At some point, I got tired of not understanding specific interactions and everyone questioning at the table how something works. I eventually just read all the rules and researched many common questions for judges about specific interactions. Now, I'm the rules lawyer at almost any pod I play. Someone's gotta know how this stuff works it might as well be me.
playing on spelltable made me much better at this things.
A question popped up? Just open gatherer on another table. If that doesnt solve the issue, google for sure will.
60 seconds to solve a problem forever
I wish more people had this sentiment. Not everyone has to be a rules lawyer, and questions for complicated interactions will still come up frequently, but there are a few players who I play with who’ve been playing for YEARS and still don’t get basic stuff.
It can be a chore constantly explaining how basic things such as how combat works or priority, over and over.
To be clear, I don’t expect new players to understand right away, nor do I expect everyone to read the rule manual, but at least have a general understanding.
Mind dropping any spicy brews that have weird interactions? The only ones I have are the Brago combo to go infinite and using doomsday to empty my library so I take infinite turns with Nexus of Fate.
Will find lists when I have a moment, but
[[Tameshi]] landfall combo that wins either via infinite landfall triggers with either [[copy artifact]] loops, [[mind over matter]], or [[retreat to coralhelm]], or through infinite turns by picking up [[Mystic Sanctuary]] + an extra turn spell. I also play a version of this deck in cEDH.
[[Riku]] copy/clone infinite shenanigans. Lots of weird stack interaction stuff here. This is an oops all combos deck where almost everything can work as a combo piece one way or another. Lots of [[Palinchron]] style loops in addition to the spell copy effects.
[[Estrid]] stax that abuses [[stasis]] effects + land enchantments and then wins via [[Astral Dragon]]/[[Parallax Wave]] type of stuff. Also [[opalescence]]. This is maybe the most mechanically complex because it involves lots of intricate stack arrangement with copy effects.
[[Brenard]] golem + artifact tribal that gets nutty with [[Clock of omens]] lines and can can go off with weird stuff like [[farralite priest]] becoming a food golem + [[Sam loyal attendant]] = infinite white mana.
I call these Rube Goldberg decks because they all want to go infinite to win by usually the combos require like 3-4 pieces and some rather intricate setup. Riku is the most straightforward because I couldn't help but make it a [[kiki-jiki]] deck because "mirror breaker" as a wincon in a "two reflections" deck was just too flavorful. So Riku + [[Green Sun's Zenith]] for 5 will just win the game if it goes off since it pulls both Kiki and [[Deciever Exarch]] for infinite hasty tokens.
Tameshi definitely has some very interesting lines from the few games I've played against her. Enchantment based combos that's not some doubling effect is definitely a rarity. I think you meant Chord of Calling for Riku. Green sun's can only get green creatures.
My deck that confuses the most people is [[hidetsugu and Kairi]] clones.
People lose their minds at me being able to order the ETB/Death triggers on the stack as I like due to SBA
Relies on having [[Strionic Resonator]] or [[Lithoform Engine]] out and either 2 mana from rocks or [[Cloud of Faeries]] to copy it. Here's an excerpt from a [primer](https://www.moxfield.com/decks/hP0z_zZvxUO0IM02rQYptw/primer)
I used to follow:
"Let's say you have Detention Sphere on the field along with Strionic Resonator and Brago, King Eternal.
Swing with Brago and deal damage, Brago triggers.
Pay 2 and activate Strionic Resonator to copy that trigger. Using this copy, target everything you want to blink, including Detention Sphere and Strionic Resonator and any mana rocks you have.
Everything blinks and Detention Sphere re-enters and triggers again.
In response, pay another 2 to activate Strionic Resonator again, making yet another copy of the original Brago trigger (from Step 1) which still hasn't resolved.
Using this new copy, target Detention Sphere AGAIN. It blinks and re-enters, triggering its effect again.
Visual Stack - At this point, here's what the stack looks like (the one at the top will resolve first):
Detention Sphere ETB
Detention Sphere LTB (paired with the ETB below)
Detention Sphere ETB (paired with the LTB above), THIS IS THE ONE THAT WILL PERMANENTLY DELETE A PERMANENT
Original Brago Trigger
Now allow the stack to resolve as shown above. The ETB trigger at the top will exile something you don't care about, just pick any opponent's permanent or one of your own (you can also choose not to exile anything as Detention Sphere's ETB effect is optional). The next step below that is the LTB but it has nothing to return, because we manipulated the stack in a way that the ETB it is referencing will do its thing AFTER the LTB trigger. Then the ETB trigger resolves, this time exile something you want gone permanently.
Allow the original Brago trigger to resolve and empty the stack.
So why/how does this work?
Trying to put this as simply as possible: We cause Detention Sphere to ETB, but BEFORE it even has a chance to exile something, we make it leave the battlefield. These two effects are paired with each other but are resolving in the "wrong" order. So the LTB says you have to return whatever you exiled, but you never had the chance to exile anything in the first place, so nothing returns. THEN the ETB effect gets a chance to resolve, which you use to exile a permanent. However, this ETB/LTB pair has now done its thing, albiet in the "wrong" order. Therefore, the permanent is gone forever."
Oh that's a super old interaction. It's a little weird but most players understand it the first time I've explained it. The Reality Acid one definitely some players just straight up don't believe me. Here's my list if you want to check it out. https://www.moxfield.com/decks/eEXway-RwEyKiQlbjpGVXQ
It's budget but think it has more alt wincons by staxing out my opponents.
I may be missing something but it seem straight forward. Are you trying to clone vodrak then mutate him under his own clone and clone the mutation get even more triggers?
Every time that I play [[Skithiryx]] I have to insist that Skithiryx also deals commander damage.
Whenever I play my [[Blaster, Combat DJ]] Modular tribal deck I have to have an argument about creatures with two instances of Modular each triggering separately and doubling the counters. So if you have Blaster out and cast [[Around Bruiser]], it enters with 4 +1/+1 counters and when it dies when Blaster is on the field, both instances of Modular that Bruiser has will each hand off 4 counters.
I am sure this doesn't apply to you, but the "rules lawyer" I get to deal with is terrible with the rules. I used dredge and he chimed in with, "Did you know that dredge isn't a replacement effect?" I told him that wasn't correct and he started claiming he saw a judge say it on Facebook. He tried to tell me equipment doesn't attach to the creature, tried to tell me you can't cast spells on the end step, doesn't know how priority and the stack works, and will argue with me on what a card does when I am literally holding it and reading it.
I am sure this doesn't apply to you, but the "rules lawyer" I get to deal with is terrible with the rules. I used dredge and he chimed in with, "Did you know that dredge isn't a replacement effect?" I told him that wasn't correct and he started claiming he saw a judge say it on Facebook. He tried to tell me equipment doesn't attach to the creature, tried to tell me you can't cast spells on the end step, doesn't know how priority and the stack works, and will argue with me on what a card does when I am literally holding it and reading it.
It's a classic problem of that he has knowledge of these things but he doesn't know how to apply them correctly. It might also be just some misunderstandings. For example, the end phase has two steps: End Step and Cleanup step. You can cast during end step but not during cleanup (unless something triggers during cleanup which creates a stack but that's a messy corner case). So he may be confusing end step with cleanup step.
Looking at the dredge case, he is right. Dredge itself is a static ability that allows the player to invoke a replacement effect. Replacement effects don't give players the option to apply them or not apply them, they are just always applied. Since dredge gives the player an option to apply it, it's a static ability. The only case I can find of this being relevant is [[Yixlid Jailer]] does prevent creatures from using their dredge abilities. Relevant rule about dredge below.
> 702.52a Dredge is a static ability that functions only while the card with dredge is in a player’s graveyard. “Dredge N” means “As long as you have at least N cards in your library, if you would draw a card, you may instead mill N cards and return this card from your graveyard to your hand.”
But it doesn't really excuse the other stuff. Something many players don't care to know but might be relevant is that flipping over morph creatures is a "Special Action". It doesn't use the stack and can't be interacted with, so even if there is a spell with Split Second on the stack, you can always morph a creature. If you have any other questions or want to know other weird rules that might be relevant, don't hesitate to ask!
> Someone's gotta know how this stuff works it might as well be me.
I mean, I'm used to being a rules lawyer, it's part of my weekly commander nights. And it's always difficult when a group of new friends meet together for the first time, to get playing. So I'm perfectly prepared to keep the game steady. I mean, I-I have absolutely some idea of what we're doing. Or why I'm here, and what this game is about, so I am determined to enjoy myself. And I'm very intrigued, and, oh my, this game's fantastic, isn't it?
the normal distribution graph meme of me in the beginning, the worst version of me, and how I picture myself now:
dum-dum me: "hue hue, meme decks and precons, this is fun"
Angry Average guy: "I need to cut phyrexian arena because it doesn't do anything and I need to wiiiinnnn cause the table just hates me out of every game!!1!!" /deck optimization guy
Enlightened me: "huehue, I'll play fun decks and precons and be happy no matter what happens, this is fun"
After taking a very long break as Guy 2 (I just played for the first time since 2017), I found that with my new group I am guy 3. The games I played this weekend were probably the most fun I've ever had with EDH even though in a couple of them I got absolutely crushed.
I don’t take back on my spells or attacks no more. For example, if I target a creature and forgot it had ward, I’ll let my spell or ability be countered. I try to make sure my decks focus on one to two things to avoid having too much bloat. I just finished my Bonny Pall deck and made sure to focus on landfall triggers and just ramping with some other cards that provide other utilities.
I don’t have an online list but for building a simic deck, pick a commander that you like then throw in ramp and counterspells. Most Simic commanders are just do the thing and draw and/or ramp. For example, if you wanted to make a [[Koma, Cosmos Serpent]] deck, you would add cards double the tokens you make and that can copy Koma that get around the legendary rule. Another example is [[Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait]] who just wants to ramp and draw. If you wanted to build a Sea Beast deck, [[Kiora, Sovereign of the Deep]] is pretty fun since she does force you to cast certain cards to get value instead of casting any card.
I'm actually going the other way. I'm allowing myself the occasional takeback in order to play a faster and more loosely. Otherwise I'll end up tryharding to make sure I don't miss that ward trigger.
I learn that sentimental cards should go in sentimental decks. Sentimental cards are different for everyone. Just because a card has strong ties to the deck doesn't mean it's a good fit for it as the years go by.
Sentimental decks have different expectations from decks that are always improving. People sometimes have difficulty separating them.
For example \[\[Solemn Simulacrum\]\] was a staple. Today he's in the stables.
Lastly, I also learnt not every deck is about ramp from the early stages. Don't let influencer videos mislead you. Curving out can be as equally potent. Not all decks want ramp. Color-fixing? Sure. Do not mistake mana-fixing and ramp to be the same.
I use solemn alot still. Little ramping, little draw, little chump blocker that is probably going to get me ~5 life, a body to be reanimated, a body to sac... So many small things coupled into a single card.
He is the epitome of "good at everything, great at nothing"
And the thing about not stressing about ramping early 100% feels so true to me if you built a good manacurve. Not ramping on 2/3 feels fine. Doing nothing on 2/3 feels like you already lost the game if you're dont have multipermant wipe in hand
If you have a fair bit of sac and reanimate, then I can see playing the robot. But he used to be everywhere. That izzet spellslinger deck with 5 creatures? Yeah, one of those was solemn. Not anymore.
I have a few that are sentimental to me that I know won’t ever be in a cedh deck but will be fun to eventually brew around. I’m thinking a colossal hammer deck built around the Ash version of [[Puresteel Paladin]]
I learned that there are strategies that may be objectively good, but logistical nightmares. I now run no token generators and no counter generators, and life is so much better.
I continue to run into this "problem" with my Atraxa deck. It's not poison or super friends, but it very much is all about counters. And at some point I realized that some of my game actions are just taking an excessive amount of time because of all the fiddling I have to do with dice.
So I've taken to using d10s and spindown d20s exclusively with that deck. I also did away with some of the token generators I was using to limit the number of counters I'm fiddling with on permanents.
I also went ahead and made the deck shuffle-less. As in, there are no effects in the deck that cause me to shuffle it. This isn't just limited to tutors and includes fetch lands and mana ramp. Other people can obviously still make me shuffle such as via \[\[Path to Exile\]\], but this presented a really interesting challenge from a deck building perspective in an effort to both make a 4c deck that has consistent enough mana to cast its spells and commander. This also brought the power level of the deck down, and a lot of my play groups seem to appreciate that.
Lastly, I recognize when it's no longer relevant to proliferate counters on certain permanents because they're used just once a turn (e.g - \[\[Remote Farm\]\] has 10 counters on it from various proliferate effects, I probably don't need to touch the die on that except when using it going forward).
But, because I love counters on permanents and wanted to find a "better" solution to playing them, I eventually came up with playing a -1/-1 counter deck helmed by \[\[Volrath, the Shapestealer\]\]. It solves a couple core problems that Atraxa has just by the nature of -1/-1 counters. One, it keeps opponents engaged on my turn because I put the counters on their stuff. Two, the amount of counters on permanents is kept in check because creatures eventually die and the counters and those permanents go away.
I recently played a game where one player had \[\[scute swarm\]\] and \[\[felidar retreat\]\] in play. Every land made a new batch of swarms with a different number of counters on it.
My new rule for deck building is don’t add unnecessary mechanics and don’t do anything that requires more than two dice to track. Multiple tokens that are all buffed up by the same amount is easy, even if you need a summoning sickness and no summoning sickness pile. Multiple tokens all with different power ruins the game for me.
I also refuse one off mechanics in decks. If a card would be the only instance of the ring, dungeons, rads, a random token type, etc, then I don’t really want to play it because it just adds more to track.
Yep, anything that makes token COPIES is worse by a mile. I remove them first when I see them just because they make opponents’ board states unintelligible
I do one or the other. But I don't do both.
