Must-Have Commander Cards + Masters 25 Previews | The Command Zone 199 | Magic: the Gathering EDH

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Show Notes:
There are certain cards that any Commander player worth their salt needs in their collection. On this episode, we run down the list of must-haves and format staples while discussing which offer the most "bang for the buck". Do you have all the essentials covered? In what order should you acquire the stuff you don't have? Take a listen and find out.
PLUS we're unveiling our exclusive Masters 25 preview cards (yes, we have more than one).
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Watch our Game Knights behind-the-scenes video:
• Game Knights | Behind-...
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What We Mentioned on the End Step:
Annihilation Movie:
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[@fabroxfabrox3783]

Full list: Sensei's Divining Top Strip Mine Solemn Simulacrum Lightning Greaves Maze of Ith Shock Lands Fellwar Stone / Signets Fetchlands Vedalken Orrery Sword of Feast and Famine Ancient Tomb Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx Path to exile / Swords to Plowshares Elspeth, Sun's Champion Cyclonic Rift Rhystic Study Demonic Tutor Phyrexian Arena Vandalblast Chaos Warp Eternal Witness Cultivate / Kodama's Reach / Rampant Growth / Farseek Aura Shards Supreme Veredict Mana Crypt Gaea's Cradle Cabal Coffers / Urborg, Tob of Yawgmoth

[@sqwirl31trkpny94]

That's like 960 dollars

[@timothypeters3019]

I think nowadays solemn is still good but not as needed, just because the format generally has more ways to ramp

[@aidanquiett668]

@@timothypeters3019 Still really nice for non green decks. Mono red and white pretty much need it

[@TabooX1984]

Wow! This is great! Thanks! 👍👍👍

[@krysztovmucznik1765]

Thank you!!

[@SmugLookingBarrel]

Bojuka. Bog. It's a land, it enters tapped, it taps for black mana, and when it enters the battlefield, you get to exile someone's graveyard. Virtually every commander deck runs graveyard recursion or interaction in some form, and hey, if they don't, you can just play this and it will make you black mana. It's also a common from a relatively recent set, so it's only $1.

[@clelvis225]

that card has won me more games of commander than any other common i can think of......

[@egoclosed-fisted2644]

Definitely helpful vs Bruuna type Decks.

[@egoclosed-fisted2644]

Is a staple for black in my opinion.

[@erfunk]

It pairs very nicely with Crop Rotation, if you're so inclined.

[@SmugLookingBarrel]

It does, but you don't even need stuff like that. You can just play it instead of a swamp in any deck running black.

[@barronlucas8054]

I feel like josh and jimmy are part of the reason why vedalken orrery is so expensive XD

[@neilneedham9837]

Right? Pretty sure

[@shineofficial7343]

Guaranteed, there are cheaper cards that do the same thing, ie, leyline of anticipation

[@reachingvalhalla5096]

@@shineofficial7343 True, but that is due to Leyline being colour coded to blue and verdalken Orrery can be played in any deck. Blue also has a lot of instant interaction and draw and cards with flash, so the bonus flash effect isn't as much of a bonus in blue as in other decks

[@TheFallenA]

Sword of feast and famine in the field and than you cast temporal extortion after combat step😆

[@gmfireater1]

Josh, does Sriracha know you're cheating on them?

[@Small_Panda]

Joel Hornbeck this needs to be the top comment.

[@averillsmith1140]

I should hope so being present in the very same room.

[@palstran]

"Fellwar Stone and the Signets" would be a great ...... Rock band. Hehehehe

[@terrabite87]

palstran I applaud you my friend. 👏👏👏

[@shoroku1101]

Sol ring Fellwar Stone Every signet Mind stone Budget friendly and almost auto includes or at least ez includes to start up any deck

[@TheFixer710]

Fellwar stone and the mana rocks

[@jamesgranger5061]

I don't like watching your videos anymore. Each one ends up costing me about hundred bucks in new cards.

[@dragonballtalk8527]

It's not commanders quarters this is for established individual

[@legionparadise2397]

I mean. You could always masterpiece things and make it more expensive lol

[@shayneweyker]

Burnished Hart, Reality Shift, Mother of Runes, Dystopia, Nev's Disk, Oblivion Stone, Capsize, Wash Out, Chain Reaction, Duplicant, Steel Hellkite, Crib Swap, Authority of the Consuls, Pernicious Deed, Reclamation Sage, Harmonize, Wood Elves, Sakura Tribe Elder, Fleshbag Marauder, Mulldrifter, Explosive Vegetation, Arcane Denial, Merciless Eviction, Rapid Hybridization, Pongify, Forbid, Rakdos Charm.

[@michaelkeha]

most of that list sounds like pure horror to have to play against and I would rather not.

[@CaptainSauce]

Ive only just recently gotten into watch your stuff, but now I can't stop. Keep up the great work guys.

[@bradysexton2429]

Bro captain sauce watched/watches game knights!

[@wEakling1918]

@@bradysexton2429 Question is if he plays commander?

[@waynebodhi9617]

instablaster

[@TheWiggleTuff]

I was starting to get the shakes, been binging old episodes from when you first started. You guys have improved so much in terms of quality

[@hunterlee24]

How long have you been a fan?

[@TheWiggleTuff]

Hunter Lee Since August 2016

[@benstafford8206]

Beast Within and Krosan Grip definitely should've been mentioned for Green. Also Skullclamp and Reliquary Tower for colorless. Chromatic Lantern for most multicolor decks.

[@oddjob4212]

Beast within is a edh staple imo.

[@michaelkeha]

they actually really don't like Tower

[@samuelgoodliffe4757]

Staple means: Putting it in almost every deck Lantern although good isn't a staple, if you build a proper mana base you really won't have an issue in any of your games. Lantern = Mana rock + Lazy deckbuilding + Lazy tapping

[@ironjawedangels2812]

@@samuelgoodliffe4757 I'm actually gonna have to disagree. I often find myself in a position where I need a combination of colors in the late game that I just dont have. Like WWWWW to cast a 3 and 2 white spell in the same turn or get multiple activations off of heliod. Or i need to hold UU open for a counterspell but need UUUU for what I'm doing that turn. Its surprising how mana intensive some cards can be. Especially if you are paying activation costs over and over. And double especially if you are playing a commander with a repeatable activated ability

[@petermilwaukee8184]

I find reliquary tower to be garbage. Keeping your best 7 cards instead of discarding is better then providing colorless mana from one of your lands in most instances (eldrazi commander decks excluded)

[@endersblade]

I always recommend to new EDH players to pick up one or more of whatever Commander deck is current. Even if they don't use the whole deck, these decks come stocked full of staples. I personally buy all of the decks when they come out and inevitably not only do I end up with a TON of usable staples, but some of the cards end up being worth a truckload of money (True-Name Nemesis, Teferi's Protection, etc) that can recoup the cost of buying all of the decks.

[@Small_Panda]

People if you want a really versatile card that is extremely cheap. Get yourself a trading post it is 50 cents. It allows you to draw, gain life, recure artifacts, and create tokens. I don't know of many cards that are as versatile as trading post it does just about everything a edh deck wants to do and no player tends to look at it and go that needs to go.

[@ctomsky]

Tyler Gehring Good one!

[@krvys7226]

I dunno. My playgroup sees trading post, they tend to put a bounty on it. Mind you, my playgroup knows how good it is. Really good choice though

[@aydensauvageau9393]

Tyler Gehring it can do all that, but it is bad at them all, but it makes goats and therefore it is overpowered and must be treated with up most coshan

[@Small_Panda]

Ayden Sauvageau it does them all rather well considering it's all on one card and all costs other than the mana are supplied by the card. Also yes it isn't 1 mana draw three or 1 mana return an artifact to the battlefield but cards that do that tend to cost more or have 0 versatility.

[@Small_Panda]

Ayden Sauvageau also it makes token better than most permanent repeatable token generators

[@josephcarter500]

I found this video very helpful even for someone that has been playing MTG as a kid and just returning to the game and coming to find a new love for EDH, you guys are awesome keep it up

[@hikkisuki]

I like all of the cards talked about on your list. Well done and thought out. A few staples I like that weren't mentioned are Terminus, Black sun's zenith, merciless eviction, duplicant, spine of ish sah, swan song, evacuation, sudden spoiling, triumph of the hordes, blasphemous act, song of the dryads, dig through time and elixir of imortality.

[@french_freys569]

Main topic 11:01

[@glennmatthews758]

Thank you bb

[@swordoflorn]

Praise you

[@MireVale]

Thank you. Jesus takes them 11 minutes to get to the point ???

[@Foxbeep_]

ty

[@jahpal9275]

Doing god's work there buddy

[@pinickio290]

Episode #199, hmmm, seems like that’s close to something special

[@sventhestout3067]

Nicolaas van der Merwe hhhmmmmmmmmm I wonder whaaaat? It seeeeeems to be a myssssssterrrryyyyy

[@miru021]

1:15:44 LIST. = )

[@Isheian]

ICG:Correction. Top twelve list.

[@samuelgoodliffe4757]

Praise you sir, I would have ended up spending an hour just to get a list

[@paulj7491]

Sakura-Tribe Elder instead of (or togehter with) Rampant Growth, for the same reason as Eternal Witness over Regrowth I would say

[@comedyman4896]

"Teferi's protection might one day be better than Elspeth." I know hindsight is 20/20, but damn was that a miscalculation

[@rosskred1160]

One thing I do, I put a piece of paper in my sleeve for decks that share cards, but it only works with two decks. But I like the way you guys have presented, seems MUCH better.

[@jessicalepins1433]

An alternative to Vincent's system could also be making a proxy of expansive cards you already own, sleeve them and include them into every deck you want if your playgroup is ok with this process.

[@felipeguidolin1055]

I like to come back to these old episodes to see how much Commander has changed

I was going to start playing commander after buying a precon deck, but didn't know which cards buy at the beginning . This video is a lifesaver. Thanks guys!.

[@borislibaque1558]

