How to Choose The RIGHT Cards For Your EDH Decks

[@calebbrown1068]

Grave Titan is ALWAYS the right card for your Commander deck.

[@NitpickingNerds]

Unless you want to affect the board!

[@iansvoice1]

Grave Titan? More like Great Value!

[@Thoughtmage100]

Everybody loves Gravy Titan.

[@TheyCallHimPogo]

Even in my Krenko deck, I still find a slot for Grave Titan.

[@iansvoice1]

@@TheyCallHimPogo Just dipped my toe into Yugioh and I brought Grave Titan with me

[@austinturgoose]

As a college student can confirm, only ramen and disdainful strokes. Literally put one in my deck yesterday

[@NitpickingNerds]

This video was made for you!

[@Nr4747]

The Witness/Regrowth to Chupacabra/Downfall comparison doesn't quite work because both Witness and Regrowth are sorcery speed cards that you would mostly play during your turn anyways while Chupa and Downfall are both removal spells - and having instant speed removal can often be absolutely crucial, which Chupa is usually not providing, but Downfall is.

[@nzephier]

To play devils advocate, snuff out and deadly rollick do what heros downfall does, but they're free, and while they don't hit planeswalkers....planeswalkers only get to be used once per turn, and can be attacked into with mana dorks, so they're not a threat you can't kill in a timely manner. Superfriends decks would fear heros down fall but tbh I don't run planeswalkers in most my decks. So I wouldn't be worried about downfall.

[@Nr4747]

@@nzephier Well, I'm not running Downfall in either of my black decks - and never have, but I'm running Chupa, so I agree that it's (usually) the better card. I just think the comparison of those cards to Witness/Regrowth doesn't quite work.

[@Kopekemaster]

@@Nr4747 That's where Necron Deathmark and (to a lesser degree) Ertai step in, haha. I'll take a slightly less efficient removal spell on a creature virtually every time over an instant or sorcery, because I almost never have any sort of synergy or use for instants/sorceries. Boardwipes and mass reanimation are about all I use them for.

[@NitpickingNerds]

It is fair to look at things from a different point of view. You are 100% correct they are not perfectly analogous. :)

[@crawdaddy1234]

I think they’re close enough for comparison. Would you prefer to run Reclamation Sage/Knight of Autumn versus Naturalize? Would you prefer to run Terror versus Shriekmaw? Unsummon versus Man ‘o War? Lemme tell you what, I’ve NEVER run Naturalize, Terror or Unsummon in a deck outside of Limited, but I still run the others (well, not Man o’ War, because it’s been outclassed, but I can’t remember the names of those cards). And all of those are at sorcery speed.

[@alexanderparker9421]

I always just convince the table to attack the rhystic study player if nobody has an answer. Works every time.

[@aaronwindham6065]

Thank you guys so much for video content, never fails to be concise and intelligent. Keep up the great work my people🎉

[@NitpickingNerds]

Thanks for the kind words friends!

[@obadijahparks]

When you cast grave titan, it better be from the command zone.

[@alienplatypus7712]

I really hope they errata it so that the leadership-vacuum-mutate-super-exile combo allows that to happen

[@NitpickingNerds]

Rule zero Gravy T!

[@mellowarsonist]

Y’all are amazing! Planning on building an Alesha deck and this video helped me decide on which cards to pick

[@NitpickingNerds]

Glad to help thanks for watching!

[@RazgrizAce67]

Other than the fun/not fun argument, this was basically an explanation of what card advantage is. Rosewater did a recent drive to work podcast on this. Could be a great topic to give your take on how card advantage applies to the commander format.

[@Stormbringer005]

I am working on this Reaper King ETB tribal deck with clones, flickering and circumventing the legendary rule and the new Etali has made the cut. I am excited to see what it's like to trigger it X times in a game with Yarok/Panharmonicon/Norn out.

[@NitpickingNerds]

Mill all players out by flicking it 100X

[@dylansturm8065]

Accept as soon as you drop Etali I'm getting rid of it. They call me removal boy around my pods. Lol reaper king always sounded cool as a commander! Let me know he rolls?

