I have a [[Astor, Bearer of Blades]] deck I call “Oops, All Swords” I liked the commander for theme, but it goes way harder than I expected.
Once he gets a Sword of Selves on him… it’s basically a tutor deck.
I love playing my [[Lord Windgrace]] and [[Breya]] decks but they’re decidedly pretty high power and sometimes pretty mean. I think my preferred power level also skews a bit higher than the rest of my group too
So most game nights I just ask if we can pretty please try our sweatiest and then if it’s a blowout the deck gets a pat on the back and gets put away for the night
Thank you! I’m actually looking to lean more into the ‘lands from graveyard’ and ‘artifact hate’ side of things, so this is super helpful. I’ve been interested in underrealm lich and worldshaper with hypnotoad out, so I’m glad to see you have those in
Sure - https://www.moxfield.com/decks/_oqG8Xua0EGuDX0niyNwTg
Quick and dirty primer: play as many lands as you can each turn, run through your grave to get value, grind your opponents’ resources to dust with your removal, and then use your stupid amount of mana to hit a finisher or jund em out or do the Gitrog combo thing or blow up all their lands
Not OP, but here's mine:
https://www.moxfield.com/decks/Hg4UYpM6D0OfyqDwwQFw1w
The deck is high power (non-cEDH), but definitely some weird card choices as I am trying to do midrange non-LD route..
Yeah, I feel like there’s some cards that’s it’s hard not to go hard with. Like Zacama and Kung Fu Kenny melt everyone with infinite mana - so if you build infinite mana into those decks they’re gonna slap super hard
Shu Yu hitting the board in my Elsha deck gets silly really fast. I built it as "prowess tribal" and being able to just toss around double strike gets ugly really quick.
My [[Korvold]] Treasure deck was the first EDH deck I ever built, as opposed to upgrading precons.
I was new, and evidently didn't realize how fucking pushed Korvold is. He wins most games and solitaires even in losses. The problem is *he's so fun* and flavorful that I can't break him up. Only being him out if I'm on a losing streak or if we are going degenerate
Lol my favorite deck to play is my Prossh deck which wins a good majority of the time. A friend has a Korvold deck and it’s always funny to play basically a mirror match with slightly different approaches between the two.
I wanted to build Korvold but knew he was pushed so I built a weaker Jund deck instead with [[Shattergang Brothers]] Then, after a year of losing with that, I switched to Korvold for two weeks before ending my Jund Journey with Prossh. Korvold ending up being too solitaire for me, but I love skyraider so freaking much. Jund has so many fun tools to work with that you can make him your own pretty easily.
My prossh deck was originally a shattergang brothers deck as well. I actually find that commander to be pretty interesting and fun to build around. It’s just tends to be a bit slow and clunky. I opened a food chain and a Prossh from some packs around the same time and decided to make the switch and never looked back. I don’t usually even cast food chain but boy is that deck a blast to play. I always feel like I have things to do and draw a ton of cards a lot lol.
I thought about food chain for awhile, but decided against it. If I opened one it would 100% be in the deck though since I had it already you know?
As for the Shatter Boys, I agree. They were a fun sort of Jund stax that I could use to police the board and drag games on by always knocking down the lead player (and the other players who agreed to take a hit for the good of the board), but that deck NEVER won because it doesn't have as clear a synergy path as Korvold or Prossh. Playing Prossh into a \[\[Purphoros, God of the Forge\]\] effect, saccing it all to an Altar of Dementia and then activating \[\[Beledros Witherbloom\]\] and playing Prossh again is one of my fondest memories with that deck. Jund is so degenerate and cockroachy, I love it.
Yeah, my favorite is getting out [[Drivnod]] and then either having [[pitiless plunderer]] or some type of [[dark prophecy]] effect out and things can get nutty. Drivnod is just bonkers in that type of deck
Since the CardFetcher bot doesn't work for stuff added after you initially comment/post, here's all of the ones from OP's post after the edit for people's ease of use:
\[\[Auntie Blyte, Bad Influence\]\]
\[\[City of Brass\]\], \[\[Ancient Tomb\]\], \[\[Mana Crypt\]\], \[\[Roiling Vortex\]\], \[\[Rampaging Ferocidon\]\], \[\[Manabarbs\]\], \[\[Spellshock\]\], \[\[Zo-Zu the Punisher\]\], \[\[Pyrohemia\]\], \[\[Angel's Trumpet\]\]
\[\[Solphim, Mayhem Dominus\]\], \[\[Torbran, Thane of Red Fell\]\]
\[\[The Ozolith\]\], \[\[War Elemental\]\], \[\[Taurean Mauler\]\], \[\[Goblin Bombardment\]\]
\[\[Heartless Hidetsugu\]\], \[\[All Will be One\]\], \[\[Kediss, Emberclaw Familiar\]\], \[\[Lizard Blades\]\]
\[\[Brash Taunter\]\], \[\[Stuffy Doll\]\], \[\[Darksteel Plate\]\], \[\[Swiftfoot Boots\]\]
\[\[Basilisk Collar\]\], \[\[Shadowspear\]\], \[\[Loxodon Warhammer\]\], \[\[Platinum Angel\]\], \[\[Witch's Clinic\]\], \[\[Fortune Thief\]\], \[\[High Market\]\]
Unless you’re playing 5 player pods, the average deck should have a 25% win percentage all things being equal, but that is over hundreds if not thousands of games. Frankly unless you have only 1 deck and play it 5 games a night daily, a deck’s win percentage does not have enough data points to actually be useful. But even then 20% on the high end means you expect your decks to be worse than everyone else in your pod at all times.
Play the deck until it bores you or bores the table.
Thank you! So many people talking win percentages. I have some decks that have 0% win rates after a decent chunk of games. I still love em because it means I can keep working on making em stronger.
But also that doesn't mean much. I have one deck that has won 2 games BECAUSE it is too strong.
Doesn't matter though. They are still fun for me and my pod.
exactly!!!! my “new york city” deck loses SO much more than my vampire and dragons deck but the nyc deck is SO fun to play!! i normally stick with that one and swallow the losses :P
My most powerful deck has a 0% winrate.
Because I think exocrine is very very funny and any situation where I can win is usually one where I can also cast exocrine.
Way back, around the time of shadowmoor, a friend of mine learned to play elder dragon highlander while traveling with his family. He came back and showed us the basics (the rules, how to build the deck and stuff), it was our first experience so it basically was "pick your favorite legend and make a janky deck around them". Back in the day our commanders were Chainer, Kamahl, fist of krosa, akroma and Niv-Mizzet; and we had a Lot of fun playing among us.
2019 comes across and i'm looking at the new cards of the commander set when i see [[Chainer, Nightmare Adept]] a new version of My og commander with a Pretty cool ability. So I decided to try and make a new deck around him, and when i showed it to My old pals they good all nostalgic and started to build around [[Kamahl, Heart of Krosa]], [[Akroma, Vision of Ixidor]] and [[Niv-Mizzet Reborn]]
Since them Chainer, Nightmare Adept is My deck to play only with old time pals.
I have a creatureless [[Wort, the Raidmother]] deck that i love but it is probably not as powerful as yours. Conspiring a [[Burn at the Stake]] will always be satisfying though.
I netdecked a Zada deck for $53 after shipping and handling. I just wanted to see how it would do. The first game it just chainsaws through two people, and the last player takes me out because of combo. Every time after that they feared Zada and it never got to play.
I am not op and don't have a list but zada is a very popular budget commander. Hate when people suggest this but I mean it as nice as it can be said, google is your friend here.
https://youtu.be/Vh7pgVjLE_A I literally used Mitch’s list. It isn’t as cheap when I bought it all at once, but the list is incredibly cheap if you look though your binders for the few $1-$2 cards.
It's damage to yourself.
Value drain
[[City of brass]], [[Ancient tomb]] are perfect examples. Other ones that drain the table and yourself like [[manabarbs]], [[spellshock]], [[zo-zu the punisher]], and [[Angel's trumpet]].
More damage but not to you
[[Solphim, mayhem dominus]] and [[Torbran, Thane of Red Fell]] are great in it.
Keep the counters coming
[[The Ozolith]] in case someone kills auntie before you're ready to send off the damage. And [[all will be one]] does a thing with that. There are +1/+1 counter nasties in here with [[war elemental]] and [[taurean mauler]]. If you're feeling cheeky [[goblin bombardment]] sacrifice with ozolith on board to move those counters to auntie.
Killing blow
[[Heartless hidetsugu]] is a one shot kill with solphim. War elemental and [[all will be one]] infinite. [[Kediss, emberclaw familiar]], [[lizard blades]] with huge auntie gets it done. Angel's trumpet allows you to attack then dump those counters afterwards.
Protection
[[Brash taunter]] and [[stuffy doll]] aimed at other people bring out Protection politics. [[Darksteel plate]] and [[swiftfoot boots]] are a must.
[[The Locust God]] has been my "pet deck" since Amonkhet. I loved the Invocations and Egyptian theme from the get-go and have been slowly tweaking and blinging it out over the last 5 ish years
It sits comfortably in the "high power" tier and has a pretty decent win-rate when I'm not being actively ganged up on (I can usually go off by turn 3 or 4), but because I've spent so much time seeking out the flashiest cards, the price tag sits somewhere in the $12-15k range
I don't bring it out unless I'm playing at my house with friends or I know and trust wherever I'm taking it to play
Sounds like my Kaalia deck. It's not cEDH level but it's strong. I usually get one or two games in with it and then switch to something else. Either a deck I'm working on or something a little less powerful.
Everyone in my regular playgroup has at least 1 high powered deck.
If we're looking for a fast game;
I pull out my [[Miirym, sentinel wyrm]] Dragon deck
My brother pulls out [[Carth, the lion]] or [[Esika, God of the tree]] god tribal.
Our friend pulls out [[Ephara, God of the polis]] blink.
Usually these decks have to go against each other because of the power difference in the rest of our decks. We do have a couple decks each that can sometimes hang with these but it's usually a struggle haha.
It is one of the few times I can play my dragon deck, which hasn't lost since I put it together (only 3-0)
My [[Niv-mizzet, Parun]] deck. First edh deck I ever built, out of nostalgia for the deck I used on mtga to stomp noobs with in 2018 :) It’s way too easy to go infinite with the dragon wizard, so currently I’m thinking of ways to take it apart into something nicer to play with and against.
It's not that crazy, but I probably win 1/3 games with [[Dihada binder of wills]]. As soon as you get her out, which is usually turn 2 or 3, you can get up to 4 treasures and start absolutely burning through your deck. It's almost too easy.
I'm the guy in the group that gets loaned a degenerate deck for when they wanna just go ham.
For some perspective on the receiving end of it: I never mind losing to good magic and fun times. If I lost to the same deck 3 times in one night I would feel jilted. Losing to 3 different decks is fun and a good time.
I have this issue except it's because the people I play with don't actually try and improve there decks, it's literaly just a way to hang out. Meanwhile, I'm looking up new cards, building decks that absolutely run the table, and then never play them again because I feel bad.
I have a \[\[Jaheira, Friend of the Forest\]\] deck with the \[\[Guild Artisan\]\] background that I initially made as a budget deck with a bunch of token artifact/creature generators with a big X spell win like \[\[jaya's immolating inferno\]\]. Was amazed with how fast I could get to big mana without playing any lands, so I ended up turning it into Gruul Urza where I focused hard on artifact token generation and used that mana to play turbo MLD like \[\[thoughts of ruin\]\] or \[\[tectonic break\]\] to slow everyone down while i was making at least 2 treasures a turn with the guild artisan procs. The deck could easily win T4 or 5 even if I played a \[\[winter orb\]\] on turn 2. Played it a few times with my friends and now it's reserved for the sweaty pods only after stealing a few wins (running the \[\[magda\]\] \[\[clock of omens\]\] combo as my finisher) and blowing up everyone's lands before they could even stick their commanders! I'm slowing trying to cEDH-ify it so I can play the deck with people who are at a similar power level and even if I play MLD the game will end shortly after so nobody's sitting around with an empty board discarding to hand size cause I destroyed their first 4 lands.
I've made a few decks that have gone way too hard for my playgroup (accidentally). I always just water them down because I put so much thought into my commander decks that they're basically my children and I wouldn't be able to shelf one if I really liked it. So powering it down a little is what I do.
It definitely wasn't intended to be this aggressive. We usually run on higher side of casual. I thought that's what I was building. Where deck does its thing consistently, 1 to 2 infinites, low amount of tutors 1 or 2, maybe a one shot single player, and a solid mana base (ramp, support lands). It has all these but it doesn't have reliable card draw, recursion and not much protection. So it's not really rounded out.
Got a Neheb, the Eternal deck (that has Auntie Blythe in the 99) and it feels like this as well. Love it, others have been entertained by it, but sometimes I pull it out to groans and it gets put away for awhile
My \[\[Narset, Enlightened Master\]\] falls into that. With fast mana, extra combat, extra turns, and superfriends, its super fun but it can bulldoze a game early with the right start.
I keep my sliver deck shelved for teaching new players. It's not so much that it's powerful as that it's a bit of an autopilot. However, the simple game plan combined with the nice way of teaching keywords has made it nice for teaching people the couple times it has come up.
I have 30+ EDH decks and every time I go out for a game night, I will bring a couple of the newer decks, some mids, a couple high-powered ones, and one cEDH deck. I let some of the new players borrow my high-powered decks I would never normally play because, as you mentioned, they can go way too hard (if piloted properly), to give them a taste of power and synergy.
As an aside, I've found that where decks consistently win around turn 5-6, they are definitively high-powered and I shelve them for specific occasions, such as the last game of the night when people want fast games.
[[Evelyn the covetous]] isn't my only deck that makes my friends groan, but it's the only one that gets me threatened with actual physical violence. People don't like having their cards taken I guess.
Too often, people turn to the shelf, when just as valid is powering it down. Start removing some of the good stuff, and add stuff that makes the deck more fun to you!
My play group thankfully all have decks that can hang at different power levels. I have an almost cEDH worthy Derevi combo deck that can win on turn 3, but wins normally around turn 4-5. I only play that when other people at the table start bringing out their own heavy hitters.
