When you create a commander deck, it's an expression of inspiration.
Perhaps you pay close attention to a set's spoiler season? A new card is announced and you can't stop thinking about it. Your gears start turning as you look for ways to maximize the card's synergies. For me, that was Velomachus Lorehold (to see how that turned out, read this).
Or perhaps you're all about lore? You latch onto a character made by Wizards of the Coast (WotC) and you set out to retell their story through a deck.
When I started playing, I learned that WotC created creature cards based on mythologies from around the world. Perhaps you're like me and you will see a creature type from your heritage that is ignored by other media but is well supported here; so you decide to make a tribal deck. This led to the creation of my blue-white legacy golem deck, centered around Golem Artisan. This deck eventually became the inspiration for my Animar commander deck, read here.
Maybe your inspiration comes from the media? You watched the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and you want to recreate her Scooby-gang in a commander deck?
But then it's time to make the most important decision in EDH, who will bring your inspiration to life in the command zone? Read on to learn how to make this tough choice.
1. How Commanders Inspire EDH Decks
Okay, sometimes choosing a commander isn't a tough choice. Sometimes it's the first choice you make. This happens when the inspiration for an EDH deck is a legendary creature itself. You crack open a booster and there it is, a legendary creature that gets your gears turning.
This happened to me when I cracked open Talrand, Sky Summoner. I'm not much of a control player, so blue wasn't typically my color; but when I saw this commander could lead his control deck into a go-wide aggro win style—on a budget—I was all in.
Now whenever a set is released with a spell-slinger subtheme like Strixhaven’s magecraft mechanic, Zendikar Risings’s modal double-faced instant/sorcery lands, or Throne of Eldrain’s adventures, I have my eyes glued to the mono-blue spoilers.
2. How Cards in the 99 Inspire Commander Choices
Let’s go back to my blue-white golem deck. When I wanted to bring the theme of this deck into the realm of commander I had a lot of options. Most of the spells in the deck were colorless so I wasn’t really married to anything on the color-pie.
My first step was to look at the cards I wanted in my 99. Were any of them essential? Could I add a card or two in the 99, from another color, to optimize the theme? This narrowed down my commander’s identity to all the colors but black.
I then realized that what I liked most about the deck was its infinite combo. I’d sacrifice Composite Golem, bring it back with Nim Deathmantle and dump all that mana into a storm of spells (to go wide), or a single card like Walking Ballista/Golem Artisan to close out the game.
If you’ve played against me or read my MTG articles online you know I’m a fan of infinite combos, but to me and my playgroup, it was getting stale. Not to mention that combos like that are harder to implement in a singleton format without expensive tutors.
I wondered, could I have the feel of a storm deck with the right choice in the command zone? This led me to the Temur commander Animar, Soul of Elements. I realized that with the right build he would get exceptionally large while storming through my deck.
To use this commander I had to drop all the white cards I wanted in the 99. But these were nice-to-haves instead of must-includes. And the decision turned out well for me, because it got me this MTG blogging gig.
3. How Mechanics Inspire Commander Choices
Sometimes, as you watch the spoilers for an upcoming MTG set you can’t help but fall in love with a mechanic. Though it didn’t debut in Zendikar Rising, that set was the first I cracked open with the Landfall mechanic.
After realizing the mechanics’s potential, I needed to find a way to completely abuse it. This led to me discovering a Commander-consistent, infinite combo using untapping Landfall effects, bounce lands, and creatures that tap to ramp.
If you find a mechanic that gets your gears going, start putting your deck-building skills to work. Find the cards you must have in the 99 to abuse the mechanic and keep track of the colors they appear in. Then when you know the color identity you need, look at all the Commanders that give you access to it. If any synergize, use it. If not, pick your favourite from the list.
4. How Tribes Inspire Commander Choices
Creature lovers have a knack for mixing their passions for critters—be them real, fabled, or fictional—into their hobbies. My best-friend loves everything about dragons. The mythical creatures pepper his decor, bookshelf, video-game collection and fashion. He even had a pet bearded dragon as we were growing up. His love inspired me to create a dragon/goblin deck centered around Dragon's Approach.
If I were to design a tribal deck based on my love for animals, my commander of choice would be Rin and Seri, Inseparable. As a child, I was the family dog’s puppy. From the moment I was brought home from the hospital, she would go wherever I went. So, I was born a dog-person. But when I met my cat—the smartest, loving jerk I’ve ever met—I also became a cat-person.
Once I’m able to invest myself in the project, I’d like nothing more than to use that love for animals to create a cat-dog tribal deck. I might even get an artist to paint pictures of my pets onto the cards as alternative art. If you have a creature-tribe near and dear to your heart, find the Commander that reminds you of that love.
5. How the Color Wheel and Play Styles Inspire Commander Choices
Sometimes, you just want a Commander deck that fits your playstyle. When you want to design a deck that is as comfortable as your favorite pair of pajamas, take a look at the MTG color-pie.
The pie describes the feel of all of the different colors in the game. If you’re looking to play with some mechanics that speak to your spontaneity, then look towards the mechanics in red. If you’re all about turning games into logic puzzles, then look to the mechanics prominent in blue.
