<p>If you've played Commander for a while, odds are you've seen tons of YouTube videos, articles, and even Reddit threads about changes to make to a precon to bring it up to speed with better-constructed Commander decks. We've even got <a href="https://edhrec.com/precon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">some of those upgrade guides on our site</a>, showing you what to add and what to cut from any preconstructed deck you can think of.</p>
<p>Those guides are helpful because all readers are beginning from the same spot. All <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bello, Bard of the Brambles" href="#" target="_blank">Bello, Bard of the Brambles</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>-led <a href="https://edhrec.com/precon/animated-army" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Animated Army</em></a> decks start out the same, meaning that articles, videos, and social media posts that talk about adds/cuts are working with the same base.</p>
<p>But what if you've built your own deck from scratch? This guide will give a general template for finding cards to add, cards to cut, and how to make any Commander deck a better version of itself.</p>
<p>Let's learn how to tune up your Commander deck!</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>


<p>Although every deck is different, most decks will have at least a few necessities in common. That's why we're calling this section "Eating Our Vegetables" - it's often more fun to include synergistic pieces in your deck, but you need a solid foundation to build a functional deck on.</p>
<p>Plus, with enough time, you can learn to love your vegetables for the strength they lend to your deck!</p>
<p>In order to compete at almost any bracket, we'll need ramp, removal, and card advantage. I'd argue that most decks also need board wipes and (to a lesser extent) graveyard hate. These groups, often referred to as the deck's "veggies," are key to any list's success.</p>
<p>I'll explain what each of those mean, and their importance to your deck, below.</p>
<h3>Ramp - Gives You Access to More Mana Than Simply Playing One Land per Turn</h3>
<p>Most decks need around 10 pieces of ramp. Big mana decks, like those running <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gishath, Sun&#039;s Avatar" href="#" target="_blank">Gishath, Sun&#039;s Avatar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Atraxa, Grand Unifier" href="#" target="_blank">Atraxa, Grand Unifier</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, may need more.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gishath, Sun&#039;s Avatar"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fynn, the Fangbearer"></div></div>
<p>It's reasonable to include up to 15 ramp spells in those decks, and I've even seen successful lists that go all-in on a few high mana value spells run as many as 20.</p>
<p>Decks that are generally lower-to-the-ground can get away with less ramp and more "gas." Decks led by <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fynn, the Fangbearer" href="#" target="_blank">Fynn, the Fangbearer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, for example, are full of one- and two-drop creatures that don't require much mana to be game-changing threats.</p>
<p>There's clearly a spectrum of acceptability here, but most decks are going to want at least a few ways to get ahead on mana. My personal bare minimum is seven, even in decks that don't care too much about ramp. That means that I have a ~40% chance to find one of these cards in my opening hand, which is a number I'm comfortable with.</p>
<p>Some classic ramp pieces include <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rampant Growth" href="#" target="_blank">Rampant Growth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <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>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sol Ring" href="#" target="_blank">Sol Ring</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rampant Growth"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Llanowar Elves"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sol Ring"></div></div>
<h3>Removal - Lets You Get Rid of Your Opponents' Scariest Things</h3>
<p>Most decks also require about 10 pieces of removal, with aggressive decks needing less and control decks needing more.</p>
<p>A deck that seeks to win quickly, like <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>, may only run 5-7 pieces of efficient interaction due to its game plan and color identity. But a pilot that wants a long, drawn-out victory with their <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shorikai, Genesis Engine" href="#" target="_blank">Shorikai, Genesis Engine</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> list would likely include 15 or more interactive spells in their 99. Again, there's a range here.</p>
<p>This is also dependent on your commander's color identity. Some color combinations, like <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> have access to better removal than <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> decks do. It's important to know that running more removal can sometimes make up for having lower quality removal overall, but it's the combination of efficiency and frequency that makes a deck's interaction suite effective.</p>
<p>Some classic removal spells include <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doom Blade" href="#" target="_blank">Doom Blade</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crush Contraband" href="#" target="_blank">Crush Contraband</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Unsummon" href="#" target="_blank">Unsummon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Doom Blade"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Crush Contraband"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Unsummon"></div></div>
<h3>Card Advantage - Gives You Access to More Cards Than Simply Drawing One Card per Turn</h3>
<p>Next up is card advantage, which most decks need 12+ pieces of.</p>
<p>If you're an aggressive deck, you need to make sure that you're refilling your hand with low-cost, high-impact spells to keep the game moving.</p>
<p>If you're a slower, more control-oriented deck, you need to make sure you're drawing into the answers you need to keep your opponents' threats at bay.</p>
<p>Point is, card advantage is important, whether it's impulse draw, milling cards, or straight up drawing cards the old-fashioned way. Most Commander players would benefit from including more card advantage in their decks, and it's the easiest way to make sure that your lists feel more consistent.</p>
<p>Plus, with the deluge of new cards we're seeing, there's bound to be some card advantage pieces that work perfectly with any strategy you choose to center your Commander deck on.</p>
<p>Some classic card advantage pieces include <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Divination" href="#" target="_blank">Divination</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Act on Impulse" href="#" target="_blank">Act on Impulse</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mentor of the Meek" href="#" target="_blank">Mentor of the Meek</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Divination"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Act on Impulse"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mentor of the Meek"></div></div>


<h3>Board Wipes - Let You Get Everything off the Board in One Fell Swoop</h3>
<p>Let's talk about board wipes. I include at least two sweepers in all of my decks. That means that, without tutoring for one, there's about a 25% chance I'll see one of them within eight draws. I'm comfortable with that number, because I feel that I'll need a sweeper that early in roughly one in every four games.</p>
<p>Having access to a panic button is nice, but I don't require it every game. Decks that commit heavily to the battlefield, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Najeela, the Blade-Blossom" href="#" target="_blank">Najeela, the Blade-Blossom</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, would do well to include one-sided wipes like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Raise the Palisade" href="#" target="_blank">Raise the Palisade</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Decks that have fewer on-board pieces, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Eluge, the Shoreless Sea" href="#" target="_blank">Eluge, the Shoreless Sea</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, are likely to include more than two board wipes to ensure that their life total isn't in danger.</p>
<p>As always, your mileage may vary, but I've found that two wipes is usually enough. Some classic board wipes include <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Damnation" href="#" target="_blank">Damnation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <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>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cyclonic Rift" href="#" target="_blank">Cyclonic Rift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Damnation"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blasphemous Act"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cyclonic Rift"></div></div>
<h3>Graveyard Hate - Lets You Remove Opponents’ Access to Cards in Their Graveyards</h3>
<p>Next up, let's talk about the most neglected Commander staple: graveyard hate. Way too many Commander decks have something to do with the graveyard.</p>
<p>Whether it's a dedicated <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Meren of Clan Nel Toth" href="#" target="_blank">Meren of Clan Nel Toth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> reanimator list or just an <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Oloro, Ageless Ascetic" href="#" target="_blank">Oloro, Ageless Ascetic</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck that happens to be running <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sevinne&#039;s Reclamation" href="#" target="_blank">Sevinne&#039;s Reclamation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, you'll usually find that at least one player in your Commander pod will be messing with their 'yard in one fashion or another.</p>
<p>Wizards has given us a lot of low-deckbuilding-cost ways to hate out our opponents' graveyards, from MDFCs (like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Boggart Trawler" href="#" target="_blank">Boggart Trawler</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>), to modal spells like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rakdos Charm" href="#" target="_blank">Rakdos Charm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, to hyper-efficient artifacts like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Soul-Guide Lantern" href="#" target="_blank">Soul-Guide Lantern</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, there's really no excuse for not including at least one of these pieces in your 99.</p>
<p>Some classic graveyard hate pieces include <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scavenging Ooze" href="#" target="_blank">Scavenging Ooze</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dauthi Voidwalker" href="#" target="_blank">Dauthi Voidwalker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deathrite Shaman" href="#" target="_blank">Deathrite Shaman</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Boggart Trawler"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rakdos Charm"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Soul-Guide Lantern"></div></div>


<p>Now, let's talk about the fun part of upgrading: going all-in on certain strategies that make a deck yours.</p>
<p>For this section I'll focus on a +1/+1 counters deck led by <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hamza, Guardian of Arashin" href="#" target="_blank">Hamza, Guardian of Arashin</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. I've taken his average decklist from EDHREC, and pasted it below so you can see what we're working with.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="HamzaV1" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Hamza, Guardian of Arashin
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Abzan Battle Priest
*1 Abzan Falconer
*1 Ainok Bond-Kin
*1 Armorcraft Judge
*1 Arwen, Weaver of Hope
*1 Avacyn&#039;s Pilgrim
*1 Beast Whisperer
*1 Botanical Brawler
*1 Champion of Lambholt
*1 Conclave Mentor
*1 Defiler of Vigor
*1 Duskshell Crawler
*1 Envoy of the Ancestors
*1 Evolution Sage
*1 Evolution Witness
*1 Fertilid
*1 Forgotten Ancient
*1 Good-Fortune Unicorn
*1 Gyre Sage
*1 Herd Baloth
*1 Incubation Druid
*1 Ivy Lane Denizen
*1 Juniper Order Ranger
*1 Kami of Whispered Hopes
*1 Kodama of the West Tree
*1 Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar
*1 Loyal Guardian
*1 Luminarch Aspirant
*1 Managorger Hydra
*1 Mikaeus, the Lunarch
*1 Renata, Called to the Hunt
*1 Rishkar, Peema Renegade
*1 Shalai, Voice of Plenty
*1 Stonecoil Serpent
*1 Tuskguard Captain
*1 Warden of the Grove
*1 Wildwood Scourge
[/Creatures]
[Planeswalkers]
*1 Ajani, the Greathearted
[/Planeswalkers]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Ozolith, the Shattered Spire
*1 Sol Ring
*1 The Great Henge
*1 The Ozolith
[/Artifacts]
[Sorceries]
*1 Basri&#039;s Solidarity
*1 Cultivate
*1 Damning Verdict
*1 Kodama&#039;s Reach
*1 Rampant Growth
*1 Requisition Raid
*1 Shamanic Revelation
[/Sorceries]
[Instants]
*1 Beast Within
*1 Generous Gift
*1 Heroic Intervention
*1 Inspiring Call
*1 Path to Exile
*1 Pledge of Unity
*1 Swords to Plowshares
*1 Unbreakable Formation
[/Instants]
[Enchantments]
*1 Branching Evolution
*1 Cathars&#039; Crusade
*1 Felidar Retreat
*1 Garruk&#039;s Uprising
*1 Hardened Scales
*1 Terrasymbiosis
*1 Tribute to the World Tree
[/Enchantments]
[Lands]
*1 Canopy Vista
*1 Command Tower
*10 Forest
*1 Fortified Village
*1 Gavony Township
*1 Karn&#039;s Bastion
*1 Krosan Verge
*1 Llanowar Reborn
*1 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
*1 Overgrown Farmland
*10 Plains
*1 Selesnya Sanctuary
*1 Sungrass Prairie
*1 Sunpetal Grove
*1 Temple Garden
*1 Temple of Plenty
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<p>This list is by no means bad, but it certainly has room for improvement.</p>
<p>We'll tweak the amount of certain card categories that are here, and improve the overall card quality within the deck.</p>


<p><strong>Ramp:</strong> With access to ramp in the command zone, we just don't need 15 more pieces in our 99. I'll be cutting <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rampant Growth" href="#" target="_blank">Rampant Growth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cultivate" href="#" target="_blank">Cultivate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kodama&#039;s Reach" href="#" target="_blank">Kodama&#039;s Reach</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>We're focused quite heavily on creatures in this deck, so having these moderately effective ramp spells gumming up the two- and three-drop spot on our mana curve doesn't do much for us.</p>
<p>I'd rather use that mana to cast a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kami of Whispered Hopes" href="#" target="_blank">Kami of Whispered Hopes</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or an <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Incubation Druid" href="#" target="_blank">Incubation Druid</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rampant Growth"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cultivate"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kodama&#039;s Reach"></div></div>
<p><strong>Removal: </strong>This deck doesn't have nearly enough removal. With just five pieces currently in the 99, we're leaving ourselves open to our opponents running away with the game before we can get our board state online.</p>
<p>We'll be adding five more awesome interactive spells:</p>
<ul>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cankerbloom" href="#" target="_blank">Cankerbloom</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - a nice way to threaten opponents with on-demand removal, and can buff up our creatures if we don't need the interaction it provides.</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Steelbane Hydra" href="#" target="_blank">Steelbane Hydra</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - will work quite nicely with our commander's cost-reducing ability, letting it get huge for a smaller mana investment.</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Inscription of Abundance" href="#" target="_blank">Inscription of Abundance</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Archdruid&#039;s Charm" href="#" target="_blank">Archdruid&#039;s Charm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - both provide some awesome flexibility, with each mode on these two spells having a purpose in our deck.</li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Titanic Brawl" href="#" target="_blank">Titanic Brawl</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is exactly what a fight spell should be: it costs just <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, and can be cast at instant speed.</li>
</ul>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cankerbloom"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Steelbane Hydra"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Titanic Brawl"></div></div>
<p><strong>Card Advantage:</strong> This section is already quite solid. We've got 12 pieces of card advantage, but I'd like to add a few more, given how good this deck is at generating excess mana and dumping its hand onto the board.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Herd Heirloom" href="#" target="_blank">Herd Heirloom</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar" href="#" target="_blank">Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will do the trick, with both providing some nice utility beyond just letting us see more cards.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Herd Heirloom"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar"></div></div>
<p><strong>Board Wipes and Graveyard Hate:</strong> There's just one sweeper in here right now, so I went ahead and added <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sunfall" href="#" target="_blank">Sunfall</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to bring us to an even two. This spell is awesome, leaving us with a big, +1/+1 counter-laden creature to make up for whatever we lost in the wipe.</p>
<p>I also added <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scavenging Ooze" href="#" target="_blank">Scavenging Ooze</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as our graveyard hate piece, a nice fit thanks to its +1/+1 counter growth.</p>


<p>For those of you who want to move beyond simple counts of basic deck necessities, let's talk a bit about other upgrades.</p>
<p>It's important to include cards that directly help your game plan, cards that support you when things aren't going right, and cards that help turn a good board state into a great one.</p>
<p>This list is relatively well-tuned already, but I've got my eye on a few cuts to make room for better cards.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Renata, Called to the Hunt" href="#" target="_blank">Renata, Called to the Hunt</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Good-Fortune Unicorn" href="#" target="_blank">Good-Fortune Unicorn</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ivy Lane Denizen" href="#" target="_blank">Ivy Lane Denizen</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, for example, are slower versions of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Arwen, Weaver of Hope" href="#" target="_blank">Arwen, Weaver of Hope</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. We don't need all of these effects, so Renata, the Unicorn, and the Elf are gone.</p>
<p>And, while <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Herd Baloth" href="#" target="_blank">Herd Baloth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Juniper Order Ranger" href="#" target="_blank">Juniper Order Ranger</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are certainly cool mana-curve topping creatures, we're hoping to make some splashier plays at the five-mana spot.</p>
<p>As cool as they are, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Basri&#039;s Solidarity" href="#" target="_blank">Basri&#039;s Solidarity</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ajani, the Greathearted" href="#" target="_blank">Ajani, the Greathearted</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ainok Bond-Kin" href="#" target="_blank">Ainok Bond-Kin</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> have got to go. They'd have a home in a Bracket 2 version of this list, but we're aiming pretty firmly for Bracket 3 here.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ivy Lane Denizen"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Juniper Order Ranger"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ainok Bond-Kin"></div></div>
<p>We've got room for three more cards now, and I want to make sure they're high impact.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sovereign Okinec Ahau" href="#" target="_blank">Sovereign Okinec Ahau</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> certainly fits the bill. For just four mana, he can turn a middling board state into a game-ending one in no time.</p>
<p>We'll be throwing the recently released <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ouroboroid" href="#" target="_blank">Ouroboroid</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in there too, for the exact same reason. This card's recent release date is likely the only reason it wasn't in the deck before.</p>
<p>Lastly, as a bit of protection from opponents' interaction, I've added <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Invasion of Gobakhan" href="#" target="_blank">Invasion of Gobakhan</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This is a neat little mini-discard spell, a repeatable way to get +1/+1 counters on our creatures, and a way to protect them from errant removal if need be. All that for just <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sovereign Okinec Ahau"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ouroboroid"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Invasion of Gobakhan"></div></div>


<p>With all that said and done, here's our upgraded Hamza list:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="HamzaV2" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Hamza, Guardian of Arashin
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Abzan Battle Priest
*1 Abzan Falconer
*1 Armorcraft Judge
*1 Arwen, Weaver of Hope
*1 Avacyn&#039;s Pilgrim
*1 Beast Whisperer
*1 Botanical Brawler
*1 Cankerbloom
*1 Champion of Lambholt
*1 Conclave Mentor
*1 Defiler of Vigor
*1 Duskshell Crawler
*1 Envoy of the Ancestors
*1 Evolution Sage
*1 Evolution Witness
*1 Fertilid
*1 Forgotten Ancient
*1 Gyre Sage
*1 Incubation Druid
*1 Ivy Lane Denizen
*1 Kami of Whispered Hopes
*1 Kodama of the West Tree
*1 Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar
*1 Loyal Guardian
*1 Luminarch Aspirant
*1 Managorger Hydra
*1 Mikaeus, the Lunarch
*1 Ouroboroid
*1 Rishkar, Peema Renegade
*1 Scavenging Ooze
*1 Shalai, Voice of Plenty
*1 Sovereign Okinec Ahau
*1 Steelbane Hydra
*1 Stonecoil Serpent
*1 Tuskguard Captain
*1 Warden of the Grove
*1 Wildwood Scourge
[/Creatures]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Herd Heirloom
*1 Ozolith, the Shattered Spire
*1 Sol Ring
*1 The Great Henge
*1 The Ozolith
[/Artifacts]
[Instants]
*1 Archdruid&#039;s Charm
*1 Beast Within
*1 Generous Gift
*1 Heroic Intervention
*1 Inscription of Abundance
*1 Inspiring Call
*1 Path to Exile
*1 Pledge of Unity
*1 Swords to Plowshares
*1 Titanic Brawl
*1 Unbreakable Formation
[/Instants]
[Enchantments]
*1 Branching Evolution
*1 Cathars&#039; Crusade
*1 Felidar Retreat
*1 Garruk&#039;s Uprising
*1 Hardened Scales
*1 Terrasymbiosis
*1 Tribute to the World Tree
[/Enchantments]
[Sorceries]
*1 Damning Verdict
*1 Requisition Raid
*1 Shamanic Revelation
[/Sorceries]
[Battles]
*1 Invasion of Gobakhan // Lightshield Array
[/Battles]
[Lands]
*1 Canopy Vista
*1 Command Tower
*10 Forest
*1 Fortified Village
*1 Gavony Township
*1 Karn&#039;s Bastion
*1 Krosan Verge
*1 Llanowar Reborn
*1 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
*1 Overgrown Farmland
*10 Plains
*1 Selesnya Sanctuary
*1 Sungrass Prairie
*1 Sunpetal Grove
*1 Temple Garden
*1 Temple of Plenty
[/Lands]"></span></div>


