Anyone can build a Commander deck, right? We agree, and want to get you off on the right foot. Mind over Commander focuses on the concepts and strategies of building a cohesive and competent Commander deck, one Commander at a time.
For today’s article we’re going to be talking about a Commander who is very near and dear to my heart: Muldrotha, the Gravetide. She’s my favorite kind of commander; when she’s on the battlefield, cards which are normally unplayable in Commander become powerful tools.
Continue reading “Muldrotha, the Gravetide”Today on Mind over Commander we’re going to take a different approach to this article series. Instead of giving a list to follow along with, we’re going to step through the process of outlining a structure for our Commander deck, based on the mechanical theme of the deck. This is hopefully going to get our creative deck-building juices flowing and teach us how to build a solid foundation for a Commander deck.
Continue reading “Teysa Karlov”Recently I deconstructed a few of my old Commander decks that I felt were… okay. I had either played them once and hadn’t picked them up again, or I was tired of playing them. From the ashes of those four decks came a new one, with Aminatou, the Fateshifter in command. Aminatou seeks to answer the question “how many times can I get value from one card?”
Continue reading “Aminatou, the Fateshifter”In the time since Commander became a recognized format, Wizards has provided players with several good five-color commander options to choose from. Access to every color allows players to make use of any card in the game to implement their preferred strategy: Morophon enables any creature type tribal, Golos can cast any big spells you want for free, and Ramos, Dragon Engine grows huge in a hurry while fueling your future spells, too. Those commanders’ abilities help players crush their opponents using all the best available cards… But Karona, False God is not one of those commanders.
Continue reading “Karona, False God”I live for defying expectations, but that doesn’t have to mean i’m doing something more effective or better than expected. For example, if I pulled out a Commander deck lead by Azor, the Lawbringer, would you immediately think I’m going to lay down my own interpretation of the law in the form of control spells and board wipes? Well, you’d only be half right.
Continue reading “Azor, the Lawbringer”Vial Smasher, the Fierce is one of my favorite partner Commanders. Her ability allows us to impact the game without singling out one opponent; we can simply say “I didn’t tell her to throw vials at you!” Searching for the perfect partner for her is always a fun experiment, and while Thrasios holds a warm place in my heart, this time I want to talk about how well Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist pairs with her.
Continue reading “Vial Smasher & Ludevic”In this article about Vilis, Broker of Blood, I mentioned how co-author Bob challenged me to build a mono-colored Commander deck, which was something I hadn’t done at the time. That deck is called Green Meanies, and I think it’s time I walked you through the sheer beauty (and brute force) of a deck helmed by Yeva, Nature’s Herald.
Continue reading “Yeva, Nature’s Herald”When someone says their Commander is Zur the Enchanter, the usual response is everyone else sighs and rolls their eyes. The most popular (and probably most efficient) use for Zur is to suit him up with a ton of powerful Auras and attack for the kill. However, not only is that strategy boring to play against, it’s also just one of a huge number of possibilities for a Zur the Enchanter Commander deck. In this article, I’m going to give a brief overview of several of those possibilities.
Continue reading “Zur the Enchanter”Commander 2016 will go down in history as one of the most unique Commander sets to ever be printed; the four-color legends and the partner mechanic were amazing firsts for the format. At one point we planned to write an article for each of the 105 possible pairings of the partners, but that endeavor proved to be unsustainable. However, that doesn’t mean we still can’t talk about the more interesting combinations.
Continue reading “Reyhan & Tana”It’s that time of year again, folks: Time for Pumpkin Spiced Foodstuffs™, jack o’ lanterns, people saying the word “spooky” a little too often… What I’m trying to say is that it’s almost Halloween, and in the spirit of the season today we’re going to look at a pretty spooky new card from Throne of Eldraine: Syr Konrad, the Grim .
Continue reading “Syr Konrad, the Grim”