If there are a few words on the MTG color-pie that speak to you, mix and match the colors as you need. Then find the mechanics within those colors that synergize the most with your playstyles. From there find the legendary creature that synergizes the most with those mechanics and you get yourself a Commander.
For me, my Wyleth, Soul of Steel deck perfectly fits my playstyle. It gives me the freedom to act with my gut while ‘maintaining the peace' on the battlefield.
6. How Competition Inspires Commander Choices
Sometimes, all you want to do is win, and win big. Commander is typically a game about having fun and playing nice, so cut-throat plays like mass land destruction are tricks you can’t use often while also keeping the group happy.
But for some playgroups, the brutal competition is what they find fun. Welcome to the world of competitive-commander, or CEDH.
In this case, you have two options:
- Search tons of CEDH tier lists until you find a Commander you think you can take to the top using clever modifications to popular decks.
- Search the CEDH meta, and a list of legendary creatures, until you find an often-ignored Commander that you think you can use to break the format.
Current popular CEDH Commander choices include:
After all that research, congrats you now have your CEDH Commander. Now you’re going to want to pour through all the cards in MTG history (keeping the banned list and your budget in mind) until you think of the most optimized 99 cards.
Now, take that deck to competitions and see how you do. Based on your performance, continue to optimize the deck, or go back to the drawing board.
7. How Playgroups Inspire Commander Choices
Your playgroup might be one of the strongest influences on your commander choice. If your friends are more casual, find Commanders that are evenly matched within the group’s meta. This will create the nice push-and-pull party gameplay. The more you play your group, the more you hone into the Commanders that create that party feel.
On the other hand, if you have a friend who continually chooses to ignore that social contract, you have two options:
- Talk to them privately about re-aligning their card/deck choices
- Choose a Commander specifically designed to shut down their deck
For some playgroups, option two might sound passive aggressive, but with a group of friends, it can spark a light-hearted competition that brings the party back to the table.
Some suggestions to look into, based on ‘that friends’ deck, include:
- Yasharn, Implacable Earth, to take down aristocrats strategies
- Liesa, Shroud of Dusk, to counter spell slingers
- Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, to shut down non-creature strategies
- Kunoros, Hound of Athreos, to render all graveyards moot
8. How Pop Culture Inspires Commander Choices
Sometimes there is a Commander that reminds you of your favourite characters. Perhaps you want to recreate the adventures of Peter Pan and Rufio (from Hook) using Reyhan, Last of the Abzan partnered with Ravos, Soultender (Get it? One wants to go to the graveyard, the other flies around bringing creatures back from the dead. Why else would the lost boys not age?).
Or maybe you want to make the definitive Legend of Zelda deck commanded by Tolsimir Wolfblood or Rafiq of the Many.
But for me, The Professor and Princess Weekes (if you two read this, let's collab) had an amazing idea when they brought the cast of Star Trek: Deep Space 9 (DS9) into MTG. Watch their video below:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/5L4FsWo-u-g
Naturally, I would have to put my own spin on this deck. But you can’t argue with their choice of commander: Sisay, Weatherlight Captain. Her ability to gather a cast of legendary creatures, across the color-pie, to answer any problem, is reminiscent of the character Captain Benjamin Sisko. Quite often, Sisko would utilize his knack for negotiations, tactics, faith and tenacity to partner with whomever could get the job done—be it friend, ally, or enemy.
If there is a specific legendary creature that reminds you of a character from the media you enjoy, you may want to explore building a Commander deck around them.
9. How MTG Stories Inspire Commander Choices
WotC has been making steps to improve the inclusivity of MTG. There are legendary characters with interesting stories, life experiences, hobbies, ethnicities, sexualities, gender identification and more. The more diverse the cast of characters become, the more likely players will relate to them on a personal level.
Alharu, Solemn Ritualist is a great example, they are a non-binary human monk who has made it their life goal to bring spirits to peace. Then there is Hallar, The Firefletcher (they/them) an elf archer that has become a symbol of peace between two elven tribes.
A discussion of inclusivity in MTG wouldn’t be complete without Alesha, Who Smiles at Death, a trans-woman human warrior. Her story revolves around her finding her name and becoming a warrior while putting a microscope to the challenges trans-people face.
Not only do these stories inspire people to make Commander decks, they inspire people to pick the game up in the first place.
10. How Personality Inspires Commander Choices
At the end of the day, no one can tell you how to choose your Commander. MTG deck building is an activity of creative expression. Your personality and who you are will inevitably be the final say of how you ‘Choose Your Weapon.’
In this blog, I went over a bunch of ways to decide on a Commander. It is by no means an exhaustive list (so comment below on how you gain inspiration). Some of these ideas will speak to your personality; some will be bonkers to you. Focus on the ones you like and remember those you don’t like when sharing MTG with your friends and family—you might convince someone to join your playgroup.
If you have your Commander selected, but have no idea of where to go from there, check out Bryan Smith’s blog: Building your First or One-Hundred-and-First Commander Deck.
By Shawn Wasserman
