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The best way to build a hefty Commander pack of cards inMagic : The Gatheringis to stick to the most played and powerful strategies . insert on June 17 , 2011 , the mega - democratic Commander format , also know as older Dragon Highland ( EDH ) , espouse a gameplay mechanic developed by Adam Staley in the nineties and Sheldon Menery in the 2000s .
The data formatting consists of actor using 100 - board decks , with each menu ( minus basic lands ) appear only once . Players choose for a legendary puppet or Planeswalker to command their army , and recruit the field using the Command Zone .
In 2011 , five Precon Commander pack of cards were introduced , witheach deck work up around anMtGCommanderand a specific mechanically skillful base . While these are smashing entry points into Commanders , they are often build suboptimally and take a peck of tweak to cook . Another pick is to simply eschew the Commander Precons and jump right intothe most encounter Commander strategies in the format — we’re using the always greatEDHREC.comas our elementary rootage for this data . Plus , many of these are very low-priced !
20Nekusar, The Mindrazer ($1.02 Market Price on TCGPlayer)
Reinventing The Wheel
Named after the classical Wheel of Fortune identity card , so - called Wheel pack of cards aredesigned to make your resister discard and redraw their deck entirely , stymieing any scheme they might seek to construct . Nekusar can function as an excellent Commander for a Wheel deck .
Although relatively weak on his own , Nekusar ’s ability induce each opposer to take harm each clock time they draw a menu . It also forces them to soak up an redundant card during their draw phase , which intend an extra point of hurt each twist .
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Over time , this will also force antagonist to discard during their cleansing phases . With the singleton decks take by the Commander data formatting , they ’ll finally have to get disembarrass of certain card central to their strategies , leaving them unable to wager how they want . Nekusar is a sinewy commander , which makes him unpopular , so be prepared to deal with some frustration .
Some pop inclusion in a Nekusar , The Mindrazer Deck might be :
19Esika, God of the Tree // The Prismatic Bridge ($16.77 Market Price on TCGPlayer)
Two Commanders In One, With A Powerful Effect On Each
Although Esika , God of the Tree is1GG on the front side , it costs WUBRG on its back , which means it has that rarified 5 - colouring Commander identity that makes pack of cards - building a joy . The commander is a Vigilant 1/4 creature on its front side with a mana jerk effect that extends to other Legendary creatures its controller has in bid .
On its back side , Esika becomes The Prismatic Bridge . This set aside its controller to flip cards off the top of their library until they attain a creature or planeswalker card and put it into play for spare .
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The most popular variant of the Esika , God of the Tree strategy is a5 - people of colour planeswalker deck satisfy to the rim with both mana acceleration and fixing—5 color is n’t free!—and gamestate - buckle planeswalkers that can take over a Commander biz tight . It ’s also a popular strategy because it immediately increases the story of politics at a board , with planeswalkers able to fix most threats . Esika players can lock like mercenaries of kind before deliver the goods the game on their own if left untouched .
Some democratic inclusions in an Esika , God of the Tree // The Prismatic Bridge deck of cards might be :
18Shorikai, Genesis Engine ($4.64 Market Price on TCGPlayer)
Crew Gigantic Vehicles While Refilling Your Hand
Shorikai , Genesis Engine is the most popular Commander for the vehicle scheme , which sees deck playact the sinewy artifacts ( and brute , when crewed ) alongside enablers like cheap creature to crew them and synergistic remotion and dislocation . Shorikai , Genesis Engine is an 8/8 creature for just 2WU , but it requires 8 top executive to crew it , so it ’s not always able to attack .
Its effect alone is splendid , though — for just 1 mana and tapping it , players can disembowel 2 carte and make a 1/1 Pilot relic . This token works as though it has 3 powerfulness , accelerating the timeline on attack with Shorikai .
Shorikai is most popular as a U / W restraint / combo deck , which means players have access to many choice to fill up out their bender alongside vehicle . antagonistic trick complements an aggressive play - to - the - board scheme , while some reanimation - vogue effect that point artifacts specifically give Shorikai a combo finish if player want it .