EDHREC Guide to Upgrading Your Commander Deck

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Solve the Equation" href="#" target="_blank">Solve the Equation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://liesetiawan.com/">Lie Setiawan</a></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hello, everyone! I’m Levi from <em>The Thought Vessel</em>, and over the past few months I’ve found myself in a peculiar position: I’ve been surrounded by brand new players experiencing <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> for the very first time. With a background in education, I’ve been putting my teacher hat on to help them learn the ropes. Today we’re going to talk about how to teach your friends <em>Magic: The Gathering</em>; more specifically, Commander. We’ll look at how teaching usually happens, share some general tips, touch on a bit of educational theory, and then apply it directly to Commander to make the learning process smoother.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Before we dive in, I want to acknowledge something upfront: I don’t think Commander is the </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">best</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> way to introduce someone to <em>Magic</em>. Four-player multiplayer introduces a lot of variables, politics, bigger decks, and many more moving parts to track. There’s more math, more hidden information, and a lot more to keep in your head. That can be overwhelming for a brand-new player. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">That said, Commander is the most popular way to play <em>Magic</em> today. It’s what gets the spotlight in content, it’s what players talk about on social media, and it’s the format most people want to try first. If someone’s excited about Commander and wants that to be their first step into <em>Magic</em>, it’s usually best to lean into that excitement rather than redirect them somewhere else. Meeting people where they are is one of the most important principles in teaching.</span></p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Monologue Tax"></div></div> <h2><b>How It’s Usually Done</b></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Most of the time, new players learn <em>Magic</em> at a Commander night. They show up with friends, borrow a deck, and have their hand held through the game by the table. If they’re lucky, one of their friends has a deck specifically designed for beginners, something straightforward and clear. That might be an unmodified precon, or a simple deck with a commander like <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>, where the game plan is basically “make Goblins, swing with Goblins.” </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">This works fine at the moment, but there’s a catch: if they want to play again, they may not have access to the same deck or the same group of patient teachers. Every new game might mean a completely different deck with new mechanics and strategies to wrap their head around. That constant reset is exhausting, and a lot of potential players fall off right here.</span></p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Krenko, Mob Boss"></div></div> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Some people try to bridge the gap by starting with duel decks or small-scale 1v1 teaching decks before transitioning into Commander. That definitely helps, it removes a lot of the noise, but the leap from “simple <em>Magic</em>” to “a full multiplayer Commander pod” is still dramatic. Imagine learning to drive in an empty parking lot and then immediately being thrown into rush-hour traffic. That’s what it can feel like.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Another common path is <em>MTG Arena</em>. <em>Arena</em> is great at teaching the basics, turn order, phases, sequencing, combat, but it also becomes a crutch. The digital client handles triggers, math, and even stack interactions automatically, which means a player can learn to “click buttons” without fully internalizing what’s happening. It’s like learning to cook with a meal kit service: you’re following instructions, but you don’t necessarily understand </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">why</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> the steps work. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><em>Arena</em> also can remove the social element, which is a huge part of Commander. If a player’s only experience is digital, the leap into paper Commander can be even more intimidating.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So how do we do better? That’s where educational theory comes in, and one of the best tools is Bloom’s Taxonomy.</span></p> <h2><b>Bloom’s Taxonomy</b></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bloom’s Taxonomy is a framework educators use to classify six levels of learning. Originally developed in 1965 and updated in 2001, it’s a hierarchy of skills that moves from simple recall to complex creativity. As a teacher, this was a tool that we would use to make sure we could meet educational standards and also assess how well the class had learned a concept. Teachers use Bloom’s Taxonomy worldwide, but it’s just as useful at a kitchen table as it is in a classroom.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The six levels are: Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating, and Creating. Each step builds on the one before it, and if you want to help someone learn <em>Magic</em>, especially Commander, this structure gives you a roadmap.</span></p> <h3><b>Level 1: Remembering</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This is the very beginning: the first time a new player looks at a <em>Magic</em> card. At this stage, the only goal is to learn the </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">basics</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">: play lands, tap for mana, cast spells, attack, block, and move through phases.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To teach this, I built five mono-colored sixty-card decks, each designed to show off its color’s identity in the simplest way possible. White has small creatures and lifegain, blue has counterspells and evasion, black has removal and life payment, red has burn and aggro, and green has ramp and big creatures.</span></p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lightning Bolt"></div></div> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I’ll usually start with the color I think they’ll enjoy most: if they like big flashy plays, I hand them green; if they’re into clever tricks, blue might be a better fit. Then we play a couple of short games. Once they’re comfortable, I’ll let them “promote” a creature in the deck to be their commander and introduce the command zone. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The goal isn’t to play perfectly balanced games, it’s to build confidence. Sometimes I’ll intentionally make suboptimal plays or let them sneak in a win to keep motivation high. Once they can recall the basics without constant prompting, we’re ready for the next level.</span></p> <h3><b>Level 2: Understanding</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Now we shift from “what” to “why.” It’s not enough to know you can cast spells, you need to understand </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">why</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> you cast them when you do. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">This is where observation is powerful. I’ll have them watch a Commander game and encourage questions. Why did that player hold up two mana? Why did this player attack one opponent and not another? These are the questions that unlock understanding.</span></p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vedalken Orrery"></div></div> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Content is also helpful here. Game Knights is a great teaching tool because of its production value, commentary, and accessibility. A personal favorite of mine for this is Episode 45 with Post Malone. Having a celebrity at the table helps bridge the gap for people who aren’t yet invested in the <em>Magic</em> community, and the game itself showcases a variety of strategies without being overly complex.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Another trick I use is asking them to “narrate” their thought process when they play. For example: “I’m going to cast this creature now because I want to start pressuring the board” is a stronger learning moment than just slamming the card down. Narration forces them to connect cause and effect.</span></p> <h3><b>Level 3: Applying</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At this stage, the new player needs a dedicated deck. How they get it doesn’t matter; it could be a precon, a borrowed build, or a gift, but consistency is key. Playing the same deck repeatedly builds familiarity, and familiarity breeds confidence. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Consistency also lets them start recognizing patterns: “I always want to see this card early,” or “I lose when I keep hands without ramp and/or card draw.” These realizations only come when you play the same list multiple times, so players aren’t just blaming the deck for their shortcomings.</span></p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver"></div></div> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The rest of the table can support this by playing straightforward decks as well. Kindred decks are perfect here: Zombies swarm, Elves ramp, Goblins flood the board. These archetypes make threat assessment clear, unlike more subtle strategies, like aristocrats or storm. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Another thing that helps is letting the new player take extra time with sequencing. For example, if they forget to play their land first before casting something, pause and explain why the order matters. These little micro-lessons are what add up over time. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">By the time they’ve played a few games with their deck, most new players are naturally ready for the next level.</span></p> <h3><b>Level 4: Analyzing</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here the focus expands outward. It’s not just about </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">your</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> plan anymore, it’s about how your plan interacts with others. This is where new players start asking, “What is that deck trying to do?” </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Encourage open discussion at the table. Explain your plays, and ask others to do the same. If someone casts a <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>, don’t just say “resolve”, explain why it’s strong. If someone drops a board wipe, talk about how it resets the game and why it matters.</span></p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Orzhov Advokist"></div></div> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Borrowing decks is also great here. Playing a different archetype broadens their perspective and helps them see the game from multiple angles. Another exercise I like is swapping decks: have the new player play against their own deck, piloted by someone more experienced. This gives them insight into both sides of the match-up. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">This is also the stage where politics and table talk start to click. A player might notice that if they swing at one opponent, they open themselves up to retaliation from another. Commander is as much about negotiation as it is about combat math, and learning to analyze those dynamics is crucial.</span></p> <h3><b>Level 5: Evaluating</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This is where players start upgrading. They’ve played enough games to know what feels clunky or frustrating in their deck. Maybe it’s the tapped lands, maybe it’s the six-mana sorcery that always rots in their hand, or maybe it’s cards better suited to the alternate commander. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Point them to resources like <a href="https://edhrec.com/">EDHREC</a>, <a href="https://archidekt.com/">Archidekt</a>, and <a href="https://scryfall.com/">Scryfall</a>. Encourage them to experiment, but resist the urge to take control. Early upgrades often make a deck worse, e.g., too many splashy haymakers, too little ramp, but those mistakes are valuable. Every misstep teaches ratios, synergy, and deckbuilding fundamentals better than a lecture ever could.</span></p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Brainstorm"></div></div> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I usually recommend one-for-one swaps at this stage. If they cut a clunky six-mana card, add a smoother six-mana card. That way the curve and ratios stay intact while still encouraging experimentation. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">This is also where conversations about budget come in. Some new players want to chase cards like <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> right away, while others prefer to keep things affordable. Talking about priorities, such as “Do you want your deck to be faster or more flavorful?” helps them make meaningful choices.</span></p> <h3><b>Level 6: Creating</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This final level happens naturally. At some point, every new player finds a legendary creature or <em>Universes Beyond</em> character that sparks their imagination. Suddenly, they’re not just playing <em>Magic</em>, they’re brewing up <em>Magic</em>.</span></p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Post, Son of Rich"></div></div> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of my friends hit this point with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="K&#039;rrik, Son of Yawgmoth" href="#" target="_blank">K&#039;rrik, Son of Yawgmoth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. They loved the Post Malone Secret Lair art and wanted to make the deck their own. The first version was messy and inconsistent, but that’s the point. Deckbuilding takes practice and patience. Nobody builds a perfect deck on the first try, and quite frankly a crappy first attempt at a deck that's sleeved up and ready to go is worth far more than a </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">perfect deck </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">that is about 80% completed hanging out on Archidekt or as a pile of cards on their desk. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">What matters is ownership. Once they’ve brewed a deck themselves, they’ve fully crossed the threshold from learner to player, and from there, the sky’s the limit.</span></p> <h2><b>General Tips and Tricks</b></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I've included a few tips and tricks that are helpful that didn't quite fit into the format, but I wanted to make a note of:</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Leverage prior knowledge.</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Everyone comes in with a different background. I learned <em>Magic</em> in 2010 with RPGs and <em>Yu-Gi-Oh!</em> under my belt, which made concepts like mana and combat intuitive. Using familiar comparisons, like calling creatures “monsters”, can help make connections early on. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /><br /></span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Be patient.</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Not every player wants to progress through all six levels. Some are happy staying at Levels 1–2, just playing casually when invited. That’s okay. <em>Magic</em> is a deep pool, and not everyone wants to dive to the bottom.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /><br /></span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Set expectations at the table.</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Let everyone know a new player is learning. This prevents pub-stomping and encourages others to explain plays. Cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Swords to Plowshares" href="#" target="_blank">Swords to Plowshares</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are second nature to veterans but bewildering to beginners. Taking time to explain makes for a better experience.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /><br /></span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Celebrate small wins.</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> A new player casting their first board wipe, pulling off their first combo, or even just remembering their upkeep trigger deserves recognition. Positive reinforcement builds excitement.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /><br /></span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Avoid overload.</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Don’t try to explain the stack, layers, and replacement effects all in one night. Give information in digestible chunks.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></li> </ul> <h2><b>Wrapping Up</b></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This is the framework I use to teach new players Commander. Of course, every person learns differently, and you’ll need to adapt these steps to fit the individual. Some players race through all six levels in a month, while others take longer, or never move beyond the basics. What matters is that <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> is a game with infinite ways to enjoy it. Sharing it with someone new is a privilege, and it’s incredibly rewarding to watch someone you taught shuffle up their first self-built deck. Until next time, happy brewing!</span></p> 

An Educator's Guide to Teaching Magic: The Gathering

<p>Learn how to navigate the Commander Brackets system to maximize fun in your Commander games!</p>


<p>The Bracket system is a new(-ish) way for Commander players to ensure that they're sitting down for the kind of game that they want to play. It helps casual players, competitive players, and everyone in between find Commander pods that most closely match their desires.</p>
<p>When <em>Wizards of the Coast</em> took over the Commander format in 2024, they promised players a deck categorization system to allow for easier pre-game conversations. This system helps facilitate those conversations, and lets Commander players find like-minded people to play games with.</p>


<p>There are five different Commander Brackets. From most casual to most competitive, they are: Exhibition (1), Core (2), Upgraded (3), Optimized (4), and cEDH (5).</p>
<p>This can be a little difficult to understand, so let's take a look at a super helpful graphic created by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@commandcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rachel Weeks of The Command Zone</a>.</p>
<div id="attachment_164664" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/new-brackets-image-1024x683-1.jpg"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-164664" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-164664" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/new-brackets-image-1024x683-1.jpg" alt="A graphic describing the different Commander brackets, from least to most competitive. Graphic by Rachel Weeks." width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/new-brackets-image-1024x683-1.jpg 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/new-brackets-image-1024x683-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/new-brackets-image-1024x683-1-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-164664" class="wp-caption-text">A graphic describing the different Commander brackets, from least to most competitive. Graphic by Rachel Weeks.</p></div>
<p>This graphic shows some of the differences between the Brackets. The lower Brackets include less powerful cards, fewer combos, and are often simply not trying as hard to win the game as higher Brackets.</p>
<p>Lower bracket decks are often more closely associated with a theme, too. You're significantly more likely to find a deck based on <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=art%3Aarmored-horse&amp;unique=art&amp;utm_source=tagger" target="_blank" rel="noopener">art containing armored horses</a> in Bracket 1 than you are anywhere else, for example. And, you're much more likely to find meta-adherent, efficient wins with <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>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lion&#039;s Eye Diamond" href="#" target="_blank">Lion&#039;s Eye Diamond</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brain Freeze" href="#" target="_blank">Brain Freeze</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in Bracket 5 than you are anywhere else.</p>
<p>Of course, there's a <em>significant</em> amount of space between art-themed decks and hardcore competitive decks, so let's explore the Bracket system a bit more.</p>


<p>We'll be building a deck centered around the same commander for all five brackets, so the differences between all of the deck lists are readily apparent. Let's focus on <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lumra, Bellow of the Woods" href="#" target="_blank">Lumra, Bellow of the Woods</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a super powerful six-mana commander from <em><a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/blb" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bloomburrow</a>.</em></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lumra, Bellow of the Woods"></div></div>
<p>Lumra's an extremely powerful card, letting us do some land-based shenanigans and pull off some awesome combo wins. But, she's also a Bear, which should let us do some interesting things at the lower brackets.</p>


<p><em>Decks prioritize theme over function. They often have a goal outside of winning: anything from showcasing an under-supported mechanic to a favorite artist.</em></p>
<p><em>Rules:</em></p>
<ul>
<li><em>No Game Changers</em></li>
<li><em>No mass land denial</em></li>
<li><em>No extra turns</em></li>
<li><em>No two-card combos</em></li>
<li><em>Few tutors</em></li>
</ul>
<p>Our Bracket 1 Lumra deck is all-in on Bears. Every card in the deck either is a Bear, has a bear in its art, or mentions the word "bear" somewhere in its rules text.</p>
<p>There are a few individually strong cards in this deck, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ayula, Queen Among Bears" href="#" target="_blank">Ayula, Queen Among Bears</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Argoth, Sanctum of Nature" href="#" target="_blank">Argoth, Sanctum of Nature</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Surrak and Goreclaw" href="#" target="_blank">Surrak and Goreclaw</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. But, to be clear, those cards are here because of their Bear status. We've got no way to tutor for those strong game pieces, and very few ways to draw more cards for a higher chance of seeing them.</p>
<p>This Bracket 1 deck puts its theme above all else, and would only sneak away with a victory in a pod full of other Bracket 1 decks.</p>
<p>For our ramp, we've got cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Werebear" href="#" target="_blank">Werebear</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kolvori, God of Kinship" href="#" target="_blank">Kolvori, God of Kinship</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. For removal, we've got <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Predatory Urge" href="#" target="_blank">Predatory Urge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Stormkeld Vanguard" href="#" target="_blank">Stormkeld Vanguard</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Lastly, for card advantage, we've got... well we haven't really got much at all. This is, almost certainly, suboptimal. But we're focused on Bears, not winning games. This version of Lumra is focused on fun, above all else.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Werebear"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Predatory Urge"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Bracket1" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Lumra, Bellow of the Woods
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Alpine Grizzly
*1 Ashcoat Bear
*1 Ayula, Queen Among Bears
*1 Balduvian Bears
*1 Bear Cub
*1 Caller of the Claw
*1 Casal, Lurkwood Pathfinder // Casal, Pathbreaker Owlbear
*1 Copper Host Crusher
*1 Drover Grizzly
*1 Evercoat Ursine
*1 Flaxen Intruder // Welcome Home
*1 Forest Bear
*1 Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma
*1 Grizzly Bears
*1 Halsin, Emerald Archdruid
*1 Kolvori, God of Kinship // The Ringhart Crest
*1 Mother Bear
*1 Owlbear
*1 Owlbear Cub
*1 Professor of Zoomancy
*1 Quirion Beastcaller
*1 Rampaging Yao Guai
*1 Razorclaw Bear
*1 River Bear
*1 Runeclaw Bear
*1 Ruxa, Patient Professor
*1 Somberwald Sage
*1 Spider-Ham, Peter Porker
*1 Spirit of the Aldergard
*1 Stormkeld Vanguard // Bear Down
*1 Surrak and Goreclaw
*1 Surrak, Elusive Hunter
*1 Ursine Monstrosity
*1 Vivien&#039;s Grizzly
*1 Werebear
*1 Wilson, Refined Grizzly
*1 Yeva, Nature&#039;s Herald
[/Creatures]
[Sorceries]
*1 Blizzard Brawl
*1 Fade from History
*1 Grizzly Fate
*1 Kamahl&#039;s Summons
*1 Outmuscle
*1 Savage Punch
*1 Savage Swipe
*1 Titania&#039;s Command
[/Sorceries]
[Enchantments]
*1 Ayula&#039;s Influence
*1 Bearscape
*1 Predatory Urge
*1 Roaring Earth
*1 Words of Wilding
[/Enchantments]
[Instants]
*1 Beast Within
*1 Giant Growth
*1 Revealing Wind
[/Instants]
[Lands]
*1 Argoth, Sanctum of Nature
*1 Path of Ancestry
*44 Snow-Covered Forest
[/Lands]"></span></div>


<p><em>Decks are focused and functional, but contain sub-optimal cards and strategies. Comparable to an average modern precon. Wins are often telegraphed or incremental.</em></p>
<p><em>Rules:</em></p>
<ul>
<li><em>No Game Changers</em></li>
<li><em>No mass land denial</em></li>
<li><em>No extra turns</em></li>
<li><em>No two-card combos</em></li>
<li><em>Few tutors</em></li>
</ul>
<p>Our Bracket 2 version of Lumra isn't too different. We cut about 20 cards to make room for more efficient, and stronger, game pieces. We're still sticking with our Bear-typal theme, but we're embellishing it with higher quality creatures, graveyard synergies, and even a few tutors.</p>
<p>Most importantly, we've added a small package of cards that work well with our commander. It's still the same, durdly deck at its core, but it's been streamlined to let it actually get some momentum going once in a while.</p>
<p>The deck is now pulled in two different directions. While a real strategy is forming, efficient green spells paired with a monster of a commander to tie it all together, we're still a thematic deck centered on Bears.</p>
<p>But, only a few of our best Bears remain. Instead of including all available <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grizzly Bears" href="#" target="_blank">Grizzly Bears</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> variants, we're down to just 15 Bears and a few changelings. And, most of the cards that were included simply for having a bear or two in their art have been removed.</p>
<p>In their place, we've got strong ways to dump our library into our graveyard (like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="World Shaper" href="#" target="_blank">World Shaper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>), a few second-rate tutors (like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vivien, Monsters&#039; Advocate" href="#" target="_blank">Vivien, Monsters&#039; Advocate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>), and even a new piece of bear-themed removal (<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ulvenwald Tracker" href="#" target="_blank">Ulvenwald Tracker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>).</p>
<p>While this version of Lumra is still trying to get a bunch of Bears onto the battlefield, it's not as committed to that low-power game plan as its Bracket 1 predecessor. We're actually trying to win some games here, we're just aiming to do it with a board full of our favorite creature type.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="World Shaper"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vivien, Monsters&#039; Advocate"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ulvenwald Tracker"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Bracket2" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Lumra, Bellow of the Woods
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Aftermath Analyst
*1 Ashcoat Bear
*1 Ayula, Queen Among Bears
*1 Bloodline Pretender
*1 Bramble Familiar // Fetch Quest
*1 Casal, Lurkwood Pathfinder // Casal, Pathbreaker Owlbear
*1 Copper Host Crusher
*1 Drover Grizzly
*1 Evercoat Ursine
*1 Flaxen Intruder // Welcome Home
*1 Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma
*1 Grizzly Bears
*1 Icetill Explorer
*1 Masked Vandal
*1 Owlbear Cub
*1 Quirion Beastcaller
*1 Rampaging Yao Guai
*1 Realmwalker
*1 Six
*1 Somberwald Sage
*1 Spider-Ham, Peter Porker
*1 Spirit of the Aldergard
*1 Stormkeld Vanguard // Bear Down
*1 Surrak and Goreclaw
*1 Surrak, Elusive Hunter
*1 Tato Farmer
*1 Ulvenwald Tracker
*1 Universal Automaton
*1 Ursine Monstrosity
*1 Werebear
*1 Wilson, Refined Grizzly
*1 World Shaper
*1 Yeva, Nature&#039;s Herald
[/Creatures]
[Sorceries]
*1 Blizzard Brawl
*1 Esper Origins // Summon: Esper Maduin
*1 Fade from History
*1 Nature&#039;s Rhythm
*1 Savage Punch
*1 Savage Swipe
*1 Will of the Sultai
[/Sorceries]
[Enchantments]
*1 Ayula&#039;s Influence
*1 Bearscape
*1 Roaring Earth
*1 Words of Wilding
[/Enchantments]
[Instants]
*1 Beast Within
*1 Giant Growth
*1 Nature&#039;s Claim
*1 Ram Through
*1 Revealing Wind
*1 Smuggler&#039;s Surprise
[/Instants]
[Planeswalkers]
*1 Vivien, Monsters&#039; Advocate
*1 Wrenn and Seven
[/Planeswalkers]
[Artifacts]
*1 Hedge Shredder
[/Artifacts]
[Lands]
*1 Argoth, Sanctum of Nature
*1 Demolition Field
*1 Path of Ancestry
*43 Snow-Covered Forest
[/Lands]"></span></div>


