<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cid, Timeless Artificer|fin|412" href="#" target="_blank">Cid, Timeless Artificer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://davidastruga.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">David Astruga</a></em></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Well, <a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/fin" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Final Fantasy</em></a> is here and just as predicted, it's an incredibly popular set. Sure, cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vivi Ornitier" href="#" target="_blank">Vivi Ornitier</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER" href="#" target="_blank">Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Traveling Chocobo" href="#" target="_blank">Traveling Chocobo</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are dominating the spotlight, but let’s take a look at some of the gems from the set that may be hidden in your bulk. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">My name is Tyler ‘Savesya’ Bucks, and it’s my duty to look through your stacks of commons &amp; uncommons so you don’t have to. On today’s Bulk Up, I present to you some amazing cards you might have overlooked, just waiting to be added to your decks.</span></p>
<h3>Blitzball</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blitzball"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Let’s kick things off this week with everyone’s favorite game: Is this three mana rock good enough in Commander? <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blitzball" href="#" target="_blank">Blitzball</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> taps for a mana of any color, but it can also tap and sacrifice itself to draw two cards if a legendary creature has dealt combat damage to an opponent that turn. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This card is great in aggressive strategies, especially when you have an expensive commander who loves to get into combat, since those kinds of decks usually need help with refilling their hand.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In terms of a deck suggestion for this card, let’s pair it up with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Slicer, Hired Muscle" href="#" target="_blank">Slicer, Hired Muscle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Decks built around this commander are centered around powering out Slicer, and then passing it around. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you notice, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blitzball" href="#" target="_blank">Blitzball</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can be sacrificed to draw those cards whenever an opponent is dealt damage by any legendary creature, you don’t have to be the one to control it. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So, be sneaky and hold this up until it’s just right for you to draw those cards when no one is expecting it. </span></p>
<h3>Restoration Magic</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Restoration Magic"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Every deck needs to protect its key pieces, especially since more and more removal gets added to the format each year. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Restoration Magic" href="#" target="_blank">Restoration Magic</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> being a tiered spell that can save a valuable permanent makes it incredibly useful at any point in the game. Since some matchups can be a war of attrition, the option to save your whole board while also gaining six life can be just the thing to put you out of kill-range!</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Amalia Benavides Aguirre" href="#" target="_blank">Amalia Benavides Aguirre</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a life gain commander that, when left unchecked, can turn into a board wipe. So, she often becomes a lightning rod for removal, which is where <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Restoration Magic" href="#" target="_blank">Restoration Magic</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can come to the rescue. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, you can get extra tricky with these two cards, and here’s how: When Amalia is one counter away from sweeping the table, cast <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Restoration Magic" href="#" target="_blank">Restoration Magic</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for its five mana level, giving your board indestructible and gaining you life. If Amalia gets that final counter, then she'll destroy every creature except for yours.</span></p>
<h3>Sazh's Chocobo</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sazh&#039;s Chocobo"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">+1/+1 counter decks are incredibly popular in Commander, totaling over one hundred and sixty thousand decks <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/plus-1-plus-1-counters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here on EDHREC</a>. Which is why you could hear a collective cheer during preview season when <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sazh&#039;s Chocobo" href="#" target="_blank">Sazh&#039;s Chocobo</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> was revealed. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A one-mana creature that gets a counter every time a land enters your board may not seem flashy, but when your deck just wants to build up counters as quickly as possible, starting that engine on turn one is exactly what you’re looking for. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A mono-colored legend that loves modified creatures is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kodama of the West Tree" href="#" target="_blank">Kodama of the West Tree</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. The one thing that <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sazh&#039;s Chocobo" href="#" target="_blank">Sazh&#039;s Chocobo</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is missing is some way to punch that damage through, which is where Kodama comes in. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Giving your little chick trample, then ramping lands when it hits is exactly the type of synergy we love to see. So, if you already have a Kodama deck, be sure to go looking for this li'l friend in your boosters.</span></p>
<h3>Al Bhed Salvagers</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Al Bhed Salvagers"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Our next card not only fits in with <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/aristocrats" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Aristocrat decks</a>, but it also makes Clues, Food, Treasures and more even better; it’s <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Al Bhed Salvagers" href="#" target="_blank">Al Bhed Salvagers</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>! </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We've seen several different variations of this type of card over the years, but the new spin this time around is that it triggers on both creatures and artifacts, making it perfect to pair up with anything that wants to sacrifice itself for your cause.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A commander that consistently makes artifacts that will feed the Salvagers is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lotho, Corrupt Shirriff" href="#" target="_blank">Lotho, Corrupt Shirriff</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. He makes you a Treasure whenever a player casts their second spell, which is a great ability, however it does cost you one life in the process. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This is what makes <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Al Bhed Salvagers" href="#" target="_blank">Al Bhed Salvagers</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> such a great fit in the deck, since you can then use that token for mana, gain your life back, and drain someone else.</span></p>
<h3>Opera Love Song</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Opera Love Song"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Red’s card advantage has come a long way, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Opera Love Song" href="#" target="_blank">Opera Love Song</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is just more proof of that. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sure, it could pump up a couple of your creatures for a turn, but more importantly, it gives you access to the top two cards of your library at instant speed. The rate of this is just amazing, especially since you can hold up that mana as your opponents take their turns, then surprise them with this spell right before your turn.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you picked up the <em><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/exit-from-exile-precon-primer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Exit From Exile</a></em> precon back in the day, then your commander <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Faldorn, Dread Wolf Herald" href="#" target="_blank">Faldorn, Dread Wolf Herald</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is just champing at the bit for this new spell. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Of course, casting spells from exile is something that keeps your engine running, but that power buff is something that could come up when the time is right. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With all those Wolf tokens you have sitting around, you can turn a chump block into a gotcha-style combat trick! </span></p>
<h3>Stolen Uniform</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Stolen Uniform"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At first glance, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Stolen Uniform" href="#" target="_blank">Stolen Uniform</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> might seem like a pretty narrow Equipment-matters card. While it does rely on an Equipment being on the field, it has a few tricks up its stolen sleeves. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">First off, you can steal an opponent’s pivotal protection piece, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lightning Greaves" href="#" target="_blank">Lightning Greaves</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, allowing you to finally target the creature with removal. On top of that, it can also just allow you to attach an Equipment on your side of the field for only one mana, getting around expensive equip costs (I’m looking at you, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Colossus Hammer" href="#" target="_blank">Colossus Hammer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>…)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A commander that can add even more tricks to the mix is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Arna Kennerüd, Skycaptain" href="#" target="_blank">Arna Kennerüd, Skycaptain</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you steal an Equipment from one of your opponents, all you need to do is attack with the creature you attached it to, which will then trigger Arna. That'll create a copy of the Equipment you stole, which you get to keep even after you give back what you borrowed. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Not bad for only one mana! </span></p>
<h2>Great Uncommon Legends</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Next up, let’s take a look at a few uncommon legendary creatures that could make for great commanders themselves, but can do some major work in the 99 of another deck.</span></p>
<h3>Black Waltz No. 3</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Black Waltz No. 3"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Guttersnipe" href="#" target="_blank">Guttersnipe</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a certified staple in the Commander format, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Black Waltz No. 3" href="#" target="_blank">Black Waltz No. 3</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> fits a similar role. Dealing two damage to each opponent whenever you cast a noncreature spell is amazing, and can fit in a few places <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Guttersnipe" href="#" target="_blank">Guttersnipe</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> doesn’t. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Decks centered around artifacts, enchantments, or even planeswalkers can tend to spin their wheels, but that’s where this Black Mage can help. Plus, don’t discount this in Standard spellslinger decks, since it can weaponize your value plays.</span></p>
