cEDH is defined by the Commander Format Panel in the Bracket System thusly:

Decks are built to win in the competitive metagame. Players intend to use only the most powerful strategies

This is a fine enough working definition, especially in a short space. A longer definition could be:

Decks are built to win in the competitive metagame and must be able to compete at the table. Players intend to use only the most powerful strategies, including the fastest mana, focused strategies, and the best interaction available to achieve their ultimate goal of winning the game.

While navigating the intricacies of a normal Commander game can be difficult, with each player often bringing a different ideal to the table, cEDH is simple: just win.

This is the strongest thing that Competitive Commander has going for it and that attracts so many. A game where everyone is trying to win puts everyone on an even playing field where all of the expectations are the same and you know what you're getting into.

While there's nothing wrong with the normal social contract and complex dance of finding your idealistic EDH pod/power level, having the clarity and ease of simply sitting down and everyone being on (or close) to the same page is often a breath of fresh air for me. Of course, it also brings with it some form of ideals (that aren't always upheld, but still) that help reinforce the goal of aiming to win the game.

They also depend on local playgroups, just like EDH, but are especially aspired to within a tournament environment. These include, but aren't limited to:

• Play a good deck
  • Ironically, you do have to worry some about deck selection in cEDH games - if your deck can't keep up then you'll be asking to lose - and that isn't that fun for everyone else!
• No "kingmaking"
  • Don't take game actions that specifically set up one player to win (if that player isn't yourself) if you can help it
• No spite plays
  • No making plays that mess with another player specifically "just because" or because you're upset at them.
• No using memory of previous games
  • Upset someone countered your spell earlier or in a previous match in the night? Get over it, save your interaction for when it matters.
• Priority matters - a lot
  • When you're playing games of cEDH, who's turn it is to take actions on the stack needs to be carefully tracked and monitored. If you skip ahead in priority to counter someone's spell, you may be missing the chance to let an opponent use their interaction when you didn't need to. Pay attention!
• Always play to your outs
  • Have a counterspell and no one else does? You probably should use it.
• No takebacks. Or loads of takebacks.
  • Not doing takebacks is the most softly held ideal, mainly because, well, it can be a bit boring! Depending on the playgroup, you'll either be held to your word ("A card laid is a card played") or encouraged to find the best solution to a problem together with the table, usually by people showing off what they have to others or placing things on the stack and, well, taking them back.

We'll talk more about some specifics of behavioral ideals & etiquette - the things that are important to make a game of cEDH work - in a later section.

These things and more are part of what helps separate cEDH from casual Commander games - together with the meta and power level aspects which we'll cover now.

Since the introduction of the Bracket system, many players seem to have become more confused - not less- about what some of the difference between high power Commander (i.e., Bracket 4) and cEDH (i.e., Bracket 5) really is. This difference has most commonly been defined by pundits and also WoTC themselves as a "meta" difference - and this is something that I agree with and will try to quickly explain to you here.

Most of the confusion seems to come from the use of the word "meta" - implying that there is a defined hierarchy of the most powerful & widely played decks that can be planned for, reacted against, and similar. While at the tournament level of playing cEDH this can be true , it's better to think about the average "meta" of Competitive Commander being more concerned with the cards you're always going to consistently see.

While you may not always play against TymnaTymna & KraumKraum in your pods, you can rest assured you will be running into a lot of these high-powered cards:

• Force of WillForce of Will
• Rhystic StudyRhystic Study
• Thassa's OracleThassa's Oracle
• Jeska's WillJeska's Will
• NecropotenceNecropotence
• Ad NauseamAd Nauseam

It demands a certain amount of streamlining and the ability to both create win attempts and stop opposing win attempts very quickly - as soon as turn one. As a direct result, this limits the lower level options of what really is "viable" in a cEDH game - theoretically you can play any Commander with any amount of combos and Game Changers if you so please - but don't be surprised if you're left in the dust or have your normally game-ending The Great HengeThe Great Henge countered.

There's no room for dawdling, or else another deck will punch your teeth in.

With the game compressed into so few turns, many of your opponents will be threatening a win in the next turn cycle; is your deck prepared for that? You'll also have to work together with your opponents to help stop whoever is actually the largest threat at that point, an aspect of the game that feels uniquely different from many EDH games that I've played.

These factors represents what is, unfortunately, a bit of a purely vibes-based distinction between Brackets 4 and 5. At the end of the day, Bracket 4 is for having fun doing your thing while casting powerful spells - Bracket 5 is about winning the game. Finding where you stand on those lines is up to you - and maybe also down to how your opponents are thinking.