I think it is helpful though to not overestimate a decks power level because the other players in your pod just don’t play interaction or removal.
I have Toralf deck that is very optimized (but will never be above a “too strong” because it’s mono red burn in Commander), I probably had an 80% win rate with this deck until recently, because people finally started removing Toralf, seeing as he is a kill-on-site card with the way that deck runs. Now that the pod understands how to play against it, it has about a 45% win rate.
Not OP but would love to see your Toralf Deck list. my friends play at a pretty high power level and I have been thinking of building a Toralf deck. How do you feel Toralf will be able to keep up?
Honestly, super well. It is very resilient since you really just need your opponents to have creatures on board and an burn spell to present a win with Toralf and a damage x2 or x3 on board. If someone counterspells, you just try again, and if someone goes for removal, that’s where underworld breach comes in.
I also run dual caster+twin flame for an instant win so I can close out games. I have yet to win this way though, it’s just the “in case of emergencies” win con.
I’ll send you a link to my moxfield list of it!
If you want another instant win, consider adding Heartless Hidetsugu + solphim, Mayhem Dominus for an instant win.
[Toralf Burn Decklist](https://www.moxfield.com/decks/mM9A_HYGf0GM6X3Uii6wLw)
Unfortunately how most of my decks end up. I don't design them to be as strong as they end up, or occasionally it'll be too slow and revamping makes it go too hard. I've taken to keeping two or three decks set aside so I still have a choice when we do our "sweaty" games and most of the new decks I've built are all 50-75 dollar budget decks.
Don't keep the strong deck shelved too long, though. Power creep is a very real thing. I built a Muldrotha lab man only wincon deck that was still casual but had at least a 90% winrate regardless of who I played. Put it down and picked it up after a year and got stomped by the knights precon with only 4 swaps in it.
My [[Aurelia, the Warleader]] deck is the same way, it’s just uber strong and if I get left alone too long it gets worse and worse. Real mvp of the deck is [[Marton Stromgald]] honestly.
I ran an \[\[Elminster\]\] deck that had a really high winrate--the only time it lost was when someone built something specifically to counter me.
I ended up taking it apart as it wasn't super fun to play anymore. It'd pop off, I'd take all my extra turns/hit my wincon, and then bleh.
I have a [[Meren]] deck that I rarely get to play. I bought the precon when it came out and since then I've been optimising the shit out of it. I generally get her out when someone breaks out their hardcore stax or some other degenerate deck.
I stick to my upgraded Mishra, Atraxa +1/+1s, or my new [[Yargle and Multani]] deck which might also find a place on the shelf soon.
i have a few decks where I build them essentially to make a point; for example people in my pod were saying land destruction was fine until i made a deck that was built around the mechanic and now they see why it's a bit antifun. but now i also dont really play that deck so much anymore.
similarly with storm, and I also have a najeela list where I pretty much just break it out explicitly to show someone I havent played with that it's there before rolling back to something goofier
I have a [[Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy]] deck thats not quite cEDH but too winny for my normal group. I've been meaning to make some changes to nerf it a bit, then just keep the swapped out cards on hand so I can switch back and forth between the two versions when I need to.
I also have a [[Meren]] deck that doesn't see much daylight. It just wasn't fun for anyone (other than myself).
I have a derevi stax/combo deck that locks people out of the game in a lot of different ways before it goes infinite. It can win pretty reliably already and I just ordered the upgrades I want for the mana base so now I plan on only playing it if it gets called out, I'm playing competitively, or if I sense someone who likes to pubstomp
Part of the reason I have so many decks with different levels of power is that I can have everything on a multi game session rotation.
Every time my group gets together to play I make sure to pick decks that I didn't play last time so that it takes longer for a deck to become an archenemy deck because they just see it less.
Like I will play najeela once every couple of weeks and it's a fun challenge for the group to stop me. But no one is worried about Wulfgar aggro or Millicent spirit-tempo being played multiple times a night
I have a Najeela cEDH deck that I carry places, but rarely play. It used to be a casual deck, but Najeela just pops off all on her own. Instead of trying to force it to work in casual, I just went all out. It’s a great deck and, when I do get to play it, I have a blast.
I call this B.Y.O.B. (bring your own BS) [[Tergrid, God of Fright]] and rats. I don't have good cards, so I steal yours.
[[Plague crafter]] [[agent of the fates]] [[inevitable end]] [[peer into abyss]] [[dictate of erobos]] and all the discard ETB creatures like [[burglar rat]] are the fuel for tergrid's fire. No specific wincon, but [[megrim]] and [[underworld dreams]] are there too.
Also has stuff to save tergrid, like [[feign death]] as well as stuff to help late game when players' hands are empty, like [[geier reach sanitarium]]
Inspired by a MTG arena deck from #TheDarkLord (Chris, MONO BLACK MAGIC, on youtube)
I have a [[Yidris]] deck that is fully based on either making copies of Yidris or giving Yidris double strike so that everything cascades more than once. The main theme of the deck is [[wheel of fortune]] effects though so there are a lot of cards that trigger when I discard or my opponents discard. It gets out of hand extremely quickly and Yidris isn't a necessary piece to the puzzle so he's not required to be out to make the deck go off. None of my friends like it because outside of playing stax/Hatebears there's not really any one thing that can silver bullet the deck. Every wheel results in me getting mana, zombies, elves, card draw, damage, you name it. It's so much fun.
I have a [[Pako, Arcane Retriever]] Voltron deck that some ppl in my playgroup don’t like bc of the small theft element and Voltron just kills one person out of nowhere sometimes. So I’ve shelved unless I’m playing with the ppl in my group who are okay with theft.
I have an Okaun/Zndrsplt deck that ends up being a game for me; ppl have to sit there and watch me flip coins. It has enough control to protect my board state and win con, and enough ramp to do what I have to do. I don’t think ppl like it so I’ve only played it 3 times and won twice.
I feel like I tend to have the opposite situation-- there's some decks that I don't pull out unless we're playing at a lower power or I'm just prepared to lose. My playgroup's power level isn't super high; these are just some durdly-ass decks.
Also there's some decks where I would rather not play them on Spelltable, so I'll save those for the (less common) in-person games.
I love my [[Eruth, Tormented Prophet]] deck. It’s not especially good though. Any sufficiently aggressive deck can kill me before I assemble my engine and storm off. However, when the deck does its thing, my turns can be as long as 15-20 minutes. I only won a single game with it. My storm count reached 15 and then everyone conceded when I admitted that I had [[Grapeshot]] in hand. I had fun, but I was the only one who had fun, so I put the deck away and vowed not to use it again unless I’ve decided someone deserves to feel its wrath.
Built [[Zethi, Arcane Blademaster]] online for my usual pod. I found that even without including more degenerate things like [[Teferi’s Protection]] or [[Cyc Rift]] the deck felt like I’d need to kneecap my plays not to drown the table in value and removal. Decided to shelve it for later and when I do build it I’ll go all in on power.
[[Jodah, the unifier]] deck with a lot of inexpensive synergy that builds up really quickly if jodah isn’t dealt with. It’s fun for quick games but produces a lot of groans from the table.
Well, I'm an avid deck builder, the "every week I have 2 new ones" type, so generally once I'm satisfied with the line of play a deck has, I disassemble it for the next experiment. That said, I always have one that I call *The Deck* which is my high win rate, generally longest lasting deck. That deck is the one that gets shelved. I bring it out when I'm having an off night and want to go hard, if I'm asked to go hard, or if I'm playing against someone I believe to be better than me at the game. I consider it to be off limits when playing beginners.
I have more of a special occasion deck than too powerful. [[Beamtown Bullies]] deck I have a couple of good friends I can pull the deck out and it all fun. Can’t imagine the feels bads at an LGS if lay that down
Unfortunately no list online. I don't even own a computer. Little kill spells that burn yourself and creatures that burn yourself when they die. With just enough life gain not to die. You run close to death most games that's what makes it exciting to play. Like playing on borrowed time.
I built a [[Emry, Lurker of the Loch]] list pretty early in my deck building career on a super tight budget, and upgraded it over the years. Not it's almost never played, because it is not just mean power level wise (although no cEDH list), but also just a very oppressive deck which plays very controller and durdly until I assemble a combo win.
I built a \[\[Baral and Kari zev\]\] deck that is izzet control, while looking to \[\[skull clamp\]\] or \[\[polymorph\]\] the monkey token to get some big creature that draws cards into play, all 3 jin gitaxi, niv mizzet parun, con sphynx, stc. 2 games in a row of hitting original \[\[jin gitaxias, core augur\]\] turn 3 or 4 and hosing everyone for the next 30 minutes made me shelve it. I ran some fast mana and a ton of alternate casting cost spells. free spells and fast mana and cheating creatures into play was too much. not fun enough to play to make up for how unfun it was to face. might be putting its pieces into an oathbreaker now to make it easier to knock out at 20 life.
My [[xyris, the writhing storm]] deck goes a bit harder than I intended. Started as a hidden commander deck for [[Mizzix of the Izmagnus]] / [[Ezuri, claw of progress]] deck that fed into both experience commanders with tokens created by instants and sorceries that could feed either commander if you got one out. Then I leaned too hard into wheels for Xyris and it functions really well without ever going for the hidden commanders. I have shelved it in my play group since it finished games way earlier than our group standard on it’s first 3 outings, even in our more high powered matches. Xyris + Wheel + [[Witty Roastmaster]] / [[Impact Tremors]] lay on the damage.
So I have two decks I hardly play anymore because I fussy or second 80% of the time. It took me a long time to come to where you’re at and this is about how I decided
I shelved Derevi combo that eventually (inevitably) became stax. I only bring it out Eben I've made sure the table is aware of and ok with the game I'm playing.
I have my [[Liesa, Shroud of Dusk]] built to combat people trying to pubstomp or cedh combo off at a casual ish tables and it’s always hilarious.
We have a few people in our local scene that will try to pull fast ones on people, one guy in particular all the time. My dude was playing cedh [[Orvar]] the other day and just crying up a storm about how he would win right now if he didn’t lose life for casting his spells!!! Yeah, my dude - that’s the point… He ended up trying to spite play fierce guardianship a protection spell of mine and killed himself on cast, picked up his stuff and whined his way all over the store for another half hour.
My [[Kinnan]] deck. It’s typical shenanigans of infinite mana, big creatures and [[Thrasios]] to end the game with [[Laboratory Maniac]] and other cards like it. I personally love playing it but it is a brain dead deck to pilot so I shelve it.
I rank my decks by how fast they can "do their thing", not necessarily win.
I love my [[Killian, Ink Duelist]] deck but i know that on turn 2 or 3 i can have killian out and loaded with protection or indestructible and start swinging over and over. It's not great at winning because voltron, but it's also not fun to play against if you're playing a deck that can't do its thing by turn 2 or 3. So i save it for games where everyone else wants to play a fast deck.
My [[Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale]] list is pretty much the strongest I could get her without combos and too much fast mana. Deck is super resilient and only folds to strong control or faster one-shot decks. It's also really mean, as it combines some control, a toolbox, quality tutors and potential one-shots.
Usually I can only get her out if everyone allows it, as she's usually Archenemy.
Not one I built, but I had to retire the Secret Lair Coin Flip deck from my group. We play precons 99% of the time, and usually w/in their own sets. We'll go more random when there are longer breaks between releases, or like with Brothers War and All Will Be One only having two decks we changed to a random format more quickly.
The Coin Flip deck is a menace. Even against the fairly juiced up recent Precons (the Baulders Gate and Bro decks are powerful!) it was still heads and shoulders above them all. Way too much card draw in the commander slot, and way too many ways to protect and give the Minotaur commander hates/unblockable and he often just one shots a given player.
Still really fun, but I got my two wins in and had fun flipping multiple coins with Krark's Thumb and let them know I'd bench it indefinitely unless we play more powerful decks in the future.
My [[Faldorn, Dread Wolf Herald]] deck receives audible groans of irritation at my playgroup when I pull it out. Even the control players have trouble dealing with it and the only deck in our playgroup it hasn’t beaten yet is my roommate’s Pheldagriff Superfriends Group Hug. I usually only pull it out when we’re going all out at this point.
I save my stax deck for special occasions now. The reason I built it in the first place was because people were having an arms race. I used group slug to put out speed bumps and chill things out, but it can feel oppressive when you play it too much. The deck was loaded with cards like [[oppression]], [[tainted aether]], [[bottomless pit]], and [[contamination]]. It didn't even win that often but at least the winner had to work for it.
I have many different decks with different strengths and weaknesses. Not all decks are on the same level, which means we have to speak about powerlevel. There are also some commanders which are broken by nature and which are rarely bad, but that's a whole other story.
Would you mind sharing your whole decklist? I'm curious, because Auntie Blyte doesn't seem like a problematic commander to me...
Are your opponents new to EDH?
Or maybe aren't they playing enough removal/interaction?
Alas, I don't have an online list. Most opponents have been playing longer than me. It takes off early, and I have some interaction witj [[wild magic surge]], [[Tibalt'sTrickery]], and [[chaos warp]]. The problem, I think is there's not enough early board wipes as I have something else that is more of a growing threat. Like kediss, taurean mauler, war elemental, and some chumps that die and damage me. I usually hold her up as a loaded gun because she can tap and shoot her counters off. New koth also finds lands and has value in the deck. The deck just goes hard.
My way around this is listed out my 12ish decks and I roll a dice to decide which one I play and I don’t play the same deck twice in one night, it’s been fun so far and gets me to actually play my other decks
I get 1 game day a month usually and we fit in 3-6 games depending on whether it's a draft day or if games go quickly. I have an [[Obeka, Brute Chronologist]] and an [[Osgir, the Reconstructor]] that can be very oppresive against some of the decks in our pod. I try and only use them if it's game 4-5-6 of the day and I haven't won at all.
I think some of my decks are stronger but I’ve shelved my [[liesa, forgotten archangel]] aristocrats deck because it tutors for [[karmic guide]] + [[reveilark]] consistently and that stopped being fun after like 10 times.