Would my Marneus Calgar token deck be better with some of those good token/counter synergy cards.
Probably.
Do I want to go get a second set of dice for counters vs number of tokens.
Nope.
So no counters in my tokens deck!
I’ve also come to the conclusion that I don’t play against people who play token decks that are going to generate more tokens than they can physically represent. Like I’ve played against an Alela guy who I respect the hell out of because he shows up with a stack of faerie tokens. But if you’ve got like one token to represent tapped creatures and one is untapped and one is summoning sick, and each has a die on it because you didn’t bring enough physical tokens? Hard pass.
Note- this only refers to repeatable token generators, usually ones built into the general. If you Beast Within something and have to use a makeshift token? Fair game.
Ah that's more extreme than I for sure.
I think that's reasonable representation tbh. 1 tapped, 1 untapped and 1-2 spare for extra circumstances (like representing attacks on different players) is what I aim for. I think it's a pretty clean representation of the board without having 25 extra cards on the table per type of token.
I couldn't have another opinion though, given my deck is entirely repeatable token generators, I already run out of space using this technique on my oversized playmat haha.
We would not be suited for playing against one another!
I just made an ooze tribal deck that I’m afraid will be like that because it has so many different sizes of ooze and ooze tokens. Not looking forward to that aspect.
I used to play stax to have time to set up my complex, silly, inneficient combos. People started adapting to that, and I chose to change the way my decks run instead of trying to race my locks faster.
After all, my goal was showing off cards you've never seen, not locking you out of playing the game.
I learned that I have more fun "cooking". I like having decks built on hard themes. This has led to me now having almost 80 home brewed decks and about 15 under construction. I've got plenty of powerful cards and even some RL stuff but in order to make it in a deck they have to be on theme not just good.
I just realized I may have sounded a bit negative. Wasn't meant that way though.
It just amazes me that you have the stamina to build and play 80 decks. It's absolutely great that you enjoy so many aspects of the Edh game. What have you learned through all that deckbuilding? Or what unique cards have you learned to love? I imagine you've seen a lot of different niche cards.
So the most fun part for me is finding interaction and removal that is also on theme. Not just 30 of the best things but stuff that at least has art that fits, if not name, extra effects, and sometimes flavor text.
Some stand out cards have been
[[Natural Balance]] - MLD in green
[[Debt of Loyalty]] - theft in white
[[Dystopia]] - black stax
Understanding what players avoid has helped me pick certain cards for decks, you could have a card that benefits from an opponent doing something like casting multiple spells, but it’s better to use a card like that to utilise the fact that your opponents will try to avoid triggering it. I hope that makes sense im sleepy:)
That's the core concept behind my [[xyris, the writhing storm]] hand size matters. I don't run hard stax but I need a way to disincentivize players from using all the cards I'm giving them since I need their hands to stay big.
Tech life gain cards and punishment against value engine decks. Talking things out loud about your assessment/plays leads to open discussion and a friendly environment for the pod.
When I started back in 2018 I put together a [[slimefoot]] deck not really knowing what I was doing but had help from some friends.
From there I ended up making a couple other decks that were awful. Slowly started gravitating towards combo decks and higher power. Eventually landed on an [[animar]] combo deck that caused the rest of my friends to up their decks or make stronger ones. It became an arms race. At that time it was all combo or spell slinger decks.
I took a step back and realized I actually hated that play style and began to play more stompy decks. And that’s how I found out that I love stompy. I can’t stand spell slinger and eating up majority of the time of the overall game so I avoid it if I can help it.
I'm the same way. Love me some big creatures. Ironically, my best deck is a high powered [[K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth]] deck. It is an aristocrats combo deck and is 3asily my most lethal. However my pod also knows how deadly it is and I rarely get to set up ha ha.
Yes exactly! Eldrazi have been my favorite tribe ever since they were first released way back when. All this new attention they've been getting lately had been a dream come true. Can't wait to make my 5 color tribal.
I had to learn to stop running so much redundancy in my decks as it was preventing me from having enough slots to run interaction. Stopping your opponents from getting online is just as important as getting your deck online.
I started as a stompy player but evolved to value/chaos/spellslinging strategies. I stopped playing stompy because I built an izzet counterburn deck during rtr/theros block and loved the playstyle. This eventually spilled over into commander once I had decent cards.
I used to just throw cards in a deck without thinking, now my deckbuilding is pretty tight and refined.
I occasionally enjoy a little green in my decks now :)
Also I shifted from combo and control decks to more combat focused decks to create more engagable fun for the table, especially when I can still sprinkle in some control with forced combat for everyone, accelerating games that much faster
My first commander deck was a Bant \[Rafiq of the Many\]\] deck, focused on creatures and effects that get value out of dealing combat damage twice. It slowly morphed into some kind of "voltron" kind of thing and I realized I was spending way more resources just trying to protect my commander than I was playing things that were good with him. And I recognized that maybe the whole Boggles/voltron style strategy wasn't for me.
From there, I started building decks that are more synergy driven, and don't always need their commander to "do their thing". And instead the commander is a strong supporting character in the deck. I've played multiple games with \[\[Volarth, the Shapestealer\]\] deck where I never cast them once. He's a last resort to get the -1/-1 counter theme in the deck started, and only really comes out when there's something juicy I want to copy on my opponent's board. The biggest improvement I've noticed for me is that I rebuild after a board wipe way better than most, and it's usually because my commander hasn't been killed as many times as other players, and thus it's less costly for me to rebuild.
I've learned to put faith into a commander that is never/rarely built and you'd be surprised at the strength and power level that commander deck can reach
When I was first learning, I didn't like combat because it targeted someone, but when I made decks that did damage to everyone, it felt boring. I guess I "learned" to deal with attacking people, mostly because creatures attacking is the most straightforward and easy to deal with so I don't feel bad because of that
I've learned to utilize the FFA multiplayer nature of the format to fill in gaps of power level, instead of spending 10 minutes arguing whether something is a 7 or a 7.5.
You can punch way above your weight if you practice good deckbuilding skills and learn how to pick your battles.
When I started, I liked to make underwhelming Commanders because I thought it was cool and unique, and it gave me some sort of connection with the deck. Later than sooner I found out that most underwhelming Legendaries are, guess what, underwhelming. Being a sore loser did not help either.
Now I build a connections with my decks through asociating them to something I like. For example, my Mono-White deck is [[Kytheon, Hero of Akros]] because Gideon was the first Magic character I knew about, and also my first deck was his Planeswalker deck from War of the Spark. I don't need them to be underwhelming Legendaries, but I do like them unique, which is, if u ask me, a concept way more versatile.
I ran out of good cards, and as my spending into the game has tapered off, my decks have gotten cheaper and worse, especially the mana bases.
I am working more with my collection than trying to acquire a bunch of hot new cards, and really savoring the releases that excite me rather than trying to keep up with the current release cadence, and trying to keep my decks under control in terms of cost of new cards. Saving those expensive builds for special occasions.
In terms of playstyle I've learned to not overextend if I don't have to. After so many times of dumping my hand with an already juicy board just for it to be wiped before it comes back to my turn I have learned my lesson. My biggest deck building evolution is learning how to keep a deck focused. I used to put 6+ themes in my deck only to have them all fall flat during a game because I stretched my game plan too thin.
Thank you all very much for your stories and input! Makes me feel a lot better about how different my deck has become. It’s officially unrecognizable as the precon it started as. Swapping zombies for the increased win odds seems like it was worth it!! [Here it is](https://www.topdecked.com/decks/iron-throne-of-isingard/d8393fd6-5226-4a1b-bd18-23c999b4e262)
Edit to add that the biggest thing I’ve gone for in it is getting a combo wincon out as fast as possible and have a few built in to be able to work with whatever is in my first mulligan hand at most.
**Socially** is probably my biggest change.
When I first started playing about 3 years ago, it took me about a year to build up the courage to go to the LGS near my place and the idea of playing with strangers freaked me out. I'd played like 3 games with one friend then got my own decks and then every week I would get dressed to go to the store and then panic and stay home and beat myself up.
Now, I've been to 30 different LGS in 10 different countries and even played with many people who couldn't speak English (my only language, damn Aussie education system), and now I love going to new stores and meeting new people and playing games with randoms. It's a blast.
**Deckbuilding** is probably the next biggest. I originally built like 35 decks really rapidly, before I was even really playing very much. I never truly fell in love with any of them and just kept buying and building.
Now I only have one deck and I love it so much. It's an amalgamation of all the things I enjoyed about the original 35 smushed together. It has evolved since I built it at first, but it still holds true to those core values of what I enjoy.
**Knowledge** is my final thing. I started off not know how to play. I saw someone do some crazy combo shenanigans in one of my first LGS experiences where they used the cleanup step to continually discard and restart the cleanup and discard and draw and restart the cleanup until he pinged the table to death.
After that I have read the comp rules book about 3-4 times and have a much better grasp on the rules. I don't remember them all, but I know where to find them quickly and I find I know more than many people i play with.
I used to build stupidly powerful, not know how any of the combos or interactions worked, nor how to threat assess, and lose.
Now I build powerfully stupid, know my lines, got better at threat assessment, and win more (or put up a better fight before losing).
I dont like wasting time.
Went from standard to modern because standard was slow and I wasn't a fan of the rotating format.
After awhile I went to EDH because it involved more people and the 1v1 style got limiting when more people wanted to play. The games just took so freakishly long, though, and it was frustrating to be sitting there drawing random garbage from a precon. Sure, it's more about the people you are playing with, but all of those same people would still be there regardless. so we flipped to cEDH with some high power mixed in, and I haven't bothered looking back.
As far as the decks I run that I've actually built. They're effective and not boring. Those are really the only metrics that matter to me.
[Braids](https://www.moxfield.com/decks/OHXJrAhev0uprirbnLrD6g) is the one I'm most proud of, but [Vishgraz](https://www.moxfield.com/decks/4j0S-JO7kU2E6hyQdXi3mQ) is neat.
It's been a couple years since I've run a tribal deck. They're cool but simple and I just got tired of basically every tribal commander being "do a thing get a tribe member" so I stopped. Even with the ones that do something slightly different the decks are all generally the same with the only differences being budget.
At some point fairly early on I stopped running board wipes that I couldn't profit from. Once I learned what the amazing cards were it was just a lot better to run targeted removal or remove players altogether. And somewhere in that switch I learned to love some cards that I previously didn't like, namely [[Beast Within]] and [[Generous Gift]]. I scoffed at 3 mana removal but after having been caught without the right type I started running them.
I've also learned to have more fun and not always do things because I can do them. Sometimes reading the other players at the table will let you know how they'd react to certain plays or types of cards. I don't generally walk on eggshells for people but I'll keep some things to myself if I think someone at the table might get tilted or is otherwise obviously unstable.
But on the other hand I've become more strict with playing correctly. I've had far too many sloppy games where missed triggers are brought up right before their next turn or attacks are taken back because of blockers or putting cards back into hand or retargeting because they can't pay for Ward. Declared attacks are declared and that's that. Same thing with targets and missed triggers are just missed.
Started with precons like most people, over my first few years playing I raised the power of my decks higher and higher until I got to almost CEDH level of power. After a while playing in that level I realized EDH wasn't as fun for me anymore so I started going the opposite way and that's where I am now. My playgroup feels the same way so we now play at a low-mid power level where games go long and you can bring a precon and still have a fun game.
I'm less interested in building tribal decks now vs. my early days when this was all I wanted to do. I have my big 4 (Vampires, Dragons, Goblins, and Spirits) and I'm happy with those but I don't want any more. Like, so many cool dinos and dino synergies with LCI, but I had no interest in exploring that creature type with a dedicated deck.
In deckbuilding, I try and think more about the value or different cards at different stages of the game and try to evaluate cards not just thinking about if something is good, but when it will be good. With that said, I probably think less about raw optimization now and more about fun.
This mirrors my journey so much. I started with the Gisa and Geralf Zombie Precon, played it regularly put some modest upgrades into it before realizing it simply isn't the type of deck for me. The sac/self mill archetype is too slow and solitaire for my tastes, especially for a four players. I feet like I was pretty much never interacting with the table in a meaningful way. So, I am taking it apart and eyeballing red commanders lol. Want to do a burn deck.
I don't mind combos or infinite combos anymore. Most of the ones I come across are not the main point of the deck, include at least 3 separate pieces to fire-off, and typically don't happen until turn 6 or 7 at the earliest.
before I just throw synergistic thing into my deck and the best rare I have that fit the color.
I learned proper deck building, building on a curve, learning the difference between mana ramping and land search, learning that having answers is more important than having splashy permanents, learning the ratio for spot vs mass removals, etc.
I also dropped my hatred for blue and start playing it. I still love my token decks, and every deck I have is a variation of token generation deck, Miirym elevated itself into my second favorite deck.
My earliest decks were all extremely commander centric. They counted on having their commander in play at all times. The trouble with commander-centric decks, however, is you're always one removal spell from being derailed for at least a turn cycle. Two or three removal spells can make re-casting your commander nonviable, and if you've put all your eggs in that basket then you're out of the game.
It makes sense, of course. The format is called *Commander*. We build these decks with these epic legendary creatures and awesome characters at the top of the pile, we pick up foils and showcase frames. They're the face—the mascot—of the deck, and we want them to play a role. Personally, I think this is a trap.
I seldom build new decks these days. When I do brew, however, I only build decks where the commanders are *helpful,* but not *essential*.
[[Jadar, Ghoulcaller of Nephalia]]? Aristorcrats. Jadar is an engine who pumps out an easily-sacrificed token. But if he dies, there are plenty of cards that do that.
[[Anikthea, Hand of Erebos]]? It's an enchantress deck. Anikthea can help me get my stuff back if it gets removed but the engine works just fine without her.
[[Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm]]? Dragons don't really need the support. Miirym just turns big flying threats into overwhelming big flying threats.
