#commander's toolkit

Unsung Heroes 

Below are some cards that have some pretty cool abilities that I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone use, but me. It could be because their mana costs are too high or they’re a bit too niche maybe, but here they are anyway. 

1. Repay in Kind 

I’ve managed to win or come close to winning with this a couple of times, it’s a great way of just closing out one of those games. We’ve all had one, where someone has a Trostani deck or has just managed to get a Gary onto the battlefield and become healthy again. Laugh in their face as their life total drops to an all time low.

2. Tainted Remedy 

As good as this card is, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone else use it or even heard it mentioned. it’s so good for obvious reasons. I suppose in some decks, commander damage does render it useless.

3. Dispatch 

Considering all prevalence of mana rocks and other artifact utilities in commander, as well as Exile being a staple. I’m surprised I don’t see this one more often. 

4. Nightmare Incursion 

I love cards like this, making sure certain things can never be played is just wonderful. I occasionally see Praetor’s Grasp, but that’s the closest to this card I think I’ve ever seen. This card goes really well with Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth by the way. 

5. Grand Abolisher 

I don’t see this guy around much anymore. his ability to shut down all responses during your turn even your end step is just a god send. he’s really cheap too. 

6. Merciless Executioner 

This is Fleshbag Marauder’s less popular brother, he is almost the same. But I never see him being used despite having redundancy. I would say having multiple ways to potentially get rid of indestructible permanents is always useful. 

7. Hallowed Moonlight/Containment Priest

The prevalence of reanimator and cheaty decks makes me surprised that I don’t see this pair very often as they can really wipe a smile of someone who’s just played a Rise of the Dark Realms or Genesis Wave.

8. Reiterate 

I don’t see this card very often, and it’s horrible. a copy spell that can be recurred with buyback has some unpleasant applications. 

9. Malignus 

I haven’t seen this guy since he was released back in avacyn restored. I think he’s really great, I must admit though I don’t use him much myself. He enters with half the highest life total and his damage can’t be prevented. Give this guy a Fireshrieker or a Furnace of Rath and you’re laughing. 

10. Hedonist’s Trove 

Although this is quite expensive, I think it has some interesting applications later on in the game, being able to deprive someone of their graveyard and then use cards from it is just great in my opinion.

Clans of Tarkir

Like the shards, the wedges or clans of Tarkir are also three color combinations that have given us some very powerful commanders. I’ve found that there are lot less legendary creatures in the enemy colors than there are in the shards.

Abzan

Associated Commanders: Anafenza, the Foremost, Daghatar, the Adamant, Doran, the Siege Tower, Ghave, Guru of Spores and Karador, Ghost Chieftan. 

Abzan has some of the most unpleasant commanders to see on the other side of the table. Karador and Ghave being the main ones. Despite this, Abzan contains white and black which gives us some powerful removal, the green and white also give us some of the better token producing abilities which work really well in Ghave. The green obviously gives us access to ramp and enchantment removal which is always needed. Be careful though, Abzan legendaries can sometimes be powerful combo engines, or at least there will probably be some in the deck.

Jeskai

Associated Commanders: Narset, Enlightened Master, Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest, Zedruu, the Greathearted, Numot, the Devastator and Ruhan of the Fomorii.

I don’t use jeskai much, Narset’s overused and Zedruu only really has one deck. Ruhan is interesting, especially in a one-on-one setting. Jeskai has white, which gives us useful tech such as permanent exile, total land destruction and some of the better board wipes. Blue and red give us access to Counterflux among other counter spells. And Red gives us access to some really fun chaotic effects that are good in Ruhan and Zedruu decks.

Mardu 

Associated Commanders: Alesha, Who Smiles at Death, Kaalia of the Vast, Tariel, Reckoner of Souls, Zurgo Helmsmasher and Queen Marchesa

And now we come to my favorite of all the three color combinations, or least the one I seem to use the most. Mardu is very aggressive, having red for haste and additional combat steps. White for Double Strike and Anthem effects and Black to drain the life from your opponents as you’re hitting them in the face. Mardu colors give access to some of my favorite legendaries in the format including Obzedat, Ghost Council, Rakdos, Lord of Riots and Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer.

Sultai

Associated Commanders: Sidisi, Brood Tyrant, Tasigur, the Golden Fang, The Mimeoplasm, Vorosh, the Hunter and Damia, Sage of Stone. 