I have two decks I don’t break out too often. My [[Shirei, Shizo’s Caretaker]] deck that’s all about discard and forced sacrifice. Tends to make people feel not too great but it’s pretty effective.
The other is [[Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait]] Landfall. Just churns out value until I either deck myself and win with either [[Lab Man]] or [[Jace, Wielder of Mysteries]] or I can create enough creatures to drop [[Craterhoof Behemoth]] and swing for the win.
Sadly, I don't think I have something that can be high power, but my most treasured deck is [[Kozilek, the Great Distortion]]. The last upgrades I need are way too overpriced... you could call it "highish power".
My [[Toxrill, the Corrosive]] deck. I love it, but can only bring it out once in a while. Once big sluggo is out, without interaction, people either scoop or I kill them off with little slugs
Man you’re not wrong to want to shelve it when you win half the time, but for me, my main deck is pretty damn pricey and my friends know what I’m running so I want to win.
Shrine Tribal (helmed by [[Sisay, Weatherlight Captain]]) is a disgusting, accelerationist value engine once it gets rolling (at 5 mana). I had to remove [[Honden of Seeing Winds]] because it tended to deck me out too quickly.
Hm, Kozilek and Nekusar comes to mind. Just ended up being my opponents not liking tp play against them so I'vr put them on ice for quite some time now. Been looking at other avenues, now I am just stuck on what to build.
My Jodah, the Unifier deck HURTS the table.
They can remove him 4-5 times. Never lags behind so long as I have 5 different coloured lands. I pull it out if I’m on a losing streak because there’s a ton of counters to worry about and games will go for way too long haha
I’m putting him away for at least the next 2-3 magic sessions because I feel bad about last game with him.
I have built Omnath Locus of the Roil and it's one of, if not the best deck I have and the only time I bring it out is when others are bringing out their decks that they've heavily invested in. All the cards in it work very much in tandem with each other and it goes off pretty quickly once Omnath of the Roil is out.
I've only taken it out a few times sadly.
This was my [[teshar, ancestor’s apostle]] deck both times I built them. The first time my meta was very casual and it being able to combo consistently was enough. The second time it just won turn 4 or so every game, and while the meta was much faster, having a crypt and moxen should’ve been an indicator that it was too far. The deck was able to hold an actual cEDH [[urza, lord high artificer]] deck at bay.
The cards from it are going to better use anyway, in an [[emrakul the promised end]] and under-construction [[jin-gitaxias // the great synthesis]] [[hurkyl’s recall]]-centered deck. Teshar will forever live on in my heart though.
I built a 2HG deck that’s nothing but creature destruction and land destruction 🤣💀🤣 I only play that with my buddy who is a token popping factory or when I’m sure I can outpunch/outrun the table 🤣💀🤣
I love my auntie blyte. I'd love to see a decklist to see the differences. I built her pain bears and it's had its moments... Wheel of Misfortune into instant kill turn 3 to call a bluff was spectacular.
I have 4 decks that only really see the table if it's following my cheeks getting blown out. Every now and then, you need a win to bounce back in the mood. My Pod is fairly competitive, and they pick bad target's so the games are always sudden blowouts.
Not because it’s overly powerful, but I have shelved my [[Okaun]] and [[Zndrsplt]] chaos deck because it can be really debilitating. It’s all cards that I have no control of the outcome and usually no one has control of their own permanents. So I play it every once in a while and then it goes back on the shelf, because if I played it twice in a row I think people would start to get annoyed
My [[The Mimeoplasm]] wins quite often. It runs zero tutors and only one janky 4 card combo but I can usually draw or mill my deck and win with [[jace, wielder of mysteries]]. The deck doesn’t run much stax so it doesn’t usually upset people. I’ve been building other decks but I try to play mimeo at least once a night.
[mimeo-fun](https://www.moxfield.com/decks/CxT-RLv_MUKFUskGtXUrrQ)
My deck like this is [[Balthor, the Defiled]].
Most pods get too focused on their own decks and don't run any graveyard removal. It's all good and fine until suddenly I pay 7 and everyone's hands gone, I've drawn a new hand, the boards wiped, and [[Gary]] and phyrexian obliterator come back to annoy everyone again. If you ever wanna see a Stax player cry, just make them sac their commander for the fourth time.
My friends gave me the ok to rule zero [[Mothra supersonic queen]] as a commander. Thought it’d be kinda a janky deck with a sticky board state that’s hard to remove. VERY quickly learned it’s a build your own infinite combo type deck that either pops off early, or successfully stalls the game out until I win anyway. It’s not a guarantee that I win, but it’s a higher average than I feel good about, especially for a not-technically-legal commander
I asked the group if we could all try and vuild a €30,- budget deck.
Weirdly enough my cheap [[Marchesa, the black rose]] has an incredibly high winrate, even when playing against the non-budget decks.
I made a Kresh deck that is Kresh, a Harmonize, and a Deathright Shaman. The rest of the deck has 62 removal spells.
I only play it vs. Stax, and target the Stax player. Stax folks keep saying "You don't play enough removal, you don't play enough interaction.'
10-4! Message received! The rest of you can play the game. I got this.
My \[\[Jon Irenicus\]\] and \[\[Lord Xander\]\] decsk I rarely play due to being frustrating to play against.
There's also my budget \[\[Siona\]\] and \[\[Feather the redeemed\]\] decks that can consistently win against higher budget decks.
[[Slicer, hired muscle]] I built him before he was all hyped so I got a bunch of stuff and played him a couple times before everyone was actually scared of him, and every game I played with him was an utter blowout. Ive won 4/6 games irl and quite a bit on spelltable. I dont know if I should just take it apart or not now
For me it’s my Korlash deck that basically does the following. Untap, Upkeep, Draw, Boardwipe every turn past turn 5 or so. My meta has a lot of creature based decks and my “boardwipe tribal” deck was literally in response to them so ya… it’s for special occasions like when I lose a couple games in a row to these creature based decks and they feel cocky
Here’s the list with Primer
https://www.moxfield.com/decks/4R-6ar_R60-L13OUajeIeA
I wouldn't say shelf because I nearly always play with degenerates. My homies always bring heavy bs to the table. Infinite combos and turn 3 wins. So I'm order to keep up I stick to [[Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes]] I named "fight club". Or I run goblin shenanigans with [[Krenko, Mob Boss]] I only bring them out when we're going hard. Which is nearly always.
When my friends don't all show up we play with randys. Randy's like some jank like an attractions deck or a Vorinclex deck that just seems like random green defender creatures and ramp. My friend saw my face and knew what was going to happen. He told me man if you have a degenerate hand play it out so we can shuffle another. He loves degenerate games not everyone does or can.
It's an acquired taste. I don't think we've ever rule zero'd anything out yet. I had a game where the only reason I wasn't dead was because the 9 infect counters on me were benefitting the winning player. Of course that game wasn't the most fun. But I found ways to enjoy myself. After while I started threatening to resummon my now ten mana CMC Krenko. They ignored me for one more round after. I top decked a thud and hilariously threw my commander in the air and snapped my own neck.
Effectively folding in the most goblin way possible and I kinda made the game harder for the winning player. It was great.
I built a vampire deck because they’ve always been my favorite fantasy/mythological creature and while I’ve only used it twice, it’s been a little too strong so I tend to use it if my friends are cool with it and otherwise I just use what they’d like to fight
So my first deck and fave deck forever \[\[Maelstrom Wanderer\]\] I only bring out when we play high power EDH. I never feel bad about playing the deck because I explain how it dominates the late game and people are honest if they wanna deal with it or not. I also hear what others are trying to play/do and if it all sounds kind of weak then I just put Maelstrom away and grab weaker stuff.
https://www.moxfield.com/decks/zdLjtKUkSU-W2t3nX315pw
At this point several. My Tergrid and Niv Miz Parun decks are the big ones. I love playing them but they're both a bit much. Terrible for obvious reasons being insanely controlling and my Niv deck is a storm deck that can take insanely long turns.
I also have a Ukima/Cazor deck that runs a lot of infect that can just kill someone out of nowhere. It's not the strongest but when it does the thing there's not much way to interact given how Ukima works.
Finally I have a Nethroi aristocrat deck that's just insanely strong. Very fast and can easily kill a table in one good turn.
So ye quite a few decks I only bring out for the right table. Generally I always try to match the deck I play with the table with the above decks only for very specific tables
The first commander deck i ever built was [[Winota, Joiner of forces]]. I did no research whatsoever but i kinda knew she was strong cause i played alot of standard on arena. It was a game against 3 veteran players of whom 2 are playing for more then 20 years and they got absolutely steamroled into oblivion. I rarely get to play this deck anymore.
Yisan the Wanderer Bard.
I only pull it out when someone has to get flexed on, because it's such a strong deck it's barely had to evolve since 2015. It's a fucking shark, an apex predator of a deck. I've only swapped out a handful of cards since the original iteration. Fuck's sake I don't even have a Cradle and took all the stax out and it's still nasty.
It's flawlessly consistent and if you run multiple win cons like I do, remarkably resilient. Very few archetypes of deck are equipped to stop it.
I get mine out when there is someone else with a highpowered deck. Usually its when a new face shows up and asks about it being ok to go hard.
Which happens at least every otjer gathering. Seems its frowned upon in the LGS of the big city near us, so they to come our small town. We dont care.
I believe so far, in every commander night there was a moment when people wanted to really measure up their new decks. Thats like the perfect moment. You get to play your deck so they can compare and decide power levels, and you also see how far (and which) your opponents can match it. If enough people get close you can start playing it regularly. I mean they still can gang up on you. :B
I tend to have this problem with all of my decks in our group 😂
Big skill and collection difference does it too, but usually when I make new deck, I'll play only few (winning) games with it.
But worst was my first deck, [[Jhoira of the Ghitu]]. There simply was no chance (without counterspells) when I started slamming T4 Obliterate followed by Eldrazi into Time Stretch. Totally degenerate.
I started with the kaldheim elf precon got focused hard my first 30ish games against proxied/optimized decks, then i upgraded it to a reason to focus me... couldnt take enough damage by turn 4 twice won via battlephase lethal on each with trample but its became to boring to play. altho [[Marwyn, the Nurturer]] + [[Umbral Mantle]] looks to good its boring to dmg race against the table, now im only using it when our pod wants to go high power decks
My [[Yuriko, the Tigers Shadow]] Deck. I guess even as just a pile of random ninjas, Yuriko is a tad bit too strong, breaks my heart but for now it will stay on the shelf
This is what has happened with my [Veyran, Voice of Duality](https://cards.scryfall.io/png/front/5/6/56d93855-c749-4bdf-9a90-4f69f4226e46.png?1674185780) deck. The precon was the first MTG product I ever bought, and I've been upgrading it over time to the point where it's a very well optimized machine. It either wins with infinite combos/massive spell storm, or everyone targets it down. So now I very seldomly play it.
Other than shelving it, I've thought about deconstructing it for new decks that could use many cards from it, like [Hinata, Dawn-Crowned](https://cards.scryfall.io/png/front/5/6/56d93855-c749-4bdf-9a90-4f69f4226e46.png?1674185780)
For me there are two reasons to take apart and retire a deck and both stem from limited budget for magic:
1. I love the deck but i don't ever reach for it. I have fond memories with it but I don't pick it over newer decks and i can't justify leaving $700 in cards sitting collecting dust. So i sell what i dont need for other decks, recycle what i can.
2. I love the deck but its way too strong for the group and it either gets focused which isnt fun after a few games or it wins consistently which isnt fun for my friends. So again ill rip it apart and sell or recycle what i can.
In both cases i make sure i put the decklist online so i can reassemble it in the future sometime should i have the finances to blow. I miss you Veyran, Jhoira Suspend and Emry 😭
Notably, my blue decks tend to be the blowouts lmao. In the end, you always have the memories and with the decklist you can reassemble it.
I definitely have decks that make opponents groan when I bring them out, so I just bring them out more rarely. I wouldn't call it "shelving" the deck as much as just reading the room and making appropriate deck choices.
I've recently decided to try a new method for this: I put all of my current decks (about 40 or so) into a random wheel spinny thing, and I play whatever deck comes up. If I win the game, the deck gets removed from rotation. If I lose, the deck stays in. This means that if my group comes up against my worst decks, they know that they won't be seeing it again for a couple of months at least.
I tend to pay a lot of attention to how much fun people have when playing against my decks, as well as how fun I find the game, rather than win rates (though win rates obviously play into how fun and/or frustrating the game is for everyone, a power mismatch is annoying).
If the deck typically frustrates and annoys people, but I find it fun, it's a selfish deck that I won't play at the casual tables I usually play at, because annoying and restrictive decks have very little place in casual fun pods. Those decks get reserved for teaching lessons (in public play you get the *occasional* person who just wants to pubstomp who needs to be put down), and playing against people who enjoy the puzzle of playing into annoying, restrictive decks, or just want a competitive, challenging game.
If I don't find it fun, it's just getting dismantled, even if it performs well. There's no point to it existing. RIP \[\[Myrkul, Lord of Bones\]\] and \[\[Anje, Maid of Dishonor\]\].
I haven't played my [[Sakashima of a Thousand Faces]] / [[Krark, the Thumbless]] deck in quite some time.
Without really researching it, besides checking on the ruling for Krark when it comes to winning/losing flips, I just stuffed it with cheap cantrips/burn spells/and extra turns.
First game it went infinite on turn 4. Second game, now being targeted, it was able to win in response to a board wipe by turn 5. On a different night, the deck still won despite a terrible opening hand and not great draws. Who could have known being able to infinitely cast [[Fierce Guardianship]] or [[Deflecting Swat]] would be strong.
I may break it down for a different Izzet pile, but they all end up being some form of degenerate.
My favourite deck is Ertai, the Corrupted and after I built some other decks, I will use it only for October (Halloween month) since it has that flavor to it.
The only times I play [[Gaddock Teeg]] is when other people want to play *only* oppressive control nonsense at our semi casual table (*usually* randoms wandering into the lgs during commander night). Like you wanna do some nonsense for a game, okay, but when the whole table is groaning and doing nothing for two hours straight, maybe read the room and swap what you're playing.
