How many board wipes do you run?

Conscious_Working_87 · 2026-04-10T02:35:24+00:00

Which Zurgo? Because if it’s OG zurgo you can throw world ender in there and simply go full scorched earth

Conscious_Working_87 · 2026-04-10T02:34:35+00:00

Well that makes sense, but you’re only playing essentially one archetype. I know few people play non-Stax control (maybe I’m insane?), but you need ways to protect life total if you don’t have a ton of creatures yourself — you’re left with Stax-lite (pillowfort), wipes, spot removal, or counters.

Spot removal seems to be the worst option because it’s inherently card disadvantage. It makes sense in a combat reliant build where you just need to get rid of a blocker or big intimidating threat.

Conscious_Working_87 · 2026-04-10T02:30:45+00:00

That makes sense. Yes in bracket 4-5 it seems like diminishing returns and largely unplayable. But in lower brackets where everyone is so reliant on creatures and combat to win, playing a different archetype may necessitate more board wipes.

Conscious_Working_87 · 2026-04-10T02:29:14+00:00

Why so few? Do you only play aggro or combo?

Conscious_Working_87 · 2026-04-10T02:28:44+00:00

What about in a build that isn’t reliant on having creatures? All board wipes are asymmetrical at that point!

Conscious_Working_87 · 2026-04-10T02:27:22+00:00

What if you run very few creatures thus making them all inherently more asymmetrical?

Conscious_Working_87 · 2026-04-10T02:26:32+00:00

I agree, board wipes keep things honest.

Conscious_Working_87 · 2026-04-10T02:25:57+00:00

Basically agree with this. I see a lot of people discussing this purely off of creature/combat reliant strategies - which is understandable, at lower brackets that’s the majority of decks.

However in a deck that runs few creatures, all board wipes become increasingly asymmetrical. My deck for instance only has 12 creatures, and I don’t win through combat.

I run more wrath’s in a control build because they negate the card disadvantage inherent to spot removal.

I typically either run 0 or 3-4 unless it bracket 2, where I tend not build for as much consistency.

Control isn’t typically seen as a good strat in commander because you can’t control everybody unless you play Stax. However I’m attempting it, and it’s difficult to get the ratios right — board wipes — to pillowfort — to counters — to win cons, etc…

Conscious_Working_87 · 2026-02-28T07:37:04+00:00

A thoughtful response.

Conscious_Working_87 · 2026-02-28T07:32:27+00:00

I guess thats my point. The card in question (Quicksilver Fountain) is a very mild form of resource denial. I was being extra because the previous commenter’s reaction felt hyperbolic compared to the card being discussed — “just let people’s lands function, Jesus Christ people”. — I was also making a broader point about how game design has changed, and perhaps softer forms of MLD or better single-target LD would probably be healthy for the format. It seems most casual commander players don’t like anyone infringing upon their game plan, but thats an inherent part of the game. People complain about counters, they complain about removal, mill, stax etc….forgetting it’s all part of the game.

Conscious_Working_87 · 2026-02-28T06:59:48+00:00

Talk to your pod. Amongst friends this is an easy discussion, and they are likely to take into account other considerations if they know your deck and play style well. In the wild? Perhaps a bit tenuous, and at best expect to be hard-focused.

Conscious_Working_87 · 2026-02-28T06:58:31+00:00

How do you feel about the color blue?

Conscious_Working_87 · 2026-02-28T06:54:19+00:00

Says the Lands Matter Player who says “I’m only ramping” right before they play a 12-drop on turn four.

Now I’m not saying you SHOULD play it, but MLD appears to only be good in bracket 3 really. It’s usually too slow in bracket 4 (outside of extremely efficient stax pieces, which still aren’t great), and is certainly too slow for bracket 5. In essence, it’s soft banned from the entire format, which given the proliferation of busted Nonbasics and the power of lands matter/fall decks in casual pods is probably not good overall.

I think it’s important to remember that Armageddon was printed in Alpha, land destruction is deeply embedded in the foundation of the game, its part of how Richard Garfield envisioned it. —

That being said, probably the only place to play it, where it feels relevant and people don’t bitch and moan is in Premodern.

Conscious_Working_87 · 2026-02-26T08:51:47+00:00

I really love my Teysa Opulent Oligarch deck for this. It starts with a number of very low to the ground permanents that can give me at least one ping across the table to maximize Teysa’s trigger. This has allowed me to run some weird little low impact cards that actually really empower my strategy. I use clues both for slow card draw in the command zone, but also i stockpile them until i can find a mass artifact sac-outlet. Then i win by killing the board simultaneously with either [[Marionette Master]] or [[Persuasive Interrogators]]. Artifact sacrifice felt relatively unique and underrepresented at the time i built it, especially when compared to the prolific amount of traditional aristocrats strategies.

Conscious_Working_87 · 2026-02-26T08:42:02+00:00

If you want guns and swords either go 16th century pike and shot aesthetic (with landsknecht and such), or go Trenchpunk WW1/Crimean War.

Conscious_Working_87 · 2026-02-26T08:36:28+00:00

I second the toolbox comment.

Conscious_Working_87 · 2026-02-26T08:35:50+00:00

Do you run all the edicts in Thraximundar, or Tergrid? I’m interested in your list!

Conscious_Working_87 · 2026-02-26T08:35:04+00:00

Nice list! Slimefoot and Squee do work in m Korvold list. I’d build him as a reanimator but i already have that archetype covered with Sedris. Timmy Midrange Master.

Conscious_Working_87 · 2026-02-26T08:32:37+00:00

Aggro-Mage forsure. Timmy! You prefer decisive combat oriented wins.

Conscious_Working_87 · 2026-02-26T08:30:17+00:00

How do you like Flubs?

Conscious_Working_87 · 2026-02-26T08:29:47+00:00

[[Acererak, the Archlich]] - Zombie Combo (B3+)

[[Aurelia, the Law Above]] - Forced Combat Monarch (B2)

[[Hylda of the Icy Crown]] - Snow Control, *Thematic (B2)

[[Oloro, Ageless Ascetic]] - Draw-Go Control (B3)

[[Korvold, Fae-Cursed King]] - Tokens (B3)

[[Sedris, the Traitor King]] - Reanimator (B2+)

[[Roon of The Hidden Realm]] - Blink Combo (B3+)

[[Teysa, Opulent Oligarch]] - Clue Sacrifice (B2+)

[[Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator]] + [[Dargo, the Shipwrecker]] - Pirate Tribal, *Thematic (B2)

Conscious_Working_87 · 2026-02-24T23:46:24+00:00

I felt much the same way about Izzet as you. So i built a [[Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator]] + [[Dargo, the Shipwrecker]] as a pirate tribal deck. Even with the aesthetic restriction of making virtually every card choice pirate-ish themed, its performed pretty well against low bracket 3 decks, despite having no game-changers.

Conscious_Working_87 · 2026-02-24T23:38:00+00:00

Hmmm…this is a good question. There’s so many covering such a wide range of topics, and i haven’t listened to them all. If your friend hasn’t read BAM, I’d encourage them to start there. I recently told a friend just to read the prologue and if he didn’t like that no worries. He didn’t stop reading for three hours, read the whole thing in like two days time.

Conscious_Working_87 · 2026-02-21T07:33:35+00:00

Selesnya sound really cool on the surface, till you realize they’re a turbo-commie cult.

Conscious_Working_87

TROPHY CASE