<p><em>Decks are thoughfully designed, powered up by synergy and additional card quality. Players may expect the game to end out of nowhere with powerful spells and some combos.</em></p>
<p><em>Rules:</em></p>
<ul>
<li><em>Up to three Game Changers</em></li>
<li><em>No mass land denial</em></li>
<li><em>No chaining extra turns</em></li>
</ul>
<p>Here we'll abandon our focus on Bears pretty much entirely. It's sad, I know, but it needs to be done for the deck to improve. The core of our deck is now self-mill and land recursion, rather than Bears.</p>
<p>We'll double down on Lumra's strengths, and try to make this a relatively well-optimized lands deck. This is probably the most drastic change we'll see between any two adjacent brackets, and that's very much intentional. I view the jump from Bracket 2 to Bracket 3 as quite significant, as it represents a fundamental change in deckbuilding mindset.</p>
<p>We're willing to use some of the strongest cards available to push towards victory, but we won't necessarily be investing in free spells or busted one-off includes. Instead of holding on to vestiges of a theme that won't net us many victories, we're adhering to a tried-and-true Commander strategy.</p>
<p>First up, let's talk about our new and improved land suite. We've included a huge number of utility lands, including a few that can sacrifice themselves. This will let us loop them back to the battlefield with our commander, and other land recursion effects, for maximum value. Because we're playing a full 46 lands (27 basics) we likely won't need to worry about not having enough <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> pips on hand.</p>
<p>Among these nonbasic lands, my favorites are <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wasteland" href="#" target="_blank">Wasteland</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shifting Woodland" href="#" target="_blank">Shifting Woodland</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and (the best one of them all) <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Eden, Seat of the Sanctum" href="#" target="_blank">Eden, Seat of the Sanctum</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. These lands, in concert with the dozens of others we've got, should lend us a decent amount of board control and value for very little deckbuilding cost.</p>
<p>Decisions like this are what elevate a deck from Bracket 2 to Bracket 3!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wasteland"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Shifting Woodland"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Eden, Seat of the Sanctum"></div></div>
<p>We've also got a lot of land-based ramp now. From <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Entish Restoration" href="#" target="_blank">Entish Restoration</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Azusa, Lost but Seeking" href="#" target="_blank">Azusa, Lost but Seeking</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, we're making sure to include some of the best ways to dump lands on the battlefield and into the graveyard.</p>
<p>We've also got better graveyard synergies, with cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ancient Greenwarden" href="#" target="_blank">Ancient Greenwarden</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brawn" href="#" target="_blank">Brawn</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> here. I think the inclusion of Brawn is notable, and emblematic of what a Bracket 3 deck is trying to do. This Incarnation certainly isn't the best creature we could have included, but it's fun to mill over and can provide us with a moderate advantage as the game drags on.</p>
<p>Bracket 3 decks don't always need to play all of the best cards that are available, but a cohesive game plan should be apparent as large groups of cards are considered together.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Entish Restoration"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ancient Greenwarden"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Brawn"></div></div>
<p>Lastly, overall card quality has gone up. We get access to three <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/game-changers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Game Changers</a> in this list, and I've chosen <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Worldly Tutor" href="#" target="_blank">Worldly Tutor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crop Rotation" href="#" target="_blank">Crop Rotation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ancient Tomb" href="#" target="_blank">Ancient Tomb</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. For a mono-color list focused on lands, mana, and powerful creatures, these are solid choices.</p>
<p>Paired with additional tutors like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Archdruid&#039;s Charm" href="#" target="_blank">Archdruid&#039;s Charm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and standalone threats like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mossborn Hydra" href="#" target="_blank">Mossborn Hydra</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, it's clear this deck has a defined path to victory.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Worldly Tutor"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Crop Rotation"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ancient Tomb"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Bracket3" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Lumra, Bellow of the Woods
[/Commander]
[Instants]
*1 Archdruid&#039;s Charm
*1 Beast Within
*1 Collective Resistance
*1 Crop Rotation
*1 Entish Restoration
*1 Harrow
*1 Nature&#039;s Claim
*1 Overprotect
*1 Ram Through
*1 Roiling Regrowth
*1 Smuggler&#039;s Surprise
*1 Worldly Tutor
[/Instants]
[Creatures]
*1 Aftermath Analyst
*1 Ancient Greenwarden
*1 Ashaya, Soul of the Wild
*1 Augur of Autumn
*1 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
*1 Blossoming Tortoise
*1 Brawn
*1 Famished Worldsire
*1 Horizon Explorer
*1 Icetill Explorer
*1 Loot, Exuberant Explorer
*1 Lotus Cobra
*1 Mossborn Hydra
*1 Nissa, Resurgent Animist
*1 Rampaging Baloths
*1 Scute Swarm
*1 Six
*1 Sowing Mycospawn
*1 Surrak, Elusive Hunter
*1 Sylvan Safekeeper
*1 Tato Farmer
*1 Tireless Provisioner
*1 Tireless Tracker
*1 Titania, Voice of Gaea
*1 Ulvenwald Tracker
*1 Vorinclex // The Grand Evolution
*1 World Shaper
[/Creatures]
[Planeswalkers]
*1 Wrenn and Seven
[/Planeswalkers]
[Artifacts]
*1 Exploration Broodship
*1 Hedge Shredder
*1 The Great Henge
*1 Zuran Orb
[/Artifacts]
[Sorceries]
*1 Awaken the Woods
*1 Esper Origins // Summon: Esper Maduin
*1 Ezuri&#039;s Predation
*1 Nature&#039;s Rhythm
*1 Season of Gathering
*1 Will of the Sultai
[/Sorceries]
[Enchantments]
*1 Kenrith&#039;s Transformation
*1 Spelunking
*1 Virtue of Strength // Garenbrig Growth
[/Enchantments]
[Lands]
*1 Ancient Tomb
*1 Argoth, Sanctum of Nature
*1 Boseiju, Who Endures
*1 Cryptic Caves
*1 Crystal Vein
*1 Demolition Field
*1 Eden, Seat of the Sanctum
*1 Emergence Zone
*1 Geier Reach Sanitarium
*1 Ghost Quarter
*1 Hickory Woodlot
*1 Maze of Ith
*1 Mirrorpool
*1 Ominous Cemetery
*1 Sanctum of Eternity
*1 Shifting Woodland
*27 Snow-Covered Forest
*1 Strip Mine
*1 Tranquil Thicket
*1 Wasteland
[/Lands]"></span></div>


<p><em>Turbo-charged with the most powerful cards in the format, these decks seek to optimize any and all strategies with synergy and speed. Ready to play against anything!</em></p>
<p><em>No restrictions other than the banned list.</em></p>
<p>This is where we get to kick it up a notch. We'll be trimming some of the fat from our Bracket 3 deck, and ensuring that this deck can compete at the highest level casual EDH tables. We're not quite in cEDH territory yet, but we're certainly going to optimize our 99.</p>
<p>We're also going to account for our opponents' game plans here. That means playing around countermagic, including more tutors, and even a few of the game's most efficient cards. Sadly, this means that some of our pet cards (like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brawn" href="#" target="_blank">Brawn</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>) have got to go. There's just no space for us to mess around much in Bracket 4!</p>
<p>This is fundamentally the same deck that we had in Bracket 3, just supercharged. We've got some of Commander's most powerful cards, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gaea&#039;s Cradle" href="#" target="_blank">Gaea&#039;s Cradle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Endurance" href="#" target="_blank">Endurance</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and even more ways to fetch them, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elvish Reclaimer" href="#" target="_blank">Elvish Reclaimer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chord of Calling" href="#" target="_blank">Chord of Calling</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>We now have more consistent access to more efficient effects. Instead of paying for our removal spells, we can just pitch a card with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Force of Vigor" href="#" target="_blank">Force of Vigor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Instead of hoping to naturally draw into a combo piece, we can tutor it straight to the board with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Natural Order" href="#" target="_blank">Natural Order</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>We're still playing "fair <em>Magic</em>" in this Bracket, we're just pushing this deck as far as it can go within those bounds.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gaea&#039;s Cradle"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Elvish Reclaimer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Force of Vigor"></div></div>
<p>This deck will, for the most part, win in the same way that our Bracket 3 variant does. We'll swing in for lethal with a huge <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mossborn Hydra" href="#" target="_blank">Mossborn Hydra</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or make a creature massive with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Will of the Sultai" href="#" target="_blank">Will of the Sultai</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, turning a board full of lands into a win. But, now that we're in Bracket 4, we've got access to a few combos too.</p>
<p>By leveraging <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Springheart Nantuko" href="#" target="_blank">Springheart Nantuko</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <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>, and a man-land, we can create infinite <em>landfall</em> triggers and infinite tapped land tokens. There's lots of other combos too, letting us gain infinite life, make infinite mana, and even make infinite creature tokens.</p>
<p>The combos are overlapping and contain very few dead cards. There's a full 21 combos available with this deck list, according to <a href="https://commanderspellbook.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Commander Spellbook</a>, so we'll often look to assemble a combo win with this list.</p>
<p>While there's a relatively high amount of shared cards between this deck and our previous list, there's certainly been a deckbuilding mentality shift. We've focused narrowly on the best standalone threats that this strategy has to offer, and will aim for victory with a combo frequently.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Bracket4" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Lumra, Bellow of the Woods
[/Commander]
[Artifacts]
*1 Exploration Broodship
*1 Mox Diamond
*1 Sol Ring
*1 The Great Henge
*1 Zuran Orb
[/Artifacts]
[Creatures]
*1 Aftermath Analyst
*1 Ancient Greenwarden
*1 Ashaya, Soul of the Wild
*1 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
*1 Birds of Paradise
*1 Blossoming Tortoise
*1 Delighted Halfling
*1 Dryad Arbor
*1 Elvish Reclaimer
*1 Elvish Spirit Guide
*1 Endurance
*1 Famished Worldsire
*1 Heartwood Storyteller
*1 Horizon Explorer
*1 Icetill Explorer
*1 Lotus Cobra
*1 Mossborn Hydra
*1 Nissa, Resurgent Animist
*1 Rootpath Purifier
*1 Scute Swarm
*1 Six
*1 Springheart Nantuko
*1 Surrak, Elusive Hunter
*1 Sylvan Safekeeper
*1 Tiller Engine
*1 Titania, Voice of Gaea
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*1 Archdruid&#039;s Charm
*1 Chord of Calling
*1 Crop Rotation
*1 Eldrazi Confluence
*1 Force of Vigor
[/Instants]
[Enchantments]
*1 Burgeoning
*1 Exploration
*1 Food Chain
*1 Spelunking
*1 Sylvan Library
[/Enchantments]
[Sorceries]
*1 Eldritch Evolution
*1 Ezuri&#039;s Predation
*1 Finale of Devastation
*1 Green Sun&#039;s Zenith
*1 Natural Order
*1 Nature&#039;s Rhythm
*1 Will of the Sultai
[/Sorceries]
[Lands]
*1 Ancient Tomb
*1 Argoth, Sanctum of Nature
*1 Arid Archway
*1 Ash Barrens
*1 Boseiju, Who Endures
*1 Castle Garenbrig
*1 Cavern of Souls
*1 City of Traitors
*1 Command Beacon
*1 Conduit Pylons
*1 Crumbling Vestige
*1 Crystal Vein
*1 Deserted Temple
*1 Echoing Deeps
*1 Eden, Seat of the Sanctum
*1 Emergence Zone
*1 Fabled Passage
*3 Forest
*1 Gaea&#039;s Cradle
*1 Geier Reach Sanitarium
*1 Gemstone Caverns
*1 Ghost Quarter
*1 Havenwood Battleground
*1 Hickory Woodlot
*1 High Market
*1 Horizon of Progress
*1 Lazotep Quarry
*1 Lotus Field
*1 Mirrorpool
*1 Misty Rainforest
*1 Petrified Field
*1 Pit of Offerings
*1 Prismatic Vista
*1 Sanctum of Eternity
*1 Shifting Woodland
*3 Snow-Covered Forest
*1 Strip Mine
*1 Sunscorched Desert
*1 Talon Gates of Madara
*1 Urza&#039;s Cave
*1 Urza&#039;s Saga
*1 Verdant Catacombs
*1 Vesuva
*1 Wasteland
*1 Windswept Heath
*1 Wooded Foothills
*1 Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth
[/Lands]"></span></div>


<p><em>Decks are designed to battle in a specific competitive meta, using only the most powerful and efficient commanders, strategies, disruption and win conditions.</em></p>
<p><em>No restrictions other than the banned list.</em></p>
<p>Finally, we come to the apex of Commander gameplay: cEDH. While Lumra is a relative newcomer to the Bracket 5 landscape, she's certainly earned a spot in the meta.</p>
<p>In the interest of full transparency, I'll be borrowing my Bracket 5 deck from divinerage01 and knickknack's spot on the <a href="https://cedh-decklist-database.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cEDH Decklist Database</a>. I give full credit to them, and the rest of the Lumra community, for crafting such a well-tuned list.</p>
<p>For the most part, we're not interacting with our opponents on the stack, which may be puzzling for players who typically play in lower brackets. Instead, we'll aim to either "turbo" (push through quickly) a win on turn two or three with some combos, or "stax out" (slow down using pieces like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vexing Bauble" href="#" target="_blank">Vexing Bauble</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>) the table until we can secure a well-protected win on turn five or six.</p>
<p>The deck is a far cry from traditional meta staples like Blue Farm (which has <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tymna the Weaver" href="#" target="_blank">Tymna the Weaver</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kraum, Ludevic&#039;s Opus" href="#" target="_blank">Kraum, Ludevic&#039;s Opus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as its leaders), but it's a fun way to challenge the meta with some cards that most pilots would never dream of playing in cEDH (looking at you, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mouth of Ronom" href="#" target="_blank">Mouth of Ronom</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>).</p>
<p>This deck has a full 29 combos available in it, <a href="https://commanderspellbook.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">once again according to Commander Spellbook</a>, and many of these combos also include overlapping pieces. That means that the 15 tutors available in this list can provide a quick combo victory in several ways.</p>
<p>Many of these combos are also easily able to protect themselves with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sylvan Safekeeper" href="#" target="_blank">Sylvan Safekeeper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or hate pieces like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vexing Bauble" href="#" target="_blank">Vexing Bauble</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, shutting down opponents' interaction while leaving our combo untouched. There's so many cool tools available to pilots at this level of play, and so much room for skill expression.</p>
<p>How can you not love cEDH, where decks that can win with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirrorpool" href="#" target="_blank">Mirrorpool</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can outrace <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thassa&#039;s Oracle" href="#" target="_blank">Thassa&#039;s Oracle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> decks on a regular basis?</p>
<p>All that said, here's our final deck list for today.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Bracket5" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Lumra, Bellow of the Woods
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Aftermath Analyst
*1 Ashaya, Soul of the Wild
*1 Blossoming Tortoise
*1 Collector Ouphe
*1 Delighted Halfling
*1 Elvish Reclaimer
*1 Elvish Spirit Guide
*1 Endurance
*1 Famished Worldsire
*1 Horizon Explorer
*1 Icetill Explorer
*1 Krosan Restorer
*1 Lotus Cobra
*1 Magus of the Candelabra
*1 Nissa, Resurgent Animist
*1 Rootpath Purifier
*1 Six
*1 Sowing Mycospawn
*1 Springheart Nantuko
*1 Sylvan Safekeeper
*1 Tiller Engine
*1 Timeless Witness
*1 Tireless Provisioner
[/Creatures]
[Artifacts]
*1 Amulet of Vigor
*1 Lion&#039;s Eye Diamond
*1 Lotus Petal
*1 Mana Vault
*1 Mox Diamond
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Trinisphere
*1 Vexing Bauble
*1 Zuran Orb
[/Artifacts]
[Instants]
*1 Archdruid&#039;s Charm
*1 Chord of Calling
*1 Crop Rotation
*1 Eldrazi Confluence
[/Instants]
[Enchantments]
*1 Burgeoning
*1 Earthcraft
*1 Exploration
*1 Food Chain
*1 Root Maze
*1 Song of the Dryads
*1 Spelunking
*1 Sylvan Library
[/Enchantments]
[Sorceries]
*1 Eldritch Evolution
*1 Finale of Devastation
*1 Green Sun&#039;s Zenith
*1 Natural Order
*1 Nature&#039;s Rhythm
*1 Scapeshift
[/Sorceries]
[Battles]
*1 Invasion of Ikoria // Zilortha, Apex of Ikoria
[/Battles]
[Planeswalkers]
*1 Tezzeret, Cruel Captain
[/Planeswalkers]
[Lands]
*1 Ancient Tomb
*1 Arid Archway
*1 Blast Zone
*1 Boseiju, Who Endures
*1 Cavern of Souls
*1 City of Traitors
*1 Command Beacon
*1 Crumbling Vestige
*1 Crystal Vein
*1 Deserted Temple
*1 Echoing Deeps
*1 Eden, Seat of the Sanctum
*1 Emergence Zone
*1 Fabled Passage
*1 Field of the Dead
*2 Forest
*1 Gaea&#039;s Cradle
*1 Geier Reach Sanitarium
*1 Gemstone Caverns
*1 Ghost Quarter
*1 Havenwood Battleground
*1 Hickory Woodlot
*1 Horizon of Progress
*1 Lazotep Quarry
*1 Lotus Field
*1 Mirrorpool
*1 Misty Rainforest
*1 Mouth of Ronom
*1 Pit of Offerings
*1 Prismatic Vista
*1 Shifting Woodland
*4 Snow-Covered Forest
*1 Strip Mine
*1 Sunscorched Desert
*1 Talon Gates of Madara
*1 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
*1 Urza&#039;s Cave
*1 Urza&#039;s Saga
*1 Verdant Catacombs
*1 Vesuva
*1 Wasteland
*1 Windswept Heath
*1 Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth
[/Lands]"></span></div>


<p>After reading this article, you might be wondering what Commander Bracket you want to play in. While that's a question only you can answer, I'd point most players towards Bracket 2 or Bracket 3 to start. There's a lot of room for creative expression in deckbuilding and social fun here, without the pressure to always make the most optimal play.</p>
<p>Plus, it's easy to get started with just a store-bought precon, or some cards from your personal collection, and jump right into a pod at this level.</p>
<p>For those of you looking for a solid Bracket 2 deck with an upgrade path to Bracket 3, I'd recommend checking out the <a href="https://edhrec.com/precon/peace-offering" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Peace Offering</em> precon from <em>Bloomburrow</em></a>. That deck has the potential to be quite formidable, and we've got <a href="https://edhrec.com/precon/peace-offering" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an upgrade guide available for those of you interested in making it just a bit stronger</a>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ms. Bumbleflower"></div></div>


<p>This is a common problem. The answer doesn't lie in any Commander infographic you'll find online, though. It lies in your heart. The difference between Brackets comes down to deckbuilding intent. If you've built a Bracket 1 deck that's themed around <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=art%3Ahand&amp;unique=art&amp;utm_source=tagger" target="_blank" rel="noopener">art with hands in it</a> and included <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mystical Tutor" href="#" target="_blank">Mystical Tutor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (a Game Changer) in your 99, it's probably still ok for most Bracket 1 pods! Just make sure to discuss it with the other players first.</p>
<p>The Bracket System is meant to guide pre-game discussions, not act as the gospel. It's ok to deviate from the system, just make sure you're having honest discussions with your friends before you accidentally foul up a nice game of Commander!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Foul Play"></div></div>


EDHREC Guide to Commander Brackets

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sisay, Weatherlight Captain" href="#" target="_blank">Sisay, Weatherlight Captain</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.annasteinbauer.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anna Steinbauer</a></em></p>
<p> Breaking into the cEDH format doesn't have to be difficult! I understand that it can be intimidating, especially when some of the decks or interactions can get complicated. While some of the card choices can be confusing or some of the combo lines slightly hard to wrap your head around, you'll quickly realize that it's not all that different than normal Commander games - we just take priority a bit more seriously and things can get crazy quickly. In this guide, I'll walk you through: </p>
<ul>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ul>
<li><strong>What is cEDH?</strong>
<ul>
<li>What is cEDH itself? What makes Competitive Commander different than casual Commander games? What's up with Brackets 4 &amp; 5?</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Building a cEDH Deck</strong>
<ul>
<li>What do you need to know before putting together your own deck? I'll cover popular archetypes, Commanders, staples, and finding the right deck for <em>you.</em></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Playing cEDH</strong>
<ul>
<li>Once you sit down at the table, what do you need to know? What common combos should you look out for? What are the first few turns like?</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>