<h3>Ignis Scientia</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ignis Scientia"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For people who have followed my <em>Bulk Up</em> series for a while, you’ll know I love the type of ramp found on <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ignis Scientia" href="#" target="_blank">Ignis Scientia</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Instead of picking up your deck, searching for a land, then shuffling; you just look at the top six cards of your library and pick the best land. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This helps speed up the game, as well as gives you the ability to hit nonbasics. Sure, it makes fixing your mana a little harder, but the ease of use is worth the risk. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Keep an eye out for this guy and his delicious treats while you’re opening packs from this set!</span></p>
<h3>The Emperor of Palamecia</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards side-by-side"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Emperor of Palamecia"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Speaking of ramp, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Emperor of Palamecia" href="#" target="_blank">The Emperor of Palamecia</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is here to help you cast your noncreature spells, coming down as early as turn two. Even though that mana does come with a restriction, when paired with the right deck, The Emperor can end up feeling like any other mana source. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On top of all of that, it can grow with counters as the game goes on, and transform into a nasty repeatable burn outlet on its flip side. Which makes it great not only in the setup phases of your game, but also when you need to close things out in a match. </span></p>
<h3>Cid, Timeless Artificer</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cid, Timeless Artificer"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Closing things out this week with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cid, Timeless Artificer" href="#" target="_blank">Cid, Timeless Artificer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which comes with everyone's favorite text “A deck can have any number of cards named <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?as=grid&amp;order=released&amp;q=%21%22Cid%2C+Timeless+Artificer%22+include%3Aextras&amp;unique=prints" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cid, Timeless Artificer</a>.” Since it has that clause, this is an uncommon that will most likely fetch a higher price for a long time. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br />
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br />
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">It also has the benefit of being a card with alternate art for each version of Cid in the games, adding more value to whichever variant of the card you get. Plus, it’s just a cool design, helping both Heroes and artifact creatures you control. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With this set, and all the <a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/spe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marvel cards to come</a>, supporting Heroes will become more valuable as time goes on. </span></p>
<h2>The Wrap Up</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Whether you went to a prerelease, draft, or just picked up boosters from this set, you’re bound to find some of the amazing cards we talked about today hidden in your bulk. So, before you let those stacks of cards sit too long, sift through them one more time, because a future staple might be waiting for you. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you want to see more great commons &amp; uncommons from <a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/fin" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Final Fantasy</em></a>, I did another edition of <em>Bulk Up</em> a few weeks ago that you can <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/amazing-commons-uncommons-from-the-final-fantasy-set" target="_blank" rel="noopener">check out here</a>.</span></p>
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="bOM7jQlAvx"><p><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/the-mechanical-magic-of-final-fantasy/">The Mechanical Magic of Final Fantasy</a></p></blockquote>
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Don't Let These Final Fantasy Bulk Cards Collect Dust

<h6 style="text-align: right;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Harmless Offering" href="#" target="_blank">Harmless Offering</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>| Art by <a href="https://www.howardlyon.com/illustration/proofs">Howard Lyon </a></h6>
<h1>Interaction in a game of Commander is difficult...</h1>
<p>There are three opponents, with their own boards, and own sets and sequences of interaction. You might be tapping out for an Insurrection or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Craterhoof Behemoth" href="#" target="_blank">Craterhoof Behemoth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but someone might have a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fog" href="#" target="_blank">Fog</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Obscuring Haze" href="#" target="_blank">Obscuring Haze</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>We live in fear of someone having the answer, but sometimes we have the game, all interaction in hand to protect our win, but we still don't try to take the win. Some of the reasoning as to why can be broken up into: improper threat assessment and emotional burden.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Craterhoof Behemoth"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Insurrection"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Obscuring Haze"></div></div>
<h2>Threat Assessment in MTG</h2>
<p><em>Magic: The Gathering</em> is a complicated game with tons of mechanics and points of interaction. Don't get me started with the stack and reverse priority order resolution.</p>
<p>This game is especially complex. Commander makes the game even more complicated with additional players and a more complex stack as they add interaction.</p>
<p>We are going to misplay. We are going to misread a card, forget a trigger, sequence poorly. Maybe we play a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lotus Cobra" href="#" target="_blank">Lotus Cobra</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> after out land for turn and miss an extra mana. These aren't the kind of misplays I'm talking about.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lotus Cobra"></div></div>
<h3>Working Against the Rest of the Table</h3>
<p>I want to first talk about the kind of misplay where you correctly understand the board state and make a call that hinges on an accurate assessment of player intentions, or capabilities, and you get it wrong.</p>
<p>I'll set the scene. I'm playing against a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Prossh, Skyraider of Kher" href="#" target="_blank">Prossh, Skyraider of Kher</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, 10 Kobolds, and they have a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirkwood Bats" href="#" target="_blank">Mirkwood Bats</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mahadi, Emporium Master" href="#" target="_blank">Mahadi, Emporium Master</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. I've got an <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Olivia, Crimson Bride" href="#" target="_blank">Olivia, Crimson Bride</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in hand and a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sheoldred, Whispering One" href="#" target="_blank">Sheoldred, Whispering One</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in grave. I also have an <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Eowyn, Fearless Knight" href="#" target="_blank">Eowyn, Fearless Knight</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in hand and a 10/10 <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher" href="#" target="_blank">Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. I'm at 13 life.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Olivia, Crimson Bride"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sheoldred, Whispering One"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher"></div></div>
<p>Do I remove the Mahadi or the Bats with the Eowyn and swing in for the damage, ending that player but leaving me open to the other opponent, or do reanimate the Sheoldred, strengthen my board, and hope the Prossh player doesn't have removal? Sometimes the incorrect assessment is not anticipating or banking on removal.</p>
<p>Don't play with your food. If you can eliminate a threat, you should bite down hard on it. I played this game and the Prossh player <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Assassin&#039;s Trophy" href="#" target="_blank">Assassin&#039;s Trophy</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>'d my Carmen so I didn't remove the Bats or the Mahadi and was dead to the sacrifices.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mirkwood Bats"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Prossh, Skyraider of Kher"></div></div>
<h3>Arrogance in Interactions</h3>
<p>Here is another situation we might get ourselves into. Imagine you're playing against a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ghalta, Primal Hunger" href="#" target="_blank">Ghalta, Primal Hunger</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which I do a lot. Imagine they play a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Llanowar Elves" href="#" target="_blank">Llanowar Elves</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> one turn, then a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Llanowar Tribe" href="#" target="_blank">Llanowar Tribe</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, then a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tribute to the World Tree" href="#" target="_blank">Tribute to the World Tree</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> then a Guardian Project the next.</p>
<p>You have a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Generous Gift" href="#" target="_blank">Generous Gift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>; <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dihada, Binder of Wills" href="#" target="_blank">Dihada, Binder of Wills</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>; and open mana. The other player has a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hashaton, Scarab&#039;s Fist" href="#" target="_blank">Hashaton, Scarab&#039;s Fist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> with three open mana. Everything the Ghalta player has is just mana and value with a creature entering. Nothing seems scary yet. Even if they play a creature right now I'm not the biggest threat.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tribute to the World Tree"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Generous Gift"></div></div>
<p>You know you should deal with that <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tribute to the World Tree" href="#" target="_blank">Tribute to the World Tree</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> but you're hoping the Hashaton is a bigger threat and you can hedge your bets that the damage is going that way, and the Hashaton player might remove it themselves.</p>
<p>This is a huge gamble. Removal is important and limited, but this feels like a big gamble. The Ghalta player could play their commander this turn and that's 12 trample damage.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ghalta, Primal Hunger"></div></div>
<p>It's tough, but we can't let a threat like that lie, we can't toy around with present danger. Turns out the Hashaton player had nothing and the Ghalta came from me next turn.</p>
<p>I know threading the needle with when it absolutely essential moment to use removal, and that's a whole other article, but if you can remove a big value engine and stop snowballing effects you should instead of banking on others to handle it for you.</p>
