I think you should do a long video of you building a deck from beginning to end. Process of picking one, getting the full list, those horrible last 10 cuts, etc
As a returning player from a very long absence (more than long enough that commander was an unknown format), a video like this would be highly informative.
I meant to put a comment like this on your last video like this but dude I love this type of content for magic. I personally as a player have hit a peak when it comes to learning efficiency and strategy. I watch magic content maybe 3 hours a day and I’ve been doing this for a year now and I still feel I can’t properly brew a deck even in things like draft. Videos like these are very helpful in helping people like me really take this game to a new level like I at least really want to do. Keep up the good work bro I love the content.
I love the general concept and I think you should follow it up by a couple of concept breakdown that goes into more specific parts for certain concepts along with common/popular color identities for said ones, specially once you get to 3 color decks since the most tweaking I've done is to get a mana base for Temur *just* right and it was more effort than what you'd expect coming out of dual color identities for example, yet principles from that make your dual colored decks that much more efficient when applied back too.
Great tips! I do offer a thought: lately I've been loving the idea of "do I need these wipes... actually..." in the sense that maybe some decks are better off with just another "piece of synergy" in that slot instead. my group's been thinking about it too. it's very interesting
Actually depends on your meta. I am in a group of casuals, where 4 player matches take ~15 rounds cause everybody can build up without alot of interaction and whoever is the fastest player becomes the archenemy but will likely not win the game cause of the wincon power levels. Wipes are essential in an environment like this especially if you know your deck tends to be a bit slower then your opponents. It all comes down to the question how much Control you need for your deck to win. Even aggressive strategies need some kind of control to get those final punches out.
there's a 4th option imo. Utility commanders. these guys have a 99 that runs on it's own but have a commander that provides a solid utility on command. something like themberchaud is a good example, once you have 7 mana you have a powerful earthquake spell just sitting in the command zone for a boardwipe as needed.
Very nice video. In regards to removal I'm totally on your side, often I include only 5 to 8 sources or removal. The onyl exceptions to this are decks like my Toshiro Umezawa Deck or my Forge, Neverwinter Charlatan Deck since they "need" the removal to generate value. In these decks i sometimes run around 15 to 25 removal spells, even though that can grind out the game sometimes. Regarding the lands I mostly stay around 35 to 37 as well, but for Decks like my Lathril Elfball-Deck, were nearly every creature I have in the Deck ramps me and some of them even in an explosive form like Priest of Titania, or Elvish Archdruid I tend to go to 34 but never lower. Another good example for this is the Shown Inga and Esika by playing many Manadorks I can play a slightly smaller amount of Lands and still have consistency. On the other side of the spectrum I have Decks like my Averna, the Chaos Bloom Deck that plays 40 lands, since I want to reliably hit lands whenever I Cascade with Cards like Bloodbraid Elf or Apex Devastator. Regarding Card-Draw I like to have a mix of around 5 to 7 generic draw spells like Sign in Blood or Stinging Study (if the commander has at least a CMC of 4) and 5 to 7 spells that synergize with the Deck like Garruk's Uprising or Coastal Piracy that depend on getting through or playing big dumb creatures. I especially like cards that fall into both categories of Ramp and Card-Advantage like the earlier mentioned Inga and Esika, since they allow me to use one more card for the synergistic part of my Deck. There are not so many of these cards that can be used in a wide variety of Decks, but the decks were they fit they can do an insane amount of double duty.
I have a Sythis voltron deck: 50 enchantments, 32 basic lands, no non-basics, 1 artifact, 20-ish creatures and sorceries. This is unorthodox, but I love it 😅
A lot of stuff to consider. I’m trying to build 1 mana Ashnod, so a lot of the stuff in this video doesn’t really apply to me? But explosive ramp is something I hadn’t thought of.
My problem is I always feel like I'm lacking something when I build a deck. If I load the deck up with removal, protection, and engine pieces, then I end up with very little space for card advantage. If I add the card advantage, I'd have to choose to take out something I really don't want to go without. If I try to compromise by trimming down the other categories to add the missing pieces, then I often get put in a situation where I don't draw any removal, or draw spells, or ramp. It's always quite the conundrum.