Thanks to the rules of Bracket 5, you get any amount of Game Changers to play in cEDH games! This is great, because most iconic and important cards played in cEDH are on the Game Changers list. They are:

• Ad NauseamAd Nauseam
• Ancient TombAncient Tomb
• Bolas's CitadelBolas's Citadel
• Chrome MoxChrome Mox
• Consecrated SphinxConsecrated Sphinx
• Crop RotationCrop Rotation
• Deflecting SwatDeflecting Swat
• Demonic TutorDemonic Tutor
• Drannith MagistrateDrannith Magistrate
• Enlightened TutorEnlightened Tutor
• Fierce GuardianshipFierce Guardianship
• Food ChainFood Chain
• Force of WillForce of Will
• Gaea's CradleGaea's Cradle
• GambleGamble
• Gifts UngivenGifts Ungiven
• Grim MonolithGrim Monolith
• Imperial SealImperial Seal
• IntuitionIntuition
• Jeska's WillJeska's Will
• Kinnan, Bonder ProdigyKinnan, Bonder Prodigy
• Lion's Eye DiamondLion's Eye Diamond
• Mana VaultMana Vault
• Mox DiamondMox Diamond
• Mystical TutorMystical Tutor
• NecropotenceNecropotence
• Notion ThiefNotion Thief
• Opposition AgentOpposition Agent
• Orcish BowmastersOrcish Bowmasters
• Rhystic StudyRhystic Study
• Seedborn MuseSeedborn Muse
• Smothering TitheSmothering Tithe
• Survival of the FittestSurvival of the Fittest
• Thassa's OracleThassa's Oracle
• The One RingThe One Ring
• Underworld BreachUnderworld Breach
• Vampiric TutorVampiric Tutor
• Winota, Joiner of ForcesWinota, Joiner of Forces
• Worldly TutorWorldly Tutor
• Yuriko, the Tiger's ShadowYuriko, the Tiger's Shadow

You may notice that this is the vast majority of the Game Changers list! It's true! It seems as if the list is greatly informed by cEDH itself (or perhaps it is because we just happen to play all the most powerful cards). Every deck that can play all of the Game Changers in its colors usually does so - outside of those that are explicitly aimed at protecting lower power games, such as Tabernacle, the Phyrexian Praetors, and a few other more niche cards that are truly not good enough to hang.

One of the biggest joys in Magic is finding a deck that clicks just perfectly with your gameplay taste. I do have good news: there is almost certainly a cEDH deck that you will enjoy! Whether it's a spicy brew of your own or finding a commonly agreed upon powerful list, there’s something that will work for your preferred play style.

Many people start by either looking at a specific commander (or partner commanders) that they want to play with - or by looking for a specific playstyle or looking to accomplish a specific combo.

However, one top level recommendation: Start with something established to learn how everything works. More on that later too.

Regardless of where you start, there's something important for you to look out for - your list does have to be powerful. If a deck can’t hack it at a cEDH table, you’ll just not be having enough fun - and neither will anybody else at the table.

Let's walk through some of the best Commanders, the winningest combos, and other bits and bobs about finding the right cEDH deck for you. I'll also point out some resources that make finding other people's deck lists to become inspired by as easy as possible.

There's a loose framework for what makes a deck "cEDH viable," a phrase that itself is loaded and not actually that useful. What I mean is here are the things that I look for in a deck to know whether or not I believe the deck would have a shot at standing on its own at the average Bracket 5 table.

It should have at least three of these different elements:

• A fast, compact win condition - Two to three cards that are easily assembled that win the game on their own. These can be either generically good or deck specific. More on combos later.
• Two or more (preferably more) colors - More colors equals higher average card quality and more flexibility in what the cards in your deck can do for you. It's pretty simple! This does have a practical ceiling though - most four-color decks, for example, have plenty of playable cards and get to have more consistent mana over five-color decks.
• A Combo/Extreme Synergy-Centric or a Card Advantage Creating or a Mana Producing Commander - The Commander is the eight (and ninth, with Partners) card in hand. It should be a part of a combo (for example: Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy; Malcolm, Keen Eyed Navigator; Magda; Najeela the Bladeblossom; etc.), have extreme synergy with the rest of your deck (Winota, K'rrik, Sisay, Weatherlight Captain), create card advantage (Tymna, the Weaver, Thrasios, Triton Hero, Yuriko, the Tigers Shadow), or create a distinct mana advantage (Rograkh, Kinnan, Malcolm, many more). If your Commander can't check one of these boxes, you'll be quickly questioning why its there.
• Blue color identity - This isn't a joke, blue combines all of the best free interaction (Force of Will, Mindbreak Trap, Force of Negation, etc.) with what may be the two most important cards in the format, Mystic Remora & Rhystic Study, to keep you stocked on cards.
• Sans blue identity, every powerful interactive spell you can play - Silence effects in white, Deflecting Swat (and a few others) in red, etc.

Having a synergistic commander with three-color identity and lots of interaction gets you very far. A fast combo paired with two or more colors, while still being sans blue, can win a ton of games. Any one or two of these alone, especially only one, definitely won't hack it.

Of course, this also is a competently imperfect science. There are decks that check only two of these boxes that can win quite a lot (Magda, for example) and there are other decks that could check all of them (Najeela) that are currently struggling. At the end of the day, the person best suited to determine what deck you would like to play is you; if you want to experience the grind of a niche deck that has a lower win rate than others, that is on you!

If you want to play a pile of four-color good stuff, that is on you as well. This is just a guide.

A few words on each of the three major archetypes of cEDH - and a few words as well on the missing commonly played Magic archetype as well. Each widely played deck falls into one of these three buckets, though some can ride the line between several different ones. Find the one that you think will best suit your playstyle or preferences and go from there.

