How Dana Builds Hipster Commander Decks | EDHRECast 335

[@1notdeadfred]

A quick reminder to love each other amidst the chaos that has been going on in this community as of late. Kindness must always come first.

[@FernandoGonzalez-hu3id]

I love you random stranger on a youtube comment section, i hope you have a great weekend

[@hobez64]

I agree. All this negativity about the announcement has made me just sad the last couple days. Hope we can lift each other up to make the mood better

[@1notdeadfred]

@@FernandoGonzalez-hu3id Well I'm rearranging my office and that's going to aggravate my wrists, so... well no promises!

[@FernandoGonzalez-hu3id]

​@@1notdeadfred that's funny i spent my morning rearranging mine. (new coworker coming on monday so we need to make room for her) Take it slow and rest, dont shuffle your decks to much.

[@ezraezra666]

A SLOW reminder to HATE each other amidst the ORDER that has been going on in this community as of EARLY. MEANNESS must always come LAST.

[@1notdeadfred]

19:00 I completely understand this. For me it has less to do with wanting to be unique and more to do with wanting to bring a deck to the table that is going to be a less common experience for the other players. Something that's not popular is something more interesting because it adds variety to the play experience of others, and that means the group is more likely to leaving thinking, "That was an unusual game."

[@mtgpenguindragon3904]

Dana: I was playing commander before it was even a format

[@chasm9557]

He's so hipster, he plays cards nobody else has heard of.

[@steven.d6492]

Dana when Wizards prints a series of cards that are perfect for one of his decks: “Well shit”

[@joshbowdish9851]

I feel this so hard. I used to have a clue deck because there was only so many cards that even said clue. 4 colors with Akiri and Thrasios, and it sort of accomplished its goal every other game. Now they have a clue precon and I have 0 interest in it.

[@itslexactually]

Not me playing my Rakdos, Lord of Riots deck against my friend’s Prosper precon straight out the box.

[@dullestpenguin4151]

This video, and Matt's, have been two of my favorite videos in a long time from the community. Love the human element.

[@TeaHauss]

I love Dana's approach to deckbuilding, finding homes for my cards and evolving with the commander is such a lovely journey.

[@guidomista2570]

29:30 If Heartless Act is worth considering because it's also removal, Nesting Grounds is worth considering because it's a land. 1 mana and tap to move the finality counter to an opponent's thing, so THEIR stuff gets exiled, is a nasty play I don't see a lot of people do.

[@WaterlooFlu]

Big ups Wisconsin! Great place to live! Big ups Return to Ravnica! RtR standard was extremely fun, its about the same time I got back in.

[@shesgard37]

Also from Wisco and Started with RTR block

[@david21216]

Sameee! My uncle gave me his mercadian masks commons when I was a kid and finally got into playing the game a few years ago. Midwest mid-best!

[@pianoman090]

I love Concerted Effort, awesome include! I use it in my monowhite Lulu deck, because even without using a ton of different keyword soups, reliable Everything Flies is always worth the card slot. Such a fun card

[@spookstheghost1253]

There’s something so interesting about singleton formats. Back when I was a kid, everyone on the playground would play Yugioh with 200+ card monstrosity decks that were all singleton because that’s how you were able to play every card you owned. Everyone wanted to be like the characters in the cartoon, where they had to draw that one copy of the exact card they knew they had in their deck that would turn the game in their favor. I think it was that same excitement of variance that drew me (and probably some others) into EDH.

[@FernandoGonzalez-hu3id]

On a previous episode, they said a similar thing about commander capturing the spirit of the Yugioh cartoon, not because of the singleton nature, but because in that cartoon every character had an Ace monster... Your commander is your Dark Magician or Blue Eyes White Dragon. so you may be up to something...

[@thrillhouse4151]

That show definitely warped my perception of the rules for all TCG games. Thought everything had haste and duplicate cards were forbidden/ frowned upon.