[@Stormbringer005]

@@dylansturm8065 It's working pretty well but I've been having some unlucky games where getting to 5 lands has been challenging even with 37 lands and 7 sources of ramp. When that hasn't been an issue it definitely gets silly. Cloning Yorion and bouncing all your permanents every end step is just value town. Cloning Felidar Sovereign with an ETB doubler to get infinite anything you want. Then ofc Reaper King himself and blowing up the board. I'm loving it and some people are complaining when it goes off which makes me love it even more.

[@moralsupport3802]

You guys brought up the interesting question of "favorite/most nostalgic card" and for me it's probably wild beastmaster. That was the first card that I made a strategy around it in a deck and had a junky card be one of my best. Sacrificing saprolings to make the beastmaster bigger so it was an overrun, but always having the question of "how many do I sacrifice for the most damage overall?" Great memories, and it's still my ghave deck for the same reason.

[@NitpickingNerds]

These stories are some of the best parts of the game. :)

[@zotmaster]

I run something like 27 Instant kill spells in Toshiro Umezawa, and I still don't have room for Hero's Downfall.

[@NitpickingNerds]

No that is a statement I believe without checking!

[@Tarmobob-w7w]

It is time. Its my Birthday and im watching the nerds (and amber somewhere)

[@NitpickingNerds]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

[@ChrisMcGiggity]

Been watching you guys a while now and always love the content! Im with cherries and love the "knifeitude" adjective beezy said in this episode. Im definitely gunna go out of my way to try and use it as much as i can cause its so fun to say 🤣🤣 keep up the great work nerds! Love you guys and your content without making you feel uncomfortable ❤

[@NitpickingNerds]

thank you so much for all the kind words! You are knifetasic!

[@aaronwindham6065]

I put lethal scheme in my imotekh deck. I've loved it. Ty

[@NitpickingNerds]

It is so awesome!

[@mikeashe7270]

Finally throwing a fervelious guess in that the mox ad is at 16:23

[@NitpickingNerds]

MISS!

[@jacesaints]

My fun commander deck is an Esper-Kaldheim-deck only with cards from the Kaldheim-plane. BUT my commander (for better synergy) is Aminatou. She is a Planeswalker and can visit the plane and she works with the foretell mechanic very well for flavor ^.^

[@bububu__]

love to have these kind of videos in the background while i sit on moxfield and brew new stuff, very inspiring

[@NitpickingNerds]

How many brews do you have?

[@bububu__]

@@NitpickingNerds currently 5 that i consider finished and a lot more wips or scraped projects

[@NitpickingNerds]

@@bububu__ I know that feeling all too well lol

[@aurorahrndt]

What if the generic good card draw from rhystic and consecrated is synergistic?

[@obadijahparks]

They need to make a new gravetitan with the 2/2s come with eminence.

[@BlazeHeroic]

My playgroup always underestimates Zendikar Resurgent. They never see it as a threat so I don't have an issue running it. If I play in a public pod, for sure its going out and harvest season is in.

[@charlielarson2407]

So on jolreal I can choose any land basically I'm playing simic so I will empty my hand a lot fast so waking sky clave is a land and my commander is jolreal I can choose Awakening sky clave if I don't have a hand am I correct now that element becomes a green blue bird with flying yes or no.

[@ericdavis3046]

Beezy, re: landfall card draw: “I love spinnin’ my wheels.” Also Beezy, re: landfall card draw: “Aesi is unfun poop tier.”

[@NitpickingNerds]

It is true Beezy likes spinning his wheel in a different way

[@sleepwellmychild]

You think a Field of the Dead mana base by itself could be enough to justify running Shamanic Revelation?

[@maxcastanet]

I'm really glad that the wooden Paper Mario is still sitting in Beezy's lap

[@NitpickingNerds]

Always has been

[@charlielarson2407]

I just think of that combo with any landfill with the evolving wild as your creature it will be three triggers her turn for everything landfall related jolreal, voice of zhalfir+helm of the host+Any fetch land you put Helm of the host on on your and copy the fetch land creature

[@bobross8585]

I tend to play Phyrexian Arena in Xur, Daxos and Tergrid. Other than those decks I don't touch it.