<p>cEDH is defined by the Commander Format Panel in the Bracket System thusly:</p>
<blockquote><p>Decks are built to win in the competitive metagame. Players intend to use only the most powerful strategies</p></blockquote>
<p>This is a fine enough working definition, especially in a short space. A longer definition could be:</p>
<blockquote><p>Decks are built to win in the competitive metagame and must be able to compete at the table. Players intend to use only the most powerful strategies, including the fastest mana, focused strategies, and the best interaction available to achieve their <em>ultimate goal of winning the game</em>.</p></blockquote>
<p>&nbsp;</p>


<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Craterhoof Behemoth"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thassa&#039;s Oracle"></div></div>
<p>While navigating the intricacies of a normal Commander game can be difficult, with each player often bringing a different ideal to the table, cEDH is simple: just win.</p>
<p>This is the strongest thing that Competitive Commander has going for it and that attracts so many. A game where everyone is trying to win puts everyone on an even playing field where all of the expectations are the same and you know what you're getting into.</p>
<p>While there's nothing wrong with the normal social contract and complex dance of finding your idealistic EDH pod/power level, having the clarity and ease of simply sitting down and everyone being on (or close) to the same page is often a breath of fresh air for me. Of course, it also brings with it some form of ideals (that aren't always upheld, but still) that help reinforce the goal of aiming to win the game.</p>
<p>They also depend on local playgroups, just like EDH, but are especially aspired to within a tournament environment. These include, but aren't limited to:</p>
<ul>
<li>Play a good deck
<ul>
<li>Ironically, you do have to worry some about deck selection in cEDH games - if your deck can't keep up then you'll be asking to lose - and that isn't that fun for everyone else!</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>No "kingmaking"
<ul>
<li>Don't take game actions that specifically set up one player to win (if that player isn't yourself) if you can help it</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>No spite plays
<ul>
<li>No making plays that mess with another player specifically "just because" or because you're upset at them.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>No using memory of previous games
<ul>
<li>Upset someone countered your spell earlier or in a previous match in the night? Get over it, save your interaction for when it matters.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Priority matters - a lot
<ul>
<li>When you're playing games of cEDH, who's turn it is to take actions on the stack needs to be carefully tracked and monitored. If you skip ahead in priority to counter someone's spell, you may be missing the chance to let an opponent use their interaction when you didn't need to. Pay attention!</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Always play to your outs
<ul>
<li>Have a counterspell and no one else does? You probably should use it.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>No takebacks. Or loads of takebacks.
<ul>
<li>Not doing takebacks is the most softly held ideal, mainly because, well, it can be a bit boring! Depending on the playgroup, you'll either be held to your word ("A card laid is a card played") or encouraged to find the best solution to a problem together with the table, usually by people showing off what they have to others or placing things on the stack and, well, taking them back.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>We'll talk more about some specifics of behavioral ideals &amp; etiquette - the things that are important to make a game of cEDH work - in a later section.</p>
<p>These things and more are part of what helps separate cEDH from casual Commander games - together with the meta and power level aspects which we'll cover now.</p>


<p>Since <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/wotc-introduces-new-bracket-system-for-edh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the introduction of the Bracket system</a>, many players seem to have become more confused - not less- about what some of the difference between high power Commander (i.e., Bracket 4) and cEDH (i.e., Bracket 5) really is. This difference has most commonly been defined by pundits and also WoTC themselves as a "meta" difference - and this is something that I agree with and will try to quickly explain to you here.</p>
<p>Most of the confusion seems to come from the use of the word "meta" - implying that there is a defined hierarchy of the most powerful &amp; widely played decks that can be planned for, reacted against, and similar. While at the tournament level of playing cEDH this can be true , it's better to think about the average "meta" of Competitive Commander being more concerned with the cards you're always going to consistently see.</p>
<p>While you may not always play against <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tymna the Weaver" href="#" target="_blank">Tymna</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> &amp; <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kraum, Ludevic&#039;s Opus" href="#" target="_blank">Kraum</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in your pods, you can rest assured you will be running into a lot of these high-powered cards:</p>
<ul>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Force of Will" href="#" target="_blank">Force of Will</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><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></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thassa&#039;s Oracle" href="#" target="_blank">Thassa&#039;s Oracle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jeska&#039;s Will" href="#" target="_blank">Jeska&#039;s Will</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Necropotence" href="#" target="_blank">Necropotence</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ad Nauseam" href="#" target="_blank">Ad Nauseam</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
</ul>
<p>It demands a certain amount of streamlining and the ability to both create win attempts and stop opposing win attempts very quickly - as soon as turn one. As a direct result, this limits the lower level options of what really is "viable" in a cEDH game - theoretically you <em>can</em> play any Commander with any amount of combos and Game Changers if you so please - but don't be surprised if you're left in the dust or have your normally game-ending <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Great Henge" href="#" target="_blank">The Great Henge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> countered.</p>
<p>There's no room for dawdling, or else another deck will punch your teeth in.</p>
<p>With the game compressed into so few turns, many of your opponents will be threatening a win in the next turn cycle; is your deck prepared for that? You'll also have to work together with your opponents to help stop whoever is actually the largest threat at that point, an aspect of the game that feels uniquely different from many EDH games that I've played.</p>
<p>These factors represents what is, unfortunately, a bit of a purely vibes-based distinction between Brackets 4 and 5. At the end of the day, Bracket 4 is for having fun doing your thing while casting powerful spells - Bracket 5 is about winning the game. Finding where you stand on those lines is up to you - and maybe also down to how your opponents are thinking.</p>


<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rhystic Study|j22|114"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ad Nauseam"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mox Diamond"></div></div>
<p>Thanks to the rules of Bracket 5, you get any amount of Game Changers to play in cEDH games! This is great, because most iconic and important cards played in cEDH are on the Game Changers list. They are:</p>
<ul>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ad Nauseam" href="#" target="_blank">Ad Nauseam</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ancient Tomb" href="#" target="_blank">Ancient Tomb</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bolas&#039;s Citadel" href="#" target="_blank">Bolas&#039;s Citadel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chrome Mox" href="#" target="_blank">Chrome Mox</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Consecrated Sphinx" href="#" target="_blank">Consecrated Sphinx</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crop Rotation" href="#" target="_blank">Crop Rotation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deflecting Swat" href="#" target="_blank">Deflecting Swat</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Demonic Tutor" href="#" target="_blank">Demonic Tutor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Drannith Magistrate" href="#" target="_blank">Drannith Magistrate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Enlightened Tutor" href="#" target="_blank">Enlightened Tutor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fierce Guardianship" href="#" target="_blank">Fierce Guardianship</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><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></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Force of Will" href="#" target="_blank">Force of Will</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gaea&#039;s Cradle" href="#" target="_blank">Gaea&#039;s Cradle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gamble" href="#" target="_blank">Gamble</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gifts Ungiven" href="#" target="_blank">Gifts Ungiven</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grim Monolith" href="#" target="_blank">Grim Monolith</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Imperial Seal" href="#" target="_blank">Imperial Seal</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Intuition" href="#" target="_blank">Intuition</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jeska&#039;s Will" href="#" target="_blank">Jeska&#039;s Will</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy" href="#" target="_blank">Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lion&#039;s Eye Diamond" href="#" target="_blank">Lion&#039;s Eye Diamond</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mana Vault" href="#" target="_blank">Mana Vault</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mox Diamond" href="#" target="_blank">Mox Diamond</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mystical Tutor" href="#" target="_blank">Mystical Tutor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Necropotence" href="#" target="_blank">Necropotence</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Notion Thief" href="#" target="_blank">Notion Thief</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Opposition Agent" href="#" target="_blank">Opposition Agent</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Orcish Bowmasters" href="#" target="_blank">Orcish Bowmasters</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><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></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Seedborn Muse" href="#" target="_blank">Seedborn Muse</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><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></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Survival of the Fittest" href="#" target="_blank">Survival of the Fittest</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thassa&#039;s Oracle" href="#" target="_blank">Thassa&#039;s Oracle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The One Ring" href="#" target="_blank">The One Ring</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><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></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vampiric Tutor" href="#" target="_blank">Vampiric Tutor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Winota, Joiner of Forces" href="#" target="_blank">Winota, Joiner of Forces</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Worldly Tutor" href="#" target="_blank">Worldly Tutor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Yuriko, the Tiger&#039;s Shadow" href="#" target="_blank">Yuriko, the Tiger&#039;s Shadow</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
</ul>
<p>You may notice that this is the vast majority of the Game Changers list! It's true! It seems as if the list is greatly informed by cEDH itself (or perhaps it is because we just happen to play all the most powerful cards). Every deck that can play all of the Game Changers in its colors usually does so - outside of those that are explicitly aimed at protecting lower power games, such as Tabernacle, the Phyrexian Praetors, and a few other more niche cards that are truly not good enough to hang.</p>


<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Efficient Construction"></div></div>
<p>One of the biggest joys in <em>Magic</em> is finding a deck that clicks just perfectly with your gameplay taste. I do have good news: there is almost certainly a cEDH deck that you will enjoy! Whether it's a spicy brew of your own or finding a commonly agreed upon powerful list, there’s something that will work for your preferred play style.</p>
<p>Many people start by either looking at a specific commander (or partner commanders) that they want to play with - or by looking for a specific playstyle or looking to accomplish a specific combo.</p>
<p>However, one top level recommendation: <em>Start with something established to learn how everything works</em>. More on that later too.</p>
<p>Regardless of where you start, there's something important for you to look out for - your list <em>does</em> have to be powerful. If a deck can’t hack it at a cEDH table, you’ll just not be having enough fun - and neither will anybody else at the table.</p>
<p>Let's walk through some of the best Commanders, the winningest combos, and other bits and bobs about finding the right cEDH deck for you. I'll also point out some resources that make finding other people's deck lists to become inspired by as easy as possible.</p>


<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Azor&#039;s Elocutors"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Heated Debate"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Droning Bureaucrats"></div></div>
<p>There's a loose framework for what makes a deck "cEDH viable," a phrase that itself is loaded and not actually that useful. What I mean is here are the things that <em>I</em> look for in a deck to know whether or not I believe the deck would have a shot at standing on its own at the average Bracket 5 table.</p>
<p>It should have at least three of these different elements:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>A fast, compact win condition</strong> - Two to three cards that are easily assembled that win the game on their own. These can be either generically good or deck specific. More on combos later.</li>
<li><strong>Two or more (preferably more) colors</strong> - More colors equals higher average card quality and more flexibility in what the cards in your deck can do for you. It's pretty simple! This does have a practical ceiling though - most four-color decks, for example, have plenty of playable cards and get to have more consistent mana over five-color decks.</li>
<li><strong>A Combo/Extreme Synergy-Centric <em>or</em> a Card Advantage Creating <em>or</em> a Mana Producing Commander</strong> - The Commander is the eight (and ninth, with Partners) card in hand. It should be a part of a combo (for example: Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy; Malcolm, Keen Eyed Navigator; Magda; Najeela the Bladeblossom; etc.), have extreme synergy with the rest of your deck (Winota, K'rrik, Sisay, Weatherlight Captain), create card advantage (Tymna, the Weaver, Thrasios, Triton Hero, Yuriko, the Tigers Shadow), or create a distinct mana advantage (Rograkh, Kinnan, Malcolm, many more). If your Commander can't check one of these boxes, you'll be quickly questioning why its there.</li>
<li><strong>Blue color identity</strong> - This isn't a joke, blue combines all of the best free interaction (Force of Will, Mindbreak Trap, Force of Negation, etc.) with what may be the two most important cards in the format, Mystic Remora &amp; Rhystic Study, to keep you stocked on cards.</li>
<li><strong>Sans blue identity, <em>every</em> powerful interactive spell you can play</strong> - Silence effects in white, Deflecting Swat (and a few others) in red, etc.</li>
</ul>
<p>Having a synergistic commander with three-color identity and lots of interaction gets you very far. A fast combo paired with two or more colors, while still being sans blue, can win a ton of games. Any one or two of these alone, especially only one, definitely won't hack it.</p>
<p>Of course, this also is a competently imperfect science. There are decks that check only two of these boxes that can win quite a lot (Magda, for example) and there are other decks that could check all of them (Najeela) that are currently struggling. At the end of the day, the person best suited to determine what deck you would like to play is you; if you want to experience the grind of a niche deck that has a lower win rate than others, that is on you!</p>
<p>If you want to play a pile of four-color good stuff, that is on you as well. This is just a guide.</p>


<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Johnny, Combo Player"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Timmy, Power Gamer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Spike, Tournament Grinder"></div></div>
<p>A few words on each of the three major archetypes of cEDH - and a few words as well on the missing commonly played <em>Magic</em> archetype as well. Each widely played deck falls into one of these three buckets, though some can ride the line between several different ones. Find the one that you think will best suit your playstyle or preferences and go from there.</p>
<h3>Turbo/Fast Combo</h3>
<p>Often considered the strongest archetype in Competitive Commander, <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/edhrec-guide-to-cedh-turbo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Turbo decks</a> have one pretty obvious aim: win quickly.</p>
<p>Turbo decks, with the poster child deck being the Grixis Rograkh/Silas Ren, pack the leanest combos and, often, as many mana accelerating effects as possible. Some pilots also cut interaction in exchange for even more power.</p>
<p>Since they're so focused on the early game, though, they can often stumble into the mid and late game. A focus on explosiveness often means giving up some level of average card quality, making the average draw worse.</p>
<h3>Midrange</h3>
<p><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/cedh-midrange/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Midrange cEDH decks</a> are trying to eat their cake and have it too. Usually they're three or more colors, feature a balanced, yet wide, range of effects (winning cards, interaction, acceleration, card draw, etc.) and aim to win in the mid or late game.</p>
<p>An average Midrange deck is all about having the highest average card quality possible, meaning that every draw step or Rhystic Study trigger could theoretically be game altering - or could perhaps not apply to the current situation at all while still being a good card.</p>
<p>They also prominently feature combo wins, though usually cut the cards that would let them execute them extremely quickly for more draw and mana engines. The classic example is Tymna, the Weaver/Kraum, Ludevic's Opus, (nicknamed Blue Farm) a four-color pile that relies on sticking a value engine, such as one of its commanders, to draw many cards (that it hopefully can turn into a win).</p>
<h3>Stax</h3>
<p>Stax, perhaps a dying archetype, focuses on resolving several "Stax" pieces that slow down the game, restricting the choices of other players, before winning with a combo or, often, combat damage.</p>
<p>Classic Stax cards include <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rule of Law" href="#" target="_blank">Rule of Law</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aven Mindcensor" href="#" target="_blank">Aven Mindcensor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Archon of Emeria" href="#" target="_blank">Archon of Emeria</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and similar effects. Stax remains the main home of combat-focused decks in cEDH, but requires very exacting piloting and being able to identify windows of winning opportunity before an opponent bounces your one most restrictive piece and goes for the win.</p>
<p>Not for the faint of heart.</p>
<h3>Traditional Tempo/Control...?</h3>
<p>Tempo and Control, in the traditional <em>Magic</em> senses, unfortunately don't exist meaningfully in a cEDH context. The problem is that all of the cards that you would usually use to trade resources with opponents - removal spells, counterspells, etc. - put you at a massive disadvantage vs. your opponents.</p>
<p>In a normal game, they represent a one-for-one trade, placing you on even ground, if not ahead or behind on mana. In a multiplayer format, you put yourself down a card, a single opponent down a card, and two opponents <em>up</em> on you on cards and mana. Not a great trade.</p>
<p>Even normal Tempo fuel, such as cantrips, have diving value, thanks to the increased number of players.</p>
<p>In a normal 1v1 game, you take every other turn in the match, making taking a bit of time off, alongside mana and a card, to sculpt your hand or deck an easy prospect. Your opponent, in many ways, only has a one turn window in which to punish you for spinning the wheels. In cEDH, you only take every fourth turn, as opposed to every other one, making every turn, every card, and every mana spent that much more valuable.</p>
<p>Cantrips, only letting you take a look at one or two more cards of your 98-99 card deck, quickly become a waste of mana (and deck inclusion slots). As a result, decks rely on much more effective, and definite forms of deck manipulation: tutors. These leave cantrips, and other traditional tempo and control forms of larger card advantage for that matter, in the dust.</p>


<p>This is by no means all encompassing - I've selected what feels like a representative list of some of the most popular lists that also cover bases on options and playstyles.</p>
<h3>Tymna/Kraum (Blue Farm)</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tymna the Weaver"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kraum, Ludevic&#039;s Opus"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tymna the Weaver" href="#" target="_blank">Tymna the Weaver</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> &amp; <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kraum, Ludevic&#039;s Opus" href="#" target="_blank">Kraum, Ludevic&#039;s Opus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are far and away the most common, and also the most powerful, commander combination available in Competitive Commander at this time. It features the four strongest colors, missing only the relatively weak green, getting to pack in the best interaction, white Silence effects, the easiest and most compact winning combos, explosive mana, all while having two commanders that draw loads and loads of cards.</p>
<p>Even in situations where you’re a bit low on action, both Tymna and Kraum are able to draw anywhere from one to five-plus cards per turn cycle, quickly turbocharging your position. It’s no mystery why this deck and these commanders are so popular; they do quite literally do it all.</p>
<p>Theoretically beginner friendly - but I have seen some players get bogged down with decision paralysis since all of the cards are, well, good.</p>
<h3>Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy"></div></div>
<p>Kinnan is the powerhouse two-color commander available in the format. Getting onto the battlefield quickly, he provides an explosive burst of mana that you can pour into powerful advantage engines, his own activated ability (to cheat in cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nyxbloom Ancient" href="#" target="_blank">Nyxbloom Ancient</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>), or just casting big dudes outright.</p>
<p>Most importantly, he combines with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Basalt Monolith" href="#" target="_blank">Basalt Monolith</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to make infinite colorless mana. Use this mana on something like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thrasios, Triton Hero" href="#" target="_blank">Thrasios, Triton Hero</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to draw your entire deck (find a way to win then, I dare you!) or on a massive <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Finale of Devastation" href="#" target="_blank">Finale of Devastation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to pump your creatures and kill the table.</p>
<p>Probably the most beginner friendly of the popular decks, due to low mana requirements, a straightforward plan, and plenty of blue interaction to help cover your bases.</p>
<h3>Thrasios/Tymna (TnT)</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thrasios, Triton Hero"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tymna the Weaver"></div></div>
<p>Enjoy green creatures and maximizing <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gaea&#039;s Cradle" href="#" target="_blank">Gaea&#039;s Cradle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>? TnT is definitely the option for you. This classic cEDH deck plays piles and piles of value creatures, hoping to get in attackers with Tymna on the battlefield to draw cards and getting as much mana from Gaea's Cradle as possible.</p>
<p>It gets to pair this all with solid interaction suites, the best tutors, and more. Thanks to its colors, it can still win with Thassa's Oracle, but also has cool infinite mana lines with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hazel&#039;s Brewmaster" href="#" target="_blank">Hazel&#039;s Brewmaster</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Devoted Druid" href="#" target="_blank">Devoted Druid</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Draw your library with Thrasios, call it a day. Win-con in the command zone! Certified best <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Seedborn Muse" href="#" target="_blank">Seedborn Muse</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck.</p>
<h3>Rograkh/Silas (RogSi)</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Silas Renn, Seeker Adept"></div></div>
<p>RogSi is <em>the</em> Turbo deck in Competitive Commander - and before the bans that removed the explosiveness of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dockside Extortionist" href="#" target="_blank">Dockside Extortionist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mana Crypt" href="#" target="_blank">Mana Crypt</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> was borderline the agreed-upon best deck. It very well still may be a pile of insanely powerful instants, sorceries, and artifacts that usually has one goal: Cast Necropotence or Ad Nauseam, take a ton of damage to draw a ton of cards, leverage that into a Thoracle or Underworld Breach win, often at instant speed thanks to the likes of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Valley Floodcaller" href="#" target="_blank">Valley Floodcaller</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Borne Upon a Wind" href="#" target="_blank">Borne Upon a Wind</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Not for the faint of heart - jamming into Rhystic Studies &amp; coming out just fine is common.</p>
<h3>Tivit, Seller of Secrets</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tivit, Seller of Secrets"></div></div>
<p>If we were to have a Control deck in cEDH, Tivit may be the closest. An Esper pile that leverages permission, enchantments, and value engines to bridge into the late game where it can easily win with its own signature combo.</p>
<p>Leveraging Tivit's ability to make five artifacts on his own every turn, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Time Sieve" href="#" target="_blank">Time Sieve</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> lets you take semi-infinite turns (as many turns are as relevant, anyways).</p>
<h3>Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Yuriko, the Tiger&#039;s Shadow"></div></div>
<p>If we were to have a Tempo deck in cEDH, it's the Tiger's Shadow. Yuriko and her army of Ninjas seek to maximize your Yuriko triggers every turn, caring less about the damage than the card draw that the ability provides.</p>
<p>The damage can sometimes be relevant and set up to be devastating. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vampiric Tutor" href="#" target="_blank">Vampiric Tutor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shadow of Mortality" href="#" target="_blank">Shadow of Mortality</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, resolve the first trigger, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brainstorm" href="#" target="_blank">Brainstorm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in response to the second trigger, put it back on top, dome everyone again. That's good, clean gaming.</p>
<p>Dimir colors allow for counterspells and removal alike, while also giving you the premium win condition every deck wants in Thassa's Oracle. A very, very fun deck to mess around with, especially as Ninjas are printed surprisingly often.</p>
<h3>Sisay, Weatherlight Captain</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sisay, Weatherlight Captain"></div></div>
<p>A complex, five-color combo deck that plays as many legendary creatures is as reasonable. Once you have enough in play, Sisay can simply tutor wins directly into play.</p>
<p>The deck also gets to play a wide range of flexible utility creatures that you can grab in a pinch with Sisay as well. Since it's creature (and planeswalker!) based, Sisay operates on a different axis than most pilots come prepared for. Noncreature interaction is common for most gamers to bring. Creature removal? Much less so.</p>
<p>The current main win line is leveraging <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Oath of Teferi" href="#" target="_blank">Oath of Teferi</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God" href="#" target="_blank">Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aminatou, the Fateshifter" href="#" target="_blank">Aminatou, the Fateshifter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to create infinite flicker effects. From here, there are several cards which win the game, the easiest being using <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Saheeli Rai" href="#" target="_blank">Saheeli Rai</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>'s +1 ability to ping out the table.</p>
<p>I love how many funky cards this deck gets to play; where else are you seeing <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ertai Resurrected" href="#" target="_blank">Ertai Resurrected</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> entering the battlefield out of the library to great effect?</p>
<h3>Magda, Brazen Outlaw</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Magda, Brazen Outlaw"></div></div>
<p>A mono-red combo deck that also plays a high amount of stax pieces and a pile of some of the most unplayable cards you've ever seen. There are many one- and two-mana Dwarfs that you play simply because they make mana for you - and do nothing else at all.</p>
<p>Using those Treasures for Magda's ability, tutor an Artifact Dwarf such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Adaptive Automaton" href="#" target="_blank">Adaptive Automaton</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Clock of Omens" href="#" target="_blank">Clock of Omens</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> into play to make infinite tapped Treasures (which you can still sacrifice to Magda to tutor up actual game winning cards). Huge artifact bombs, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Portal to Phyrexia" href="#" target="_blank">Portal to Phyrexia</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="God-Pharaoh&#039;s Statue" href="#" target="_blank">God-Pharaoh&#039;s Statue</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, also fetchable by the commander, buy time to assemble the engine.</p>


