Even more ways to level up your decks! (intermediate) | Deck Driver MTG

When trying to make your decks better, there are certain DO's and DON'TS to make it that much better. Last video we talked about having a well rounded and balanced deck. In this video we will now talk about how to take it one step further and use a mana curve to it's full effect.
Moxfield links:
Felix: www.moxfield.com/decks/XO82j1...
Jetmir: www.moxfield.com/decks/QjuxVg...

[@Bee-wk7hw]

Deck driver upload!?!? And so close to the snail upload!?!? This is based as hell i gotta go make some popcorn

[@jamieweidhaas7986]

I knew there was more than one person who also watched that combo of channels

[@yngnickel]

Goats

[@mminna7807]

@@jamieweidhaas7986lol forreal

[@Bronkeykong]

I’d also add trinket mage to this list

[@ss3nm0dn4r8]

@@jamieweidhaas7986 I just blocked the other 2 from my recommended because the videos kept devolving into you are bad for playing not like me and you should feel bad is this channel also gonna devolve into that

[@brandyourfan9244]

You did a great job of explaining how to make an aggressive deck. That said, being that aggressive isn't always what the Commander wants to do.

[@alexv1265]

Every time you are able to set a good board before your commander is played you become the target for sure

[@Controlqueen31]

I find this interesting, and I agree. Two new Commanders that play the "same type of deck" are going to be released in the new Assassin's Creed set: Eivor, the Naya one, and Sigurd. Eivor is a big creature that wants to hit hard, and gives you card advantage. But she is probably going to kill your opponents so quickly if unresponded. But Sigurd is more like a grindy saga focused deck that can win in late game. As you said, some commanders who play the same strategies don't mean to be played the same way.

[@shooberoni]

I sorta agree, I think he also forgot to consider commanders that are engines rather then pay-offs, for example one of my decks is Rin and Seri, which while it does have a creature count payoff, is more so used for its token generation on creature cast meaning this deck would want the commander out earlier so it grants it performs in token generation affects sooner and helps build you to the wincon in the 99 faster than the deck could do without the engine commander.

[@volitant998]

Loved this vid. I watched a few of your videos and managed to construct a brutally cutthroat Raffine list. No combos or tutors, just good card selection and curve out. So fun to play. Working on honing a Karlach and Hardy Outlander list right now

[@bloomcrawler]

Biggest take away I took away from this video, was to maximize your curve by asking yourself what are the best cards to play on each turns of the game; Instead of using categories, minimums, and maximums. Because CMDR is singleton format, their will be multiple cards for each turn we are looking to use; Preferably with the same or similar effect to maintain deck consistency.

[@Oedwai_Gang]

I don't think jetmir is a commander that should be played on curve. It's more like a overrun effect you play to win the game. Because if you would play it on curve you often don't have your 9 creature threshold. I do agree that people should focus more on curving out tho!

[@Oedwai_Gang]

I'll also add that jetmir is very scary so people will remove him if played too early. The sequenceing is very important and the double strike that the 9 creature threshold gives you will make up for not playing him on curve and dealing early damage.

[@Trogdorbad]

As a certified Cultivate/Kodama's hater, it's nice to hear someone else say exactly what I've been saying - they're not necessary if you have better things to be doing with the same amount of mana. Cultivate doesn't give me a creature I can feed to Natural Order on the next turn, but Wood Elves sure does. The usual counterargument I hear is "but land drops every turn!" and like, that doesn't matter if you aren't a landfall, control, or storm deck - once you're between like 5 and 8 mana sources you're basically set for your turns in every other gameplan

[@Zumteifl]

It really depends I'd say, also the kind of ramp you are running can change. (2 Mana get 1 land vs. 4 Mana get 2 lands etc.) If you're commander is the value engine of your deck and draws a lot of cards you won't be needing as much. If your Commander is more like your win con more ramp certainly helps. Best example is my Sythis Deck vs when i transformed it into an Uril Deck.

[@FlowBerni]

I love this tipp. In some of my decks I completely removed signets and talismans for nice 2 drops that synergize. They are really good usually, but you should have a 4drop to follow, and some of my decks end at 3cmc.