Turbo/Fast Combo

Often considered the strongest archetype in Competitive Commander, Turbo decks have one pretty obvious aim: win quickly.

Turbo decks, with the poster child deck being the Grixis Rograkh/Silas Ren, pack the leanest combos and, often, as many mana accelerating effects as possible. Some pilots also cut interaction in exchange for even more power.

Since they're so focused on the early game, though, they can often stumble into the mid and late game. A focus on explosiveness often means giving up some level of average card quality, making the average draw worse.

Midrange

Midrange cEDH decks are trying to eat their cake and have it too. Usually they're three or more colors, feature a balanced, yet wide, range of effects (winning cards, interaction, acceleration, card draw, etc.) and aim to win in the mid or late game.

An average Midrange deck is all about having the highest average card quality possible, meaning that every draw step or Rhystic Study trigger could theoretically be game altering - or could perhaps not apply to the current situation at all while still being a good card.

They also prominently feature combo wins, though usually cut the cards that would let them execute them extremely quickly for more draw and mana engines. The classic example is Tymna, the Weaver/Kraum, Ludevic's Opus, (nicknamed Blue Farm) a four-color pile that relies on sticking a value engine, such as one of its commanders, to draw many cards (that it hopefully can turn into a win).

Stax

Stax, perhaps a dying archetype, focuses on resolving several "Stax" pieces that slow down the game, restricting the choices of other players, before winning with a combo or, often, combat damage.

Classic Stax cards include Rule of LawRule of Law, Aven MindcensorAven Mindcensor, Archon of EmeriaArchon of Emeria, and similar effects. Stax remains the main home of combat-focused decks in cEDH, but requires very exacting piloting and being able to identify windows of winning opportunity before an opponent bounces your one most restrictive piece and goes for the win.

Not for the faint of heart.

Traditional Tempo/Control...?

Tempo and Control, in the traditional Magic senses, unfortunately don't exist meaningfully in a cEDH context. The problem is that all of the cards that you would usually use to trade resources with opponents - removal spells, counterspells, etc. - put you at a massive disadvantage vs. your opponents.

In a normal game, they represent a one-for-one trade, placing you on even ground, if not ahead or behind on mana. In a multiplayer format, you put yourself down a card, a single opponent down a card, and two opponents up on you on cards and mana. Not a great trade.

Even normal Tempo fuel, such as cantrips, have diving value, thanks to the increased number of players.

In a normal 1v1 game, you take every other turn in the match, making taking a bit of time off, alongside mana and a card, to sculpt your hand or deck an easy prospect. Your opponent, in many ways, only has a one turn window in which to punish you for spinning the wheels. In cEDH, you only take every fourth turn, as opposed to every other one, making every turn, every card, and every mana spent that much more valuable.

Cantrips, only letting you take a look at one or two more cards of your 98-99 card deck, quickly become a waste of mana (and deck inclusion slots). As a result, decks rely on much more effective, and definite forms of deck manipulation: tutors. These leave cantrips, and other traditional tempo and control forms of larger card advantage for that matter, in the dust.

This is by no means all encompassing - I've selected what feels like a representative list of some of the most popular lists that also cover bases on options and playstyles.

Tymna/Kraum (Blue Farm)

Tymna the WeaverTymna the Weaver & Kraum, Ludevic's OpusKraum, Ludevic's Opus are far and away the most common, and also the most powerful, commander combination available in Competitive Commander at this time. It features the four strongest colors, missing only the relatively weak green, getting to pack in the best interaction, white Silence effects, the easiest and most compact winning combos, explosive mana, all while having two commanders that draw loads and loads of cards.

Even in situations where you’re a bit low on action, both Tymna and Kraum are able to draw anywhere from one to five-plus cards per turn cycle, quickly turbocharging your position. It’s no mystery why this deck and these commanders are so popular; they do quite literally do it all.

Theoretically beginner friendly - but I have seen some players get bogged down with decision paralysis since all of the cards are, well, good.

Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy

Kinnan is the powerhouse two-color commander available in the format. Getting onto the battlefield quickly, he provides an explosive burst of mana that you can pour into powerful advantage engines, his own activated ability (to cheat in cards like Nyxbloom AncientNyxbloom Ancient), or just casting big dudes outright.

Most importantly, he combines with Basalt MonolithBasalt Monolith to make infinite colorless mana. Use this mana on something like Thrasios, Triton HeroThrasios, Triton Hero to draw your entire deck (find a way to win then, I dare you!) or on a massive Finale of DevastationFinale of Devastation to pump your creatures and kill the table.

Probably the most beginner friendly of the popular decks, due to low mana requirements, a straightforward plan, and plenty of blue interaction to help cover your bases.

Thrasios/Tymna (TnT)

Enjoy green creatures and maximizing Gaea's CradleGaea's Cradle? TnT is definitely the option for you. This classic cEDH deck plays piles and piles of value creatures, hoping to get in attackers with Tymna on the battlefield to draw cards and getting as much mana from Gaea's Cradle as possible.

It gets to pair this all with solid interaction suites, the best tutors, and more. Thanks to its colors, it can still win with Thassa's Oracle, but also has cool infinite mana lines with Hazel's BrewmasterHazel's Brewmaster and Devoted DruidDevoted Druid. Draw your library with Thrasios, call it a day. Win-con in the command zone! Certified best Seedborn MuseSeedborn Muse deck.

