of stopping. Sometimes it seems like I get even more enjoyment out of building than playing - it's like a puzzle trying to figure out what combination of cards will be the most fun/powerful/flavorful/what have you.
My decks (at least the ones I remember):
(bolded italics are among my favorite to play)
Izzet-UR
Jhoira suspend
Mizzix
Balmor Peasant commander (No rares)
Simic-UG
Momir Vig toolbox Edric
Ezuri, Claw of Progress
Thrasios, Triton Hero Tatyova, Budget Druid
Tatyova, no budget limit (less fun than the budget build)
Esix token clones
Kumena Fish
Mardu-WBR
Kaalia big fliers
Alesha
Queen Marchesa monarch
Edgar Markov vampires
Mathas targets everyone
Queen Marchesa "You did this to yourself" Isshin Double Attacks
Four Color
Thrasios/Vial Smasher Lands Matter (secret commanders are Gitrog, Tatyova, Angry Omnath)
Yidris Cycle-Cascade
WUBRG Scion of the Fun-Dragons
Horde of Notions elementals/goodstuff Five Color Planeswalker Proliferation
Child of Alara destroy everything
Child of Alara Gods of Theros
Karona, False God forced bloodbath
Reaper King - changelings and lords
Strange Bedfellows (Politics)
Sliver Overlord
Ramos, Dragon Engine color value
O'Kagachi's Revenge: This Time It's Personal
5-Color Tribal Alternate Wincon
Niv-Mizzet ReBlinked
Crouching Tazri, Hidden Zada
Kenrith, Activated-Ability tribal
Sisay GateShrines
Jodah Legends
I'm sure there are other compulsive deckbuilders out there - how many decks have you built?
I just realized I need to update the decklist (there have been some changes), but I just wanted to say how excited I am for Containment Priest - it's a great hate bear that answers reanimator, persist, undying, blink (take that, Deadeye!), Marchesa, Derevi, Tooth and Nail, Kaalia, Mayael, etc. What a phenomenal card!
My problem with the green deck is that while I do want Freyalise, it's kind of pointless for me to buy the deck when I already have an Ezuri elfball deck with all of the good elves.
The red and white decks are amazing, head and shoulders above the other three.
All five new planeswalkers have been spoiled and, while I am hopeful that the full decklists may reveal another playable or two, I have to say superfriends is disappointed. That's not to say the walkers are bad - I'm looking forward to adding Freyalise to my Ezuri elfball and Nahiri to my Rafiq equipment deck - but Teferi is the only shoe-in. Obviously, in five color, none of the "can be your commander" clauses matter, which proves to be a liability because some were overcosted a little for balance. So let's rank them, shall we?
Teferi, Temporal Archmage (10/10) - You have no idea how close I was to scoring him 11/10, but the cmc left me at a solid 10. Superfriends likes card draw, and untapping 4 permanents is awesome, especially if you can double your mana production and have The Chain Veil or Contagion Engine in play. The ultimate is a dream come true.
Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury (7/10) - Freyalise actually scored better than I expected. Her first two abilities are pretty good - a mana producing token or a Naturalize are always welcome. The trouble is I couldn't picture running this over Aura Shards, which turns every token into a naturalize without costing loyalty. And the ultimate is too variable - sometimes it does nothing, other times it draws lots of cards. I love her for elfball, but I just can't justify cutting anything else to make room in superfriends.
Daretti, Scrap Savant (6/10) - A splashable piece of card filtering, which can be helpful even if it isn't straight up card draw. The second ability is a bit weak because even though we may want to get artifacts back, we don't run enough to guarantee that we can use this ability. Recursion on Rings and our other toys is nice, but overall, his focus just isn't along the theme of this deck.
Nahiri, the Lithomancer (5.5/10) - This girl knows what she wants to do, but unfortunately, it isn't play with other planeswalkers. Awesome in an equipment deck, mediocre in superfriends. She basically just spawns out tokens for us and maybe eventually gives us a sword.
Ob Nixilis of the Black Death (5/10) - It seems sad to score a walker who makes 5/5 flying tokens so low, but I;m not impressed by Ob. His first ability doesn't affect the board and will just draw attention. His second is awesome, provided we do not have Humility in play (imagine paying loyalty and life for a 1/1). And his ultimate is somewhat lacking - either we sac a 1/1 for minimal benefit (I'd rather Skullclamp them), or we are punching a big hole in our defenses.