This is a thought process issue I come across every time I build a deck. But, I always have to remind myself that Commander is a 4 player format which means I should be winning ONLY 25% of the time, thus I should be losing 75% of the time. When I try to pack my deck with every sort of answer or interaction or tempo gains, I'm mostly thinking about trying to win more than 25% of the time. Those games where you're just not drawing enough of the stuff you need are simply the games, by probability, you should be losing. At the end of it all, Commander is a singleton format and is supposed to be inherently inconsistent to some degree.
"Less is More" is 110% applicable to EDH. Stick to a very consistent theme that accents itself. Be creative and ingenious, but don't go so far into the ephemeral or exotic that you have cards that are essentially unplayable without X on the field. Never underestimate simple instant-speed card draw, nor 'pinging' effects. Keep in mind if you go Wide or Tall. The cheaper something is, generally the better, but that is not a constant.
As a player I’m a Johnny/Spike in some ways more of a Spike being I want to play with decks at power levels of a low eight to a CEDH…..playing is ok but winning is everything😈💯
Oddly enough I find the more fine tuned or consistent my EDH decks are the more boring the become. It's almost as if I know exactly what the deck is going to do every single time. I prefer to roll with the chaos. Maybe this comes with my first commander also being Nekusar 😂
Consistency is death. Predictability creates key targets for removal. More than this WotC is printing targets for removal and no one can accept when something gets removed. They feel picked on for choosing degenerate synergies. It's almost like no one wants to deal with intellectual competition. Because my decks with synergy are targeted quite easily and when i play my deck that has no strategy everyone gets pissed. I can't find a soul at any LGS that can handle defeat but will parade for multiple wins using degeneracy. It doesn't make sense. But it does. This isn't a game anymore. No one cares about planar theme- they just want ridiculous power pieces. And they can't let go either be it format, deck design or cooperative understanding. People don't play enough or they would see the risen toxicity. Otherwise decks wouldn't gather dust on shelves. What good is all the expenditure when just a few cards are needed nowadays? I've tested over 140 deckbuilds each with different archetypes and strategies and none of them had anyone saying play that again. Linnear deck design is flawed. Not necessarily because of players but because strategies are severely predictable. This is why I built my EndGame deck. Just an amalgam of beautiful cards. I can't make anyone happy unless I lose. So that's what my deck does. It loses. Just want people to be happy. It sickens me that it has to be so artificially derived or gifted. Nobody cares but they will cry in pain anyway. And sorry but I'm not building for cedh. It's a format where the archetype is the short game and the antithesis is making it last forever. I will bore you to death for victory lol.
It's a gamble depending on how draw. Maybe you draw your finishers but not removal, or vice versa, and same for your opponents. Personally I like big swingy decks that have a fair amount of consistency but can also end the game quickly with a lucky hand and assuming no one has the interaction necessary to stop me. Personally I'd rather games end before the 90 minute mark rather than have 3 or 4 of us spin our wheels because no one was brave enough to include some finishers in their decks.
Players want the fast game when they are losing. They don't give a damn how long the game is when winning. Regardless the core of the game is to present challenges for opponents to overcome and if they can't then they may lose. In all respects it's not about power levels at all. It's about game speed. There is simply nothing casual about fast game play. I slow down the game so people can see more of what their deck does. I present challenge so people can see how their deck handles anti-value. They will not find that in cedh.
I think you should do a long video of you building a deck from beginning to end. Process of picking one, getting the full list, those horrible last 10 cuts, etc
Idk if you guys want that 😬
@@decktechsfordecksid love to see it
@@decktechsfordecksi would love to see that!
I want to see that!
As a returning player from a very long absence (more than long enough that commander was an unknown format), a video like this would be highly informative.
I meant to put a comment like this on your last video like this but dude I love this type of content for magic. I personally as a player have hit a peak when it comes to learning efficiency and strategy. I watch magic content maybe 3 hours a day and I’ve been doing this for a year now and I still feel I can’t properly brew a deck even in things like draft. Videos like these are very helpful in helping people like me really take this game to a new level like I at least really want to do. Keep up the good work bro I love the content.
I really like your energy and enthusiasm
Thank you! I appreciate the comment! 😁
I don’t play commander, but I personally love it when my wincon synergizes well with my value cards and/or answers.
Really good info. Many commanders fall into the 3 buckets. Some others don't, like Osgir. Osgir is something between value and 99 abuse.
