Why Unconventional Commanders Can Be Way More Fun

Most of the favored Commander decks are fairly standard once you strip again a number of pet playing cards and the selection of what fundamental lands to run. Further nonetheless, the most well-liked typal decks are the very definition of conference, with lists various solely in small methods. Today I wish to speak unconventional – as a result of unconventional Commanders will be means extra enjoyable. 

THE PROBLEM WITH STICKING TO CONVENTION

Edgar Markov. Lathril, Blade of the Elves. Yuriko, the Tiger’s Shadow. If you’ve performed towards them as soon as, you’ve performed towards them all – as a result of the small variations in iteration between anybody’s checklist for these decks will be so minute you’d really feel such as you’re taking part in towards a inventory checklist. While there are methods to make the most well-liked decks within the format extra distinctive – like working Tap/Untap issues Lathril, Changelings Ur-Dragon, or working a largely Orzhov Edgar deck with a finances manabase – by and huge these decks play out the identical means each time.

Some people aren’t a fan of sort issues gameplay, so it’s a lot simpler to select one thing else in that case. Many of us nonetheless take pleasure in taking part in typal decks, although, so what’s to be completed?

Well, it’s time to dig for one thing slightly extra unconventional with the intention to get your kicks. I wish to take a look at three in style Typal Commanders at this time – Pantlaza, Sun-Favored, The Ur-Dragon, and Giada, Font of Hope – and throw a curve ball at you with a brand new method to attempt these iconic archetypes.

And I promise you – you should have a lot extra enjoyable, and so will the remainder of the desk. Novelty is enjoyable. Repetition, much less so.

TRY PLAYING FEWER COLORS

One method to change-up a mainstay archetype is by proscribing your self on colours. Pantlaza is indisputably essentially the most highly effective Dinosaurs Commander as a result of it has entry to white’s flicker results, purple’s haste and injury amplification/burn, and inexperienced’s ramp. It comes down sooner than earlier Dino staple Gishath or the combo-tastic Zacama – which let’s be trustworthy, is much less of a Dino deck and extra of a combo deck. What should you eliminated entry to the Etali playing cards, and the highly effective assist of white and purple?

Surrak and Goreclaw is my buddy’s reply, and it’s a deck that I all the time need to carry on my toes for. Surrak and Goreclaw is the anchor of the deck in that it offers your board trample and haste, and buffs the ability of creatures that enter play. You get all the ramp and haymakers you need in inexperienced, and also you additionally – and that is fairly key – get to maintain the haste half from purple.

Wayward Swordtooth and Tranquil Frillback make up your early curve, with the deck in a position to reap the benefits of Emerald Medalion as a ramp piece, and Tribute to the World Tree as card benefit. Going monocolor unlocks some playing cards like this, which S&G actually reap the benefits of, contemplating you wish to flood the board with a number of creatures as early as doable. Given your board normally has Trample, Unnatural Growth will get a lot better (and simpler to solid), and an Ohran Frostfang gives not solely draw, however a method to push injury by means of blockers.

Of course, when you don’t have the likes of Etali, you continue to get to play haymakers like Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant and Vaultborn Tyrant, that are rightfully feared in our playgroup. Oh, and simply once you suppose the deck is perhaps on the best way out, a cheeky Verdant Sun’s Avatar can create an enormous tempo swing. Oh, and should you want somebody useless fast, there’s all the time Tyrannex Rex, proper?

Mono-green is a extremely enjoyable method to play a Dinosaurs deck, and if you want to check out my friend’s deck, you can do so here.

FEWER COLORS, AND A DIFFERENT STRATEGY, TOO

One attention-grabbing half about Surrak and Goreclaw is that neither of them are Dinosaurs. Like all the various Commanders I’m going to suggest at this time, they aren’t of the kind that the deck is constructed round. That’s one thing I wish to emphasize once you’re in search of a great typal Commander to attempt – don’t restrict your self to the extra cookie-cutter choices, as you may effectively discover one thing that’s far more attention-grabbing.

