How to Build a Deck You Love to Play | The Command Zone 519 | Magic The Gathering Commander EDH

[@commandcast]

What do you love about playing Commander? What decks do you love to play? How do you make sure your decks enable that result?

[@labranehit7687]

Love my equipment token Tana Ardenn deck. I also enjoyed my Nymris waky control. My two secrets to building decks I love is first to always include 3 to 4 pet cards that are not necessarily optimal but that I personally enjoy playing (the mercadia's downfall instead of creator hoof or the theory of duplication instead of a stealing spell). Second tip is to know when your deck is finished. It's always tempting to upgrade the deck you love but if you do that too much you will end up with something you can no longer play at most tables.

[@CandeIero]

@@labranehit7687 Knowing when to declare your deck as 'complete' is a good point. I recently rebuilt my Satsuki Saga deck from scratch because I realized it had turned into a generic enchantment goodstuff fiesta that just happened to run some sagas. It was also really oppressive and annoying to play against. Now it's where I want it to be: flavourful, running a few pets, but still capable of competing at my LGS (or at least it doesn't get blown out often).

[@Hatiro563]

I love decks with restrictions. For exemple, my tuvasa deck only have two or three non-enchantment cards and my Codie deck is only big spell.

[@labranehit7687]

@@Hatiro563 let's be honest, playing Tuvasa with only enchantments is not really a restriction. The best restriction to place is a budget on.

[@Hatiro563]

@labrane hit Yes! Love to place a budget too. On a other note, there's counter spell in enchantment forme. There's a lot of flash enchantment that are new. It's almost an only permanent deck, everything is link to enchantment even the board wipe. Also there's no artifacts.

[@SirForcEdge]

Rachel weeks is probably the best thing to come to the command zone.

[@WokedOx]

Thats a weird way of spelling jimmy wong

[@bigpuma2149]

Eh

[@kovala]

I was just thinking the same thing.

[@pepefrog6524]

@@WokedOx love this

[@henryegge190]

@@WokedOx 😂😂

[@nattyboom6470]

I love Jimmy and Rachel's chemistry on these podcasts. So happy that Rachel is a permanent member of the Command Zone team.

[@poshjoshjosh]

Lol, they made her permanent????

[@commanderpower99]

​@Joshua J Joshua yep, she's here to stay :)

[@zak756]

Its actually really refreshing :)

[@maxducoudray]

Rachel is amazing.

[@russ7792]

Yeah Rachel is the best!!

[@Flip4Crypt]

I think Rachel is one of the most important additions/changes Command Zone has ever made She's such a boon to this channel and their content

[@agoaring]

Every time I see Rachel as one of the hosts I get excited for the episode!

[@anstapa6118]

I’ve really loved the approach they’ve taken to episodes lately that focus on “Play what you enjoy playing” rather than “Play what keeps up in the format”

[@pedropohren]

It's almost a comeback to the beginning of the channel, on that regard.

[@jarretthostler7510]

Something that really stood out to me over the years I've been playing commander is you really want to focus in on one main strategy. And the more cards you can put in your deck that have small synergies with that strategy the smoother your deck will run. Happy deck building to everyone out there. It really is the best part of playing commander:)

[@Skazzo]

It's reinvigorated my relationship with my cards for sure. I'm flipping through our house card boxes on weekends since being bitten by the Commander Bug :D

[@allenyates3469]

I intentionally make my decks kinda clunky. I'm very fond of my Runo Stromkirk deck that can't decide if it's tokens, tribal, or mill.

[@aortega]

Rachel Weeks has absolutely reignited this channel! I got to the point where I was just watching The Command Zone as a matter of course, but Rachel has got me excited for each week’s episode again. Don’t get me wrong: I love strategy and optimization-that’s how I build-but I feel like a lot of the soul of why the format is fun is again present in this content.

[@NT_Escanor]

I just finished taking my entire collection of 10 decks apart and turned them into 2 decks that I love and are the perfect power level for my play group and have never been more glad I dedicated the time to bios decks that I truly love

[@ry7hym]

this is one that I will probably do when I go over 10 decks. I currently have 8 (or 9?) but I'm working on having a deck in each mono colour. I am already considering taking apart my Mowu deck

[@joecooper8527]

What were the decks ?

[@PanicBlade757]

Rachel is the content creator that I most align with in my deckbuilding style and philosophy. I need to try some of these tips though, especially adding more card draw to my decks and asking my playgroup about their desired experience.

[@rainx381]

Building a deck around an aesthetic theme, not just a single commander, is what works for me. I found it easier to resonate with a theme and selecting a few color combinations before narrowing down to a specific commander. This gave me a journey to start and explore, not just a single purpose deck.

[@rodgerlang884]

That's what's awesome about this game, it allows completely different styles. I build the exact opposite, building a deck for me comes down to a commander that excites me, most of the time.

[@brandontaylor8011]

I kind of do both I pick a commander but I'll limit the deck to stuff I think they'll actually do like I wouldn't put akromas memorial unless I'm using angels clerics or knights (churchy knights)

[@ironman2885]

I had so much fun building a green blue deck after I found Kruphix to be the commander and decided to theme it after big monsters and named it "Godzilla and Friends". A splash of card draw and picking out cool monster type creatures was a blast. And I think I can tune the power level to match my group pretty easily, take out a bit of trample if it's too strong, add some mana doubling if it's too weak etc. Also it's my favorite style.of deck to play, *simple*. Cast big creature, have big creature go stompy in enemies field. I hate running the big combo decks.

[@gillhambegis3885]

Hey, You guys talking about archetypes made me think. I would love to see an episode where you talk about the major archetypes with a member of the cast that likes to play it and another who does not

[@danacoleman4007]

That would be cool!

[@b0xf0x13]

Wow, this is an entire series worth of content. It would be amazing.

[@nickgrannas9852]

Great idea!

[@green_dragon_knight]

This is a fantastic idea! It would be so helpful to get both perspectives to help people decide if an archetype suits their playstyle or not, and the reasons why

[@thomasstenson7989]

Ms. Weeks has been a great addition to the team. Love the content! Keep up the great guys y'all!

[@zmkellner]

This is possibly one of the BEST episodes of Command Zone I've seen yet. I LOVE deck building, I see it is as a "puzzle with moving pieces," but often the decks I enjoy building and testing are no fun when I bring it to the table. Rethinking even some of my favorite decks!

[@mRboylls]

This has really been something I’ve been working on lately. First I raced to build decks of all my favorite play styles, then I wanted decks based on colors. Now I’m realizing I enjoy the decks most that have commanders that I wholly enjoy. There are a select few that fully appeal to me color and ability wise but also art and character design wise and that’s been really helpful to me to just make those decks.

[@mikotagayuna8494]

I often teach beginners to do the Rule of 8x8 when initially designing their decks. You start with 35 lands , choose 8 kinds of effects you would like to play, and 8 cards that do each effect and then shuffle away. After a few games, customize and optimize as necessary. I find that takes away a lot of the learning curve that comes with designing a deck for specific commanders.

[@Blomstermark]

Okay thats petty cool

[@ahriahvanor6690]

Won’t that lead to decks that are doing too many things?

[@davidbyrum8494]

@@ahriahvanor6690 It's a good first draft at a deck. And it really ends up not being as many things as it sounds. Every deck needs ramp, card draw, and removal, that's 3 of the 8 right there. And the rest of the things will often go together, like if you're leaning into counters, proliferate could also help with your game plan. Not perfect but works fairly well

[@DoubleOhSilver]

​@@ahriahvanor6690 yeah. You'll end up with 1 card on the field of each theme but not enough synergy

[@perinthia6829]

​@ahriahvanor6690 it is designed to do a bit of everything at first, and then then as they play the deck and find out which things they enjoy most they can cut slowly cut the other stuff and focus more on the main things they enjoy, its not meant to be perfect at first but sounds more to be a trial and error kinda strategy

[@bluehexagonsun88]

I hear you at 56:32 about preserving your mental bandwidth! I've spent so much time and money trying to dial in a decent werewolf deck and it wins less than 10% of the games I use it, largely because I'm spending so much time thinking about how my own mechanics work. I don't wind up thinking much about what the other player might be cooking. It is still my favorite deck that I own, and I'll continue to refine it, but it's not very competitive.

[@SaltySparrow]

I love Affinity, Dragons, and played Valakut competitively. Watching Rachel play that Chiss-Goria deck I immediately fell in love with the Commander and its been a blast to play. When its not all about the tiers or power levels and you're playing the cards you like to play, you always win.

[@weirdmusicmixmaster]

My favourite part is "becoming the threat" it takes some nuance of course to not be too overpowering but still find a way to take the lead at some point and try and keep it but that feeling of being half a lap ahead and everything starting to groove and you can see them catching up and scheming against your counterschemes always feels so good

[@danielgoldberg2129]

I love, love, love deck construction. I currently have 31 decks I have built, plus another half dozen pre-cons. Anyway, my biggest problem is when I build a deck and set the synergetic cards in a pile there are 20-30 too many and I agonize over what to cut. You need enough mana, including ramp and rocks. You need interaction with the board. You need card draw. By the time you hit all those things, you have like 10 cards to build your theme around. That’s how it feels. 😊

[@rowankeltizar5961]

Yeah, I ran into this problem with my artifacts only atraxa build. I wanted to build a powerful deck using only artifacts. I figured atraxa gave me access to all the the colors and there plenty of artifacts that like to be proliferated... Fast-forward a year and the only reason the deck stands toe to toe with others is that I've sunk over a grand into it finding all the most powerful draw, ramp, and interaction stuff. I have a metal worker and a memory jar. I have the great henge and blightsteel. It's still a fun deck to play but I never thought I would put that much money into it and I'm left feeling like it's a "good stuff" artifacts deck without any real synergy. Ultimately I blame that on my choice of commander who has no direct synergy with artifacts. proliferating only once each turn isn't all that powerful by itself.