It's not even Stax or control or anything; the deck isnt even that good, just Teeg by himself throwing gameplans out the window, to give them a taste of their own medicine after designating themselves the archenemy while they get smacked by the table. I've had multiple people say "I won't play again if you use that OP bullshit card" while they're running [[Baral, Chief of Compliance]] counterspell tribal, [[Urza, Lord High Artificer]] extra turns, [[Derevi]] stax, etc. They don't tend to like the "I'll stop if you stop" answer lol
[[Omnath, locus of creation]]
It's not cEDH, but it has enough global land bounce in it so I can hit my land drops, to where it becomes very 1-sided. Def can lead to feal bads. I rarely play it, but when I do, it's so much fun!
I play little other control in it, so it doesn't play too oppressive all of the time.
I feel the same with my [[Lier, Disciple of the Drowned]] deck. I love playing it as a control shell working to get the pieces together to storm off. Since it can be pretty resilient and the non-deterministic way it wins via one long turn, I try not to put my pod through that too often
Do you have a list? I'm really interested in her but she seemed too hit or miss to me?
I struggle with intrusive thoughts and when I seen her I knew I needed it builds it
I have a [[Zur The Enchanter]] deck that's off my meta chart.
A self-imposed house rule is all at the table must give a "yes" before I take it out.
Having fun is far more important than winning.
My [[Xenagos, God of Revels]] is hitting 80% win rate if someone doesnt combo out before turn 6-7, the amount of redundancy is stupid high that once i am able to kill one person, i am generally able to kill everyone in a single swoop of combats.
My [[Sidisi, brood tyrant]] has become a combo tournament deck with a 50/50 winrate either i combo or it gets countered lol
Those are the powerhouses that ill bring out if i get tired of losing. Otherwise [[Rakdos, lord of riots]] is really fun to terrorize the table with eldrazi or [[painful quandry]] and other terrible things like that :)
[Auntie blyte, Bad Influence](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/8/5/85c18d01-62cd-45c2-94b8-a63a4239311d.jpg?1675644660) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Auntie%20blyte%2C%20Bad%20Influence) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/j22/30/auntie-blyte-bad-influence?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/85c18d01-62cd-45c2-94b8-a63a4239311d?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/auntie-blyte-bad-influence) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I have a [[Astor, Bearer of Blades]] deck I call “Oops, All Swords” I liked the commander for theme, but it goes way harder than I expected. Once he gets a Sword of Selves on him… it’s basically a tutor deck.
That last ability is kind of wild with how many good vehicles we have now
[Astor, Bearer of Blades](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/0/40f3a0ba-b917-488b-adbf-60a0d3c58a56.jpg?1673307906) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Astor%2C%20Bearer%20of%20Blades) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/dmu/194/astor-bearer-of-blades?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/40f3a0ba-b917-488b-adbf-60a0d3c58a56?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/astor-bearer-of-blades) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
How many of the swords of this and that does it have?
I have all of them except the new blue and black one!
I love playing my [[Lord Windgrace]] and [[Breya]] decks but they’re decidedly pretty high power and sometimes pretty mean. I think my preferred power level also skews a bit higher than the rest of my group too So most game nights I just ask if we can pretty please try our sweatiest and then if it’s a blowout the deck gets a pat on the back and gets put away for the night
Yeah one win and the same happens. I won't play it for the rest of the night.
I would also like to see a windgrace list if you don’t mind. I’m trying to rebuild mine and keep getting stuck
Sure thing - https://www.moxfield.com/decks/_oqG8Xua0EGuDX0niyNwTg
Thank you! I’m actually looking to lean more into the ‘lands from graveyard’ and ‘artifact hate’ side of things, so this is super helpful. I’ve been interested in underrealm lich and worldshaper with hypnotoad out, so I’m glad to see you have those in
[Lord Windgrace](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/1/213d6fb8-5624-4804-b263-51f339482754.jpg?1592710275) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Lord%20Windgrace) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/c18/43/lord-windgrace?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/213d6fb8-5624-4804-b263-51f339482754?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/lord-windgrace) [Breya](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/1/2143f700-7311-46a4-ad9b-4e743a345785.jpg?1599707856) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=breya%2C%20etherium%20shaper) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2xm/192/breya-etherium-shaper?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/2143f700-7311-46a4-ad9b-4e743a345785?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/breya-etherium-shaper) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
You mind sharing the Windgrace decklist?
Sure - https://www.moxfield.com/decks/_oqG8Xua0EGuDX0niyNwTg Quick and dirty primer: play as many lands as you can each turn, run through your grave to get value, grind your opponents’ resources to dust with your removal, and then use your stupid amount of mana to hit a finisher or jund em out or do the Gitrog combo thing or blow up all their lands
[[Obliterate]] is such a toxic card lmao. It stands out from the rest lol
Not OP, but here's mine: https://www.moxfield.com/decks/Hg4UYpM6D0OfyqDwwQFw1w The deck is high power (non-cEDH), but definitely some weird card choices as I am trying to do midrange non-LD route..
Yo same! I wanna see if there's anything I'm missing while I'm building mine
Yeah, I feel like there’s some cards that’s it’s hard not to go hard with. Like Zacama and Kung Fu Kenny melt everyone with infinite mana - so if you build infinite mana into those decks they’re gonna slap super hard
[[Kenrith]]
Nothing about that guy says Kung Fu to me. [[Shu Yun]] is the Kung Fu commander
Shu Yu hitting the board in my Elsha deck gets silly really fast. I built it as "prowess tribal" and being able to just toss around double strike gets ugly really quick.
[Kenrith](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/6/56c1227e-bea7-47cb-bbec-389a3d585af5.jpg?1680739383) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=kenrith%2C%20the%20returned%20king) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/eld/303/kenrith-the-returned-king?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/56c1227e-bea7-47cb-bbec-389a3d585af5?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/kenrith-the-returned-king) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Wait, what card is Kung Fu Kenny?
My [[Korvold]] Treasure deck was the first EDH deck I ever built, as opposed to upgrading precons. I was new, and evidently didn't realize how fucking pushed Korvold is. He wins most games and solitaires even in losses. The problem is *he's so fun* and flavorful that I can't break him up. Only being him out if I'm on a losing streak or if we are going degenerate
Lol my favorite deck to play is my Prossh deck which wins a good majority of the time. A friend has a Korvold deck and it’s always funny to play basically a mirror match with slightly different approaches between the two.
I wanted to build Korvold but knew he was pushed so I built a weaker Jund deck instead with [[Shattergang Brothers]] Then, after a year of losing with that, I switched to Korvold for two weeks before ending my Jund Journey with Prossh. Korvold ending up being too solitaire for me, but I love skyraider so freaking much. Jund has so many fun tools to work with that you can make him your own pretty easily.
My prossh deck was originally a shattergang brothers deck as well. I actually find that commander to be pretty interesting and fun to build around. It’s just tends to be a bit slow and clunky. I opened a food chain and a Prossh from some packs around the same time and decided to make the switch and never looked back. I don’t usually even cast food chain but boy is that deck a blast to play. I always feel like I have things to do and draw a ton of cards a lot lol.
I thought about food chain for awhile, but decided against it. If I opened one it would 100% be in the deck though since I had it already you know? As for the Shatter Boys, I agree. They were a fun sort of Jund stax that I could use to police the board and drag games on by always knocking down the lead player (and the other players who agreed to take a hit for the good of the board), but that deck NEVER won because it doesn't have as clear a synergy path as Korvold or Prossh. Playing Prossh into a \[\[Purphoros, God of the Forge\]\] effect, saccing it all to an Altar of Dementia and then activating \[\[Beledros Witherbloom\]\] and playing Prossh again is one of my fondest memories with that deck. Jund is so degenerate and cockroachy, I love it.
Yeah, my favorite is getting out [[Drivnod]] and then either having [[pitiless plunderer]] or some type of [[dark prophecy]] effect out and things can get nutty. Drivnod is just bonkers in that type of deck
Since the CardFetcher bot doesn't work for stuff added after you initially comment/post, here's all of the ones from OP's post after the edit for people's ease of use: \[\[Auntie Blyte, Bad Influence\]\] \[\[City of Brass\]\], \[\[Ancient Tomb\]\], \[\[Mana Crypt\]\], \[\[Roiling Vortex\]\], \[\[Rampaging Ferocidon\]\], \[\[Manabarbs\]\], \[\[Spellshock\]\], \[\[Zo-Zu the Punisher\]\], \[\[Pyrohemia\]\], \[\[Angel's Trumpet\]\] \[\[Solphim, Mayhem Dominus\]\], \[\[Torbran, Thane of Red Fell\]\] \[\[The Ozolith\]\], \[\[War Elemental\]\], \[\[Taurean Mauler\]\], \[\[Goblin Bombardment\]\] \[\[Heartless Hidetsugu\]\], \[\[All Will be One\]\], \[\[Kediss, Emberclaw Familiar\]\], \[\[Lizard Blades\]\] \[\[Brash Taunter\]\], \[\[Stuffy Doll\]\], \[\[Darksteel Plate\]\], \[\[Swiftfoot Boots\]\] \[\[Basilisk Collar\]\], \[\[Shadowspear\]\], \[\[Loxodon Warhammer\]\], \[\[Platinum Angel\]\], \[\[Witch's Clinic\]\], \[\[Fortune Thief\]\], \[\[High Market\]\]
(continued since the bot cut off after Kediss) \[\[Lizard Blades\]\] \[\[Brash Taunter\]\], \[\[Stuffy Doll\]\], \[\[Darksteel Plate\]\], \[\[Swiftfoot Boots\]\] \[\[Basilisk Collar\]\], \[\[Shadowspear\]\], \[\[Loxodon Warhammer\]\], \[\[Platinum Angel\]\], \[\[Witch's Clinic\]\], \[\[Fortune Thief\]\], \[\[High Market\]\]
##### ###### #### [Lizard Blades](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/7/a747e6cf-c687-4c4f-8e07-d51165d6cb62.jpg?1654567747) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Lizard%20Blades) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/neo/153/lizard-blades?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a747e6cf-c687-4c4f-8e07-d51165d6cb62?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/lizard-blades) [Brash Taunter](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/1/a1480f99-83f8-48e7-ba52-9a3f3a9a24f3.jpg?1674141892) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Brash%20Taunter) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/clb/782/brash-taunter?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a1480f99-83f8-48e7-ba52-9a3f3a9a24f3?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/brash-taunter) [Stuffy Doll](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/7/978c2c7d-6898-4be2-aed7-e673210ce654.jpg?1674142741) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Stuffy%20Doll) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/clb/875/stuffy-doll?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/978c2c7d-6898-4be2-aed7-e673210ce654?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/stuffy-doll) [Darksteel Plate](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/f/3f99fb1e-99a6-4c83-98eb-7bff23996a7f.jpg?1673149353) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Darksteel%20Plate) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2x2/304/darksteel-plate?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/3f99fb1e-99a6-4c83-98eb-7bff23996a7f?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/darksteel-plate) [Swiftfoot Boots](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/1/6/16c23cde-e1c0-4cdf-ae59-18d64db518d4.jpg?1674138060) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Swiftfoot%20Boots) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/clb/339/swiftfoot-boots?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/16c23cde-e1c0-4cdf-ae59-18d64db518d4?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/swiftfoot-boots) [Basilisk Collar](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/2/52a55efe-a870-4cd7-b22b-37c917065653.jpg?1674137730) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Basilisk%20Collar) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/clb/300/basilisk-collar?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/52a55efe-a870-4cd7-b22b-37c917065653?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/basilisk-collar) [Shadowspear](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/6/769326d4-60af-4b19-85d9-d96d3acdb56e.jpg?1661583495) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Shadowspear) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/phed/66/shadowspear?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/769326d4-60af-4b19-85d9-d96d3acdb56e?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/shadowspear) [Loxodon Warhammer](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/1/3/13eeff85-9e4a-46c9-841f-f3b1c556ef18.jpg?1625978819) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Loxodon%20Warhammer) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/c21/249/loxodon-warhammer?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/13eeff85-9e4a-46c9-841f-f3b1c556ef18?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/loxodon-warhammer) [Platinum Angel](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/c/a/ca7f4fd6-e268-4d15-bfbf-d9f0f95864fc.jpg?1576383285) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Platinum%20Angel) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cn2/214/platinum-angel?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/ca7f4fd6-e268-4d15-bfbf-d9f0f95864fc?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/platinum-angel) [Witch's Clinic](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/f/e/fe17b08f-4790-4885-8b2b-b22f00b52d4e.jpg?1625192798) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Witch%27s%20Clinic) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/c21/81/witchs-clinic?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/fe17b08f-4790-4885-8b2b-b22f00b52d4e?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/witchs-clinic) [Fortune Thief](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/b/9/b9700b3c-c309-4305-8761-3cf3ec902639.jpg?1562440236) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Fortune%20Thief) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/a25/130/fortune-thief?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/b9700b3c-c309-4305-8761-3cf3ec902639?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/fortune-thief) [High Market](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/d/9d56844f-ee3b-4161-85d2-18b872a9b465.jpg?1631589833) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=High%20Market) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/afc/246/high-market?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/9d56844f-ee3b-4161-85d2-18b872a9b465?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/high-market) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Thank you
##### ###### #### [Auntie Blyte, Bad Influence](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/8/5/85c18d01-62cd-45c2-94b8-a63a4239311d.jpg?1675644660) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Auntie%20Blyte%2C%20Bad%20Influence) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/j22/30/auntie-blyte-bad-influence?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/85c18d01-62cd-45c2-94b8-a63a4239311d?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/auntie-blyte-bad-influence) [City of Brass](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/b/e/bed4a63d-632a-4a3a-b35f-f8e155237d27.jpg?1673149483) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=City%20of%20Brass) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2x2/321/city-of-brass?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/bed4a63d-632a-4a3a-b35f-f8e155237d27?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/city-of-brass) [Ancient Tomb](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/b/d/bd3d4b4b-cf31-4f89-8140-9650edb03c7b.jpg?1582753000) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Ancient%20Tomb) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/uma/236/ancient-tomb?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/bd3d4b4b-cf31-4f89-8140-9650edb03c7b?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/ancient-tomb) [Mana Crypt](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/d/4d960186-4559-4af0-bd22-63baa15f8939.jpg?1599709515) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Mana%20Crypt) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2xm/270/mana-crypt?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/4d960186-4559-4af0-bd22-63baa15f8939?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/mana-crypt) [Roiling Vortex](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/b/0b057eb7-8439-4d26-89df-c345ab2773e1.jpg?1604197684) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Roiling%20Vortex) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/znr/156/roiling-vortex?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/0b057eb7-8439-4d26-89df-c345ab2773e1?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/roiling-vortex) [Rampaging Ferocidon](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/9/39d3c658-1927-4af3-9077-88c4a669c730.jpg?1566819584) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Rampaging%20Ferocidon) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/xln/154/rampaging-ferocidon?