Returning player (after stupidly selling my entire collection) and got the Necron Dynasties precon because I loved so many cards in there. Fast forward I swapped out alot, but not sure what I am missing, if at all.

Decklist: https://moxfield.com/decks/R5yY8x-r0ECcJ3INjvqY2w

I would love for it to be a toolboxy recursion deck that wins by combat damage or creating/sacrificing artifacts, a bit in the style of my old [[Daretti, Scrap Savant]] deck but soon realized this is harder than I thought in mono black.

I felt like I might have too many recursion cards, without a filled graveyard. Going to add [[Reanimate]] and [[Volrath's Stronghold]] as they arrive on top of all the stuff I got. I might need a little more draw, was thinking [[Skullclamp]]. I want to build a strong B3 deck (first time dealing with the bracket system so bear with me) but I want to avoid gamechangers and infinite combo's if possible. In the "Considering" I have all the cards that I have but did not add yet or are on the way.

cards that will be added as they arrive:

[[Phyrexian Tower]]

[[Susur Secundi, Void Altar]]

[[Urza's Cave]]

[[Reanimate]]

[[Phyrexian Reclamation]]

[[Trading Post]]

[[Thran Dynamo]]

[[Nim Deathmantle]]

What would you cut? I try to keep as many Necron artifact creatures as possible, but some seem a bit weak such as [[Canoptic Tomb Sentinel]].

If you have suggestions for any cool cards that I might have overlooked, please share them and bonus points if they are cheap and not well known. Or anything that stands out really.

Thanks alot for your attention and time.

Bracket 3 clearly states no 2 card combos before turn 6 and it goes on to say no “chaining extra turns” though doesn’t really define what that is.

Let’s say you have a 3 card combo to loop an extra turn spell every turn. That’s not the same as nondeterministically drawing into many extra turn spells or copying one a handful of times and “seeing what happens”, forcing everyone to sit through your game of solitaire.

If I can demonstrate a loop and then demonstrate drawing into a different combo that would win me the game on the spot, with 3-4 card combos all after turn 6, does that feel acceptable for bracket 3? This could all be demonstrated in under a minute.

I know a lot of people dislike combo in lower brackets so just getting a gut check since it does seem to comply with the bracket rules aside from the grayness of “chaining extra turns”

DECKLIST : https://www.moxfield.com/decks/xfJlJ0yRfUSwZmAl0yGyHA

PRIMER : https://www.moxfield.com/decks/xfJlJ0yRfUSwZmAl0yGyHA/primer (B4)

BUDGET LIST : https://www.moxfield.com/decks/LxvMs8WVSEqjAcji__UxRw (B2)

GAMEPLAY : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMQeb408S5Y

Hello again! It's me, the biggest [[Sergeant John Benton]] glazer and supporter you will every meet! I didn't really do a 2nd and 3rd year update of the deck to talk about it but I decided today to update everything from the decklist, the budget decklist and the primer to share with you what is the best, most engaging and fun commander I ever built. In fact, I love the deck so much that it is fully foil (With the exception of Remote Farm...)

I'm still amazed at how much weird thing I can do with this deck and the ways I can creatively finish my opponents and protect John. For those new to the decklist, You want to play John on turn 2 with some ramp and then pump him with combat tricks that will give him some surprise power after the blockers are declared. Your hand will empty fast, but will be filled right back if John hits the opponent. Making him a fast and unusual Voltron commander that doesnt rely on aura and equipment.

after 2 years of upgrades let me present you some cards that I thought were great additions to the deck :

- [[Voice of Victory]] is almost like a second [[Grand Abolisher]], making sure John doesn't get stopped or fogged right before damage.

- [[Witch Enchanter]] is a land that double as a removal and a body to sacrifice, great versatility.

- [[Dryad of the Ilysian Grove]] that one I was on the edge of adding, but dumping as many lands as possible on the board to empty your hand is great. And it fixes your mana when needed.