<p>cEDH decks are scattered far and wide across the world wide web. What can we do about that? There are a few different places available.</p>
<p><strong>Interested in data?</strong> <a href="https://edhtop16.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EDHTop16</a> pulls down most data from large cEDH tournaments, presents the highest performers, and then gives you the deck lists of the highest performers for those specific decks. It's where I go to find what people who think a <em>ton</em> about the format and then get results are doing.</p>
<p><strong>Interested in curation?</strong> <a href="https://cedh-decklist-database.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The cEDH Decklist Database</a> is a long-term community project that takes a more curated approach to decks, with teams of judges and similar that narrow down to a much smaller list of decks - also a good place to find Discord communities and Primers for specific decks.</p>


<p>Often, a hard part of getting into cEDH can come from being surprised by the different phases of the game that present themselves in most, if not all, matches. While not all games are made the same, they often have a similar tenor that I find fits neatly into the early game, mid game, and late game.</p>
<p>I'll provide a quick and dirty overview of what may happen in these sections of the game, what one may have to look out for during them, and what you may aim for by that point, along with a rough turn range for each.</p>
<h2>The Early Game (Turns 1-2)</h2>
<p>The early turns are mainly for one thing: set up and development of your first major piece. Players dump out the mana rocks in their opening hands then turn that first burst of mana into something impactful: an unrestricted tutor, a Mystic Remora, a Rhystic Study, one (or both) of their commanders, a deck-specific impact piece (two one-drop Dwarves for Magda, for example).</p>
<p>Usually, nothing <em>too</em> dangerous happens from the jump, though the most powerful of card advantage engines (e.g., Rhystic Study) are often worth countering to save yourself the headache. Also, the occasional win attempt will happen here as well from a deck like Rograkh/Silas or any Esper deck that has the Thassa's Oracle nuts.</p>
<p>Play heads up, don't go shields down!</p>
<h2>The Mid Game (Turns 3-7)</h2>
<p>The middle of the game is where you have to constantly stay on your toes. At this point, everyone has largely executed the plan of their opening hand (your opening hand <em>did</em> have a plan, right? Check out the next section) and are ready to move onto what's next.</p>
<p>In these turns, everyone will make their major win attempts and either be stopped or win the game. Having and using your interaction carefully is an important step during the mid game. If someone isn't explicitly winning the game - or playing something that you think will get them very close - don't bother with a counterspell; you'll need it later.</p>
<p>Depending on the players, the decks, and the seat order, you'll have to find your own window of opportunity to win the game. Finding a window is a tough skill. You have to deduce when your opponents' shields are down - or at least down enough vs. how much interaction you have to protect your win. It's an acquired skill that best comes from reps. The best advice to help build those reps though is just win. Try to win. If it works, it works. If it fails, try to figure out why you didn't win in that situation and try not to go for it in that spot again.</p>
<h2>The Late Game (Turns 8+)</h2>
<p>Late turns in cEDH games are a bit of a mess. Someone has a ton of cards in hand but isn't actually set up to win. Somebody is at four life but somehow hanging on. Everyone has had a major win attempt stopped and there's maybe one total counterspell available at the table. Every spell and every draw step could represent the game finally ending.</p>
<p>Honestly, hold on for dear life, try to build up some incremental advantages, and pray that someone doesn't finally draw the Tainted Pact they've been looking for for four turns when you're not ready for it.</p>


<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Serum Powder"></div></div>
<p>Mulliganing is one of the most important phases in a cEDH game. Not because it's a turn 0/1 format where you can mulligan your way to an insane win, but because what's in your opening hand will define your first several turns - and the trajectory of the rest of your game.</p>
<p>I have two main tips for EDH players coming to cEDH games for the first time:</p>
<ul>
<li>Be aggressive. The London Mulligan (the current mulliganing system) is extremely busted, especially since we also get a free one, letting you look at loads of cards and then sculpting your final hand. Most cEDH decks shouldn't be afraid to go all the way to five cards in hand, if not lower, in pursuit for the perfect start. Why look at seven cards of your deck when you can look at 28?</li>
<li>Keep a hand with a plan. In many EDH games, keeping a hand with lands and spells, usually a curve too, is good enough. Bonus points if there's a Sol Ring. In cEDH, that kind of thinking will have you left in the dust quickly. A hand needs to be able to feature a kind of plan - a good reason for keeping it. "This hand lets me cast my must-have commander on turn one" or "After developing four mana with these rocks on turn one, I'll cast this Vampiric Tutor in my next upkeep to set up Rhystic Study for my draw step."</li>
</ul>
<p>If your hand doesn't have a plan, you'll be floundering quickly. Bonus points if the hand has two plans. And a Sol Ring.</p>


<p>Another often relevant aspect of playing in cEDH games is the concept of playing to your seat. In a multiplayer game of <em>Magic</em> (and in normal <em>Magic</em>, but multiplayer increases the effect), going sooner than other players has a distinct, built-in advantage.</p>
<p>Even if everyone is just hitting their land drops every turn, whoever's playing first will have one mana when other players have none, two mana while other players have one, and so on. They're getting to act while other players have fewer resources to respond - and get to respond with more resources available to players who are acting. They get to take their second turn when everyone else has had only one.</p>
<p>It's a decided resource imbalance that's unfortunately baked into the fabric of most every turn-based game. That's why in cEDH, its important to be extremely wary of this dynamic at all times.</p>
<p>I can't really give you many specific ways to do this, "Play to Your Seat," in this short introductory guide. The best you can do is be vigilant of the resource imbalances that exist and that you can use to your leverage. If you're first, know that you're automatically ahead on velocity over your opponents. This can lead to more successful fast pushes for wins.</p>
<p>If you're fourth, unfortunately, you also have to look explosive to catch up, but it can blow up in your face. Or you can try to go slow instead and wait for everyone else to expend their resources, allowing you to sneak in from behind.</p>
<p>Regardless of where you are at the table, you have to stay vigilant of the resource imbalances present. This is another aspect which is best learned via experience, so get playing and figure it out!</p>


<p>Combos, combos, combos! Many cEDH games are ended with the venerable "I Win Now" button known as combos.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, unless there's a Winota deck at your table or a <em>very</em> restrictive stax deck, the game almost certainly will not end in combat.</p>
<p>Here are the most popular combos you need to know to look out for. There are also some more archetype-specific ones that I won't cover here, but you'll come to know them soon enough.</p>
<h3>Thassa’s Oracle + Demonic Consultation/Tainted Pact</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thassa&#039;s Oracle"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Demonic Consultation"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tainted Pact"></div></div>
<p>The easiest cEDH win condition of all! Cast Thassa’s Oracle ("Thoracle"), then respond to the enters ability with Demonic Consultation or Tainted Pact to exile your entire library (Tainted Pact does come with a deck building restriction of having a 1-of mana base). It’s that easy.</p>
<p>Since it also costs as little as three mana, you’ll usually have mana left over to protect your own win attempt or cast something like Grand Abolisher or Silence before even trying to win. Here’s a special tip too: if you have both Tainted Pact and Demonic Consultation in hand, but no Thassa’s Oracle, use Tainted Pact until you reveal Thassa’s Oracle. Cast Thoracle, then use Demonic Consultation. Boom!</p>
<h3>Underworld Breach + Brain Freeze + Lion’s Eye Diamond/Lotus Petal</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Underworld Breach"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Brain Freeze"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lion&#039;s Eye Diamond"></div></div>
<p>Underworld Breach, Brain Freeze, and LED is another iconic, compact, and hard to disrupt combo.</p>
<p>The loop itself is pretty easy:</p>
<ol>
<li>Cast Underworld Breach</li>
<li>Cast Lion's Eye Diamond</li>
<li>Crack Lion's Eye Diamond for blue, discarding your hand</li>
<li>Exile cards to cast Brain Freeze (or LED if you have enough extra cards) from your graveyard for its escape cost (exiling three cards) to fill up more cards in your graveyard</li>
<li>You can alternate casting LED and using it to make blue mana to cast Brain Freeze, building up an arbitrary Storm count which you can then use to mill out all of your opponents.</li>
</ol>
<p>If for some reason this doesn't work, you can usually empty your whole library and then cast Thassa's Oracle (also from the graveyard). One reason this combo is so strong is that once it gets going, you have access to all of the interaction in your graveyard (from earlier in the game or from milling) available to you immediately, effectively raising the size of your hand.</p>
<p>If your opponent puts an Underworld Breach on the stack, it's a Red Alert of the highest priority.</p>
<h3>Animate Dead Loops</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Animate Dead"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Abdel Adrian, Gorion&#039;s Ward"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Worldgorger Dragon"></div></div>
<p>Animate Dead is a really, really weird <em>Magic</em> card. A reanimation Aura enchantment that sends the creature back to the graveyard if it leaves play, it's able to be used together with Abdel Adrian or Worldgorger Dragon to win the game.</p>
<p>When Abdel Adrian enters, you can use his ability to exile all of your permanents... including Animate Dead. Animate Dead leaves play, Abdel Adrian is killed, returning all of your nonland permanents to play, which lets you reanimate Abdel with Animate Dead, you get the idea.</p>
<p>This lets you make infinite 1/1s while also untapping each of your non-land mana sources each time, usually netting infinite mana. Winning the game from there is trivial, hopefully. Worldgorger Dragon, on the other hand, exiles all of your permanents on his own, letting you make infinite mana easily with lands! This is a bit of an older combo set, and a bit of a hard one to set up, but is still popular in Mardu decks, some Grixis decks, and any deck looking for just one more way to win.</p>
<h3>Deck-Specific Combos</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Time Sieve"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Devoted Druid"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Helm of the Host"></div></div>
<p>Deck-specific combos is an all encompassing bucket for a <em>lot</em> of combos that you will lose to. Outside of the three- and four-color value pile type decks, many players are going to be packing some form of unique combo to their commander. Being able to be part of a combo is an important part of Commander playability in the first place.</p>
<p>I can't list them all, obviously, but some of the most popular (past and present) are:</p>
<ul>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tivit, Seller of Secrets" href="#" target="_blank">Tivit, Seller of Secrets</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> + <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Time Sieve" href="#" target="_blank">Time Sieve</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Godo, Bandit Warlord" href="#" target="_blank">Godo, Bandit Warlord</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> + <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Helm of the Host" href="#" target="_blank">Helm of the Host</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Devoted Druid" href="#" target="_blank">Devoted Druid</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> + <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hazel&#039;s Brewmaster" href="#" target="_blank">Hazel&#039;s Brewmaster</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Najeela, the Blade-Blossom" href="#" target="_blank">Najeela, the Blade-Blossom</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> + <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Derevi, Empyrial Tactician" href="#" target="_blank">Derevi, Empyrial Tactician</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator" href="#" target="_blank">Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> + <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Glint-Horn Buccaneer" href="#" target="_blank">Glint-Horn Buccaneer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
</ul>
<p>Once you lose to one of these once though, you won't forget it.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>


<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rule of Law"></div></div>
<p>How should you behave in a cEDH game?</p>
<p>Be excellent to one another. It's really just that easy, right? Hopefully. cEDH, while it takes itself a bit more seriously than casual Commander, is still, at the end of the day, all about having fun through the frame of aiming for winning.</p>
<p>The lens of competition can sometimes make things get heated. Tempers can pop up, someone will disagree with a play, someone may be upset by one of their <em>own</em> plays in retrospect. This is natural, especially since a sit-down game is missing some of the natural outlets for frustration found in some other methods of competing (e.g., literally moving your body).</p>
<p>Keeping a cool head is not only going to help you perform better in the game, its just plain nice.</p>
<p>Take a reasonable amount of time for your game actions. Obviously, in high pressure spots, you need some time to think or ask other players something. But its imperative to keep play moving along at a reasonable pace.</p>
<p>Think about your turn. I've said it multiple times already - in most cEDH games, you should have a plan at all times. Use that plan to move your turn and the actions you take on others' turns in a specific direction. Meaningless umming and uh-ing to try to gain a few percentage points isn't worth slowing down the game. Lets play another one.</p>
<p>In a more "casual" cEDH setting (oxymoron, I know), don't be afraid to help each other out a little bit. Some of the most fun you can have in a cEDH game is helping another player find the line or have the table brainstorm the way that someone can be stopped or win through all of the craziness. Team work makes the dream work.</p>
<p>Treat other people's cards well. Although there are plenty of proxies around, there are a load of <em>very</em> nice cards around too. This is normal EDH etiquette, but it's especially true when the guy who asks you to cut his deck is sliding something like $12,000+ of foil across the table to you.</p>
<p>Have fun, dang it. Competing can and should be fun, or at minimum enjoyable <em>on average</em>. Find a way to have a great time or else you won't be playing for long. Granted, it may not be for you, and that's okay. But if you're going to spend time doing it, it's worth your while to figure out a way to engage healthily.</p>
<p>If you can do that, it helps out with the other things listed above.</p>


Intro to cEDH

<p>Learn how to master Scryfall syntax alongside EDHREC to brew the Commander deck of your dreams! </p>


<p>Scryfall is, in the words of the site's creators, "a powerful <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> card search" engine.</p>
<div id="attachment_155851" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/scryfallheader.png"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-155851" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-155851" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/scryfallheader-1024x239.png" alt="" width="1024" height="239" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/scryfallheader-1024x239.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/scryfallheader-300x70.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/scryfallheader-768x179.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/scryfallheader-1536x359.png 1536w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/scryfallheader.png 1628w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-155851" class="wp-caption-text">Scryfall homepage search bar</p></div>
<p>Scryfall allows users to find groups of cards that meet a given set of criteria, learn specific categories that a given card falls into, and even see official rulings associated with a card.</p>


<p>Let's start with the basics. Scryfall can be used just like Google's search engine if you'd like to just look up cards by their name.</p>
<h3>Search for Cards by Cycle Phrase</h3>
<p>For example, if you wanted to search for all the cards in <em>Scourge</em>'s "Decree" cycle, you would simply look up "Decree of" in Scryfall's search bar.</p>
<p>This nets the five cards you're looking for, each with their most recent printing displayed.</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/decreescryfall.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-155854" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/decreescryfall-1024x505.png" alt="" width="1024" height="505" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/decreescryfall-1024x505.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/decreescryfall-300x148.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/decreescryfall-768x379.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/decreescryfall-1536x757.png 1536w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/decreescryfall.png 2032w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></p>
<h3>Search for Cards by Set</h3>
<p>If you wanted to look at all the cards from <em>Scourge</em>, not just the Decree cycle, Scryfall provides that functionality too.</p>
<p>By typing "<strong>s:scg</strong>", "<strong>set:scg</strong>", "<strong>s:scourge</strong>", or <strong>set:scourge</strong>" into the search bar, you're able to see all the cards from this 20-year old set.</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/scourgesearchscryfall.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-155853" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/scourgesearchscryfall-1024x513.png" alt="" width="1024" height="513" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/scourgesearchscryfall-1024x513.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/scourgesearchscryfall-300x150.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/scourgesearchscryfall-768x385.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/scourgesearchscryfall-1536x770.png 1536w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/scourgesearchscryfall-2048x1027.png 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></p>
<p>If you wanted to build an Exhibition (Bracket 1) deck themed around <em>Scourge</em>, this would provide you with a nice starting point.</p>
<h3>Search for Cards by Keyword</h3>
<p>Let's delve a little bit deeper into Scryfall's capabilities. Looking through the card gallery, we can see that <em>Scourge</em> has a decent number of cards with the keyword "cycling" on them.</p>
<p>Let's say that we really like what cycling does for our deck, so we'd like to narrow our search to only include the cards from <em>Scourge</em> that have the ability to cycle themselves.</p>
<p>By typing "<strong>s:scg keyword:cycling</strong>" or "<strong>s:scg kw:cycling</strong>" into the search bar, you'd be able to find all 19 of the cards in this set that have the cycling ability.</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/cyclingexample.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-155852" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/cyclingexample-1024x500.png" alt="" width="1024" height="500" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/cyclingexample-1024x500.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/cyclingexample-300x147.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/cyclingexample-768x375.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/cyclingexample-1536x751.png 1536w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/cyclingexample.png 2046w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></p>