[@yoricktop8649]

A legacy player once gave me the advice: if you dont understand why someone plays a card, assume it is a threat That advice is very important for anyone playing with or against Dana

[@the_knut]

Oh my god. Pre-Scryfall was pure insanity.

[@1notdeadfred]

The depressing thing is that I resisted the push from people to use scryfall just out of the whole "You're telling me to do a thing differently, so I resist" thing, so I only got into scryfall like a year ago. Phew... the improvement is monstrous at least

[@yes.thatjanedoe]

Playing magic relying on quest and duelist for info on cards must have been a time

[@Brian-ey4xt]

I don't recall it being that big of a deal. You just threw together a deck then played it, refining it slowly. You got recommendations from the friends you played with, looked through trade binders, added stuff that you drafted, etc.

[@Synced_OW]

I remember trying to search and when you would want to modify the search that it would just null all of the fields and you had to start all over again! Ahhh

[@the_knut]

@@Synced_OW T_T... Glad we have scryfall now, I live on that site.

[@Brian-ey4xt]

I have been playing Commander since 1996. Vaevictis Asmadi was my first commander. I still have the deck, although it has evolved a lot over the past 28 years.

[@darylmcnaughton748]

God i remember using the gatherer back in 2011, 2012 etc. I miss those days of commander tbh Also i still have my rafiq deck and when i put him down people still go "oh boy" he still kills pretty efficiently (incidentally he was my first ever commander deck)

[@andrewfornes5320]

I was just having a memory of being in college around that time & being on Gatherer, trying to find keywords that would help me find stuff that synergized with my Rakdos group slug deck. (Group Slug wasn't even a term yet haha, it was just Rakdos Punishment deck to us.) I remember how happy I was when I found out the interaction between War Cadence (Which is an enchantment that says, creatures can't block this turn unless their owner pay X for each blocking creature & you can activate it for paying XR) & Price of Glory (Another enchantment that says whenever a player taps a land for mana on another player's turn, destroy that land.) Those two enchantments pretty much made all my creatures unblockable in Rakdos which I thought was so amazing.... Lol, Gatherer was so fun when you found cool cards that were made when you were like in the 2nd grade & knew nothing about them.

[@ThisIsACommanderChannel]

I like to take powerful and popular Commanders but building them in ways people don't expect and using a lot of older cards that work with them. That's my hipster deck building side.

[@Lismakingmovie]

yeah niche commanders can be fun, but i honestly think it's even more of a challenge to find an interesting and unique synergy with a commander that has already been done to death. i think some people forget that even though the commander may seem generic that doesn't necessarily mean the deck is too.

[@ThisIsACommanderChannel]

@@Lismakingmovie For sure, like one of my favorite decks is a Karametra, God of Harvests reanimator deck and the goal is to get Emeria, the Sky Ruin and then use Karametra to get the seven lands you need for it to be online. Then I have some big, beefy G/W creatures to reanimate with the Emeria, and I love to get ones like Emeria Shepherd and Reya Dawnbringer that also do some more reanimating. It was a fun challenge to make a non-black reanimator deck and I really love that one.

[@Shikigami6]

From my experience, this often backfires since people will anticipate your deck to be much stronger than it actually is. Just like the famous meme of "No, its not THAT Atraxa deck". Because 90% of the time, it is EXCACTLY that Atraxa deck still xd This changes of course if you have a playgroup

[@ThisIsACommanderChannel]

@@Shikigami6 Oh, for sure. Often times I will state specific cards that I don't run if a Commander is known for using them, like specific infinite combos (although most people at my LGSs and my personal close playgroup know I never put any infinites into any of my decks so I only have to say that with new folks) but also just the typical staples that go insane in a commander. Like for example, I have a Korvold, Fae-Cursed King deck but it is a lands deck, before it just got banned, I'd mention that I don't run Dockside or any other treasure cards, it's not an aristocrats deck, the only things I sacrifice are lands, and I also don't run Scapeshift in there as it's too powerful. That's my Rule Zero talk each time and people get a good idea of what to expect.