<p>Also never assume opponents won't see you as a thread just because you aren't doing anything now. Possibility matter too.</p>
<h3>Pity and Underestimating the Other Players</h3>
<p>I know it seems like this should be in the emotional burden section, but the problem with this particular situation is that player will underestimate those they pity. Someone playing <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Titania, Protector of Argoth" href="#" target="_blank">Titania, Protector of Argoth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, missing a few land drops shouldn't be underestimated.</p>
<p><em>It is a lands deck, I will catch up. I will make blockers. Get damage in on them ahead of time. Don't let them build up to becoming a threat.</em> We might think a few missed land drops will make them not a threat for a while, but we can be so wrong.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Titania, Protector of Argoth"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ramunap Excavator"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Terramorphic Expanse"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nissa, Resurgent Animist"></div></div>
<p>In a similar vein, don't underestimate a Voltron deck like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aurelia, the Warleader" href="#" target="_blank">Aurelia, the Warleader</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, after a board wipe. Unless it's a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Farewell" href="#" target="_blank">Farewell</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, hitting artifacts and enchantments, graveyards, and creatures, they will rebuild and incredibly fast. Don't think little of those who are a little bit behind.</p>
<p>Depending on the deck, rebuilding and recovery might be easy. Improper assessment of when a player is behind and not a threat shouldn't be based on blanket statements, it should be an assessment of their deck.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Aurelia, the Warleader"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sword of Feast and Famine"></div></div>
<h2>Emotional Burden</h2>
<p>Sometimes we are compelled to not remove a threat or win a game because of the social pressures present in a game of Commander. We've all been in a situation where a win feels stinky or uncomfortable, and we lean into that feeling so much that we sandbag or throw. Feels bad to win that way sometimes, but are we helping as much as we think?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tivit, Seller of Secrets"></div></div>
<h3>Winners and Losers</h3>
<p>We all have someone in our playgroup who wins more than anyone else. It's not usually just because their decks are much stronger, but that they're an exceptional pilot of decks in general. They can threat assess well, manage triggers, and sequence very well. They aren't usually playing Bracket 5 at a Bracket 4 table.</p>
<p>There is sometimes a burden to being that winner. Sometimes you've won every game in a session of Commander on Saturday and you want to let your opponent's <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reins of Power" href="#" target="_blank">Reins of Power</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> resolve.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Reins of Power"></div></div>
<p>I don't know how others feel, but wins like this feel unearned. Finding out my opponent had interaction, but didn't play it, means that in actual fact, I didn't win. It also is a little condescending to let someone else win. Winning is something I would like to earn and it isn't the gift you think it is.</p>
<p>Players want to win on their own merit most of the time and finding out that you actually didn't feels bad. If the goal is to get rid of that bad feeling of constantly losing to the same player, sandbagging doesn't help.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Harmless Offering"></div></div>
<h3>Prolonged Enjoyment</h3>
<p>A deck can sometimes outperform your expectations. It can do the thing faster and more efficiently than before. You're having so much fun piloting, even when you're way ahead, and you don't want the fun to end.</p>
<p>You're taking a fifteen minute turn with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urabrask // The Great Work" href="#" target="_blank">Urabrask // The Great Work</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and you see the win in sight but you don't take it. You want other players to get a chance to go off, you want the game to continue.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Urabrask // The Great Work"></div></div>
<p>Once again, players like to win on their own merits. Finding out that you took a 15 minute turn, could win, and didn't win might even upset other players. They might want to shift to higher power level in a game two, but can't because you sandbagged your own power level.</p>
<p>Maybe they had interaction and could stop you, but you didn't give them the opportunity by not even playing the card. That's the tricky thing with, "I could have won." You never know what other players are holding up.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Swords to Plowshares"></div></div>
<h3>Excessive</h3>
<p>Lastly, decks can be annoying to get the win with, a complicated <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Food Chain" href="#" target="_blank">Food Chain</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> stack or something. Maybe you don't want to go through the trouble.</p>
<p>Or maybe you can win, but you'd have to remove someone's <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kaalia of the Vast" href="#" target="_blank">Kaalia of the Vast</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for the sixth time. Or maybe you could win, but you'd have to kill the player who has been mana screwed all game. Maybe it will feel bad to win this way.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Food Chain"></div></div>
<p>I like to think that everyone playing Commander likes this game enough that the prospect of losing doesn't make the game unfun. We all grapple with loss when we play.</p>
<p>It's okay to face a loss to a complicated win or a uncomfortable piece of removal before your win. Some of us relish the opportunity to see a complex interaction. We like to learn the lines of an interaction so we can be prepared for it next time.</p>
<h1>Finding the Middle</h1>
<p>Ultimately, the point of this article is to let you know that when you have an opportunity to eliminate a threat effectively, you should probably take it. It's what's best for the feelings and ultimate conclusion to your games. I know it might feel bad sometimes, and the reading player's intentions are hard, but we have to attempt it if we want to remain competitive and learn new things.</p>
<p>Either way, talk about it with your pod; see how they feel about all these kinds of situations and get a pulse on what works for you all. If you want to argue with me about this I'm <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/strixhavendropout.bsky.social">@Strixhavendropout</a> on Blue Sky. Catch me there!</p>


Don't Play With Your Food: Social Interactions in Commander

<h6 style="text-align: right;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mr. House, President and CEO" href="#" target="_blank">Mr. House, President and CEO</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Illustrated by <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=a%3A%E2%80%9CJoseph+Meehan%E2%80%9D&amp;unique=art">Joseph Meehan</a></h6>
<hr />
<h1>I HAVE SOME NEWS</h1>
<p>Before we move ahead with the latest <em>Am I The Bolas? </em>article you're here for, I have some news.</p>
<p>You may have noticed that a couple of weeks ago, <em>AITB</em> was on Commander's Herald and EDHREC on the same day.</p>
<p>That's because <em>Am I The Bolas? </em>is moving to EDHREC from now on! In fact, that was supposed to be the day we made the announcement, but this one is the official real deal.</p>
<p>Commander's Herald will always be the site that took a chance on a little ding dong from Canada and allowed me to give you my takes on stories every week.</p>
<p>I hope you continue to support Commander's Herald and you follow me over here at EDHREC to keep reading.</p>
<p>This does mean that the archives of <a href="https://commandersherald.com/author/mike-carrozza/">past articles are over on Commander's Herald</a>, and things will look a little sparse for me over at EDHREC, but with time, that'll grow, and the folks who enthusiastically write in, discovering the column will still have a way to dive into the back catalogue, too.</p>
<p>I appreciate you all. Thank you so much. Let's get into it!</p>
<hr />
<p>Hello, and welcome to <em>Am I the Bolas</em>?</p>
<p>This column is for all of you out there who have ever played some <em>Magic </em>and wondered if you were the bad guy.</p>
<p>I'm here to take in your story with all of its nuances so I can bring some clarity to all those asking, "Am I the Bolas?"</p>
<p>I'm ready to hear you out and offer advice. All you have to do is email amithebolas@gmail.com with your story, a pseudonym you want to use, and of course, only include details you don't mind in the column!</p>
<p>You might see your story below one day. You might even hear it on the podcast. Which podcast?</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-25893" src="https://commandersherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/bolcast_logo430x430-300x300.png" alt="" width="249" height="249" /></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@AmITheBolcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">THIS PODCAST!</a></p>
<p>I'm Mike Carrozza, aka Mark Carbonza, and it's time to say welcome to the team full time, Mikey!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Warm Welcome"></div></div>
<p><em>I promise to make less fart jokes (I made a lot, and "less" means still making some here and there).</em></p>
<p>This week, the house has spoken.</p>
<p>(Post edited for brevity, clarity, and then some.)</p>
<hr />
<h2>HELLO, MIKE</h2>
<div dir="auto">
<p><em>Hello,</em></p>
<p><em>I have joined a Commander playgroup, rounding out the group of four, being invited by a friend from work. While I've known the work friend for several years before joining, the three have been friends since high school. We are all now in our mid-to-late 30s to give you an idea of how long I'm talking.</em></p>
<p><em>The group has been super welcoming and a great time. The elephant in the room is that I played </em>Magic<em> in middle school, a few times in Arena, and a couple of times during Christmas at work with the friend coworker. They have all been playing for nearly two decades.</em></p>
<p><em>Again, the group has treated me well, pointing me to helpful precons, giving me leniency in games, and also treating me as the threat when warranted.</em></p>
<p><em>Getting to the meat of things: </em><em>the group has some house-banned commanders from some tense spats in the past. One of these commanders fits me like a glove in terms of playstyle, color arrangement, and even just creature theme and art.</em></p>
<p><em> <strong>Would I be the Bolas if I were to inquire about being an exception to the ban rule?</strong> With the understanding that I probably won't know how to build/play to the same level of table flipping frustration, am I just poking at old wounds?</em></p>
<p><em>I'd rather leave out which commander it is if we can.</em></p>
<p><em>Signed, </em></p>
<p><em>Newbie</em></p>
</div>
<div dir="auto">
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mr. House, President and CEO"></div></div>
</div>
<hr />
<h2>HOWDY, NEWBIE!</h2>
<p>Thank you for writing and asking me to weigh in on your story. As I mention every week, if folks don't write to me, there's no column, so if you, the reader, want to send me a story, whether it's your own or one from Reddit or a friend's, please send it to amithebolas@gmail.com and I'll get to it here.</p>
<p>I love this submission. There are so many interesting pieces to this that makes me pretty stoked to get into it.</p>
<p>First, I want to say a big "hell yeah, that rules" about joining a playgroup of folks who've welcomed you so much and treat you in a way you appreciate. That's awesome, and I wish this for everybody looking to join a playgroup. It's a beautiful thing!</p>
<p>Secondly, I think the line you're walking in this group is a difficult one to tow. As the new guy, you've got to adapt to their rules and determine how you like it while also being careful not to overstep or change things up too much as to avoid the possibility of not being invited back, etc.</p>