<p>Scryfall can do much more than just search for keywords and sets. Here's some other common functionalities.</p>
<h2>Search for Cards by Color Identity</h2>
<h3>ci:color or commander:color</h3>
<div id="attachment_155856" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/bugshot.png"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-155856" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-155856 size-large" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/bugshot-1024x506.png" alt="" width="1024" height="506" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/bugshot-1024x506.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/bugshot-300x148.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/bugshot-768x380.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/bugshot-1536x759.png 1536w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/bugshot.png 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-155856" class="wp-caption-text">commander:sultai (or ci:BUG)</p></div>
<p>These search terms narrow the field of available cards to those that fit into a given color identity.</p>
<p>This supports both WUBRG lettering and common phrases, so if you wanted to find all possible cards that could fit into a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Wise Mothman" href="#" target="_blank">The Wise Mothman</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck, you could search for <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=commander%3Asultai"><strong>commander:sultai</strong> (or <strong>ci:BUG</strong>) and find 16,798 cards</a>.</p>
<h2>Search for Cards by Oracle Text</h2>
<h3> o:"word"</h3>
<div id="attachment_155861" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/millsultaishot.png"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-155861" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-155861 size-large" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/millsultaishot-1024x504.png" alt="" width="1024" height="504" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/millsultaishot-1024x504.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/millsultaishot-300x148.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/millsultaishot-768x378.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/millsultaishot-1536x756.png 1536w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/millsultaishot.png 2036w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-155861" class="wp-caption-text">fo:mill commander:sultai</p></div>
<p>This pulls up all cards with a given word or phrase in their Oracle text, the most up-to-date rules text available for a given card.</p>
<p>For example, if you wanted to find all cards that mention mill for a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Wise Mothman" href="#" target="_blank">The Wise Mothman</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck, you'd search for <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=fo%3Amill+commander%3Asultai"><strong>fo:mill commander:sultai</strong> and find 476 cards</a>.</p>
<p>As a quick note, if you'd like to include the reminder text on cards in your search, you can use "fo" instead of "o." For this search, that "fo" cards with dredge printed on them to be included in our results.</p>
<h2>Search for Cards by Power, Toughness, or Mana Value</h2>
<h3>Pow=X, tou&lt;X, CMC&gt;x, etc.</h3>
<div id="attachment_155863" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/powsultai.png"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-155863" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-155863 size-large" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/powsultai-1024x499.png" alt="" width="1024" height="499" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/powsultai-1024x499.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/powsultai-300x146.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/powsultai-768x374.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/powsultai-1536x749.png 1536w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/powsultai-2048x998.png 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-155863" class="wp-caption-text">pow&gt;1 tou=3 cmc&gt;2 commander:sultai</p></div>
<p>These terms let us find creature cards with power, toughness, or mana value that fit certain numerical parameters.</p>
<p>For example, if we'd like <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> creatures with power greater than 1, toughness equal to 3, and mana value greater than 2, we can search for <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=pow%3E1+tou%3D3+cmc%3E2+commander%3Asultai"><strong>pow&gt;1 tou=3 cmc&gt;2 commander:sultai</strong> and find 1,456 cards</a>.</p>
<h2>Search for Cards by Type</h2>
<h3>t:type</h3>
<p>This term lets us narrow our search to cards of a specific type. Let's go back to our Mothman deck one more time. If we want to search for cards that mention milling and are creatures, we'd look up <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=t%3Acreature+fo%3Amill+ci%3ABUG" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>t:creature fo:mill ci:BUG</strong> and find 259 cards</a>.</p>
<div id="attachment_155985" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/t-creature-fo-mill-ci-BUG.png"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-155985" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-155985 size-large" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/t-creature-fo-mill-ci-BUG-1024x514.png" alt="t:creature fo:mill ci:BUG" width="1024" height="514" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/t-creature-fo-mill-ci-BUG-1024x514.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/t-creature-fo-mill-ci-BUG-300x150.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/t-creature-fo-mill-ci-BUG-768x385.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/t-creature-fo-mill-ci-BUG.png 1264w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-155985" class="wp-caption-text">t:creature fo:mill ci:BUG</p></div>
<h2>Search for Split Cards and Modal Double-Faced Cards (MDFCs)</h2>
<h3>is:split, is:mdfc, etc.</h3>
<p>These are special search terms that only apply to a small groups of cards. <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=is%3Asplit" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>is:split</strong> shows us all 122 split cards</a> (which allow its caster to choose one or both halves of the card), and the <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=is%3Amdfc" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>is:mdfc</strong> tag shows us all 88 cards</a> that let players choose a side of the card to play with.</p>
<p>All of these operators can be used with <strong>and</strong>, <strong>or</strong>, and <strong>parentheses</strong> to allow for more complex searches.</p>
<p>For example, if you're building a split-card-focused Spellslinger variant of The Wise Mothman and want to explore your card pool, you can search for <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=%28t%3Ainstant+or+t%3Asorcery%29+is%3Asplit" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>(t:instant or t:sorcery) is:split commander:sultai</strong> and find 24 cards</a>.</p>
<div id="attachment_155986" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/t-instant-or-t-sorcery-is-split-commander-sultai.png"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-155986" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-155986 size-large" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/t-instant-or-t-sorcery-is-split-commander-sultai-1024x516.png" alt="(t:instant or t:sorcery) is:split commander:sultai" width="1024" height="516" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/t-instant-or-t-sorcery-is-split-commander-sultai-1024x516.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/t-instant-or-t-sorcery-is-split-commander-sultai-300x151.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/t-instant-or-t-sorcery-is-split-commander-sultai-768x387.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/t-instant-or-t-sorcery-is-split-commander-sultai.png 1258w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-155986" class="wp-caption-text">(t:instant or t:sorcery) is:split commander:sultai</p></div>
<h2>Search for Commander-Legal Cards</h2>
<h3><strong>legal:edh or f:edh</strong></h3>
<p>For EDHREC users, it's important to note that not every card is legal in EDH. Some of you may have noticed that our previous searches included cards legal in Alchemy, a digital-only format. To narrow our search to Commander-legal cards, we can append <strong>legal:edh or f:edh</strong> to any of our searches. And, if you'd prefer to view cards in EDHREC order (instead of in alphabetical order), you can add <strong>order:edhrec</strong> to your searches too.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<div id="attachment_155987" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/commander-sultai-legal-edh-order-edhrec.png"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-155987" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-155987 size-large" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/commander-sultai-legal-edh-order-edhrec-1024x509.png" alt="commander:sultai legal:edh order:edhrec" width="1024" height="509" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/commander-sultai-legal-edh-order-edhrec-1024x509.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/commander-sultai-legal-edh-order-edhrec-300x149.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/commander-sultai-legal-edh-order-edhrec-768x382.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/commander-sultai-legal-edh-order-edhrec.png 1267w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-155987" class="wp-caption-text">commander:sultai legal:edh order:edhrec</p></div>


<p>As some of you may know, Scryfall has another level to it: Otags.</p>
<p>This community-based card-tagging system lets users ascribe specific labels to cards, letting the whole <em>Magic</em> community search for cards with common labels.</p>
<p>When I started using Otags in my searches, I became a significantly stronger deckbuilder. This system isn't perfect (once in a while a card may be missing a tag that it should have), but it's generally extremely reliable and improves the deckbuilding experience drastically.</p>
<p>Let's look at a few of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Wise Mothman" href="#" target="_blank">The Wise Mothman</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>'s tags:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>synergy-mill</strong></li>
<li><strong>mill-opponent</strong> and <strong>mill-self</strong></li>
<li><strong>gives-pp-counters</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>These tags can give us a lot of direction for a deck built around this commander. First, we can see that this commander mills both us and our opponents.</p>
<p>So, we're going to make sure to take advantage of both our graveyard and our opponents' graveyards.</p>
<p>Then, we can see that this card gives us a benefit when cards are milled. So we'll make sure that we fill the deck with other ways to mill players to trigger our commander's abilities more often.</p>
<p>And, lastly, we see that Mothman hands out +1/+1 counters. So we'll make sure to have enough creatures on board to take advantage of that power and toughness buff.</p>
<p>Just by looking at these tags, we've already got a solid game plan if we were to build this deck from scratch.</p>
<p>Let's explore these tags, and a few related tags, to identify some key cards for this deck:</p>
<div id="attachment_155988" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/otag-synergy-mill-commander-sultai-legal-edh-order-edhrec.png"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-155988" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-155988 size-large" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/otag-synergy-mill-commander-sultai-legal-edh-order-edhrec-1024x511.png" alt="otag:synergy-mill commander:sultai legal:edh order:edhrec" width="1024" height="511" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/otag-synergy-mill-commander-sultai-legal-edh-order-edhrec-1024x511.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/otag-synergy-mill-commander-sultai-legal-edh-order-edhrec-300x150.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/otag-synergy-mill-commander-sultai-legal-edh-order-edhrec-768x383.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/otag-synergy-mill-commander-sultai-legal-edh-order-edhrec.png 1263w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-155988" class="wp-caption-text">otag:synergy-mill commander:sultai legal:edh order:edhrec</p></div>
<ul>
<li><b>synergy-mill</b>
<ul>
<li>We'll want more ways to take advantage of the mill that our commander supplies, and we're looking towards other cards with the synergy-mill tag for that. After searching for <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=otag%3Asynergy-mill+commander%3Asultai+legal%3Aedh+order%3Aedhrec" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>otag:synergy-mill commander:sultai legal:edh order:edhrec</strong>, we find 71 relevant cards</a>. Among those, here are some of the best ones:</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hedge Shredder"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Zellix, Sanity Flayer"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Colossal Grave-Reaver"></div></div>
<div id="attachment_155990" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/otag-mill-opponent-or-otag-mill-self-or-otag-mill-commander-sultai-legal-edh-order-edhrec.png"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-155990" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-155990 size-large" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/otag-mill-opponent-or-otag-mill-self-or-otag-mill-commander-sultai-legal-edh-order-edhrec-1024x526.png" alt="(otag:mill-opponent or otag:mill-self or otag:mill) commander:sultai legal:edh order:edhrec" width="1024" height="526" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/otag-mill-opponent-or-otag-mill-self-or-otag-mill-commander-sultai-legal-edh-order-edhrec-1024x526.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/otag-mill-opponent-or-otag-mill-self-or-otag-mill-commander-sultai-legal-edh-order-edhrec-300x154.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/otag-mill-opponent-or-otag-mill-self-or-otag-mill-commander-sultai-legal-edh-order-edhrec-768x395.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/otag-mill-opponent-or-otag-mill-self-or-otag-mill-commander-sultai-legal-edh-order-edhrec.png 1263w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-155990" class="wp-caption-text">(otag:mill-opponent or otag:mill-self or otag:mill) commander:sultai legal:edh order:edhrec</p></div>
<ul>
<li><strong> mill-opponent</strong> and <strong>mill-self </strong>and<strong> mill</strong>
<ul>
<li>Because our commander really likes when we mill cards, we're going to include even more ways to get cards into 'yards. Let's search for <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=%28otag%3Amill-opponent+or+otag%3Amill-self+or+otag%3Amill%29+commander%3Asultai+legal%3Aedh+order%3Aedhrec&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=edhrec"><strong>(otag:mill-opponent or otag:mill-self or otag:mill) commander:sultai legal:edh order:edhrec</strong>, and find 900 relevant cards</a>. Here are some of my favorites:</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Breach the Multiverse"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ruin Crab"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mesmeric Orb"></div></div>
<div id="attachment_155991" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/otag-pp-counters-matter-commander-sultai-legal-edh-order-edhrec.png"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-155991" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-155991" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/otag-pp-counters-matter-commander-sultai-legal-edh-order-edhrec-1024x513.png" alt="otag:pp-counters-matter commander:sultai legal:edh order:edhrec" width="1024" height="513" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/otag-pp-counters-matter-commander-sultai-legal-edh-order-edhrec-1024x513.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/otag-pp-counters-matter-commander-sultai-legal-edh-order-edhrec-300x150.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/otag-pp-counters-matter-commander-sultai-legal-edh-order-edhrec-768x385.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/otag-pp-counters-matter-commander-sultai-legal-edh-order-edhrec.png 1257w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-155991" class="wp-caption-text">otag:pp-counters-matter commander:sultai legal:edh order:edhrec</p></div>
<ul>
<li><strong>gives-pp-counters</strong>
<ul>
<li>Lastly, our commander gives out +1/+1 counters to our creatures. Let's look at cards with the "pp-counters-matter" tag to see how we can take advantage of that. A search for <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=otag%3App-counters-matter+commander%3Asultai+legal%3Aedh+order%3Aedhrec&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=edhrec"><strong>otag:pp-counters-matter commander:sultai legal:edh order:edhrec</strong> gives us 261 results</a>, including some great cards like:</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ozolith, the Shattered Spire"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Evolution Witness"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Incubation Druid"></div></div>


<p>While it's a lot of fun to use Otags to fill out decks with synergistic pieces, every Commander deck still needs ramp, removal, and card draw.</p>
<p>When you're close to finishing a deck, you can search Scryfall for <strong>otag:ramp</strong>, <strong>otag:removal</strong>, and <strong>otag:card-advantage</strong> within your commander's color identity to ensure that you've included all the best pieces.</p>
<p>And, as an added bonus, <a href="https://archidekt.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Archidekt</a>'s online deckbuilder allows users to use Scryfall syntax to filter cards within their deck. You can use this feature to check your ramp, removal, and card draw counts before heading to Scryfall to fill in any gaps that may have developed over time.</p>
<p>Looking one final time at <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Wise Mothman" href="#" target="_blank">The Wise Mothman</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, here's some on-theme picks from Scryfall to fill out these categories in our deck:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=fo%3Amill+otag%3Aramp+commander%3Asultai&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=edhrec"><strong>fo:mill otag:ramp commander:sultai</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Skull Prophet"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="World Shaper"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Aftermath Analyst"></div></div>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=fo%3Amill+otag%3Aremoval+commander%3Asultai&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=edhrec"><strong>fo:mill otag:removal commander:sultai</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Witherbloom Command"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Grist, the Hunger Tide"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Necron Deathmark"></div></div>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=fo%3Amill+otag%3Acard-advantage+commander%3Asultai&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=edhrec"><strong>fo:mill otag:card-advantage commander:sultai</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ripples of Undeath"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Six"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Palantír of Orthanc"></div></div>


<p>There's even more to love about Scryfall, far more than can be covered in just one article. The site even allows <a href="https://www3.ntu.edu.sg/home/ehchua/programming/howto/Regexe.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">regular expression (RegEx) searches</a> for super specific card-finding.</p>
<p>The majority of players will do just fine using Otags and other search terms to find the cards they need for their deck, but if you're interested in going deeper, here's a few more cool things that Scryfall can do:</p>
<ul>
<li>USD&gt;X, EUR&lt;Y, TIX=Z
<ul>
<li>These terms allow users to narrow searches to card prices that fit a certain criteria in US Dollars, Euros, and even MTGO tickets.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>art:X
<ul>
<li>This allows users to find card art that contains something specific. For example, a search for <strong>art:"dutch angle"</strong> will turn up 1561 cards with a tilted perspective in their art.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>is:filterland, is:painland, etc.
<ul>
<li>These terms allow users to search cards by some community-created nicknames. This, like <strong>is:mdfc</strong>, can be extremely useful when finishing up your mana base.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>And, for those of you who'd like to learn even more about Scryfall, you can check out <a href="https://scryfall.com/docs/syntax" target="_blank" rel="noopener">their syntax documentation online</a>.</p>


Guide to Scryfall Syntax

<p>New to EDHREC or unsure of how some of its features will work for you? Here is a simple guide to the site's core features. Have other questions about the site? <a href="https://edhrec.com/faq">Check out our dedicated FAQ page for more information and how to contact us</a>.</p>


<p>EDHREC is a versatile resource for all types of deck builders. At its core, EDHREC is a deck analysis and recommendation tool for the Commander format of <em>Magic: The Gathering</em>.</p>
<p>EDHREC compiles deck lists from popular deck-building websites, and computes data from those lists to help players build decks.</p>
<p>Whether you're upgrading a freshly unwrapped preconstructed deck, copying a ready-to-go netlist or expressing your own unique and original brewing style, EDHREC has features to help you make informed card choices.</p>
<p>Also, we produce a variety of professional-grade, regularly scheduled content. You can read <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles">articles on EDHREC.com</a>, listen to the <a href="https://rss.com/podcasts/bolcast/">Am I the Bolcast</a> podcast, or watch the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/EDHRECast">EDHRECast on YouTube</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrec.com/newsletter">Our primary newsletter, EDHRECap</a>, is your dedicated recap of the week's news and deck techs sent free to your inbox every Monday and Thursday.</p>


<p>EDHREC collects deck data from <a href="http://www.archidekt.com">Archidekt</a>, <a href="http://www.moxfield.com">Moxfield</a>, and <a href="http://www.scryfall.com">Scryfall</a>, and new data often appears on our pages within a few days.</p>
<p>Updating your deck a bunch of times does not make duplicates of the deck in our database.</p>


<p>There's a lot of data on EDHREC, and there are several ways to approach it. Before you get lost in the twists and turns, take a little time to get familiar with the interface.</p>
<p>From left to right, the main menu includes a link to the home page, dropdown menus for primary features, a clipboard, search bar and optional account access.</p>
<div id="attachment_154619" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/EDHREC-Menu.jpg"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-154619" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-154619 size-large" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/EDHREC-Menu-1024x47.jpg" alt="A screenshot of the EDHREC menu bar." width="1024" height="47" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/EDHREC-Menu-1024x47.jpg 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/EDHREC-Menu-300x14.jpg 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/EDHREC-Menu-768x35.jpg 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/EDHREC-Menu-1536x70.jpg 1536w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/EDHREC-Menu.jpg 1901w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-154619" class="wp-caption-text">It's easy to get lost, browsing thousands of commanders and tens of thousands of cards. The menu bar is your dungeon map, compass and key all in one convenient package.</p></div>
<hr />
<h3>Use the Clipboard!</h3>
<p>As you're browsing EDHREC, you can click the "<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>+</strong></span>" sign over any card to add it to the clipboard. The + sign appears when you hover over the card with a computer cursor, or after a single tap on the + sign on a mobile device.</p>
<div id="attachment_155533" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-06-at-10.17.36 AM.png"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-155533" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-155533 size-medium" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-06-at-10.17.36 AM-300x127.png" alt="image showing the plus sign after hovering over a card on desktop" width="300" height="127" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-06-at-10.17.36 AM-300x127.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-06-at-10.17.36 AM.png 506w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-155533" class="wp-caption-text">Desktop view</p></div>
<p>Your clipboard is cached on your current device, and you can conveniently export the clipboard's contents as text, or directly to certain deckbuilding applications.</p>
<p>Once a card has been added to your clipboard, you'll get a confirmation check and the number will be added to your clipboard tally next to the search bar.</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/clipboardplus.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-155535 size-medium" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/clipboardplus-300x81.png" alt="clipboard add confirmation" width="300" height="81" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/clipboardplus-300x81.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/clipboardplus.png 504w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p>
<div id="attachment_155536" style="width: 410px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/clipboardbar.png"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-155536" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-155536" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/clipboardbar-300x22.png" alt="clipboard confirmation near search bar" width="400" height="29" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/clipboardbar-300x22.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/clipboardbar-1024x75.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/clipboardbar-768x56.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/clipboardbar.png 1172w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-155536" class="wp-caption-text">Confirmation for card(s) added to clipboard.</p></div>


<h3>Signing into EDHREC</h3>
<p><a href="https://edhrec.com/signin?redirect=/signin">Signing in</a> to EDHREC gives you a few customization options for browsing the site.</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/signinedhrec.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-155818" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/signinedhrec-1024x700.png" alt="signinedhrecscreen " width="1024" height="700" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/signinedhrec-1024x700.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/signinedhrec-300x205.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/signinedhrec-768x525.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/signinedhrec.png 1232w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></p>
<h3>Patreon status and connection</h3>
<p>Once you're signed in, you should see your Patreon status (if any) as well as options to change your password and sign out.</p>
<h3>Toolbar site settings</h3>
<p>If you're signed in, you also get access to more options within the settings section of the toolbar.</p>
<div id="attachment_155821" style="width: 280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/randomcontactsettings.png"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-155821" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-155821" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/randomcontactsettings.png" alt="" width="270" height="60" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-155821" class="wp-caption-text">(Left-right) random card, contact, settings</p></div>
<h3>EDHREC retail affiliate price settings</h3>
<p>If you click on settings, the signed in options now contain retail pricing filters and salt scores (if desired).</p>
<p>Note that EDHREC is affiliated with multiple retail affiliates in and outside of the US, and you can filter these options (or for Magic Online/MTGO) in these settings.</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/settingspricing.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-155823" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/settingspricing.png" alt="" width="972" height="944" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/settingspricing.png 972w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/settingspricing-300x291.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/settingspricing-768x746.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 972px) 100vw, 972px" /></a></p>
<h3>How to toggle Dark Mode for EDHREC</h3>
<p>From here, you can also toggle Dark Mode on or off.</p>
<div id="attachment_155826" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/darkmode-scaled.png"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-155826" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-155826 size-large" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/darkmode-1024x271.png" alt="" width="1024" height="271" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/darkmode-1024x271.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/darkmode-300x80.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/darkmode-768x204.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/darkmode-1536x407.png 1536w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/darkmode-2048x543.png 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-155826" class="wp-caption-text">Dark Mode on</p></div>
<div id="attachment_155827" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/lightmode-scaled.png"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-155827" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-155827" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/lightmode-1024x280.png" alt="" width="1024" height="280" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/lightmode-1024x280.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/lightmode-300x82.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/lightmode-768x210.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/lightmode-1536x421.png 1536w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/lightmode-2048x561.png 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-155827" class="wp-caption-text">Dark Mode off</p></div>