I have been one of the "Serra or bust" supporters for a long time, and while I still really want a Serra Planeswalker eventually, I gotta say that this is so awesome that I'm not going to complain. Not that I'd run her as a general - but my Rafiq swords deck really wants a copy.
I recently build a similar deck with Sliver Queen + proliferation as commander. Your topic really helped both getting me excited for the deck and get ideas for it. Thanks for all the effort!
I'm really excited for what Commander 2014 will bring for the deck. Teferi seems a "must add".
Ob Nixilis didn't feel very useful for the deck's purpose. A 5/5 flier is always nice, but it is hard to get good advantage from the other abilities.
Freyalise feels like nice option. Though the deck can't really abuse from the ultimate, spamming mana dorks and getting free artifact/enchantment removal can't be bad.
Glad it helped. And I agree on the new walkers. I have to admit, I'm actually a bit disappointed given that Teferi was spoiled first - he set my expectations way too high on the others. Chandra Nalaar has been keeping Teferi's seat warm for him ever since I first saw him - she'll be leaving once I buy the blue deck. Freyalise will be joining my Ezuri deck, and Ob can go sit in a corner for all I care (I also like his second ability; his others, not so much). I'm still hopeful for the other two but really wish the white one was Serra.
Thought I would share my list. I really do like it quite a bit. I don't lean on the proliferate as much, and I have much more spot removal. Here we go:
I have played this deck and become so attached to some of these cards, so I feel my mind is clouded by memories.
Cards that I really want to add, but can't find cuts for (hopefully you handsome scholars can help me out here!):
Nice decklist. You've got some great tutoring in there. I'll chime in on a few of your potential adds/drops. Collective Restraint is probably not worth adding, as it only protects you but not your walkers. Omniscience can be amazing, but if you cut Mirari's Wake, you're going to have a harder time casting it (short of Rectoring it). Praetor's Grasp and Villainous Wealth both serve the same purpose and, while good cards, may not fit the walker theme as much.
You have two walkers you want to add and one you want to take out - maybe do a straight swap one-for-one.
Can I just say that I love how this interacts with Goblin Welder...
Make a token artifact copy of any creature in your graveyard, then (possibly after combat) swap the doomed token to reanimate any artifact in your graveyard.
I want to put both in a Purphoros deck along with Myr Battlesphere and friends.
It's a bad rule that unfortunately can't be purged for as long as WotC don't take over Commander's official rules.
If you hate EDH/Commander so much and want it to purged of the rules that define it, I have to wonder if and why you play it. Do you? And if so, why this format over any of the others?
What about this:
Each card in your deck must have a color identity that is either colorless or shares at least one color with your commander's color identity.
Let me play a "mono"-black reanimator deck that repeatedly brings back Angel of Despair, Ashen Rider, and other cards that sneak in with this rule, and then tell me if it still feels like a mono-black deck.
I think the way EDH treats hybrid is the only sensible way to do it, and the only way consistent with the color identity concept. I also don't think the format is at all hurt by not allowing hybrid cards to be played the way they are played in other formats. Changing this would just make decks more homogenous, with pretty much all black decks running Unmake (as just one example). I don't think letting Omnath run Spitting Image would destroy the format or anything, but I also don't think this change would add anything to the format.
Absolutely agree here. To me, it is not a matter of destroying the format through change; it is a matter of conserving what I love about the format. If we found a non-clunky way to add just the hybrids, what would we gain? Next to nothing. If it aint broke, don't fix it.
What is wrong with using a City of Brass to pay G for Trample from a red card with a green activated ability in a mono red deck? If you think it is wrong, have the rule say that you can't cast abilities outside of the commanders colour identity. Who cares if a card has an ability it can't/isn't allowed to use?
I've seen problems like this in other games and it usually comes down to lack of imagination and ego preventing common sense changes.
Who cares? I do. The rules committee does. Anyone who appreciates the concept of color identity (which is not identical to a card's color) does. The format was created in part with this unique concept, which is not used in any other format. To me, it is an integral part of the format's flavor and part of what separates it from just normal singleton formats.