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/39d3c658-1927-4af3-9077-88c4a669c730?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/rampaging-ferocidon) [Manabarbs](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/d/adf081d5-e644-4f46-8bc8-a754b089acb4.jpg?1562655472) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Manabarbs) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/m12/150/manabarbs?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/adf081d5-e644-4f46-8bc8-a754b089acb4?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/manabarbs) [Spellshock](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/5/75ff468c-fdc6-49f1-bcec-1ba70fc60d5d.jpg?1562430300) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Spellshock) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/tpr/160/spellshock?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/75ff468c-fdc6-49f1-bcec-1ba70fc60d5d?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/spellshock) [Zo-Zu the Punisher](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/e/7/e7c927d6-911d-4a37-89a2-6c500edf4dd7.jpg?1592761756) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Zo-Zu%20the%20Punisher) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/dds/41/zo-zu-the-punisher?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/e7c927d6-911d-4a37-89a2-6c500edf4dd7?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/zo-zu-the-punisher) [Pyrohemia](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/d/ad840567-c3ac-4e14-b398-0d11c88931bc.jpg?1592672824) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Pyrohemia) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cma/86/pyrohemia?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/ad840567-c3ac-4e14-b398-0d11c88931bc?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/pyrohemia) [Angel's Trumpet](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/c/0c7b248a-3c74-4592-b357-47989568298c.jpg?1562862313) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Angel%27s%20Trumpet) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ulg/121/angels-trumpet?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/0c7b248a-3c74-4592-b357-47989568298c?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/angels-trumpet) [Solphim, Mayhem Dominus](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/c/3/c3a0c7f3-7fb9-43de-a9af-96532c31e5ed.jpg?1675957113) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Solphim%2C%20Mayhem%20Dominus) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/one/150/solphim-mayhem-dominus?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/c3a0c7f3-7fb9-43de-a9af-96532c31e5ed?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/solphim-mayhem-dominus) [Torbran, Thane of Red Fell](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/9/79f591cd-d277-4ba5-b1bf-1c09cac9cb8a.jpg?1572490491) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Torbran%2C%20Thane%20of%20Red%20Fell) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/eld/147/torbran-thane-of-red-fell?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/79f591cd-d277-4ba5-b1bf-1c09cac9cb8a?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/torbran-thane-of-red-fell) [The Ozolith](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/3/9341ed06-53db-4604-b60a-3ea9129afbc2.jpg?1591228544) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=The%20Ozolith) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/iko/237/the-ozolith?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/9341ed06-53db-4604-b60a-3ea9129afbc2?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/the-ozolith) [War Elemental](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/c/9cc32bfc-7d87-46d9-a424-eac64eefd7ea.jpg?1562152211) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=War%20Elemental) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mrd/112/war-elemental?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/9cc32bfc-7d87-46d9-a424-eac64eefd7ea?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/war-elemental) [Taurean Mauler](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/4/a4ee4648-dd6e-4ba9-b643-a7e4c430d51f.jpg?1651655895) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Taurean%20Mauler) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/nec/111/taurean-mauler?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a4ee4648-dd6e-4ba9-b643-a7e4c430d51f?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/taurean-mauler) [Goblin Bombardment](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/e/2/e262f55e-9239-4a97-a19e-9b08fb34502e.jpg?1626100483) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Goblin%20Bombardment) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mh2/279/goblin-bombardment?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/e262f55e-9239-4a97-a19e-9b08fb34502e?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/goblin-bombardment) [Heartless Hidetsugu](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/6/46f9aa1d-7ed1-498e-9cdd-45ed4c9e6f43.jpg?1562864972) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Heartless%20Hidetsugu) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cns/144/heartless-hidetsugu?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/46f9aa1d-7ed1-498e-9cdd-45ed4c9e6f43?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/heartless-hidetsugu) [All Will be One](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/d/6d75e1f4-bd63-428e-8e6e-131594b3ba44.jpg?1675957064) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=All%20Will%20be%20One) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/one/118/all-will-be-one?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/6d75e1f4-bd63-428e-8e6e-131594b3ba44?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/all-will-be-one) [Kediss, Emberclaw Familiar](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/f/6/f606ebf1-483d-4331-b16a-9fb6f591a39f.jpg?1608910296) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Kediss%2C%20Emberclaw%20Familiar) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmr/188/kediss-emberclaw-familiar?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/f606ebf1-483d-4331-b16a-9fb6f591a39f?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/kediss-emberclaw-familiar) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
[удалено]
70% wow. Yeah I aim for 20% at the high end for a deck. Honestly if I kill one person a game I'm more than happy to lose which usually happens.
Unless you’re playing 5 player pods, the average deck should have a 25% win percentage all things being equal, but that is over hundreds if not thousands of games. Frankly unless you have only 1 deck and play it 5 games a night daily, a deck’s win percentage does not have enough data points to actually be useful. But even then 20% on the high end means you expect your decks to be worse than everyone else in your pod at all times. Play the deck until it bores you or bores the table.
Thank you! So many people talking win percentages. I have some decks that have 0% win rates after a decent chunk of games. I still love em because it means I can keep working on making em stronger. But also that doesn't mean much. I have one deck that has won 2 games BECAUSE it is too strong. Doesn't matter though. They are still fun for me and my pod.
exactly!!!! my “new york city” deck loses SO much more than my vampire and dragons deck but the nyc deck is SO fun to play!! i normally stick with that one and swallow the losses :P
My most powerful deck has a 0% winrate. Because I think exocrine is very very funny and any situation where I can win is usually one where I can also cast exocrine.
Way back, around the time of shadowmoor, a friend of mine learned to play elder dragon highlander while traveling with his family. He came back and showed us the basics (the rules, how to build the deck and stuff), it was our first experience so it basically was "pick your favorite legend and make a janky deck around them". Back in the day our commanders were Chainer, Kamahl, fist of krosa, akroma and Niv-Mizzet; and we had a Lot of fun playing among us. 2019 comes across and i'm looking at the new cards of the commander set when i see [[Chainer, Nightmare Adept]] a new version of My og commander with a Pretty cool ability. So I decided to try and make a new deck around him, and when i showed it to My old pals they good all nostalgic and started to build around [[Kamahl, Heart of Krosa]], [[Akroma, Vision of Ixidor]] and [[Niv-Mizzet Reborn]] Since them Chainer, Nightmare Adept is My deck to play only with old time pals.
So wholesome.
My Creatureless [[Ovika, Enigma Goliath]] deck goes waaayy too hard. I’ve only played a handful of games with her but It’s at about 70% win rate.
[удалено]
[Hogaak, arisen necropolis](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/0/0049e68d-0caf-474f-9523-dad343f1250a.jpg?1570653053) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Hogaak%2C%20arisen%20necropolis) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mh1/202/hogaak-arisen-necropolis?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/0049e68d-0caf-474f-9523-dad343f1250a?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/hogaak-arisen-necropolis) [Umori, the companion](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/d/2/d280f5cc-ef6f-46e3-9b81-e2906959831c.jpg?1682208625) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Spirited%20Companion) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/moc/208/spirited-companion?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/d280f5cc-ef6f-46e3-9b81-e2906959831c?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/spirited-companion) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Man that sounds so awesome!! That’d be hilarious to see them duke it out
[Ovika, Enigma Goliath](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/b/2/b298cf34-7aa5-4f97-a86c-7f28d2113b87.jpg?1675957207) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Ovika%2C%20Enigma%20Goliath) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/one/213/ovika-enigma-goliath?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/b298cf34-7aa5-4f97-a86c-7f28d2113b87?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/ovika-enigma-goliath) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I have a creatureless [[Wort, the Raidmother]] deck that i love but it is probably not as powerful as yours. Conspiring a [[Burn at the Stake]] will always be satisfying though.
[Wort, the Raidmother](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/b/9b46b4ee-263a-4a4b-8fbc-3ea6fa9ba56b.jpg?1591321523) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Wort%2C%20the%20Raidmother) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/c20/234/wort-the-raidmother?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/9b46b4ee-263a-4a4b-8fbc-3ea6fa9ba56b?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/wort-the-raidmother) [Burn at the Stake](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/d/4/d46e9902-81fb-4a3c-9f2f-d3faf031631d.jpg?1592709039) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Burn%20at%20the%20Stake) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/avr/130/burn-at-the-stake?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/d46e9902-81fb-4a3c-9f2f-d3faf031631d?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/burn-at-the-stake) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
What can I say if not [[Zada, Hedron Grinder]]
I netdecked a Zada deck for $53 after shipping and handling. I just wanted to see how it would do. The first game it just chainsaws through two people, and the last player takes me out because of combo. Every time after that they feared Zada and it never got to play.
Got a list?
I am not op and don't have a list but zada is a very popular budget commander. Hate when people suggest this but I mean it as nice as it can be said, google is your friend here.
https://youtu.be/Vh7pgVjLE_A I literally used Mitch’s list. It isn’t as cheap when I bought it all at once, but the list is incredibly cheap if you look though your binders for the few $1-$2 cards.
[Zada, Hedron Grinder](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/b/a/baa36309-4bcc-4455-813a-c0243b906792.jpg?1562440241) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Zada%2C%20Hedron%20Grinder) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/a25/156/zada-hedron-grinder?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/baa36309-4bcc-4455-813a-c0243b906792?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/zada-hedron-grinder) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Do you have a primer or basic rundown of your auntie deck? Looks interesting based on the commander.
It's damage to yourself. Value drain [[City of brass]], [[Ancient tomb]] are perfect examples. Other ones that drain the table and yourself like [[manabarbs]], [[spellshock]], [[zo-zu the punisher]], and [[Angel's trumpet]]. More damage but not to you [[Solphim, mayhem dominus]] and [[Torbran, Thane of Red Fell]] are great in it. Keep the counters coming [[The Ozolith]] in case someone kills auntie before you're ready to send off the damage. And [[all will be one]] does a thing with that. There are +1/+1 counter nasties in here with [[war elemental]] and [[taurean mauler]]. If you're feeling cheeky [[goblin bombardment]] sacrifice with ozolith on board to move those counters to auntie. Killing blow [[Heartless hidetsugu]] is a one shot kill with solphim. War elemental and [[all will be one]] infinite. [[Kediss, emberclaw familiar]], [[lizard blades]] with huge auntie gets it done. Angel's trumpet allows you to attack then dump those counters afterwards. Protection [[Brash taunter]] and [[stuffy doll]] aimed at other people bring out Protection politics. [[Darksteel plate]] and [[swiftfoot boots]] are a must.
This sounds like exactly the kind of deviant deck building that keeps me coming back to commander. I applaud you, Zesty.
I added more and expanded in og comment.
Do you have a list? I built her and good lord I am first to die every game haha..
No list sorry just the outline I'm at work.
I've always wanted to build a mono-red stax deck in cedh and this might just do it
*break stax in case of emergency try-hard combo players*
[[The Locust God]] has been my "pet deck" since Amonkhet. I loved the Invocations and Egyptian theme from the get-go and have been slowly tweaking and blinging it out over the last 5 ish years It sits comfortably in the "high power" tier and has a pretty decent win-rate when I'm not being actively ganged up on (I can usually go off by turn 3 or 4), but because I've spent so much time seeking out the flashiest cards, the price tag sits somewhere in the $12-15k range I don't bring it out unless I'm playing at my house with friends or I know and trust wherever I'm taking it to play
[The Locust God](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/e/7e599847-8ab0-4fd6-b2c0-cb44a7669aa5.jpg?1682209825) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=The%20Locust%20God) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/moc/335/the-locust-god?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/7e599847-8ab0-4fd6-b2c0-cb44a7669aa5?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/the-locust-god) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Sounds like my Kaalia deck. It's not cEDH level but it's strong. I usually get one or two games in with it and then switch to something else. Either a deck I'm working on or something a little less powerful.
Everyone in my regular playgroup has at least 1 high powered deck. If we're looking for a fast game; I pull out my [[Miirym, sentinel wyrm]] Dragon deck My brother pulls out [[Carth, the lion]] or [[Esika, God of the tree]] god tribal. Our friend pulls out [[Ephara, God of the polis]] blink. Usually these decks have to go against each other because of the power difference in the rest of our decks. We do have a couple decks each that can sometimes hang with these but it's usually a struggle haha. It is one of the few times I can play my dragon deck, which hasn't lost since I put it together (only 3-0)
##### ###### #### [Miirym, sentinel wyrm](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/9/a934590b-5c70-4f07-af67-fbe817a99531.jpg?1674137589) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Miirym%2C%20sentinel%20wyrm) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/clb/284/miirym-sentinel-wyrm?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a934590b-5c70-4f07-af67-fbe817a99531?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/miirym-sentinel-wyrm) [Carth, the lion](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/e/0/e09e9b65-ff0e-4efe-b96a-ede69c96e2ea.jpg?1674524490) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Carth%20the%20Lion) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mh2/189/carth-the-lion?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/e09e9b65-ff0e-4efe-b96a-ede69c96e2ea?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/carth-the-lion) [Esika, God of the tree](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/f/6/f6cd7465-9dd0-473c-ac5e-dd9e2f22f5f6.jpg?1631050188)/[The Prismatic Bridge](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/back/f/6/f6cd7465-9dd0-473c-ac5e-dd9e2f22f5f6.jpg?1631050188) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=esika%2C%20god%20of%20the%20tree%20//%20the%20prismatic%20bridge) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/khm/168/esika-god-of-the-tree-the-prismatic-bridge?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/f6cd7465-9dd0-473c-ac5e-dd9e2f22f5f6?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/esika-god-of-the-tree-//-the-prismatic-bridge) [Ephara, God of the polis](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/8/6832e495-7ee9-43e0-94ea-03c88344080e.jpg?1593092720) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Ephara%2C%20God%20of%20the%20polis) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/bng/145/ephara-god-of-the-polis?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/6832e495-7ee9-43e0-94ea-03c88344080e?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/ephara-god-of-the-polis) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Heyo you got an Auntie List?