<p><a href="https://www.patreon.com/edhrec">EDHREC's Patreon</a> is a great way to support the development of the site and get access to some advanced features for Patrons only.</p>
<p>You can join for free or with a paid subscription that gives access to various features, with two paid subscription options:</p>
<div id="attachment_155895" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/patreonperks.png"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-155895" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-155895" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/patreonperks-1024x865.png" alt="" width="1024" height="865" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/patreonperks-1024x865.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/patreonperks-300x253.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/patreonperks-768x649.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/patreonperks-1536x1297.png 1536w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/patreonperks.png 1584w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-155895" class="wp-caption-text">Patreon perks include Uncommon and Rare support tiers</p></div>
<h3>Uncommon</h3>
<p><strong>$2 USD/mo</strong></p>
<div class="sc-9cf63b2c-1 fdXOlh">
<div class="cm-VzrHRj cm-dupTbP cm-NAbYEF cm-TOsLDU cm-ThmtRO cm-GGZhvK">
<div>
<ul>
<li>Ad-free website layout</li>
<li>Access to our private Discord</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<h3>Rare</h3>
<p><strong>$5 USD/mo</strong></p>
<div class="sc-9cf63b2c-1 fdXOlh">
<div class="cm-VzrHRj cm-dupTbP cm-NAbYEF cm-TOsLDU cm-ThmtRO cm-GGZhvK">
<div>
<ul>
<li>Ad-free website layout</li>
<li>Card art selector</li>
<li>Access to "Load More" on Recs</li>
<li>Access to experimental features before they're available to anyone else. The current experimental feature is on-card Advanced Filters.</li>
<li>Access to our private Discord, including an exclusive channel where we test new website features and share ideas</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>By supporting EDHREC on Patreon, you'll also be among the first to know about any new Patreon-exclusive features or site updates.</p>


<p>The figurehead of every Commander deck is a legend you play from the Command Zone. Commanders determine a deck's color identity, and most commander decks are built to capitalize on the commander's abilities.</p>
<p>The tools and content on EDHREC are dedicated to <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/how-to-choose-your-commander">helping you choose</a> this most essential card to lead your Commander deck.</p>
<p>If you already know the card you're looking for, you can simply type the name in our search bar.</p>
<div id="attachment_153514" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-12.09.24 PM.png"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-153514" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-153514 size-medium" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-12.09.24 PM-300x255.png" alt="edhrec searchbar variant" width="300" height="255" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-12.09.24 PM-300x255.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-12.09.24 PM-768x653.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-12.09.24 PM.png 816w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-153514" class="wp-caption-text">The search bar includes an autocomplete function.</p></div>
<p>There are over two thousand possible commanders, and that's not counting the numerous possible partner pairings. EDHREC has tools to help you break past the decision paralysis and enjoy the journey of building a deck.</p>
<h3>Top Commanders</h3>
<p>The EDHREC home page features a list of the most popular commanders other players built in the last week. This list may change rapidly during spoilers for a new set, and it tends to be fairly stable between set releases. The home page also spotlights one lucky <strong>Commander of the Day</strong>.</p>
<div id="attachment_153491" style="width: 286px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/topcommandershomepage.png"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-153491" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-153491 size-medium" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/topcommandershomepage-276x300.png" alt="top commanders weekly homepage screenshot" width="276" height="300" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/topcommandershomepage-276x300.png 276w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/topcommandershomepage.png 610w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 276px) 100vw, 276px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-153491" class="wp-caption-text">The list of Top Commanders Weekly list updates frequently with new data.</p></div>
<hr />
<div id="attachment_155213" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/acornganger.jpeg"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-155213" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-155213" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/acornganger.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="434" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/acornganger.jpeg 535w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/acornganger-207x300.jpeg 207w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-155213" class="wp-caption-text">The Commander of the Day is randomly selected.</p></div>
<p>To view more Commanders based on popularity, you can check out the <strong>Top Commanders</strong> page under the Commanders menu. This menu also allows you to browse Commanders by Partner variations and color identities.</p>
<p>Browsing by color identity is easy and straightforward. However, one of the key aspects of EDHREC is the ranking of cards by popularity.</p>
<p>Viewing possible commanders in order of popularity can help you jump to the top of the power creep heap, or dig deep for something unconventional.</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-12.26.03 PM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-153516 aligncenter" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-12.26.03 PM-230x300.png" alt="top commanders dropdown" width="230" height="300" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-12.26.03 PM-230x300.png 230w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-20-at-12.26.03 PM.png 430w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 230px) 100vw, 230px" /></a></p>
<p>The default view of the <strong>Top Commanders </strong>page shows the most popular commanders of the last two years.</p>
<p>There are tabs to filter <strong>Top Commanders</strong> by <strong>Past Month</strong> and <strong>Past Week</strong>. The filter menu also gives us a bunch of other options to better sort cards to our needs.</p>
<div id="attachment_153517" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/11bee1d2-cace-4d6f-8be1-7770296791ec.png"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-153517" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-153517 size-large" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/11bee1d2-cace-4d6f-8be1-7770296791ec-1024x162.png" alt="top commanders menu" width="1024" height="162" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/11bee1d2-cace-4d6f-8be1-7770296791ec-1024x162.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/11bee1d2-cace-4d6f-8be1-7770296791ec-300x48.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/11bee1d2-cace-4d6f-8be1-7770296791ec-768x122.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/11bee1d2-cace-4d6f-8be1-7770296791ec-1536x243.png 1536w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/11bee1d2-cace-4d6f-8be1-7770296791ec-2048x324.png 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-153517" class="wp-caption-text">You may change views between card images, tables and text. This menu also allows you to group, sort and filter the results. Give it a try!</p></div>
<h6 style="text-align: center;"></h6>


<p>You chose a commander. Now what? Let's take <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Oloro, Ageless Ascetic" href="#" target="_blank">Oloro, Ageless Ascetic</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for an example, and explore the options and features <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders/oloro-ageless-ascetic">on a commander page</a>.</p>
<div id="attachment_154789" style="width: 772px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Oloro-Commander-Numbered.jpg"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-154789" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-154789 size-full" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Oloro-Commander-Numbered.jpg" alt="A screenshot of the Oloro, Ageless Ascetic commander page on EDHREC." width="762" height="458" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Oloro-Commander-Numbered.jpg 762w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Oloro-Commander-Numbered-300x180.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 762px) 100vw, 762px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-154789" class="wp-caption-text">A commander page is organized into boxes with functions.</p></div>
<p>The Commander page is divided into boxes of buttons that are designed to help you build a deck.</p>
<ul>
<li>Box 1 features the card image with the commander's deck count and rank compared to every other commander in the database.</li>
<li>Box 2 has links to the Commander's decks, plus simple filters for Commander Bracket, Budget and Tags.</li>
<li>Box 3 shares a link to an EDHREC article featuring the chosen card. Maybe this content will inspire your next brew.</li>
<li>Box 4 provides advanced filters to include or exclude user-selected parameters from displayed commander data.</li>
<li>Box 5 shows charts, combos and similar commanders, as well as links to other helpful <em>Magic</em> sites.</li>
</ul>


<div id="attachment_154770" style="width: 281px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Card-dropdown.jpg"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-154770" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-154770 size-full" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Card-dropdown.jpg" alt="A screenshot of the card dropdown menu on EDHREC.com." width="271" height="235" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-154770" class="wp-caption-text">The "Cards" dropdown is the fastest route to view data on the most popular cards and combos.</p></div>
<p>The <strong>Cards</strong> dropdown leads to data on all cards, not just commanders.  Legendary creatures are viewed here as cards in the 99, alongside the non-legendary cards that make up most deck lists.</p>
<p>The majority of <em>Magic's </em>30,000+ cards are fair game in the 99 of your Commander decks. Every Commander-legal card has its own page with deck data, combos and similar cards.</p>
<p>Often, the search for a card begins with a broad sense of the slot it needs to fill. Browsing cards <strong>By Color</strong> identity or <strong>By Type</strong> is a direct, but often overwhelming approach. Be sure to use the filters to narrow the field.</p>


<p>EDHREC presents cards with data organized to help you make deckbuilding decisions. The most popular cards in the Commander format appear on the <a href="https://edhrec.com/top">Top Cards</a> page.</p>
<div id="attachment_154623" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Top-Cards-Menu.jpg"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-154623" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-154623 size-large" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Top-Cards-Menu-1024x154.jpg" alt="A screen shot of the EDHREC Top Cards menu." width="1024" height="154" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Top-Cards-Menu-1024x154.jpg 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Top-Cards-Menu-300x45.jpg 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Top-Cards-Menu-768x116.jpg 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Top-Cards-Menu-1536x231.jpg 1536w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Top-Cards-Menu.jpg 1908w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-154623" class="wp-caption-text">View the top cards of the Past 2 Years, Past Month or Past Week</p></div>
<p>The default view of Top Cards displays data for the last two years, in thumbnail view without grouping, sorting or filtering. This is just the tip of the data iceberg. Here, as on other EDHREC pages, there's a lot more to see beneath the surface.</p>
<p>You can reduce the size of the data pool by selecting the tabs for Past Month or Past Week. Additionally, there are options to narrow and organize the Top Cards to hone in on details such as card characteristics or inclusion percentages.</p>


<p>The marrow in the bones of every deck are the lands. EDHREC's <a href="https://edhrec.com/lands">Landbase</a> page takes the guesswork out of choosing lands for any deck. Simply select a color identity to browse the lands that fit those colors.</p>
<p>The lands page for each color identity displays lands by cycles and other common descriptors. You may also choose to view lands alphabetically, or ranked by popularity based on EDHREC data.</p>
<div id="attachment_154779" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Mono-Red-Lands.jpg"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-154779" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-154779 size-large" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Mono-Red-Lands-1024x266.jpg" alt="A screenshot of the mono Red lands page on EDHREC." width="1024" height="266" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Mono-Red-Lands-1024x266.jpg 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Mono-Red-Lands-300x78.jpg 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Mono-Red-Lands-768x199.jpg 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Mono-Red-Lands-1536x399.jpg 1536w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Mono-Red-Lands.jpg 1919w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-154779" class="wp-caption-text">Someone please challenge the stats on that [el]Krosan Verge[/el].</p></div>


<p><a href="https://edhrec.com/top/salt">Once a year, EDHREC surveys the community to rate the "saltiness" of every card</a> in the database. Anyone may participate in grading cards on a scale from <strong>0</strong> (not salty) to <strong>4</strong> (most salty). The resulting salt score is the average of all the votes a card received.</p>
<p>Although salt scores are mostly for fun, the cards with high salt scores have infamous reputations. There is no connection between the salt scores and Commander Brackets or the Game Changers list.</p>
<p>Along with community members and other sites, <a href="https://archidekt.com/search/decks?">Archidekt</a> utilizes EDHREC's salt score as a casual statistic for deckbuilders to check at a glance. You can see this on a deckpage under "Salt Sum" along with further information about how this is calculated.</p>
<div id="attachment_155538" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/saltsumarch.png"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-155538" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-155538 size-large" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/saltsumarch-1024x101.png" alt="archidekt precon deck title and stats" width="1024" height="101" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/saltsumarch-1024x101.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/saltsumarch-300x30.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/saltsumarch-768x76.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/saltsumarch-1536x151.png 1536w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/saltsumarch.png 1704w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-155538" class="wp-caption-text">(On Archidekt) The Salt Sum is total sum of all the salt scores of every card in your deck.</p></div>
<p>The EDHREC salt score is a helpful litmus test for the vibes certain cards might bring to your games.</p>


<p>The Game Changers list is determined by Wizards of the Coast based on input from the <a href="https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/introducing-the-commander-format-panel">Commander Format Panel</a>.</p>
<p>EDHREC hosts a dedicated page for Game Changers because this is essential information for deckbuilding within the <a href="https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/commander-brackets-beta-update-april-22-2025">Commander Bracket system</a>.</p>
<p>If you're building for a lower bracket, then you can refer to this list as cards to avoid. If you're building for higher brackets, then look at these cards as spicy recommendations.</p>
<p>At Bracket 3 and above, you should be prepared to face off against these cards, even if you don't play them in your own decks.</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/commander-bracket-system-updates-and-unbans-april-2025"><em>This list has been updated with April 2025's additions and removals.</em></a></p>
<h3>White</h3>
<ul>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Drannith Magistrate" href="#" target="_blank">Drannith Magistrate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Enlightened Tutor" href="#" target="_blank">Enlightened Tutor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Humility" href="#" target="_blank">Humility</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Serra&#039;s Sanctum" href="#" target="_blank">Serra&#039;s Sanctum</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><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></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Teferi&#039;s Protection" href="#" target="_blank">Teferi&#039;s Protection</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
</ul>
<h3>Blue</h3>
<ul>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Consecrated Sphinx" href="#" target="_blank">Consecrated Sphinx</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cyclonic Rift" href="#" target="_blank">Cyclonic Rift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Expropriate" href="#" target="_blank">Expropriate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Intuition" href="#" target="_blank">Intuition</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Force of Will" href="#" target="_blank">Force of Will</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fierce Guardianship" href="#" target="_blank">Fierce Guardianship</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Narset, Parter of Veils" href="#" target="_blank">Narset, Parter of Veils</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><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></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thassa&#039;s Oracle" href="#" target="_blank">Thassa&#039;s Oracle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urza, Lord High Artificer" href="#" target="_blank">Urza, Lord High Artificer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mystical Tutor" href="#" target="_blank">Mystical Tutor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur" href="#" target="_blank">Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
</ul>
<h3>Black</h3>
<ul>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bolas&#039;s Citadel" href="#" target="_blank">Bolas&#039;s Citadel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Demonic Tutor" href="#" target="_blank">Demonic Tutor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Imperial Seal" href="#" target="_blank">Imperial Seal</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Necropotence" href="#" target="_blank">Necropotence</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Opposition Agent" href="#" target="_blank">Opposition Agent</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Orcish Bowmasters" href="#" target="_blank">Orcish Bowmasters</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tergrid, God of Fright" href="#" target="_blank">Tergrid, God of Fright</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vampiric Tutor" href="#" target="_blank">Vampiric Tutor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ad Nauseam" href="#" target="_blank">Ad Nauseam</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
</ul>
<h3>Red</h3>
<ul>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deflecting Swat" href="#" target="_blank">Deflecting Swat</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gamble" href="#" target="_blank">Gamble</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jeska&#039;s Will" href="#" target="_blank">Jeska&#039;s Will</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><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></li>
</ul>
<h3>Green</h3>
<ul>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crop Rotation" href="#" target="_blank">Crop Rotation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><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></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gaea&#039;s Cradle" href="#" target="_blank">Gaea&#039;s Cradle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Natural Order" href="#" target="_blank">Natural Order</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Seedborn Muse" href="#" target="_blank">Seedborn Muse</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Survival of the Fittest" href="#" target="_blank">Survival of the Fittest</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger" href="#" target="_blank">Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Worldly Tutor" href="#" target="_blank">Worldly Tutor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
</ul>
<h3>Multicolor</h3>
<ul>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aura Shards" href="#" target="_blank">Aura Shards</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy" href="#" target="_blank">Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Yuriko, the Tiger&#039;s Shadow" href="#" target="_blank">Yuriko, the Tiger&#039;s Shadow</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Notion Thief" href="#" target="_blank">Notion Thief</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Winota, Joiner of Forces" href="#" target="_blank">Winota, Joiner of Forces</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grand Arbiter Augustin IV" href="#" target="_blank">Grand Arbiter Augustin IV</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
</ul>
<h3>Artifacts</h3>
<ul>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The One Ring" href="#" target="_blank">The One Ring</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chrome Mox" href="#" target="_blank">Chrome Mox</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grim Monolith" href="#" target="_blank">Grim Monolith</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lion&#039;s Eye Diamond" href="#" target="_blank">Lion&#039;s Eye Diamond</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mox Diamond" href="#" target="_blank">Mox Diamond</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mana Vault" href="#" target="_blank">Mana Vault</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
</ul>
<h3>Lands</h3>
<ul>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ancient Tomb" href="#" target="_blank">Ancient Tomb</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Glacial Chasm" href="#" target="_blank">Glacial Chasm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mishra&#039;s Workshop" href="#" target="_blank">Mishra&#039;s Workshop</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale" href="#" target="_blank">The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
</ul>


<p>Combos have been an archetypal pillar of <em>Magic: the Gathering</em> since the beginning. There's a broad range of combos from <a href="https://edhrec.com/combos/early-game-2-card-combos">elaborate multi-card loops to powerful 2-card pairs</a> that can immediately win the game.</p>
<p>Because the Bracket system asks players to be honest about the speed and efficiency of their combos, EDHREC identifies combos that are appropriate for your target bracket.</p>
<div id="attachment_154781" style="width: 774px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Combo-Menu.jpg"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-154781" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-154781 size-full" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Combo-Menu.jpg" alt="Screenshot of the combo menu on EDHREC." width="764" height="279" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Combo-Menu.jpg 764w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Combo-Menu-300x110.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 764px) 100vw, 764px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-154781" class="wp-caption-text">The combo menu  provides links to view combos by color identity or recommended bracket.</p></div>
<p>EDHREC's combos pages are powered by <a href="http://www.commanderspellbook.com">Commander Spellbook</a>, with step-by-step instructions, metadata, and Bracket recommendations.</p>
<div id="attachment_154782" style="width: 767px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Iso_Rev.jpg"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-154782" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-154782 size-full" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Iso_Rev.jpg" alt="A screenshot of the EDHREC combo page for Dramatic Reversal and Isochron Scepter." width="757" height="544" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Iso_Rev.jpg 757w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Iso_Rev-300x216.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 757px) 100vw, 757px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-154782" class="wp-caption-text">The Isochron Scepter and Dramatic Reversal  combo is a frequent flyer in Optimized (4) and cEDH (5) games.</p></div>


<p style="text-align: left;">The "<strong>Sets</strong>" dropdown contains upcoming and recent set releases for <em>Magic: The Gathering. </em>Clicking "<strong>More...</strong>" will take you to a page that displays links to every set in in the game.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">If there is a particular set you're fond of, or if you're trying to keep up with the latest and greatest cards, the set pages are great place to find picks for your piles.</p>
<div id="attachment_154793" style="width: 251px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-154793" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-154793 size-full" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/sets-dropdown.jpg" alt="A screenshot of the Sets dropdown menu on EDHREC." width="241" height="367" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/sets-dropdown.jpg 241w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/sets-dropdown-197x300.jpg 197w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 241px) 100vw, 241px" /><p id="caption-attachment-154793" class="wp-caption-text">The most recent Magic sets appear directly in the Sets dropdown.</p></div>
<h6 style="text-align: center;"></h6>


<p>At the bottom of the Sets dropdown is a link to one of the coolest features on the site.</p>
<h2>Precon Upgrades</h2>
<p><a href="https://edhrec.com/precon">Preconstructed decks</a> are a critical gateway into the Commander format, and many established players enjoy playing and tinkering with precons.</p>
<p>Whether you're setting sail with your first precon, or you're an experience precon shipwright; EDHREC can help you turn your preconstructed deck into a cardboard <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus">Ship of Theseus</a>.</p>
<div id="attachment_154799" style="width: 162px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Precon-Upgrade-sidebar.jpg"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-154799" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-154799 size-full" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Precon-Upgrade-sidebar.jpg" alt="A screenshot of the sidebar for the Precon Upgrade section on EDHREC." width="152" height="211" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-154799" class="wp-caption-text">The  sidebar on a precon upgrade page is a quick approach to swapping cards for a precon.</p></div>
<p>Once you've selected your precon of choice, you can quickly see alternative commanders, and view cards other players Add or Cut.</p>
<p>This can help you take your deck in any direction you like. Shore up a weak spot, double down on the deck's strengths or tune it to your own unique style.</p>


<p>The <strong>Tags</strong> page is the hub for dedicated themes and strategies. While there's nothing wrong with a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kenrith, the Returned King" href="#" target="_blank">Kenrith, the Returned King</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> goodstuff pile, there's nothing cohesive about it either.</p>
<p>Commander decks often showcase a certain card type or share a primary mechanic. This focus gives the deck clear identity and unified purpose.</p>
<p>If that sounds like your kind of deck building, then the Tags pages were made for you.</p>
<div id="attachment_154800" style="width: 149px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Tags-dropdown.jpg"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-154800" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-154800 size-full" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Tags-dropdown.jpg" alt="A screenshot of the tags dropdown on EDHREC." width="139" height="278" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-154800" class="wp-caption-text">Within the Tags dropdown, you'll find Tags, Themes, Kindred and Companions</p></div>
<p>The main <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags">Tags</a> page is wide-cast net for every imaginable deck archetype. Meanwhile the <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/themes">Theme</a> and <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/kindred">Kindred</a> tabs divide the tags into two main groups: Themes are tags focused on mechanical cohesion, and Kindreds are tags focused on specific creature types.</p>