Some popular inclusions in a Shorikai , Genesis Engine deck might be :
17Sauron, The Dark Lord ($14.55 Market Price on TCGPlayer)
Building An Army Worthy Of Mordor
Released as part of theUniverses Beyond : The Lord of the Ringsexpansion , Sauron , the Dark Lord is one of two Sauron Commander cards in its stage set . This version is far higher-ranking , though . For one affair , it ’s much cheap to cast and can make out a clean bit of legal injury with his 7/6 statline . Perhapsmore important is his power to Ward , which prevents opponents from targeting him without first sacrificing legendary artifacts or creatures . This exorbitant price means he ’ll stay in play almost constantly .
Most importantly , though , whenever an opponent casts any tour , Sauron can take the time to cumulate an Orc United States Army . The power of his United States Army will grow over time , eventually flooding the battlefield with hordes of Uruk - hai . He can also toss out and draw his hand whenever the Ring tempts him , let in when his army deals scathe to a instrumentalist .
Some democratic inclusions in a Sauron , the Dark Lord Deck might be :
16Kaalia of the Vast ($13.81 Market Price on TCGPlayer)
Demons, Dragons, Angels & More Unite Under One Commander
Kaalia of the Vast is a popular Commander because she ’s a combination of several exciting mechanics . Kaalia is a 1RWB Human Cleric creature with a clean unimpressive statline of 2/2 and the Flying keyword .
Where she really shine is in her power , which says that whenever she attack , her accountant may put an Angel , Demon , or Dragon creature card from their bridge player now onto the battlefield , wiretap and attacking the same opponent Kaalia was attacking . That ’s an immensely hefty ability pass on the wildly impactful cards in those Kindred grinder - type — Angels , Demons , and Dragons are some of the most game - changing creature usable , peculiarly when they ’re expensive .
Kaalia allow her controllercheat on mana and get those wight into caper as early as Turn 4(without incline and with a Haste provider , like Lightning Greaves ) and even sooner with mana quickening , like Sol Ring . She ’s also a not bad excuse to play a favorite gigantic creature for loose that normally might not make sense to waste mana on .
Some democratic inclusions in a Kaalia deck might be :
15Gishath, Sun’s Avatar ($4.90 Market Price on TCGPlayer)
Swarm The Field With Dinosaur Creatures
Gishath , Sun ’s Avatar is a Naya indistinguishability Commander with the Dinosaur Avatar sub - case . It has a caboodle of keywords — Vigiliance , Trample , and Haste — and it has anaggressive 7/6 statline , though it does cost an expensive 5RGW.The key to a Gishath deck is in its power , which states that whenever it deals combat terms to a musician , its controller reveals that many cards from the top of their depository library and may put any number of Dinosaur creatures bring out into play .
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Once again , cheating big creatures into play is a winning strategy for any deck . dinosaur are often aggressive , gamey - office / temper puppet with armed combat on the nous . This type of deckbenefits vastly from removal magic spell that aid its tool get into the red zoneand slew damage to opponent to actuate their power . But with a plenty of tramplers , dealing that harm might not even necessitate blockers out of the style beforehand .
Some pop inclusions in a Gishath , Sun ’s Avatar Deck might be :
14Jodah, the Unifier ($2.40 Market Price on TCGPlayer)
Cascade Into An Endless Flow of Legendary Permanents
As a 5/5 creature for 5 mana monetary value , Jodah , the Unifier ’s stats are n’t as bad as others on this list , but they ’re mostly irrelevant for his strategy . Jodah express thatall Legendary creatures controlled by its proprietor get + X/+X , where X is the routine of Legendary creatures operate by that player . Jodah also " cascades"—when draw a Legendary patch with Jodah in play , the thespian exiles posting from the top of their library until revealing a fabled spell of a lower mana price and casts it for free .
fabled lineup inMagic : The Gatheringare powerful — the Legendary grinder - type mean only one of them can survive on a side of the battlefield at a time , which generally means they ’re too muscular to have multiple in play . Jodah assembles a vital mass of Legendary permanents very quickly if left unchecked , stream the Commander battlefield with a hatful of in effect creatures and other non - land permanents like planeswalkers , artifacts , and enchantments .
