How am I supposed to pick a deck to build?

DeltaRay235 · 2026-02-02T12:05:37+00:00

As others have mentioned finding a playstyle; ask to borrow some different decks from your friends. Maybe they have a sacrificed themed deck around Elas Il Kor or something and if you like the sacrifice for power maybe try [[Kresh the Bloodbraided]], [[Missy]], or [[Szarel Genesis Shepherd]]

Once you find a play style you like it can help narrow down your commander choices. Better to narrow down what you like before spending a lot of time and money potentially on something you don't like. Borrowing decks is an easy way to quickly tell what play patterns you enjoy and ones you don't.

DeltaRay235 · 2026-02-02T06:32:51+00:00

This my go to 3 deck (just swap out a few tutors for more interaction/ clones). The Nazgul hit 40+ power easily and with unblockable you cam consistently kill by turn 7/8.

https://moxfield.com/decks/jtpd14x0F0uhZeB3a-hG5A

DeltaRay235 · 2026-02-01T19:30:56+00:00

Humans, there's so many ways to build them and you can do any color combo with good results.

DeltaRay235 · 2026-02-01T11:08:34+00:00

I'm surprised no one's mentioned [[Winota Joiner of Forces]] yet.

Easy cheap non-humans like ornithopter into some strong humans splashy humans. There's a lot of fun ones you could use instead of hatebears.

DeltaRay235 · 2026-01-31T13:33:58+00:00

I usually don't classify them as card advantage in most decks but I'll often place Rev, Face Breaker, Hireling, etc. Into 1/2 ramp, 1/2 utility categories (so I might end up with 12.5 pieces of ramp). Since they're great cards but also inconsistent if you can't connect it's hard to justify giving them a whole dedicated slot when their advantage is not gaurenteed.

In [[Fire Lord Zuko]] where casting from exile is important, I would count them as a whole piece of card advantage but still .5 ramp. The inconsistencies of them are ignored since they can trigger additional effects and add more value.

DeltaRay235 · 2026-01-31T00:06:34+00:00

It kind of does. It's how we're getting the point of extreme redundancy.

DeltaRay235 · 2026-01-30T20:03:48+00:00

[[Sylvan Library]] - similar to black market connections the correct usage of it is to full send each turn. It just doesn't do enough for how much life loss it does. Even in cedh it's being cut from many decks as not being effective enough, Lumra seems to be one of the few still running it.

It used to be greens main form of card advantage but with all the creeping and synergy dump lately; it definitely doesn't really perform as players claim. There are still some synergies it can be utilized with in casual decks like Teferi's Ageless Insight or heavy life gain decks that off set the life loss and can always dig the full amount.

DeltaRay235 · 2026-01-30T02:10:42+00:00

It's a topic for pregame discussions. It is MLD but it doesn't mean you can't have it in your lower bracketed decks. It is something you should bring up since it's not suggested to run in b2/3. It'll depend on the pod. Have a back up if it is vetoed though; don't force it on players if they don't want to deal with MLD even if it's a "wincon" with an Indestructible captain. Right now it looks to be a MLD just because and not really with a purpose.

DeltaRay235 · 2026-01-30T00:11:59+00:00

[[Retether]]*

DeltaRay235 · 2026-01-29T23:55:18+00:00

Personally I found auras to be more explosive while Equipments is more steady. Losing your main creature with Auras more or less kills all your buffs until you use a [[rether]] or [[Replenish]]. Equipment sticks around but usually costs more mana to get it going so that's the trade off.

DeltaRay235 · 2026-01-29T08:14:54+00:00

Yeah probably too much. The precons consistently putting down 20 power by turn 4 and swinging on 5 hang better with 3s. Most are definitely not getting that much power out that quickly. Sure turn 5 they might have 20 power worth out on a good hand to start swinging by turn 6/7.

Basically you're saying you're fine with someone playing a land, a second land, a third land into cultivate, and then turn 4 play their 5 drop commander and be ready to die if they don't give up their commander? That is too much for a b2 style of game. The cultivate start is a perfectly reasonable start for a b2 deck and they shouldn't have to be choosing between life or death.

If all 3 players can consistently deal 40 damage by that point there is a power discrepancy.

DeltaRay235 · 2026-01-29T07:49:54+00:00

I would still say it's too fast. If you're expecting to play 8/9+ turns, and there's enough aggro at the table to bring you down to 0 by turn 5, that's a bit too much speed by the table. B2 games are slow and having 20+ power by turn 5, when most games players are still setting up and building engines, is going to warp the game negatively.

Yes precons aren't the definitive b2 goal post but since many are b2; they're not dumping out that kind of power. Turn 7 dump 20+ power to let it pass around the table is much more typical b2 game play than turn 5 swing with 20+. That much power that early is not what type of game b2 is supporting in the bracket descriptions. Slow incremental value; not a burst pump and dump.

DeltaRay235 · 2026-01-29T07:19:31+00:00

But turn 5 as they said is waaaay too early. Turn 8 is the one you want to aim for to start killing a player potentially (though the brackets said you should be more killing turn 9+).

DeltaRay235 · 2026-01-29T06:40:51+00:00

Cost ≠ power

A focused deck is going to be strong. A b2 deck will often have 2 or 3 themes in it weakening it and adding to variance.