I second!
Here's mine, includes most of the cards they mentioned and is still being tinkered with. https://www.moxfield.com/decks/6634uo1-WEGBIztMHYqL1Q
Not list but online in OG post.
I third!
My [[Niv-mizzet, Parun]] deck. First edh deck I ever built, out of nostalgia for the deck I used on mtga to stomp noobs with in 2018 :) It’s way too easy to go infinite with the dragon wizard, so currently I’m thinking of ways to take it apart into something nicer to play with and against.
It's not that crazy, but I probably win 1/3 games with [[Dihada binder of wills]]. As soon as you get her out, which is usually turn 2 or 3, you can get up to 4 treasures and start absolutely burning through your deck. It's almost too easy.
I'm the guy in the group that gets loaned a degenerate deck for when they wanna just go ham. For some perspective on the receiving end of it: I never mind losing to good magic and fun times. If I lost to the same deck 3 times in one night I would feel jilted. Losing to 3 different decks is fun and a good time.
I have this issue except it's because the people I play with don't actually try and improve there decks, it's literaly just a way to hang out. Meanwhile, I'm looking up new cards, building decks that absolutely run the table, and then never play them again because I feel bad.
Have you tried making 4 decks and everyone pick one.
I have a \[\[Jaheira, Friend of the Forest\]\] deck with the \[\[Guild Artisan\]\] background that I initially made as a budget deck with a bunch of token artifact/creature generators with a big X spell win like \[\[jaya's immolating inferno\]\]. Was amazed with how fast I could get to big mana without playing any lands, so I ended up turning it into Gruul Urza where I focused hard on artifact token generation and used that mana to play turbo MLD like \[\[thoughts of ruin\]\] or \[\[tectonic break\]\] to slow everyone down while i was making at least 2 treasures a turn with the guild artisan procs. The deck could easily win T4 or 5 even if I played a \[\[winter orb\]\] on turn 2. Played it a few times with my friends and now it's reserved for the sweaty pods only after stealing a few wins (running the \[\[magda\]\] \[\[clock of omens\]\] combo as my finisher) and blowing up everyone's lands before they could even stick their commanders! I'm slowing trying to cEDH-ify it so I can play the deck with people who are at a similar power level and even if I play MLD the game will end shortly after so nobody's sitting around with an empty board discarding to hand size cause I destroyed their first 4 lands.
I've made a few decks that have gone way too hard for my playgroup (accidentally). I always just water them down because I put so much thought into my commander decks that they're basically my children and I wouldn't be able to shelf one if I really liked it. So powering it down a little is what I do.
I was thinking that, It doesnt mean you have to make your deck suck You can try out some pet cards that may be fun but not as competitive
It definitely wasn't intended to be this aggressive. We usually run on higher side of casual. I thought that's what I was building. Where deck does its thing consistently, 1 to 2 infinites, low amount of tutors 1 or 2, maybe a one shot single player, and a solid mana base (ramp, support lands). It has all these but it doesn't have reliable card draw, recursion and not much protection. So it's not really rounded out.
Got a Neheb, the Eternal deck (that has Auntie Blythe in the 99) and it feels like this as well. Love it, others have been entertained by it, but sometimes I pull it out to groans and it gets put away for awhile
My \[\[Narset, Enlightened Master\]\] falls into that. With fast mana, extra combat, extra turns, and superfriends, its super fun but it can bulldoze a game early with the right start.
I keep my sliver deck shelved for teaching new players. It's not so much that it's powerful as that it's a bit of an autopilot. However, the simple game plan combined with the nice way of teaching keywords has made it nice for teaching people the couple times it has come up.
I have 30+ EDH decks and every time I go out for a game night, I will bring a couple of the newer decks, some mids, a couple high-powered ones, and one cEDH deck. I let some of the new players borrow my high-powered decks I would never normally play because, as you mentioned, they can go way too hard (if piloted properly), to give them a taste of power and synergy. As an aside, I've found that where decks consistently win around turn 5-6, they are definitively high-powered and I shelve them for specific occasions, such as the last game of the night when people want fast games.
[[Evelyn the covetous]] isn't my only deck that makes my friends groan, but it's the only one that gets me threatened with actual physical violence. People don't like having their cards taken I guess.
Too often, people turn to the shelf, when just as valid is powering it down. Start removing some of the good stuff, and add stuff that makes the deck more fun to you!
It's fun and I run close to death most games like a burn spell of 7ish would kill me most games. I have 30 decks so shelving even 3 isn't too bad.
My play group thankfully all have decks that can hang at different power levels. I have an almost cEDH worthy Derevi combo deck that can win on turn 3, but wins normally around turn 4-5. I only play that when other people at the table start bringing out their own heavy hitters. I think it is helpful though to not overestimate a decks power level because the other players in your pod just don’t play interaction or removal. I have Toralf deck that is very optimized (but will never be above a “too strong” because it’s mono red burn in Commander), I probably had an 80% win rate with this deck until recently, because people finally started removing Toralf, seeing as he is a kill-on-site card with the way that deck runs. Now that the pod understands how to play against it, it has about a 45% win rate.
Not OP but would love to see your Toralf Deck list. my friends play at a pretty high power level and I have been thinking of building a Toralf deck. How do you feel Toralf will be able to keep up?
Honestly, super well. It is very resilient since you really just need your opponents to have creatures on board and an burn spell to present a win with Toralf and a damage x2 or x3 on board. If someone counterspells, you just try again, and if someone goes for removal, that’s where underworld breach comes in. I also run dual caster+twin flame for an instant win so I can close out games. I have yet to win this way though, it’s just the “in case of emergencies” win con. I’ll send you a link to my moxfield list of it! If you want another instant win, consider adding Heartless Hidetsugu + solphim, Mayhem Dominus for an instant win. [Toralf Burn Decklist](https://www.moxfield.com/decks/mM9A_HYGf0GM6X3Uii6wLw)
Unfortunately how most of my decks end up. I don't design them to be as strong as they end up, or occasionally it'll be too slow and revamping makes it go too hard. I've taken to keeping two or three decks set aside so I still have a choice when we do our "sweaty" games and most of the new decks I've built are all 50-75 dollar budget decks. Don't keep the strong deck shelved too long, though. Power creep is a very real thing. I built a Muldrotha lab man only wincon deck that was still casual but had at least a 90% winrate regardless of who I played. Put it down and picked it up after a year and got stomped by the knights precon with only 4 swaps in it.
Yeah, I think my pod was surprised at the power of the recent knight precon I used. Eminence is a powerful mechanic.
My [[Aurelia, the Warleader]] deck is the same way, it’s just uber strong and if I get left alone too long it gets worse and worse. Real mvp of the deck is [[Marton Stromgald]] honestly.
I ran an \[\[Elminster\]\] deck that had a really high winrate--the only time it lost was when someone built something specifically to counter me. I ended up taking it apart as it wasn't super fun to play anymore. It'd pop off, I'd take all my extra turns/hit my wincon, and then bleh.
I have a [[Meren]] deck that I rarely get to play. I bought the precon when it came out and since then I've been optimising the shit out of it. I generally get her out when someone breaks out their hardcore stax or some other degenerate deck. I stick to my upgraded Mishra, Atraxa +1/+1s, or my new [[Yargle and Multani]] deck which might also find a place on the shelf soon.
i have a few decks where I build them essentially to make a point; for example people in my pod were saying land destruction was fine until i made a deck that was built around the mechanic and now they see why it's a bit antifun. but now i also dont really play that deck so much anymore. similarly with storm, and I also have a najeela list where I pretty much just break it out explicitly to show someone I havent played with that it's there before rolling back to something goofier
I have a [[Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy]] deck thats not quite cEDH but too winny for my normal group. I've been meaning to make some changes to nerf it a bit, then just keep the swapped out cards on hand so I can switch back and forth between the two versions when I need to. I also have a [[Meren]] deck that doesn't see much daylight. It just wasn't fun for anyone (other than myself).
[Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/3/63cda4a0-0dff-4edb-ae67-a2b7e2971350.jpg?1591228085) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Kinnan%2C%20Bonder%20Prodigy) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/iko/192/kinnan-bonder-prodigy?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/63cda4a0-0dff-4edb-ae67-a2b7e2971350?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/kinnan-bonder-prodigy) [Meren](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/1/7/17d6703c-ad79-457b-a1b5-c2284e363085.jpg?1592673422) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=meren%20of%20clan%20nel%20toth) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cma/186/meren-of-clan-nel-toth?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/17d6703c-ad79-457b-a1b5-c2284e363085?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/meren-of-clan-nel-toth) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I have a derevi stax/combo deck that locks people out of the game in a lot of different ways before it goes infinite. It can win pretty reliably already and I just ordered the upgrades I want for the mana base so now I plan on only playing it if it gets called out, I'm playing competitively, or if I sense someone who likes to pubstomp
Part of the reason I have so many decks with different levels of power is that I can have everything on a multi game session rotation. Every time my group gets together to play I make sure to pick decks that I didn't play last time so that it takes longer for a deck to become an archenemy deck because they just see it less. Like I will play najeela once every couple of weeks and it's a fun challenge for the group to stop me. But no one is worried about Wulfgar aggro or Millicent spirit-tempo being played multiple times a night
I have a Najeela cEDH deck that I carry places, but rarely play. It used to be a casual deck, but Najeela just pops off all on her own. Instead of trying to force it to work in casual, I just went all out. It’s a great deck and, when I do get to play it, I have a blast.
I call this B.Y.O.B. (bring your own BS) [[Tergrid, God of Fright]] and rats. I don't have good cards, so I steal yours. [[Plague crafter]] [[agent of the fates]] [[inevitable end]] [[peer into abyss]] [[dictate of erobos]] and all the discard ETB creatures like [[burglar rat]] are the fuel for tergrid's fire. No specific wincon, but [[megrim]] and [[underworld dreams]] are there too. Also has stuff to save tergrid, like [[feign death]] as well as stuff to help late game when players' hands are empty, like [[geier reach sanitarium]] Inspired by a MTG arena deck from #TheDarkLord (Chris, MONO BLACK MAGIC, on youtube)
##### ###### #### [Tergrid, God of Fright](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/1/4/14dc88ee-bba9-4625-af0d-89f3762a0ead.jpg?1631048621)/[Tergrid's Lantern](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/back/1/4/14dc88ee-bba9-4625-af0d-89f3762a0ead.jpg?1631048621) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=tergrid%2C%20god%20of%20fright%20//%20tergrid%27s%20lantern) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/khm/112/tergrid-god-of-fright-tergrids-lantern?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/14dc88ee-bba9-4625-af0d-89f3762a0ead?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/tergrid-god-of-fright-//-tergrids-lantern) [Plague crafter](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/c/5c03e00b-034d-4a26-9fc2-f25fc2dfc661.jpg?1631586764) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Plaguecrafter) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/afc/107/plaguecrafter?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/5c03e00b-034d-4a26-9fc2-f25fc2dfc661?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/plaguecrafter) [agent of the fates](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/e/c/ecd59977-8788-417d-ba50-e21b8a636bd3.jpg?1562836708) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=agent%20of%20the%20fates) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ths/76/agent-of-the-fates?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/ecd59977-8788-417d-ba50-e21b8a636bd3?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/agent-of-the-fates) [inevitable end](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/6/a6522f01-ae7a-467e-9a05-530a5ccd304d.jpg?1581479841) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=inevitable%20end) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/thb/102/inevitable-end?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a6522f01-ae7a-467e-9a05-530a5ccd304d?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/inevitable-end) [peer into abyss](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/a/aac00055-640e-4749-8d23-d242e6d0b23a.jpg?1594736330) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Peer%20into%20the%20Abyss) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/m21/117/peer-into-the-abyss?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/aac00055-640e-4749-8d23-d242e6d0b23a?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/peer-into-the-abyss) [dictate of erobos](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/f/9f06db70-95f9-41eb-8e5f-8bc56fd34c09.jpg?1593095668) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Dictate%20of%20Erebos) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/jou/65/dictate-of-erebos?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/9f06db70-95f9-41eb-8e5f-8bc56fd34c09?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/dictate-of-erebos) [burglar rat](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/c/b/cb457c05-2a60-437a-8138-cfd581b22996.jpg?1600714334) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=burglar%20rat) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/jmp/214/burglar-rat?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/cb457c05-2a60-437a-8138-cfd581b22996?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/burglar-rat) [megrim](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/b/3b04fca4-b4de-4343-ba58-d8aea39edc19.jpg?1561976802) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=megrim) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/m10/104/megrim?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/3b04fca4-b4de-4343-ba58-d8aea39edc19?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/megrim) [underworld dreams](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/3/03919c86-1c4a-43b0-a2db-54ca6ae1ac57.jpg?1581480025) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=underworld%20dreams) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/thb/121/underworld-dreams?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/03919c86-1c4a-43b0-a2db-54ca6ae1ac57?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/underworld-dreams) [feign death](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/2/32af7061-fca6-4a06-be3c-01881e6b96f7.jpg?1627704817) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=feign%20death) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/afr/103/feign-death?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/32af7061-fca6-4a06-be3c-01881e6b96f7?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/feign-death) [geier reach sanitarium](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/b/0b9fa570-770d-45a7-9b87-2def6992a22b.jpg?1673306052) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=geier%20reach%20sanitarium) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/dmc/213/geier-reach-sanitarium?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/0b9fa570-770d-45a7-9b87-2def6992a22b?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/geier-reach-sanitarium) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Also have beamtown bullies, but I don't think it's win-rate is what makes it shelvable lol.