<p>I think the way they've taken you in tells me that you'll be alright altogether.</p>
<p>Finally, I think your desire to play a commander that is house-banned is definitely fair. You weren't around for the banning and don't know exactly what caused it.</p>
<p>I believe it should be fine for you to inquire about their reasoning, but be prepared to be met with the possibility of not being encouraged to build that deck.</p>
<p>To the readers, I should probably tell you that Newbie has asked me not to include the legendary creature in question, but they have disclosed it to me.</p>
<p>To give you an idea, it's a commander that I would also kind of sigh at if I saw it in the command zone, but I wouldn't be rushing to push it off my table. It's definitely a difficult creature to deal with, and for experienced players to be upset at the sight of it, I should say I don't think they're totally overreacting by banning it.</p>
<p>As Commander players, I'd say it's pretty likely that we came to the format long after the banned cards list was established. When you get into the format and see that <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Griselbrand" href="#" target="_blank">Griselbrand</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is banned, I would hope your first instinct isn't to say "hey, I want to play that card" and try to get away with it in your deck. You play by the rules, right?</p>
<p>In this case, there are some extra rules. This playgroup has seen some things they'd rather avoid in the future.</p>
<p>It's fair to question why it's banned and to ask if you could potentially build it, but a card like that (again, sorry I can't give you all the information, readers) even being <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Clone" href="#" target="_blank">Clone</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>d is brutal and could still cause issues at the table again.</p>
<p>It's not a banned commander in the game overall, so if you wanted to put together the deck and have it for when you find yourself at an LGS or playing with other people, nobody can stop you there.</p>
<p>However, in this playgroup, you'll need to run it by them and be ready for a negative response.</p>
<p>You are new, and they've given you a lot of grace, though I don't think they're likely to bend here. I could be wrong, though!</p>
<p>You are not the Bolas for wanting to ask. You would be if you showed up with the deck built and ready to go at the group's table.</p>
<p>Okay...warning....</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>I will tell you who the creature is.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>It's....</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>.....</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hunding Gjornersen"></div></div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Did you really think I'd betray Newbie's trust?</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Thanks for reading!</p>


Am I The Bolas? - House Banned Commander

Commander Unoptimized - The Journey Of Omnath

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dimir Machinations" href="#" target="_blank">Dimir Machinations</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.gregstaples.com/">Greg Staples</a>)</h6>
<h1>The Truth Hurts</h1>
<p>In Commander, it doesn’t make much sense to mill your opponents. There are certainly synergies and combos you can put together, but milling just can’t keep up.</p>
<p>Most mill cards are designed around a sixty-card deck in a one-on-one format. In Commander, you have to account for three 100-card decks.</p>
<p>Even if you go hard on politics so you only have to mill one or two opponents, you’ll likely run out of steam halfway through the game.</p>
<p>On the other hand, you can always build some alt-win contingencies into your deck. But then you’re making it even harder to focus on milling your opponents. This creates a negative feedback loop, where you need to focus even more on non-mill strategies.</p>
<p>The best way to combat this is to shift your mentality...</p>
<p><strong>Bring only chaos. Leave only suffering.</strong></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Millstone"></div></div>
<h6><em>The titular millstone, old but not forgotten.</em></h6>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Mill Yourself</h2>
<p>The most straightforward way to bring milling to any game of <em>Magic</em> is to simply mill yourself. Afterall, who’s going to stop you?</p>
<p>From Golgari’s unhealthy obsession with recycling to blue’s misunderstanding of delayed gratification, you have plenty of options at your disposal.</p>
<p>Even red looks at the graveyard and thinks “yeah, that’s where I want my cards to be.”</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Octavia, Living Thesis"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Anger"></div></div>
<h6><em>Self-mill may not be wise, but it can be effective.</em></h6>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>But Why Do That?</h3>
<p>The main reason to self-mill is to expedite your ability to access certain abilities.</p>
<p>You can speedrun your cards from the library to the battlefield with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Muldrotha, the Gravetide" href="#" target="_blank">Muldrotha, the Gravetide</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Or you can create a horde of fungus zombies with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Mycotyrant" href="#" target="_blank">The Mycotyrant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>You might prefer a less overtly fast-tracked influence on the game. Then a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grim Discovery" href="#" target="_blank">Grim Discovery</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can always return the graveyard back into your hand.</p>
<p>Or you might prefer exciting and explosive turns. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Underworld Breach" href="#" target="_blank">Underworld Breach</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> facilitates exactly that, assuming you can pay the costs.</p>
<p>At its core, self-mill facilitates <strong>efficiency</strong> in your deck. Whatever you’re trying to do, self-milling will make it happen faster. Not only for Golgari colors, but across the color pie.</p>
<p>And if you’re playing against a black deck, maybe they’ll force some discards on you to help you out... if you ask nicely.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sidisi, Brood Tyrant"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Grist, the Hunger Tide"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lost Monarch of Ifnir"></div></div>
<h6><em>Allowing these cards anywhere near a graveyard is a mistake.</em></h6>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Trash Your Cards</h2>
<p>But there’s more ways to get cards into your graveyard than just milling. Self-inflicted discarding and surveilling are the obvious choices.</p>
<p>But you can always sacrifice permanents that come back for round two. You can draw too many cards, being forced to discard at the end of your turn. The world is your oyster, if throwing away your hand were a pearl.</p>
<h3>Self-Discard</h3>
<p>Lowering costs a la <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Oskar, Rubbish Reclaimer" href="#" target="_blank">Oskar, Rubbish Reclaimer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> helps offset the wonky hands you’ll have trashing your cards. Discarding cards from your hand is basically playing them for free if your graveyard is accessible.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hashaton, Scarab&#039;s Fist" href="#" target="_blank">Hashaton, Scarab&#039;s Fist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> even lets you convert that into a small army! Combine this with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Temmet, Naktamun&#039;s Will" href="#" target="_blank">Temmet, Naktamun&#039;s Will</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and you can have an army of superpowered Zombies for the low cost of your entire hand.</p>
<p>A full graveyard can empower something like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rielle, the Everwise" href="#" target="_blank">Rielle, the Everwise</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but these sorts of cards’ strengths aren’t fully unlocked until you’re actively discarding cards.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hashaton, Scarab&#039;s Fist"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Temmet, Naktamun&#039;s Will"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Oskar, Rubbish Reclaimer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rielle, the Everwise"></div></div>
<p>Assuming you have an idea in-mind for a graveyard-centric deck, any combination of self-milling, surveilling, sacrificing, and self-discarding will be useful. So how do you actually go about discarding cards?</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4>Blood Tokens</h4>
<p>Blood tokens give limited discard while also synergizing with artifact and Vampire decks. While not the most mana-efficient, token generation can always be expedited.</p>
<p>Plus, these have enough synergy with certain Vampire cards to keep you alive as you put your library in a shredder.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Anje, Maid of Dishonor"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blood Fountain"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Odric, Blood-Cursed"></div></div>
<h6><em>These bloodsuckers are undead, the graveyard is their second home.</em></h6>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4>Activated Effects</h4>
<p>Certain commanders, such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Anje Falkenrath" href="#" target="_blank">Anje Falkenrath</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> have activated abilities to discard. Others happen passively.</p>
<p>Whether used as your commander or not, having a few activated abilities to cause discards can ensure you have flexibility in your plays.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Malfegor"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Flubs, the Fool"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sauron, the Dark Lord"></div></div>
<h6><em>If you’re already milling your library, why not discard your hand?</em></h6>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4>Draw, Discard</h4>
<p>Any number of “draw a card, then discard a card” effects exist in the game. Sometimes, you even end up with net positive card draw!</p>
<p><em>Other times</em>, they have an alternative effect which is just as diabolical.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thirst for Discovery"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Locust God"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thrill of Possibility"></div></div>
<h6><em>Izzet really does like tinkering with trashed cards.</em></h6>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4>Surveil?</h4>
<p>Surveilling is really just self-mill but with the added benefit of walking-back your choice if you want what’s on the top of your deck.</p>
<p>Generally speaking, you surveil in smaller quantities than you self-mill. Further, your graveyard is going to be accessible if you’re self-milling.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lazav, the Multifarious" href="#" target="_blank">Lazav, the Multifarious</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is nice to have in a deck that involves self-mill, self-discard, or anything similar. But surveilling as a whole isn’t really required.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nyx Weaver"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Magar of the Magic Strings"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Grolnok, the Omnivore"></div></div>
<h6><em>Your graveyard really is just a second hand at this point.</em></h6>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>What About Them?</h2>
<p>Up until now, this article was focused on self-mill, self-discard, and similar attributes. The reason is simply because mill on a three-way split with 100-card decks isn’t as feasible as other formats.</p>
<p>However, that isn’t to say you are <em>unable</em> to implement it.</p>
<p>There are really two specific flavors of targeted milling when it comes to Commander. You can either focus on milling one person at a time. Or you can focus on milling everyone at once.</p>