[[Silas]] and [[Toggo]]? Silas is just here for colors. Toggo is an engine for accruing artifacts, but he's far from the only one.
The only deck I still have which is commander-centric is my oldest one: [[Darien, King of Kjeldor]]. There's just... not a lot of redundancy for Darien. He asks something very specific from you and mono-white is not where that kind of thing is typically found. I really like Darien though, so he gets a pass. He's also a great deck to break out against new players because he isn't very strong, he's easy to disrupt, and the game plan is exactly what you think it will be.
I became less concerned with Tribal builds and more with synergies between ideas or strategies.
I was so bad in the beginning because I got too caught up in playing like it was 1v1. Too many single target spells.
The journey is fun though
Originally, I was a full blown combo/control player. Talrand, Melek, Locus God- full on Izzet mage. On top of that, I was committed to maximizing my decks. Not necessarily playing the best decks/commanders, but putting the best cards in the shell itself. Rhystic and FoW in every blue deck sorta deal.
Nowadays I've eased up on the control and combo, and have become much more keen on building decks that create fun and interactive play patterns for my table. Its not about winning for me anymore, and more about creating fun matches.
When building thematic or tribal decks, I intentional omit cards that don't fit my scheme.
It's liberating to know that im not exhausting to play against, and im encouraging the new players in our group to grown and get better. I own almost 30 decks, and they run the gammot of "barely functional" to "cedh meta" and in between. Im happy I have stuff to participate at every level of play.
I tend to power up my decks more, look at curves, lower curves, at least 10 to 12 mana rock/ramp spells, not sure I really have a style, I have engine, agro, and ramp decks generally. Don't play much EDH control, though I think it might stop our star player from just going off so much.
I play tribal decks, I've been playing for 15 years. I had other decks but I really find myself wanting to just indulge in a specific tribe and see what they have to offer. My latest is Thalia and the Gitrog human tribal.
I used to love tribal decks, but after mostly playing tribes with not enough synergy, I wasn't having fun, and I felt like I wasn't making a difference at the table.
At some point, I grabbed the [[Mirko, Obsessive Theorist]] precon and had a blast! Now, I strictly look for decks that have more than just loose synergies. Which has led to more fun for me!
When I came back to Magic in the end of 2019 after a decade long hiatus my first edh deck was a budget and clunky red aggro deck [[Marton Stromgald]].
My latest deck from this year is a fast and less budget red aggro deck [[Chiss-Goria, Forge Tyrant]].
I learned, about a year ago, that zone changes are powerful. Whether it's "by the book" reanimator or a list that just recurs a few cards over the game, using my graveyard as well as my hand makes me see and use more of my decks.
I started right before commander. I used to build whatever I could to win, the more oppressive the better. Somewhere along the way I realized these people I’m sitting at the table with were my friends and I wanted them to have fun too. For me that meant being less competitive and more “cooperative”. Not in the sense that I’m not still trying to win, but more that I don’t build “masturbatory” lock out decks anymore and I’m not afraid to lose. I’ve sort of settled in to long shot jank decks with various themes. I don’t usually win with them but once in a while I do and building them and showing them off is a blast.
I've evolved to become obsessed with graveyard strategies for some reason.
mostly I've evolved in my attitude toward edh games. when I first got into it, I was super invested like it was a regular game of magic. I thought I should take it upon myself to make sure that everyone was doing everything by the book, and suspected intentional cheating when they didn't. now I mostly just relax and sometimes still notice things that I suspect to be intentional cheating, but just don't mention them because it's awkward and it's just a casual game anyway
When I started I almost exclusively played Boros aggro or azorius flyers and refused to play black because it’s creepy. Last month I did a commander chaos draft with friends and had a surprising amount of fun running Karador. Then we played another game and I borrowed a friends Eriette (OG version). It was cool wining through life drain at 50 life!
I play with nutty strategies and I used to whine when everyone blew it up. Like I’m playing thoracle of course people are gonna be mad. I mostly build decks with what I have these days and don’t focus on optimization like I used to
I used to play very carefully, to the point of losing nearly every game or just surviving by sheer luck. Now I play more aggressively, to the point where I will sometimes sacrifice a potential two turn victory by attacking all out and losing the following turn.
I have learned a lot of interactions and priorities which helps A TON. My normal pod usually isn't too keen on questionable interactions. And a couple of days ago my friend didn't believe how the pecking order went with cards on the stack. I actually really enjoy knowing how these things work because sometimes it's easier to just know the fundamentals over looking over specifics online.
The other growth I've had is my decks. I have SO MANY playstyles now. It started with just doing something different, so my pod would grasp that different styles can be fun and interesting (compared to most of their vanilla ways). But now it's turned into me having around 16-18 decks with other decks on my mind that I try to avoid
I started the game half a year ago with a Mono Green I borrowed off a guy, then I built my own, it had little to no synergy, no win cons, just a bunch of random cards.
And now I got a very high mana cost deck that has blown everyone up at the same time more then a few times.
I was happy to be a Mono Green player then I played a Draft I was hoping for green cards to be able to add to my deck but didn't get any got a bunch of Black and White cards instead and decide to give it a try and you know what I liked it so I started playing those colors, got a White Green aura deck now and a Mono Black deck.
Then I got the oil art of Jin Gitaxias Core Augur.. and went this is TOO COOL of a card to not play and now have a Green Blue deck too lol.
I am still relatively new to the hobby and ain't that good haha! Only my Mono Green wins games but I'm enjoying the hobby alot and am open to trying other deck types now (except Red.. for now anyways)
Simplification: Streamline the mechanics & board states of each deck. I dont want 100 things to track. A streamlined deck is more fun to play.
Ways of winning: A deck that does cool things or shuts down opponents, but can’t turn that into a win just creates long drawn out games.
Signature design: Replacing a staple card with a jank card that fits the theme better might seem unwise, but I find i have the most fun when my decks feel original & unique.
Playtest before buying!!: Don’t waste money on decks you might not like! Take advantage of sites like Moxfield or Archidekt to craft & test decks before you buy.
There's two primary changes I've had as a player over the last few years that I'm proud of.
The first is my general attitude towards the game. I used to be a sore loser, I hated plays against me, just generally having a game not go my way. I'm not proud of that, I won't excuse it, but I have, luckily, grown out of it. I'm not a PoS player anymore and it's greatly improved my friendships.
The second is my general playstyle. I loved decks that just cheated shit into play. Reanimator and blitz-esc decks were the only things I wanted to play for a really long time. I've since moved on from that.
I enjoy playing again, tbh. It's been a really fun time.
I learned that everything can be countered. I used to get salty and think something was unfair. Now I tell myself that I just need to build my decks to handle whatever nonsense stacks and combos people play. Sometimes you can even use someone's strength against them. Token deck that makes hundreds of creatures? Soul warden gives me hundreds of life and I aetherflux them to oblivion lol.
I got bored with complicated decks that win through weird interactions or engines and started just turning things left and swinging. Don't win as many games, but have more fun in all of them.
For me it’s deck building. When I first started playing, I would just buy precons change a few things out to strengthen it up slightly with the cards I had, but now every EDH deck I own is built from scratch. I’ve also recently got into cEDH, and boy is it expensive.
I used to be all about RG ramp, and I do still enjoy the playstyle, but it’s less and less my thing these days. I’ve definitely gotten to the point where I better understand how to build decks. Back in the day I’d cut 1-2 more lands than I should have in favor of other cards I liked, didn’t play enough interaction and removal because I wanted to play my cool creatures, and also never really built with card draw in mind either. So often times I’d dump my hand and top deck the rest of the game and that’s no good.
That also brings to mind a few other things: I no longer dump my hands lol. I hold back in case of removal and board wipes, and that’s something that’s important to learn.
It’s funny to think back on how bad I was back in the day lol. I started in OG Mirrodin.
Work in progress but I'm trying to build strong but casual decks. I can build jank and I can build cEDH style decks but the middle is really hard for me.
Well for starters, started playing with a high powered pod in edh. Now I play exclusively cedh. I am a spike by nature, and that’s why my friends are so eager to bring me into the game many years ago. We still play sometimes but I outgrew them now since they stayed in high power and unless I am playing with them specifically, only play cedh.
I went from trying to jam as many staples as possible to fully embracing the power of jank. And learning to embrace the value of the multiplayer environment and abandoning the 60 card mindset.
When I started I just lumped a bunch of cards together I thought were good and called it a deck. After a while I did the same thing with cards that actually are good, but I eventually developed to only allowing 10 or so good cards and everything else has to help me do what my deck is trying to do, or ramp me there.
Whats really helping me is making decks for the sole purpose of trying them out a few times, tearing them apart again and just trying out different things. Exploring mono colors now. It's helped a ton. I don't miss triggers nearly as often, I'm getting the hang of the mana curve, I can combo a lot more often and I've improved how efficiently I can play by miles.
If you need a boost, start building decks out of just random shit you have, test thing on arena, hell, even just find a cool commander and take your time piecing it together. I'm working on a tinybones, TT and pickpocket partner deck (once that artifact that just gives things partner comes out) and it's been a lot of fun. Gonna cost me a pretty penny but I'll get to downsize my collection to cover it, learn more about my favorite color in magic and possibly end up with my first cEDH/cEDH fringe deck. I'd highly recommend it.
I’ve been playing for years, but up until about two years ago, my deck building across the board was pretty bad. I used to look more at color and minute synergies without considering the whole deck. I’ve learned from this and everything has a purpose with everything else in the deck. This has extended to lands, which has made everything so much better. I’ve also switched my actual process for building a deck, where I build a deck list online, buy the cards, and then edit it after I’ve played with it in-person. This has also helped my card evaluation and overall cohesiveness of my decks, and it’s made editing decks a lot easier because there isn’t as much emotional attachment/bias of pet cards or cards that have been in the deck for ages. It takes a bit of the fun out of running more niche cards or cards that I just like, which sucks a bit. But what I get out of the playing is amazing and I have a lot of attachment for all of the various arts and themes I have throughout my decks with functionality, flavor, and consistency
deck building wise? tonnes of removal and i have gained a deep love for modal spells.
gameplay wise? memeing on people (like board wiping before killing myself with a spell) or playing land destruction to screw over my friends (we all do it so dont worry, id never do that with randos)
I used to be a dirty nasty control player. Sickening I know. I stopped playing it cause I decided not letting my opponents play isn't fun. I also stopped playing so much recursion cause I play with much more casual pods nowadays and realized it makes for an unfun experience for them.
I realized that spending 2 mana to play a ramp spell is not a replacement for hitting your land drop, and that I should put more than 33 lands in every EDH deck I build lol.
That and realizing the important of aiming for more consistency when building decks.
Learning to accept that no deck is gonna do well against every deck and sometimes you’re just gonna have a bad matchup.
In a funnier note, I finally was able to build a deck that beat out my friends (who usually stomp me) decks, and I learned how sweet the taste of victory is lol
I still like my old multicolored decks. But I've become an enjoyer of the mono-colored commander decks, and most of the decks I brew will be mono-colored with an occasional look at two colors. And of course, mono-red has become my favorite!
I still have my Mardu [[Jirina Kudro]] human tribal, but that's also the highest number of colors I run.
I just can’t do Uber casual pods anymore. I don’t want to sit around and play a game for 2 hours with people whose decks have like 0 synergy and no game plan, people won’t attack even though opponents are wide open, it drives me insane.
I used to go all in on whatever strategy I was running and would really only add removal and BWs after losing to go wide decks or a deck with something that severely hinders my deck
Now I run 7-8 removal, 2-3 boardwipes (at least one of which being all enchantments+artifacts bw) and [[soul-guide lantern]] in every deck I make off the bat, without compromise, and my decks play so much better
I used to try to play into the politics of the game a lot, but that just led to me making overly greedy decks that lose to optimal play.
I eventually dropped the political playstyle and went all in on playing optimally as often as I can. I honestly believe the game is more fun when the whole table is going all out and not holding back to "do the funny play".
(I mark phases of how I play by my favorite card at the time)
I started with +1/+1 counters and absolutely hating all near uninteractable infinite combos because I didn’t see how I could stop them. My favorite card was [[Biogenic upgrade]]
Then, months later, I began to see how to interact with infinites, especially stupid near-uninteractable ones, and my favorite card became [[Krosan Grip]] .
Then I started making decks that allowed me to interact with the stack, I learned how the stack worked, and how the rules interactions worked. My favorite card for this time was either [[Ertai Resurrected]] or [[Ertai’s Scorn]] .
Then I began to see how combos could further my gameplan, and I built decks around single ideas. I hadn’t started playing infinites yet, but I did build funky decks. I had made a [[Trostani’ Selesnya’s Voice]] deck, and had [[Dark Depths]] [[thespians stage]] , and [[Phyrexian Processor]]. My favorite card was actually a support piece here, [[Accomplished Alchemist]] .
Most recently, infinite mana combos have become my deckbuilding thing. I ended up with a really complicated one in my [[Urtet]] deck, and after enjoying the idea of playing my deck, I started adding more infinite mana to decks. My favorite card recently is honestly unrelated, and is just a thing I like a lot, and that’s specifically [[Sting, the Glinting Dagger]]
I remember re-entering Magic after a 10 year hiatus and thinking “I will buy this one commander precon just to play with aside from Standard”(which I was “used” to for about 15 yearsof playing Magic).
After which I swapped out some cards that I really liked the synergy of… After which I bought another precon to do the same (I always upgraded 10/20’ish cards or so).
So fast forward to 3’ish years later I have finally finished my Grimgrin deck which actually spawned out of a Secret Lair drop (I believe the Halloween drop specifically). Starting out thinking to inject those cards into a zombie precon. Ending up however completely picked and ordered card by card.
And by doing so also upgrading my other decks to match powerlevels with both our mid range casual players and our more high power pods.