Rograkh/Silas (RogSi)

RogSi is the Turbo deck in Competitive Commander - and before the bans that removed the explosiveness of Dockside ExtortionistDockside Extortionist and Mana CryptMana Crypt was borderline the agreed-upon best deck. It very well still may be a pile of insanely powerful instants, sorceries, and artifacts that usually has one goal: Cast Necropotence or Ad Nauseam, take a ton of damage to draw a ton of cards, leverage that into a Thoracle or Underworld Breach win, often at instant speed thanks to the likes of Valley FloodcallerValley Floodcaller and Borne Upon a WindBorne Upon a Wind.

Not for the faint of heart - jamming into Rhystic Studies & coming out just fine is common.

Tivit, Seller of Secrets

If we were to have a Control deck in cEDH, Tivit may be the closest. An Esper pile that leverages permission, enchantments, and value engines to bridge into the late game where it can easily win with its own signature combo.

Leveraging Tivit's ability to make five artifacts on his own every turn, Time SieveTime Sieve lets you take semi-infinite turns (as many turns are as relevant, anyways).

Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow

If we were to have a Tempo deck in cEDH, it's the Tiger's Shadow. Yuriko and her army of Ninjas seek to maximize your Yuriko triggers every turn, caring less about the damage than the card draw that the ability provides.

The damage can sometimes be relevant and set up to be devastating. Vampiric TutorVampiric Tutor for Shadow of MortalityShadow of Mortality, resolve the first trigger, BrainstormBrainstorm in response to the second trigger, put it back on top, dome everyone again. That's good, clean gaming.

Dimir colors allow for counterspells and removal alike, while also giving you the premium win condition every deck wants in Thassa's Oracle. A very, very fun deck to mess around with, especially as Ninjas are printed surprisingly often.

Sisay, Weatherlight Captain

A complex, five-color combo deck that plays as many legendary creatures is as reasonable. Once you have enough in play, Sisay can simply tutor wins directly into play.

The deck also gets to play a wide range of flexible utility creatures that you can grab in a pinch with Sisay as well. Since it's creature (and planeswalker!) based, Sisay operates on a different axis than most pilots come prepared for. Noncreature interaction is common for most gamers to bring. Creature removal? Much less so.

The current main win line is leveraging Oath of TeferiOath of Teferi, Nicol Bolas, Dragon-GodNicol Bolas, Dragon-God and Aminatou, the FateshifterAminatou, the Fateshifter to create infinite flicker effects. From here, there are several cards which win the game, the easiest being using Saheeli RaiSaheeli Rai's +1 ability to ping out the table.

I love how many funky cards this deck gets to play; where else are you seeing Ertai ResurrectedErtai Resurrected entering the battlefield out of the library to great effect?

Magda, Brazen Outlaw

A mono-red combo deck that also plays a high amount of stax pieces and a pile of some of the most unplayable cards you've ever seen. There are many one- and two-mana Dwarfs that you play simply because they make mana for you - and do nothing else at all.

Using those Treasures for Magda's ability, tutor an Artifact Dwarf such as Adaptive AutomatonAdaptive Automaton and Clock of OmensClock of Omens into play to make infinite tapped Treasures (which you can still sacrifice to Magda to tutor up actual game winning cards). Huge artifact bombs, like Portal to PhyrexiaPortal to Phyrexia and God-Pharaoh's StatueGod-Pharaoh's Statue, also fetchable by the commander, buy time to assemble the engine.

As a quick overview, here are some of the most important cards in each color and a bit about why each (and cards like it) are played. If your opponents are casting these cards, pay attention. Also! the Artifact Base.

Lands - beyond three I'll shout out later - are self explanatory - make sure you can hit your color demands & play all of the best. Command TowerCommand Tower, Gemstone CavernsGemstone Caverns, Ancient TombAncient Tomb, fetches, duals, City of BrassCity of Brass, etc. are necessities that will raise your win rate.

White:

Silence

Silence is a strange combination of protection and interaction; you can cast Silence on an opponent's turn to stop them in their tracks or you can use it on your own turn, often in your own upkeep, to try to give you a free path to win. Even if it doesn't resolve, it's a sure tool to getting an interactive piece out of an opponent's hand. A must-have for any white-playing cEDH gamer.

Grand Abolisher

Grand Abolisher is popular for much of the same reasons as Silence but is purely protective of your own wins. It's a blanket effect, ensuring that if it resolves you're set to do your thing with no interference from your opponents. Additionally, since it's a creature, it's harder to interact with on the stack than Silence is.

Ranger-Captain of Eos

Ranger-Captain is yet another Silence-lite effect, usable for either interaction on an opponent's turn or protection for yours. Since it's a creature with an activated ability, you can invest in it on one turn & threaten to activate it for... a long time to come.

It's only gotten better recently, as its tutoring ability has added MockingbirdMockingbird as a powerful target in recent months, to go with the usual suspects of Ragavan, Nimble PilfererRagavan, Nimble Pilferer and Esper SentinelEsper Sentinel.