<h3>One Person</h3>
<p>While not the fastest method of winning, focusing your mill on a single player at a time gives you the ability to negotiate who you’ll mill and when. You aren’t making enemies by accidentally ruining the plan of the person next to you.</p>
<p>Just be aware, this means you’re vulnerable to “one-and-done” syndrome. That being, where you make an alliance with one player, you each take out a target, and then you’re in a one-on-one.</p>
<p>Given that in order to properly mill a 100-card deck you likely spent most of your resources, you might not be able to mill your former partner fast enough. Particularly given how late in the game this confrontation would take place.</p>
<p>Just don’t focus all your mill on a single player and you’ll be fine. <strong>Always have a contingency</strong>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Captain N&#039;ghathrod"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Phenax, God of Deception"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Mindskinner"></div></div>
<h6><em>A selection of cards to ensure one specific player has a bad time.</em></h6>
<h3>Everyone</h3>
<p>Certainly the more expressive option of the two options, this very might paint a target on your back. You might not be the largest threat, but you’re quite the large and painful thorn in the side of everyone.</p>
<p>That being said, there’s a few ways to go about this.</p>
<p>The most straightforward is to play cards that mill everyone. Or if you’re feeling protective of your own library, cards that mill everyone else.</p>
<p>This won’t tend to win you games on their own, but multiple of them add up over time. Particularly when paired with a more targeted approach.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ruin Crab"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fractured Sanity"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mindcrank"></div></div>
<h6><em>None of these are subtle, though they certainly are effective.</em></h6>
<p>Further, there are cards that scale off of milling or otherwise have some sort of synergy with it. Use these to supplement your main sources of milling.</p>
<p>Don’t pivot away from your core strategy, but make sure you can support yourself while working through it.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Syr Konrad, the Grim"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Wise Mothman"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Consuming Aberration"></div></div>
<h6><em>Not every card that mills is about the sheer volume.</em></h6>
<p>You can put the pressure on the pod, decreasing hand sizes across the board in order to make every decision count. Afterall, you can make a deck that thrives off of your hand size being slashed in half. Why can’t they?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dark Deal"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Winter, Misanthropic Guide"></div></div>
<h6><em>This is certainly the most direct of the various methods.</em></h6>
<h3>Just Exile Them</h3>
<p>Sometimes you don’t want to mill your opponents, you want to remove them from existence. Their cards, not the opponent's. Though when I go up against an Eldrazi deck, I certainly would prefer if my opponent ceased to exist.</p>
<p>Which is why it’s so fitting that the Ingest keyword is typical to Eldrazi Drones. Exiling the top card of your opponent’s deck when you deal damage to them isn’t a lot. But anything that copies creatures or can transfer Ingest?</p>
<p>Or even just using <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crumbling Sanctuary" href="#" target="_blank">Crumbling Sanctuary</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> with otherwise normal beatdown strategies? That’s how you remove a library from existence.</p>
<p>Pair it with the aforementioned milling strategies and even a Golgari player can’t turn it to their advantage. Blue players will help you along with all their card draw. White’s ability to exile and gain life doesn’t help when you’re playing off the battlefield.</p>
<p>Even red players will get hesitant to impulse draw if you’re slashing their deck.</p>
<p>While they can exile the top card of their deck and play it that turn, should they? When they’re just speeding their time to deck-out?</p>
<p>If this specific strain of milling appeals to you, check out <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/too-specific-top-10-mill">this article</a> all about exiling-as-milling, plus a listing of some of the most notorious milling cards out there.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jace, the Mind Sculptor"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger"></div></div>
<h6><em>If you see these, I hope you aren’t too attached to your library.</em></h6>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Why Mill?</h2>
<p>To mill in Commander is to show up to a game with chaos in your heart and an underdog mentality. You are purposely putting yourself at a disadvantage in order to make a more interesting game dynamic.</p>
<p>I respect that. I’ll curse your name and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Murder" href="#" target="_blank">Murder</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> any <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ruin Crab" href="#" target="_blank">Ruin Crab</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> on sight, but it’s certainly a respectable way to play! Particularly in the case where targeted milling is used as a force of negotiation.</p>
<p>The ability to promise “not” to do something is <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/commander-unoptimized-group-hugs">just as powerful as anything a Group Hug can provide.</a> It’s much like countering in that respect, but that’s for another article.</p>
<p>Remember to always mill responsibly!</p>


Milling, Even In Commander

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="An Offer You Can&#039;t Refuse" href="#" target="_blank">An Offer You Can&#039;t Refuse</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.dallasillustration.com/">Dallas Williams</a>)</h6>
<h1>Blue Players, We Need To Talk</h1>
<p>Welcome back to Commander <em>Unoptimizied</em>. When it comes to the color pie, most folks curse the name of blue players the most.</p>
<p>Black is “disappearing” any perceived threat like some sort of mafioso while green is crashing the mana economy harder than Wall Street.</p>
<p>White is banishing your cards to the shadow realm as red rolls a die to decide whether you get to see turn three or not.</p>
<p>But blue players hold a special place in the hearts of the<em> Magic</em> community. A place of darkness and hatred.</p>
<p>Which is a shame, since blue has some fantastic cards, synergies, and strategies that get ignored. And I say this as a green player, so that’s how you know it’s bad. Please note, this article isn't about how playing blue makes you a bad person, but merely a social look at how most blue players are supposed to play versus other ways they can play.</p>
<h2>Why The Blue Hate?</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Counterspell"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mana Drain"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Force of Will"></div></div><br />
<em>It’s really quite simple.</em></p>
<h3>Counters, Man</h3>
<p>It isn’t as if the vitriol towards counters is unwarranted. Whether they’re blocking your commander from being cast or preventing <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grim Tutor" href="#" target="_blank">Grim Tutor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> from starting your engine, a well-timed counter ruins your game.</p>
<p>Or, at least, that’s what most players feel. The accuracy of this is to be determined, given how reactive counters are. Afterall, you’re not going to “win” many games but only countering cards.</p>
<p>But you sure can stop others from winning!</p>
<p>In any case, counters’ whole function in the game is to prevent other players from enacting their plans. And in casual Commander, that often means stopping everyone’s “cool thing.”</p>
<p>So instead of continuing the momentum of the game or ticking down the clock, all most counters accomplish is stalling.</p>
<p>To utilize counters effectively, blue players are unable to utilize them in a fun way. The entire table will thank the blue player for countering <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blasphemous Act" href="#" target="_blank">Blasphemous Act</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or laugh when you shut down a last-ditch <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Farewell" href="#" target="_blank">Farewell</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>But there’s no reason to, at least when you know your opponent has a Bracket 3 deck and is sitting on their Game Changers.</p>
<p>Mechanically, you’re incentivized to only counter your opponents’ best cards. Which just so happen to be the cards most people sit down at the table hoping to play the most.</p>
<h2>How To Fix It</h2>
<p>The simple answer is to remove counters from a deck. Blue has tons of options outside of countering, from card draw to returning permanents to their owner’s hand to scrying.</p>
<p>Not to mention its synergies with other colors, from Dimir Ninjutsu to Izzet elemental spam.</p>
<p><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Satoru Umezawa"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Yuriko, the Tiger&#039;s Shadow"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Satoru, the Infiltrator"></div></div><br />
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Eris, Roar of the Storm"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Zaffai, Thunder Conductor"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Elemental Masterpiece"></div></div><br />
<em>Blue has tons of options even ignoring “annoying” ones like mill.</em></p>
<p>That being said, any color can “not” counter spells. So while the immediate answer to counters being too hostile towards casual gaming is to just not use them, that just removes a part of blue’s identity. As frustrating as counters can be, that doesn’t mean they don’t have a place at the table.</p>
<p>Thus, it’s a matter of countering responsibly.</p>
<h2>What To Counter</h2>
<p>There are many targets to counter, but some feel more insulting to the one getting countered than others.</p>
<p>Or, in another sense, certain cards are less likely to frustrate your friends when they get shut down than others.</p>
<h3>“I Win” Cards</h3>
<p>Game-winning conditions such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Approach of the Second Sun" href="#" target="_blank">Approach of the Second Sun</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> generally are fair game to counter.</p>
<p>Who would blame you? Afterall, most players sit down to win a game of Commander, so preventing yourself from losing might get a groan but ultimately cause no harm.</p>
<p>And fun fact, Approach of the Second Sun being countered on its first casting doesn’t preclude the second casting from winning the game.</p>
<p>Further, you only win the game when Approach of the Second Sun’s second casting is resolved. So if you’re going to counter it, counter that second casting.</p>
<p>Unless you’re trying to exile it with something like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Force of Negation" href="#" target="_blank">Force of Negation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which might just end your friendship.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blue Elemental Blast"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Red Elemental Blast"></div></div>
<p><em>Certain things just have a certain way about them...</em></p>
<h2>Other Counters</h2>
<p>One of the funniest things you can do is to counter a counter. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Force of Negation" href="#" target="_blank">Force of Negation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> their <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Negate" href="#" target="_blank">Negate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. And then they might well counter you back!</p>
<p>This is the sort of interaction that can be incredibly tense, awesome, or hilarious depending on how your group treats your games.</p>
<p>And so most of the time, folks will be so wrapped up in the moment that there’s no complaints about all the countering going on.</p>
<p>And you can always jump into the countering of other players’ interactions, adding to the chaos or drama however you see fit.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Pyroblast"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hydroblast"></div></div>
