How to Build a Commander Deck | NEW Nitpicking Nerds Deckbuilding Template

[@Zendrig]

I tend to do it like this: Get an idea, put 60 thematic cards and a few lands into a deck and realize during playtesting that ramp, card draw and removal would've been nice to have.

[@TheUltimateRey]

I usually build similarly I start with an idea or theme and try and fit like hundreds of cards into the deck then whittle it down while seeing what gives me ramp removal and draw

[@jamesbourgeois1357]

I tend to try to find thematic cards that hit the basics, ramp, card draw and removal.

[@Zendrig]

@@jamesbourgeois1357 Sometimes those basic and thematic cards are just really bad, though. Energy counters, Oil counters, Cycling, Sagas, Vehicles, Equipment, Poison, Morph are all example themes that offer cards that seem to cover the basics but in the end you realize you should've relied on boring staples that do the job twice as effectively.

[@tielorstanger-lopez3888]

Once I started making decks by putting 40 lands in before doing anything else everything became so much easier

[@dapperpotatoes8473]

I’ve done the same with a +1/+1 counters deck. Thankfully there’s a surprising amount of power/toughness/counters synergies for all of those.

[@tehkuzio]

34-38 Lands (1-4 of them should be mdfc) 09-15 Ramp 12-20 Removal (mill, discard, graveyard hate and protection doesnt count as removal) (count removal from creatures, lands etc. even if its slower) 08-14 Card Draw/Advantage (cantrips dont count as card draw or any card that doesn't put you up 1 card) (only use the lower end if your commander can draw cards) 01-04 Board Wipes 02-03 Win Conditions (combat damage isnt really a win con) (over the top combat damage is still viable, for example craterhoof) (combo pieces count as 1 win con) 34:10 Mana Curve 3.3 Ave. Mana Value (if you're above 4 you need more ramp etc. below 2 most likely competitive deck) (keep alternate costs in mind)

[@MrOogis]

You da man

[@Zzmj975]

As someone who's built 50+ decks I still love to see videos like this. Always getting new ideas to improve my decks. Y'all are the best ❤

[@NitpickingNerds]

Thanks a lot!

[@DaGraveCrowder]

I sat down for dinner to watch this video. Right as Mia said "Soup" at the start, I put the first spoon of soup in my mouth

[@NitpickingNerds]

Woah O.O

[@garagavia]

That's a gangster move

[@VexylObby]

I swear I have coincidences like this like 3 times a day. Are we doomed?

[@Melagrath_Ren]

One thing i've been adding is 2-3 "buddy cards" cards that help me and maybe one other person, I feel like EDH relies a lot more on politics than people think and it can help avoid a 3v1 if you play a few. An example of a "buddy card" for me is humble defector or secret rendezvous. It has helped me not become the target so quickly

[@michaelc8179]

Man I really enjoyed this. New to magic and commander. Really helpful.

[@HexproofButHopeless]

You guys always save the day, Nitpicking Heroes 💯

[@NitpickingNerds]

We try!

[@Karste1n]

That mana curve is impressive, I tend to only have a few 1 drops but you've inspired me, thanks nerds

[@sergiofagostinho]

One thing that I recommend new players is starting with 2 colour commanders, especially if you are in a budget: 3+ commanders need a lot of mana fixing, mono color commanders are limited by the color pie (unless you invest into expensive cards).

[@magicbrospodcast7717]

Awesome! I was hoping for an update to this video topic.

[@NitpickingNerds]

We hadn’t made anything in quite some time!

[@magicbrospodcast7717]

@nitpickingnerds how do you guys consider interaction? You talked about removal and how counter spells/wipes are apart of that. What about something like a heroic intervention. Is that more deck synergy?