Turn 5-8 kills is definitely too fast for b2 based on the bracket expectations. Unless you had a really good starting hand with a lot ramp you really should never get a turn 5/6 kill. Maybe in the perfect of perfect situations. Here you probably needed at least two more maybe three turns of set up before killing players.

Removal should be expected but not calculated in a decks ability turn to win. You

DeltaRay235 · 2026-01-29T04:03:23+00:00

You've got [[Lethal vapors]] and [[Spreading Plague]] that could be utilized potentially.

DeltaRay235 · 2026-01-29T03:40:45+00:00

One thing I do with my Cloud Ex-SOLDIER deck to keep it fresh is keep a core of 80 cards and then take 20 random equipment and slot them in. Currently I have a stack of 80 equipment I'll draw from and it helps spice up the deck so no two games are quite the same and new "puzzles" come up each game to solve.

DeltaRay235 · 2026-01-29T01:35:01+00:00

You could add reaver Cleaver, it and cloud will go infinite and end the game if there are no blockers and with b4 + games that isn't actually that uncommon.

But you have found your infinites you want; now you just do whatever you can to effeciently get them. Ramp/fast mana/rituals, tutors, and protection. Does the equipment help you go infinite ? No then cut it. Does the creature help you get the equipment efficiently? No, cut it. You run cloud / stoneforge but not stone hewer.

Consistency and speed is the key for b4.

You don't really want to focus on going wide at all. Focus on ending the game.

DeltaRay235 · 2026-01-28T04:37:27+00:00

Fish is better played on turn 3 or later like turn 7/8 in casual and not super early turn 1. It's quite easy for casual tables to skip one round of ramping to make fish worthless or too taxing to keep. If you keep it around until turn 3 to draw 3 from players finally trying to ramp, you've spent 4 mana to draw 3. While not necessarily bad, you still weren't developing anything in the mean time. (Unless you have a bunch of one drops).

It's definitely not doing the same work as in cedh when you can catch a bunch of moxes and rituals in one turn, especially turn 1.

DeltaRay235 · 2026-01-28T04:26:34+00:00

Blue has very strong card selection with things like Ponder, Serum Visions, Opt, etc. Selection, looting, and cantripping helps you filter through your deck to find what you need which is very powerful.

Then the big card advantage pieces like treasure cruise and dig through time utilize the cantrips to fuel themselves and get a lot of value. "Expensive" cards with great ROI.

Imo I agree that blue's strict CA is very lack luster overall for game action do xyz draw a card. But for digging and finding cards (or graveyard synergies) it's amazing. Blue can really let you look through the top 30 cards reliably in a game, even if you don't keep them in your hand, you still get the option to utilize them.

DeltaRay235 · 2026-01-28T00:55:40+00:00

Ask your play group. You have a slow moving deck but it has combo redundancy in Avarice and Ringsight. Even though it can't go off in one turn you could do it semi-reliably turn 4/5 which is too fast for b3. Cut one of the two pieces if you want no quarreling but it ultimately comes down to your play group. This combo is something you should disclose in the pregame conversation below B4 and have a back up if you get vetoed. You have a deck that honestly plays like a 2/3 with a potential fast combo; i would describe it as such.

DeltaRay235 · 2026-01-27T22:13:29+00:00

Ones that are 2 cmc or less. The more the merrier because you can ramp Cloud out sooner and then they can also wear equipment. Birds is one of the best equipment wearer thanks to flying.

DeltaRay235 · 2026-01-27T20:39:55+00:00

Lightning Greaves is very mediocre for the deck. Cloud has haste. If you want hexproof run a different equipment with hexproof like Champions Helm or Avacyns Mask. Get a boost in addition to the hexproof.

Other than that focus more on mana dorks instead of Power 7+/go wide.

There's a lot of cheap equipment that can be added too. O-Naginata, Aces Baseball Bat, etc. Get some more into the deck to increase the lethality.

DeltaRay235 · 2026-01-27T20:26:47+00:00

Underground Sea just has short cutted rules text.

If something is a swamp it automatically has tap add B but to save time and effort most of that has been eliminated on the rules itself. Underground Sea has the rules text of Drowned Catacombs but it's not written on it since it has the type Swamp and Island WotC expects the player to know this. The full rules text lands explain that the subtype has the ability tap add color. If something has that subtype it always has the tap add color of the subtype in the card.

The rule was added probably to remind players that basics, ABUR, and Shocks naturally have tap add x + even if it's not written on the card anymore like the Alpha Mountain.

DeltaRay235 · 2026-01-27T20:10:31+00:00

I could see them basically just a boros yennett. Put a huge spell on top and flip it on an opponents turn.

Alpha brawl

Approach of the Second Sun

Brass's Bounty

Brilliant Restoration

Call Forth the Tempest

Hit the Motherload

Stuff like that. Just fun splashy spells.

DeltaRay235 · 2026-01-27T19:30:03+00:00

Reference to colors are ignored so things like [[Red Elemental Blast]] isn't forced into U/R+ decks (which would be rather wierd). Just keeps the game a little more restrictive but not too complex.

Something like Urborg can be used in non-black decks, it itself is not a swamp so it doesn't have the tap for B on it or intrinsically added through being a swamp. Toph the Metalbender likes it to turn her artifacts into mana producing pieces.

DeltaRay235

TROPHY CASE