I think that before Leovold was banned, Sultai was the most powerful of the combinations if not one of them. Like Esper and Bant, I find that the legendaries in sultai don’ t really have a specific function, with the exception of The Mimeoplasm. Players usually just build a Tasigur or Sidisi deck, but never use the commander, instead they just build a simic or dimir deck that needs a third color for utility. The green/blue make any three color combination powerful, most of the cards banned in this format are in those colors. The ability to ramp and prevent the casting of spells is already powerful enough, without the addition of black to remove threats and keep hands empty... It’s no wonder that sultai is a popular combination.  

Temur

Associated Commanders: Animar, Soul of Elements, Riku of Two Reflections, Intet, the Dreamer, Yasova Dragonclaw and Surrak Dragonclaw.  

Shards 

This article underlines some of the strengths and weaknesses you’ll come to find when using the three color combinations known as Shards (Friendly) and Wedges (Enemy) in commander. 

Bant 

Associated Commanders - Jenara, Asura of War, Derevi, Empyrial Tactician, Rafiq of the Many, Roon of the Hidden Realm. Rubinia Soulsinger. etc. 

Strengths 

Bant is potentially one of the strongest color combinations, the availability of green allows for ramp and enchantment removal as well as some hard hitting creatures. The white makes for easy creature protection, Board wipes and permanent removal from the game. The blue is for it’s usual stuff; Flyers, Counter spells and bouncing things.

Weaknesses 

I find that the commanders for Bant are very general, I find that some players will want a deck that does something specific, but then never use the commander, because it doesn’t support what they are doing. I find that players who use bant will just build a good stuff deck around Derevi or Rafiq and then use a combo to win.

Esper 

Associated Commanders - Oloro, Ageless Ascetic, Zur the Enchanter, Sharuum, the Hegemon, Sydri Galvanic Genius, Sen Triplets etc.

Strengths 

Esper is another very strong shard, and a popular one. It has many of the strengths of bant allowing for great removal across all three colors, the black combined with the white also allows for rapid life drain. Esper has at least two artifact commanders so artifact decks are very popular in this shard. 

Weaknesses 

Like Bant, Esper has the good stuff reputation, if you see an Oloro on the other side of the board, you can be almost certain he isn’t leaving the command zone. Commanders like Zur, Sharuum and Sydri are quite notorious for being combo heavy too, which draw a massive target on you. 

Grixis

Associated Commanders - Marchesa, the Black Rose, Jeleva, Nephalia’s Scourge, Thraximundar, Sedris, the Traitor King, Nekusar, the Mindrazer etc. 

Strengths

The grixis shard has some of my favorite commanders in it and they are all really strong. Have you ever had to deal with a Marchesa deck? It ain’t easy.

Weaknesses 

Grixis is notoriously bad at dealing with enchantments, which makes Privileged Position, Asceticism, Sphere of Safety (insert other enchantment I like to use) and any other protection a problem. 

Jund  

Associated Commanders - Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund, Shattergang Brothers, Kresh, the Bloodbraided, Sek’Kuar, Deathkeeper, Prossh, Skyraider of Kher. 

Strengths 

Jund hits hard, it’s abundance of Devour, Dragons and Tokens means it can recover from board wipes quickly and hit twice as hard next time. Also, it has good removal such as Terminate, Beast Within and Maelstrom Pulse.

Weaknesses 

Jund has trouble permanently removing things, as without white or blue it can’t really exile them. Sorry Jund but it’s likely that you will never be rid of that Sun Titan, oh well.

Naya

Associated Commanders - Mayael, the Anima, Uril, the Miststalker, Marath, Will of the Wild, Gahiji, Honored One etc. 

Strengths 

A great shard for Tokens, Voltron or Cheating out big creatures.  Naya also has plently of ways to protect itself from a lot of threats with some of the enchantments mentioned above and creatures like Sigarda, Host of Herons, Tajuru Preserver, Avacyn, Angel of Hope and Iroas, God of Victory, which prevent your commander from being sacrificed or your tokens from being wiped out. 

Weaknesses 

Since Naya is a very popular token and Enchantress commander it is weak to cards such as Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, Virulent Plague, Black Sun’s Zenith and Ratchet Bomb as well as Bane of Progress, Back to Nature and End Hostilities 

The “Superfriends” Scourge 

Over the last few blocks, the prevalence of the Gatewatch in mtg’s story has given rise to a lot of new planeswalkers and technology which has made them either stupidly broken or durdley. (Is that a word?). Cards like The Chain Veil (M15) Atraxa, Praetor’s Voice (C16) Deepglow Skate (Same Deck) and now the new Ajani Unyielding with his amazing limit break have made Planeswalkers highly popular. So popular, that there is at least one in every pod I’ve played with recently. This article is about how to deal with superfriends decks. You’ll notice many of them are just specialized wipe spells, as they are one of the few ways to deal with multiple planeswalkers.