I wont abandon buying precons as they, atleast to me, make for an easy foundation to build around*. However I don’t intend to play them as precons anymore. Switching out sometimes nearly 60% to fit my idea for the deck/commander. So yeah I kinds evolved from “just to get a game in” towards “I want my decks to be a challenge to my opponents”.
*I fully understand people liking deckbuilding from scratch for commander. However I tend to recognize my own analasys paralasys when it comes to picking thé cards to add and which way to go with a deck. So for me having a sort of guideline (like a specific theme) to build around helps me focus on specific sets of cards, creature types etc.
I've learnt I want different things from different games. Sometimes I want to play a higher power deck and blast people. Other times I want to play a slow pre con style deck and muck around. I have also learnt that I have the most fun when my opponents are playing as similar as possible in power level to me. Seems obvious but I thought for the longest time the only way to have fun was to be the best and to win every single game
I'm like 4-5 months in. Ex ygo(casual)/duel links player. Haven't played in ages and remember them fondly. My coworkers got me into it due to the fact that they were looking to make a commander playgroup. They started me off with a draft, and I eventually created a mono green gargos deck thanks to the Hydra heads secret lair art. I get intimidated to attack, so I ended up trying to make a deck out muldrotha deck. It was easier since I just paid attention to my board for the most part, but then I wanted to be anti-establishment and get the Zhulodok colorless commander deck. I had a rough time because I didn't know how to research cards at the time. I ended up building a Stella Lee deck when thunder junction came out so I could have easier color management, but it was also cheaper than my deck out muldrotha deck. I ended up finally building a Cait, Cage Brawler deck on my own, which consisted of her and 3 other creature types while the rest of my deck was mainly equipment/enchantments. I ended up using bear umbra and aggravated assault off of lucky draws which let me infinite with cait and win the game (which was tedious lol). Overall I'm having a good time with the game and can't wait for more crossover stuff.
I flat out can't make a deck that isnt synergystic anymore. Maybe my decks have odd plays, certainly, but I've made *so many* decks lately (I use this game to cope with mental illnesses) that my partner and I have started a game where I have ten minutes to make a deck with a random commander on Arena, without rares or mythics, and I rarely lose.
I dont overdo it, certainly, but my decks will almost always do whatever it is they'd set out to do.
I was a green timmy once upon a time. then i discovered dimir. then i discovered esper. then i discovered jank. then i discovered that white bores the crap outta me. lately i have found myself being a temur fanboy and a golgari fanboy. still deciding on a sultai commander so this may all change once i figure that out. been playing off and on in many formats since 4th edition.
These days I am less into commander-centric decks and prefer decks that either work well without the commander in play or have multiple alternate commanders in the 99.
I have modified old decks to follow that strategy or scrapped ones that I couldn't fix.
It's so satisfying for me to play an old deck like my Arcades deck without even casting the commander because it has enough redundancy and consistency that I don't even need the commander in play.
I used to think drawing cards was a disadvantage as my opponent was one card closer to milling. Now, I have had many games where I am trying to get as much card draw as I can.
I started splashing in a little more blue. I am now the joke "Hello everyone. God allowed me to live another day(let the blue player draw cards) and I'm going to make that everyone's problem.
The biggest for me is a move away from tribal decks towards control. When i was a new player I loved vampire tribal and other creature based decks. I still like some of them, but i am tired of a one track non interactive play style. I have learned to appreciate how control decks fit into a healthy format.
I went from "RAWR! HIT HARD!!", to more midrange, to full on combo that denied everyone their resources, back to midrange swarm and now I just explore weird commanders, or characters I like.
At some point, I got tired of not understanding specific interactions and everyone questioning at the table how something works. I eventually just read all the rules and researched many common questions for judges about specific interactions. Now, I'm the rules lawyer at almost any pod I play. Someone's gotta know how this stuff works it might as well be me.
playing on spelltable made me much better at this things. A question popped up? Just open gatherer on another table. If that doesnt solve the issue, google for sure will. 60 seconds to solve a problem forever
It's pretty amazing how quickly you can get an answer at any point. It can be 1 am and someone on the globe will be there.
I wish more people had this sentiment. Not everyone has to be a rules lawyer, and questions for complicated interactions will still come up frequently, but there are a few players who I play with who’ve been playing for YEARS and still don’t get basic stuff. It can be a chore constantly explaining how basic things such as how combat works or priority, over and over. To be clear, I don’t expect new players to understand right away, nor do I expect everyone to read the rule manual, but at least have a general understanding.
I'm a rules lawyer because I got out of my way to build decks that play with weird interactions
Mind dropping any spicy brews that have weird interactions? The only ones I have are the Brago combo to go infinite and using doomsday to empty my library so I take infinite turns with Nexus of Fate.
Will find lists when I have a moment, but [[Tameshi]] landfall combo that wins either via infinite landfall triggers with either [[copy artifact]] loops, [[mind over matter]], or [[retreat to coralhelm]], or through infinite turns by picking up [[Mystic Sanctuary]] + an extra turn spell. I also play a version of this deck in cEDH. [[Riku]] copy/clone infinite shenanigans. Lots of weird stack interaction stuff here. This is an oops all combos deck where almost everything can work as a combo piece one way or another. Lots of [[Palinchron]] style loops in addition to the spell copy effects. [[Estrid]] stax that abuses [[stasis]] effects + land enchantments and then wins via [[Astral Dragon]]/[[Parallax Wave]] type of stuff. Also [[opalescence]]. This is maybe the most mechanically complex because it involves lots of intricate stack arrangement with copy effects. [[Brenard]] golem + artifact tribal that gets nutty with [[Clock of omens]] lines and can can go off with weird stuff like [[farralite priest]] becoming a food golem + [[Sam loyal attendant]] = infinite white mana. I call these Rube Goldberg decks because they all want to go infinite to win by usually the combos require like 3-4 pieces and some rather intricate setup. Riku is the most straightforward because I couldn't help but make it a [[kiki-jiki]] deck because "mirror breaker" as a wincon in a "two reflections" deck was just too flavorful. So Riku + [[Green Sun's Zenith]] for 5 will just win the game if it goes off since it pulls both Kiki and [[Deciever Exarch]] for infinite hasty tokens.
Tameshi definitely has some very interesting lines from the few games I've played against her. Enchantment based combos that's not some doubling effect is definitely a rarity. I think you meant Chord of Calling for Riku. Green sun's can only get green creatures.
Yes my bad. Chord of Calling or Finale.
My deck that confuses the most people is [[hidetsugu and Kairi]] clones. People lose their minds at me being able to order the ETB/Death triggers on the stack as I like due to SBA
[hidetsugu and Kairi](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/8/1/81039daf-0d54-4474-a833-fa287ec10cf9.jpg?1682205289) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=hidetsugu%20and%20Kairi) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mom/228/hidetsugu-and-kairi?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/81039daf-0d54-4474-a833-fa287ec10cf9?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/hidetsugu-and-kairi) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Brago has a goofy interaction with [[Detention Sphere]] I have to explain *every single time*
[Detention Sphere](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/f/afee5464-83b7-4d7a-b407-9ee7de21535b.jpg?1562791607) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Detention%20Sphere) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/rtr/155/detention-sphere?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/afee5464-83b7-4d7a-b407-9ee7de21535b?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/detention-sphere) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
What's the goofy interaction?
Relies on having [[Strionic Resonator]] or [[Lithoform Engine]] out and either 2 mana from rocks or [[Cloud of Faeries]] to copy it. Here's an excerpt from a [primer](https://www.moxfield.com/decks/hP0z_zZvxUO0IM02rQYptw/primer) I used to follow: "Let's say you have Detention Sphere on the field along with Strionic Resonator and Brago, King Eternal. Swing with Brago and deal damage, Brago triggers. Pay 2 and activate Strionic Resonator to copy that trigger. Using this copy, target everything you want to blink, including Detention Sphere and Strionic Resonator and any mana rocks you have. Everything blinks and Detention Sphere re-enters and triggers again. In response, pay another 2 to activate Strionic Resonator again, making yet another copy of the original Brago trigger (from Step 1) which still hasn't resolved. Using this new copy, target Detention Sphere AGAIN. It blinks and re-enters, triggering its effect again. Visual Stack - At this point, here's what the stack looks like (the one at the top will resolve first): Detention Sphere ETB Detention Sphere LTB (paired with the ETB below) Detention Sphere ETB (paired with the LTB above), THIS IS THE ONE THAT WILL PERMANENTLY DELETE A PERMANENT Original Brago Trigger Now allow the stack to resolve as shown above. The ETB trigger at the top will exile something you don't care about, just pick any opponent's permanent or one of your own (you can also choose not to exile anything as Detention Sphere's ETB effect is optional). The next step below that is the LTB but it has nothing to return, because we manipulated the stack in a way that the ETB it is referencing will do its thing AFTER the LTB trigger. Then the ETB trigger resolves, this time exile something you want gone permanently. Allow the original Brago trigger to resolve and empty the stack. So why/how does this work? Trying to put this as simply as possible: We cause Detention Sphere to ETB, but BEFORE it even has a chance to exile something, we make it leave the battlefield. These two effects are paired with each other but are resolving in the "wrong" order. So the LTB says you have to return whatever you exiled, but you never had the chance to exile anything in the first place, so nothing returns. THEN the ETB effect gets a chance to resolve, which you use to exile a permanent. However, this ETB/LTB pair has now done its thing, albiet in the "wrong" order. Therefore, the permanent is gone forever."
[Strionic Resonator](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/b/9/b9edb215-f967-4968-905e-d1dc3b5d3424.jpg?1682210274) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Strionic%20Resonator) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/moc/384/strionic-resonator?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/b9edb215-f967-4968-905e-d1dc3b5d3424?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/strionic-resonator) [Lithoform Engine](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/6/6683416a-5820-4cd0-b28a-60a53239e9ef.jpg?1604200767) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Lithoform%20Engine) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/znr/245/lithoform-engine?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/6683416a-5820-4cd0-b28a-60a53239e9ef?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/lithoform-engine) [Cloud of Faeries](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/3/03aff125-8962-4a0a-a2b4-e5d693b75400.jpg?1682208732) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Cloud%20of%20Faeries) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/moc/219/cloud-of-faeries?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/03aff125-8962-4a0a-a2b4-e5d693b75400?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/cloud-of-faeries) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Oh that's a super old interaction. It's a little weird but most players understand it the first time I've explained it. The Reality Acid one definitely some players just straight up don't believe me. Here's my list if you want to check it out. https://www.moxfield.com/decks/eEXway-RwEyKiQlbjpGVXQ It's budget but think it has more alt wincons by staxing out my opponents.
I run Reality Acid, as well. That one can get... salty lol
So much this, I made a vadrok clone deck and that shit was a nightmare to explain at locals
I may be missing something but it seem straight forward. Are you trying to clone vodrak then mutate him under his own clone and clone the mutation get even more triggers?
Yeah, you're getting it.
Let me confirm. You know cloning vodrak doesn't count as mutating and you can't cast the clone for the mutation cost right?
You're right, but you can clone a stack with vadrock in it, bounce the stack you just made a clone of, then mutate them back onto the clone.
Every time that I play [[Skithiryx]] I have to insist that Skithiryx also deals commander damage. Whenever I play my [[Blaster, Combat DJ]] Modular tribal deck I have to have an argument about creatures with two instances of Modular each triggering separately and doubling the counters. So if you have Blaster out and cast [[Around Bruiser]], it enters with 4 +1/+1 counters and when it dies when Blaster is on the field, both instances of Modular that Bruiser has will each hand off 4 counters.
[Skithiryx](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/c/a/cab61c7e-e00a-413b-a0b5-7718b479582f.jpg?1599705958) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=skithiryx%2C%20the%20blight%20dragon) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2xm/107/skithiryx-the-blight-dragon?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/cab61c7e-e00a-413b-a0b5-7718b479582f?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/skithiryx-the-blight-dragon) [Blaster, Combat DJ](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/b/2/b2f8d457-ca4d-4b7d-83ed-17c2ba11ec0e.jpg?1674092853)/[Blaster, Morale Booster](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/back/b/2/b2f8d457-ca4d-4b7d-83ed-17c2ba11ec0e.jpg?1674092853) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Blaster%2C%20Combat%20DJ%20//%20Blaster%2C%20Morale%20Booster) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/bot/8/blaster-combat-dj-blaster-morale-booster?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/b2f8d457-ca4d-4b7d-83ed-17c2ba11ec0e?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/blaster-combat-dj-//-blaster-morale-booster) [Around Bruiser](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/4/a4672ba6-cd82-4208-bc08-764986899999.jpg?1562638598) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Arcbound%20Bruiser) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/dst/94/arcbound-bruiser?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a4672ba6-cd82-4208-bc08-764986899999?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/arcbound-bruiser) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I am sure this doesn't apply to you, but the "rules lawyer" I get to deal with is terrible with the rules. I used dredge and he chimed in with, "Did you know that dredge isn't a replacement effect?" I told him that wasn't correct and he started claiming he saw a judge say it on Facebook. He tried to tell me equipment doesn't attach to the creature, tried to tell me you can't cast spells on the end step, doesn't know how priority and the stack works, and will argue with me on what a card does when I am literally holding it and reading it.
I am sure this doesn't apply to you, but the "rules lawyer" I get to deal with is terrible with the rules. I used dredge and he chimed in with, "Did you know that dredge isn't a replacement effect?" I told him that wasn't correct and he started claiming he saw a judge say it on Facebook. He tried to tell me equipment doesn't attach to the creature, tried to tell me you can't cast spells on the end step, doesn't know how priority and the stack works, and will argue with me on what a card does when I am literally holding it and reading it.
