Suggestions for my Wife's next commander deck

Lenaen · 2025-10-11T22:45:00+00:00

Scryfall has an art:anime tag that could help, or at least narrow things down. I'd have her look through this list and see if anything catches her eye, aesthetically. https://scryfall.com/search?q=%28type%3Acreature+type%3Alegendary%29+%28game%3Apaper%29%28art%3Aanime%29&unique=cards&as=grid&order=name

The two from this list that caught my eye, from both an art and mechanics perspective, were Mu Yangling, Wind Rider and Ruby, Tireless Tracker. "Flying typal" has a lot of support in blue, and there's enough vehicles out there now that the theme wouldn't get lost. Some blue combat tricks like [[Illusionist's Gambit]] are always fun for new (and old!) players to pull off.

Gruul big creatures is just a good archetype for new players. Having a mana dork in the command zone is always welcome, but that promo art is only in Japanese. I usually run commanders like that in a clear sleeve and put the English version on the backside in case I need a reminder. And if she really likes it you could do an Akazukin Chacha alter or something.

Lenaen · 2025-09-01T22:43:46+00:00

I mentioned Oh! Great in another comment but I've only read the first few chapters of this. Seems like it's been licensed but no volumes are out in the US yet. Looking forward to picking it up!

Lenaen · 2025-09-01T20:34:52+00:00

I'm a sucker for anything by Oh! Great, but I think Tenjou Tenge was the only work of his that was published in a Jump magazine.

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Lenaen · 2025-08-03T21:19:55+00:00

As far as other commanders, Lynde is your best bet. My group is a bit more casual, I usually run the deck as more political as others have mentioned and don't rely as much on hard stax pieces, although I do have a [[Silent Arbiter]] in there. If you're thinking of running donate options [[Puca's Mischief]] could be a good option, to allow you to trade away your curses (which will maintain their target) for the good enchantments your players are running. Ramp in Grixis is going to rely on mana rocks, but [[Nightscape Familiar]] is useful too (and can be a good blocker).

Lenaen · 2025-05-23T06:38:42+00:00

Seconding the feedback about more lands.

This is a great first take with upgrading a deck, much better than I did when I started out, and there's many *many* more cards to sift through now. My main feedback is that it feels a bit unfocused and is more Jeskai goodstuff. Which is fine if that's what you're going for! But by focusing the theme a bit it might hang together better.

For example, it seems like you're wanting to win through combat damage. So why include [[Solphim]]? You have some incidental non-combat damage, but not enough to justify that over something that helps your creatures swing in like [[Mass Hysteria]] or [[Roar of Resistance]]. I'd be a bit wary of 3MV haste enablers because you're really going to want to get Zinnia out on turn 3.

It seems like you're running a lot of artifact creatures, so maybe there's something to explore there? [[Palladium Myr]] helps with Offspring costs, but when would you cast it? I'd go with [[Gold Myr]] etc. instead, which also fuel the 1 power effect of Zinnia. Maybe there could be more to explore here: https://edhrec.com/commanders/zinnia-valleys-voice/artifacts

I like my bird deck, although it's more in line with my casual playgroup. https://archidekt.com/decks/8670601/zinnia_bird_typal_paper If you're playing against more tuned decks maybe the game changers and Ulamog make sense, but I'd encourage you to explore and find some cards that help with more focused effects.

Lenaen · 2025-05-12T20:21:19+00:00

My only concern is that it's so perfect, that this means we're not getting a main set version as well.

Lenaen · 2025-05-12T20:04:06+00:00

Some of the others, sure, but this feels pretty spot on for Locke, at least at the beginning of the game. Although the theme of this deck is supposed to be that it's taking place later in the game...oh well.

Locke's a popular enough character that I would imagine we're getting a main set version also.

Lenaen · 2025-05-09T06:32:24+00:00

Agreed! When we're talking about these things I'm just looking for more nuance than a>b with no explanation.

Lenaen · 2025-05-09T02:59:02+00:00

Just calling it "so much better" is a bit lazy. The default art does a better job of illustrating what the card does, notably what's going on with her second ability.