1. In Garruk’s Wake 

Destroys all creatures and Planeswalkers you don’t control. Can’t argue with that, even if it is nine mana.

2. Merciless Eviction 

For when you hate planeswalkers (or any other nonland permanent that is) so much, that you just want them bloody gone for good.

3. Fated Retribution 

I’ve had one of these for ages and I’ve only just realized that it deals with planeswalkers as well as creatures, and it’s an instant. 

4. Planar Cleansing

A bit more of a panic button as it destroys all nonland permanents, a bit extreme. But if it stops Tamiyo, every little helps.

5. Magmaquake 

There are few ways to deal with planeswalkers in red. So this is a useful tool indeed. it also makes for good mass token removal

6. Aether Snap

Originally printed way before Planeswalkers were. But still gets the job done. Removes all the counters from them and sends them straight to the bin and those pesky tokens that Elspeth has a penchant for.

7. Thief of Blood 

A more recent version of Aether Snap, but it removes counters from all permanents and gets ridiculously huge as a result. I’m probably going to run both just to be sure.

8. Cyclonic Rift 

This is a classic removal spell, that deals with any problem, I don’t think i’ve ever had a blue deck without one since they were printed. 

9. Deadlock Trap 

This may not be the best way to deal with a multi planeswalker threat, as it can only target one planeswalker at a time and it costs energy counters. But it can hopefully deter their stronger ones long enough for someone to deal with them. 

10. Garruk, Apex Predator 

Let’s fight fire with fire and get another planeswalker to deal with the problem, you can use this Garruk’s first ability to just simply destroy target planeswalker, I guarantee that they won’t see this coming. 

Ramp 

Every deck needs ramp, not just green. Here are some ramp cards I really like to use. Besides the obvious. 

1. Braid of Fire 

Some good red ramp, especially if you can get it in early. It’s even better with a flash enabler, because then the mana can be used to cast anything during your upkeep. 

2. Krark-Clan Ironworks 

A great sac outlet for artifacts and a cheap and early way to produce lots of colorless mana 

3. Azusa, Lost but Seeking 

Because one extra land each turn is nothing to sniff at. Two is just insane.

4. Black Market 

Ramp in black where stuff is bound to die and provide fodder for this.

5. Cabal Coffers 

A little pricey, but in most black decks, this is a must have. Also goes swimmingly with Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth. 

6. Weathered Wayfarer

The ability to search for any land and in White, no less, is what makes this card so good.  It’s not shown here but it’s a shame about the white border though.

7. Mana Reflection  

One sided double mana is great and it’s only five mana to cast which is also really good. 

8. Journeyer’s Kite  

Basic land searching on a stick is awesome just do this in the preceding player’s end step and you’re in business.

9. Sword of the Animist  

It took me a while to love this card, but it’s a great way of fetching lands even in the earlier stages of the game.

10. Boundless Realms 

Good Cards for Group Hug (Draw) Decks 

Another deck I have been trying to perfect is the group hug draw deck. Before commander 2013, however, this may not have been viable as the only way to kill your opponents was to ultimately mill them out. But then Nekusar and other technology to this end was released all at once. Here are a few I find are very useful in such a deck. 

1. Spiteful Visions 

Released in the Nekusar precon in commander 2013. I had no idea this card existed until it was re-released. I do love this card though, working toward the same end as Nekusar. The damage is so small that your opponents won’t see it as a threat until it’s too late 

2. Rites of Flourishing 

Probably better in turbofog than scratch. I love this card because it temporarily appeases your opponents and causes them to ignore you for a while, meanwhile allowing you to draw lots of cards and ramp out your deck. Its main downside being that it does the same for your opponent. 

3. Forced Fruition 

This card is insane later on in the game. Forcing your opponents to draw seven cards every time they cast a spell. This was one of the win conditions I used to use in similar decks before Nekusar. 

4. Reforge the Soul 

Any card with this ability in these decks is a must have, allowing you to bin your hand and draw a fresh one. It can also be used to trigger your scratch abilities multiple times 

5. Font of Mythos 

I find this to be far better than the likes of Howling Mine. Allowing everyone to draw not just one, but two cards each turn. And only for a meager amount more. 

