In days gone, enchantments — and auras, in particular — were often deemed quite risky, especially if you had to untap with them to get any value. I’d say those days are over. OLD SCHOOL EDH When I first started playing Commander around five years ago, the game was centered around enter-the-battlefield effects, incremental value, recursion, and combos. It might …
Leveraging Virtual Card Advantage in Commander
I’d like to talk about something a little different today, and that’s the idea of virtual card advantage. I recently put together a draft list of a Boros flicker deck, helmed by Archangel Avacyn. My goal was to have a little fun, running lots of cool ETB creatures like Dualcaster Mage and Wildfire Devils. Instead of the usual “greatest hits” …
Kaldheim Commander Upgrade Guide: Elven Empire
Kaldheim brings with it two new preconstructed decks: Phantom Premonition, a blue-white control-oriented foretell deck, and Elven Empire, a Black-Green Elf tribal deck. I was inspired a while back to build Black-Green Elves when the tribe got new support in Commander Legends, so I’ve taken up the task of reviewing and upgrading Elven Empire. ELVEN EMPIRE: NEW COMMANDER CARDS A …
Budget Blitz: Kaldheim Budget Commander Cards
Kaldheim releases on Friday, February 5th, and there are bargains to be had… if you know where to look. Kristen takes us through the cream of the budget crop, including her picks for the best budget Commanders from the set. Every quarter, I review the latest Standard set and make my recommendations for budget cards to pick up. The series …
Why Voltron Isn’t Viable in Casual Commander
Voltron in Commander has historically been a bit of an underdog. Part of that is because of how easy it is to disassemble; an equal part has been because of how narrow a game plan it has. But why has its viability fallen in recent times? Let’s dig in. Voltron Voltron is the strategy of having your deck revolve around …
A Guide to the Gods of Kaldheim
Kaldheim preview season has been full of exciting new cards to brew with. Let’s review the most divine cards of the set: the Gods of Kaldheim. The Gods of each plane have often had a unique mechanic. In Theros block, they’re indestructible and require devotion to colors. In Amonkhet, they’re indestructible and can’t attack or block until a condition is …
Koll, the Forgemaster: Boros cEDH?!
Koll, the Forgemaster was recently previewed for Kaldheim. Let’s dig into his potential to help Boros with alternate win conditions! When I saw Koll previewed the other day, I initially felt indifference: “Sure, here’s another ‘equipment matters’ card, Wizards is clearly amidst a renaissance with that idea.” At face value, the card is pretty good for the cost. Returning fallen …
Oathbreaker: Turn Up the Heat with Chandra, the Firebrand and Jeska’s Will
Over the New Year’s weekend, I was invited to take part in Oathfest, a charity drive event set up by the great people over at Magikids. Magikids is a charity that strives to make Magic accessible for youngsters by putting Magic cards into the hands of teachers and youth clubs. It’s a great initiative — Magic is great for teaching, …
Casual Commander Probably Isn’t What You Think
Chances are that when you sit down for a game of Commander, it’s going to be “casual.” That only really holds true, though, if your definition of “casual” is strictly “not competitive.” Overwhelmingly, the non-competitive players outnumber those who want to push things to the limits, but the truth of the matter is that “casual” is a far more nebulous …
Commander: Upgrading Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale
Although building new decks and trying new Commanders makes up a large part of the fun when it comes to new sets, updating old decks and trying to make older cards more playable is also rewarding in its own way. Like many people, I’ve been brewing with the new cards in my search for the most powerful way to play …