This is a great topic actually, because Commander draws in a lot of new players and it can be really discouraging to try to get all the expensive high value cards simply because you don't know about the alternatives. I just wanna expand on the green part and the artifact part of the convo. Its nice to start with green as a color while learning because you can splice it into any deck and fix your mana pretty easily, which can be really annoying if you're starting out if you haven't figured out the right amount of lands, or the ratio of basic to non-basics, and which colors, and when to ramp vs draw cards vs put a threat out on the board. Getting at least the mana situation down, makes magic fun fast so getting to know green early on in your growing collection is a good idea. Also one of the best abilities Green cards add is Hexproof, with cards like Ascetism and regeneration like effects, so it makes magic more forgiving. On to Colourless! Every Commander deck needs something that pacifies commanders. Every colour and deck will have more synergistic or cost efficient ways to deal with enemy commanders than a colourless card but when you're staring out your collection, you still need something and I'd recommend Helm of Possession or Ugin. Now the reason I say Pacify is because if you just kill the Commander they will eventually replay it. It has to be something like Suppression Bonds or Lingify that replaces or adds to this slot in the deck which is amoung but separate from generic spot removal. You need this sort of thing for God's and Preators and Planeswalkers as they kind of the pinnacle powerhouse cards of the mtg multiverse Commander Support artifacts are important. Your commander is the cornerstone of your deck and a lightning rod for removal spells. I would start by grabbing and run both the Lightning Greeves and Swiftfoots in every deck. But, I would also grab Wispersilk Cloak and Hammer of Nazzan because many of your decks will rely on your commander or something else attacking at some point. Another pair that should go in every deck is Semblance Anvil and God Pharaoh's Statue, these decrease and increase the cost of spells for you and opponents respectively and are kinda cheap to buy for what they do. And if you wanna put a little more money in, Aether Vial makes every deck better and I would say is sometimes even better than Sol Ring. Drawing is important. Skullclamp and Key to the City are the cheapest versatile and I would say are staples worth owing and running most if not all the time. Not as good as Sensei's Divining Top most of the time but different enough that having all 3 in is really useful as they don't get in each other's way but help find all the other things you might need. Furthermore the Top is mostly for correcting draws which is different. Lifecrafter's Bestiary and Darksteel Pendant are also good for that and I personally like them better And Lastly I would grab a Soul Foundry and run it in every Deck. The meta is very ETB focused, so reusing your strong cards is often better that covering for a weakness to certain strategies. With that in mind, there are certain things that happen every game that can be taken advantage of; every game creatures die, lands are played, players cast spells. Trailblazer Boots, Blackblade Reforged, Grimoire of the Dead, and any of the Altars , Monuments and Medallions could be used comfortably in most decks Colourless has any interesting role in the game because it can round out any colour's weaknesses, so if you find yourself playing white a lot I would buy the colourless draw and ramp spells as 'your' staple cards if you know what I mean. If you're playing green a lot I would grab the colourless cards that destroy stuff. If you like the more combat-focused red commanders, its useful to have a Fire Shrieker or a Grafted Exoskeleton. These go in any deck that wants to fight stuff. To Sum up: Helm of Possession, (Ugin), Swiftfoot Boots, Semblance Anvil, God-Pharaoh's Statue, (Aeher Vial), Skull-Clamp, Key to the City and Soul Foundry are things I would add to what Josh and Jimmy suggested as staples for literally any and every deck. But for a collection and as runable value cards any decks (stylistic choice I guess) I would grab Wispersilk Cloak, Hammer of Nazzan, Trailblazer Boots, Grimoire of the Dead, Fireshrieker, Grafted Exoskeleton , Blackblade Reforged, Grimoire of the Dead and a Altar of the Brood, Altar of Dementia, and Phyrexian Altar/Ashnod's Altar. I would only start adding these to round out mostly finished decks and before focusing too much on a more particular solution because again these are nice placeholder or just extra value cards. Kinda like Aura Shards or Veldakin Orrary, they might not play into the core strategy but you won't regret drawing them or casting them. Honourable Mention: My favourite Colourless card is Azor's Gateway and a personal staple in every deck

[@DuncanEllis]

I do something like Vinny's system for double-sided cards. Doing that for proxies is brilliant.

[@Small_Panda]

Duncan Ellis they aren't so much as proxies as place holder for expensive cards. At least in my opinion i think of proxy as a card you dont have and just use a fake or proxy. Though i guess proxy just means in place of or to sub in for.

[@Kurogetsu1]

I tried doing something similar a couple years ago and my playgroup wasn't too happy about it. "If you only have one copy of a card, you gotta choose where to put It." Was the argument. Even though it was a couple bulk lands, sol ring, and a commander sphere

[@leonardoboccaletti1790]

Then you should make them wait for you trading the cards before each game. By doing the checklist proxys you are basically doing them a favor.

[@DuncanEllis]

exactly. My group is pretty relaxed about these things so it probably won't be an issue. Thinking I might get some unique sleeves to go on the single instances of the cards. Truth to tell, I already have one deck where I have a proxy for an expensive card that I do not want to shuffle.

[@Robert-ms2xs]

Kurogetsu1 that is completely ridiculous! Some of these cards are expensive enough that it is completely nonsensical to own more than one for commander. Honestly, I'd tell my friends to stop being such scrubs and let me play with my cards. As long as you can't tell while shuffling or drawing there isn't an advantage other than your own finances.

[@carbunclegirl]

I am very surprised you didn't talk about Sylvan Library. Not all that expensive and if you are even close to green you NEED to play this.

[@jcoker]

Skreeves I was surprised as well. I kept waiting for them to bring it up in green and it didn’t happen haha.

[@thinktwice5457]

Agreed. In a green deck Sylvan Library can be more powerful than Top and also benefits from a variety of shuffle effects. I would definitely say that it's more powerful and necessary than any of the land ramp that they put in the second spot and at least gives eternal witness a run for its money because green has hardly any cards that come close to Library's efficiency in card advantage. Also nature's lore is a green ramp spell that they forgot to include in their list of ramp. One of the best 2 drop ramp spells, color fixes, and worst-case-scenario can grab a basic forest untaped if you're worried about non-basic land hate.

[@xakuyer]

it's a black card in a green card shell

[@Runeblade484]

Except top works in every deck and can give you a card at instant speed. It also digs 1 more. Sylvan Library is good but would you really need it if you had a top in that deck already? I don't think it is an auto include but that is just me. On a list like this I don't think you put both top and this card and top goes in more things.