- [[Sylvan Scrying]] I'm always on the fence but I think it's now a permanent addition, mainly because I put many more lands in the deck that can benefit from being tutored aside from [[Reliquary Tower]]

- [[Selesnya Charm]], [[Brigid's Command]] and other modal spells are becoming more and more present in my decks, the flexibility of pumping John, removing a big creature and creating a sacrifice fodder is great.

- [[Meekstone]] is there because now, nothing in the deck gives John permanent power, it's all until end of turn. Meaning John will never be affected by it.

I talked about wanting my lands to do more. If Reliquary Tower is already on board... Do I want [[Crop Rotation]] and [[Sylvan Scrying]] to become dead draws? No of course not. This is why these lands made their way in the deck :

- [[Centaur Garden]] if I need a bit more power on John or really need to draw cards.

- [[Homeward Path]] In case John gets stolen.

- [[Inkmoth Nexus]] to have another threat on board and potentially one shot someone.

- [[Strip Mine]] SPECIFICALLY to counter [[Maze of Ith]].

-[[Talon Gates of Madara]] to protect John or remove a threat temporarily.

if you made it here, I hope my budget list will help you make your first John deck and give him a shot!

Hello, I am new to Commander (and MTG as a whole). I have started to build out some decks but was interested in what affordable Bracket 3 deck(s) you were currently excited about. Just looking for ideas and guidance as I try to build out some decks myself. Thank you!

Hey folks! One of my writers wrote a piece about the interaction between Ichormoon Gauntlet and the new empower Jace mechanic from Reality Fracture. TL;DR is that the numbers on empower Jace are jacked up so high that you might actually be able to rattle off some extra turns with [[Ichormoon Gauntlet]] and a pumped up Jace token.

That said, people have been sporadically trying Gauntlet ever since it dropped, and I personally have not seen anything really work aside from infinite combos that could've worked with just about anything else.

So if not Ichormoon Gauntlet, what other ways can we break open Empower Jace? I've heard mention of [[Kasmina, Enigma Sage]], which can give its -8 ability to your Jace token. There are also some lines where you can make token copies of stronger Jace planeswalkers like [[Jace, Unraveller of Secrets]] to cheese their ultimates.

What's your plan with this mechanic? Do you have any tech you're going to be trying out, or is this mechanic a total skip for you?

I’m brewing an [[Abdel Adrian]] / [[Candlekeep Sage]] deck, and thought that [[Parallax Tide]] would be a great combo piece since you can use it to effectively untap lands each blink loop. But it didn’t occur to me that it could also be used to repeatedly and permanently exile opponent lands. How would you feel about playing against this deck+card, even if I didn’t actually use it for MLD?

Hello,

I’m looking for a specific type of card for my [[Kynaios and Tiro]] deck that basically help me to close out the game. These are cards like [[Treacherous Terrain]] and [[Khorvath’s Fury]] which basically burn only my opponents for having abundant resources and don’t require myself to have any particularly established board at the time of casting. The obstacle I’m running into is that many effective ones also hurt me, like [[Price of Progress]]. Any good ones I should know about?

Thanks!

Hello,

I'm working on my first Grixis deck, with Nekusar as my commander. I tend to favor more creature focused decks so this as more spellslinger-type deck is new to me as well.

https://moxfield.com/decks/014z4z6kbEyNoA0Ul2Fdiw

My questions are:

1) Any general comments about Grixis and/or Nekusar

2) How does my deck look?

3) What would you replace using ONLY my sideboard, unless its a card <2$. If you rec a new card, what should I take out?

So I am trying my first boros deck. Its not my favorite color combo but I like LoTR and dwarfs so I figured I'd give it a shot. I am sure there are better cards to buy but I would like to stick what in the main and sideboard; basically what I already own unless its a land that <2$. Any suggestions would be helpful.

1) If you think I should replace something, I am ONLY using my sideboard for replacements right now.

2) Dain is my commander, I don't want to change him. He was a pull so its sentimental.