[@soleo2783]

Why tergrid?

[@NitpickingNerds]

Xur makes sense to me

[@bobross8585]

@@soleo2783 the games usually grind out depending on what I draw. So it's nice to get an extra card to discard every turn.

[@xinaflar7]

Thanks for the happy birthday from the both of you

[@NitpickingNerds]

Hope it is wonderful!

[@marknicklason]

While I agree that Winter Orb is an unfun card for the table…the immediate segue into new-etali as a card you play for fun is pretty ironic and suspect. In the 99 when its not get reanimated blinked etc its not bad, but as a commander or with shenanigans, that card is abysmal for the rest of the table. Original one that has to attack is fine, but that etb is a lot much in the new one.

[@NitpickingNerds]

Fun is a very subjective thing. If my play group doesn't like the new etali i will play it less for sure. But new Etali is 10000000x more fun than winter orb :)

[@user-ly8lf1fn8x]

I'm not a blue player per say, I usually run like temur, Naya, gruul, sultai, jund But in EVERY single blue deck I own, I have a keiga, the tide star. It just does its thing so well in my pod, we don't have a shit ton of exile removal, so when keiga hits the field everyone just avoids me as long as he's untapped or a board wipe resolves lol Hes basically a 5/5 flying fuck you stick with unblockable lol in my sultai graveyard deck I regularly sac him to shadowheart and find a way to bring him back to do it again lol Or in esix, fractal bloom I copy him a bunch of times and sac his copies to legend rule Good times lol

[@YoRHa_1D]

Would you play a card with the same main text line as newer Etali and same mana cost but as a sorcery? A little more niche for sure, but do you think it could make a deck that cared about spells?

[@NitpickingNerds]

The creature version is stronger for sure but I think that it would be playable in the right deck.

[@bazzam429]

You guys should look into manna box

[@NitpickingNerds]

What is that?

[@megagamer4015]

Moxfield ad at 18:30

[@NitpickingNerds]

We appreciate the effort :P

[@matthewfennell8283]

Man when you were talking about college being free i thought you said COUNTERS should be free and i almost rioted haha.

[@GrizzneyGames]

Diabolic tutor is a great budget tutor, though.

[@MareczqZglos]

Arena have BB that sticks on battle field... Garry says Hello :D

[@stevep5238]

Favorite Beezy shirt!

[@NitpickingNerds]

I believe that is called smokey forest by intotheam

[@Jonzin4BeatzNYC]

For Halloween I would enjoy a video where Cherries' costume is Beezy and Beezy's costume is Cherries

[@NitpickingNerds]

I can't get that tall!

[@christopherstoeffel4811]

25:21 actually the answer is always to cut a land :) happy to help!

[@Buchaus]

I think I'm gonna start guessing the same time for the Moxfield ad guess every time instead of just throwing out a random time every video. So i guess today is day 1 of guessing 16:44

[@KingJamison]

Great video! But as a video editor I recommend not putting transitions to your cuts as it will draw more attention to them. I get it's counter intuitive but it's true. Keep up the great magic content!

[@NitpickingNerds]

Thank you for the feedback

[@riverswater5688]

College should be cheaper, but not free. Not fair to many of us who didn’t get loan forgiveness and had to pay off our own debts working 2 jobs for years, as I did.

[@nzephier]

What I've learned from this video, my decks need more amber.

[@NitpickingNerds]

Amber makes all decks better!

[@tims8326]

29:50

[@NitpickingNerds]

Nice guess!

[@TheDECKMASTER2]

guessing 22:06 for the ad

[@andrewhennelly4782]

Been waiting to get my 2 y/o to bed so I can just zone in. Love the content guys.

[@NitpickingNerds]

That is so wholesome!

[@andrewrockwell1282]

I'm going to show you how to choose the right channel to learn commander on.

[@NitpickingNerds]

Does it involve subscribing to Nitpicking Nerds???