[@ylygylygynda]

A good deck brewing method is: - Pick a commander and probably theme at EDHREC - Make it assemble an average decklist for you - Put it in Archidect, Moxfield or TappedOut So now you should see: - How the colors are distibuted - How does mana base fit this deck - Your mana curve - Your average mana value - The price of the deck By this time you should focus more on the cards you don’t like there. Is something missing? Is there too much of something? Does mana curve not fit your liking? Put the cards you dislike away from the list and put more of the desired effects in. Scryfall’s advanced search should help you find the needed cards by the keywords, i.e. “whenever ~ draw a card”. Have a good time building your decks!

[@Ezlo01221]

Thank you

[@olivierdebilde4292]

One of my favourite all-time deck so far has been my Jon Irenicus deck. The idea behind it is simple : the pool of cards has been limited to Urza's Block. And the super flavor about it is to give old very unknown cards to them and enjoy the suprise on their face as they are reading them and playing with them. That deck is not built to win but only to have lots of fun.

[@Red_Mag3]

I run mine as a good gifts only and give people things like Phyrexian Devourer

[@calebbrown1068]

I’ve been really struggling to make a deck that I really enjoy lately. Thanks for this, everyone!

[@zara6854]

Yeah I like vampires the most of out my decks, zombies and phyrexians are next. I like the evil character types, just gotta find a theme you enjoy.

[@GrimSoulBanisher]

I just built a Katerina and Hardy deck. Both are 'of Myra's Marvels' and come from Unfinity. They are technically not legal, but no one has objections to them. It was the most fun I've had building a deck, looking at specific printings to line up my strategies. And using an Autograph Book, starting with just my signature, and getting signed at the end of the game if I activate it on your turn (my personal rule). Everyone has enjoyed it mechanically and complemented it.

[@malakimphoros2164]

Based, playing the unsets how they were intended to.

[@Uncannyrewind]

My Hazezon, Shaper of Sand deck is hands down my favorite deck to play. I know there are plenty of ways I can optimize the deck but I have a ton of fun playing it. It’s a mix of tokens, saccing lands, playing multiple lands a turn and just buffing all my tokens. Love it!

[@palm0607]

One of my favorite decks as well....so my fun between doubling tokens, landfall triggers with scuteswarm, field of the dead, etc....love it..

[@EGonZZA]

I'm really new to magic and this vid helped out fill so many gaps and questions I had thanks a bunch

[@madscientist2621]

In a commander pod this past weekend, I refrained from using a board wipe that would help turn the tide of the game back in my favor. Why? Because a player new to commander was winning and it was more important to me that he won. I wanted him to keep coming back.

[@Reesesplague]

Ha I just threw a game yesterday for the same reason

[@shivacarnes819]

A sugestion for the Orvar Problem to take it a little down. I made a replacement pile (10-20 cards) for the cards witch combo with Orvar (like Peregrine Drake) to take all combo cards out and put clone effects in, to play copys of my oponets decks. In this way its only as strong as the decks i play against and it is fun to figure out how i can work with the stuff i could copy on the bord.

[@DisownedVT]

wow 600k subs! congrats Command Zone!

[@stetsoncrobison]

I'm so glad you just posted this! I've been struggling to pick a deck to build lately and this helps!

[@EvolutionSTUD10S]

When I test for a specific card, I always test by both having it in the opening hand and by drawing the card on turn 5-7 to see how it changes the gameplay. Super helpful when I want to pick up a card that’s $25+.

[@danacoleman4007]

Good advice

[@Hyxtrem]

It's exactly what I made 2 months ago. I just love the Explore mechanic (from Ixalan), and I just tried every configuration possible until I founded the cards I wanted in it, the colors etc... and at the very end I took the Commander I found the more synergistic. I ended up with an Abzan led by Tayam, which will be switched into the 99 later on when Thalia&Gitrog comes out so I can sac my extra lands to get more value from Explore. In the end, my deck is a blast to play, ton of +1/+1 counters I like, I don't have any miss land drops and can enjoy my deck every game. It feels really like my baby because every cards came from me. On top of that, I'm playing some cards you NEVER EVER played or seen played before in Commander (like Shadowed Caravel), its refreshing. It's so synergistic, It's working very well, and it's an honest lvl 6 Deck. It's just Explore, value from it, make big creatures and beat the crap of my opponent with big bodies, and it's a good place to be with a deck like this. This is my 6th deck and the deck I enjoy the most.

[@DuckRiceFarmer]

This is the journey I’m on right now. Went wayyy too +1/+1 counter heavy to start but it was fun to see how big I could build my merfolk in test runs. I realized it wouldn’t be fun for long just mowing everyone down lol definitely like the powerboard idea for that reason

[@emilysmith2965]

I love this entire discussion. I find it really difficult to build the “right” power level and I’ve definitely turboed up some decks too much in the past. It’s been a huge learning experience recalibrating for a bigger range of power levels!