<p>Companion decks take the idea of a central theme to a whole new level. There are nine legal Companions (RIP <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lutri, the Spellchaser" href="#" target="_blank">Lutri, the Spellchaser</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>) from <em><a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/iko">Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths</a></em>.</p>
<p>Choosing a companion for a deck requires the deck to follow the card's companion deckbuilding restriction in addition to matching the Commander's color identity.</p>
<div id="attachment_154808" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/All-Companions.jpg"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-154808" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-154808 size-large" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/All-Companions-1024x249.jpg" alt="A screenshot of all the Commander-legal companion cards." width="1024" height="249" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/All-Companions-1024x249.jpg 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/All-Companions-300x73.jpg 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/All-Companions-768x187.jpg 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/All-Companions-1536x374.jpg 1536w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/All-Companions.jpg 1904w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-154808" class="wp-caption-text">In Commander, choosing a Companion doesn't count toward the 100 card limit.</p></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Yorion, Sky Nomad" href="#" target="_blank">Yorion, Sky Nomad</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is legal as a Commander or in the 99 of a deck, but its deckbuilding restriction violates Commander's 100-card limit. If you really want to oppress your friends with your EDH version of Yorion Control  then you'll have to ask them nicely, Rule Zero style.</p>
<p>The other eight companion cards have companion restrictions that are achievable within the deckbuilding rules of commander, and each of them presents an interesting challenge to crafting a deck.</p>


<p>Most of the pages on EDHREC involve browsing cards that you can export to your choice of deckbuilding site.</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrec.com/recs">The <strong>Recs</strong> page is where you can import a partial or complete deck list</a> and EDHREC will make data-powered recommendations.</p>
<div id="attachment_132149" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-12-212301.png"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-132149" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-132149 size-large" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-12-212301-1024x359.png" alt="Screen shot of the Recs page on EDHREC." width="1024" height="359" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-12-212301-1024x359.png 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-12-212301-300x105.png 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-12-212301-768x269.png 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-12-212301-1536x539.png 1536w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-12-212301.png 1919w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-132149" class="wp-caption-text">The Recs page is your shortcut to personalized card recommendations based on the cards already in your deck, and data from EDHREC.</p></div>
<p>At a minimum, you must select a commander for the Recs page to work. If you add only the commander, then the results will reflect that legend's average deck list.</p>
<p>Add more cards in the 99, the Recs tool makes more specific recommendations.</p>


How to Use EDHREC

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<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>| Art by <a href="https://www.howardlyon.com/">Howard Lyon</a>)</h6>
<h1>Win Conditions Aren't Equal</h1>
<p> People show up to Commander to play intense games of <em>Magic</em>. Counterspelling counterspells to ensure commanders can set up engines. Intense rushes to deal damage before an opponent draws their perfect card. Four-way political discussions where everyone bargains for just <em>one</em> more turn. But what if instead of perfectly constructing a deck to achieve victory, you just… <strong>Won?</strong> There are plenty of alternate win conditions, or alt win cons, to damage and decking. As you would expect, not all of them are created equally. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have a home in Commander. Afterall, think of the value. <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The One Ring Llanowar Elves"></div></div> <em>All valuable in their own way.</em> </p>
<h3>The Value</h3>
<p> In a Standard game, you have to deal twenty damage to a single opponent, or have them deck out a sixty-card deck. But in Commander, both the life pools and deck sizes are inflated. But the cost of alt win cons stays the same. They might not be efficient. Or advisable. They might simply be ineffectual when you have three individuals who can counter, remove, and respond to what you play. But it would be so funny if it worked, wouldn’t it? &nbsp; </p>
<h2>Here’s The Deal</h2>
<p> There’s a visceral reaction folks have when they see an alt win con being played. At least in my experience, a player is more likely to take aggressive action against someone about to play an alt win con than someone who will win by traditional means. Whether via commander damage or poison counters or milling, these “mundane” paths to victory often leave wiggle-room to still try your hand at negotiations. But no one will listen to a word you’re saying under the <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>. Despite the fact they’ll listen to someone fielding <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> while they have nine poison counters! So how do you get around this? &nbsp; <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sheoldred, the Apocalypse Rhystic Study Smothering Tithe"></div></div> <em>Just a few Swords of Damocles some folks don't mind discussing under.</em> &nbsp; </p>
<h3>Misdirect Them</h3>
<p> Whatever your engine for winning the game is, set aside just a few cards to give the impression you’re shooting for a traditional victory. It doesn’t have to be anything crazy, don’t add needless heft to your deck. Could be as simple as having some <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Heroes&#039; Bane" href="#" target="_blank">Hydras</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to scale with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doubling Season" href="#" target="_blank">Doubling Season</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urza, Chief Artificer" href="#" target="_blank">Urza, Chief Artificer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> being kept dirt cheap with a powerful army due to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Encroaching Mycosynth" href="#" target="_blank">Encroaching Mycosynth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Staple combos that are effective across two or three cards regardless of the subject-matter of your deck. Not necessarily two-card “win the game” combos like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Niv-Mizzet, Parun" href="#" target="_blank">Niv-Mizzet, Parun</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Curiosity" href="#" target="_blank">Curiosity</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Just effective closed-loop combos that keep you relevant. <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mossborn Hydra Bristly Bill, Spine Sower Fabled Passage"></div></div> <em>This is a personal favorite to get explosive growth.</em> &nbsp; Not only does this lead to your opponents suspecting nothing (the fools!), but it allows you to participate in the game normally. A problem with alt win con decks in casual Commander is that there’s not much to <em>do</em> until you are in a position to end the game. Just a few cards to keep yourself an active participant alleviates that. &nbsp; </p>
<h3>Be Disrespectful</h3>
<p> Alternatively, you could focus on denying victory to your opponents. Whether through <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Herald of Eternal Dawn" href="#" target="_blank">Herald of Eternal Dawn</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Platinum Angel" href="#" target="_blank">Platinum Angel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, you have multiple preventative measures to ensure your opponents can’t steamroll past you. None of these directly assist your chances of winning the game, but they do buy you time to achieve your own goals. <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Everybody Lives! The Book of Exalted Deeds Cloudsteel Kirin"></div></div> <em>With this and its lifegain, white stalls games longer than blue.</em> &nbsp; Of course, if you were to be truly diabolical you would grab a card that forces you to lose such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Archfiend of the Dross" href="#" target="_blank">Archfiend of the Dross</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Use any of the following cards to boot your Archfiend to an opponent once its usefulness (and oil) runs out. <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fateful Handoff Coveted Falcon Custody Battle"></div></div> <em>Because Black’s removal is so useful, splashing into it isn’t even that bad!</em> &nbsp; </p>
<h2>Actually Winning</h2>
<p> Below are just a few cards that allow you to win the game. Some are more viable than others, and certainly some require more support than others. It’s really up to you and your playstyle which ones you gravitate towards. Just make sure to play it smart. One counter or removal spell or even any of the above-mentioned “win prevention cards” will ruin these strategies if you’re not careful. &nbsp; </p>
<h3><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></h3>
<p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Approach of the Second Sun"></div></div> I can’t speak to if this is the most famous alt win con, but it certainly feels as though it’s had its time to shine since its release in 2017. This alt win con really is quite simple, in that once you play the first casting of it, your goal is to not die. If any of your opponents have any milling capabilities, that’s something to be careful for, but generally that shouldn’t be a major issue. Further, watch out for red’s propensity to exile the top card of opponents' decks with cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Etali, Primal Conqueror" href="#" target="_blank">Etali, Primal Conqueror</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. If they time it right, your second casting is exiled. So make sure you have access to counters, card draw, or a means of doing more than just waiting seven turns. Also, a fun fact about this card is that the first casting doesn’t have to resolve for the second casting to win you the game. So if the first casting is countered and the second isn’t, you still win the game! Just make sure that second casting doesn’t get countered as well. &nbsp; </p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Biovisionary" href="#" target="_blank">Biovisionary</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Biovisionary"></div></div> In a single-card format, having a creature requiring multiple copies of it seems ridiculous. And, frankly, it kind of is! Which is exactly why no one will see it coming. Because tokens count towards this alt win con and it’s in your end step, all you need is a great deal of mana and a decent amount of cards in-hand. Fortunately for you, those are two things Simic excels at. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Croaking Counterpart" href="#" target="_blank">Croaking Counterpart</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> gives you two castings in a single card, if you can afford it. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phyrexian Metamorph" href="#" target="_blank">Phyrexian Metamorph</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> allows you to pay with your life for part of it, which is a fantastic boon. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Three Steps Ahead" href="#" target="_blank">Three Steps Ahead</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has the flexibility to act as a counter or card draw on top of advancing your alt win con. <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Phantasmal Image Flesh Duplicate Cephalid Facetaker"></div></div> <em>Cheap copies’ downsides don’t matter if you win the turn you cast them!</em> &nbsp; </p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Barren Glory" href="#" target="_blank">Barren Glory</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Barren Glory"></div></div> This might be the most out-there of all these options. Afterall, how do you get to such a low point and still survive? If you can get a board clear, you’re fine. Alternatively, do the math on how much damage your opponents can deal, Commander or otherwise. If you won’t lose as a result of that or something like poison counters, it doesn’t matter that you can’t defend yourself. Don’t run the deck with too many permanents other than creatures, and all them to die before you play your alt win con. Then cast <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Armageddon" href="#" target="_blank">Armageddon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or a similar means of removing your lands from play. If your opponents’ boards are clear or if the math checks out, you’ll win next turn assuming you can trash your hand. If you have cheap instants and sorceries, that will allow you to burn through your hand in your final turn. Self-discard is even better. Just make sure no opponent has a means of destroying an enchantment on the board when you cast <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Armageddon" href="#" target="_blank">Armageddon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Otherwise, even with a single mana from their next-turn land drop, they’ll just remove your alt win con and you’re stuck behind the curve. &nbsp; </p>
<h3>Various Counter-Building Cards</h3>
<p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Azor&#039;s Elocutors Chance Encounter Darksteel Reactor"></div></div> <em>All variations of “keep this card in play to eventually win the game.”</em> &nbsp; You build counters on them, sometimes with ways for opponents to remove counters. Other times, they're just hoping not to be removed before their clock can reach its endpoint. As with most things counter-related, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doubling Season" href="#" target="_blank">Doubling Season</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is your friend and Proliferate is your new favorite mechanic. Look to All Will Be One and March of the Machine for plenty of cards to bump up your counter production. <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ezuri, Stalker of Spheres Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus Vraska, Betrayal&#039;s Sting"></div></div> <em>Phyrexians are your friends when proliferation is your goal.</em> &nbsp; And, of course, be on the lookout for removal. These are generally cards that take some time to mature, meaning there's plenty of time for them to be removed. Particularly given that you're now the person seen as most likely to win, even if your alt win con isn't viable. &nbsp; </p>
<h2>A Fair Warning</h2>
<p> Just be aware that at any higher level of play, so much as the assumption you have an alt win con will put a target on your back. It doesn’t matter if someone has <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> and has been chipping away the pod’s life all game. Nor does it matter if someone went full Voltron and their <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> is a 20/20 with Flying, Trample, and Infect. Though I’d love to see someone pull that off! The mere existence of an alt win con will have the entire table rally against you. Expect no more negotiating and for past deals to be reneged. Every creature on the table to be pointed at you. So either win fast or enjoy the chaos you’re causing on the way down. Alternatively, play a game where no one is allowed to win via life loss, decking out, or poison counters. An Alt Win Contest, if you will.</p>


Have You Tried Simply "Winning?" A Guide to Alt Win Cons in Commander

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a href="https://scryfall.com/card/exo/129/survival-of-the-fittest">Survival of the Fittest</a> | <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=a%3A%E2%80%9CPete+Venters%E2%80%9D&amp;unique=art">Pete Venters</a>)</h6>
<p> A voice comes over an intercom: "Now boarding Group One." It's time to check your bag one last time before you board your plane. You see a fresh box of sleeves, a brand new deck box, and all 25 of your freshly-made Commander decks. Have you ever played any of them? No, but that is what a Magic Con is for, right? Plus, you must have all of these decks when taking a break between your seven events booked between Friday and Saturday. And how could you forget your front bag pocket with all of your triple sleeve and slabbed cards that you need to get signed by 15 artists there? All this leaves plenty of room for you to come home with that oversized card from the prize wall. <iframe loading="lazy" title="What (Not) to Bring to MagicCon | Magic: the Gathering | Commander" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/B6Eo_FhnT3E?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe> This might sound like a great idea, but I promise it will only make your weekend a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dismal Failure" href="#" target="_blank">Dismal Failure</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. I have been to a few Magic Cons and thought I would share some things I have learned to help you best "survive" a Magic Con. My name is Nick, and you do not have to listen to all my tips and tricks, but hopefully, one of them will lead you on the road to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Success!" href="#" target="_blank">Success!</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Success"></div></div> </p>
<h2>Hatching Plans</h2>
<p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hatching Plans"></div></div> The best advice I can give anyone outside of having fun is to put a plan together for your trip. You do not need to have a full detailed itinerary planning out every minute of your day down to what time you will draw a card, but in my opinion, you should come in with at least a basic outline of how you would like your day(s) to go, otherwise you'll get overwhelmed and overplan. You may have to rely on a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Backup Plan" href="#" target="_blank">Backup Plan</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Change of Plans" href="#" target="_blank">Change of Plans</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and maybe even a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Contingency Plan" href="#" target="_blank">Contingency Plan</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> by the time you get to the convention. One of the best things I took advantage of for this year's Magic Con Chicago was to have an idea of what I wanted out of each day I was there. I was confident in my plans, and even then, I still learned by the end that my <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Game Plan" href="#" target="_blank">Game Plan</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> was not foolproof. For an event like this, things must be done in advance, so even the most well-thought-out <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Long-Term Plans" href="#" target="_blank">Long-Term Plans</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will not always result in success. </p>
<h2>Playable</h2>
<p> Magic Cons offers many options for many different types of people. Most people go to Magic Cons to do one thing above all else: sit down and play <em>Magic: The Gathering. </em>Heck yeah. <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Assemble the Players"></div></div> It doesn't matter if you're in the tank and sweating it out to try and win a last-chance qualifier or the Secret Lair Showdown. Maybe you're doing a full box Sealed or Two-Headed Giant with your best mate after a long travel day. Most people are there to sling spells, play a turn-one <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sol Ring" href="#" target="_blank">Sol Ring</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or expertly read all the signals in the triple <em>Homelands</em> draft running Sunday morning. <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/nicknaxdeck-scaled.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-146174" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/nicknaxdeck-1024x768.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="525" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/nicknaxdeck-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/nicknaxdeck-300x225.jpg 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/nicknaxdeck-768x576.jpg 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/nicknaxdeck-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/nicknaxdeck-2048x1536.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /></a> </p>
<h6 style="text-align: center;">Good times at the Commander table</h6>
<p> This year, I knew that there were three particular things I wanted to play: Commander, Canadian Highlander, and Gavin's Mystery Event. I prioritized time each day to do these things and packed accordingly. This leads me to my downer point for this topic: you <strong>cannot</strong> play everything you want. That might be decks, events, or even with specific individuals. I won't tell you not to bring all 25 of your commander decks, but do yourself a favor and don't bring all 25 of your commander decks. You have a finite amount of time at these, so I urge people to take advantage and make their best personal impression of the card <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Time Stretch" href="#" target="_blank">Time Stretch</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. </p>
<h2>Paint Me Like One Of Your French Cards</h2>
<p> At this year's Magic Con Chicago, I hit what I will consider the artistic jackpot. I had a small list of cards I wanted to get signed, and if you have ever been to one of these, you know that sometimes that is daunting. While I missed out on the incredible Tyler Jacobson, I got all the other cards and more signed by various artists and MTG personalities. I commend you if this is why you go to Magic Cons, and honestly, you might be the strongest among us at these events, outside of the cosplayers. <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Abstract Iguanart Artist&#039;s Talent"></div></div> Many people in the art sphere of the game have great tips and tricks and even complete Scryfall lists of all the artists going so that you do not have to dig through your deck boxes while standing in line looking for cards to get signed. Just know the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Artist&#039;s Talent" href="#" target="_blank">Artist&#039;s Talent</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> does not come cheap when considering the time it can take for some lines. If you are like me this year, even your <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Well-Laid Plans" href="#" target="_blank">Well-Laid Plans</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can be hit by the ticking clock of another commitment. </p>
<h2>It's a Mystery</h2>
<p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Trail of Mystery"></div></div> I have told you a thing or two I would suggest not doing. I have also mentioned the downside to some of those choices, but there is one thing above all of these events that I have and will not recommend to everyone who attends. That is the Gavin Verhey Mystery Event. For years, Gavin has put on a fantastic event with a cool and unique twist, all while tricking everyone into playing the largest paper brawl event of all time. This year was no different. Sealed decks built from <em>Mystery Booster 2</em> and what I have been calling the "Gavin Pack." A pack of unique playtest cards that are everything from super funny to extremely broken to loving tributes to those who make the community great. I never have as much fun as I do playing at this event, and it's something I will always sign up for. Highly recommended, but try to get your tickets fast as they <em>will</em> sell out, even long before the event. </p>
<h2>Mistakes Were Made</h2>
<p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mistakes Were Made"></div></div> <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mistakes Were Made" href="#" target="_blank">Mistakes Were Made</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This is the secret of my Magic Con experience this year. I still made some errors in the tips I tried to follow and thought I had done everything correctly. The first mistake was packing my schedule too tightly from Saturday to Sunday. I did not realize how a late night and lousy sleep on Saturday would lead to one of the most miserable experiences I have had while participating in a Commander Sealed event on Sunday. It made me reconsider many life decisions during an event I was genuinely pumped to join in. I also made the classic blunder of waiting till the last day to try and use my little tickets at the prize wall and walked away empty-handed. Secondly, I did not play as much Commander with friends or randoms as I wanted. I should've used my Sunday for this instead of deckbuilding and waiting for seat pairings to be announced. Lastly, I did not get to enough panels. This was a new mistake, but it might be my second recommendation for people going. The live EDHRECast was a blast, and while I did not win my challenge against the stats, it was a great time. <a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/livecastaudience-scaled.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-146173" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/livecastaudience-1024x478.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="327" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/livecastaudience-1024x478.jpg 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/livecastaudience-300x140.jpg 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/livecastaudience-768x359.jpg 768w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/livecastaudience-1536x717.jpg 1536w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/livecastaudience-2048x956.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /></a> </p>
<h6 style="text-align: center;">The first Live EDHRECast challenged the hosts' knowledge of the stats! Photo credit: Nick Wolf</h6>
<p> Try to play as much as you can and want and get to all the artists, meetings, and greets, but don't make my mistake of missing out on the great panels people put on in the IRL meet space rather than online. </p>
<h2>Exceeding Expectations</h2>
<p> I won't bore anyone with "normal" travel suggestions. Everyone is already prepared with their food plans, and people often know where they will be for the always fun "Lobby Cons" in the various hotel lobby and bar areas after the convention hall closes for the night. And while this might be a fun little article about "surviving" Magic Cons, this year did not run super smooth for me by comparison. Luckily, this led me to some <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Unexpected Results" href="#" target="_blank">Unexpected Results</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as Magic Con Chicago was full of... <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Unexpected Potential" href="#" target="_blank">Unexpected Potential</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. I got to chill with friends, new and old; p<span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">lay games with creators like Rachel Weeks and notable artists like <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=a%3A%E2%80%9CJesper+Ejsing%E2%80%9D&amp;unique=art" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jesper Ejsing</a> and <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=a%3A%E2%80%9CEvyn+Fong%E2%80%9D&amp;unique=art" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Evyn Fong.</a> </span> In my mind, the most important thing about going to one of these events is maximizing the defining statement of a Magic Con: It's not about the <em>Magic</em>; it's about <em>The Gathering</em>. I hope to gather with you at a Magic Con soon, and if you can make one, I suggest you try your best to make it out. If you want to tell me how your Magic Con went or show me what cards you got signed, you can find me here or elsewhere on the internet as nicnax96. Check out all the other great articles here, and as a treat, if you happen to be in the venn diagram of sports fans and <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> fans, stay tuned in during the start of March Madness... <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mandatory Friendship Shackles"></div></div></p>


how to