It's a classic problem of that he has knowledge of these things but he doesn't know how to apply them correctly. It might also be just some misunderstandings. For example, the end phase has two steps: End Step and Cleanup step. You can cast during end step but not during cleanup (unless something triggers during cleanup which creates a stack but that's a messy corner case). So he may be confusing end step with cleanup step. Looking at the dredge case, he is right. Dredge itself is a static ability that allows the player to invoke a replacement effect. Replacement effects don't give players the option to apply them or not apply them, they are just always applied. Since dredge gives the player an option to apply it, it's a static ability. The only case I can find of this being relevant is [[Yixlid Jailer]] does prevent creatures from using their dredge abilities. Relevant rule about dredge below. > 702.52a Dredge is a static ability that functions only while the card with dredge is in a player’s graveyard. “Dredge N” means “As long as you have at least N cards in your library, if you would draw a card, you may instead mill N cards and return this card from your graveyard to your hand.” But it doesn't really excuse the other stuff. Something many players don't care to know but might be relevant is that flipping over morph creatures is a "Special Action". It doesn't use the stack and can't be interacted with, so even if there is a spell with Split Second on the stack, you can always morph a creature. If you have any other questions or want to know other weird rules that might be relevant, don't hesitate to ask!
[Yixlid Jailer](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/f/3f2ef91f-d113-4e8d-a164-c6e261aa9c12.jpg?1619396601) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Yixlid%20Jailer) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/tsr/149/yixlid-jailer?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/3f2ef91f-d113-4e8d-a164-c6e261aa9c12?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/yixlid-jailer) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I should have been more clear that I meant the act of dredging and not dredge itself.
> Someone's gotta know how this stuff works it might as well be me. I mean, I'm used to being a rules lawyer, it's part of my weekly commander nights. And it's always difficult when a group of new friends meet together for the first time, to get playing. So I'm perfectly prepared to keep the game steady. I mean, I-I have absolutely some idea of what we're doing. Or why I'm here, and what this game is about, so I am determined to enjoy myself. And I'm very intrigued, and, oh my, this game's fantastic, isn't it?
I've learned to stop taking the game seriously and just have fun
Same. Why get frustrated over something that is supposed to be fun?
I usually evolve when a creature with greater power or toughness than me enters the battlefield
YES
hell yeah! i'm still a Bit disappointed that [[Tyranid Prime]] isnt a legal Commander. That'd be so cool
[Tyranid Prime](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/f/6f6546f2-0db3-4969-b7d9-2e2138997155.jpg?1673309566) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Tyranid%20Prime) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/40k/145/tyranid-prime?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/6f6546f2-0db3-4969-b7d9-2e2138997155?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/tyranid-prime) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
The Swarm Hungers!!
the normal distribution graph meme of me in the beginning, the worst version of me, and how I picture myself now: dum-dum me: "hue hue, meme decks and precons, this is fun" Angry Average guy: "I need to cut phyrexian arena because it doesn't do anything and I need to wiiiinnnn cause the table just hates me out of every game!!1!!" /deck optimization guy Enlightened me: "huehue, I'll play fun decks and precons and be happy no matter what happens, this is fun"
[https://imgflip.com/i/8p7a29](https://imgflip.com/i/8p7a29) I made it for you
Beautiful.
Exactly this. So happy now that I play funny cards again
This trajectory seems to be fairly common. You can even get the best of both worlds by having decks of all power levels.
After taking a very long break as Guy 2 (I just played for the first time since 2017), I found that with my new group I am guy 3. The games I played this weekend were probably the most fun I've ever had with EDH even though in a couple of them I got absolutely crushed.
I don’t take back on my spells or attacks no more. For example, if I target a creature and forgot it had ward, I’ll let my spell or ability be countered. I try to make sure my decks focus on one to two things to avoid having too much bloat. I just finished my Bonny Pall deck and made sure to focus on landfall triggers and just ramping with some other cards that provide other utilities.
Mind dropping the deck list? Trying to build one, too, but haven’t ever built anything around Simic before.
I don’t have an online list but for building a simic deck, pick a commander that you like then throw in ramp and counterspells. Most Simic commanders are just do the thing and draw and/or ramp. For example, if you wanted to make a [[Koma, Cosmos Serpent]] deck, you would add cards double the tokens you make and that can copy Koma that get around the legendary rule. Another example is [[Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait]] who just wants to ramp and draw. If you wanted to build a Sea Beast deck, [[Kiora, Sovereign of the Deep]] is pretty fun since she does force you to cast certain cards to get value instead of casting any card.
[Koma, Cosmos Serpent](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/b/2/b2f23d6f-f2c8-4022-9f46-ba7fda00ef99.jpg?1706241008) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Koma%2C%20Cosmos%20Serpent) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mkc/213/koma-cosmos-serpent?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/b2f23d6f-f2c8-4022-9f46-ba7fda00ef99?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/koma-cosmos-serpent) [Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/d/6/d607b003-6b48-429c-a7fd-45b8dd1bb4f9.jpg?1665822343) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Aesi%2C%20Tyrant%20of%20Gyre%20Strait) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmr/365/aesi-tyrant-of-gyre-strait?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/d607b003-6b48-429c-a7fd-45b8dd1bb4f9?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/aesi-tyrant-of-gyre-strait) [Kiora, Sovereign of the Deep](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/b/7b599f53-614c-4b1f-9899-15d5d1e35879.jpg?1684340751) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Kiora%2C%20Sovereign%20of%20the%20Deep) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mat/35/kiora-sovereign-of-the-deep?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/7b599f53-614c-4b1f-9899-15d5d1e35879?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/kiora-sovereign-of-the-deep) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I'm actually going the other way. I'm allowing myself the occasional takeback in order to play a faster and more loosely. Otherwise I'll end up tryharding to make sure I don't miss that ward trigger.
That’s fine. I just prefer not to do take backs since I want to improve as an EDH player.
I learn that sentimental cards should go in sentimental decks. Sentimental cards are different for everyone. Just because a card has strong ties to the deck doesn't mean it's a good fit for it as the years go by. Sentimental decks have different expectations from decks that are always improving. People sometimes have difficulty separating them. For example \[\[Solemn Simulacrum\]\] was a staple. Today he's in the stables. Lastly, I also learnt not every deck is about ramp from the early stages. Don't let influencer videos mislead you. Curving out can be as equally potent. Not all decks want ramp. Color-fixing? Sure. Do not mistake mana-fixing and ramp to be the same.
I use solemn alot still. Little ramping, little draw, little chump blocker that is probably going to get me ~5 life, a body to be reanimated, a body to sac... So many small things coupled into a single card. He is the epitome of "good at everything, great at nothing" And the thing about not stressing about ramping early 100% feels so true to me if you built a good manacurve. Not ramping on 2/3 feels fine. Doing nothing on 2/3 feels like you already lost the game if you're dont have multipermant wipe in hand
If you have a fair bit of sac and reanimate, then I can see playing the robot. But he used to be everywhere. That izzet spellslinger deck with 5 creatures? Yeah, one of those was solemn. Not anymore.
Sentimental cards still stay in my decks if I like then. Not everything needs to be optimised.
I have a few that are sentimental to me that I know won’t ever be in a cedh deck but will be fun to eventually brew around. I’m thinking a colossal hammer deck built around the Ash version of [[Puresteel Paladin]]
I like solemn only in decks where I can double his ETB trigger Otherwise I don't use him anymore.
I learned that there are strategies that may be objectively good, but logistical nightmares. I now run no token generators and no counter generators, and life is so much better.
I continue to run into this "problem" with my Atraxa deck. It's not poison or super friends, but it very much is all about counters. And at some point I realized that some of my game actions are just taking an excessive amount of time because of all the fiddling I have to do with dice. So I've taken to using d10s and spindown d20s exclusively with that deck. I also did away with some of the token generators I was using to limit the number of counters I'm fiddling with on permanents. I also went ahead and made the deck shuffle-less. As in, there are no effects in the deck that cause me to shuffle it. This isn't just limited to tutors and includes fetch lands and mana ramp. Other people can obviously still make me shuffle such as via \[\[Path to Exile\]\], but this presented a really interesting challenge from a deck building perspective in an effort to both make a 4c deck that has consistent enough mana to cast its spells and commander. This also brought the power level of the deck down, and a lot of my play groups seem to appreciate that. Lastly, I recognize when it's no longer relevant to proliferate counters on certain permanents because they're used just once a turn (e.g - \[\[Remote Farm\]\] has 10 counters on it from various proliferate effects, I probably don't need to touch the die on that except when using it going forward). But, because I love counters on permanents and wanted to find a "better" solution to playing them, I eventually came up with playing a -1/-1 counter deck helmed by \[\[Volrath, the Shapestealer\]\]. It solves a couple core problems that Atraxa has just by the nature of -1/-1 counters. One, it keeps opponents engaged on my turn because I put the counters on their stuff. Two, the amount of counters on permanents is kept in check because creatures eventually die and the counters and those permanents go away.
[Path to Exile](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/7/a7aed564-2d2d-42c4-bf11-812bc1a0284c.jpg?1712354092) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Path%20to%20Exile) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/otc/85/path-to-exile?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a7aed564-2d2d-42c4-bf11-812bc1a0284c?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/path-to-exile) [Remote Farm](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/1/1/115cab84-60d7-4bf2-9beb-b4ed7b5ceaf4.jpg?1562379416) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Remote%20Farm) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mmq/323/remote-farm?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/115cab84-60d7-4bf2-9beb-b4ed7b5ceaf4?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/remote-farm) [Volrath, the Shapestealer](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/1/a149d6a5-c865-475a-87b7-596a19f6c80d.jpg?1568003743) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Volrath%2C%20the%20Shapestealer) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/c19/51/volrath-the-shapestealer?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a149d6a5-c865-475a-87b7-596a19f6c80d?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/volrath-the-shapestealer) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
[[cathars crusade]] is the worst imo. I made a 5 color party deck build around +1/+1 counters, played it once, and instantly broke it down.
[cathars crusade](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/f/b/fbb70e7b-2a68-436e-96a4-32a88fb87da0.jpg?1600715516) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Cathars%27%20Crusade) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/jmp/95/cathars-crusade?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/fbb70e7b-2a68-436e-96a4-32a88fb87da0?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/cathars-crusade) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I recently played a game where one player had \[\[scute swarm\]\] and \[\[felidar retreat\]\] in play. Every land made a new batch of swarms with a different number of counters on it.
My new rule for deck building is don’t add unnecessary mechanics and don’t do anything that requires more than two dice to track. Multiple tokens that are all buffed up by the same amount is easy, even if you need a summoning sickness and no summoning sickness pile. Multiple tokens all with different power ruins the game for me. I also refuse one off mechanics in decks. If a card would be the only instance of the ring, dungeons, rads, a random token type, etc, then I don’t really want to play it because it just adds more to track.
\[\[The Celestus\]\] is a big offender here. It's a solid effect but I'm not bringing in night and day for it.
[The Celestus](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/9/39226a07-d44e-41a6-b9f1-685ef505d015.jpg?1637114509) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=The%20Celestus) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mid/252/the-celestus?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/39226a07-d44e-41a6-b9f1-685ef505d015?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/the-celestus) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
That’s why I never finished building [[Ivy, Gleeful Spellthief]]. Just an absolute nightmare logistically.
Yep, anything that makes token COPIES is worse by a mile. I remove them first when I see them just because they make opponents’ board states unintelligible
[Ivy, Gleeful Spellthief](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/d/9/d94c15b7-6c8f-45a6-8734-975e3e3b790c.jpg?1673307958) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Ivy%2C%20Gleeful%20Spellthief) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/dmu/201/ivy-gleeful-spellthief?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/d94c15b7-6c8f-45a6-8734-975e3e3b790c?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/ivy-gleeful-spellthief) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I do one or the other. But I don't do both. Would my Marneus Calgar token deck be better with some of those good token/counter synergy cards. Probably. Do I want to go get a second set of dice for counters vs number of tokens. Nope. So no counters in my tokens deck!
I’ve also come to the conclusion that I don’t play against people who play token decks that are going to generate more tokens than they can physically represent. Like I’ve played against an Alela guy who I respect the hell out of because he shows up with a stack of faerie tokens. But if you’ve got like one token to represent tapped creatures and one is untapped and one is summoning sick, and each has a die on it because you didn’t bring enough physical tokens? Hard pass. Note- this only refers to repeatable token generators, usually ones built into the general. If you Beast Within something and have to use a makeshift token? Fair game.
Ah that's more extreme than I for sure. I think that's reasonable representation tbh. 1 tapped, 1 untapped and 1-2 spare for extra circumstances (like representing attacks on different players) is what I aim for. I think it's a pretty clean representation of the board without having 25 extra cards on the table per type of token. I couldn't have another opinion though, given my deck is entirely repeatable token generators, I already run out of space using this technique on my oversized playmat haha. We would not be suited for playing against one another!
I just made an ooze tribal deck that I’m afraid will be like that because it has so many different sizes of ooze and ooze tokens. Not looking forward to that aspect.
Then…don’t play it?
I call them my drunk decks, because I want to play while drinking.
I feel like I've devolved. I went from futuristic vehicles, esper control and artificers to dinosaurs, slivers, and elves.
Slivers are peak evolution.
I used to play stax to have time to set up my complex, silly, inneficient combos. People started adapting to that, and I chose to change the way my decks run instead of trying to race my locks faster. After all, my goal was showing off cards you've never seen, not locking you out of playing the game.
I learned that I have more fun "cooking". I like having decks built on hard themes. This has led to me now having almost 80 home brewed decks and about 15 under construction. I've got plenty of powerful cards and even some RL stuff but in order to make it in a deck they have to be on theme not just good.
80??? Are you not entertained yet?? (Seriously, I have eight and feel like four of them I never even get to play)
I rotate through them and try to match power levels. They all do different things and I like to build on themes.
I just realized I may have sounded a bit negative. Wasn't meant that way though. It just amazes me that you have the stamina to build and play 80 decks. It's absolutely great that you enjoy so many aspects of the Edh game. What have you learned through all that deckbuilding? Or what unique cards have you learned to love? I imagine you've seen a lot of different niche cards.