Best edh channel imo. Keep up the good content brother!
I appreciate that!
Here's what I've found works well for me:
34 lands
16 ramp
10-12 draw/tutor
8-12 interaction/removal/answers
You're missing about 25 cards in that breakdown. I assume those slots are for synergy/value?
I love the general concept and I think you should follow it up by a couple of concept breakdown that goes into more specific parts for certain concepts along with common/popular color identities for said ones, specially once you get to 3 color decks since the most tweaking I've done is to get a mana base for Temur *just* right and it was more effort than what you'd expect coming out of dual color identities for example, yet principles from that make your dual colored decks that much more efficient when applied back too.
Great tips! I do offer a thought: lately I've been loving the idea of "do I need these wipes... actually..." in the sense that maybe some decks are better off with just another "piece of synergy" in that slot instead. my group's been thinking about it too. it's very interesting
Actually depends on your meta. I am in a group of casuals, where 4 player matches take ~15 rounds cause everybody can build up without alot of interaction and whoever is the fastest player becomes the archenemy but will likely not win the game cause of the wincon power levels.
Wipes are essential in an environment like this especially if you know your deck tends to be a bit slower then your opponents.
It all comes down to the question how much Control you need for your deck to win. Even aggressive strategies need some kind of control to get those final punches out.
First off all great video. Secondly i want to give a shout out to Approach Of The Second Sun ❤
Solid advice there!
Good ol' Yarok the desecrated is my go to 99 abuser. The Necrobloom is my current favorite deck.
there's a 4th option imo. Utility commanders. these guys have a 99 that runs on it's own but have a commander that provides a solid utility on command. something like themberchaud is a good example, once you have 7 mana you have a powerful earthquake spell just sitting in the command zone for a boardwipe as needed.
Very nice video. In regards to removal I'm totally on your side, often I include only 5 to 8 sources or removal. The onyl exceptions to this are decks like my Toshiro Umezawa Deck or my Forge, Neverwinter Charlatan Deck since they "need" the removal to generate value. In these decks i sometimes run around 15 to 25 removal spells, even though that can grind out the game sometimes.
Regarding the lands I mostly stay around 35 to 37 as well, but for Decks like my Lathril Elfball-Deck, were nearly every creature I have in the Deck ramps me and some of them even in an explosive form like Priest of Titania, or Elvish Archdruid I tend to go to 34 but never lower. Another good example for this is the Shown Inga and Esika by playing many Manadorks I can play a slightly smaller amount of Lands and still have consistency. On the other side of the spectrum I have Decks like my Averna, the Chaos Bloom Deck that plays 40 lands, since I want to reliably hit lands whenever I Cascade with Cards like Bloodbraid Elf or Apex Devastator.
Regarding Card-Draw I like to have a mix of around 5 to 7 generic draw spells like Sign in Blood or Stinging Study (if the commander has at least a CMC of 4) and 5 to 7 spells that synergize with the Deck like Garruk's Uprising or Coastal Piracy that depend on getting through or playing big dumb creatures.
I especially like cards that fall into both categories of Ramp and Card-Advantage like the earlier mentioned Inga and Esika, since they allow me to use one more card for the synergistic part of my Deck. There are not so many of these cards that can be used in a wide variety of Decks, but the decks were they fit they can do an insane amount of double duty.
I’m glad you enjoyed! It sounds like we have a very similar build style 😁
I have a Sythis voltron deck: 50 enchantments, 32 basic lands, no non-basics, 1 artifact, 20-ish creatures and sorceries. This is unorthodox, but I love it 😅
Great Job Doing such a Video
I have learned a lot!!
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed!
I also build decks that don’t always have an answer. Being proactive and having a boardstate that needs to be answered is my way of deckbuilding.
A lot of stuff to consider. I’m trying to build 1 mana Ashnod, so a lot of the stuff in this video doesn’t really apply to me? But explosive ramp is something I hadn’t thought of.
My problem is I always feel like I'm lacking something when I build a deck. If I load the deck up with removal, protection, and engine pieces, then I end up with very little space for card advantage. If I add the card advantage, I'd have to choose to take out something I really don't want to go without. If I try to compromise by trimming down the other categories to add the missing pieces, then I often get put in a situation where I don't draw any removal, or draw spells, or ramp. It's always quite the conundrum.