[@geofferiswheel]

Moxfield guess today, 28:18. Lets go

[@NitpickingNerds]

Nice try!

[@geofferiswheel]

@@NitpickingNerds gotta take my shot at glory. You never know.

[@bobfranklin2572]

Hi guys, since nobody else did it, i figured ide be the Angry Comment guy! 😃. I paid $90 for my mana drain and these gosh-darm libruls shouldnt have no 80 cent counterspell! 😡

[@NitpickingNerds]

SO ANGRY!

[@sirshylordy5538]

26:00 moxfield guess

[@NitpickingNerds]

Incorrect!

[@racheperry2502]

Moxfield guess: 24:32

[@NitpickingNerds]

Wonderful (and wrong) guess

[@davidmartinstowe6842]

Where's Amber!

[@NitpickingNerds]

She was sleepy

[@I-am-Ranb0]

Nitpicking Nerds is always the right channel for your deck!

[@dancourtney5163]

“College should be free?!” Rabble rabble rabble

[@NitpickingNerds]

Rabble RABBLE

[@AbyssArray]

Hype for this video o/

[@NitpickingNerds]

There's always hype!

[@mtgspanglish731]

I run Chupacabra in my Aminatou blink, put Chupacabra under mirror of life trapping with panharmonicon out...👍🤭

[@NitpickingNerds]

You get no creatues!

[@mtgspanglish731]

@@NitpickingNerds well...nobody does.🤭

[@Demon-command]

I started playing commander 2/3 yrs ago and yes I do have nostalgia for some cards. Do that math. It’s weird.

[@NitpickingNerds]

See I knew it!

[@DarkPikachuYTV]

I just like Phyrexian arena Art so I play it

[@blakefarber3718]

College should be free! Love you guys.

[@blakefarber3718]

But only as far as you're comfortable. :)

[@NitpickingNerds]

Oh we are comfortable :)

[@yesimchar]

I'm in the minority as a collage student that owns a mana drain. i made it out of the system

[@nikhilchhagan7371]

Negate is a great card

[@NitpickingNerds]

On a budget I agree 100%

[@crawdaddy1234]

Why does no one ever play/suggest Regal Force any more? Yes, it’s seven mana, but you’re in a green creature deck. And guess what, you can cheat it or blink it.

[@NitpickingNerds]

It is awesome! Especially on a budget!

[@crawdaddy1234]

@@NitpickingNerds I agree “especially on a budget,” but, like, you can Green Sun Zenith or Chord of Calling for it. You can tutor for it with Worldly Tutor or Fierce Empath (if you’re not in a position to Craterhoof). Honestly, it probably draws more cards than Atraxa on average.

[@ronmarshall1566]

😊 🖤💚 Me a Meren

[@NitpickingNerds]

Meren is awesome!

[@codytheantichristman]

Cards are cool

[@Demon-command]

FREE COLLEGE IN THE USA! VOTE FOR THE PARTY THAT SUPPORTS THIS ISSUE. THANK U.

[@NitpickingNerds]

Go off!

[@vantaj_]

Grave Titan, every time.

[@NitpickingNerds]

If you wanna lose!

[@ComstarAgent]

Ravenous Chupacabra to Hero’s Downfall is a poor comparison. A better comparison would be Infernal Grasp, Feed the Swarm, Victim of the Night, Power Word Kill, Go for the Throat, and Walk the Plank. You aren’t overpaying 1 mana, you’re overpaying 2 mana.

[@NitpickingNerds]

This is a fair point. It is s 2 mana difference. The question is a bit closer but we are still Chup fans in decks with high creature synergies

[@shepplaysdayz1747]

Disregarding the whole instant vs sorcery speed debate, all of those removal spells are conditional/have downside other than hero's downfall, which is 3 mana vs 4 mana. That combined with the 2/2 body make it pretty decent if your deck cares about creatures at all... my Yarok deck loves it!

[@philippniemann8842]

In good contries college IS free 😅 Come to Germany; Enjoy your freedoms

[@NitpickingNerds]

Germany is pretty awesome!