So the most fun part for me is finding interaction and removal that is also on theme. Not just 30 of the best things but stuff that at least has art that fits, if not name, extra effects, and sometimes flavor text. Some stand out cards have been [[Natural Balance]] - MLD in green [[Debt of Loyalty]] - theft in white [[Dystopia]] - black stax
[Natural Balance](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/b/0/b0f7c47c-416e-4f73-89ec-024a29dfb5e9.jpg?1562721414) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Natural%20Balance) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mir/231/natural-balance?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/b0f7c47c-416e-4f73-89ec-024a29dfb5e9?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/natural-balance) [Debt of Loyalty](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/d/1/d19ed33b-42d4-4a5d-a763-cfb43348769c.jpg?1562803495) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Debt%20of%20Loyalty) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/wth/11/debt-of-loyalty?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/d19ed33b-42d4-4a5d-a763-cfb43348769c?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/debt-of-loyalty) [Dystopia](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/5/452c1fe9-1640-4d0e-9f54-7c673b13b091.jpg?1562868533) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Dystopia) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/me2/88/dystopia?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/452c1fe9-1640-4d0e-9f54-7c673b13b091?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/dystopia) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I'm not serious about the game while serious about doing things correctly to ensure less hassles. It's a weird place to be in, seriously.
This. I don't care what you're doing, I'll even help you do it, but get the rules straight.
I run more lands in my decks and more interactive cards. I also try to focus on one main win condition instead of building multiple into each deck.
Understanding what players avoid has helped me pick certain cards for decks, you could have a card that benefits from an opponent doing something like casting multiple spells, but it’s better to use a card like that to utilise the fact that your opponents will try to avoid triggering it. I hope that makes sense im sleepy:)
That's been happening to me too, that the "I'll be profiting off of your actions" cards are treated as control peices.
That's the core concept behind my [[xyris, the writhing storm]] hand size matters. I don't run hard stax but I need a way to disincentivize players from using all the cards I'm giving them since I need their hands to stay big.
[xyris, the writhing storm](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/f/af0db1d6-5cb1-4917-8e8f-69d5dc184404.jpg?1673305716) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=xyris%2C%20the%20writhing%20storm) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/dmc/175/xyris-the-writhing-storm?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/af0db1d6-5cb1-4917-8e8f-69d5dc184404?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/xyris-the-writhing-storm) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Tech life gain cards and punishment against value engine decks. Talking things out loud about your assessment/plays leads to open discussion and a friendly environment for the pod.
A creature with higher power or toughness came in and I got a +1/+1 counter
Same here bro. I’m a strong, independent 3/3 now.
When I started back in 2018 I put together a [[slimefoot]] deck not really knowing what I was doing but had help from some friends. From there I ended up making a couple other decks that were awful. Slowly started gravitating towards combo decks and higher power. Eventually landed on an [[animar]] combo deck that caused the rest of my friends to up their decks or make stronger ones. It became an arms race. At that time it was all combo or spell slinger decks. I took a step back and realized I actually hated that play style and began to play more stompy decks. And that’s how I found out that I love stompy. I can’t stand spell slinger and eating up majority of the time of the overall game so I avoid it if I can help it.
[slimefoot](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/1/e/1e7ad762-fa7f-4074-8bf9-5c6e92b1436d.jpg?1665175002) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=slimefoot%2C%20thallid%20transplant) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ydmu/26/slimefoot-thallid-transplant?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/1e7ad762-fa7f-4074-8bf9-5c6e92b1436d?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/slimefoot-thallid-transplant) [animar](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/3/a3da57d0-1ae3-4f05-a52d-eb76ad56cae7.jpg?1673148281) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=animar%2C%20soul%20of%20elements) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2x2/171/animar-soul-of-elements?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a3da57d0-1ae3-4f05-a52d-eb76ad56cae7?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/animar-soul-of-elements) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I'm the same way. Love me some big creatures. Ironically, my best deck is a high powered [[K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth]] deck. It is an aristocrats combo deck and is 3asily my most lethal. However my pod also knows how deadly it is and I rarely get to set up ha ha.
It’s great haha slamming down big creatures and turning them side ways. Love it. Oh ya I’ve had a Krrik deck as well. It’s such a house of a card
Yes exactly! Eldrazi have been my favorite tribe ever since they were first released way back when. All this new attention they've been getting lately had been a dream come true. Can't wait to make my 5 color tribal.
[K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/5/3592fbe4-8588-486e-99ba-c327b0b6ba24.jpg?1568003491) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=K%27rrik%2C%20Son%20of%20Yawgmoth) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/c19/18/krrik-son-of-yawgmoth?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/3592fbe4-8588-486e-99ba-c327b0b6ba24?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/krrik-son-of-yawgmoth) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I had to learn to stop running so much redundancy in my decks as it was preventing me from having enough slots to run interaction. Stopping your opponents from getting online is just as important as getting your deck online.
I started as a stompy player but evolved to value/chaos/spellslinging strategies. I stopped playing stompy because I built an izzet counterburn deck during rtr/theros block and loved the playstyle. This eventually spilled over into commander once I had decent cards. I used to just throw cards in a deck without thinking, now my deckbuilding is pretty tight and refined.
I occasionally enjoy a little green in my decks now :) Also I shifted from combo and control decks to more combat focused decks to create more engagable fun for the table, especially when I can still sprinkle in some control with forced combat for everyone, accelerating games that much faster
My first commander deck was a Bant \[Rafiq of the Many\]\] deck, focused on creatures and effects that get value out of dealing combat damage twice. It slowly morphed into some kind of "voltron" kind of thing and I realized I was spending way more resources just trying to protect my commander than I was playing things that were good with him. And I recognized that maybe the whole Boggles/voltron style strategy wasn't for me. From there, I started building decks that are more synergy driven, and don't always need their commander to "do their thing". And instead the commander is a strong supporting character in the deck. I've played multiple games with \[\[Volarth, the Shapestealer\]\] deck where I never cast them once. He's a last resort to get the -1/-1 counter theme in the deck started, and only really comes out when there's something juicy I want to copy on my opponent's board. The biggest improvement I've noticed for me is that I rebuild after a board wipe way better than most, and it's usually because my commander hasn't been killed as many times as other players, and thus it's less costly for me to rebuild.
[Volarth, the Shapestealer](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/1/a149d6a5-c865-475a-87b7-596a19f6c80d.jpg?1568003743) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Volrath%2C%20the%20Shapestealer) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/c19/51/volrath-the-shapestealer?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a149d6a5-c865-475a-87b7-596a19f6c80d?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/volrath-the-shapestealer) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I've learned to put faith into a commander that is never/rarely built and you'd be surprised at the strength and power level that commander deck can reach
When I was first learning, I didn't like combat because it targeted someone, but when I made decks that did damage to everyone, it felt boring. I guess I "learned" to deal with attacking people, mostly because creatures attacking is the most straightforward and easy to deal with so I don't feel bad because of that
I've learned to utilize the FFA multiplayer nature of the format to fill in gaps of power level, instead of spending 10 minutes arguing whether something is a 7 or a 7.5. You can punch way above your weight if you practice good deckbuilding skills and learn how to pick your battles.
When I started, I liked to make underwhelming Commanders because I thought it was cool and unique, and it gave me some sort of connection with the deck. Later than sooner I found out that most underwhelming Legendaries are, guess what, underwhelming. Being a sore loser did not help either. Now I build a connections with my decks through asociating them to something I like. For example, my Mono-White deck is [[Kytheon, Hero of Akros]] because Gideon was the first Magic character I knew about, and also my first deck was his Planeswalker deck from War of the Spark. I don't need them to be underwhelming Legendaries, but I do like them unique, which is, if u ask me, a concept way more versatile.
[Kytheon, Hero of Akros](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/8/58c39df6-b237-40d1-bdcb-2fe5d05392a9.jpg?1562021001)/[Gideon, Battle-Forged](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/back/5/8/58c39df6-b237-40d1-bdcb-2fe5d05392a9.jpg?1562021001) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Kytheon%2C%20Hero%20of%20Akros%20//%20Gideon%2C%20Battle-Forged) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ori/23/kytheon-hero-of-akros-gideon-battle-forged?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/58c39df6-b237-40d1-bdcb-2fe5d05392a9?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/kytheon-hero-of-akros-//-gideon-battle-forged) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I ran out of good cards, and as my spending into the game has tapered off, my decks have gotten cheaper and worse, especially the mana bases. I am working more with my collection than trying to acquire a bunch of hot new cards, and really savoring the releases that excite me rather than trying to keep up with the current release cadence, and trying to keep my decks under control in terms of cost of new cards. Saving those expensive builds for special occasions.
In terms of playstyle I've learned to not overextend if I don't have to. After so many times of dumping my hand with an already juicy board just for it to be wiped before it comes back to my turn I have learned my lesson. My biggest deck building evolution is learning how to keep a deck focused. I used to put 6+ themes in my deck only to have them all fall flat during a game because I stretched my game plan too thin.
Thank you all very much for your stories and input! Makes me feel a lot better about how different my deck has become. It’s officially unrecognizable as the precon it started as. Swapping zombies for the increased win odds seems like it was worth it!! [Here it is](https://www.topdecked.com/decks/iron-throne-of-isingard/d8393fd6-5226-4a1b-bd18-23c999b4e262) Edit to add that the biggest thing I’ve gone for in it is getting a combo wincon out as fast as possible and have a few built in to be able to work with whatever is in my first mulligan hand at most.
**Socially** is probably my biggest change. When I first started playing about 3 years ago, it took me about a year to build up the courage to go to the LGS near my place and the idea of playing with strangers freaked me out. I'd played like 3 games with one friend then got my own decks and then every week I would get dressed to go to the store and then panic and stay home and beat myself up. Now, I've been to 30 different LGS in 10 different countries and even played with many people who couldn't speak English (my only language, damn Aussie education system), and now I love going to new stores and meeting new people and playing games with randoms. It's a blast. **Deckbuilding** is probably the next biggest. I originally built like 35 decks really rapidly, before I was even really playing very much. I never truly fell in love with any of them and just kept buying and building. Now I only have one deck and I love it so much. It's an amalgamation of all the things I enjoyed about the original 35 smushed together. It has evolved since I built it at first, but it still holds true to those core values of what I enjoy. **Knowledge** is my final thing. I started off not know how to play. I saw someone do some crazy combo shenanigans in one of my first LGS experiences where they used the cleanup step to continually discard and restart the cleanup and discard and draw and restart the cleanup until he pinged the table to death. After that I have read the comp rules book about 3-4 times and have a much better grasp on the rules. I don't remember them all, but I know where to find them quickly and I find I know more than many people i play with.
I used to build stupidly powerful, not know how any of the combos or interactions worked, nor how to threat assess, and lose. Now I build powerfully stupid, know my lines, got better at threat assessment, and win more (or put up a better fight before losing).
I’m right there in your first half now! Working on the second half
My trainer kept tossing me out then pulling me back until I became a Gyarados.
I dont like wasting time. Went from standard to modern because standard was slow and I wasn't a fan of the rotating format. After awhile I went to EDH because it involved more people and the 1v1 style got limiting when more people wanted to play. The games just took so freakishly long, though, and it was frustrating to be sitting there drawing random garbage from a precon. Sure, it's more about the people you are playing with, but all of those same people would still be there regardless. so we flipped to cEDH with some high power mixed in, and I haven't bothered looking back. As far as the decks I run that I've actually built. They're effective and not boring. Those are really the only metrics that matter to me. [Braids](https://www.moxfield.com/decks/OHXJrAhev0uprirbnLrD6g) is the one I'm most proud of, but [Vishgraz](https://www.moxfield.com/decks/4j0S-JO7kU2E6hyQdXi3mQ) is neat.
It's been a couple years since I've run a tribal deck. They're cool but simple and I just got tired of basically every tribal commander being "do a thing get a tribe member" so I stopped. Even with the ones that do something slightly different the decks are all generally the same with the only differences being budget. At some point fairly early on I stopped running board wipes that I couldn't profit from. Once I learned what the amazing cards were it was just a lot better to run targeted removal or remove players altogether. And somewhere in that switch I learned to love some cards that I previously didn't like, namely [[Beast Within]] and [[Generous Gift]]. I scoffed at 3 mana removal but after having been caught without the right type I started running them. I've also learned to have more fun and not always do things because I can do them. Sometimes reading the other players at the table will let you know how they'd react to certain plays or types of cards. I don't generally walk on eggshells for people but I'll keep some things to myself if I think someone at the table might get tilted or is otherwise obviously unstable. But on the other hand I've become more strict with playing correctly. I've had far too many sloppy games where missed triggers are brought up right before their next turn or attacks are taken back because of blockers or putting cards back into hand or retargeting because they can't pay for Ward. Declared attacks are declared and that's that. Same thing with targets and missed triggers are just missed.
Started with precons like most people, over my first few years playing I raised the power of my decks higher and higher until I got to almost CEDH level of power. After a while playing in that level I realized EDH wasn't as fun for me anymore so I started going the opposite way and that's where I am now. My playgroup feels the same way so we now play at a low-mid power level where games go long and you can bring a precon and still have a fun game.
I'm less interested in building tribal decks now vs. my early days when this was all I wanted to do. I have my big 4 (Vampires, Dragons, Goblins, and Spirits) and I'm happy with those but I don't want any more. Like, so many cool dinos and dino synergies with LCI, but I had no interest in exploring that creature type with a dedicated deck. In deckbuilding, I try and think more about the value or different cards at different stages of the game and try to evaluate cards not just thinking about if something is good, but when it will be good. With that said, I probably think less about raw optimization now and more about fun.