Last week I discussed how Twilight Diviner was making me wish to rebuild a Chainer, Nightmare Adept deck. I’ve gone over some concepts for the deck, and somewhat than making a generic Reanimator checklist – which is what I ran final time, and what I kind of have in an current Henzie deck proper now – I made a decision to slim the main focus. I ended up at Rakdos Dragons. 

Rakdos Dragons shouldn’t be one thing you see each day. While lately Rivaz of the Claw has turn out to be fairly in style, Ur-Dragon, Miirym and Tiamat are all forward, with Lathliss, Kaalia and Scion of the Ur-Dragon not far behind. While I discover Rivaz attention-grabbing, I wished to discover the archetype deeper in Chainer.

Chainer affords a extra constant and repeatable type of Reanimator, and {couples} it with a discard outlet and haste. While the mana from Rivaz is good, I’m comfortable to only plug it within the 99, and benefit from the anchor piece of Chainer within the command zone. We can nonetheless construct round Dragons and payoffs – just like the injury wrath wincon of Wrathful Red Dragon – however use Chainer staples like Doomed Necromancer and Archpriest of Shadows to cheat out our high-mana beasties means forward of curve – and arguably extra effectively than a Rivaz deck. 

Coupling Dragons with the form of engines and payoffs a Chainer deck has entry to is one method to make a Dragon deck that stands out from the same old “ramp and card advantage” three-to-five colour builds. You additionally get to capitalize on the purple burn side, with haste, in a means that the multicolor decks generally cut back on attributable to their overreliance on inexperienced and blue. 

Overall, having this focus means your Rakdos Dragons deck will really feel extra prefer it has a gameplan than the common Ur-Dragon deck, and that’s fairly cool. 

SOMETIMES, YOU GOTTA ADD COLORS AND POWER UP

While the earlier two sections mentioned narrowing a spotlight and powering down by eradicating colours, some decks truly profit from stepping into the other way. Angels decks, as an illustration, at present discover themselves in a little bit of a bizarre spot. They get to play clunky mono-white Lyra Dawnbringer or clunkier nonetheless Rodolf Duskbringer or Shilgengar. The hottest choices tends to be mono-white Giada – which solves some points, positive – or Kaalia, which is commonly not purely an Angel typal deck.

Angels lack card benefit and ramp in comparison with different high-mana worth archetypes, and so this is a matter that may be solved by going slightly exterior of the field.

Dihada, Binder of Wills won’t be what you consider once you consider an Angel typal Commander, however keep on with me. First off, she solves desirous to play a number of colours apart from mono-white, whereas each mana fixing, ramping, and letting you dig to seek out the angels you need. She additionally helps dole out vigilance, lifelink and indestructible, key phrases Angels love to make good use of. 

There are already a complete host of Legendary Angels to play in these colours, from Aurelia, Lyra and Giada to Liesa, Firja and Akroma. By packing your deck with legendary lands and choose legends like Odric, Lunarch Marshal, you get to share key phrases among the many staff and hit in for large injury, whereas defending Dihada with chunky flyers.

Even although Dihada is geared in the direction of Legends, you may run loads of non-legendary Angels alongside your legends. Karmic Guide is simply good whichever means you slice it, very similar to Righteous Valkyrie. If you mill some non-legends it’s effective, as you may reanimate them later with large swings like Living Death or Patriarch’s Bidding.

Dihada solves a variety of points that informal Angels decks endure from, and so she’s a effective choice to delve into the archetype deeper. She additionally permits you to run your favourite Planeswalkers – like Serra or any of the Elspeths – in a shell that’s already geared towards defending a Planeswalker within the command zone. By giving Angels entry to extra colours, extra mana, and extra methods to get them into play, you find yourself giving them principally what a variety of different creature sorts natively have entry to in their very own Commanders already. 

That will be the distinction between feeling such as you’re punching up, and feeling such as you’re on a degree.

END STEP

Conventional Commanders can get tiring, particularly if a number of folks in your playgroup or native recreation retailer run the identical Commanders. Chances are, on the subject of these in style archetypes, other people might be working them too. If you may divorce your self from the standard go-to Commanders and discover one thing off the overwhelmed observe, you may find yourself with a deck that’s extra distinctive, extra enjoyable, and extra timeless.