[@narvuntien]

I'd vote for President Wong. I love the grab some cards just to have a deck to start playing to work out how it feels technique. You learn a lot just getting started. So with one of my long term decks, I realised it was just not working anymore and it turned out I had cut the can trips like Ponder/preordain that allowed me to find lands and important pieces so I can keep up with my opponents. I went through cut some of my 5 drops (because my commander is a 5 drop) and put the can trips back in.

[@benbird2100]

As a newer deck-builder myself, I would also like to add that heavily modifying a pre-con, or using a pre-con as the foundation for your own deck, could potentially be a good way for newer players to get some practice with deck building. Doing this for one or two of your pre-con's can help players begin to understand what it means to build a balanced/consistent deck with a reliable game-plan that is still fun to play. I'm still obviously learning this process myself, and in fact I've made another 2-3 decks from the ground up that I wasn't happy with before building one that I was finally happy with. As someone who has already made a good deal of mistakes along the way, I would also recommend that you don't "settle" for your deck, and that you have the patience to gradually build the one that works for you.

[@matthayes533]

just coming back after a long absence (TimeSpiral). Never heard of commander or EDH but always aspired to make a huge deck for each of the dragons I have. Now I cant wait to make a Grandpa Bolas deck. This video will help

[@toonvanzijl2351]

I built a Pako and Haldan deck, inspired by your deck on Game Knights. It is one of the decks I love to play. It isn't super optimised, but it often has a fast start, then Pako gets removed, because he becomes such a big threat so fast. And then it often does relatively well catching back up.

[@AnthonyJohnson-ku5wr]

I love this content and can relate 100% I ballooned up to 21 commander decks trying to include ALL of the things I even mildly liked instead of what I love. I have trimmed down to 12 which was so hard because like Rachel said I am a completionist like we all are. Some of my stand outs are I love token strategies so I build The Locus God and Jinnie Fey - I also love Graveyard decks so I have a Nethroi, Apex of Death, Chainer Dementia Master, and Raffine, Scheming Seer deck that all reanimate. Stuff like that. Also the point of just talking to your play group is very wise. I wanted to do a Dimir Theft/Exile deck with Umbris but everyone was like well... I'd be fine if you played it once or twice - they were not a fan and that is ok! I just didnt build it. Good content, love the discussion and the crew!

[@PhyrexianPraetor]

I just finished building my Dina, soul steeper deck, and was very happy to have it work in its first game!

[@Buych778]

I would like say on the point of having a card in sleeve as a sideboard, that having an actual sideboard is great for being able to make a deck flexible between power levels. For instance, I have a deck that can run in cEDH pods, but by swapping out 15 cards, I can tone the deck down and make it much more appropriate for a higher powered casual table, so having that modularity allows me to sit down with the same deck at more tables

[@stevenjoubertofficial]

I just want to say that I learned about Commander from the Command Zone. I’ve been playing for like 5ish years now and never once have I cut out a land for fun card because y’all have drilled it into my brain that doing that would be terrible. Thank you.

[@daylontilitzky5837]

I love the colour philosophy side, and trying to understand not just how the deck works mechanistically but also what is the philosophy of the deck. For instance, my Rafiq of the Many deck is not the strongest, but I love the idea of a bunch of knights sending their champion forward and beefing them up with sheer force of will. It's great.

[@otterstream1263]

The method I use to make a deck I like to play is to custom proxy all the cards as a different IP I like, kinda like a universes beyond thing but it’s completely custom art. It makes the process of building the deck a lot more enjoyable and it makes me excited to play the deck and see which of the cards I get.

[@PokemonMaster7068]

34:48 "...because you don't know what cards are getting stuck in your hand" FANTASTIC advice! This is always one of the first things I try and teach people about deck-building, especially when they always want to play these big flashy spells. Is it too conditional? Is it just going to sit in your hand? Loving these podcasts lately!

[@moongurd20]

What made me wanna play commander and enjoying it was that buying boosters way back when i still did that. I got so cool cards as one of... Never got them i regular games... And getting to use my cards as one of is awesome and a good way to use my collection!

[@alizah8042]

Im very new to Commander and my first and only new deck hasnt been playing the way i wanted. I was very discouraged but this inspired me to go back to try to fix it!!! Thank you!!!!

[@HereBeDragonsYT]

Finally catching up on this. I'm excited for the topic. I have built powerful decks, but I always go back to my "fun" decks. One of the best ways to balance a deck is with adding or removing fetches and tutors.

[@GobiQc]

WOW! The sol ring animation in the intro is sick!!!!!!

[@playmoancap]

Your presence gives a fresh air to the channel, it's nice to see each of your interventions...

