Commander Deck Lists! And Patterns in the Decklists

Hello, hello!

With the Commander decks releasing this upcoming Friday (June 17th, MSRP of $30 each), some stores have already gotten their shipments...and unfortunately for WotC busted them open for deck lists and singles.

But thank goodness for the community they did, because they've shown what a deal these decks can be!

Before I get to the actual deck lists, though, I want to point out a few common themes among them.

COMMON THEMES IN COMMANDER THEME DECKS
1) Each deck comes with a Sol Ring and a Lightning Greaves. Yes, every single Commander theme deck comes with nearly $15 worth of cards right off the bat!


2) Each deck comes with one of the 5 Planar Chaos Legendary Dragons, each of which is from one of the "wedges". This gives you a familiar card to start using as your Commander.

3) Each deck comes with 2 new tri-color "wedge" Legendary Creatures to also potentially serve as your Commander.

4) All decks have a new 2-color "enemy pair" Legendary Creature as a Rare.

5) All but 1 of the decks have 3 of the old Ravnica Signets (2, Artifact, EFFECT: 1, TAP: Add [insert allied color pair mana symbols here] to your mana pool.). The only one to not have them? Political Puppets.

6) Each deck has only 1 new card in common between all 5 of them: Command Tower.

Yep, you read that right! A card that's only good in one format, Commander, and is inherently limited to one per deck. Hey, look on the bright side of it: A playset only consists of 1, and you'll get it in any deck you buy! :) And on another bright side, we finally have a card that's strictly better than Reflecting Pool. ha ha!

7) Every deck has 3 of the new "Vow of [something]" Enchantments. What are these "Vows"? Well, for example...

All the Vows have some common themes:
  a. They are all mono-colored Enchantments.
  b. They all cost 2C (2 plus their color).
  c. They all provide a power/toughness boost (usually +2/+2, but green love beatdown!).
  d. They all provide an on-color ability addition (green is Trample, white is Vigilance, etc.)
  e. They all have Pacifism-like abilities in that the creature can't attack you or a Planeswalker you control.

These could be good in regular casual, I think! Here are all 5 Vows for their Power/Toughness boosts and granted abilities:
  1) WHITE: +2/+2, Vigilance
  2) BLUE: +2/+2, Flying
  3) BLACK: +2/+2, Intimidate
  4) RED: +2/+2, First Strike
  5) GREEN: +3/+3, Trample

Each Commander theme deck will have the 3 Vows for their colors (so for example, Political Puppets, a RWU deck, will get the Red, White, and Blue Vows)


I've tried to hunt for more similarities, but I can't find a lot where every deck had the same theme. Feel free to point out more as you find them in the lists.



And now, the moment you've all been waiting for...the actual lists!


(These lists are taken from this post on the MTGSalvation forums.)

Mirror Mastery

Commanders: 1 Riku of Two Reflections 1 Animar, Soul of Elements 1 Intet, the Dreamer Creatures: 1 Magus of the Vineyard 1 Veteran Explorer 1 Fierce Empath 1 Edric, Spymaster of Trest 1 Conundrum Sphinx 1 AEthersnipe 1 Chartooth Cougar 1 Rapacious One 1 Spitebellows 1 Deadwood Treefolk 1 Elvish Aberration 1 Baloth Woodcrasher 1 Hydra Omnivore 1 Nucklavee 1 Valley Rannet 1 Faultgrinder 1 Krosan Tusker 1 Simic Sky Swallower 1 Trench Gorger 1 Avatar of Fury 1 Magmatic force 1 Artisan of Kozilek Planeswalkers: 1 Garruk Wildspeaker Artifacts: 1 Sol Ring 1 Armillary Sphere 1 Gruul Signet 1 Izzet Signet 1 Lightning Greaves 1 Prophetic Prism 1 Simic Signet Enchantments: 1 Vow of Flight 1 Vow of Lightning 1 Vow of Wildness Instants: 1 Brainstorm 1 Fire/Ice 1 Tribute to the Wild 1 Colossal Might 1 Invigorate 1 Spell Crumple 1 Electrolyze 1 Ray of Command 1 Prophetic Bolt 1 Hunting Pack