[@09Dragonite]

Honestly a couple of years ago I really undervalued Sylvan Library, but it improves draw quality consistently every turn and in green decks it sets up powerful turns on a perfect curve. I feel like a lot of people misuse the card to pay 8 life and draw 3 every turn, but the Library allows you to arrange which cards you put back on top, so you don't even need to pay the life for extra cards that you don't want. Combined with Sensei's Divining Top you can just look at the top 3 every turn, pay the life when you need to, and activate Top to draw an additional card without killing yourself. Not to mention all of the fun you have with Cascade effects when you know what is on top of your library. It's just solidly fantastic.

[@SeanODoherty]

i've been wanting to play with you guys for 2 years since i first caught viewing of your show!! gonna try to get it in around 11am Pacific standard time!. You guys are awesome and have done so much for this format. Even if i don't get picked... I still feel so grateful. thanks.

[@erebos42]

Another card for mana fixing in a 3+ color deck is Chromatic Lantern. It's a 3 mana mana rock that taps for one of any color and gives your lands the ability to tap for one of any color. I love it in esper and grixis because it keeps my opponents on their toes, and always leaves me with blue mana for some sort of counterspell if they try to blow it up.

[@codyh5802]

Hey guys, love the content. I just wanted to mention what I do for using multiple expensive cards across multiple decks. I print proxies of interesting altered art from online, I slide them in front of a bulk common card. It works great (I did make sure that my play group was OK with it before doing so.) I highly recommend this. For one you get to play all of your good cards without unsleeving or switching decks. 2. There are some really cool artwork alters online that you get to play with. Finally, I keep my alters in my commander staple binder for when I build decks. Just an idea similar to what you mentioned. Keep up the great content!

[@corvidcognition]

Maze of Ith can also be used as the Reconnaissance (W Enchantment) activated effect. Deal damage with a creature and then at the end of combat, untap it.

[@fdragon77fk]

Ponder for blue, it's a one cost card that lets you set up your next three draws or shuffle away those cards if they aren't good for the situation and then you get to draw. That is a hell of a lot of value for 1 blue mana

[@andrewmoore7014]

Pretty much any cantrip at that mana cost will be good. Run enough of them and they replace lands and make mulligans much easier.

[@claygreene9039]

You guys should do an updated version of this list

[@heliaxx]

3:23

[@zoamel8066]

heliaxx thanks

[@adenkatz6997]

Thanks

[@pyro4sub28]

What

[@pyro4sub28]

What

[@elesh.n]

preview card

[@Krokar01]

I use to solely only buy from the commons and uncommons box/ buying packs when I was in high school. Spendy to me these day is about 10$ and up, I think the most expensive card I've spent actual money on is a promo Lili

[@alexschwartz4412]

My dad started playing in 4th edition and I recognize a lot of these from my collection

[@bsmith8166]

Based on the cards that Ive put into my decks, here's a couple of colorless picks I think you missed- Ashnod's altar Scroll rack Library of Leng Mishra's factory Command tower/sphere Prophetic prism/chromatic lantern Basalt/grim monolith Burnished Hart Howling mine Jitte Sword of the animist Mask of memory

[@Chezissou]

You should be running in the Esper, Sultai, or Grixis format. Considering that, here are some certain staples I think could be added to this list. Elixir of Immortality - artifact worn powerstone - artifact darksteel ingot - artifact reliquary tower - land Halimar depths - blue lim-duls vault - BU bojuka bog - B land evolving wilds/terramorphic expanse - land(s) command tower - land exotic orchard - land Temples - land(s)

[@elitheworrywort]

Don't forget about the talismans! They're as good or better than signets, but like a buck or so each

[@TheWiggleTuff]

Eli McGill I agree, but there's only 5 talismans and there are 10 signets

[@Small_Panda]

Also i wouldn't say better than as when they tap for a color their is downside. While the signets down side is they take 1 mana to make one of each limiting your colors but not really limiting that much

[@elitheworrywort]

Honestly I just like talismans more than signets because I'm lazy and signets require thinking to use them in the right order lol

[@mikkel456123]

Playing a talisman turn two let's you play something for 1 as well though :)

[@Shattered_Entertainment]

@@TheWiggleTuff they actually are making the other 5 in modern horizons

[@kortcaldwell3642]

A card I've recently discovered the full potential of in Black is Vampire Hexmage. BB for a 2/1 Vampire Shaman with First Strike. You can Sac her to remove all counters from target permanent. It can kill Planeswalkers, slow down any +1/+1 counter base strat, shut down the counter lands, etc. I stopped an early Tanglewire in an Atraxa deck to secure my win

[@brennanbuglioni2821]

Here's a fun and little known interaction you can do with Maze of Ith. For those unaware, there is a step before your 2nd main phase called end of combat (much like the end step of your turn) Since its still combat during this step, creatures that attacked are still "attacking", which means that after damage is dealt, you can maze of ith YOUR OWN ATTACKING CREATURE to give it pseudo-vigilance! Isn't that cool? Have fun maze-ing, fellow planeswalkers

[@dabong3]

Thanks for tips, I actually have most of the staples for Blue, White and Red with a little of Black and Green, I keep them in a shared container so I can brew easily

[@SuperRedmerlin]

14:00 Yep, OR you could just print out proxies so you can play with multiple copies of the same card, especially if you're playing with friends, then multiple people can play with the same card!

[@LogoMotive11]

RedMerlin thats what I do I print put proxies for any card more than a few bucks. As long as its readable and I own at least 1 copy no one minds it

[@shendelzaresilkwood]

I really wanna see you guys go with pauper commander, since there's an abundance of uncommon legends coming around specially in master25, i bet it will be a good start for the format :) love you guys :)

[@lxUn1c0]

So when do those Relic Tokens come out? I still can't find an official release date anywhere.