[@evanelliott8231]

Lethal Scheme feels like cheating when you pay 0 for it. The card selection on top of removal is busted

[@JJM-jh9oh]

College SHOULD be free (Go Finland! :D)

[@NitpickingNerds]

Finland is great!

[@MareczqZglos]

Problem with Ravenous is that... You play it in yours removal slot - and for that slot i will never play 3 mana removal... i would play 3 mana PERNAMANET removal... this is why Chupa is not that good... Sure for deck that can tutor it from deck easy and fast - i would still play it, but not in deck that just want creatures - i would still prefer any of the "pernamnet" remuval. I think if they will print Chupa V2 it would cost 3 mana, and cost You 2 life on ETB with the destory any creature.

[@the_names_rob]

Get 4 new cards from the deck for free and killing a creature is actually busted. I dont know how this isnt an autoinclude in all decks

[@hanschristopherson8056]

Why would anyone hate you for saying college should be free?

[@aeichhor777]

Diabolic Tutor is 100% good on a budget. Kind of funny talking budget then saying bits not even good for that.

[@NitpickingNerds]

I have built a lot of budget decks and tutor do get weaker when you have weaker cards. i am not saying it is unplayable but it feels like an option I will never pick personlly

[@jeremiahchamberlain4179]

Classic nerds video.

[@NitpickingNerds]

Another one!

[@crawdaddy1234]

Stax is fun 😂

[@pistolpete7422]

For 1/4 players per pod 😂

[@Lynwyrm]

College should cost a Monologue Tax.

[@NitpickingNerds]

That is pretty cheap!!

[@mrjey3434]

Long video Poooog

[@NitpickingNerds]

very legnthy!

[@markdziamski4859]

So who is gonna pay for your college? Who is gonna pay for the professors, the materials, the building and campus, all the staff on campus and everything else?? Tax payers!!! If you’re going to college you are an adult and I’m not paying for your college! You want free college earn a scholarship and honor its requirements!!!

[@BlueController123]

College should be free

[@bonidc6732]

heros downfall is an instant...

[@NitpickingNerds]

This is true! Gotta balance all of the reasons!

[@cartermurawski9599]

*Angry political comment*

[@NitpickingNerds]

*Angry response*

[@aerynmusick4548]

ANGRY SUGGESTION EVERYONE STAYS ON TOPIC

[@NitpickingNerds]

@@aerynmusick4548 ANGRY RESPONSE 2

[@PedroSolinoOficial]

College should be free lol

[@RyuoHama]

FIRST

[@NitpickingNerds]

fourth!

[@jordonpohl7393]

Ghalta definitely wants all three

[@NitpickingNerds]

The right list does for sure

[@jameseddleman6944]

too many people think that having destruction on a stick at instant speed is "meme" therefore fun.

[@NitpickingNerds]

Not sure what you mean

[@jameseddleman6944]

@@NitpickingNerds Idk, just other people online I played against, "this is just a meme deck, not that good" Aura shards and blink on a Ravenous Chupacabra Or straight up a secret elf deck without an elf commander. Or "this deck is janky" and they inf combo turn 4. Just basically lying so thats why it doesn't makes sense lol.

[@jameseddleman6944]

@@NitpickingNerds I thought that Meme would kinda be like 'underdogs' that you don't see everyday but with a few cards that make it pop. Or something like my Extus, Oriq Overlord deck that is nothing but Rat Colony (2 mana investments for the flip side) and Dragons Approach (with sac creature/draw cards spells and no dragons) I made it with math in mind. Or maybe like this Busybody and Cloakwood Hermit deck I'm working on that is green and white, self discard/loot/sun titan like effects.

[@jordonpohl7393]

Love sword of ani in satoru with all the lovely unblockables mmmm 😘

[@dustinmartin648]

Build your deck for fun, play to win 🤌🏼

[@NitpickingNerds]

Truth!

[@barbiedea4367]

The best commander is when everyone has an equal power deck

[@finks1]

College should cost more. Every bill should be rounded up to $***.69 so your always reminded that you’re being *^#%?!

[@damonhymer5960]

College should be free