Sorceries: 1 Collective Voyage 1 Hull Breach 1 Cultivate 1 Kodama's Reach 1 Firespout 1 Ruination 1 Explosive Vegetation 1 Chain Reaction 1 Death by Dragons 1 Vengeful Rebirth 1 Disaster Radius 1 Call the Skybreaker 1 Savage Twister Lands: 1 Command Tower 1 Evolving Wilds 1 Fungal Reaches 1 Gruul Turf 1 Homeward Path 1 Izzet Boilerworks 1 Kazandu Refuge 1 Rupture Spire 1 Simic Growth Chamber 1 Temple of the False God 1 Vivid Crag 1 Vivid Creek 1 Vivid Grove 7 Island 8 Mountain 13 Fores

Devour for Power

Commanders: 1 The Mimeoplasm 1 Damia, Sage of Stone 1 Vorosh, the Hunter Creatures: 1 Nezumi Graverobber 1 Skullbriar, the Walking Grave 1 Riddlekeeper 1 Fleshbag Marauder 1 Eternal Witness 1 Troll Ascetic 1 Yavimaya Elder 1 Solemn Simulacrum 1 Brawn 1 Wonder 1 Sewer Nemesis 1 Gravedigger 1 Lhurgoyf 1 Dreamborn Muse 1 Mortivore 1 Desecrator Hag 1 Mulldrifter 1 Acidic Slime 1 Vulturous Zombie 1 Dark Hatchling 1 Extractor Demon 1 Scythe Spector 1 Wrexial, the Risen Deep 1 Triskelavus 1 Slipstream Eel 1 Butcher of Malakir 1 Patron of the Nezumi 1 Szadek, Lord of Secrets 1 Avatar of Woe 1 Artisan of Kozilek Artifacts: 1 Sol Ring 1 Dimir Signet 1 Golgari Signet 1 Lightning Greaves 1 Simic Signet 1 Oblivion Stone

Enchantments: 1 Vow of Wildness 1 Vow of Flight 1 Vow of Malice 1 Memory Erosion 1 Grave Pact Instants: 1 Tribute to the Wild 1 Spell Crumple 1 Fact or Fiction 1 Relic Crush Sorceries: 1 Minds Aglow 1 Shared Trauma 1 Sign in Blood 1 Stitch Together 1 Cultivate 1 Windfall 1 Buried Alive 1 Syphon Mind 1 Unnerve 1 Rise from the Grave 1 Syphon Flesh 1 Living Death Lands: 1 Barren Moor 1 Command Tower 1 Dimir Aqueduct 1 Dreadship Reef 1 Golgari Rot Farm 1 Jwar Isle Refuge 1 Lonely Sandbar 1 Rupture Spire 1 Simic Growth Chamber 1 Svogthos, the Restless Tomb 1 Temple of the False God 1 Terramorphic Expanse 1 Tranquil Thicket 8 Forest 8 Island 11 Swamp

Heavenly Inferno (Personal Note: This is the one I'm picking up.)