Sevinne's Reclamation

Sevinne's Reclamation is widely played in cEDH, but nobody is exactly overjoyed about it. Its main role is to be a part of IntuitionIntuition and more recently Gifts UngivenGifts Ungiven piles to force the issue on an Underworld BreachUnderworld Breach and Lion's Eye DiamondLion's Eye Diamond based combo. It's gotten significantly more strong since the Gifts unban, as a pile of it, Breach, LED, and Brain Freeze is almost certain to win if you have the mana to flash back Reclamation.

Blue:

Rhystic Study

If there is a single defining card of the format, Rhystic Study is that card. Thanks to your three opponents who are constrained on resources, you'll end up drawing a lot of cards over the course of a game - especially if a counter war is going on.

Usually the #1 tutor target in most decks and the #1 priority card to resolve.

Mystic Remora

Mystic Remora offers much of the upside of Rhystic Study while being even cheaper to cast and harder for your opponents to ignore. The obvious downside is that the card is temporary. Best in the early turns or the late turns but often awkward in the mid game. Huge card draw, still.

Force of Will

The standard for premium, free interaction. Free counterspells are the lifeblood that keeps cEDH games from ending on turn one all the time - and are what you need to protect your own wins too. Force of Will and friends will be cast in every cEDH games you play, mark my words.

Thassa's Oracle

Thassa's Oracle once felt like a widely hated card, now most people accept the poor fish. She's a bit boring and a bit too powerful. Simply put, she's the most card- and mana-efficient win condition in the format.

Paired with Demonic ConsultationDemonic Consultation which epmties your library for one mana, you can simply win out of the blue in return for .

Borne Upon a Wind/Valley Floodcaller

Borne and Valley Floodcaller are more recent additions to the format and bring with them the ability to win on other people's turns, often in response to other people trying to win. For aggressive Turbo decks, they're also a key piece, letting you use NecropotenceNecropotence to draw 30-something cards, pick them up in your end step, and then win at instant speed in your end step before you have to discard (or in this case, exile) down to hand size.

Most spells that aren't instants can't be cast at instant speed for good reason. It's extremely powerful, making Borne and Valley Floodcaller two cards that you always have to look out for at all times, especially when your own shields are down.

Interestingly enough, Valley Floodcaller has some fun accidental combos with Banishing KnackBanishing Knack/Retraction HelixRetraction Helix but that's better saved for a full Glarb deck tech.

Black:

Demonic Tutor

The power of Demonic Tutor is pretty easy to explain: it lets you reach into your huge singleton deck and pluck out the one card you need for your current situation. Pretty cool, right? In return for just two mana as well, Demonic Tutor is always a card I'm happy to draw.

Tainted Pact

Tainted Pact has a bit more upside than its usual counterpart, Demonic ConsultationDemonic Consultation, as in moments of desperations it can be used as a very, very clunky Demonic Tutor to find the card you need. It's still useful as a Thassa's Oracle combo piece, though has the downside of being two mana and also forcing some weird constraints on your mana base.

For Tainted Pact to work as we would like, you have to have a singleton mana base, which can drastically reduce the quality of a two (or especially one) color deck's options. Just something to note when you're deckbuilding.

Dark Ritual

Dark Ritual is another golden oldie, like most of the black cards, that provides a mana burst, usually when it counts most during the early turns. It helps that it casts Necro on its own, but you can use that much extra mana for plenty of things.

Necropotence

Necropotence is the most powerful one-burst card-drawing engine available to fast cEDH decks. By demanding only one life per card, it outshines other options, such as Ad NauseamAd Nauseam, on efficiency while having its end step-based restriction on picking up the cards greatly reduced thanks to widely playable flash-enabler cards, such as Valley FloodcallerValley Floodcaller.

Orcish Bowmasters

Always fear the Orcish Bowmasters, a card that's very good at keeping creature-based decks, Wheel of FortuneWheel of Fortune effects, and Rhystic StudyRhystic Study in check.

Play of this card has waxed and waned since it was first printed, with priority on it currently being high due to prevalence of Thrasios decks. Can also be used to reduce players' life totals, but that's less relevant than threatening to remove people's key creatures.

Ad Nauseam

Ad Nauseam once was the gold standard for game-winning card draw. Now, as pilots have shifted towards playing higher-mana-value, stronger cards rather than keeping their mana costs low to maximize value and as more flash enablers continue to make Necropotence a stronger and stronger option, Ad Nauseam has fallen by the wayside.

Additionally, a five-mana cost is a higher ask in a post-Dockside and Mana Crypt ban world. However, many players still play it and it's often worth putting it into your deck (and being on the lookout for).

Red:

Deflecting Swat

First printed in Commander 2020, Deflecting Swat along with its blue and black counterparts - Fierce GuardianshipFierce Guardianship and Deadly RollickDeadly Rollick, respectively - has helped define and shape the cEDH meta ever since. Effectively a free counterspell, Deflecting Swat and the other free Commander spells have pushed down the ideal mana value of what's in your command zone, since they help turn on one to three spells in your deck.

Deflecting Swat is especially notable as it adds a powerful stack interaction spell to non-blue decks. Don't be surprised when the red player can blow you out when you're least expecting it.

Jeska's Will

Another spell that incentivizes cheaper commanders, Jeska's Will provides a double whammy of card advantage and a huge burst of mana. Now that Dockside Extorionist is banned, it represents the highest-upside ritual in the format, providing something like five mana on average but easily being able to climb above seven if there's a well-fed Rhystic Study player at the table.

It's already good enough on the mana end to see wide play; add on the occasional three cards and you get yourself a nutty combo.

Underworld Breach

If Thassa's Oracle is the most well known win-con in cEDH to outsiders, Underworld Breach is the one hiding in the shadows... that is also better. While Thassa's Oracle is flashy, it's nearly impossible to meaningfully disrupt an Underworld Breach win attempt, which uses Brain FreezeBrain Freeze to fill its graveyard off of mana it makes off of continually recasting Lion's Eye DiamondLion's Eye Diamond.

Eventually, cast Brain Freeze to mill out the rest of the table. Of course, this is just one way to use Underworld Breach. It can be a quite literal value play, flashing back a powerful spell or three... but you should never believe anyone who tells you it's just a value Breach. That Demonic Tutor in their graveyard? Yeah, that gets Brain Freeze.

Green:

Seedborn Muse

Seedborn Muse is the value creature to beat in Competitive Commander games, especially when in the hands of a Thrasios, Triton HeroThrasios, Triton Hero or Kinnan, Bonder ProdigyKinnan, Bonder Prodigy player who can pour mana created from the untaps into a powerful activated ability every single end step. Must-remove status in nearly every game that it's present in.

Chord of Calling (& Friends)

This is more of a batch of cards that are semi-interchangeable. The green X-cost tutor spells represent an important subsection to most toolbox decks and big mana decks. Being able to tutor up the most important creature for the moment onto the battlefield has huge advantages. If someone's casting one of these, beware! Finale of Devastation even has upside of being an alternate win condition.

Artifacts:

The Mana Rock Package

If all of the playable mana rocks were listed out and discussed here, this article would double in length. Instead, I'll just mention the artifacts that every cEDH deck should almost certainly* play. The reasoning is simple: they're cheap (in mana), pay for themselves or go plus on mana, or can help you fix your colors in return for minimal investment.

• Sol RingSol Ring
• Mana VaultMana Vault
• Chrome MoxChrome Mox
• Lion's Eye DiamondLion's Eye Diamond
• Lotus PetalLotus Petal
• Mox DiamondMox Diamond
• Mox OpalMox Opal
• Arcane SignetArcane Signet
• Fellwar StoneFellwar Stone

Wishclaw Talisman

Wishclaw is the one artifact worth mentioning outside of the normal mana considerations. It is, effectively, a Demonic Tutor with downside. Be careful who you pass it off to... especially if you don't think you'll be winning. Something of note here - the ability of Wishclaw can only be activated during your turn. Many people shortcut this in their head to sorcery speed, but this isn't true. You can activate it at instant speed!

* I don't care about your specific niche deck specific reason to not play exactly one of these rocks; it doesn't count.

Lands:

Gaea's Cradle

Gaea's Cradle is specially positioned as a Very Strong Land in cEDH thanks to the prevalance of both Kinnan & Thrasios in decks. These commanders have powerful, but mana hungry abilities that can put oodles of green mana to use. Otherwise, Cradle, while powerful, would be less impactful as green is already a relatively weak color in the format.

It's not like we're casting Craterhoof BehemothCraterhoof Behemoth in games; we're casting one- through three-drops. Sure, if you can use the mana to cast three spells in one turn, that's awesome. But more realistically, this mana will be going into casting large Chord of CallingChord of Callings and helping activate Kinnan.

Otawara, Soaring City

Otawara, Soaring City is an incredibly important interactive piece in the format, having the distinctly unique ability to clear Grand AbolisherGrand Abolisher and Voice of VictoryVoice of Victory from the board when things are least expected.

It's obviously best in decks that can reduce its activated ability cost to , but even paying full price is worth not losing to someone who has otherwise shut you out of the game. It doesn't hurt, obviously, that you can still hit your land drops with it.

 Boseiju, Who Endures

Turn to Boseiju, Who Endures to remove problematic Rhystic Studies, Rule of Laws, Gaea's Cradles, and other random detritus that litters the battlefield. Often just costing , Boseiju is a powerful flex slot that is effectively "free" as a part of the mana base and is always a card to consider coming out of your opponents' hands as well.

cEDH decks are scattered far and wide across the world wide web. What can we do about that? There are a few different places available.

Interested in data? EDHTop16 pulls down most data from large cEDH tournaments, presents the highest performers, and then gives you the deck lists of the highest performers for those specific decks. It's where I go to find what people who think a ton about the format and then get results are doing.

Interested in curation? The cEDH Decklist Database is a long-term community project that takes a more curated approach to decks, with teams of judges and similar that narrow down to a much smaller list of decks - also a good place to find Discord communities and Primers for specific decks.

Often, a hard part of getting into cEDH can come from being surprised by the different phases of the game that present themselves in most, if not all, matches. While not all games are made the same, they often have a similar tenor that I find fits neatly into the early game, mid game, and late game.