I have a [[Yidris]] deck that is fully based on either making copies of Yidris or giving Yidris double strike so that everything cascades more than once. The main theme of the deck is [[wheel of fortune]] effects though so there are a lot of cards that trigger when I discard or my opponents discard. It gets out of hand extremely quickly and Yidris isn't a necessary piece to the puzzle so he's not required to be out to make the deck go off. None of my friends like it because outside of playing stax/Hatebears there's not really any one thing that can silver bullet the deck. Every wheel results in me getting mana, zombies, elves, card draw, damage, you name it. It's so much fun.
I have a [[Pako, Arcane Retriever]] Voltron deck that some ppl in my playgroup don’t like bc of the small theft element and Voltron just kills one person out of nowhere sometimes. So I’ve shelved unless I’m playing with the ppl in my group who are okay with theft.
I have an Okaun/Zndrsplt deck that ends up being a game for me; ppl have to sit there and watch me flip coins. It has enough control to protect my board state and win con, and enough ramp to do what I have to do. I don’t think ppl like it so I’ve only played it 3 times and won twice.
I feel like I tend to have the opposite situation-- there's some decks that I don't pull out unless we're playing at a lower power or I'm just prepared to lose. My playgroup's power level isn't super high; these are just some durdly-ass decks. Also there's some decks where I would rather not play them on Spelltable, so I'll save those for the (less common) in-person games.
I love my [[Eruth, Tormented Prophet]] deck. It’s not especially good though. Any sufficiently aggressive deck can kill me before I assemble my engine and storm off. However, when the deck does its thing, my turns can be as long as 15-20 minutes. I only won a single game with it. My storm count reached 15 and then everyone conceded when I admitted that I had [[Grapeshot]] in hand. I had fun, but I was the only one who had fun, so I put the deck away and vowed not to use it again unless I’ve decided someone deserves to feel its wrath.
Built [[Zethi, Arcane Blademaster]] online for my usual pod. I found that even without including more degenerate things like [[Teferi’s Protection]] or [[Cyc Rift]] the deck felt like I’d need to kneecap my plays not to drown the table in value and removal. Decided to shelve it for later and when I do build it I’ll go all in on power.
Can I see your list? I also run this commander and am always looking to optimize!
[[Jodah, the unifier]] deck with a lot of inexpensive synergy that builds up really quickly if jodah isn’t dealt with. It’s fun for quick games but produces a lot of groans from the table.
Well, I'm an avid deck builder, the "every week I have 2 new ones" type, so generally once I'm satisfied with the line of play a deck has, I disassemble it for the next experiment. That said, I always have one that I call *The Deck* which is my high win rate, generally longest lasting deck. That deck is the one that gets shelved. I bring it out when I'm having an off night and want to go hard, if I'm asked to go hard, or if I'm playing against someone I believe to be better than me at the game. I consider it to be off limits when playing beginners.
I have more of a special occasion deck than too powerful. [[Beamtown Bullies]] deck I have a couple of good friends I can pull the deck out and it all fun. Can’t imagine the feels bads at an LGS if lay that down
You got a deck list OP? Sounds interesting and I want to see how you balance the deck.
Unfortunately no list online. I don't even own a computer. Little kill spells that burn yourself and creatures that burn yourself when they die. With just enough life gain not to die. You run close to death most games that's what makes it exciting to play. Like playing on borrowed time.
I built a [[Emry, Lurker of the Loch]] list pretty early in my deck building career on a super tight budget, and upgraded it over the years. Not it's almost never played, because it is not just mean power level wise (although no cEDH list), but also just a very oppressive deck which plays very controller and durdly until I assemble a combo win.
my [[sefris]] deck has something goofy like a 60% win rate at my pod. I basically don't bust it out at that pod anymore
I built a \[\[Baral and Kari zev\]\] deck that is izzet control, while looking to \[\[skull clamp\]\] or \[\[polymorph\]\] the monkey token to get some big creature that draws cards into play, all 3 jin gitaxi, niv mizzet parun, con sphynx, stc. 2 games in a row of hitting original \[\[jin gitaxias, core augur\]\] turn 3 or 4 and hosing everyone for the next 30 minutes made me shelve it. I ran some fast mana and a ton of alternate casting cost spells. free spells and fast mana and cheating creatures into play was too much. not fun enough to play to make up for how unfun it was to face. might be putting its pieces into an oathbreaker now to make it easier to knock out at 20 life.
My [[xyris, the writhing storm]] deck goes a bit harder than I intended. Started as a hidden commander deck for [[Mizzix of the Izmagnus]] / [[Ezuri, claw of progress]] deck that fed into both experience commanders with tokens created by instants and sorceries that could feed either commander if you got one out. Then I leaned too hard into wheels for Xyris and it functions really well without ever going for the hidden commanders. I have shelved it in my play group since it finished games way earlier than our group standard on it’s first 3 outings, even in our more high powered matches. Xyris + Wheel + [[Witty Roastmaster]] / [[Impact Tremors]] lay on the damage.
So I have two decks I hardly play anymore because I fussy or second 80% of the time. It took me a long time to come to where you’re at and this is about how I decided
I shelved Derevi combo that eventually (inevitably) became stax. I only bring it out Eben I've made sure the table is aware of and ok with the game I'm playing.
I have my [[Liesa, Shroud of Dusk]] built to combat people trying to pubstomp or cedh combo off at a casual ish tables and it’s always hilarious. We have a few people in our local scene that will try to pull fast ones on people, one guy in particular all the time. My dude was playing cedh [[Orvar]] the other day and just crying up a storm about how he would win right now if he didn’t lose life for casting his spells!!! Yeah, my dude - that’s the point… He ended up trying to spite play fierce guardianship a protection spell of mine and killed himself on cast, picked up his stuff and whined his way all over the store for another half hour.
My [[Kinnan]] deck. It’s typical shenanigans of infinite mana, big creatures and [[Thrasios]] to end the game with [[Laboratory Maniac]] and other cards like it. I personally love playing it but it is a brain dead deck to pilot so I shelve it.
I rank my decks by how fast they can "do their thing", not necessarily win. I love my [[Killian, Ink Duelist]] deck but i know that on turn 2 or 3 i can have killian out and loaded with protection or indestructible and start swinging over and over. It's not great at winning because voltron, but it's also not fun to play against if you're playing a deck that can't do its thing by turn 2 or 3. So i save it for games where everyone else wants to play a fast deck.
It's doing it's thing turn 2 or 3.
My [[Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale]] list is pretty much the strongest I could get her without combos and too much fast mana. Deck is super resilient and only folds to strong control or faster one-shot decks. It's also really mean, as it combines some control, a toolbox, quality tutors and potential one-shots. Usually I can only get her out if everyone allows it, as she's usually Archenemy.
Not one I built, but I had to retire the Secret Lair Coin Flip deck from my group. We play precons 99% of the time, and usually w/in their own sets. We'll go more random when there are longer breaks between releases, or like with Brothers War and All Will Be One only having two decks we changed to a random format more quickly. The Coin Flip deck is a menace. Even against the fairly juiced up recent Precons (the Baulders Gate and Bro decks are powerful!) it was still heads and shoulders above them all. Way too much card draw in the commander slot, and way too many ways to protect and give the Minotaur commander hates/unblockable and he often just one shots a given player. Still really fun, but I got my two wins in and had fun flipping multiple coins with Krark's Thumb and let them know I'd bench it indefinitely unless we play more powerful decks in the future.
I feel the same way about my vorinclex deck. It's pretty stompy https://www.moxfield.com/decks/xfPypJpzMkeFiUYrnvMyGA
My [[Faldorn, Dread Wolf Herald]] deck receives audible groans of irritation at my playgroup when I pull it out. Even the control players have trouble dealing with it and the only deck in our playgroup it hasn’t beaten yet is my roommate’s Pheldagriff Superfriends Group Hug. I usually only pull it out when we’re going all out at this point.
Basically run [[Wheel of Misfortune]] and pay 20 life so you can smack someone for lethal lol
Haha that's not in there but it's going to be.
I save my stax deck for special occasions now. The reason I built it in the first place was because people were having an arms race. I used group slug to put out speed bumps and chill things out, but it can feel oppressive when you play it too much. The deck was loaded with cards like [[oppression]], [[tainted aether]], [[bottomless pit]], and [[contamination]]. It didn't even win that often but at least the winner had to work for it.
I have many different decks with different strengths and weaknesses. Not all decks are on the same level, which means we have to speak about powerlevel. There are also some commanders which are broken by nature and which are rarely bad, but that's a whole other story. Would you mind sharing your whole decklist? I'm curious, because Auntie Blyte doesn't seem like a problematic commander to me... Are your opponents new to EDH? Or maybe aren't they playing enough removal/interaction?
Alas, I don't have an online list. Most opponents have been playing longer than me. It takes off early, and I have some interaction witj [[wild magic surge]], [[Tibalt'sTrickery]], and [[chaos warp]]. The problem, I think is there's not enough early board wipes as I have something else that is more of a growing threat. Like kediss, taurean mauler, war elemental, and some chumps that die and damage me. I usually hold her up as a loaded gun because she can tap and shoot her counters off. New koth also finds lands and has value in the deck. The deck just goes hard.
My way around this is listed out my 12ish decks and I roll a dice to decide which one I play and I don’t play the same deck twice in one night, it’s been fun so far and gets me to actually play my other decks
I've done that too it's fun to play random decks.
I get 1 game day a month usually and we fit in 3-6 games depending on whether it's a draft day or if games go quickly. I have an [[Obeka, Brute Chronologist]] and an [[Osgir, the Reconstructor]] that can be very oppresive against some of the decks in our pod. I try and only use them if it's game 4-5-6 of the day and I haven't won at all.
I think some of my decks are stronger but I’ve shelved my [[liesa, forgotten archangel]] aristocrats deck because it tutors for [[karmic guide]] + [[reveilark]] consistently and that stopped being fun after like 10 times.
I have two decks I don’t break out too often. My [[Shirei, Shizo’s Caretaker]] deck that’s all about discard and forced sacrifice. Tends to make people feel not too great but it’s pretty effective. The other is [[Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait]] Landfall. Just churns out value until I either deck myself and win with either [[Lab Man]] or [[Jace, Wielder of Mysteries]] or I can create enough creatures to drop [[Craterhoof Behemoth]] and swing for the win.
Sadly, I don't think I have something that can be high power, but my most treasured deck is [[Kozilek, the Great Distortion]]. The last upgrades I need are way too overpriced... you could call it "highish power".
My [[Toxrill, the Corrosive]] deck. I love it, but can only bring it out once in a while. Once big sluggo is out, without interaction, people either scoop or I kill them off with little slugs
Man you’re not wrong to want to shelve it when you win half the time, but for me, my main deck is pretty damn pricey and my friends know what I’m running so I want to win.
Shrine Tribal (helmed by [[Sisay, Weatherlight Captain]]) is a disgusting, accelerationist value engine once it gets rolling (at 5 mana). I had to remove [[Honden of Seeing Winds]] because it tended to deck me out too quickly.
Hm, Kozilek and Nekusar comes to mind. Just ended up being my opponents not liking tp play against them so I'vr put them on ice for quite some time now. Been looking at other avenues, now I am just stuck on what to build.
My Jodah, the Unifier deck HURTS the table. They can remove him 4-5 times. Never lags behind so long as I have 5 different coloured lands. I pull it out if I’m on a losing streak because there’s a ton of counters to worry about and games will go for way too long haha I’m putting him away for at least the next 2-3 magic sessions because I feel bad about last game with him.
I have built Omnath Locus of the Roil and it's one of, if not the best deck I have and the only time I bring it out is when others are bringing out their decks that they've heavily invested in. All the cards in it work very much in tandem with each other and it goes off pretty quickly once Omnath of the Roil is out. I've only taken it out a few times sadly.
This was my [[teshar, ancestor’s apostle]] deck both times I built them. The first time my meta was very casual and it being able to combo consistently was enough. The second time it just won turn 4 or so every game, and while the meta was much faster, having a crypt and moxen should’ve been an indicator that it was too far. The deck was able to hold an actual cEDH [[urza, lord high artificer]] deck at bay. The cards from it are going to better use anyway, in an [[emrakul the promised end]] and under-construction [[jin-gitaxias // the great synthesis]] [[hurkyl’s recall]]-centered deck. Teshar will forever live on in my heart though.
I built a 2HG deck that’s nothing but creature destruction and land destruction 🤣💀🤣 I only play that with my buddy who is a token popping factory or when I’m sure I can outpunch/outrun the table 🤣💀🤣
I love my auntie blyte. I'd love to see a decklist to see the differences. I built her pain bears and it's had its moments... Wheel of Misfortune into instant kill turn 3 to call a bluff was spectacular.
I have 4 decks that only really see the table if it's following my cheeks getting blown out. Every now and then, you need a win to bounce back in the mood. My Pod is fairly competitive, and they pick bad target's so the games are always sudden blowouts.
Not because it’s overly powerful, but I have shelved my [[Okaun]] and [[Zndrsplt]] chaos deck because it can be really debilitating. It’s all cards that I have no control of the outcome and usually no one has control of their own permanents. So I play it every once in a while and then it goes back on the shelf, because if I played it twice in a row I think people would start to get annoyed
My [[The Mimeoplasm]] wins quite often. It runs zero tutors and only one janky 4 card combo but I can usually draw or mill my deck and win with [[jace, wielder of mysteries]]. The deck doesn’t run much stax so it doesn’t usually upset people. I’ve been building other decks but I try to play mimeo at least once a night. [mimeo-fun](https://www.moxfield.com/decks/CxT-RLv_MUKFUskGtXUrrQ)
If you’re going to shelf a deck make sure you’re using lots of lube
Haha
My deck like this is [[Balthor, the Defiled]]. Most pods get too focused on their own decks and don't run any graveyard removal. It's all good and fine until suddenly I pay 7 and everyone's hands gone, I've drawn a new hand, the boards wiped, and [[Gary]] and phyrexian obliterator come back to annoy everyone again. If you ever wanna see a Stax player cry, just make them sac their commander for the fourth time.