As for the "lack of imagination and ego," I'd say that creating the concept of color identity is a sign of imagination (not a lack of), and your off-hand comment about common sense changes strikes me as ego. What makes your loose interpretation/outright destruction of color identity any more common sense than the current rules?
As for hybrid:
The rules of Magic: the Gathering state a hybrid card is both colors at all times. You can PyroblastDimir Guildmage even if cast for only BB. You cannot TerrorDivinity of Pride even if it was cast for WWWWW. The cards are both colors; therefore, your mono-white deck is no longer mono-white if it contains a black card, regardless of whether that card can be cast for white. The same argument of "but I could cast it" could be used to justify running ANY card in a mono-W deck as long as you include Celestial Dawn as one of the 99. The same line of thinking could be extrapolated to allow ANY card in mono-B reanimator deck because they can get it into play. That would be dumb. EDH/Commander is defined in part by the color identity of its commander. There is no need to change the rule; if you don't like it, there are plenty of other formats without the color identity rule - in fact, every other format falls into this category.
b]"Decks may only include cards whose colored mana symbols each contain a color from their commander's color identity."[/b]
It works very well as a houserule for unrestricting hybrids while preserving the color identity rule as a whole. I think it's pretty simple. Do note that it excludes phyrexian-mana and monocolor-hybrid cards from being included in off-color decks.
Certainly the cleanest version proposed in this thread, even if it dos allow flipcards to break color identity. I still disagree with this ever becoming official, but for a house rule, it is pretty well-written.
To pile onto the Maro posts...in addition to the previous comments on his complete lack of credentials in terms of EDH, many players from other formats think Maro is an idiot. It is a pretty common sentiment to hate on the direction of MTG since Maro took control of card design.
Here's where will differ. I love EDH (Commander) and feel that the current rules have a simple elegance to them. While I agree that his lack of EDH play undermines his authority in this specific format, I think a vague notion of "a pretty common sentiment" and "many players think Maro is an idiot" are horrible arguments and add nothing. Players should keep their personal problems with individuals at home. A logical discussion of format rules has no place for that.
"You may include any card in your deck that can be cast using solely the colors in your Commander's identity"?
Or is that too wordy?
As has been pointed out by others in this thread, that allows Phyrexian mana to be used in any deck. Birthing Pod and Phyrexian Metamorph for all! After all, they can be cast solely with any color and a bit of life. or do we now have to add another rule to rule them out because that definitely defeats the spirit of color identity?
Angel of Despair may have recently been outclassed, but it will remain my favorite card - awesome art and a powerful ETB ability in colors than allow it to be recurred either by blinking or through reanimation, all stapled to a big flying body. What's not to love?
My decks (at least the ones I remember):
(bolded italics are among my favorite to play)
mono-W
Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile
mono-U
Kira, Great Glass Spinner
PAUPER Talrand, Army in a Can-trip
Baral - Next Game Retribution
Jalira, Rigged Polymorph
mono-B
Maralen combo
Kuon's Slaughter-House
Toshiro Umazawa EDH infect
Toshiro Umazowa Tiny Leaders
Shirei discard
Syr Konrad, the Grim
Ayara Generic Black Goodstuff
Horobi, Everything is Death
mono-R
Purphoros, God of the Forge
Zada, Hedron Grinder
mono-G
Ezuri elfballG
mono-colorless
none
Azorius-WU
Brago blink
Errant and Giada Tribal Flying
Orzhov-WB
Teysa, Orzhov Scion
Ghost Council ETB
Athreos [Pauper]
Athreos Tiny Leaders