[@Serrovin]

1:15:56 Fellwar Stone and the Signets, sounds like a band name, will be playing at your local LGS this Friday and Saturday. Tickets available through your local ticket retailers. lol :D

[@kevinvorrath6578]

Have you forget Beast Within?

[@AllAboutTradingCardGames]

Krosan Grip and Acidic Slime are two cards I don't see very often anymore, yet they are so good! More love to these cards!

[@White6Rock6Shooter6]

My Eye of Ugin got Chaos Warped, then I top decked into Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre. The whole table cried. It was hilarious.

[@timothyvandenberg2905]

Yay, I LOVE the Checklist Card system!!! That's what I do too! Totally the way to go!

[@williankadekari581]

Animar is by far my favourite commander deck, it is all about combo! Forget Swiftfoot Boots, rush for Purphoros + Ancestral Statue, Cloudstone Curio + Morph creatures, Earthcraft + Shrieking Drake/Dream Stalker/alike...Cloudstone Curio + Oblivion Sower + Ulamog... Animar is the sweetest commander I've ever seen!

[@kylesavage4525]

No command tower? No bojuka bog to kill gys? Sylvan library, burgeoning and exploration could definitely be somewhere in the ''top'' i believe.

[@jacobmonks3722]

Command Tower is only necessary in multicolored decks. And even fir 2-colored decks, you can build an effective mana base without it. They wanted to talk about cards that should be going into EVERY deck.

[@da6868]

Maybe it's like a sol ring

[@jimpassaro]

Great episode! I'll be coming back to this in the future. Honestly, while the ep was going, you guys did hit everything I thought should be on there, but when you asked at the end if there were any disagreements on inclusions, I came up with a couple I thought these belong in the main list: * Worn Powerstone (+ thran dynamo, hedron archive) -- Worn Powerstone is 50c (dirt cheap!) and improves like 90% of decks. Should be like #2 on the list, in terms of cost vs value. Certainly, a $12 Sensei's Divining Top isn't 24 times better than Worn Powerstone. * Wayfarer's Bauble -- better than signets * Expedition Map, to find your Nykthos or Strip Mine * Field of Ruin -- better than Strip Mine in multicolor decks and mana-hungry 1-color decks Potential honorable mentions: * Medallions -- e.g., Ruby Medallion -- much more powerful than signets in 1/2 color decks. You get to that "critical turn" way faster. * Leonin Arbiter/Stranglehold -- will hose everyone but you, but they're colored * Torpor Orb -- this will hose at least 2 decks at the table every time. Great for "surviving". I'd say 50% of decks want thispowder keg/ratchet bomb -- very cheap (2 mana, 50 cents) and almost always relevant. Looking at it you think it's pretty niche, but these cards have won me dozens of games where I'd have died otherwise. When it's not saving you from token armies (which is very common -- look at last Game Knights!), it's blowing up Sol Rings and stuff. Always something to blow up. * Thawing Glaciers * cycling lands * Gauntlet of Power * Immortal Sun

[@IndraSunrise]

Field of ruin costs you card advantage. You lose field, your opponent loses his land, then everyone at the table gets a land and puts it into play. You and your victim are card neutral, the other two players get a land for free and are ahead.

[@MrAmgeo]

Reconnaissance is a must-have for any deck that includes white and creatures. One-mana enchantment that lets you Maze of Ith any of your attacking creatures- even if they've already dealt the damage. It's like they have vigilance AND can just be not attacking if your opponent blocks them. It's bonkers in Alesha, and still solid anywhere else.

[@kyleburton5626]

I’m a high schooler who doesn’t have much money to spend on magic, and I’ve been using that checklist system for the past couple of months. It works great and it’s the reason why I’ve been able to build so many decks. Although instead of putting in a checklist card, I just put in some other card. This way if I don’t have access to my deckbox or binder of staples I still have a complete (but less powerful) deck

[@shineofficial7343]

I agree about the top being a staple. There are so many things it can do, there are infinites, it has the option to give you card advantage, its just so strong

[@HaydenLucke]

You guys make my day better. It's always fantastic to step away from the world and watch.

[@Eliarbreton]

Sensei’s divining top Strip mine Solemn simulacrum Lightning greaves Maze of ith Shock lands Fellwar stone (non-green signets) Fetchlands Vedalken orrery Sword of feast and famine Ancient tomb Nykthos, shrine to nyx Path to exile Swords to plowshares Elsie the, sun’s champion Ugin, the spirit dragon *Land tax Cyclonic rift Rhystic study Demonic tutor Phyrexian arena Vandalblast Chaos warp Eternal witness Aura shards Supreme verdict

[@MageKirby]

Check card system is so cool. I always did worry about having multiple expensive staples and thats such a good idea. And it takes as much effort as pulling out token cards.

[@pheano]

I would have also mentioned Thought Vessel and Mind Stone for the mana ramp section, those are both usually auto includes in all of my decks that use mana rocks.

[@Randomsome1]

I'm not super experienced playing edh. I only have 4 decks and have been playing since August. From that experience (ignoring Commander's Sphere/Darksteel Ingot) I'd say "Gilded Lotus" "Sylvan Library" is a must in green. My problem child, Rith, The Awakener, has consistency issues and running the Abundance Sylvan Library combo is a god send. Most games if I get Enlightened Tutor early, I'm grabbing that Library.

[@thomashearne4670]

Ancestral statue comboes with solemn simulacrum in animar if you have panharmonicon out. SS triggers twice, getting you 2 lands. Then you can play AS targeting SS and AS, repeating until no more lands are in your deck, and making animar huge. And if you have vedalken orrery out you can do this all in the middle of combat to pump an animar to be a million/million at instant speed.