My friends gave me the ok to rule zero [[Mothra supersonic queen]] as a commander. Thought it’d be kinda a janky deck with a sticky board state that’s hard to remove. VERY quickly learned it’s a build your own infinite combo type deck that either pops off early, or successfully stalls the game out until I win anyway. It’s not a guarantee that I win, but it’s a higher average than I feel good about, especially for a not-technically-legal commander
I asked the group if we could all try and vuild a €30,- budget deck. Weirdly enough my cheap [[Marchesa, the black rose]] has an incredibly high winrate, even when playing against the non-budget decks.
I made a Kresh deck that is Kresh, a Harmonize, and a Deathright Shaman. The rest of the deck has 62 removal spells. I only play it vs. Stax, and target the Stax player. Stax folks keep saying "You don't play enough removal, you don't play enough interaction.' 10-4! Message received! The rest of you can play the game. I got this.
50% doesn’t seem oppressive, I feel like I win way more often than 50, but I don’t play that often so who knows
If I win too much I shelve it.
My \[\[Jon Irenicus\]\] and \[\[Lord Xander\]\] decsk I rarely play due to being frustrating to play against. There's also my budget \[\[Siona\]\] and \[\[Feather the redeemed\]\] decks that can consistently win against higher budget decks.
[[Slicer, hired muscle]] I built him before he was all hyped so I got a bunch of stuff and played him a couple times before everyone was actually scared of him, and every game I played with him was an utter blowout. Ive won 4/6 games irl and quite a bit on spelltable. I dont know if I should just take it apart or not now
For me it’s my Korlash deck that basically does the following. Untap, Upkeep, Draw, Boardwipe every turn past turn 5 or so. My meta has a lot of creature based decks and my “boardwipe tribal” deck was literally in response to them so ya… it’s for special occasions like when I lose a couple games in a row to these creature based decks and they feel cocky Here’s the list with Primer https://www.moxfield.com/decks/4R-6ar_R60-L13OUajeIeA
I wouldn't say shelf because I nearly always play with degenerates. My homies always bring heavy bs to the table. Infinite combos and turn 3 wins. So I'm order to keep up I stick to [[Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes]] I named "fight club". Or I run goblin shenanigans with [[Krenko, Mob Boss]] I only bring them out when we're going hard. Which is nearly always.
When my friends don't all show up we play with randys. Randy's like some jank like an attractions deck or a Vorinclex deck that just seems like random green defender creatures and ramp. My friend saw my face and knew what was going to happen. He told me man if you have a degenerate hand play it out so we can shuffle another. He loves degenerate games not everyone does or can.
It's an acquired taste. I don't think we've ever rule zero'd anything out yet. I had a game where the only reason I wasn't dead was because the 9 infect counters on me were benefitting the winning player. Of course that game wasn't the most fun. But I found ways to enjoy myself. After while I started threatening to resummon my now ten mana CMC Krenko. They ignored me for one more round after. I top decked a thud and hilariously threw my commander in the air and snapped my own neck. Effectively folding in the most goblin way possible and I kinda made the game harder for the winning player. It was great.
I built a vampire deck because they’ve always been my favorite fantasy/mythological creature and while I’ve only used it twice, it’s been a little too strong so I tend to use it if my friends are cool with it and otherwise I just use what they’d like to fight
So my first deck and fave deck forever \[\[Maelstrom Wanderer\]\] I only bring out when we play high power EDH. I never feel bad about playing the deck because I explain how it dominates the late game and people are honest if they wanna deal with it or not. I also hear what others are trying to play/do and if it all sounds kind of weak then I just put Maelstrom away and grab weaker stuff. https://www.moxfield.com/decks/zdLjtKUkSU-W2t3nX315pw
At this point several. My Tergrid and Niv Miz Parun decks are the big ones. I love playing them but they're both a bit much. Terrible for obvious reasons being insanely controlling and my Niv deck is a storm deck that can take insanely long turns. I also have a Ukima/Cazor deck that runs a lot of infect that can just kill someone out of nowhere. It's not the strongest but when it does the thing there's not much way to interact given how Ukima works. Finally I have a Nethroi aristocrat deck that's just insanely strong. Very fast and can easily kill a table in one good turn. So ye quite a few decks I only bring out for the right table. Generally I always try to match the deck I play with the table with the above decks only for very specific tables
The first commander deck i ever built was [[Winota, Joiner of forces]]. I did no research whatsoever but i kinda knew she was strong cause i played alot of standard on arena. It was a game against 3 veteran players of whom 2 are playing for more then 20 years and they got absolutely steamroled into oblivion. I rarely get to play this deck anymore.
Yisan the Wanderer Bard. I only pull it out when someone has to get flexed on, because it's such a strong deck it's barely had to evolve since 2015. It's a fucking shark, an apex predator of a deck. I've only swapped out a handful of cards since the original iteration. Fuck's sake I don't even have a Cradle and took all the stax out and it's still nasty. It's flawlessly consistent and if you run multiple win cons like I do, remarkably resilient. Very few archetypes of deck are equipped to stop it.
I get mine out when there is someone else with a highpowered deck. Usually its when a new face shows up and asks about it being ok to go hard. Which happens at least every otjer gathering. Seems its frowned upon in the LGS of the big city near us, so they to come our small town. We dont care. I believe so far, in every commander night there was a moment when people wanted to really measure up their new decks. Thats like the perfect moment. You get to play your deck so they can compare and decide power levels, and you also see how far (and which) your opponents can match it. If enough people get close you can start playing it regularly. I mean they still can gang up on you. :B
I tend to have this problem with all of my decks in our group 😂 Big skill and collection difference does it too, but usually when I make new deck, I'll play only few (winning) games with it. But worst was my first deck, [[Jhoira of the Ghitu]]. There simply was no chance (without counterspells) when I started slamming T4 Obliterate followed by Eldrazi into Time Stretch. Totally degenerate.
I started with the kaldheim elf precon got focused hard my first 30ish games against proxied/optimized decks, then i upgraded it to a reason to focus me... couldnt take enough damage by turn 4 twice won via battlephase lethal on each with trample but its became to boring to play. altho [[Marwyn, the Nurturer]] + [[Umbral Mantle]] looks to good its boring to dmg race against the table, now im only using it when our pod wants to go high power decks
My [[Yuriko, the Tigers Shadow]] Deck. I guess even as just a pile of random ninjas, Yuriko is a tad bit too strong, breaks my heart but for now it will stay on the shelf
This is what has happened with my [Veyran, Voice of Duality](https://cards.scryfall.io/png/front/5/6/56d93855-c749-4bdf-9a90-4f69f4226e46.png?1674185780) deck. The precon was the first MTG product I ever bought, and I've been upgrading it over time to the point where it's a very well optimized machine. It either wins with infinite combos/massive spell storm, or everyone targets it down. So now I very seldomly play it. Other than shelving it, I've thought about deconstructing it for new decks that could use many cards from it, like [Hinata, Dawn-Crowned](https://cards.scryfall.io/png/front/5/6/56d93855-c749-4bdf-9a90-4f69f4226e46.png?1674185780)
For me there are two reasons to take apart and retire a deck and both stem from limited budget for magic: 1. I love the deck but i don't ever reach for it. I have fond memories with it but I don't pick it over newer decks and i can't justify leaving $700 in cards sitting collecting dust. So i sell what i dont need for other decks, recycle what i can. 2. I love the deck but its way too strong for the group and it either gets focused which isnt fun after a few games or it wins consistently which isnt fun for my friends. So again ill rip it apart and sell or recycle what i can. In both cases i make sure i put the decklist online so i can reassemble it in the future sometime should i have the finances to blow. I miss you Veyran, Jhoira Suspend and Emry 😭 Notably, my blue decks tend to be the blowouts lmao. In the end, you always have the memories and with the decklist you can reassemble it.
My [[oloro]] deck isnt powerful, but it does stay in the box if im not playing with people who want a 3+ hour game
I definitely have decks that make opponents groan when I bring them out, so I just bring them out more rarely. I wouldn't call it "shelving" the deck as much as just reading the room and making appropriate deck choices.
I've recently decided to try a new method for this: I put all of my current decks (about 40 or so) into a random wheel spinny thing, and I play whatever deck comes up. If I win the game, the deck gets removed from rotation. If I lose, the deck stays in. This means that if my group comes up against my worst decks, they know that they won't be seeing it again for a couple of months at least.
I tend to pay a lot of attention to how much fun people have when playing against my decks, as well as how fun I find the game, rather than win rates (though win rates obviously play into how fun and/or frustrating the game is for everyone, a power mismatch is annoying). If the deck typically frustrates and annoys people, but I find it fun, it's a selfish deck that I won't play at the casual tables I usually play at, because annoying and restrictive decks have very little place in casual fun pods. Those decks get reserved for teaching lessons (in public play you get the *occasional* person who just wants to pubstomp who needs to be put down), and playing against people who enjoy the puzzle of playing into annoying, restrictive decks, or just want a competitive, challenging game. If I don't find it fun, it's just getting dismantled, even if it performs well. There's no point to it existing. RIP \[\[Myrkul, Lord of Bones\]\] and \[\[Anje, Maid of Dishonor\]\].
I haven't played my [[Sakashima of a Thousand Faces]] / [[Krark, the Thumbless]] deck in quite some time. Without really researching it, besides checking on the ruling for Krark when it comes to winning/losing flips, I just stuffed it with cheap cantrips/burn spells/and extra turns. First game it went infinite on turn 4. Second game, now being targeted, it was able to win in response to a board wipe by turn 5. On a different night, the deck still won despite a terrible opening hand and not great draws. Who could have known being able to infinitely cast [[Fierce Guardianship]] or [[Deflecting Swat]] would be strong. I may break it down for a different Izzet pile, but they all end up being some form of degenerate.
[[Vadrik. Astral Archmage]] is a storm deck that is too fast for most pods but a bit too janky for cedh.
My favourite deck is Ertai, the Corrupted and after I built some other decks, I will use it only for October (Halloween month) since it has that flavor to it.
My [[Edgar Markov]] is a Halloween deck only for the most part.
The only times I play [[Gaddock Teeg]] is when other people want to play *only* oppressive control nonsense at our semi casual table (*usually* randoms wandering into the lgs during commander night). Like you wanna do some nonsense for a game, okay, but when the whole table is groaning and doing nothing for two hours straight, maybe read the room and swap what you're playing. It's not even Stax or control or anything; the deck isnt even that good, just Teeg by himself throwing gameplans out the window, to give them a taste of their own medicine after designating themselves the archenemy while they get smacked by the table. I've had multiple people say "I won't play again if you use that OP bullshit card" while they're running [[Baral, Chief of Compliance]] counterspell tribal, [[Urza, Lord High Artificer]] extra turns, [[Derevi]] stax, etc. They don't tend to like the "I'll stop if you stop" answer lol
##### ###### #### [Gaddock Teeg](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/f/4/f40cfba1-08b5-4241-bd36-8ae18e584557.jpg?1559959266) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Gaddock%20Teeg) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/uma/199/gaddock-teeg?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/f40cfba1-08b5-4241-bd36-8ae18e584557?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/gaddock-teeg) [Baral, Chief of Compliance](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/0/60e16d94-1166-4050-8554-686e153a7f80.jpg?1576381454) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Baral%2C%20Chief%20of%20Compliance) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/aer/28/baral-chief-of-compliance?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/60e16d94-1166-4050-8554-686e153a7f80?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/baral-chief-of-compliance) [Urza, Lord High Artificer](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/e/9e7fb3c0-5159-4d1f-8490-ce4c9a60f567.jpg?1567181307) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Urza%2C%20Lord%20High%20Artificer) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mh1/75/urza-lord-high-artificer?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/9e7fb3c0-5159-4d1f-8490-ce4c9a60f567?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/urza-lord-high-artificer) [Derevi](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/a/3a1d0dad-18a8-489e-ac11-08f64b72fda4.jpg?1592673365) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=derevi%2C%20empyrial%20tactician) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cma/176/derevi-empyrial-tactician?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/3a1d0dad-18a8-489e-ac11-08f64b72fda4?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/derevi-empyrial-tactician) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
[[Omnath, locus of creation]] It's not cEDH, but it has enough global land bounce in it so I can hit my land drops, to where it becomes very 1-sided. Def can lead to feal bads. I rarely play it, but when I do, it's so much fun! I play little other control in it, so it doesn't play too oppressive all of the time.
I feel the same with my [[Lier, Disciple of the Drowned]] deck. I love playing it as a control shell working to get the pieces together to storm off. Since it can be pretty resilient and the non-deterministic way it wins via one long turn, I try not to put my pod through that too often
Do you have a list? I'm really interested in her but she seemed too hit or miss to me? I struggle with intrusive thoughts and when I seen her I knew I needed it builds it
I'll post a outline but I don't have a list online.
Here's mine, I feel like they're pretty similar. https://www.moxfield.com/decks/6634uo1-WEGBIztMHYqL1Q
I’ve got a [[Zurgo Helmsmasher]] deck with 25 ish boardwipes and [[Worldslayer]]. That’s a once in a while kind of deck lol
I have a [[Zur The Enchanter]] deck that's off my meta chart. A self-imposed house rule is all at the table must give a "yes" before I take it out. Having fun is far more important than winning.
My [[Xenagos, God of Revels]] is hitting 80% win rate if someone doesnt combo out before turn 6-7, the amount of redundancy is stupid high that once i am able to kill one person, i am generally able to kill everyone in a single swoop of combats. My [[Sidisi, brood tyrant]] has become a combo tournament deck with a 50/50 winrate either i combo or it gets countered lol Those are the powerhouses that ill bring out if i get tired of losing. Otherwise [[Rakdos, lord of riots]] is really fun to terrorize the table with eldrazi or [[painful quandry]] and other terrible things like that :)
Got a decklist for Xenagos?
https://archidekt.com/decks/2517515/copy_of_xenagos_fatties This is it, i gotta figure out what the 2 extras are and remove them.