[@fosterark]

Speaking as an Old Guy who started playing with Ice Age, the Internet is SUCH a boon to have when building and researching decks. I wish I had it back in '97.

[@thetrueroman]

Fantastic Episode and I would love to respond to your listener's question about deckbuilding what you love! Here are my biggest two guiding principles to help ensure its a deck I end up loving: 1. Theme/Flavor above all; My best example is I head cannoned the idea of Megatron convincing deceptions, necrons, and phyrexians to work together to fight good and it inspired one of my fav edh decks ever! Multiple compliments from opponents too! 2. The more powerful a commander is inherently, the more I look for thematic ideas that tone the power down while still having cohesion. ie. I am working on a thematic Archaeon the Everchosen deck with Najeela that gives warrior synergy with less cedh flavor so opponents dont groan and the best doesnt bore me! Thanks again all! Happy Brewing!

[@wincent..]

I absolutely love that Megatron deck concept, it sounds really fun! I'm a big advocate of theme and flavor in deckbuilding because its what really lets me engage with a deck and makes want to spend a lot of time with it making it the best it can be. My favorite deck and the deck I play the most is an Oskar Rubbish Reclaimer deck that looks like a fairly straightforward self mill/self discard deck with some graveyard shenanigans that also happens to run a lot of rat cards because in lore Oskar is friends with rats. That on its own is pretty fun to play, plus being in blue means I can kinda just sit back and have fun helping out the rest of the table with removal and card draw and stuff like that, but there's also a twist: What people overlook about my funny oscar the grouch garbage man rat commander is that as a character his thing is that he's a mobster who goes through people's trash looking for information, and my deck is built to reflect that too (hooray for graveyard theft!) I also have a food-based Dina soul steeper deck that's themed around the idea of Dina hosting a particularly deadly tea party ;D

[@TheHighwayVideo]

I feel like this episode was made specifically for the new March of the Machine team-up commanders… it def helped me! My Thal-rog prep build is going left and right…

[@josefinacabrera589]

Same same same!! Is the deck landfall, is it aristocrats, is it Voltron, is it hatebears..

[@nikobola]

This episode was awesome! Thank you for taking the time and talking about these topics really helps new players like me 🤘🏼

[@TSGypside]

I recently built a Boros Dragons deck with Ganax / Folk Hero. It's one of the few decks I've built in a while that I consistently enjoy piloting. It's effective without relying on one single combo to work. It just consistently stays relevant in each game. Probably helps to have some ramp and card draw built into the command zone.

[@famousstranger8468]

That actually sounds busted! I'll have to try that instead of my miirym deck

[@TSGypside]

@Famous Stranger I have a Miirym deck as well. That one pretty much turned into "How can I combo off this game?" and just wins all in one turn. That's fine sometimes but I also like having decks that don't need to draw a specific combo to do well. It's just consistently a relevant boardstate throughout the game.

[@famousstranger8468]

@@TSGypside I made my miirym clone tribal and swinging out with 20 miiryms

[@WeatherWeasel66]

Hey Rachel, You get to make your living talking about Magic the Gathering ! I'm envious but the whole team does a great job :)

[@JonLeitheusser]

Jimmy mentioned subthemes. That might be an interesting topic for a show: what they are, how to build around them effectively, the pitfalls, etc. So, how many sphinxes in a Yennet deck is too many -- or lifegain in an aristocrats deck, etc.

[@Shadowpaw67]

I made a Queza, Auger of Agonies deck that relied on combos. Pulled the combo off a couple times, quickly realized I and my playgroup both didn’t enjoy it. Switched to just being wheel and card draw focused and it’s much more fun for everyone!

[@leem.9934]

I've been building a Solphim list as an act of therapy. Some Very Bad Things™ happened to me over the last couple years and I've been addressing it in an "everything ever burns" list. It's weirdly satisfying, and healthier than some other decisions (although it's getting harder to find willing vic--, err, *volunteers* to play against).

[@joeferreti9442]

Well, I like Value Grind usually with Graveyard Recursion and of course I like Card Draw. I also like creating tokens. And I like thematic decks especially Tribal decks and Ravnica Guilds. So, of course I like Zombie Tribal among other things. Value Grinding, drawing cards and enjoying themes, tropes, artworks and certain cards are more important than power level and winning.

[@michaelleitch4912]

Loved this! I have been doing some deck-building recently, and I have been basing it off of a single trigger ability. The most recent deck I built was around Kaervek, the Merciless. So I focused on ramp (7 mana commander) and encouraging my opponents to cast spells. Funny thing, I use night/day creatures to encourage this.

[@robertscott3814]

I wish this episode were more popular i think you guys brought up amazing topics. I think the emphasis on the play group and finding that balance of power level and competition is so important. In my group the emphasis is getting the deck to do the thing, and interacting.

[@flipperjones509]

This is my favorite Command Zone podcast to date. Really helpful.