6. Otherworld Atlas 

This card is best if it can be put down early and charged up while everyone is getting ready. It’s hilarious if you can get it up to five and just keep using it every turn, especially when you have to watch everyone grumble and bin those five cards too. 

7. Venser’s Journal 

These decks all need a way to keep that annoying cap off your hand, I find that all of them (Reliquary Tower, Spellbook etc.) are good but this one allows you to gain insane amounts of life too.

8. Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur 

It is unfortunate that this card puts you on a very short clock. On the upside unless they have a no hand cap ability it forces them to jazz-hand for the rest of the game. 

9. Psychosis Crawler 

This card is a must have in these decks, drawing power from large hand sizes and hitting your opponents at the same time.  

10. Meishin, The Mind Cage 

Meishin removes some of your opponent’s teeth, if your hand is big enough, just mix this with an adequate Blue Sun’s Zenith and a Propaganda and attacking will become very difficult indeed.  

Good Cards for Mill Decks 

Mill may not be the best way to win in EDH, but it is definitely my favorite way to play. These cards make milling in this format workable. 

1. Mesmeric Orb 

Mesmeric Orb makes your opponents think twice about tapping things. a brilliant way to slowly whittle away decks, best put in an Eldrazi though so you don’t mill yourself out. 

2. Keening Stone 

Keening Stone is one of my favorite cards. It is one of the quickest ways to whittle away libraries and goes great with Traumatize to quickly finish off a player 

3. Memory Erosion 

This will hopefully slow down your opponents plans. By playing this, you ensure that they lose two cards everytime they cast a spell. 

4. Hedron Crab

This creature is brilliant if you can play it early. I find it goes great with any Moonfolk, but especially Soratami Mindsweeper.

5. Jace, Memory Adept 

Yep, here he is, the most hated planeswalker. His second ability puts your opponents on a very short clock. And who cares how harsh it is to use that ability. 

6. Mindcrank 

Another one of my favorite cards. When I first saw this card, I started salivating and had to immediately buy a playset. Don’t forget they form a winning combo with Bloodchief Ascension 

7. Dreamborn Muse 

Dreamborn Muse is a brilliant way of killing decks with lots of card draw. Just make sure you have a way of stemming the flow or you could meet a similar fate.

8.Sands of Delirium 

This card allows you to use your excess mana at the end of every turn to chuck a few more cards out of an opponents library. Great in a ramp deck. 

9.Phenax, God of Deception  

This is one of my favorite gods and I wish he would work. He turns all your creatures into mindwracking machines but it takes a lot to get him to join the fight. He does, however make milling workable.

10. Psychic Spiral 

Psychic Spiral is best if you can find a way to make your graveyard larger, Dreamborn Muse or Mesmeric Orb can be used to increase the magnitude of this card. 

Good Cards for Tribal Decks 

All of these cards should definitely go in any tribal deck of the corresponding color as they will greatly increase the power and capabilities of your tribal decks

1. Coat of Arms  

Coat of Arms is one of the best finishers for a tribal deck. You have to be careful though as it powers up your opponent’s creatures as well. Use it wisely.

2, Door of Destinies 

This card is arguably better than Coat of Arms as it only powers up your creatures. Unfortunately, those creatures have to be cast for this to gain charge counters. 

3. Shared Animosity 

Shared Animosity is great in aggro tribal decks such as goblins, minotaurs and giants. Better make sure those creatures have first strike though or your creatures will die too.

4. Urza’s Incubator 

This card is very good in tribals with high mana costs such as giants. just don’t get too carried away.

5. Obelisk of Urd

This is another useful card for overpowering your opponents. The other great thing about this card is that you can potentially cast this card for free.  

6. Adaptive Automaton 

This is a great tribal card in creature form  If you can find a way to copy it, all the copies can power each other up as well as your other creatures.

7. Cavern of Souls 

This land is like Boseiju, Who Shelters All but for creatures. The only problem is that it can only work on one type of creature at a time.

8. Aphetto Dredging 

This card is a good way of returning several creatures of one type from the graveyard. It’s amazing in some of the cheaper tribals such as Elves or Slivers.

9. Distant Melody 

Why draw one card when you can draw a card for each permanent of your tribal you control.  

10. Xenograft 

This card is better if used in a tribal deck with multiple creature types, this card will greatly increase the bonuses described in the other cards.