<p><em>...of coming together in pairs.</em></p>
<h2>Engine Pieces</h2>
<p>This is where things get nebulous.</p>
<p>If you know a few infinite combos, countering <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blood Artist" href="#" target="_blank">Blood Artist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phyrexian Unlife" href="#" target="_blank">Phyrexian Unlife</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> could act as preventative measures for future game-enders. Afterall, you know what the opponent has in-store, so why let them get it out?</p>
<p>But that’s also looping back to the core issue with countering.</p>
<p>Just because someone plays <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Drivnod, Carnage Dominus" href="#" target="_blank">Drivnod, Carnage Dominus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> doesn’t mean they’re going to chain that into an infinite combo.</p>
<p>They might, and that’s certainly something to watch out for. But plenty of players just want to burn you the old fashioned way without a tutor or exploit.</p>
<p>So while it’s certainly competitively advisable to counter <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind" href="#" target="_blank">Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and put an end to his <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Curiosity" href="#" target="_blank">Curiosity</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, there’s nothing to say that’s what the player was doing. They could have just wanted burn and card draw with cool dragon art.</p>
<p>It’s oftentimes best to wait to counter a player’s final combo piece, rather than the tutor setting it up in the first place.</p>
<p>Not from competitive perspective, but from the perspective of having fun. Let your friends or pod members play their decks, even if you stop them from winning.</p>
<p><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Niv-Mizzet, Parun"></div></div><br />
<em>Lucky for you, if they play THIS card you can save the counter for the combo piece.</em></p>
<h2>When To Counter</h2>
<p>It’s not as if everything else is off-limits from countering. Anything feasible can be countered, even without coming off as a stereotypical Blue player trying to ruin the pod’s fun. But oftentimes, this determination is subjective.</p>
<h3>You’re About To Lose</h3>
<p>Countering cards that are going to cause you to lose the game is valid, even if they aren’t explicitly “play this and win” cards. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hidetsugu&#039;s Second Rite" href="#" target="_blank">Hidetsugu&#039;s Second Rite</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> when you’re at ten life.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Triskaidekaphobia" href="#" target="_blank">Triskaidekaphobia</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> if you’re around thirteen. Even something like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Craterhoof Behemoth" href="#" target="_blank">Craterhoof Behemoth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will often fall into this.</p>
<p>If you’re in a position where you’re going to lose the game and someone plays something to capitalize off of that, counter it! If they get upset, they’re getting upset over you playing the game. So no need to worry.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Shock"></div></div>
<p><em>Countering a Shock can be worth it if you’re at one life.</em></p>
<h3>There’s No Other Way</h3>
<p>There are also times when you simply don’t have another answer to a card. Or you just don’t want to deal with them, for whatever reason.</p>
<p>Certainly, you could <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lightning Bolt" href="#" target="_blank">Lightning Bolt</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cut Down" href="#" target="_blank">Cut Down</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> if you’re multicolored.</p>
<p>But monoblue doesn’t have much permanent removal outside of counters and stuns. While it might be frustrating to have your cool creature countered, it’s just as frustrating to have it neutered with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pacifism" href="#" target="_blank">Pacifism</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or exiled with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Borrowed Time" href="#" target="_blank">Borrowed Time</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Sometimes, removal is the only response to a threat you can wield effectively.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Unstoppable Slasher"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bruvac the Grandiloquent"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sheoldred, the Apocalypse"></div></div>
<h3>Negative Leverage</h3>
<p>The most interesting use-case of counters is as a negotiation tactic. So long as you’re comfortable running an extortion racket on your friends, that is.</p>
<p>As mentioned in my <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/commander-unoptimized-group-hugs">previous article</a> discussing Group Hugs, negotiations involve leverage. I primarily discussed positive leverage—giving something good as your part of the bargain.</p>
<p>Here, however, is a prime example of negative leverage—promising to NOT doing something bad.</p>
<p>The ability to say “I WON’T counterspell your Commander if you…” is a powerful tool. And depending on how focused on mechanics your group is, potentially the MOST powerful tool you have available.</p>
<p>Based on your pod’s culture, negotiation might be more important than statlines. Or, your word could mean nothing.</p>
<p>Moreso than even the subjectivity of how much of a threat certain spells are, the political weight of a counter is something to establish with your pod before the game begins.</p>
<h2>The Bottom Line</h2>
<p>Countering isn’t a bad mechanic nor are blue players bad people for using it. It’s frustrating when your Commander can’t hit the battlefield. Shutting down an integral part of your engine feels like a smack in the face.</p>
<p>But at the end of the day, that’s what playing Commander is for. To see these challenges, struggle through them, and work with the other players to overcome them.</p>
<p>If they counter your <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Storm of Saruman" href="#" target="_blank">Storm of Saruman</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, that means someone else could play <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh" href="#" target="_blank">Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Just because <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Smothering Tithe" href="#" target="_blank">Smothering Tithe</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> got countered doesn’t mean <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rhystic Study" href="#" target="_blank">Rhystic Study</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will.</p>
<p>Though if you feel your resident blue player is targeting you, just talk to them. Ask them, out of game, if they realize how much they’re impacting the fun you’re having. Because that’s what everyone at the table wants, to have fun.</p>
<p>As heartless as Blue players might seem, they'll tone it down if you ask.</p>


Countering Etiquette - Blue Players, We Need To Talk

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bitter Reunion" href="#" target="_blank">Bitter Reunion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://jakemurraystudio.com/">Jake Murray</a>)</h6>
<h1>Becoming Your Pod’s Military Industrial Complex</h1>
<p>Aggro, the first to deal damage. Midrange and its early game chaos. Control, with its faithful counters and removal. And... the furtive Group Hug, so easily forgotten. With the strength of the pod, they challenged notions of traditional play…</p>
<p>Except the Aggro player crashed out turn four. The Control player spent all their mana to keep the Midrange player stunlocked all game.</p>
<p>The only one to profit was the Group Hug player, who never had a win-con. So now you’re three hours into a “forty-minute game of Commander” where decking out is the largest threat you’ll face.</p>
<p>Let’s pour some gasoline on the dumpster fire that is an average game of Commander, shall we?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gluntch, the Bestower"></div></div>
<p><em>I first learned about Group Hugs with Gluntch and never recovered.</em></p>
<h2>What is Group Hug?</h2>
<p>A group hug is when you get more than two people, traditionally three through nine, and you have all of them hug at the same time.</p>
<p>Generally, this begins as a traditional hug with further individuals clinging to that central connection, effectively trapping them.</p>
<p>In Magic, though, it’s a bit more tongue-and-cheek given only one person can win Commander.</p>
<p>The core premise of a Group Hug deck is that your commander’s ability, and perhaps the rest of your deck, functions to assist the other players in their gameplans.</p>
<p>This can be through life gain, card draw, creature creation/buffing, or any other means of empowering your opponents.</p>
<p>The example I always think of is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gluntch, the Bestower" href="#" target="_blank">Gluntch, the Bestower</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, who chooses three different players to give benefits to every one of your turns.</p>
<p>Crucially, Gluntch cannot choose the same player for every benefit. Therefore, its controller is “forced” to help multiple players. And so the group hug widens to encompass the entire table.</p>
<p>Aggro players want to win quickly. Midrange tries to secure the early game and clean up later. Control wants to ruin everyone’s fun. But Group Hug?</p>
<h2>Why Group Hug?</h2>
<p>Group Hug is a flexible playstyle, capable of being played in any color combination to varying degrees of effectiveness. Multi-colored commanders such as those below:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kenrith, the Returned King"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Círdan the Shipwright"></div></div>
<p><strong><em>Well, black shows up least often, but that was to be expected.</em></strong></p>
<p>There are a few different types of people who would willingly choose to help their opponents in Commander.</p>
<p>You might know some of them. You might be one of them. But you must first understand your enemy to defeat your enemy.</p>
<h3>Chaos Gremlins</h3>
<p>The first type are the chaos gremlins.</p>
<p>These are individuals who, for whatever reason, didn’t come to win. They came to cause chaos and enable their friends to enact mutually assured destruction.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Zedruu the Greathearted" href="#" target="_blank">Zedruu the Greathearted</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is an example, actively supplying your opponents creatures while sustaining yourself via card draw and life gain.</p>
<p>Pair it with something like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Harmless Offering" href="#" target="_blank">Harmless Offering</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tahngarth, First Mate" href="#" target="_blank">Tahngarth, First Mate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and suddenly you’re a cardboard arms dealer.</p>
<p>The goal of these chaos gremlins isn’t to “win,” the goal is to cause problems. Oftentimes, they have no win condition built into their deck.</p>
<p>While technically enabling their opponents to take one another out helps get them closer to victory, these decks often can’t stand on their own.</p>
<p>Expect to see a lot of goading your opponents’ creatures to attack everyone but the chaos gremlin and then… Nothing.</p>
<p>Because the chaos gremlin won as soon as they sat down to play.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Zedruu the Greathearted"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Harmless Offering"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tahngarth, First Mate"></div></div>
<p><strong><em>These might not "win games," but they sure make them memorable!</em></strong></p>
<h3>Speedrunners</h3>
<p>Some folks wanna watch the world burn. And they don’t have all night! So they grease the wheels of the game, “helping” everyone insofar as it expedites the ending of the game.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Yurlok of Scorch Thrash" href="#" target="_blank">Yurlok of Scorch Thrash</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> would fall under this. Sure, it reintroduces mana-burn into the game, where you lose life if you have unspent mana left.</p>