I'll provide a quick and dirty overview of what may happen in these sections of the game, what one may have to look out for during them, and what you may aim for by that point, along with a rough turn range for each.

The Early Game (Turns 1-2)

The early turns are mainly for one thing: set up and development of your first major piece. Players dump out the mana rocks in their opening hands then turn that first burst of mana into something impactful: an unrestricted tutor, a Mystic Remora, a Rhystic Study, one (or both) of their commanders, a deck-specific impact piece (two one-drop Dwarves for Magda, for example).

Usually, nothing too dangerous happens from the jump, though the most powerful of card advantage engines (e.g., Rhystic Study) are often worth countering to save yourself the headache. Also, the occasional win attempt will happen here as well from a deck like Rograkh/Silas or any Esper deck that has the Thassa's Oracle nuts.

Play heads up, don't go shields down!

The Mid Game (Turns 3-7)

The middle of the game is where you have to constantly stay on your toes. At this point, everyone has largely executed the plan of their opening hand (your opening hand did have a plan, right? Check out the next section) and are ready to move onto what's next.

In these turns, everyone will make their major win attempts and either be stopped or win the game. Having and using your interaction carefully is an important step during the mid game. If someone isn't explicitly winning the game - or playing something that you think will get them very close - don't bother with a counterspell; you'll need it later.

Depending on the players, the decks, and the seat order, you'll have to find your own window of opportunity to win the game. Finding a window is a tough skill. You have to deduce when your opponents' shields are down - or at least down enough vs. how much interaction you have to protect your win. It's an acquired skill that best comes from reps. The best advice to help build those reps though is just win. Try to win. If it works, it works. If it fails, try to figure out why you didn't win in that situation and try not to go for it in that spot again.

The Late Game (Turns 8+)

Late turns in cEDH games are a bit of a mess. Someone has a ton of cards in hand but isn't actually set up to win. Somebody is at four life but somehow hanging on. Everyone has had a major win attempt stopped and there's maybe one total counterspell available at the table. Every spell and every draw step could represent the game finally ending.

Honestly, hold on for dear life, try to build up some incremental advantages, and pray that someone doesn't finally draw the Tainted Pact they've been looking for for four turns when you're not ready for it.

Mulliganing is one of the most important phases in a cEDH game. Not because it's a turn 0/1 format where you can mulligan your way to an insane win, but because what's in your opening hand will define your first several turns - and the trajectory of the rest of your game.

I have two main tips for EDH players coming to cEDH games for the first time:

• Be aggressive. The London Mulligan (the current mulliganing system) is extremely busted, especially since we also get a free one, letting you look at loads of cards and then sculpting your final hand. Most cEDH decks shouldn't be afraid to go all the way to five cards in hand, if not lower, in pursuit for the perfect start. Why look at seven cards of your deck when you can look at 28?
• Keep a hand with a plan. In many EDH games, keeping a hand with lands and spells, usually a curve too, is good enough. Bonus points if there's a Sol Ring. In cEDH, that kind of thinking will have you left in the dust quickly. A hand needs to be able to feature a kind of plan - a good reason for keeping it. "This hand lets me cast my must-have commander on turn one" or "After developing four mana with these rocks on turn one, I'll cast this Vampiric Tutor in my next upkeep to set up Rhystic Study for my draw step."

If your hand doesn't have a plan, you'll be floundering quickly. Bonus points if the hand has two plans. And a Sol Ring.

Another often relevant aspect of playing in cEDH games is the concept of playing to your seat. In a multiplayer game of Magic (and in normal Magic, but multiplayer increases the effect), going sooner than other players has a distinct, built-in advantage.

Even if everyone is just hitting their land drops every turn, whoever's playing first will have one mana when other players have none, two mana while other players have one, and so on. They're getting to act while other players have fewer resources to respond - and get to respond with more resources available to players who are acting. They get to take their second turn when everyone else has had only one.

It's a decided resource imbalance that's unfortunately baked into the fabric of most every turn-based game. That's why in cEDH, its important to be extremely wary of this dynamic at all times.

I can't really give you many specific ways to do this, "Play to Your Seat," in this short introductory guide. The best you can do is be vigilant of the resource imbalances that exist and that you can use to your leverage. If you're first, know that you're automatically ahead on velocity over your opponents. This can lead to more successful fast pushes for wins.

If you're fourth, unfortunately, you also have to look explosive to catch up, but it can blow up in your face. Or you can try to go slow instead and wait for everyone else to expend their resources, allowing you to sneak in from behind.

Regardless of where you are at the table, you have to stay vigilant of the resource imbalances present. This is another aspect which is best learned via experience, so get playing and figure it out!

Combos, combos, combos! Many cEDH games are ended with the venerable "I Win Now" button known as combos.

Unfortunately, unless there's a Winota deck at your table or a very restrictive stax deck, the game almost certainly will not end in combat.

Here are the most popular combos you need to know to look out for. There are also some more archetype-specific ones that I won't cover here, but you'll come to know them soon enough.

Thassa’s Oracle + Demonic Consultation/Tainted Pact

The easiest cEDH win condition of all! Cast Thassa’s Oracle ("Thoracle"), then respond to the enters ability with Demonic Consultation or Tainted Pact to exile your entire library (Tainted Pact does come with a deck building restriction of having a 1-of mana base). It’s that easy.