[@alimeneghello746]

i really loved this video. i've started playing mtg for about one year and stumbled in this video... and it made me think a lot about what i am not enjoying while playing i don't mind losing the game, but i hate not being able to do the fun stuff that my deck does. Because of this, i was almost never having fun with my playgroup or in my LGS, because most of them play either heavy STAX, control or high-end builds that combo easily or end games quickly.... while i play a budget upgrade of a precon that i like i found myself wanting to fill my deck with counterspells just so i can maybe do something, but i didn't had fun playing with control or stopping people from playing cards i finally had fun playing when i got a setup to play in SPELLTABLE with random people, and got some variety of decks to play against i don't mind some stax, control or a combo but TOO MUCH stax or control is annoying, and an easy combo is just boring, like Thassa's Oracle. I happened a lot of times where i was with a bunch of fun cards to play, and i was excited to play them, until someone just played thassa and won in like... turn 4

[@jamesthefront2246]

100% agree with cutting tutors. Seeing more than the four same cards every game is so refreshing

[@RayneOfSalt]

I recently built a colour-manipulating Blind Seer deck. Is it good? No. Does it win games? No. But is it utterly janky nonsense that's a heck of a lot of fun to play, so much so that I love the deck and have a blast every time I sit down to play it? Hells yes. Seeing some of my own thinking when I was brewing that deck reflected here is very nice.

[@PheonoxGaming]

Great conversation. Rachel and Jimmy are always so enjoyable to listen to and watch play!

[@Argeaux2]

I actually tweaked one of my old decks, which I love to play, while watching this episode. Thanks Command Zone! *thumbs up*

[@Crabhand]

It's really encouraging to see a lot of the advice I give my friends on deck construction echoed here. I don't know how many times I've told everyone they need to eat their vegetables if they want to improve their deck without raising the power ceiling or breaking the bank.

[@cliffjam]

I like how Rachel is bringing so many great topics to Command Zone. They feel like extensions of her last incarnation as a podcaster. Lately the discussions about growing as players have been the most enjoyable episodes.

[@Smaul002]

Haven’t watched or listened to TCZ for a very long time but this episode was fantastic

[@jacknelson8640]

Love this idea for an episode ! I have recently put Tamiyo, Collector of Tales into a Commander deck of mine because she’s my favourite character 😁

[@alley5911]

I’m sorry for your loss 😢. She’s one of my favorites as well

[@big-red]

My Etrata deck is very much this. In the beginning it was really hard to navigate and plan how I really wanted to play it (dupicate tokens, flicker, bounce, copy abilities etc) but as time went on more cards came out that synergised with it and now it's in a place where Etrata isn't the only things able to add hit counters and I can beat a table at the same time with a well timed Ramses, Assassin Lord. So sometimes a deck gets better when certain sets come out over time.

[@kzisai]

I’d love to see a decklist if possible! I’m relatively new and decided on building Etrata as my first deck, but I’m having similar issues to what you first described.

[@big-red]

@@kzisai I don't have a list to chuck over but the key cards are mari the killing quill and ravenloft adventurer for adding hit counters to things, so play them alongside removal cards (this is personal preference, cards like murder, fatal push, tyrants scorn etc are all great). Card draw is deffo needed for it to function, so sygg is great, cards with the transmute mechanic to find certain pieces, any tutors that you can afford/have, bident of thassa, as well as any instants that bounce cards and draw cards (call to heel, blink of an eye etc) I play a decent package of low cost bounce/flicker spells as well (unsummon, essence flux, slip out the back) for a bit of protection and to help keep etratas cost down if she hits. Kaito dancing shadow is also a great addition. I took out most of my copy spells as it's was too inconsistent but kept in helm of the host, sakashima the imposter and sakashima of a thousand faces. Only because I found them useful within the deck in general. I run some low cost ninjitsu creatures, mostly the ones that draw you cards, Etratas trigger works with ninjitsu because you can ninjitsu a creature in before her ability resolves while your defined targets are on the stack (holding priority). Ninja of the deep hours, yuriko and others that are personal preferences. I run the usual mana rocks. A tech I use against non creature decks is Wind Zendikon, it has legit won me games haha. Strionic resonator is probably one of the best cards in the deck as it can copy Etratas ability. I think there are other cards similar to this that I should really buy, but tutoring for this or drawing is is great but is a magnet for removal so play it when you have the line. I try not to cast Etrata too early as you just make yourself a target, try and draw or tutor Mari/Ravenloft and get a few opponents creatures exiled with counters on them while digging for Ramses. The bounce spells can protect you and your creatures from removal. Then when you have Ramses, get Etrata out and swing. You can make use of cards like hall of the bandit lord or crashing drawbridge to give Etrata haste or leyline of anticipation to flash it in on opponents end step. Sorry I don't have a deck list for you but hopefully this should help 🙂 (btw edhrec is really handy for building this if you've not used it yet).