[@Lismakingmovie]

@@Shikigami6 absolutely. I have a jodah the unifier deck that uses all of the creatures that refer to experience counters and can only fetch them with jodah's cascade ability. i like to think of it as basically a partner commander deck where the partners are randomized every game. it's really fun to play since you have to adapt so much to what you get and i think it really embodies what's so enjoyable about the variance of commander. unfortunately though people see jodah and assume it's a goodstuff legends value pile. i often offer to rule zero jodah's legendary anthem effect away, but people still tend to assume the deck is stronger than it is. but i guess that's just extra challenge, so i don't mind too much

[@joshbowdish9851]

39:24 - I love this. A sphynx deck so you can play the good spyhnxes. And also the bad ones. The qualifier is "are you sphynx?" not "are you good?" Feels like magic I want to play.

[@ty_sylicus]

Joey: "Nobody builds Kresh anymore." Me: Inspired by Dana to build both Kresh and Rafiq in 2024. 😅

[@syctheofsymphogear4290]

Some old cards can be reused in different ways, Haunted Crossroads can be an good negate with an counterbalance in any graveyard deck. and old Beatsticks like Palimud, Keldon Warlord or Chamaleon Spirit, can be used pretty good in power matters decks for example a Kylox

[@Abby_Affchen]

I'll be playing with Dana on the Sunday. So let's goooooo.

[@olivierdebilde4292]

Nice catch on Heartless Act ! I just upgraded the Winter precon and totally missed this one !

[@imanujakku]

We traded dual lands back to the store for more packs of revised. You needed creatures to win games and we had piles of basic lands that worked just fine lol. I also remember thinking dual lands would just be in every set moving forward because they seem liked such a foundation of even attempting a multicolor deck.

[@erl92]

I found out a couple weeks ago I have almost identical Callaphe and Malcolm-itch decks to Dana 😂

[@TaIathar]

Dana likes his commanders like he likes his wine, at least 2 years old and unpopular (Idk if Dana actually likes wine. I just wanted to say the meme)

[@robertprueter3292]

Oh jimmny crickets, y'all given me PTSD with the memories of Gatherer. The past was not better folks

[@itslexactually]

You mean you DIDN’T hit Random Card ten thousand times and hope for the best?!

[@VileoSufora4]

Dana's approach is pretty similar to my own, so I tend to vibe with his opinions on things most of the time. In particular, my approach is when I find a commander that everyone else is building in A, B, or C way, and I take it to Q town. For instance, I have a Cadric superfriends deck. And I'm working on building an Omo "forests and islands matter" deck, where I put my Everything counters on my opponents lands and cast stuff like Carpet of Flowers, Lifetap, or Stormtide Leviathan.

[@rikernieforth4419]

So Dana, I also have 4 decks based around a character. I would love to send Glissa, Glissa, Glissa, and Glissa up against my Lazav, Lazav, Lazav, and Lazav 😂

[@david21216]

8 player two headed giant 😂😂

[@itslexactually]

Every team is a different Glissa and Lazav

[@SSolemn]

Wish I had that many Alelas 😹 (for now I just have the 2)

[@zylo4029]

Big up Robert for the challenge. I play Mirko and was planning on buying some upgrades but had never even heard of Heartless Act. I already has several better ways to remove finality counters but an extra wouldn’t hurt, especially since it can be a good removal spell instead if I don’t need that part of it

[@andrewfornes5320]