Commanders: 1 Kaalia of the Vast 1 Tariel, Reekoner of Souls 1 Oros, the Avenger Creatures:  1 Mother Of Runes 1 Orzhov Guildmage 1 Boros Guildmage 1 Gwyllion Hedge-Mage 1 Duergar Hedge-Mage 1 Lightkeeper of Emeria 1 Razorjaw Oni 1 Anger 1 Voice Of All 1 Dragon Whelp 1 Furnace Whelp 1 Serra Angel 1 Shattered Angel 1 Fallen Angel 1 Bassandra, Battle Seraph 1 Oni of Wild Places 1 Mana-Charged Dragon 1 Malfegor 1 Angelic Arbiter 1 Archangel of Strife 1 Angel of Despair 1 Bladewing the Risen 1 Avatar of Slaughter 1 Akroma, Angel Of Fury 1 Reiver Demon 1 Dream Cacademon Artifacts: 1 Sol Ring 1 Armillary Sphere 1 Boros Signet 1 Lightning Greaves 1 Orzhov Signet 1 Rakdos Signet 1 Darksteel Ingot Enchantments: 1 Soul Snare 1 Vow Of Duty 1 Vow of Malice 1 Vow of Lightning 1 Stranglehold 1 Pyrohemia 1 Righteous Cause

Instants: 1 Path to Exile 1 Bathe In Light 1 Terminate 1 Orim's Thunder 1 Mortify 1 Congregate 1 Return To Dust 1 Sulfurous Blast 1 Wrecking Ball 1 Master Warcraft 1 Cleansing Beam 1 Comet Storm Sorceries: 1 Syphon Mind 1 Diabolic Tutor 1 Evincar's Justice 1 Syphon Flesh 1 Akroma's Vengeance 1 Death By Dragons 1 Earthquake Lands: 1 Akoum Refuge 1 Barren Moor 1 Bojuka Bog 1 Boros Garrison 1 Command Tower 1 Evolving Wilds 1 Forgotten Cave 1 Molten Slagheap 1 Orzhov Basilica 1 Rakdos Carnarium 1 Rupture Spire 1 Secluded Steppe 1 Vivid Meadow 1 Zoetic Cavern 8 Plains 8 Swamp 8 Mountain

Political Puppets

Commanders: 1 Zedruu the Greathearted 1 Ruhan of the Fomori 1 Numot, the Devastator Creatures: 1 Goblin Cadets 1 Spurnmage Advocate 1 Jotun Grunt 1 Wall Of Omens 1 Fog Bank 1 Nin, The Pain Artist 1 Azorius Guildmage 1 Court Hussar 1 Gomazoa 1 Guard Gomazoa 1 Vedalken Plotter 1 Wall Of Denial 1 Plumeveil 1 Flametongue Kavu 1 Windborn Muse 1 False Prophet 1 Brion Stoutarm 1 Chromeshell Crab 1 Izzet Chronarch 1 Dominus of Fealty 1 Rapacious One 1 Arbiter of Knollridge Artifacts: 1 Sol Ring 1 Armillary Sphere 1 Fellwar Stone 1 Howling Mine 1 Lightning Greaves 1 Prophetic Prism 1 Champion's Helm 1 Darksteel Ingot 1 Dreamstone Hedron Enchantments: 1 Soul Snare 1 Journey to nowhere 1 Vow Of Lightning 1 Ghostly Prison 1 Vow Of Duty 1 Propaganda 1 Vow Of Flight 1 Prison Term 1 Crescendo of War 1 Martyr's Bond

Instants: 1 Brainstorm 1 Flusterstorm 1 Lash out 1 Punishing Fire 1 Pollen Lullaby 1 Perilous Research 1 Vision Skeins 1 Whirlpool Whelm 1 Chaos Warp 1 Oblation 1 Murmurs from Beyond 1 Repulse 1 Spell Crumple 1 Wild Ricochet 1 Reins Of Power 1 Scattering Stroke Sorceries: 1 Breath of Darigaaz 1 Trade Secrets 1 Death By Dragons 1 Austere Command 1 Insurrection 1 Skyscribing Lands: 1 Azorius Chancery 1 Boros Garrison 1 Command Tower 1 Evolving Wilds 1 Izzet Boilerworks 1 Terramorphic Expanse 8 Mountain 8 Plains 12 Island