Some pop inclusion body in a Jodah , the Unifier pack of cards might be :
13Krenko, Mob Boss ($1.22 Market Price on TCGPlayer)
Swarm the Battlefield With One of MTG’s Most Endearing Typals
Krenko , Mob Boss is a Commander for players who want good , clean playfulness with one of the most democratic creature submarine - types inMagic : The Gatheringhistory — Goblins . Krenko is a 2RR creature with a 3/3 statline , and an ability as simple as it is dangerous : tap Krenko produce X 1/1 red Goblin creature tokens , where X is the number of Goblins that the player control .
It ’s so straightforward equate to many other complicated Commander strategy that it might seem underpowered as a termination , but that ’s simply untrue . Krenko , Mob Boss deck excel at put insistence on the field of honor and maintaining it .
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Once the drove gets rolling , it takes a carpet sweeper on the other side to stem the tide . Protecting Krenko , Mob Boss is paramount to this deck ’s strategy , as is take out the balance of the deck of cards with cheap Goblin threat and payoffs that make them much more than 1/1 threats . It ’s a rewarding strategy and a refreshing departure from some of the over - the - top ones we ’ve featured in this list thus far .
Some democratic card in a Krenko , Mob Boss deck of cards might be :
12Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver ($14.66 Market Price on TCGPlayer)
Swarm the Battlefield With An Undead Menace
Shockingly , the Zombie warrior Wilhelt is , in fact , a Zombie typal Commander card , and a right one at that . Wilhelt , the Rotcleaver is a 2UB Commander puppet with a3/3 statline and some muscular ability for Zombie fancier . Wilthelt put forward that whenever another Zombie that its instrumentalist controls dies , as long as it did n’t have decayed , create a 2/2 smuggled Zombie creature token with decayed . At the root of its controller ’s end whole tone , Wilhelt also lets them sacrifice a Zombie they control to draw a card .
Wilhelt produces an endless current of zombi spirit and also tease draw with his secondary power , which means he ’s entirely ego - sustaining as a Commander . Just like their well type B - movie horror opposite number , MTG zombi spirit are at their good in a radical , slow ammassing a lethal horde . Cheap Zombie threats that can then be turn into fuel for posting draw and disintegrate Zombie tokens make Wilhelt a unyielding terror , one that require to be addressed too soon in a Commander secret plan lest thing get out of control .
Some popular cards in a Wilhelt , the Rotcleaver pack of cards might be :
11Edgar Markov ($40.79 Market Price on TCGPlayer)
A Powerful Vampire Lord Who Doesn’t Even Need To Be In Play
Edgar Markov is the king of the Vampires typal Commander deck . He has the powerfulEminenceability , which triggers even when he ’s in the Command Zone to squeeze plank State . Edgar Markov is a 3RWB lamia Knight creature with Eminence , which state that whenever its controller disgorge another Vampire spell , as long as Edgar Markov is either on the battlefield or in the Command Zone , it creates a 1/1 blackened Vampire wight token .
As if that were n’t enough , Edgar Markov also has First Strike , Haste and the effect that when it attacks , its controller puts a +1/+1 rejoinder on each lamia they manipulate . Edgar Markov deck are flexible because of its Eminence ability , so protecting the Vampire Knight is n’t necessarily as critical as with other Commander scheme .
While Edgar Markov ’s other power definitely makes attack with it successfully worthful , justcasting Vampire trance in general will amass a favorable board state . For that understanding , make a deck of cards filled with tatty , in effect Vampires that then help Sir Ernst Boris Chain into bigger threats — or become them themselves once Edgar attacks once or doubly — is life-sustaining .
Some democratic circuit card in an Edgar Markov deck might be :