[@garagavia]

Rachel makes me want to subscribe to this channel. She just talks about these topics in such an insightful yet simple way. Love it

[@tjcrooms]

The deck I built and love is my Tovolar Dire Overlord deck. It’s one of my favorite decks that I have and went all out.

[@YashokuArt]

I only recently got into Magic and am midway through building my first Commander deck around Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons I'll make sure to pay attention to all the things pointed out. Good video!

[@nikolasmittman6128]

I have a dimir sygg, river cutthroat deck that is only made up of my favorite cards ever printed. Every draw is a joy. There is synergy, but I recommend trying to build a deck that is more of a pile of cards that make you smile. Not every deck has to be a death star!

[@reubenfromow4854]

I agree with this so much. I play Xanathar: guild kingpin. And the reason why is because when I came to mtg, I fell in love with the concept of stealing cards. So now, I have a deck full of cards that steal. I almost never win, but I always have a blast!

[@wincent..]

For me, the most fun part of playing commander is seeing how different scenarios shake out and how people play off of each other, so I personally love building decks where I can take full advantage of the casual multiplayer format and my decks can interact with not just the other cards, but the other people playing the cards too! (Its also a little extra funny since I also have a habit of combining this kind of strategy with deck types that you wouldn't expect to see involve complex table politics, like self-mill/self-discard or red burn) I also love building flavor into decks whenever I can manage, it simply makes the deck feel like I have more of a personal connection to it :)

[@darkblueturbo]

I’m a recent convert from Pokémon to Magic. Trying to get in to it playing Arena and reading and watching everything. What I like about this show (even though it’s commander focussed and I have been playing standard or alchemy online) is that it makes it seem so friendly. Like the big scary step of walking to my local game store on Friday night… you guys make it sound like it will be friendly and welcoming rather than whatever weird thing I’m worrying about it being. Thanks.

[@mbarker_lng]

Just be aware that there are some toxic personalities at some LGS too, but usually there are outweighed by plenty of friendlies. I suppose this is true of any game with strangers though. I just stopped playing at my closest LGS because there was a truly insufferable person there all the time that not only makes the games miserable but literally doubles the time of the match as he blathers on about optimum deck construction and how you are not doing it right, ect ect. Luckily I have a gang of close friends to play with regardless.

[@catfishrob1]

With regards to not letting the commander build the deck for you - something I tried that worked out well and might help someone: I thought of a color combination first, and an archetype within those colors. Then, I collected a bunch of cards that I like in that archetype/colors. I built a deck of like 200 cards, and only then did I choose the commander that I felt would go best with that archetype. From there, I refined it down to the cards that work best with that commander. There may be some needed tweaks if the commander wants to do something a bit more different from your archetype than you were planning, but just refining down from 200 should usually be good enough if you chose the right commander for what you're trying to do. From there it's just testing and refining, but you've already got your archetype locked in, so it's unlikely that your deck will end up to be something you didn't want.

[@fwop7436]

Checking in with your playgroup is a great way to foster a great playgroup. Great tip!

[@scottneith1]

"You build the deck, the deck doesn't have to build you." -Rachel Weeks Wow I love her on here!!!! Such great advice with this video. I wish definitely be paying attention to what I like to do during my games

[@vexor7]

Awesome video, this really helped me pivot my future deck choice to something that I enjoy just as it is, not just to be competitive or hyper efficient. Keep up the great work guys

[@blemski]

Jimmy, I gotta say I was on the fence about building Queen Kayla and your deck on game knights got me more pumped. Now it's one of my favorites

[@NicolasandDad]

I only really have 4 decks but I love them all. They are all different and play different every time. I never get sick of them.

[@endlessabyss159]

I figured out a long time ago that artifacts are my thing, I play a Daretti, scrap savant as my baby and I absolutely love it, but can spend hours at a time modifying and customizing it because the game has so many cool artifacts, atm it is based around etb/ltb artifacts like Ichor Wellspring and cycling them all over the place. I have a friend that loves to add tutors everywhere, but he's very toolboxy with cards, so even though he's always tutoring it is rarely for the same cards games in a row. For him it is more fun to have the draw for random, but also have some measure of control over what answers he has in his hand.

[@BSengen]

Everyone always says that they build 7s, so I like to build what I call "unassuming 6s." Ex: Hallar (the kicker guy from Dominaria). Very few people know the capabilities of the deck, so it shows that weaker cards can still do cool things and I love showing that to people.

[@Vangeltheunderdog]

One thing I absolutely make sure to include when building a new deck is to put in as many useable 1 mana and/or free instant removal spells. The number of times someone else begins the game with solring-signet/mana crypt/turn 1 problematic commander is astounding, so having efficient answers to slow that down (or outright stop it), while also having the mana to progress your game-state is key.

[@scottnito2640]

I recently made my first home req and second game in I realized I had way too few creatures in the deck. Love and learn.