Vish-Kal, Bleeder
Karlov Soul Sisters
Athreos graveyard value
Selenia Suicide Switch
Tesa Karlov death triggers
Lurrus Combo
Elas il-Kor (Pauper commander)
Liesa lifedrain
Eriette Aura Drain
Boros-WR
Aurelia, the Warmonger
Brion Stoutarm steal/sac
Depala Tiny Leaders
Feather spellslinger
Wyleth Voltron
Brian Stoutarm Recursion Fling
Feather Boros Blink
Selesnya-WG
Captain Sisay hatebear toolbox
Sigarda, Enchantress Voltron
Trostani token
Karametra creature ramp
Emmara Budget Vehicles
Kutzil Peasant commander (No rares)
Dimir-UB
Oona mill
Lazav, Dimir Mastermind - tribal Clones & Copies
Yuriko's Ninjas
Lazav, the Multifarious
Runo Stromkirk
Kels, Fightfixer
Umbris Dimir Flicker
Tegwyll Flash Faeries
Izzet-UR
Jhoira suspend
Mizzix
Balmor Peasant commander (No rares)
Simic-UG
Momir Vig toolbox
Edric
Ezuri, Claw of Progress
Thrasios, Triton Hero
Tatyova, Budget Druid
Tatyova, no budget limit (less fun than the budget build)
Esix token clones
Kumena Fish
Rakdos-BR
Wort, Boggart Auntie
Rakdos, Lord of Riots
Vial Smasher the Fierce
Grusilda, Monster Masher
Bladewing the Risen
Anje Falkenrath reanimator
Kardur Rakdos Blink
Zagras Deathtouch Pingers
Prosper's Treasure Chest
Syrix tribal Phoenix
Falthis & Kediss budget
Garna, Bloodfist (Pauper commander)
Garna, Bloodfist (Peasant commander)
Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin
Judith Deathslinger
Golgari-BG
Savra, Queen of Slaughter
Sisters of Combolicious Death
Glissa's Shiny Toys
Jarad, Golgari Bleeder
The Gitrog Monster
Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons
Gorm and Virtus Half-life tribal
Slimefoot saprolings
Falthis/Halana tribal deathtouch
Dina Death By a Thousand Cuts
Suralf Budget
Baba Lysaga
Lathril Elves
Skullbriar Voltron
Glissa Sunslayer Counter Removal
Shelob Spider Tribal
Gruul-RG
Atarka, World Render
Omnath, Locus of Rage
Ruric Thar, the Punisher
Hallar, the Firefletcher
Wort spellslinger
Neyith Fight
Wulfgar Attack-Harmonicon
Esper-WUB
Merieke Ri Berit theft
Sharuum
Sydri Tiny Leaders
Zur Astral Slide
Aminatou Miracle Blink
Alela, Artful Provacateur
Oloro All Removal
Sidar Jabari Knight tribal
Sefris Dungeon/Blink
Grixis-UBR
Thraximundar tribal assassins
Nicol Bolas, King of Ping
Marchesa, Queen of Thieves
Nekusar, Wheels of Death
Mairsil the Pretender
Bolas the Ravager Archenemy
Inalla Wizards
Obeka Sundial
Ashnod Sacrifice
Jund-BRG
Shattergang Brothers
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King
Beamtown Bullies
Slimefoot and Squee Dragon Reanimator
Ognis Haste Tribal
Naya-WRG
Mayael the Anima
Uril, the Miststalker voltron
Marisi, Breaker of the Coil
Hazezon Desert-fall
Shalai and Hallar
Bant-WUG
Flying Purple Hippo Hugs
Rafiq, Bant Swordmaster
Roon, Blink-Rhino
Rubinia/Derevi Bant Enchantress
Chulane
Shanna Life-Draw
Sultai-UBG
Muldrotha, Value Engine
Yarok ETB
Otrimi mutate
Zaxara X-spells
Volrath, Self-Replicating Virus
Mardu-WBR
Kaalia big fliers
Alesha
Queen Marchesa monarch
Edgar Markov vampires
Mathas targets everyone
Queen Marchesa "You did this to yourself"
Isshin Double Attacks
Abzan-WBG
Doran Tiny Leaders
Doran, the Game-Changer (Calvinball)
Anafenza +1/+1 counters
Karador, Ghost Chieftain graveyard value
Karador Shadowborn Apostles
Kathril Keyword Soup
Temur-URG
Riku copies
Animar
Yasova theft/sac
Jeskai-WUR
Zedruu group slug
Shu Yun Tiny Leaders
Four Color
Thrasios/Vial Smasher Lands Matter (secret commanders are Gitrog, Tatyova, Angry Omnath)
Yidris Cycle-Cascade
WUBRG
Scion of the Fun-Dragons
Horde of Notions elementals/goodstuff
Five Color Planeswalker Proliferation
Child of Alara destroy everything
Child of Alara Gods of Theros
Karona, False God forced bloodbath
Reaper King - changelings and lords
Strange Bedfellows (Politics)
Sliver Overlord
Ramos, Dragon Engine color value
O'Kagachi's Revenge: This Time It's Personal
5-Color Tribal Alternate Wincon
Niv-Mizzet ReBlinked
Crouching Tazri, Hidden Zada
Kenrith, Activated-Ability tribal
Sisay GateShrines
Jodah Legends
I'm sure there are other compulsive deckbuilders out there - how many decks have you built?