Same… 😅
This is a thought process issue I come across every time I build a deck. But, I always have to remind myself that Commander is a 4 player format which means I should be winning ONLY 25% of the time, thus I should be losing 75% of the time. When I try to pack my deck with every sort of answer or interaction or tempo gains, I'm mostly thinking about trying to win more than 25% of the time.
Those games where you're just not drawing enough of the stuff you need are simply the games, by probability, you should be losing. At the end of it all, Commander is a singleton format and is supposed to be inherently inconsistent to some degree.
@@eeveemint That's a fair point.
Dude, your content is awesome, i really enjoy it and would love to see a decktech for Greensleeves or Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves
"Less is More" is 110% applicable to EDH.
Stick to a very consistent theme that accents itself. Be creative and ingenious, but don't go so far into the ephemeral or exotic that you have cards that are essentially unplayable without X on the field.
Never underestimate simple instant-speed card draw, nor 'pinging' effects.
Keep in mind if you go Wide or Tall.
The cheaper something is, generally the better, but that is not a constant.
As a player I’m a Johnny/Spike in some ways more of a Spike being I want to play with decks at power levels of a low eight to a CEDH…..playing is ok but winning is everything😈💯
Serious question have you ever went as Mankind for Halloween? I feel like you would kill that costume.
Lmao 🤣 I haven’t but I see it
😂 W comment
Would you say that chatterfang abuses the 99 or is the wincon or both lol I feel like it is both
For sure! It’s also removal so he has a lot going for him 😁
@@decktechsfordecks I love my chatterfang deck. It’s the reason I am excited for MH3
I love this channel
That’s awesome to hear! 😁
How do you come up with so much content? Its impressive.
I’m always thinking about magic 😂
Looks like my windgrace deck is 99 abuser
This is a great video.l
Oddly enough I find the more fine tuned or consistent my EDH decks are the more boring the become. It's almost as if I know exactly what the deck is going to do every single time. I prefer to roll with the chaos. Maybe this comes with my first commander also being Nekusar 😂
DeckTeck you roll
No you 😂
I built my first 3 color deck recently, would you check it out and give me some ideas for cuts/includes?
Consistency is death. Predictability creates key targets for removal.
More than this WotC is printing targets for removal and no one can accept when something gets removed. They feel picked on for choosing degenerate synergies. It's almost like no one wants to deal with intellectual competition. Because my decks with synergy are targeted quite easily and when i play my deck that has no strategy everyone gets pissed. I can't find a soul at any LGS that can handle defeat but will parade for multiple wins using degeneracy. It doesn't make sense. But it does. This isn't a game anymore. No one cares about planar theme- they just want ridiculous power pieces. And they can't let go either be it format, deck design or cooperative understanding. People don't play enough or they would see the risen toxicity. Otherwise decks wouldn't gather dust on shelves. What good is all the expenditure when just a few cards are needed nowadays?
I've tested over 140 deckbuilds each with different archetypes and strategies and none of them had anyone saying play that again. Linnear deck design is flawed. Not necessarily because of players but because strategies are severely predictable. This is why I built my EndGame deck. Just an amalgam of beautiful cards. I can't make anyone happy unless I lose. So that's what my deck does. It loses. Just want people to be happy. It sickens me that it has to be so artificially derived or gifted. Nobody cares but they will cry in pain anyway. And sorry but I'm not building for cedh. It's a format where the archetype is the short game and the antithesis is making it last forever. I will bore you to death for victory lol.
It's a gamble depending on how draw. Maybe you draw your finishers but not removal, or vice versa, and same for your opponents. Personally I like big swingy decks that have a fair amount of consistency but can also end the game quickly with a lucky hand and assuming no one has the interaction necessary to stop me. Personally I'd rather games end before the 90 minute mark rather than have 3 or 4 of us spin our wheels because no one was brave enough to include some finishers in their decks.
Players want the fast game when they are losing. They don't give a damn how long the game is when winning.
Regardless the core of the game is to present challenges for opponents to overcome and if they can't then they may lose.
In all respects it's not about power levels at all. It's about game speed. There is simply nothing casual about fast game play. I slow down the game so people can see more of what their deck does. I present challenge so people can see how their deck handles anti-value.
They will not find that in cedh.
Bro is just yapping