[@publicaccountabilityunit7020]

Best possible opening hand I can think of is: Island, Mana Crypt, Snow and Tell, Omniscience, Enter the Infinite, Force of Will (Or Pact of Negation), 1 misc. Blue card for FOW. From there if you pull off the S&T to put Omniscience into play, then cast Enter the Infinite for FREE! Draw everything, put back a land and from there just wipe everyone off the board.

[@THEMithrandir09]

I'd place fetch lands higher on the list. If you have even the "havelands" as you call them or the bycicle lands any fetch land(even off color ones like polluted delta in animar) can fetch for every single color. Basically fetchlands become city of brass. So yeah, I think they are much much better than the others, given you have any complete cycle of fetchable dual lands. Also at least mention the abur duals for completions sake xD Other noteable includes: Chains of Vapor, Talismans, Necropotence and cards for infinite mana combos like a monolith + power artifact or lions eye diamond + auriok salvagers and stuff like that.

[@krvys7226]

Sadly, you can't actually grab every colour combo, per say. Have lands and bicycle lands have only been printed in ally colour. There still darn good, but keep that in mind.

[@andrewmoore7014]

Totally! I jam them in to everything. Even mono-colored decks just for the shuffle.

[@shawndiaz7528]

Fetchlands only marginally improve manabases under 4 colors. Just about everything else you mentioned is far beyond the budget they had in mind. Power Artifact, LED, and every OG dual are ~ $100.

[@andrewmoore7014]

Shawn Diaz So that's why Modern and Legacy decks running less than four colors don't run them, right? Oh...

[@shawndiaz7528]

Andrew Moore Modern and Legacy decks aren't singleton or 99 card decks. Don't be a fucking idiot right now and imply that deckbuilding is even remotely similar between the formats.

[@kennythegamer1]

If you're running a mono-Blue, or maybe a two color deck with Blue (possibly Blue-Red Burn), it might be more useful to run Leyline of Anticipation instead of Vedalken Orrery because it's an Enchantment instead of an Artifact and it can go straight onto the board before the game starts if it's in your opening hand (meaning you never payed for it).

[@BringerOfBloood]

Considering the binder system. I also do this and I think using a binder seems a bit complicated. What I do is to just have a deckbox with all the "staple binder" cards. Each of my decks then contains an index card i.e. some card with a piece of paper on top in a red sleeve - the paper reads what I have to put into the deck and how many cards I need overall (good to crosscheck). So instead of taking a card in and out of a binder, you just have a deckbox where you have to look for the cards, which I think is much faster (ideally you put some order to the cards in the box as well).

[@Rogtilop]

Ash barrens works well in “mono” white (or any other mono color deck) because it can fund your colorless eldrazi (eldrazi displacer, kozilek, endbringer) or it can shift to fuel your white intensive spells (like any of the double white 2 drops) or it can even complete emeria. It is just insanely useful essentially as a X & colorless dual land. It is one of the most over preforming cards in my decks.

[@EclipsedStone]

Watching this, it's a small thing but I always enjoy seeing Hong Kong featured in pictures (namely Phil DeLuca's). It's like a cameo for me, and I feel rather proud. As for the video itself, that was good too. ^^

[@alexmendozaarchdemonofburg7856]

I think it's great to go tgrough the best case scenarios or great opening hands just so you can make sure you do them right and go through them faster.

[@Zectzozda]

Ponder, Preordain, Serum Visions, Vandalblast, By Force, Farseek/Sylvan Scrying/Nature's Lore, Demonic Tutor, Gazza (Gray Merchant of Asphodel), Damnation.

[@schlaackmusic]

I wish I could give a second thumbs up for opening with the Rolling Stones cover! You guys are great.

[@WalkingMoshpit]

I play mono-Black commander and for that I would say that Black Market is a Mono-black staple and Crypt ghast is a staple for mono Black or black and other color.

[@fletcherlane6779]

My solution for subbing expensive cards is to just write the card name and mana cost on a land card and sleeve it, throw it in your deck. When you play the card, you can swap it for the one you have in a binder or case or whatever. You can just set aside the cards in the deck you are playing with and you can refer to them if you can't remember all the text. This way I can use the same card in multiple decks without having to spend the money for several copies, though I do still own a copy. I don't like playing with people who print off cards and sleeve them like they own them.

[@josephsayers4480]

Craig B! Welcome to the post-production team! (All will be one). I hope you've got the "BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM....STATS!" animation on your to-do list! ;)

[@jax099]

red and green get a Zhur Taa druid, it is a mana dork that when you tap it it deals 1 damage to each opponent if you ever end up in red and green it will end up sneaking in so much damage. Can easily, stealthily sneak in 5-10 damage on each opponent.

[@WeskersPlayhouse]

I've been playing Animar Morph for several years, its amazing.

[@seizan88]

Am I the only one NOT playing morphs with Animar? I build a Hydra deck, it's not as strong as morphs for sure. But I'm getting the most out of Animar :') each counter counts lol

[@tinyrubi7290]

heard about the pushback for the sending in the videos was so excited then realized i missed it by a day....you are spared from my decks for another year Game Knights....

[@maxmustermann456]

What about Skull clamp? Also very important especially to white players

[@Austinarcher10]

This is completely off topic, but I just finished VGHS and I can't more excited that I watched you here fist before ever knowing of your drifting prowess.

[@lokirip2372]

I've found that smothering tithe and rhystic study are 2 of the most important functional cards in my decks. Huge upgrades to own.