[@mrjey3434]

​@@magicbrospodcast7717 that doesn't count, because you're not affecting your opponents boards They talk about protection spells in the end instead of making a whole category, because not all decks need protection spells

[@seraphinprotsenko275]

Thank you for the video! I just got back into MTG and you've helped me a lot with remembering how much and what stuff I have to put in my commander decks :)

[@Pigotti94]

Looking at the curve and average mana value of my gishath Sun's Avatar deck is hilarious. All 5+ drops and 4.7 😂😂

[@canuckguitarist3759]

My first thought was my feldon deck, kind of afraid to look 😅

[@mrjey3434]

Your commander can probably justify that, you just have to play a lot of ramp

[@Commander_Claw]

@@mrjey3434 but you can't play ramp the entire game otherwise you'll never play! I've seen so many players have Gishath decks and not include Thran Dynamo. The deck is littered with dinosaurs that are waiting to be board wiped lol...

[@mrjey3434]

@@Commander_Claw I'm not saying Gishath is good, I'm saying if he is your commander you need more ramp and lands than usual, because your curve is so high

[@lancekidder9011]

I like command zones template and is usually where I start 36 lands, 25 ramp/draw leaning towards more draw, 6 to 8 spot removal, and 2 to 3 board wipes. This leaves about 30 slots for on theme cards and then I adjust from there if it's something that fits multiple categories (like impulse draw in a cast from exile matters deck. Fits half a draw slot and half a theme slot.

[@GrizzneyGames]

I'm here to watch this even after I've built SO MANY decks. 😂

[@Zendrig]

My latest approach is to start with the staples for each color or color combination so I won't forget to cover the basics. So now that my deck has around 150 staple cards, I realize that there's not a single slot left for cards that do what the deck wants to do. :-/

[@jesperwinther518]

Word of advice - Play mono-colored. - Staples seem to be 15+/- cards per color. - Add 30+ Lands - Add 10+ Ramp Konklusion: 3+ colors = auto-created deck. However! the more niche the commander, the less Staples provides synergy. [Pick a mechanic related commander in 1 color] and you'll feel more freedom of expression.

[@Zendrig]

@@jesperwinther518 Seems like solid advice. Maybe I should indeed pivot towards mono colored.

[@thork_tv]

I realy Like that aproche to Deck building. I usually start my Decks by including a number of Lands, Draw, ramp etc spells in my moxfield list. I usually Take one Card to clearly indicate what Kategorie still needs how many cards: in my started rivaz Deck soulshatter reprisents my removel, goldspann Dragon as the dragons, Dragons hord as ramp, etc.

[@Commander_Claw]

You have a link on moxfield to your Rivaz deck?

[@nativeretrospective6931]

I'm a nerd, im a total noob at commander but am excited to join the player community! I'm going to my first Fallout Commander day after release am excited! I'm going to be a total noob.

[@mikeashe7270]

If you think 20 removal is too much remember this, that's about 5 for each opponent per game, and you know they have more than 5 things you want to remove in each deck

[@NitpickingNerds]

It’s been a fine number for us!

[@thatguyintherain3168]

Maybe in 5 pods your math checks out, but your point is solid

[@perk2469]

I struggle to get 10 in a deck😢I find it the most difficult poece to add cause it's usually generic and doesn't advance your own gameplan or theme

[@mikeashe7270]

@@perk2469 , uh yeah it does. If say someone has the og Elesh norn, you remove that and now you can play thing. Board state advanced. Last night at my lgs I had Rosie cotton and and infinate combo going if Rosie cotton wasn't spot removed the game was never going to end. Removal is progressing the board state balloting you to remove the problem and play your cards

[@mrjey3434]

​​@@perk2469also if you play less removal, you can at least maximize the effect by playing 3for1 removal like Soul Shatter, Unexplained Absence, Mystic Confluence, Fiery Confluence and Druid of Purification (to name one of every color) I don't really like Fiery Confluence that much, I just had to include a red card

[@MYPEEF]

How would you classify cards that flip into lands? Something like a Dowsing Device from the latest ixalan. Could that take the spot of a mountain in an artifact deck?

[@Marsdend1]

No, the idea of those lands is that they are meant to accelerate your mana per turn, not replace it

[@razzlefrazzle69]

What do you guys think about protection spells like heroic intervention and clever concealment how many of those do you play?

[@thatguyintherain3168]

My deck building philosophy is cut lands and cry about it later

[@EDZ1LLA]

I would just change the name of the removal category to interaction and then the 20 number feels much more in line with expectations.