[@VinceOfAllTrades]

I think this is fantastic advice for building an optimized aggro deck. I'm not sure "try to win by turn 4-5" is good general advice for EDH. Bringing a cEDH deck to a casual game is probably going to result in winning less games because no one will play with you.

[@TheKreve]

Before refining my Kutzil Malamet Exemplar deck, i had a lot of ramp on turn 2 because of I course I did, i was playing green! But after looking at what my deck wants to do on turn 3, i started to remove a few and add more 2 cost creatures with counters on. The perfect curve for me, is to have a creature ready on turn 3, with a counter on, so that kutzil can start drawing the moment she hits the field.

[@MidoriNatsume]

A Channel that doesn't demonize optimization? Instant subscribe!

[@Jwhiz24]

There are so many videos on how to make your deck better, but what if you have the opposite problem? I've found that without fast mana, infinite combos, tutors, and expensive staples my decks still tend to outperform my playgroup's. The adage is to build for fun, and play to win. I just don't think it's fun to build decks without a game plan, card draw, and adequate interaction.

[@eeveemint]

I completely agree with your last sentence; I can't stand building an inefficient deck. But, if you want to power down for your group, just impose a strict monetary budget limitation. You'll still be able to make an efficient deck, but you'll be forced to use "worse" cards to be within your deck's budget. Maybe take the average monetary cost of your opponents' decks, then half that amount, and that can be your starting budget limit for a commander deck. If you're still winning too much, take the budget even lower.

[@Jwhiz24]

@@eeveemint I'll give it a try. I wont feel too bad about scrapping $25 decks if they dont work out.

[@WilliesBoatTours]

This such a flawed video! The theory of playing on curve is great and absolutely you should follow this advice. However, Jetmir is a commander that it doesn’t matter if you play it on curve. Especially if you don’t hit your 9+ creatures for his ability. Usually you want to play token creating spells or creatures on turn 2, 3, and 4. It is super rare you hit Jetmir’s ability threshold on the turn you have 4 mana available which makes him somewhat useless that turn. It’s a huge tempo loss to play this way.

[@wedgearyxsaber]

This is assuming you aren't in Izzet, considering most izzet decks wait till the right point of playing their spells, and casting their commander to storm off. In fact this isn't applicable to many decks. Its only ever applicable if your commander is not the center point of the deck and instead just a synergy or piece that provides extra oomph. (brudiclad, ghyrson starn, judith etc)

[@bt5087]

I find that my playgroups are playing more of the three and four Mana board wipes. Toxic deluge wrath, damnation, verdict etc.... not to mention the good old Blasphemous Act for 1 mana...

[@stevenkirton6373]

How to actually win Play 20 wraths 20 removal 12 ramp Fill out the rest with things that survive wrath and 38 lands

[@Warigami]

Ngl, I thought the line in the thumbnail was a hair on my phone. Had me swiping it like an idiot. 😂

[@theholychirch3924]

I knew I was out of my league when he said turn 6 was late game 😅

[@casketbase7750]

This vid is vindication for how I built my Ghen deck. It aims to play a self-mill engine on turn 1 or 2, then drop Ghen turn 3 so he can start recurring milled value pieces on turn 4. No ramp. Just a few stax enchantments to keep opponents in check.

[@elefalanda]

Do you have a decklist to share ideas? I build a Ghen and mi deck is nice but very very slow

[@casketbase7750]

@@elefalanda "Ghen's Necropotent Near Death Experience" on TappedOut. Truthfully, it still feels light on self-mill cards. So check that section of the Maybeboard and adjust as needed.

[@Buffalo93]

Sounds smart, but I’m afraid it boils down to „don’t play so much ramp if you don’t need to ramp to your commander”. Jetmir is also probably the worst example for this. It only have to be present on board during you last 1 or 2 turns so of course it makes no sense trying to ramp to play it asap. Much more prevalent case is that commander is actually what you need to start building that winning board state.

[@NeoChromer]

and then there is me.. I have nashi Moons Legacy deck which literally almost never casts the commander :D

[@lovelywind349]

But remember guys it's not always about winning. It's about spending time for the gathering.

[@ZootBeta-kl2xq]

It's pronounced MarChesa, like the C in "Caspian" or "Card"

[@deadlymofo]

I’m just trying to win in general haha