<p>But it also gives free mana to every player. Jund mana, but mana nonetheless. Black has removal. Red can damage. Green can buff. Even if circumstantial, this still is a benefit to the speedrunner’s opponents.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nekusar, the Mindrazer" href="#" target="_blank">Nekusar, the Mindrazer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> gives card draw at the cost of damage. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Xyris, the Writhing Storm" href="#" target="_blank">Xyris, the Writhing Storm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> rewards opponents for taking commander damage. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vazi, Keen Negotiator" href="#" target="_blank">Vazi, Keen Negotiator</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> gives free treasure tokens to opponents explicitly so you can profit from them.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kami of the Crescent Moon"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Howling Mine"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Selvala, Explorer Returned"></div></div>
<p><strong><em>The game will NOT last long with all this card draw.</em></strong></p>
<h3>Realpolitik</h3>
<p>Then there are polysci majors. You think I’m joking, but I’m quite serious!</p>
<p>Commander is fundamentally a game of negotiation. As useful as mana is, as powerful as card draw is, nothing matters if the blue player can <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Negate" href="#" target="_blank">Negate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> your most powerful spell and the red player keeps your board clear with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Breaking Point" href="#" target="_blank">Breaking Point</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>You need to be able to communicate effectively with the other players to ensure the heat is off of you.</p>
<p>But to do that you need leverage.</p>
<p>Negative leverage—“not” doing something—is well and good. Promising to not swing your 16/16 <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kalonian Hydra" href="#" target="_blank">Kalonian Hydra</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> at someone will have some weight to it!</p>
<p>But positive leverage—giving something—is so much more effective. Think of how much leverage <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ms. Bumbleflower" href="#" target="_blank">Ms. Bumbleflower</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> gives by offering card draw to a blue player.</p>
<p>Suddenly, Group Hug goes from being an instrument of chaos to a bargaining chip. These are the Group Hug players who are the most dangerous. Because unlike their chaos gremlin siblings, they almost always have a plan.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Breaking Point"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kalonian Hydra"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ms. Bumbleflower"></div></div>
<p><strong><em>Positive or negative, leverage is always useful.</em></strong></p>
<h3>A Terrible Example</h3>
<p>A Group Hug player might have a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gor Muldrak, Amphinologist" href="#" target="_blank">Gor Muldrak, Amphinologist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck. Because they have protection from all the 4/3 Salamanders their opponents now control, their opponents focus on fighting one another.</p>
<p>If opponents attack them with non-Salamanders, they use their Salamanders as blockers. Once the Salamanders die, the Group Hug player has the fewest creatures and gets more Salamanders. Likely at a higher rate than everyone else through means such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Parallel Lives" href="#" target="_blank">Parallel Lives</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>The Group Hug player counters anything that would destroy their commander. They use their card draw from blue and mana from green to make their creatures stronger than anyone else's’.</p>
<p>Perhaps they have <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ezuri&#039;s Predation" href="#" target="_blank">Ezuri&#039;s Predation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kibo, Uktabi Prince" href="#" target="_blank">Kibo, Uktabi Prince</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to ensure they have some degree of offensive capability.</p>
<p>In short, they have a “functional” deck or some degree of win condition independent of relying on their opponents bludgeoning each other to zero life.</p>
<p>The rates of success on this vary, though, particularly given that reputations tend to be easy to acquire and hard to leave behind. And once you reveal yourself to be a schemer, no one will ever trust you again.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gor Muldrak, Amphinologist"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ezuri&#039;s Predation"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kibo, Uktabi Prince"></div></div>
<p><strong><em>Sometimes, your deck needs a lil extra kick to it.</em></strong></p>
<h2>Synergies</h2>
<h3>Synergy With Blue</h3>
<p>Of course blue players would take “helping your friends” and make it evil. Though it is quite devious, so I give them some credit.</p>
<p>When looking at Group Hug commanders, a great deal of them have blue in some capacity. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kwain, Itinerant Meddler" href="#" target="_blank">Kwain, Itinerant Meddler</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a great example. On its face, Kwain is simply a helpful card that gives everyone more card-draw and life gain.</p>
<p>And then <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Heliod, the Radiant Dawn" href="#" target="_blank">Heliod, the Radiant Dawn</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> turns this cute and funny little rabbit into number #2 on the IRS Most Wanted List for tax evasion.</p>
<p>Not to mention, it is never a good idea to allow blue players to draw cards. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Minn, Wily Illusionist" href="#" target="_blank">Minn, Wily Illusionist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> aside, the sheer nonsense a blue player can wreak when allowed more than a single card in-hand is simply unacceptable.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Council of Four"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ian Malcolm, Chaotician"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Braids, Conjurer Adept"></div></div>
<p><strong><em>Blue players really know how to twist everything to their benefit, huh?</em></strong></p>
<h3>Synergy With Proliferate</h3>
<p>Did you know Proliferate affects any player or permanent with tokens that you choose? This means that if you have a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Atraxa, Praetors&#039; Voice" href="#" target="_blank">Atraxa, Praetors&#039; Voice</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck, you control whether or not the green players get to have fun. All those +1/+1 counters could be doubled—quadrupled—if only they do what you say.</p>
<p>And why would they turn on you? You are keeping their creatures afloat. They’ll save you for last, always. Yet with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ezuri, Stalker of Spheres" href="#" target="_blank">Ezuri, Stalker of Spheres</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, you drew enough cards to be able to respond to them with an <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aetherize" href="#" target="_blank">Aetherize</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Suddenly, they really need you to proliferate again… And then... you become indispensable.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Atraxa, Praetors&#039; Voice"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ezuri, Stalker of Spheres"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Aetherize"></div></div>
<p><strong><em>This is the definition of malicious compliance.</em></strong></p>
<h3>Synergy With Goading</h3>
<p>Goading creatures force pressure on your opponents while leaving you safe. However, commanders such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kros, Defense Contractor" href="#" target="_blank">Kros, Defense Contractor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> leave the goaded creature with a shield token and a “go get ‘em, champ!” <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rendmaw, Creaking Nest" href="#" target="_blank">Rendmaw, Creaking Nest</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> spams the board with flying tokens who attack anyone but you.</p>
<p>In effect, these sorts of commanders do the heavy lifting of forcing everyone to fight one another without relying on the agreement of your opponents.</p>
<p>And, because you’re playing Group Hug and actively assisting your opponents strategies, they’ll see no reason to stop you. Let them fight, and they will take your gifts. You and the survivor will deal with the one-on-one when it comes to it.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tribute to Horobi"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Varchild, Betrayer of Kjeldor"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kardur, Doomscourge"></div></div>
<p><strong><em>If you want to goad your opponent, simply give them more creatures to goad!</em></strong></p>
<h2>Word of Warning</h2>
<p>No one who plays Group Hug legitimately wants you to succeed. If they claim to, they are lying. Take them out swiftly and resist their temptations as you would an evil spirit.</p>
<p>If possible, flee like your life is on the line. The rest of your pod will distract them long enough for you to escape. Their sacrifice shall not be in vain, for you shall live a happy, hugless life.</p>
<p>Wait, that sounds so sad.</p>


Commander Unoptimized - Group Hugs

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phyrexian Dragon Engine" href="#" target="_blank">Phyrexian Dragon Engine</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.rahnart.com/">Chris Rahn</a>)</h6>
<h1>Do You Have Fun Playing Commander?</h1>
<p>I know far too many people who play commander only to complain before, during, and after each match about how the game is "unplayable" due to whatever card shut down their infinite combo.</p>
<p>Everything about <em>Magic</em> is oriented towards hyper-optimization, from the commander you choose to the tutors you use to the engine you mulligan three times to set up.</p>
<p>And if you’re anything like the folks I’m playing against, you probably forfeit once you realize you didn’t draw the perfect starting hand. Which is unfortunate for everyone!</p>
<p>Some of the best and most exciting games of <em>Magic</em> come from those times when your plans fall apart. At that point, you have to rely on your backup strategies and your own skills as a player.</p>
<p>Call it casual, call it unoptimized, or just say it's noncompetitive. But it doesn't matter what name you call it. Building a deck around synergies as opposed to a specific engine leads to more flexible play.</p>
<p>And despite the fact that every card in your deck isn't a gear under your commander's engine, it lets you respond to your opponents' strategies much more effectively.</p>
<p>So let’s talk flexibility.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Isperia, Supreme Judge"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Erebos, God of the Dead"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion"></div></div>
<p><em>These effects are useful even if not your commander!</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Robustness Is Not Flexibility</h2>
<p>The common wisdom in deck-building is to keep it lean. Cut out anything that isn’t essential. If you’ve got the room for it, build in redundancies.</p>
<p>This is your tutors and graveyard retrieval and all the nonsense that solely exists to ensure the game goes exactly how you want it to.</p>
<p>But that doesn’t make your deck more flexible, that just makes it more robust. Which, don’t get me wrong, is a wonderful trait for a deck to have!</p>