[@mrjey3434]

The removal category includes board wipes, counterspells etc. They don't just talk about 1for1 spot removal

[@galdrek7600]

Player removal best removal "change my mind". Great video :) thank you guys

[@kamilwhaley-kalaora4839]

I serious problem with my deck building. I keep taking out lands and removal/card draw/boardwipes because I want to replace them with thematic or cool/splashy cards, which usually ends up sometimes making the deck unbalanced. For example my Jodah the unifier deck has like 35 lands and an average cmc of 4 so if I don’t get some big ramp piece I’m kinda stuck doing nothing on the early turns (but at least I get to play all 3 eldrazi titans!)

[@Just-a-Canuck]

I made a Ovika enigma Goliath deck and it’s mainly enchantments and artifacts, 24 mana rocks! 😂

[@dasfabelwesen]

So 34-38 lands is between 21 and 23 lands in a 60 card decks. When you look at those decks, their curve usually ends at 4 mana. When you want to play 7 mana spells and you have mdfcs included, you should run close to 45 lands/landtutors like kodmas reach/mdfcs

[@famousstranger8468]

45 lands? No

[@kliop123432]

OP mentioned land tutors (ramp being part of the 45

[@TristanB4]

I'm convinced the correct # for casual commander is closer to 39-42, Frank Karsten has done a lot of math and written about this

[@paulszki]

Analyze the Pollen is functionally an MDFC-Land for green decks but people keep ignoring it. Early game is one green mana to fetch any basic land so basically it's a tap land, because you're down by one mana when playing this. Mid to Late game this is a 1-mana creature tutor. But also a 1-mana ANY land tutor (not just basic lands.) Traverse the Ulwenwald is very similar, but has delirium instead of collect evidence 8, which depending on your deck might be easier or more difficult to activate. (If your deck is all creatures and little to no fetchlands, don't play Traverse the Ulwenwald. Do play it if you have a bunch of fetchlands and play a good amount of sorceries, instants and/or artifacts in addition to creatures.)

[@TheAmazingSpiderman87]

There's an easier way guys: build the most heinous abomination your demented mind can conjur, then submit it to the Nerds for editing. BOOM!

[@ITzTR45HM4N]

"love how they treat their workers" noooooo lmao

[@bentoney9682]

Median > mean for better "average"

[@unseeliedream42]

wow 12-20 removals are a lot. I mean, if everybody has so much removal it means around 40-80 cards in a pod dedicated to detstroy other people stuff :3 one would be very very disinceintivized to play permanents and run a lot of protections?

[@Z-one1000]

Would cards that tap down my opponent's cards such as Shipbreaker Kraken or Breaching Leviathan count as "removal"?

[@unything2696]

If you win until they untap, yes. Otherwise, it's 'tempo'. Getting ahead in the short term. You'll probably have some kind of leverage from a tap card, don't you? Tap everything down and Play a ramp spell, because it gives you exactly the time to untap, Play another land and out down your wincon.

[@jayjayhooksch1]

I agree with most of this except the part about card advantage. Firstly, I wouldn't count a card like Evolutionary Leap as card advantage (if it can't help you hit your land drops, is it really card advantage?), but nit picks aside, I tend to run the high end here (14) as closer to my low end. For me card advantage gets the most slots of any card type because it provides consistency and the ability to continue making game actions; without sufficient draw you'll fail to hit your land drops consistently and just generally be unable to continue the game. I wouldn't consider going less than 12 unless my commander provided it as well, and even then wouldn't go less than 10.

[@TunnelPigsCodeRed]

Idk if this is a hot take, but I dont mind farewell as a board wipe. The only people I've seen complain about it are the people playing artifacts or enchantments in hopes of their board being missed by all the creature board wipes. I know there are other board wipes that do that, but what other plan do you have when the artifact player has a darksteel forge out :)

[@thork_tv]

My Grazilaxx Deck aims to Draw at least 4 cards each turn. My wincons are psycosiscrawler (dmg for each Draw), big clones, strixhaven stadium (I have a Lot of dorks) and triscadecaphile. All have already won me games. On whips: I Play the saga that Kills all creatures, ixidron, scurge of fleets, consuming tithe and spectral deluge. Ixidron and scurge are the best for my Deck because I can reset them with my commander and they are big beaters. Also in that deck my ramp is realy interresting since 2 mana ramp feels realy realy bad. On turn one/two i want to play at least one creature so that i can start drawing on turn 3. Solem, nyxlotus, guilded lotus, everflowing challis and kickt skyclave relik are by fare better in Grazilaxx because they give a big burst zo catch up to your opponents.