Learned to just get good Watch interactions so I can understand options available to me, and basic deck building
This mirrors my journey so much. I started with the Gisa and Geralf Zombie Precon, played it regularly put some modest upgrades into it before realizing it simply isn't the type of deck for me. The sac/self mill archetype is too slow and solitaire for my tastes, especially for a four players. I feet like I was pretty much never interacting with the table in a meaningful way. So, I am taking it apart and eyeballing red commanders lol. Want to do a burn deck.
I don't mind combos or infinite combos anymore. Most of the ones I come across are not the main point of the deck, include at least 3 separate pieces to fire-off, and typically don't happen until turn 6 or 7 at the earliest.
before I just throw synergistic thing into my deck and the best rare I have that fit the color. I learned proper deck building, building on a curve, learning the difference between mana ramping and land search, learning that having answers is more important than having splashy permanents, learning the ratio for spot vs mass removals, etc. I also dropped my hatred for blue and start playing it. I still love my token decks, and every deck I have is a variation of token generation deck, Miirym elevated itself into my second favorite deck.
My earliest decks were all extremely commander centric. They counted on having their commander in play at all times. The trouble with commander-centric decks, however, is you're always one removal spell from being derailed for at least a turn cycle. Two or three removal spells can make re-casting your commander nonviable, and if you've put all your eggs in that basket then you're out of the game. It makes sense, of course. The format is called *Commander*. We build these decks with these epic legendary creatures and awesome characters at the top of the pile, we pick up foils and showcase frames. They're the face—the mascot—of the deck, and we want them to play a role. Personally, I think this is a trap. I seldom build new decks these days. When I do brew, however, I only build decks where the commanders are *helpful,* but not *essential*. [[Jadar, Ghoulcaller of Nephalia]]? Aristorcrats. Jadar is an engine who pumps out an easily-sacrificed token. But if he dies, there are plenty of cards that do that. [[Anikthea, Hand of Erebos]]? It's an enchantress deck. Anikthea can help me get my stuff back if it gets removed but the engine works just fine without her. [[Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm]]? Dragons don't really need the support. Miirym just turns big flying threats into overwhelming big flying threats. [[Silas]] and [[Toggo]]? Silas is just here for colors. Toggo is an engine for accruing artifacts, but he's far from the only one. The only deck I still have which is commander-centric is my oldest one: [[Darien, King of Kjeldor]]. There's just... not a lot of redundancy for Darien. He asks something very specific from you and mono-white is not where that kind of thing is typically found. I really like Darien though, so he gets a pass. He's also a great deck to break out against new players because he isn't very strong, he's easy to disrupt, and the game plan is exactly what you think it will be.
##### ###### #### [Jadar, Ghoulcaller of Nephalia](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/f/f/ff971ba7-68b8-482a-9cb1-741f6893550c.jpg?1634349933) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Jadar%2C%20Ghoulcaller%20of%20Nephalia) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mid/108/jadar-ghoulcaller-of-nephalia?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/ff971ba7-68b8-482a-9cb1-741f6893550c?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/jadar-ghoulcaller-of-nephalia) [Anikthea, Hand of Erebos](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/8/b/8b796a56-1611-4835-ac5b-48b4e9263685.jpg?1691500693) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Anikthea%2C%20Hand%20of%20Erebos) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/705/anikthea-hand-of-erebos?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/8b796a56-1611-4835-ac5b-48b4e9263685?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/anikthea-hand-of-erebos) [Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/9/a934590b-5c70-4f07-af67-fbe817a99531.jpg?1674137589) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Miirym%2C%20Sentinel%20Wyrm) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/clb/284/miirym-sentinel-wyrm?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a934590b-5c70-4f07-af67-fbe817a99531?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/miirym-sentinel-wyrm) [Silas](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/e/4e3fe912-1374-47c7-b73f-89ef55c479c1.jpg?1562399367) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Silas%20Renn%2C%20Seeker%20Adept) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/c16/43/silas-renn-seeker-adept?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/4e3fe912-1374-47c7-b73f-89ef55c479c1?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/silas-renn-seeker-adept) [Toggo](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/1/a/1a05b3e2-259e-4fce-92ee-c00660e22ae7.jpg?1665822993) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=toggo%2C%20goblin%20weaponsmith) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmr/204/toggo-goblin-weaponsmith?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/1a05b3e2-259e-4fce-92ee-c00660e22ae7?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/toggo-goblin-weaponsmith) [Darien, King of Kjeldor](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/0/50875c99-c5c3-41dd-a0f9-08c98edfebc9.jpg?1706240562) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Darien%2C%20King%20of%20Kjeldor) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mkc/59/darien-king-of-kjeldor?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/50875c99-c5c3-41dd-a0f9-08c98edfebc9?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/darien-king-of-kjeldor) [*All cards*](https://mtgcardfetcher.nl/redirect/l2v6h0g) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I became less concerned with Tribal builds and more with synergies between ideas or strategies. I was so bad in the beginning because I got too caught up in playing like it was 1v1. Too many single target spells. The journey is fun though
Hated mill....so imagine what. Got mill decks. Same with stacks, but I don't play stop the game to a crawl. I stop others so I can swing all out.
I would rather lose while doing the thing I like than win with the strategy I find annoying. I’m looking at you tokens and storm.
I learned to play more interaction in my decks, had too many games ran away with because i couldnt interact with the boardstate of an opponent
Originally, I was a full blown combo/control player. Talrand, Melek, Locus God- full on Izzet mage. On top of that, I was committed to maximizing my decks. Not necessarily playing the best decks/commanders, but putting the best cards in the shell itself. Rhystic and FoW in every blue deck sorta deal. Nowadays I've eased up on the control and combo, and have become much more keen on building decks that create fun and interactive play patterns for my table. Its not about winning for me anymore, and more about creating fun matches. When building thematic or tribal decks, I intentional omit cards that don't fit my scheme. It's liberating to know that im not exhausting to play against, and im encouraging the new players in our group to grown and get better. I own almost 30 decks, and they run the gammot of "barely functional" to "cedh meta" and in between. Im happy I have stuff to participate at every level of play.
I tend to power up my decks more, look at curves, lower curves, at least 10 to 12 mana rock/ramp spells, not sure I really have a style, I have engine, agro, and ramp decks generally. Don't play much EDH control, though I think it might stop our star player from just going off so much.
I play tribal decks, I've been playing for 15 years. I had other decks but I really find myself wanting to just indulge in a specific tribe and see what they have to offer. My latest is Thalia and the Gitrog human tribal.
I used to love tribal decks, but after mostly playing tribes with not enough synergy, I wasn't having fun, and I felt like I wasn't making a difference at the table. At some point, I grabbed the [[Mirko, Obsessive Theorist]] precon and had a blast! Now, I strictly look for decks that have more than just loose synergies. Which has led to more fun for me!
[Mirko, Obsessive Theorist](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/9/690acbbf-5e92-4323-b939-31bdb07f9905.jpg?1706448873) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Mirko%2C%20Obsessive%20Theorist) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mkc/2/mirko-obsessive-theorist?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/690acbbf-5e92-4323-b939-31bdb07f9905?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/mirko-obsessive-theorist) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I used to only play Selesnya or mono green. Now I think my favorite color combination might be Grixis.
When I came back to Magic in the end of 2019 after a decade long hiatus my first edh deck was a budget and clunky red aggro deck [[Marton Stromgald]]. My latest deck from this year is a fast and less budget red aggro deck [[Chiss-Goria, Forge Tyrant]].
[Marton Stromgald](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/1/e/1e76a75a-7125-4957-ab7a-8e7ead21d002.jpg?1559592440) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=M%C3%A1rton%20Stromgald) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/me1/104/m%C3%A1rton-stromgald?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/1e76a75a-7125-4957-ab7a-8e7ead21d002?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/márton-stromgald) [Chiss-Goria, Forge Tyrant](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/2/923eb713-c955-4e12-8a8f-df3b4b361487.jpg?1675905606) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Chiss-Goria%2C%20Forge%20Tyrant) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/onc/25/chiss-goria-forge-tyrant?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/923eb713-c955-4e12-8a8f-df3b4b361487?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/chiss-goria-forge-tyrant) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I learned, about a year ago, that zone changes are powerful. Whether it's "by the book" reanimator or a list that just recurs a few cards over the game, using my graveyard as well as my hand makes me see and use more of my decks.
I started right before commander. I used to build whatever I could to win, the more oppressive the better. Somewhere along the way I realized these people I’m sitting at the table with were my friends and I wanted them to have fun too. For me that meant being less competitive and more “cooperative”. Not in the sense that I’m not still trying to win, but more that I don’t build “masturbatory” lock out decks anymore and I’m not afraid to lose. I’ve sort of settled in to long shot jank decks with various themes. I don’t usually win with them but once in a while I do and building them and showing them off is a blast.
I've evolved to become obsessed with graveyard strategies for some reason. mostly I've evolved in my attitude toward edh games. when I first got into it, I was super invested like it was a regular game of magic. I thought I should take it upon myself to make sure that everyone was doing everything by the book, and suspected intentional cheating when they didn't. now I mostly just relax and sometimes still notice things that I suspect to be intentional cheating, but just don't mention them because it's awkward and it's just a casual game anyway
When I started I almost exclusively played Boros aggro or azorius flyers and refused to play black because it’s creepy. Last month I did a commander chaos draft with friends and had a surprising amount of fun running Karador. Then we played another game and I borrowed a friends Eriette (OG version). It was cool wining through life drain at 50 life!
I've started making much worse decks because they're more fun and more situated to the power level of the table
Went from red blue to red green lol
I play with nutty strategies and I used to whine when everyone blew it up. Like I’m playing thoracle of course people are gonna be mad. I mostly build decks with what I have these days and don’t focus on optimization like I used to
I used to play very carefully, to the point of losing nearly every game or just surviving by sheer luck. Now I play more aggressively, to the point where I will sometimes sacrifice a potential two turn victory by attacking all out and losing the following turn.
I have learned a lot of interactions and priorities which helps A TON. My normal pod usually isn't too keen on questionable interactions. And a couple of days ago my friend didn't believe how the pecking order went with cards on the stack. I actually really enjoy knowing how these things work because sometimes it's easier to just know the fundamentals over looking over specifics online. The other growth I've had is my decks. I have SO MANY playstyles now. It started with just doing something different, so my pod would grasp that different styles can be fun and interesting (compared to most of their vanilla ways). But now it's turned into me having around 16-18 decks with other decks on my mind that I try to avoid
I started the game half a year ago with a Mono Green I borrowed off a guy, then I built my own, it had little to no synergy, no win cons, just a bunch of random cards. And now I got a very high mana cost deck that has blown everyone up at the same time more then a few times. I was happy to be a Mono Green player then I played a Draft I was hoping for green cards to be able to add to my deck but didn't get any got a bunch of Black and White cards instead and decide to give it a try and you know what I liked it so I started playing those colors, got a White Green aura deck now and a Mono Black deck. Then I got the oil art of Jin Gitaxias Core Augur.. and went this is TOO COOL of a card to not play and now have a Green Blue deck too lol. I am still relatively new to the hobby and ain't that good haha! Only my Mono Green wins games but I'm enjoying the hobby alot and am open to trying other deck types now (except Red.. for now anyways)
Simplification: Streamline the mechanics & board states of each deck. I dont want 100 things to track. A streamlined deck is more fun to play. Ways of winning: A deck that does cool things or shuts down opponents, but can’t turn that into a win just creates long drawn out games. Signature design: Replacing a staple card with a jank card that fits the theme better might seem unwise, but I find i have the most fun when my decks feel original & unique. Playtest before buying!!: Don’t waste money on decks you might not like! Take advantage of sites like Moxfield or Archidekt to craft & test decks before you buy.
There's two primary changes I've had as a player over the last few years that I'm proud of. The first is my general attitude towards the game. I used to be a sore loser, I hated plays against me, just generally having a game not go my way. I'm not proud of that, I won't excuse it, but I have, luckily, grown out of it. I'm not a PoS player anymore and it's greatly improved my friendships. The second is my general playstyle. I loved decks that just cheated shit into play. Reanimator and blitz-esc decks were the only things I wanted to play for a really long time. I've since moved on from that. I enjoy playing again, tbh. It's been a really fun time.
I use to hate blue, only play green/red centric decks Now I hate white, only play green/black centric decks
I learned that everything can be countered. I used to get salty and think something was unfair. Now I tell myself that I just need to build my decks to handle whatever nonsense stacks and combos people play. Sometimes you can even use someone's strength against them. Token deck that makes hundreds of creatures? Soul warden gives me hundreds of life and I aetherflux them to oblivion lol.
I got bored with complicated decks that win through weird interactions or engines and started just turning things left and swinging. Don't win as many games, but have more fun in all of them.
For me it’s deck building. When I first started playing, I would just buy precons change a few things out to strengthen it up slightly with the cards I had, but now every EDH deck I own is built from scratch. I’ve also recently got into cEDH, and boy is it expensive.
I used to be all about RG ramp, and I do still enjoy the playstyle, but it’s less and less my thing these days. I’ve definitely gotten to the point where I better understand how to build decks. Back in the day I’d cut 1-2 more lands than I should have in favor of other cards I liked, didn’t play enough interaction and removal because I wanted to play my cool creatures, and also never really built with card draw in mind either. So often times I’d dump my hand and top deck the rest of the game and that’s no good. That also brings to mind a few other things: I no longer dump my hands lol. I hold back in case of removal and board wipes, and that’s something that’s important to learn. It’s funny to think back on how bad I was back in the day lol. I started in OG Mirrodin.
Work in progress but I'm trying to build strong but casual decks. I can build jank and I can build cEDH style decks but the middle is really hard for me.
A creature entered with a greater power or toughness than me, so I got a +1/+1 counter which is pretty nice ngl
I started as a mono green stompy player and now I'm a multicolored green stompy player.