[@johnmolinari7752]

@ Jimmy One card that I'm surprised I haven't seen you play is Aftershock. It is super versatile spot removal In red. I personally love having a few of these spot removal cards that also hit lands.

[@ShoddyG]

My favorite thing to do is turn 3 rhystic study followed by a turn 4 copy enchantment for up to 2 cards per opponents' spell

[@davidberg5544]

Two cards on your list are even more awesome together. You can Land Tax without getting a land just to shufffle making Sensei's Divining Top rock.

[@classicsidepart1477]

Great video again!!! Would love to see an episode in which you show us the commander decks each of you has and give us a quick breakdown...or the top 5 of your decks if you will... Would really appreciate it :)

[@QuimFreecss]

I remember that time last week that they Chaos warped me a Kozilec and I flipped and Avacyn 8/8 making all my stuff indestructible. Poor Gol was like "What have I done!" He was playing Etali so he didn't have answers for indestrutible things lol. That was so much fun!

[@0ViciousV0]

Jimmy: Massive FLEX "All mine are foil now..." lol

[@ezzok99]

Thaumatic Compass is autoinclude in my decks. It makes sure that I don't get manascrewed and after that it turns in to Maze of Ith that CAN tap for mana if you don't need the defensive option

[@KZcovers]

Eldrazis. Everyone should own one of each titan. Those cards can go in any deck, especially green decks that ramp a ton or artifact based decks

[@peterhooper3391]

I agree in principle, but for some reason I don't like Eldrazi. Just a gut reaction.

[@Herf18]

these cards cost so much :/

[@IndraSunrise]

Because they're the best? There are far less expensive cards that are almost as good.

[@dantesdad]

Dear Josh & Jimmy, Listening to your podcast today about "commander staples" I was struck by something that I needed to share. You talked about the amazing benefit of running a system where you can own a single Mana Crypt, Sensei's Divining Top or any other expensive card and run that card across every single deck in your collection without having to swap it around. While your point is understandable, you are promoting something that I consider somewhat toxic for the format and for many playgroups. There are a lot of Commander players out there who build "bad" or at least "suboptimal" decks. Some of them do this because they love building silly themes into a deck or because they simply can't afford more expensive cards and don't want to proxy. Many of them build decks that are built around a commander that has a "low ceiling". By that I mean that many decks have a commander that just isn't prone to being "broken" and turned into a powerhouse. These players all deserve to be able to enjoy playing EDH with the decks they have built, whether those decks are powerful and fast, or durdly and slow. Finding fun games with both good and bad decks in a playgroup can be a huge challenge, and often involves negotiation and cooperation. You don't play your Tier 1 deck against precons or suboptimal decks and expect to have a fun, enjoyable game. If a player is in a group where everyone is on the same page, I think your suggestion about using a staples binder is absolutely fine, but you never actually discuss this negotiation. You just tell players to run Mana Crypt in all their decks because for you, it's the obvious thing you should be doing if you own just one but have lots of decks. I'm writing to ask you to at least think about how this approach can affect playgroups. When players do not have a wide range of decks to play and all of their decks are optimized with powerful cards "shared" across their collection, you are creating environments where newer players with worse decks or less spikey players with whimsical/theme/durdly decks have less and less of a chance to actually enjoy the format. The faster, more powerful, staple-bindered decks make the window in which those weaker decks can actually have a chance to play much, much narrower. If Spike's decks are now winning on average two or three turns faster, that really does create a toxic environment where the slower decks just can't compete. Those players might get to where they don't even feel like there's a point in playing. On the other hand, if the Spike were to have their "power cards" in ONLY their favorite decks and have their other decks be slower and weaker because they don't share those cards across their collection, you wind up with a situation where the Spike is able to pick a stronger deck to play at faster table and a weaker deck to play at tables where that is more appropriate to have a fun game. For most of us, EDH isn't about winning at all costs, it's about having fun games where everyone has a chance and has a good time. At a slow table, that pretty much requires that nobody is playing a fast, super-powerful deck. I want the EDH community to be one where everyone is working together to create fun games and environments that are welcoming to newer players and to players more interested in exploring deckbuilding as self-expression and as a creative outlet. There is certainly a place for strong decks and competitive play but every time you guys talk about players proxying power cards across their collection and thereby pushing up the power level of their entire collection, I really think you are hurting the community by not talking about how that affects less competitive players. If you win all the time, but lose half your playgroup, you're not really winning in the long run. There are ways to responsibly talk about how to use staples binders and how to proxy cards, but every time I've heard the topic come up on your podcast I wind up feeling disappointed in the way you treat the issue. Please think about this. A podcast about how playgroups can (and should) negotiate power levels might be an appropriate topic for you to take on. Maybe you never, ever do this, but I think these sorts of discussions should be had and staples binders should NEVER be used without a group having a discussion about it and how it will affect less competitive decks and players. Thank you for your time, - Stephen Johnson

[@christophercollins3632]

I posed a question to The Command Zone that is similar to your's. At one particular LGS the casual commander scheduled time finds several players who don't even own the cards they proxy. And they proxy huge numbers of cards, too, not just a few key cards. This really sucks when they proxy in a thousand dollar mana base of duals, fetches and shocklands. I have stopped going there since every game felt like facing a table of Mr. Suitcases. The culture to allow it was already there, so how do I change that? I always thought proxy cards needed an actual card backup. But there, the people are printing up half a deck, or more. The Big Problem is that once that power creep has inched upwards, people don't pull out decks that can't compete. Instead of allowing someone to play their Xerox deck, the Xerox deck is now de rigeur.