Since it also costs as little as three mana, you’ll usually have mana left over to protect your own win attempt or cast something like Grand Abolisher or Silence before even trying to win. Here’s a special tip too: if you have both Tainted Pact and Demonic Consultation in hand, but no Thassa’s Oracle, use Tainted Pact until you reveal Thassa’s Oracle. Cast Thoracle, then use Demonic Consultation. Boom!

Underworld Breach + Brain Freeze + Lion’s Eye Diamond/Lotus Petal

Underworld Breach, Brain Freeze, and LED is another iconic, compact, and hard to disrupt combo.

The loop itself is pretty easy:

1. Cast Underworld Breach
2. Cast Lion's Eye Diamond
3. Crack Lion's Eye Diamond for blue, discarding your hand
4. Exile cards to cast Brain Freeze (or LED if you have enough extra cards) from your graveyard for its escape cost (exiling three cards) to fill up more cards in your graveyard
5. You can alternate casting LED and using it to make blue mana to cast Brain Freeze, building up an arbitrary Storm count which you can then use to mill out all of your opponents.

If for some reason this doesn't work, you can usually empty your whole library and then cast Thassa's Oracle (also from the graveyard). One reason this combo is so strong is that once it gets going, you have access to all of the interaction in your graveyard (from earlier in the game or from milling) available to you immediately, effectively raising the size of your hand.

If your opponent puts an Underworld Breach on the stack, it's a Red Alert of the highest priority.

Animate Dead Loops

Animate Dead is a really, really weird Magic card. A reanimation Aura enchantment that sends the creature back to the graveyard if it leaves play, it's able to be used together with Abdel Adrian or Worldgorger Dragon to win the game.

When Abdel Adrian enters, you can use his ability to exile all of your permanents... including Animate Dead. Animate Dead leaves play, Abdel Adrian is killed, returning all of your nonland permanents to play, which lets you reanimate Abdel with Animate Dead, you get the idea.

This lets you make infinite 1/1s while also untapping each of your non-land mana sources each time, usually netting infinite mana. Winning the game from there is trivial, hopefully. Worldgorger Dragon, on the other hand, exiles all of your permanents on his own, letting you make infinite mana easily with lands! This is a bit of an older combo set, and a bit of a hard one to set up, but is still popular in Mardu decks, some Grixis decks, and any deck looking for just one more way to win.

Deck-Specific Combos

Deck-specific combos is an all encompassing bucket for a lot of combos that you will lose to. Outside of the three- and four-color value pile type decks, many players are going to be packing some form of unique combo to their commander. Being able to be part of a combo is an important part of Commander playability in the first place.

I can't list them all, obviously, but some of the most popular (past and present) are:

• Tivit, Seller of SecretsTivit, Seller of Secrets + Time SieveTime Sieve
• Godo, Bandit WarlordGodo, Bandit Warlord + Helm of the HostHelm of the Host
• Devoted DruidDevoted Druid + Hazel's BrewmasterHazel's Brewmaster
• Najeela, the Blade-BlossomNajeela, the Blade-Blossom + Derevi, Empyrial TacticianDerevi, Empyrial Tactician
• Malcolm, Keen-Eyed NavigatorMalcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator + Glint-Horn BuccaneerGlint-Horn Buccaneer

Once you lose to one of these once though, you won't forget it.

How should you behave in a cEDH game?

Be excellent to one another. It's really just that easy, right? Hopefully. cEDH, while it takes itself a bit more seriously than casual Commander, is still, at the end of the day, all about having fun through the frame of aiming for winning.

The lens of competition can sometimes make things get heated. Tempers can pop up, someone will disagree with a play, someone may be upset by one of their own plays in retrospect. This is natural, especially since a sit-down game is missing some of the natural outlets for frustration found in some other methods of competing (e.g., literally moving your body).

Keeping a cool head is not only going to help you perform better in the game, its just plain nice.

Take a reasonable amount of time for your game actions. Obviously, in high pressure spots, you need some time to think or ask other players something. But its imperative to keep play moving along at a reasonable pace.

Think about your turn. I've said it multiple times already - in most cEDH games, you should have a plan at all times. Use that plan to move your turn and the actions you take on others' turns in a specific direction. Meaningless umming and uh-ing to try to gain a few percentage points isn't worth slowing down the game. Lets play another one.

In a more "casual" cEDH setting (oxymoron, I know), don't be afraid to help each other out a little bit. Some of the most fun you can have in a cEDH game is helping another player find the line or have the table brainstorm the way that someone can be stopped or win through all of the craziness. Team work makes the dream work.

Treat other people's cards well. Although there are plenty of proxies around, there are a load of very nice cards around too. This is normal EDH etiquette, but it's especially true when the guy who asks you to cut his deck is sliding something like $12,000+ of foil across the table to you.

Have fun, dang it. Competing can and should be fun, or at minimum enjoyable on average. Find a way to have a great time or else you won't be playing for long. Granted, it may not be for you, and that's okay. But if you're going to spend time doing it, it's worth your while to figure out a way to engage healthily.

If you can do that, it helps out with the other things listed above.