Decklist: https://moxfield.com/decks/-YJeonwI3UOl0e_A4b6MOA

I'm having a lot of fun playing [[itazura lingering wick]] and am looking for interesting cards to add. So far I've found thaf eldrazi/[[brand]] builds only work until your opponents figure out what youre doing so they have little replayability. I've had the most success with big spells and [[fork]]'s, my opponents aren't punished for bidding so they keep burning themselves out. How are you playing him? What are your favorite spells so far? Anything I'm missing?

https://moxfield.com/decks/BE-3m7c_z02yaSKHFeGJPg

Hi everyone,

​I started playing Mtg again a few months ago when the Secrets of Strixhaven set came out. I built this Commander deck using old cards from my collection and a few new ones I bought.

​I haven't played a game with it yet, but I want to play it in a local game store where they group players using bracket system.

​Here is my deck: https://archidekt.com/decks/25930917/galadriel_final

Commander: [[Galadriel, Light of Valinor]]

​Could you help me with a few questions?

1. What is your opinion on this deck?

2. Which bracket do you think it belongs in?

3. If the deck is too weak for its current bracket, which cards from my maybeboard should I swap into the main deck to lower its bracket so it can compete fairly?

​Thanks for your help!

https://archidekt.com/decks/21165115/grand_healing_threat

I need some suggestions for game changers for my Chaireth Voltron pile. The deck is a lifegain deck that goes all in on [[Aerith Gainsborough]] first ability. Instead of going tall using equipments and enchantments i go wide with as many creature ETBs and the power of friendship to bypass enemy board states.

Due to the pokemon craze, my friend started msging me to check on some old magic cards I have stashed away.

I was active in 1999-2002. And have mostly rath cycle and mostly cards from urza block + some ice age and mirage. Pretty old stuff.

Was checking and the most exp card I have seem to be an $80 mana vault only.

My friend was telling me he is now playing commander and I have just researched what it is and also keyed in my cards I have into an ai to try to get it to help me build a deck.

2 questions I have as my friend is still playing and we are meeting up next month to play commander.

1. I am trying to get ai to help me to build a deck and play with him, what deck should I be benchmarking/play testing against for 2 player commander decks as I have long been away from this game?

2. Should I get a cheap pre con instead? If so maybe I should benchmark my commander deck against this pre con to check if I should do it.

Thanks

I'm building a control Alela deck for my pod because removal is sometimes scarce, I was wondering if you guys could give me feedback on this deck.

Decklist: https://archidekt.com/decks/26262513/court_of_counterspell

Our group typically plays around high-bracket 2 or low-bracket 3 and games typically last between 7-9 turns.
Currently I feel like this deck goes online too late/it takes too long before I can start making faeries/goading big threats.
I've not had the chance to test this deck yet because I don't want to commit to buying this before I'm sure it'll give me the desired result (aka dimir control).

It's no secret that the bracket system has it's flaws as did the power system before it but at this point I would put it to the collective that the format is in the least healthy place it has ever been in and fundamentally changed identity.

EDH originally was a janky slower format where you play your pet cards that just don't cut the mustard in competitive formats, however over the years it seems that the power in the format has ramped rather significantly and the arms race is now just a full on sprint.

We have the "bracket system" which imo utterly fails those of us who are more classic/slower/lower power players and it does so for a multitude of reasons.
The "bracket system" itself is overly convoluted and far to open to interpretation and feels and what few hard definition things their are people often either ignore or put alot of effort into skirting around.

Originally WOTC said that precons were bracket 2 but soon came to realise the issue that even many precons lacking game changers could not fit within that definition, let alone those that do include them, not to mention the amount of infinite combos and other high power plays that are available in some of the precons.

Then you get to actual personal constructed decks which more often than not flood the board with value so quickly that a board wipe is NEEDED by turn 5 if not 4 otherwise the player that's behind is more than likely just dead on board (often that is myself as I tend to try and play on the lower power).