[@Smiggle0]

JLK’s Toggo decks inspired me to make my own. I combined it with cards from the Warhammer 40k Black artifact commander deck, and created a Rakdos artifact deck that is so much fun to play! The rock tokens are utterly hilarious every time. My group tend to focus on me a lot when I play it though. Haha

[@yannickheres3373]

My first commander build that I constructed all by myself, was Thraxximundar forced sacrifice deck. I loved playing it because it felt like grixis but you were swinging with a huge zombie. I took it apart ages ago because I needed cards for other experimental decks. I have never been able to rebuild it the way I loved as a newer player... I'm feeling inspired to maybe give it one more go

[@elbiggamehunter]

I have recently found that during a game of commander I like having a task during the game that’s specific, and measurable. For instance, building a full party, playing enough gates to activate mazes end, etc. I also like playing things from exile, and drawing lots of cards. It makes me feel like I have options, and I hate feeling like I’m stuck with nothing to do at the table.

[@danacoleman4007]

This would seem obvious, but it's amazing how often we can all forget that idea!

[@CmdrUD87]

Loved the episode. 100% agree on conserving your ind space! Several times, I have foregone putting day/night cards in my deck, even though they would have been objectively the correct choice if they were the only card in the mechanic, or like 1 of 2. Also, a personal nugget of wisdom, if you have your decklist together but are generally doubtful but don't know why (this doesn't...look wight), there's a strong chance the deck is not going to do what you want, and that's just sadness (and probably a waste of money)

[@Krlytz]

When I started playing commander, I knew I didn't have enough of a budget to make more than a single deck, so I had to really consider what I wanted to do because I literally couldn't afford to try out things. I came to the conclusion that what I love the most about commander is seeing what everyone else's decks are doing, and a strategy that allowed me to interact with them and see what they could do would let me see many many decks while only investing in one. So I chose to do Grouphug, picked Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis, and focused on "all players" card draw. I may sneak a win every once in a while, but when I feel like I'm truly winning is when I see every other deck in the table go wild and do its thing =)

[@CrotZari]

I really got a Eureka-moment playing Commander the other day. Or rather, I had a few. I was watching your Game Knights videos and I decided to dive into my binders from way back, I found a Legendary creature I liked. I never used to play blue before but I built a Blue/White/Black Commander-deck for my first ever homebuid. I analyzed a precon I liked that I own but never played since it is one of the few decks my friends own. But I tried to learn the balance of that deck and sort of copy it. Like how many carddraw-effects does it have, how much mana of each color does all cards cost to play and how much mana in the manabase is included of each color to match that. Then I just focused on three strategies, get life, copy creatures and steal stuff. Eureeka moment one: When I was building the deck I put the meanest cards I owned into the deck. But trying it on myself (I played two decks on my own) it took 20 minutes to single out ten cards that I hated to meet myself. I just had to cut them out if anyone would want to play against me in our friendly playgroup. Eureeka moment number two: I felt bad playing the deck. I got the card draw I wanted. I got very different games with great variation. But! I felt bad about playing blue cards, stealing the commander from an opponent and then cloning it. I don´t have much artillery on my own, I count on my opponent to contribute with their good cards. So even though I won and we had some fantastic turns, like when I was at 1 life and my opponent had 38. It felt fantastic to turn that around and win. And still, a part of me felt like I cheated. In part because I would not want to be in his position. Eureeka moment number three - Screw that commander! I got a precon myself (Urza´s iron alliance) to play against their precons. Looking at Urza, he has a sweet ability for that deck but some of my friends also have that deck. They all only run precons. It felt like a drag to play the same deck as someone else, until my insight that ANY LEGENDARY creature in the deck can be your commander. I tried replacing Urza with ALELA, Artful Provocateur as my commander. And just like that the entire deck felt very different to play. My takeaway from all this is that to be able to adapt or rebalance a commander deck, be mindful of what other legendary creatures you have in your deck. Just by switching commander you can rebalance the entire deck, or shift it´s focus. Love your show!

[@TerraFilmTV]

Another thing that has really reignited my passion for deck building is the power level of the uncommons/commons increasing each set. Building budget commanders and keeping every card uncommon/common has been fun. Especially all the uncommon rarity commanders out now

[@scottpatterson8798]

You guys hit a lot of great points! Keep up the solid advice

[@JustforKikX]

My most loved deck was an Azusa stompy deck. It was the first time I didn't net-deck, I just threw in a bunch of stuff. I was so proud of that deck because it was 100% mine. It didn't win all the time, but man was it fun.

[@Hedgeclipperz]

When I’m building/playing, I love: -Aggro, creature-based decks (I play a ton of Gruul and can’t get enough) -Cards that are nearly unplayable in most decks, but are absolutely perfect for one particular deck -As much synergy and flavor as possible

[@FelinGreenleaf]

On adding more draw than you need: As someone (me) once (Likely unwisely) said "If you draw hard enough it's basically like you tutored"

[@Loki-]

I love how comfy everyone dresses for these table talks! *pulls up blanky*