[@topilinkala1594]

I've only allowed proxies without backup owned card for cases where: - Someone is trying out something before buying the cards. - The card is not available right now either for sale or trade in the shop where I play. - Young players want to try some commanders that they don't have money to buy yet. (In these cases if I have the card i loan it for the game.)

[@VMSelvaggio]

Another option for removal that doesn't reward your opponent is Devouring Light, and it can be cast with Convoke and affects attacking OR Blocking creature. It is, however, more mana if you have no creatures to Convoke. (3)

[@lewkiz]

Top cards (using the same groupings as in the video): Mana Crypt Fetch Lands (even in a 3 color deck you usually don't need dual and shock lands if you have all the fetch lands) Sylvan Library (nothing is even close in green, if my deck has green, it will always have a Sylvan Library) Wheel of Fortune Rhystic Study (and Mystic Remora) Toxic Deluge (no other board wipe is close, you are always glad when you have it in hand. Yes, Demonic Tutor is great, but as mentioned in the video, I have also started to remove the tutors from my decks) Smothering Tithe (don't think it existed when this video was recorded, but this card alone has won so many games) => Oh, but all these are expensive! Yes, but buy Chinese proxies, and then switch to real cards when you know what type of decks you like. Also, order a land package, you will want to have multiple copies of all the core lands, i.e., duals, shock, and fetch. No one is content with only "one" Commander deck, and buying the mana base will put you back $1000+ for each deck. DO NOT BUY LANDS THAT ENTERS TAPPED! See www.reddit.com/r/bootlegmtg/comments/ask4f4/new_here_read_this_for_general_info/ I have bought from both BL and PK, and I can recommend them both. Most cards are great (e.g., all the lands), but some of the proxies are terrible (e.g., Sylvan Library). Still don't understand why people are complaining over the cost, buy proxies, and force WotC to change their re-print policies. PS. I own most of the staples, and I still want the prices to tank. More players, more games, more enjoyment! (Let's see if this comment will be deleted, they are sponsored by Cardkingdom and WotC after all :)

[@kyleogrady2130]

Don't forget about Lim-Dul's vault, amazing tutor in all Blue/Black decks!

[@nikosgiginth]

Sylvan libary for green and mono green or general non-blue green combination can be amazing and it is almost top like or brainstorm at your upkeep

[@xSkye629x]

There is a staple more powerful than Sol Ring Its called Storm Crow

[@jensklingenmaier1745]

No need To state the obvious :)

[@ryanhansen9779]

Awww. Man, storm Crow, I scoop. Game Two?

[@derekwalter4238]

Why play storm crow when you could play crow storm??

[@oddjob4212]

Dangit,now everyone knows...

[@only1wolz]

Boon for a birder, likely a murder.

[@caleb.pepper]

Shoutout to whoever edited in exactly 20 Vedalken Orrery cards!

[@voltcorp]

I feel like, other than the dollar cost, it's also relevant to point out that many banlists including the widely used duel/french one ban mana crypt. French duel rules also ban Gaea's Cradle, Strip Mine and Sol Ring, among others.

[@arbit4468]

18:06 that's some top top discussion. Looking at the top three then topping to put top on the top drawing the top card to top your opponent's top plays to top the topping topiary topographic topic top top top top top

[@gemkid85]

I keep one real version of the card in 1 deck, and then I just use a proxy for all the other decks. That way if I ever need to actually go to a tournament, or game store I can use the real card. While I'm playing at home practicing, I can just use the proxy version. This saves me a lot of time. I put all my decks in Black sleeves for this reason.

[@xcver]

So I did this out of my head in these comments now. Excluded most of the lands (but have 2 included) and then tried to limit myself to 3 per color and 5 artifacts so I have 2 lands and 3 multicolor spells: White: Teferi's Protection, Austere Command, Swords to Plowshares Green: Sylvan Library, Tooth and Nail, Beast Within Red: Insurrection, Chaos Warp, Wheel of Fortune Blue: Cyclonic Rift, Rhystic Study, Expropriate Black: Demonic Tutor, Phyrexian Arena, Exsanguinate Lands: Gaea's Cradle, Strip Mine Multicolored: Thrasios Triton Hero, Pernicious Deed, Anguished Unmaking Artifacts: Sol Ring, Coalition Relic, Solemn Simulacrum, Lightning Greaves, The Immortal Sun In Blue alone I coudl have plastered the way with loads of great counterspells and value cards also creatures like Sphinx etc.

[@Spetaelsk]

Don't play Rampant Growth in EDH. Play Nature's Lore instead. It's better because it searches for shocks and duals instead of basics and the land comes in untapped!

[@egoclosed-fisted2644]

Sometimes basic is better. But i rather play cards that search more then one land. Surprised harrow is never mentioned anymore.

[@stealthgrrr]

Or Skyshroud Claim

[@Spetaelsk]

Indeed, Skyshroud Claim is a favourite of mine. I just love the rampspells that allow you to put the lands in untapped if you need to. Explosive Vegetation is not nearly as good IMO.

[@Runeblade484]

That only really works if you have the shocks and duals. Lots of people do not and so searching for a forest is not useful. Since this video is budget friendly and for any deck they are not expecting you have those already.

[@Spetaelsk]

Good point. I want to point out that there is also the red/white land options for budget decks ie Cinder Glade and Canopy Vista. Those won't run you more than a buck or two, and are great for making your manabase work, but are restricted to R and W. I also recommend that you invest in some shocklands if you're new and gonna play EDH. You're not gonna have to struggle to get the colors you need as much as you would with just basics. Shocklands are also probably the safest investment you can make in MtG, as their value is incredibly solid. If you change your mind you can sell or trade them away with ease. Khans fetches are great too and relatively cheap.