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.

Plus, with enough time, you can learn to love your vegetables for the strength they lend to your deck!

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.

I'll explain what each of those mean, and their importance to your deck, below.

Ramp - Gives You Access to More Mana Than Simply Playing One Land per Turn

Most decks need around 10 pieces of ramp. Big mana decks, like those running Gishath, Sun's AvatarGishath, Sun's Avatar or Atraxa, Grand UnifierAtraxa, Grand Unifier, may need more.

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.

Decks that are generally lower-to-the-ground can get away with less ramp and more "gas." Decks led by Fynn, the FangbearerFynn, the Fangbearer, for example, are full of one- and two-drop creatures that don't require much mana to be game-changing threats.

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.

Some classic ramp pieces include Rampant GrowthRampant Growth, Llanowar ElvesLlanowar Elves, and Sol RingSol Ring.

Removal - Lets You Get Rid of Your Opponents' Scariest Things

Most decks also require about 10 pieces of removal, with aggressive decks needing less and control decks needing more.

A deck that seeks to win quickly, like Krenko, Mob BossKrenko, Mob Boss, 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 Shorikai, Genesis EngineShorikai, Genesis Engine list would likely include 15 or more interactive spells in their 99. Again, there's a range here.

This is also dependent on your commander's color identity. Some color combinations, like have access to better removal than 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.

Some classic removal spells include Doom BladeDoom Blade, Crush ContrabandCrush Contraband, and UnsummonUnsummon.

Card Advantage - Gives You Access to More Cards Than Simply Drawing One Card per Turn

Next up is card advantage, which most decks need 12+ pieces of.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Some classic card advantage pieces include DivinationDivination, Act on ImpulseAct on Impulse, and Mentor of the MeekMentor of the Meek.

Board Wipes - Let You Get Everything off the Board in One Fell Swoop

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.

Having access to a panic button is nice, but I don't require it every game. Decks that commit heavily to the battlefield, like Najeela, the Blade-BlossomNajeela, the Blade-Blossom, would do well to include one-sided wipes like Raise the PalisadeRaise the Palisade.

Decks that have fewer on-board pieces, like Eluge, the Shoreless SeaEluge, the Shoreless Sea, are likely to include more than two board wipes to ensure that their life total isn't in danger.

As always, your mileage may vary, but I've found that two wipes is usually enough. Some classic board wipes include DamnationDamnation, Blasphemous ActBlasphemous Act, and Cyclonic RiftCyclonic Rift.

Graveyard Hate - Lets You Remove Opponents’ Access to Cards in Their Graveyards

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.

Whether it's a dedicated Meren of Clan Nel TothMeren of Clan Nel Toth reanimator list or just an Oloro, Ageless AsceticOloro, Ageless Ascetic deck that happens to be running Sevinne's ReclamationSevinne's Reclamation, you'll usually find that at least one player in your Commander pod will be messing with their 'yard in one fashion or another.

Wizards has given us a lot of low-deckbuilding-cost ways to hate out our opponents' graveyards, from MDFCs (like Boggart TrawlerBoggart Trawler), to modal spells like Rakdos CharmRakdos Charm, to hyper-efficient artifacts like Soul-Guide LanternSoul-Guide Lantern, there's really no excuse for not including at least one of these pieces in your 99.

Some classic graveyard hate pieces include Scavenging OozeScavenging Ooze, Dauthi VoidwalkerDauthi Voidwalker, and Deathrite ShamanDeathrite Shaman.

Now, let's talk about the fun part of upgrading: going all-in on certain strategies that make a deck yours.

For this section I'll focus on a +1/+1 counters deck led by Hamza, Guardian of ArashinHamza, Guardian of Arashin. I've taken his average decklist from EDHREC, and pasted it below so you can see what we're working with.

This list is by no means bad, but it certainly has room for improvement.

We'll tweak the amount of certain card categories that are here, and improve the overall card quality within the deck.

Ramp: With access to ramp in the command zone, we just don't need 15 more pieces in our 99. I'll be cutting Rampant GrowthRampant Growth, CultivateCultivate, and Kodama's ReachKodama's Reach.

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.

I'd rather use that mana to cast a Kami of Whispered HopesKami of Whispered Hopes or an Incubation DruidIncubation Druid.

Removal: 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.

We'll be adding five more awesome interactive spells:

• CankerbloomCankerbloom - 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.
• Steelbane HydraSteelbane Hydra - will work quite nicely with our commander's cost-reducing ability, letting it get huge for a smaller mana investment.
• Inscription of AbundanceInscription of Abundance and Archdruid's CharmArchdruid's Charm - both provide some awesome flexibility, with each mode on these two spells having a purpose in our deck.
• Titanic BrawlTitanic Brawl is exactly what a fight spell should be: it costs just , and can be cast at instant speed.

Card Advantage: 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.

Herd HeirloomHerd Heirloom and Kutzil, Malamet ExemplarKutzil, Malamet Exemplar will do the trick, with both providing some nice utility beyond just letting us see more cards.

Board Wipes and Graveyard Hate: There's just one sweeper in here right now, so I went ahead and added SunfallSunfall 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.

I also added Scavenging OozeScavenging Ooze as our graveyard hate piece, a nice fit thanks to its +1/+1 counter growth.

For those of you who want to move beyond simple counts of basic deck necessities, let's talk a bit about other upgrades.

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.

This list is relatively well-tuned already, but I've got my eye on a few cuts to make room for better cards.

Renata, Called to the HuntRenata, Called to the Hunt, Good-Fortune UnicornGood-Fortune Unicorn and Ivy Lane DenizenIvy Lane Denizen, for example, are slower versions of Arwen, Weaver of HopeArwen, Weaver of Hope. We don't need all of these effects, so Renata, the Unicorn, and the Elf are gone.

And, while Herd BalothHerd Baloth and Juniper Order RangerJuniper Order Ranger are certainly cool mana-curve topping creatures, we're hoping to make some splashier plays at the five-mana spot.

As cool as they are, Basri's SolidarityBasri's Solidarity, Ajani, the GreatheartedAjani, the Greathearted, and Ainok Bond-KinAinok Bond-Kin 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.

We've got room for three more cards now, and I want to make sure they're high impact.

Sovereign Okinec AhauSovereign Okinec Ahau certainly fits the bill. For just four mana, he can turn a middling board state into a game-ending one in no time.

We'll be throwing the recently released OuroboroidOuroboroid 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.

Lastly, as a bit of protection from opponents' interaction, I've added Invasion of GobakhanInvasion of Gobakhan. 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 !

With all that said and done, here's our upgraded Hamza list: