Commander, the most popular format

Hello readers,

This is David back with an other article about Magic the Gathering formats. Last time I talked about Oathbreaker, a multiplayer format using Planeswalkers and signature spells. This week I am talking about Commander, originally a fan format that has grown into the most popular way to play the game. This format sees more than a dozen decks released a year.

One easy way to get into Commander is to buy one of the many premade precons that release each year. These can vary in price from $40 to $100 depending on if it is a regular or premium release. Lately there has been more Universe Beyond crossover decks with tend to command a premium, but have more new cards and often interesting designs. If you like any of the properties in the crossovers maybe this is a good pickup for you. Otherwise you can go with a regular release deck which is cheaper and has less new cards. Pick a theme you like or a commander that speaks to you. Themes include tribal, based around one creature type, tokens, which are creatures and permanents that don't have a card that are usually made in high volumes, or +1/+1 counters which buff your creatures.

In Commander you pick a legendary creature to lead your deck. Every card in your deck must be of that card’s colours. This is called colour identity. For example a black white and red legendary creature can have black red and white or multicolor of those colors in the cards within its deck.

Commander decks can follow archetypes similar to other formats such as aggro, control or combo. Combos are common ways to end the game outright. There are also alternate win cons that win you the game with different conditions. You can also pick a theme similar to how precons are built. Maybe you want to build a deck around casting lots of instants and sorceries and win with storm payoffs or cards that reward you for playing these cards. One example is the magecraft ability which has an effect whenever you cast or copy an instant or sorcery.

Be sure to check the EDH ban list before you make your deck to ensure you bring a legal deck when you go to play. Power 9 cards are banned but the original dual lands are legal although very pricey. You can play alternatives like shock lands check lands and triomes if you want a budget multicolour land base. If you want to save on lands you can pick a mono colour commander and run mostly basic lands.

Once you have build your deck you can bring it to Friday Night Magic. Many stores have game nights for EDH where you can meet people who want to play. Introduce yourself and join a game. If you want some help you can let people you are new and still learning. Pods are usually games if 3-4 people although EDH can be played 2 player. That has its own format with a lower life total and its own ban list.

I hope this article helps you choose or build your first deck and that you enjoy playing commander.

See you next time,

David