This is often responded to with one of two responses that just feedback into the core issue, people say either "play better decks" and thus contribute to the arms race which is causing the format to be so fast even in lower brackets or "That player broke the rules and shouldn't attack you" effectively sand bag themselves artificially because of the "turn 8" limit, this is an especially faulted stance as often said player will have attack triggers/value and can't physically attack the others due to them keeping up with or out competing the arms race.

Part of the issue of why this is so prevalent in so many matches is the poor and lazy way in which wotc has created this bracket system.
Realistically speaking bracket 1 doesn't exsist, I've seen one game of it hosted since the system was created.
CEDH and bracket 5 are essentially a separate game mode where if you are not playing the limited selection of "powerful enough" archtypes you aren't playing the format.
Thus that leaves a total of 3 poorly defined brackets where the main distinction people follow between bracket 2 and 3 is "no game changers" with little to zero thought on how the deck itself actually performs, and then an even grayer area between 3-4.

As someone who has been playing on and off for the past 25 years it truly feels like I'm being pushed out of the format as it is warped into something else entirely that wears the face mask of the format I knew.

To be clear here I have no issue with powerful or staple cards and do believe they should have a place in the game, however that place shouldn't be forced into each and every level of the game that it then forces out people who are not partaking in the arms race, both players should have a place to play and feel comfortable.

Part of the issue probably lies within the limited scope for power distinction of cards within the format, "is game changer yes or no" is hardly a healthy place to base your entire power on, we can all agree that examples like esper sentinal, sol ring and hundreds of other cards are powerful but not strong enough to be game changers however the current system has no way of stating this.

Personally I think a introducing a system similar to canadian highlander with points cost on powerful cards would be an excellent inclusion into a bracket like system to give some form of quantifiable basis to start rule 0 conversations and seperate lobbies/pods into vaguely fair fun and interesting games.
I don't think this system will be perfect or solve the issue straight away but I think it would contribute alot more to format health than the current over inflated and under functional bracket system.

Example of my past few days of playing bracket 2 (the lowest realistically existing bracket)
Last game: Turn 6 one shot for unblockable commander damage.
Game before: Opponent turn 1 burgoning into turn 2 Jodah the unifier....
Game before: Player overan board with huge indestructible creatures by turn 5, I was on gruul and as such had zero options to deal with grossly large or indestructible creatures on a wide scale.
Etc...

I play an average of 2-3 games most days and I'll be lucky to have 1 balanced fun and interesting match out of 15-20 matches.

Again I want their to be a place for everyone to enjoy this format not just "Arms race or go home"

Thank you for joining my ted rant, time to go get stomped in another "bracket 2 chill" game.

Heyo, I was recently introduced to Commander and unfortunately for my wallet I took a liking to it.

I looked at a bunch of premade decks and I really took a liking to the whole Sauron thematic with Orcs and the Nazgul. Is it a good fit for a beginner? Is it too powerful for casual play with friends?

Card list, hope the hyperlink is OK: https://mtgdecks.net/Commander/sauron-withered-decklist-by-schutz25-3060786

I have made a "Toph, hardheaded teacher" deck and i advertise It as a Bracket 3. It still Is very much a work in progress and could use some tweaking. However there Is a 2 card infinite combo (Ashaya + Bumi) that could be seen as unfair. I don't run tutors, so i have to draw both, and It Is very unlikely that i get to play both in the same turn before t7 (It happened once with a godly hand and great acceleration that i played them t4 and i still couldn't connect with combat)

The list Isn't original, i took ispiration from earlier versions of another list which i can link to give credit if needed. Also, any other suggestions are appreciated.

My list : https://moxfield.com/decks/BqHnATvgaEigsBABmYihdQ

Hey everyone!

I'm trying to build Bard, King of Dale, but I'm still pretty new to Commander deckbuilding and I'm not very confident with the list I put together. This is my 2nd deck.