<p>But it doesn’t matter how many counters you put on <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Heliod, Sun-Crowned" href="#" target="_blank">Heliod, Sun-Crowned</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> when he gets flickered or how many cards I draw when I exile all your copies of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sheoldred, the Apocalypse" href="#" target="_blank">Sheoldred, the Apocalypse</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Being able to turn-two your commander with the perfect opening hand is great in a vacuum, but being able to adapt to the strategies of your opponents is even better.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Get Weird With It!</h3>
<p>I’m a green player at heart, so if you catch me reading a card that says anything other than “+1/+1 counter” or “trample,” you know I’ve been replaced by a Shapeshifter.</p>
<p>But even green, whether Stompy or Landfall or Voltron, has options. You have good artifact and enchantment removal.</p>
<p>Cards that force fights or deal damage based on your power. And of course its mana production is second to none.</p>
<p>Your Stompy deck might be able to go toe-to-toe with a mono-red Aggro, but what about a Control deck? What did you include in your deck to deal with your commander getting hit with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Counterspell" href="#" target="_blank">Counterspell</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Murder" href="#" target="_blank">Murder</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>?</p>
<p>What if your opponent uses <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Render Inert" href="#" target="_blank">Render Inert</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> on <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dark Depths" href="#" target="_blank">Dark Depths</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to get a 20/20 by turn three, or you just don’t have the perfect card to respond at the perfect moment?</p>
<p>That’s why you should build in at least two contingencies that synergize with—but aren’t reliant on—your commander.</p>
<p>That way, you always have the option of tackling things from a different angle. Not to mention that's just far more interesting of a game to play!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Seshiro the Anointed"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dosan the Falling Leaf"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Yasharn, Implacable Earth"></div></div>
<p><em>Green cards are more than "big power and mana."</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Even Lifegain Has Options</h2>
<p>For the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Heliod, Sun-Crowned" href="#" target="_blank">Heliod, Sun-Crowned</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> example from earlier, it’s a staple in mono-white Lifegain decks. Oftentimes, these decks are built to be a tough nut to crack.</p>
<p>Life triggers whenever a creature enters the battlefield, plenty of lifelink, and a few cheeky exiling cards to ensure you can’t effectively block them.</p>
<p>So how can you add to that?</p>
<p>You can use <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Giada, Font of Hope" href="#" target="_blank">Giada, Font of Hope</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to create a platoon of Angels with flying, vigilance, and lifelink. This benefits from having Heliod on the field but is still useful without him!</p>
<p>You can use <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines" href="#" target="_blank">Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to build upon the enter the battlefield (ETB) effects to double Heliod’s effectiveness while simultaneously opening the door for more broad ETB effects.</p>
<p>You can even build your chaff with something like the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Horn of Gondor" href="#" target="_blank">Horn of Gondor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> which has no direct relevance to Heliod.</p>
<p>It covers a completely different niche that your deck was unable to address previously. And if you add all three, you can have a subset of your deck devoted to Angels and Humans with ETB effects that then can be buffed by Heliod! Completely independent of your main strategy if the strike team fails.</p>
<p>You haven’t removed anything core to your strategy or limited your commander. But now it doesn’t hurt you nearly as bad if your commander gets targeted or your life gain gets prevented.</p>
<p>For instance, what do you do if they <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aether Snap" href="#" target="_blank">Aether Snap</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> after you fully invested in making your commander a 25/25? Or just block Heliod with 1/1 counters?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Gaffer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rune-Tail, Kitsune Ascendant"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Eight-and-a-Half-Tails"></div></div>
<p><em>Maximize your life-gain and keep your creatures safe!</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>That Doesn't Support My Commander!</h3>
<p>But that’s exactly the point. It lets you fall back on contingencies if your commander’s strategy isn’t working.</p>
<p>It’s easier to implement this style of deckbuilding into multi-color decks, since that doubles or even triples your options. Let’s stick with Heliod but jump over to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Heliod, the Radiant Dawn" href="#" target="_blank">Heliod, the Radiant Dawn</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>If you’re building a deck where you force your opponent to draw tons of cards so you can flash your cards for cheap, you might include cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Errant and Giada" href="#" target="_blank">Errant and Giada</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kwain, Itinerant Meddler" href="#" target="_blank">Kwain, Itinerant Meddler</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>But that doesn’t preclude you from investing in something like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ephara, God of the Polis" href="#" target="_blank">Ephara, God of the Polis</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Oji, the Exquisite Blade" href="#" target="_blank">Oji, the Exquisite Blade</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Ephara’s an enchantment so she benefits from Heliod’s ETB. Oji is useful if you get out the Warped Eclipse and can spam multiple cards every turn.</p>
<p>But neither of them are directly reliant on the core strategy of playing cards on opponents’ turns, meaning that if you add a little bit of token creation with something like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Darien, King of Kjeldor" href="#" target="_blank">Darien, King of Kjeldor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or even just a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Leonin Warleader" href="#" target="_blank">Leonin Warleader</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, you can get additional benefits from Ephara every turn.</p>
<p>Blue has tons of ETB card draw and tapping on its creatures, so flickering those with Oji gives you additional space to play around in.</p>
<p>But these aren’t the sorts of cards that come to mind when you think of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Heliod, the Radiant Dawn" href="#" target="_blank">Heliod, the Radiant Dawn</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. They aren’t something your opponents are going to plan around or even expect.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fblthp, Lost on the Range"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Brago, King Eternal"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gandalf, White Rider"></div></div>
<p><em>Capitalize off of your card-draw and action economy.</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Play The Players, Not The Game</h2>
<p>Commander is fundamentally a social game, where you’re playing the pod as much as you’re playing the cards themselves. The least mechanically-relevant—but arguably the most skill-based—aspect of flexibly building your decks is to keep your intentions hidden.</p>
<p>Your deck might be 70-80% exactly what the opponents are thinking it’ll be. Maybe your early game “proves them right.”</p>
<p>But then you play <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Solphim, Mayhem Dominus" href="#" target="_blank">Solphim, Mayhem Dominus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Muxus, Goblin Grandee" href="#" target="_blank">Muxus, Goblin Grandee</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck and the whole table looks at you funny.</p>
<p>No one expected a Phyrexian Horror in a Goblin deck, so no one was focused on shutting down your <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Roiling Vortex" href="#" target="_blank">Roiling Vortex</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dragonspark Reactor" href="#" target="_blank">Dragonspark Reactor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> with 10 power counters on it. They focused on removing your tokens and minimizing the amount of Goblins you had.</p>
<p>Because you played them like fools.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Imodane, the Pyrohammer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Torbran, Thane of Red Fell"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Purphoros, God of the Forge"></div></div>
<p><em>There are always more ways to deal damage.</em></p>
<h3>Keep Up The Pressure</h3>
<p>Now you deal double damage with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lightning Bolt" href="#" target="_blank">Lightning Bolt</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and all the other damaging spells you have. Normally, they get used to clear the field for your Goblins. But now they can be pivoted into for direct damage if the situation calls for it.</p>
<p>All the while, you’re still churning out Goblins and using Muxus as a beatstick. Your horde of Goblins protects you from attacks while applying pressure.</p>
<p>Your opponents have to choose between dealing with the non-combat damage bolstered by Solphim or the direct damage from your Goblins.</p>
<p>And then you throw out <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Etali, Primal Storm" href="#" target="_blank">Etali, Primal Storm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>You’re keeping your opponents’ attention divided between multiple avenues of threats, but every Goblin you have triggers <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Raid Bombardment" href="#" target="_blank">Raid Bombardment</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Raid Bombardment doubles from Solphim. Solphim is a big creature alongside Muxus and Etali. Etali gets you more Goblins while burning cards from the opponents’ decks.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Etali, Primal Conqueror"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rionya, Fire Dancer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Krenko, Baron of Tin Street"></div></div>
<p><em>And there are always more creatures to spam!</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Force Tough Decisions</h3>
<p>No choice the opponents make is the “right” choice, which means you’re winning the mental game. Then it’s a matter of skill in play as well as in card selection to ensure you win the match.</p>
<p>Maybe they exile Solphim and take out Etali, thinking that your Goblins aren't a big deal. So you whip out <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Krenko, Mob Boss" href="#" target="_blank">Krenko, Mob Boss</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and Muxus is superpowered.</p>
<p>If they focus on the Goblins, you have a solid defender in Solphim and nonstop doubled damage from all the cards you get from Etali. Not to mention, you’ll always have more Goblins!</p>
<p>If you play flexibly and you aren’t afraid to pivot when your core strategy isn’t working, you will be in a much better position than the players struggling to get their engines to work.</p>
<p>Not to mention, flying by the seat of your pants while desperately cobbling together ad hoc solutions is some of the most fun you can have in magic.</p>
<p>Though, I am a green player, so maybe this “thinking” stuff is just too hard for me. I’ll get back to you on that in the next article.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Forest Bear"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Colossification"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rosheen, Roaring Prophet"></div></div>
<p><i>Bear + Colossification = Roaring Profit</i></p>


casual