Counter Punch

Commanders: 1 Teneb, the Harvester 1 Karador, Ghost Chieftain 1 Ghave, Guru of Spores Creatures: 1 Aquastrand spider 1 Deadly Recluse 1 Sakura-Tribe Elder 1 Scavenging Ooze 1 Monk Realist 1 Selesnya Evangel 1 Golgari Guildmage 1 Selesnya Guildmage 1 Nantuko Husk 1 Fertilid 1 Spawnwrithe 1 Vampire Nighthawk 1 Spike Feeder 1 Yavimaya Elder 1 Squallmonger 1 Penumbra Spider 1 Sigil Captain 1 Shriekmaw 1 Dark hatchling 1 Hornet Queen 1 Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter 1 Symbiotic Wurm 1 Celestial Force 1 Chorus of the Conclave Artifacts: 1 Skullclamp 1 Sol Ring 1 Golgari Signet 1 Lightning Greaves 1 Orzhov Signet 1 Selesnya Signet 1 Darksteel Ingot 1 Acorn Catapult Enchantments: 1 Soul Snare 1 Fists of Ironwood 1 Necrogenesis 1 Vow of Malice 1 Awakening Zone 1 Vow of Wildness 1 Oblivion Ring 1 Vow of Duty

Instants: 1 Attrition 1 Aura Shards 1 Doom Blade 1 Tribute to the Wild 1 Footbottom Feast 1 Afterlife 1 Mortify 1 Nemesis Trap 1 Cobra Trap Sorceries: 1 Alliance of Arms 1 Cultivate 1 Harmonize 1 Syphon Flesh 1 Bestial Menace 1 Hex 1 Hour of Reckoning 1 Death Mutation 1 Storm Herd Lands: 1 Barren Moor 1 Command Tower 1 Evolving Wilds 1 Golgari Rot Farm 1 Orzhov Basilica 1 Rupture Spire 1 Secluded Steppe 1 Selesnya Sanctuary 1 Temple of the False God 1 Tranquil Thicket 1 Vivid Grove 1 Vivid Marsh 1 Vivid Meadow 8 Swamp 10 Forest 8 Plains

Well, what do you think? Are these decks worth the $30 MSRP? Are any of them just utter crap? Remember, these decks are meant for multiplayer Commander use, so judge their inclusion in the decks accordingly. Though feel free to judge the new cards in more of a regular 60-card idea for Legacy and Vintage only.


I hope you've enjoyed the (few) previews here. This week I'll start tackling M12 for its release on July 15th (and Pre-Release the weekend before that, July 9-10). Look for more posts this week on the new Core Set! Until then, take care.

More Commander Previews! New Commander, New "Mechanic"

(NOTE: All images from MTGSalvation.com Commander spoiler)

Today's a BIIIIIG spoiler day for the Commander decks!

Not only do we have a lot of Commanders and new cards being spoiled left and right, we now also have the deck lists for each deck! So starting today, I'll preview one new Commander and the Decklist they go with.

But first, let's start off with a preview of the new "mechanic" in the Commander theme decks. While its roots are in multiplayer, I wouldn't be surprised to see this mechanic used in duels to give the person casting these an advantage.

Let me introduce you to the new mechanic by previewing one of the new spells. Introducing the new ability word JOIN FORCES!

Join Forces is an ability word, which means that not all Join Forces work EXACTLY the same every time but they do share a common theme. Any card with "Join Forces" basically allows all players to pay any amount of mana, then all players get some effect for every time the mana was paid.

For example, we see Collective Voyage. Let's say in a 5-player game, I cast it and pay 3 mana. The next player pays 2 mana, the next 4, and the final 2 players pay 0 mana. ALL players will get 3 + 2 + 4 = 9 basic lands into play straight form the library!

That's one advantage to Join Forces: If you're the last player to decide to pay in, you don't have to spend a dime (so to speak) to reap the rewards. If you think 9 basics is enough for you, go get 'em without paying anything else in!

That's also a disadvantage to Join Forces: If you pay in, you're allowing everyone to get the same effect effectively that many times.