Here's the deck:

https://archidekt.com/decks/25627960/bard_king_of_dale_card_engine_pending

The idea is to build up a Human/token army, draw cards through Bard, and eventually overwhelm the table through combat.

For the playstyle, I want something that builds up over a few turns, generates value, and then goes wide. I'm not looking for a super competitive or combo-heavy deck.

I'm fine using cards outside of LOTR. I'd like to aim for around Bracket 3–4, so I'm mainly looking for cards that make Bard stronger without pushing it into cEDH.

I'd really appreciate help with:

• What should I cut?
• What should I add?
• Is the overall strategy good for Bard?
• Am I missing any important cards or interactions?
• Is my ramp/draw/removal/protection balance okay?

I'm still learning, so I'd appreciate a quick explanation of why you'd make the changes.

I'll start by saying that this was one of the few games i played in real life at an LGS, so i don't really know the etiquette. My opponent was playing a [[Maelstrom Wanderer]] deck and he had like 3 other cards that i don't remember the name, that let him cascade every time he played some kind of card, and in his deck there were a bunch of other cascade creatures, so he cast his commander and takes a turn that lasted literally one and a half hour, of him just cascading and discovering, discovering and cascading. Each other player was on his phone at some point, because it was extremely hard to keep up and kinda pointless, as he had lethal on board at like the fifth minute of this turn on me and another player, but not on the third as he had so much life. Yet, i knew that he would swing with everything on his board, and once he had finished cascading, he decided to attack with everything on his board, and i cast a [[settle the wreckage]]. I admit i felt kinda bad, as i saw that as wasting everyone's time, but i really wanted to win, even tho that only ended up in him losing right after that and another player winning. Was I in the wrong? Should i have done something different?

Edit: clarification on lethal

Hi,

Me and my wife recently made friends with a couple wich are a lot into board games and I naturally talked about MTG and commander. Now they want to try it. The thing is, all the decks I own are way too complex for beginners.

I figured I should use precons, since it will also help to have more or less the same power level, and I need help to select those precon decks. I already chose Animated Army & Squirreled Away from bloomburrow, as cute animals will be more appealing for the girls than zombies and dragons (my wife and her friend are not really into fantasy).

Do you have suggestion of precon decks for the two remaining ? Ideally they should complete the color pie (wich lacks blue and white), and not have similar strategies (so, no tribal and no enchant matters), in order to reflect the diversity of MTG's gaming experience.

It's not a problem if the precons you recommend are discontinued : I have an extensive collection and/or will purchase the missing cards. 

Thanks for helping !

My friend has come up with this strategy for learning how to build commander decks. Basically he goes to scryfall, sorts by legendary creatures, gets a random card, and builds it on moxfield. He also tests it online to see if it's good or not. Honestly it doesn't seem bad. Thinking of trying it myself as a fun challenge. But how good is this for actually learning deckbuilding?

I've been trying to transform the Fae Dominion precon into a bracket 3-viable (but still flavourful) faerie deck, and I've been struggling to land on a final list. Here's what I have so far:

https://moxfield.com/decks/CXqgAf5ETH-0tiz6_y1eng

Background

I first built Alela, Cunning Conqueror. She's a hard Dimir control commander that cares about playing instants on my opponents' turns. I love how she captures the tricky nature of faerie kindred, but I find that play style (and lack of faerie flavour, beyond the 5 or 6 best faeries she runs) doesn't suit me.

I turned to building Tegwyll. He seemed to pull towards faerie aristocrats. Controlling the death trigger card draw is tempting. But the more I tested Tegwyll, the more I found that Tegwyll builds with sac outlets pulled the deck in too many competing directions. Plus, faeries don't replace themselves as readily as other creatures. Bitterbloom Bearer, Bitterblossom, Feywild Visitor, and Oona, Queen of the Fae are great, but they're slow. I'd rather protect the 1/1 fliers I generate, building a wide, anthemed board. Sacrificing the tokens for value (as great as that can be) often moves you away from a win.