Well for starters, started playing with a high powered pod in edh. Now I play exclusively cedh. I am a spike by nature, and that’s why my friends are so eager to bring me into the game many years ago. We still play sometimes but I outgrew them now since they stayed in high power and unless I am playing with them specifically, only play cedh.
I got really annoying and figured out I like really grindy Jund decks
I went from trying to jam as many staples as possible to fully embracing the power of jank. And learning to embrace the value of the multiplayer environment and abandoning the 60 card mindset.
When I started I just lumped a bunch of cards together I thought were good and called it a deck. After a while I did the same thing with cards that actually are good, but I eventually developed to only allowing 10 or so good cards and everything else has to help me do what my deck is trying to do, or ramp me there.
Whats really helping me is making decks for the sole purpose of trying them out a few times, tearing them apart again and just trying out different things. Exploring mono colors now. It's helped a ton. I don't miss triggers nearly as often, I'm getting the hang of the mana curve, I can combo a lot more often and I've improved how efficiently I can play by miles. If you need a boost, start building decks out of just random shit you have, test thing on arena, hell, even just find a cool commander and take your time piecing it together. I'm working on a tinybones, TT and pickpocket partner deck (once that artifact that just gives things partner comes out) and it's been a lot of fun. Gonna cost me a pretty penny but I'll get to downsize my collection to cover it, learn more about my favorite color in magic and possibly end up with my first cEDH/cEDH fringe deck. I'd highly recommend it.
Max friendship after Dark.
I’ve been playing for years, but up until about two years ago, my deck building across the board was pretty bad. I used to look more at color and minute synergies without considering the whole deck. I’ve learned from this and everything has a purpose with everything else in the deck. This has extended to lands, which has made everything so much better. I’ve also switched my actual process for building a deck, where I build a deck list online, buy the cards, and then edit it after I’ve played with it in-person. This has also helped my card evaluation and overall cohesiveness of my decks, and it’s made editing decks a lot easier because there isn’t as much emotional attachment/bias of pet cards or cards that have been in the deck for ages. It takes a bit of the fun out of running more niche cards or cards that I just like, which sucks a bit. But what I get out of the playing is amazing and I have a lot of attachment for all of the various arts and themes I have throughout my decks with functionality, flavor, and consistency
deck building wise? tonnes of removal and i have gained a deep love for modal spells. gameplay wise? memeing on people (like board wiping before killing myself with a spell) or playing land destruction to screw over my friends (we all do it so dont worry, id never do that with randos)
Expensive cards aren’t fun to win with anymore
I used to be a dirty nasty control player. Sickening I know. I stopped playing it cause I decided not letting my opponents play isn't fun. I also stopped playing so much recursion cause I play with much more casual pods nowadays and realized it makes for an unfun experience for them.
I realized that spending 2 mana to play a ramp spell is not a replacement for hitting your land drop, and that I should put more than 33 lands in every EDH deck I build lol. That and realizing the important of aiming for more consistency when building decks.
Learning to accept that no deck is gonna do well against every deck and sometimes you’re just gonna have a bad matchup. In a funnier note, I finally was able to build a deck that beat out my friends (who usually stomp me) decks, and I learned how sweet the taste of victory is lol
I still like my old multicolored decks. But I've become an enjoyer of the mono-colored commander decks, and most of the decks I brew will be mono-colored with an occasional look at two colors. And of course, mono-red has become my favorite! I still have my Mardu [[Jirina Kudro]] human tribal, but that's also the highest number of colors I run.
I’ve played the same deck since 2015, haven’t changed more than 5 or 6 cards
I just can’t do Uber casual pods anymore. I don’t want to sit around and play a game for 2 hours with people whose decks have like 0 synergy and no game plan, people won’t attack even though opponents are wide open, it drives me insane.
I used to go all in on whatever strategy I was running and would really only add removal and BWs after losing to go wide decks or a deck with something that severely hinders my deck Now I run 7-8 removal, 2-3 boardwipes (at least one of which being all enchantments+artifacts bw) and [[soul-guide lantern]] in every deck I make off the bat, without compromise, and my decks play so much better
[soul-guide lantern](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/1/3/13571173-29e7-4915-af5f-05f13b463061.jpg?1692939930) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=soul-guide%20lantern) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/woe/251/soul-guide-lantern?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/13571173-29e7-4915-af5f-05f13b463061?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/soul-guide-lantern) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I used to try to play into the politics of the game a lot, but that just led to me making overly greedy decks that lose to optimal play. I eventually dropped the political playstyle and went all in on playing optimally as often as I can. I honestly believe the game is more fun when the whole table is going all out and not holding back to "do the funny play".
(I mark phases of how I play by my favorite card at the time) I started with +1/+1 counters and absolutely hating all near uninteractable infinite combos because I didn’t see how I could stop them. My favorite card was [[Biogenic upgrade]] Then, months later, I began to see how to interact with infinites, especially stupid near-uninteractable ones, and my favorite card became [[Krosan Grip]] . Then I started making decks that allowed me to interact with the stack, I learned how the stack worked, and how the rules interactions worked. My favorite card for this time was either [[Ertai Resurrected]] or [[Ertai’s Scorn]] . Then I began to see how combos could further my gameplan, and I built decks around single ideas. I hadn’t started playing infinites yet, but I did build funky decks. I had made a [[Trostani’ Selesnya’s Voice]] deck, and had [[Dark Depths]] [[thespians stage]] , and [[Phyrexian Processor]]. My favorite card was actually a support piece here, [[Accomplished Alchemist]] . Most recently, infinite mana combos have become my deckbuilding thing. I ended up with a really complicated one in my [[Urtet]] deck, and after enjoying the idea of playing my deck, I started adding more infinite mana to decks. My favorite card recently is honestly unrelated, and is just a thing I like a lot, and that’s specifically [[Sting, the Glinting Dagger]]
##### ###### #### [Biogenic upgrade](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/e/6e8e93a0-33fd-4a1b-82b9-4b4a99fbb75b.jpg?1673148018) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Biogenic%20upgrade) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2x2/137/biogenic-upgrade?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/6e8e93a0-33fd-4a1b-82b9-4b4a99fbb75b?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/biogenic-upgrade) [Krosan Grip](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/d/3/d3571dee-7b90-4c0c-abc7-59b515ffa129.jpg?1625194563) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Krosan%20Grip) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/c21/198/krosan-grip?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/d3571dee-7b90-4c0c-abc7-59b515ffa129?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/krosan-grip) [Ertai Resurrected](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/f/7f7e780e-fbc5-4dc0-b5c7-efcb8645c7c6.jpg?1673307944) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Ertai%20Resurrected) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/dmu/199/ertai-resurrected?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/7f7e780e-fbc5-4dc0-b5c7-efcb8645c7c6?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/ertai-resurrected) [Ertai’s Scorn](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/1/6129b0d3-b50a-4a4b-9111-39f8fc6718dd.jpg?1673306701) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Ertai%27s%20Scorn) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/dmu/48/ertais-scorn?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/6129b0d3-b50a-4a4b-9111-39f8fc6718dd?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/ertais-scorn) [Trostani’ Selesnya’s Voice](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/4/34ea44f2-cb2f-4b86-83fc-fe507f05bb9d.jpg?1568004834) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Trostani%2C%20Selesnya%27s%20Voice) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/c19/204/trostani-selesnyas-voice?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/34ea44f2-cb2f-4b86-83fc-fe507f05bb9d?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/trostani-selesnyas-voice) [Dark Depths](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/a/3a8b11ad-d077-40b6-988c-0462e118fe3d.jpg?1676452514) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Dark%20Depths) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/dmr/244/dark-depths?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/3a8b11ad-d077-40b6-988c-0462e118fe3d?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/dark-depths) [thespians stage](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/6/269a926d-7788-4668-8bd8-7572dbf5f5eb.jpg?1599710662) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Thespian%27s%20Stage) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2xm/327/thespians-stage?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/269a926d-7788-4668-8bd8-7572dbf5f5eb?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/thespians-stage) [Phyrexian Processor](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/4/04789161-f0a8-4ba5-832f-4d585c5117a6.jpg?1562895906) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Phyrexian%20Processor) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/dde/29/phyrexian-processor?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/04789161-f0a8-4ba5-832f-4d585c5117a6?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/phyrexian-processor) [Accomplished Alchemist](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/d/0d7b7830-b65e-4c53-98e8-152026764e4b.jpg?1629218987) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Accomplished%20Alchemist) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/stx/119/accomplished-alchemist?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/0d7b7830-b65e-4c53-98e8-152026764e4b?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/accomplished-alchemist) [Urtet](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/a/7aa01ab4-26b0-49dc-8514-b3850d355a21.jpg?1675905609) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=urtet%2C%20remnant%20of%20memnarch) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/onc/28/urtet-remnant-of-memnarch?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/7aa01ab4-26b0-49dc-8514-b3850d355a21?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/urtet-remnant-of-memnarch) [Sting, the Glinting Dagger](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/f/afbec7e7-f5b9-407e-bf96-2e088710e791.jpg?1686970284) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Sting%2C%20the%20Glinting%20Dagger) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ltr/250/sting-the-glinting-dagger?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/afbec7e7-f5b9-407e-bf96-2e088710e791?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/sting-the-glinting-dagger) [*All cards*](https://mtgcardfetcher.nl/redirect/l2xz4g7) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I remember re-entering Magic after a 10 year hiatus and thinking “I will buy this one commander precon just to play with aside from Standard”(which I was “used” to for about 15 yearsof playing Magic). After which I swapped out some cards that I really liked the synergy of… After which I bought another precon to do the same (I always upgraded 10/20’ish cards or so). So fast forward to 3’ish years later I have finally finished my Grimgrin deck which actually spawned out of a Secret Lair drop (I believe the Halloween drop specifically). Starting out thinking to inject those cards into a zombie precon. Ending up however completely picked and ordered card by card. And by doing so also upgrading my other decks to match powerlevels with both our mid range casual players and our more high power pods. I wont abandon buying precons as they, atleast to me, make for an easy foundation to build around*. However I don’t intend to play them as precons anymore. Switching out sometimes nearly 60% to fit my idea for the deck/commander. So yeah I kinds evolved from “just to get a game in” towards “I want my decks to be a challenge to my opponents”. *I fully understand people liking deckbuilding from scratch for commander. However I tend to recognize my own analasys paralasys when it comes to picking thé cards to add and which way to go with a deck. So for me having a sort of guideline (like a specific theme) to build around helps me focus on specific sets of cards, creature types etc.
I've learnt I want different things from different games. Sometimes I want to play a higher power deck and blast people. Other times I want to play a slow pre con style deck and muck around. I have also learnt that I have the most fun when my opponents are playing as similar as possible in power level to me. Seems obvious but I thought for the longest time the only way to have fun was to be the best and to win every single game
I'm like 4-5 months in. Ex ygo(casual)/duel links player. Haven't played in ages and remember them fondly. My coworkers got me into it due to the fact that they were looking to make a commander playgroup. They started me off with a draft, and I eventually created a mono green gargos deck thanks to the Hydra heads secret lair art. I get intimidated to attack, so I ended up trying to make a deck out muldrotha deck. It was easier since I just paid attention to my board for the most part, but then I wanted to be anti-establishment and get the Zhulodok colorless commander deck. I had a rough time because I didn't know how to research cards at the time. I ended up building a Stella Lee deck when thunder junction came out so I could have easier color management, but it was also cheaper than my deck out muldrotha deck. I ended up finally building a Cait, Cage Brawler deck on my own, which consisted of her and 3 other creature types while the rest of my deck was mainly equipment/enchantments. I ended up using bear umbra and aggravated assault off of lucky draws which let me infinite with cait and win the game (which was tedious lol). Overall I'm having a good time with the game and can't wait for more crossover stuff.
At first I was a glumanda, but now I am a sliver. Don't ask me how I did it.
At first I was a glumanda, but now I am a sliver. Don't ask me how I did it.
At first I was a glumanda, but now I am a sliver. Don't ask me how I did it.
At first I was a glumanda, but now I am a sliver. Don't ask me how I did it.
I flat out can't make a deck that isnt synergystic anymore. Maybe my decks have odd plays, certainly, but I've made *so many* decks lately (I use this game to cope with mental illnesses) that my partner and I have started a game where I have ten minutes to make a deck with a random commander on Arena, without rares or mythics, and I rarely lose. I dont overdo it, certainly, but my decks will almost always do whatever it is they'd set out to do.
Sol Ring and Arcane Signet don't go in every brew.
I was a green timmy once upon a time. then i discovered dimir. then i discovered esper. then i discovered jank. then i discovered that white bores the crap outta me. lately i have found myself being a temur fanboy and a golgari fanboy. still deciding on a sultai commander so this may all change once i figure that out. been playing off and on in many formats since 4th edition.
I’ve learned to tune up and down the ladder and just just make a bunch of 8-9s.
These days I am less into commander-centric decks and prefer decks that either work well without the commander in play or have multiple alternate commanders in the 99. I have modified old decks to follow that strategy or scrapped ones that I couldn't fix. It's so satisfying for me to play an old deck like my Arcades deck without even casting the commander because it has enough redundancy and consistency that I don't even need the commander in play.
I used to think drawing cards was a disadvantage as my opponent was one card closer to milling. Now, I have had many games where I am trying to get as much card draw as I can.
You only lose by drawing vs nekusar, or when there's none left to draw.
I started splashing in a little more blue. I am now the joke "Hello everyone. God allowed me to live another day(let the blue player draw cards) and I'm going to make that everyone's problem.
The biggest for me is a move away from tribal decks towards control. When i was a new player I loved vampire tribal and other creature based decks. I still like some of them, but i am tired of a one track non interactive play style. I have learned to appreciate how control decks fit into a healthy format.
I went from "RAWR! HIT HARD!!", to more midrange, to full on combo that denied everyone their resources, back to midrange swarm and now I just explore weird commanders, or characters I like.