[@Oscar-qs4nt]

Grazilaxx is good, i played against it, man does it draw. The person who piloted it added extra turns into it and made it difficult to combat.

[@thork_tv]

@@Oscar-qs4nt yes you can do that but I my list is relative fair. My finishers are rite of Replikation and Clone legion. I am also Not playing Instant Speed spells, because I dont Like counterspells.

[@Domekarl]

great video, helps alot!!! Also fun to watch

[@matthewmejia1590]

Waiting for the day that the moxfield add in within the first second of the video

[@paulszki]

Thrill of Possibility shouldn't be entirely discounted as being neutral in terms of card advantage. There are many cards with graveyard or discard related abilities so if your commander-deck has any synnergies with these, it can still be a very solid card. Examples are cards that have Flashback or other "cast from the graveyard" abilities. Also if the graveyard in generally is an important resource for your gameplan then it's something you WANT to do. Obvious example would be reanimator. If that's my gameplan then Thrill of possibility is just excellent card advantage. Discard huge threat into graveyard as a reanimation target, draw 2 cards is awesome and it's actual card advantage. There are cards with Flashback, where the Flashback cost is actually cheaper than the regular casting cost. E.g. Roar of the Wurm (7 cmc vs 4 flashback). And then there is Madness as a mechanic. And now Thrill of possibities is just an enabler in addition to "draw 2 cards".

[@FERRARIMINTS]

Tbh, most decks I run have around 30-32 lands max, I feel I got drowned in lands every time I go higher than 32. It’s just too much 😅

[@kartenspieler0863]

My main deck is: 36 lands 22 draw cards 10 ramp 5 mass removal 13 Target Removal 6 Tutors 4 Win Conditions Mana cost: 0: 1 1: 5 2: 28 3: 12 4: 11 5: 4 6: 2 7: 1

[@starwars22221]

I use the same kind of rubric for my decks as far as lands, its 34-36 mana producers, a mix of basics, nonbasics, and rocks/mana sources, a few ramps, a few seekers, a few tutors, and then fill out the deck with creatures in line with the "Gameplan"

[@themojowire]

Wouldn't mind a transcription of this video, since it has by the number breakdowns. Make it easier to revisit on the fly.

[@suckadoesstuff7095]

So my dragon deck definitely doesn't hardly play anythin below an average mana value of like 5 or 6 but I almost never play any cards in that deck for full value so I'm droppin a lot of 7 cost or more for like 3 or 4 so I don't always pay attention to the amv in that deck but my Urza deck has probably around a 2-3 and my Goblin deck also runs around 2-3 if not less but my dragon deck is my definitely my strongest and most consistent deck

[@Ghostpanzer]

My main deck has the following mana curve 0-0 1-10 2-12 3-22 4-13 ( 12 spell + commander ) 5-5 6-4 7-1 8-1 No spell above 8

[@diskuslars7527]

There is not much Land Destruction Strip Mine and Crucible of Worlds 😈

[@omartoro9578]

For newer players just because the nerds dont consider a single card draw spell as card draw it is still card draw because the card you drew is a different card then thw one you played just because the card replaced itself doesnt negate the fact its card draw they still trigger draw effects you still got a card from your deck that you didnt have prior to casting the card draw spell

[@defendeur3themaster220]

It may be card draw, but it isn’t card advantage.

[@omartoro9578]

@@defendeur3themaster220 congratulations you are not wrong

[@garagavia]

The point of the category called card draw is that a deck needs access to extra cards, not what the game rules classify as drawing a card.

[@sergiofagostinho]

Good point. In my own deck template, I've calling this category of cards as "card selection".