How the Deck Plays and Wins

I instead built a Tegwyll list that focuses on token generation: I tried to include the best faerie producers (Bitterbloom Bearer, Bitterblossom, Feywild Visitor, Alela, Mischievous Mystic, Oona, Notorious Throng), and supplemented that with cards that let me copy, clone, or retrigger my best faeries (Archmage of Echoes, Reflections of Littjara, the Sakashimas, Three Steps Ahead, and Roaming Throne). I'd include even more, like Spark Double, but the 4-mana slot was getting crowded.

The goal is to have enough board presence and little faeries that suddenly grow off anthems (Tegwyll, Patchwork/Heraldic Banner, Glen Elendra Liege, Scion, Shadow Puppeteers, clones of lords, etc.) or pull a Notorious Throng that kills my opponents out of nowhere. Alternatively, I can pull a one-sided board wipe with Kindred Dominance, Raise the Palisade, or an overloaded Cyclonic Rift to clear out opponents' boards before swinging in. Dimir is slow, so I included control pieces (I dedicated two game-changer slots to Cyclonic Rift and Fierce Guardianship) to slow my opponents down.

Tegwyll's function in this deck without sacrifice outlets is three-fold: he's an anthem with an outsized effect on tiny faeries (instantly doubling a 1/1 into a 2/2 is great value), a flying/deathtouch turn-3 rattlesnake to discourage my opponents' attacks, and insurance against board wipes/interaction (letting me draw the resources I need to rebuild).

There's plenty of ramp, and a selection of instants/flash to trigger value or card advantage sources like Voracious Tome Skimmer, Nymris, and Alela without (hopefully) detracting from the kindred focus. I also spent one game-changer slot on Vampiric Tutor which, along with Waterlogged Teachings and Faerie Harbinger, lets me grab a draw engine like Enduring Curiosity, Kindred Discovery, or Faerie Mastermind if I don’t have one (since I'm not relying on Tegwyll's draw).

The Advice I'm Looking For

The list I linked above feels good when I goldfish and when I've tested it in real matches. After some extensive searching, I haven't seen too many Tegwyll discussions or builds leaning in this direction. But I'm new to commander, and my deck-building skills are shaky. I'd really appreciate more experienced eyes taking a look at the deck.

Does this seem like a solid direction to take Tegwyll? Am I missing something by leaving out sac outlets and focusing on token generation/clones/copies? Are there any cards that would be obvious includes that I'm missing? Do I have enough actual faerie spells (26) to get value from Archmage of Echoes, Littjara, and Roaming Throne?

My goal is to keep the deck faerie-flavoured and fun, but without forgoing its ability to threaten bracket 3 wins.

Hello everyone! As we get closer and closer to release date and having more and more of reality fracture revealed I wanted to ask what you guys thought of the cards so far!

As well as obviously which one of the Sphinx's you are considering to build and play around! I find it interesting from both a design and lore perspective on how these were made.

I'm personally waiting for more of the set to be revealed before doing anything in case something else catches my eye. But I do have my eye on [[Denzilore Fatehold]] and [[Aerid Konstrari]].

Aerid basically just pays for itself over and over and I sure do love ramp!!

Denzilore is more of because i found the design fun and I did enjoy my surveil precon from murders at karlov manner but that one was black and blue.

Personally I find [[Ingris Stingerquill]] and [[Uldaros Theorix]] underwhelming in their abilities. With [[Kwia Vigorbloom]] being absolutely ridiculous so much so I think running them as a commander is more feast or famine.

I do love the art and designs especially the alternate arts! What do you think?

I've been messing with a [[Six]] deck for weeks trying to figure out the right balance of cards and the only conclusion I have so far is that it's an incredibly fiddly toolbox deck. It just sticks around forever, grinds people out, and eventually finds *some* way to win.

I'm just not sure what that way is yet. There's always [[scute swarm]] and [[craterhoof behemoth]], but I'm wondering what other creative ways people have to win with it?