Be wise in how you use it and you should get some good mileage out of what would seem like a fair ability word. :)


Our next preview is one of the new "wedge" Commanders. And in my opinion, it's one of the strongest. We know how bad 4-mana fliers can be on opponents. So how about one that dumps more fliers onto the battlefield? Announcing...Kaalia of the Vast!

I've gotta say, I don't mind paying 4 mana for this. A 2/2 Flier may not be as good on the cost-to-mana curve, but I'm looking at that second ability. Do you know what kinds of Angels, Demons, and Dragons there are that you COULD drop just by attacking? Let's look at just what's in the deck!

Serra Angel
Malfegor
Angel of Despair
Akorma, Angel of Fury

Need I go on? How about one more preview card today that combines with the 2 shown here: It's a Dragon and has Join Forces on it! Give a big round of applause for Mana-Charged Dragon!

I know, the text can be hard to read. So I'll short-hand what it does.

For 4RR, you get a 5/5 Flier with Trample that has a Join forces ability. When it attacks or blocks, any players may pay any amount of mana. Then, the total amount gives Mana-Charged Dragon +X/+0 until end of turn.

O.O

Did I read that right? Okay, if you think in the normal context it's pretty nice that you can be the hero by taking out an opponent and everyone else contributing to their downfall.

But I'm looking more at this being a splashable dragon, similar to Moltensteel Dragon in New Phyrexia.

You see, ANY amount of players may pay ANY amount of life, starting with you. One of the problems with Firebreathing-like abilities has been "But I've gotta pay Red to get the +1/+0!" Well, Mana-Charged Dragon changes that. If you're Red/Green, for example, guess what? You can now use those otherwise useless Llanowar Elves to help pump your dragon. I've gotta say, that's pretty darn nice. :)


That's all I have for today. There are a TON of spoilers, so feel free to check out MTGSalvation.com's Commander spoilers. M12 is starting to spoil at a pretty nice rate, so I'll probably do one more Commander preview update and call it a wrap and get ready for M12.

I hope you've all enjoyed some of these previews. Please leave comments and E-mails with feedback and I'll see what I can do to switch things up in the near future.

Thanks again for reading!

Commander Deck Reprint News: Sol Ring and Lightning Greaves!

This week MTGCommander.net is previewing some cards from the new Magic: The Gathering: Commander theme decks coming out in June.

Today, they and "the mothership" previewed 2 reprints. 1 goes into every Commander theme deck, while the other we're not sure how often it'll appear.

The card that will appear in every Commander theme deck?

SOL RING!

(image from WotC's Arcana for June 1st)

If you remember the From the Vault: Relics set from last year, you'll remember that this is the artwork used on that version of Sol Ring. Will the original drop in price? Most likely. But part of Commander/EDH is "pimping your deck", so either a From the Vault version or old Alpha/Beta/Unlimited/Revised versions could hold some value for being original art or foil (or in the case of the DCI Judge promo verison, both!).


The other card is one we're very familiar with but is about a $4-$5 Uncommon already...Lightning Greaves!

(preview image from MTGCommander.net forums)

These 2 are practically universal additions to a Commander deck if you've got these cards. Sol Ring is just a fast mana accelerator at best and a decent mana accelerator at worst.


Tomorrow I'll show a preview of a new Commander card...and a new Commander for those U/G decks. :)

Commander Format for 1/15

We've got our first format for the new year!

On January 15th, if enough players want to, we'll do a Commander free-for-all. If we get agreement, we'll run it almost like a tournament. Entry fee would be $2, and I'd provide as many packs as $2 can provide. As usual, we'd then open all the packs and, starting with the winner, each person can pick one card out of the packs, rotating around the finishing order until all the cards are gone. (A system for doing this will be posted later in the week).

We'll follow the majority of the rules found on MTGCommander.net.