[@canuckguitarist3759]

“For newer players” can’t be emphasized enough. I’ve gone past the point of brainstorm, but if my boss who only just started playing plays one I think “yea there ya go man!”

[@TheRogueThunder]

I'm probably not understanding their definition of win conditions correctly, but I can't fathom recommending only 2 or 3 win conditions. With that density, you're not going to be encountering them consistently enough to win...

[@thatguyintherain3168]

Card draw and tutors are a thing

[@TheRogueThunder]

@@thatguyintherain3168 tutors absolutely are a thing, but many commander players don't use tutors. If you have 2 or 3 win cons, you need a crazy amount of card draw to find one of those cards. Best case scenario 1 in 33 cards is a win con, if I wanna see a win condition consistently, I have to draw an insane number of cards every single game.

[@robotov2334]

Yeah my Derevi deck has like 3 wincons, but draw and creature searching easily compensates and allows me to have my wincons every game.

[@coolmacmilfpimp3839]

I have win cons !

[@lorenzomarquez9122]

24:34

[@thork_tv]

17:00 Decks need to have about 14 Draw pieces... And then there is my Grazilaxx Deck, with 25 Draw pieces Not including my commander.

[@PaulMerizationXL]

Ramp is only important I believe if playing a lot big things aka green so other colors don’t really need it

[@erichunt1974]

I wish y'all nerds had put this video out before I got started building an Ian Malcolm Deck. Maybe my friend Ian wouldn't have called me a 1/1 goblin for some of my dumber picks.

[@GizZm086]

Cool!

[@NitpickingNerds]

Coolest 😎

[@vaporeonlvl1009]

Dont chill for CK, wtf is this i love how they treat their workers?

[@NekogoahIgowakay]

What happened 👀

[@garagavia]

The way I build a commander deck is that I put cards in it and then play with the deck. That way I have cards I can play with combined into an assortment of cards, often known as a deck. That's just a pro tip for you aspiring birds out there

[@perk2469]

Jeez I think I have 2-3 1 drops per deck which is so much different

[@Virtue778]

The chemistry between yall is unreal, You guys should get married!

[@strygwyn9584]

That shadow in the background isn't MTG related >:(

[@borgerborgerborger]

up to 20 removal is insane. imagine all 4 players having something around that. your games have to be slogs

[@EnemyToad]

“We love card kingdom, we love how they treat their workers” this statement did not age well 😬 not blaming Mia. she couldn’t have known.

[@NekogoahIgowakay]

What happened I’m out of the loop?

[@ServbotNumba40]

I agree with everything on this list except. That Sea Gate's restoration is always a dead draw. Terrible land on back useless card on front.

[@DCII]

33 is my optimal land count. Of my 21 decks 1 has 40, 1 has 35, 1 has 27, 1 has 28, and the rest have 33.

[@Snailster111]

Please put up a graphic at the beginning of the video during the sponsor read so we know when to skip to the real topic, Aka like the professor. I like the videos I'm just tired of the ad read.

[@jamesonsparks3550]

First?

[@NitpickingNerds]

Second!

[@jamesonsparks3550]

@@NitpickingNerds Close enough

[@guim3419]

20 Removal? AHAHAA wtf are you gonna do sit there and play removal for the all game? I mean you should play max 3 unless you are a control deck. Guys you are basically making everyone build their deck poorly... Please stop with this disinformation contents.

[@johncarey1634]

The impression I got is only some of that is made up of solid removal staples and some are more based around the rest of the deck, whatever the theme is.

[@arinodonichi7928]

Step one is wrong! You can build a deck first then choose a commander. That'll overall make your decks better

[@HinduGangsta]

oof "we love how they treat their workers" didnt age well

[@guim3419]

Unpopular opinion: MDFs sucks and you should never play them unless the effect is actually relevant and they come untapped with 3life loss.... So baiscally only Shatterskull smashing is playable LOL

[@brianpenner9286]

Seems to be an unpopular opinion 🤔

[@brett5569]

Bela ged recovery and Malikur rebirth both great.

[@lorenzomarquez9122]

24:34