I know most playgroups frown on this but my Glissa Sunseeker deck is built around Land Destruction. I use the same theory that Dana does with cards that turn any permanent into an artifact & I target their useful lands. It also runs a very hateful sorcery (especially against mono colored decks ) called Splinter. So, I will target a basic land & turn it into & artifact and cast Splinter on it. What it does, for four mana is - Exile target artifact. Search its controller's hand, deck and graveyard for all cards with the same name of that artifact and exile them. That player shuffles their library. While it isn't as damaging to a 4-5 color deck, splinter can really hurt a 1-2 colored deck especially if I get it out as early as turn 3. (Mana dork on T1, Liquimetal Torque on T2 & then cast Splinter on T3) You can sometimes just wipe their mana base out or seriously cut them off of a color. To keep up with 3 other players each making a land drop on each turn almost, I run cards like Seedborn Muse, Awakening & Wilderness Reclamation & the deck usually can run effeciently once Mycosynth Lattice gets on board because I don't have to worry about only having Myr Landshaper as a creature who can keep untapping that can turn a land into an artifact. The main wincon is Karn, the Great Creator & Mycosynth Lattice to just turn off all the lands they have left & get myself to a board-state with enough evasive or trample creatures I can just win through repeated turns of combat.

[@jacquesdespadas]

Green’s card draw is fine. I used to deck myself with Elemental Bond until I added more enchantment removal. And the “power matters” card draw can take you from hopeless to TKO’ing the table. Green has zero problems. 😃 As a guy who started out playing “tap out for the huge play”, I see a lot of sense in Dana’s philosophy. I avoid the high tier and popular legends both for dodging the flack they draw, and for the individuality less popular legends provide. I often get away with some crazy board states because I didn’t start turn 0 looking scary. I could still stand to learn how to cram a few more Instants into my decks, and maybe some mana sinks, so it’s always worth hearing Dana’s thoughts on deck construction. 🙌 Thanks for this little miniseries.

[@coltonerickson9986]

Somehow I never knew Dana grew up in Wisconsin. That’s awesome, hello from northwest Wisconsin!

[@danaroach29]

I'm currently in Eau Claire, so still in the area.

[@coltonerickson9986]

@@danaroach29 That’s seriously so cool, I grew up in a small town about a half hour from Eau Claire. Small world! I make it down to EC from time to time, maybe I’ll see you around at an LGS!

[@icehearteddragon]

Coming from another old fogey, I can 100% confirm Dana's story about opening dual lands and being disappointed. We did the exact same thing.

[@sebastianbaron6997]

a fun deck i built with a weird restriction was that all the card had to start with the letter s which ended up as a decent human tribal deck

[@lightfut]

Bah, who needs a Tabernacle anyway

[@ShinyApocalypse]

Oh my god! I have such a similar story to Dana. Started late in high school around Planar chaos stop at Innistrad after a friend stole my Collection for drug money. Got back into it at War of the Spark

[@g.mendes0482]

It's so funny I had almost the same experience as Dana... started with Revised through a friend, mashed Starter Boxes together and strived to pull Serra Angels and Ironroot Treefolk 😂.

[@slightly_confused_angel]

I like to build with less popular commanders as well. I don't really care to be targeted just because my commander has a reputation. Also, it makes for fun interactions. Lathiel, the Bounteous Dawn is my favorite deck, and I so love it when unfamiliar players look over and say, "Wait, your creatures are HOW big?!"

[@pbailed8007]

Dana, I totally hear that brother, it was like I want Force of Nature ,I don’t want dual land. 😂

[@itslexactually]

Oh boy, remember when Damia, Sage of Stone was the coolest commander in what’s now called Sultai colors - BUG? Seven mana, but boy, watch out for that next upkeep!

[@jimmybee9209]

Concerted effort has had a new card come in which is black and white in assassins creed set.

[@paperwatt]

Oh my gosh, Gatecrash was my first pre release too! Of course I had just gotten into the hobby when RTR was already in motion. Is that complete luck? I've heard RTR was good at pulling people in if I remember correctly.

[@Andrew_Venn]

If this would have dropped last night, a few of us would have had entertainment during the hurricane.

[@davidroa2525]

How does challenge the stats work? Can you just say in a comment "I'd like to challenge the stats. Too few decks run Curious Homunculus and Livaan, Cultist of Tiamat in the ne Bria, Riptide Rogue decks. Early acceleration and then a Discount Prowess beater you can make unblockable is neat. And Livaan is just a very easy way to get a commander damage kill with Temur Battle Rage or Unleash Fury on Bria herself." Or can only Patrons challenge the stats?