We are making a few changes, though:

1) Auto-Win and Auto-Loss cards not already on the banned list are banned. This includes, but is not limited to, cards like Door to Nothingness, Felidar Sovereign, and Mortal Combat. The key to this ban is if it lets a player win or makes a player lose by its own effect, it's banned.
  CLARIFICATION: Cards that give players Poison Counters and milling effects are still legal. Losing for having 10 Poison Counters is specifically written into the Comprehensive Rules as a win condition, as is losing because you can't draw a card.

2) Platinum Angel is banned.

3) We will follow normal Multiplayer mulligain and first-turn draw rules instead of the method described on MTGCommander.net. That is, everyone gets one free mulligain, and the player going first in the game gets to draw a card instead of skipping their first draw.



Why did we decide to go this route?

1) Auto-Win and Auto-Lose cards are no fun. EDH/Commander games are meant to go long. When someone can pull off an auto-win against everyone all at once, especially after just a few turns, it detracts from the fun of the format.

2) We've had problems with Platinum Angel in the past. You can't lose, and your opponents can't win, and usually when you pull her out you'll have some kind of backup. It's a local nuisance.

3) Normal multiplayer mulligain rules are just easier than what's in the EDH/Commander rules. That and it keeps things consistent no matter which multiplayer format we play.


NOTE: This is experimental. If more cards give us cause for concern, or if we want to try auto-win/auto-loss cards for example, we can amend our "house rules" to follow suit.


If you have any thoughts, suggestions, questions, etc., feel free to comment or E-mail me.

We hope you have enjoyed your New Year so far!

Attempt at EDH/Commander Saturday

Hey guys!
  While it won't be a tournament format (at least, not yet), we're looking at doing a round of EDH/Commander games this Saturday (January 1st). If you need rules, go here: http://mtgcommander.net/rules.php

Enjoy building!

Commander Ban List and Rules Update: December 2010

(All information comes from MTGCommander.net)

With the upcoming release of Commander theme decks next year, the EDH Commander rules committee have made some rules changes that will impact deck construction on a few generals now and possibly open up some design space for Wizards of the Coast to work with in future sets. As well, they've gotten rid of a big Eldrazi-sized thorn in the Commander format's side.

BANNED LIST UPDATES
Emrakul, the Aeons Torn is now banned.

No more tentacle rape for you!

Emrakul was warping games. And apparently if you built your deck right, it could come out multiple times in a game. If your local group hadn't already banned Emrakul, here's the official update proclaiming "no more!".


RULES UPDATE: "COLOR IDENTITY"
Previous to this update, Commanders had to only have the colors of their mana cost. This meant cards like Bosh, Iron Golem or Thelon of Havenwood couldn't be used as Generals Commanders. The colors in their effects didn't match up with the colors (or lack thereof) in their mana costs.

Now, the "color identity" rule exists.

Along with a creature's mana cost, any costs and/or effects and/or any characteristic-defining abilities will determine the color(s) of a card (and more importantly, a Commander). (This does not include reminder text).

A few examples of potential Commanders this opens up: Memnarch; Bosh, Iron Golem; Thelon of Havenwood; Daughter of Autumn

You know you've always wanted to build around her as a Commander. Admit it!

If there are any other changes because of this rule, I'm oblivious since I don't keep up with EDH/Commander. If anyone out there has further implications of this rules change, feel free to post below.


Enjoy building your new Emrakul-free, "off-color" Commander decks! :)

No More EDH...Kinda...2011's Casual Project Announced!

Well, another year comes and everyone wonders...what's going to be the multiplayer casual release this year?


Well...Let's say it's the first time I remember Wizards of the Coast doing 100-card preconstructed decks. (Not counting two-player releases like the Duel Deck series or Beatdown, etc.).

Let's also say it's a current casual favorite format.

Yes, it's EDH (Elder Dragon Highlander) Preconstructed Decks!


But...it's not EDH...kinda.

And they've got some nice surprises, like...

MTGCommander.net Preview

More details...after the jump!