The red and white decks are amazing, head and shoulders above the other three.
Teferi, Temporal Archmage (10/10) - You have no idea how close I was to scoring him 11/10, but the cmc left me at a solid 10. Superfriends likes card draw, and untapping 4 permanents is awesome, especially if you can double your mana production and have The Chain Veil or Contagion Engine in play. The ultimate is a dream come true.
Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury (7/10) - Freyalise actually scored better than I expected. Her first two abilities are pretty good - a mana producing token or a Naturalize are always welcome. The trouble is I couldn't picture running this over Aura Shards, which turns every token into a naturalize without costing loyalty. And the ultimate is too variable - sometimes it does nothing, other times it draws lots of cards. I love her for elfball, but I just can't justify cutting anything else to make room in superfriends.
Daretti, Scrap Savant (6/10) - A splashable piece of card filtering, which can be helpful even if it isn't straight up card draw. The second ability is a bit weak because even though we may want to get artifacts back, we don't run enough to guarantee that we can use this ability. Recursion on Rings and our other toys is nice, but overall, his focus just isn't along the theme of this deck.
Nahiri, the Lithomancer (5.5/10) - This girl knows what she wants to do, but unfortunately, it isn't play with other planeswalkers. Awesome in an equipment deck, mediocre in superfriends. She basically just spawns out tokens for us and maybe eventually gives us a sword.
Ob Nixilis of the Black Death (5/10) - It seems sad to score a walker who makes 5/5 flying tokens so low, but I;m not impressed by Ob. His first ability doesn't affect the board and will just draw attention. His second is awesome, provided we do not have Humility in play (imagine paying loyalty and life for a 1/1). And his ultimate is somewhat lacking - either we sac a 1/1 for minimal benefit (I'd rather Skullclamp them), or we are punching a big hole in our defenses.
Anyone feel otherwise?
Nice decklist. You've got some great tutoring in there. I'll chime in on a few of your potential adds/drops.
Collective Restraint is probably not worth adding, as it only protects you but not your walkers.
Omniscience can be amazing, but if you cut Mirari's Wake, you're going to have a harder time casting it (short of Rectoring it).
Praetor's Grasp and Villainous Wealth both serve the same purpose and, while good cards, may not fit the walker theme as much.
You have two walkers you want to add and one you want to take out - maybe do a straight swap one-for-one.
Make a token artifact copy of any creature in your graveyard, then (possibly after combat) swap the doomed token to reanimate any artifact in your graveyard.
I want to put both in a Purphoros deck along with Myr Battlesphere and friends.
As for the "lack of imagination and ego," I'd say that creating the concept of color identity is a sign of imagination (not a lack of), and your off-hand comment about common sense changes strikes me as ego. What makes your loose interpretation/outright destruction of color identity any more common sense than the current rules?
As for hybrid:
The rules of Magic: the Gathering state a hybrid card is both colors at all times. You can Pyroblast Dimir Guildmage even if cast for only BB. You cannot Terror Divinity of Pride even if it was cast for WWWWW. The cards are both colors; therefore, your mono-white deck is no longer mono-white if it contains a black card, regardless of whether that card can be cast for white. The same argument of "but I could cast it" could be used to justify running ANY card in a mono-W deck as long as you include Celestial Dawn as one of the 99. The same line of thinking could be extrapolated to allow ANY card in mono-B reanimator deck because they can get it into play. That would be dumb. EDH/Commander is defined in part by the color identity of its commander. There is no need to change the rule; if you don't like it, there are plenty of other formats without the color identity rule - in fact, every other format falls into this category.
Certainly the cleanest version proposed in this thread, even if it dos allow flipcards to break color identity. I still disagree with this ever becoming official, but for a house rule, it is pretty well-written.
As has been pointed out by others in this thread, that allows Phyrexian mana to be used in any deck. Birthing Pod and Phyrexian Metamorph for all! After all, they can be cast solely with any color and a bit of life. or do we now have to add another rule to rule them out because that definitely defeats the spirit of color identity?