[@jaredmullis6420]

Fate transfer much like heartless act continues to gain niche interactions and I'm all for it. Fun cards.

[@sk84lafs]

Have fun at your ‘Meat and Beat’ !!

[@bassfingas11]

I like to build according to a theme as well. For example, I put my Mana Crypt into my Vilis deck, because the loss of life is kind of the theme. Also, Vilis costs 8 (I know, I know, Mana Crypt is banned now)

[@damonlouis6536]

didn't think i would find this interesting because, who cares how someone else builds. But, we have a lot in common, started w fallen empires quit after ice age, on and off till rtr and been playin edh ever since. Good times using gatherer to find cards, my favorite was reading the comments to find similar or synergistic cards. I have 20 decks and my last 4 have been from legends and I have a bunch more in waiting. still working on tetsuo umazawa ninjas and adun oakenshield reanimator. next is lady evangela hate the rainbow and Ragnar banding. would love to play hipster EDH sometime

[@ncuco]

chivalric alliance seems good at first glance. But why run it over Horn of the Mark

[@CHAREDot9]

Heartless act seems like a cool idea but also super mid, the colorless land from mh3 is great for removing finality counters bc you can give them to your opponents creatures

[@MasouShizuka]

I too devote to my theme. So devoted that I built Samurai and Ninjas decks, speak in slightly racist Japanese engrish (I did learn actual Japanese as a third language) and role play.

[@ethanglaeser9239]

Oh I remember Gatherer... It was not good...

[@1notdeadfred]

Continues to not be good.

[@danaroach29]

The comments section was the best part.

[@Sondreign]

Gods above, if Concerted effort was in Sultai it would totally reshape my Indominus Rex deck!

[@mattjones2811]

sylvan library is about $18

[@hanschristopherson8056]

Dana and his cheap unconditional draw 😂

[@petrseghman4283]

OG Rafiq player here.

[@ethanhughes3515]

I think I’d like to disagree with the card choice but not the spirit of today’s challenge the stats. I completely agree that removing the finality counter is super powerful but a one of effect isn’t what the deck wants as much. I recommend nesting grounds or even better Fain the broker who currently shows up in 46% of Mirko decks as a way to get a lot of value for removing that counter. Saving your creature and getting mana or turning your land into repeatable graveyard or death trigger hate. As always I love your videos though.

[@FernandoGonzalez-hu3id]

Both Fein and Nesting grounds are already at 40%+ witch is a reasonable playrate so not a good chanllenge the stats. The beuty of Hearthless Act its that it is spot removal. if you are already playing Fein and Nesting, you can just replace a Doomblade or a Go for the Throat with it and have a little bit of redundance for that efect its like playing an Utility land, or an MDFC, 90% of the time its just a land, but every once in a while it saves the day

[@darkrexkigntstone8773]

I got a cool raging goblin deck.

[@lukassteinbrugger7588]

maybe we should play more predh ;)

[@Wes884]

My friend has a Rafiq deck built on exalted. Yea, so still screw that guy😂

[@femmecactus4630]

who's that cutie in the thumbnail?

[@ovaliasol377]

I'll never forgive Rafiq's crimes

[@WatchListConnoisseur]

Proxy everything.

[@warrentang7459]

Real

[@fassin666]

To me Dana is less a hipster and more an erudite 🤭

[@brandotheone]

Is he still arguing online with native Americans?

[@terribly_vexed]

Dana's behavior on twitter these last few days has been despicable towards people rightfully frustrated with the recent banning announcement. I can't watch this pod anymore after 2 years. Sorry. Peace guys.

[@punkypinko2965]

Yeah back in the 18th century when when we all thought the world was flat ... let me tell you ... oh yeah ... what? I love this channel but ...