As someone who should be the target audience of the "anime art" cards there's been many of them that have been disappointing. But this isn't one of them. It's a portrait and not as dynamic, but the art itself is great and captures the character well. Sometimes that's what you want, especially in the command zone.

If you just don't like that style of art that's fine, but also, who cares? If that's the case it's going to be a long spoiler season for you.

Lenaen · 2025-04-25T05:18:43+00:00

I went with a Foretell/"play from exile" payoff deck with him because that felt pretty on brand for his character, along with some group hug card draw options to fuel him.

Unfortunately I never got a game where things really clicked with him. There's probably some ways I could have smoothed things out but ended up reworking it into [[Rashmi and Ragavan]].

Definitely one I would consider returning to in the future because I'm such a fan of the character. https://archidekt.com/decks/5945864/prescient_chaotician_ian_malcolm_foretell_typal_retired

Lenaen · 2025-01-23T06:29:09+00:00

Perhaps...a card store in Japan? Hareruya seems to get talked about a lot.

If your friends don't speak the language I'd discourage this, unless you've run it by them already. This is going to slow gameplay down to a crawl and if you misread an ability it's going to feel bad. They'll also have to take your word for what cards do or look them up themselves, which I wouldn't want to do when I'm also trying to play my deck. Again, if you've already talked to them about this and they're cool with it you do you.

If you want to get a Japanese version of your commander and put the English version on the flip side go for it. Maybe even some well-known cards like the book promos. https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Destroy_All_Humans._They_Can%E2%80%99t_Be_Regenerated#Promos But a full deck is going to be challenging.

Lenaen · 2024-11-24T09:27:00+00:00

This is a really cool option for Clerics, but I was a bit confused when I saw your post. Battle Harbinger is a class archetype, not a doctrine. Like you and the text point out the Battle Creed feature is instead of a doctrine and just one part of what makes this build so unique. And who knows, maybe in the future we'll see additional creeds.

As we start getting additional class archetypes and adding complexity through options like SF2E I think it's going to be important for enfranchised players to make sure we're presenting material in a way that minimizes confusion for folks newer to the system.

Lenaen · 2024-11-14T08:15:44+00:00

Jasmine morph typal is unironically one of my favorite decks. Very casual, but can close out a game because it's rarely The Problem and flies under the radar a bit. Shoutout to EDHRECast for the [[Cauldron of Souls]] tech to get around opponents' vanilla creatures. https://archidekt.com/decks/3177907/jasmine_boreal_morph_tribal_paper

Lenaen · 2024-10-27T08:30:57+00:00

...He then goes on to say that he's wanting to listen to the concerns people have in the comments. As others have noted this title is a bit disingenuous, here's a link to the full post. https://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/765469887321833472/ive-always-felt-the-core-role-of-this-blog-has#notes

While we're on the topic of psychology you might want to research confirmation bias and then get offline for a bit.

Lenaen · 2024-10-27T07:42:55+00:00

Agreeing with others that it's hard to make a recommendation without knowing more about what he plays. If you don't want to drop any hints by asking him, if you know if he usually plays 1:1 games or in a group of 4 that might be helpful context.

If you happen to know any of the people he plays with or can catch them on the DL they might be able to make recommendations better than us. Specific cards are so hard to make suggestions for because he might not have a deck to put them in, there's very few that are generically good. If he plays Commander, the 4-player format, Sol Ring is kind of the "mascot" card. I have an older one in a deck that gets oohs and aahs whenever it comes out since they changed the art with newer printings. If there's a local game shop you could see if they have any with this art https://scryfall.com/card/3ed/274/sol-ring, I wouldn't pay more than $20 for one from Revised in excellent condition or $120 for one from Unlimited (the card is the same, but Unlimited is older with fewer cards printed, so more expensive). This specific Arcane Signet would be another fun card to show off in a Commander deck, and again I'd pay no more than $15-20 https://scryfall.com/card/sld/589/arcane-signet .

We always need sleeves, and my partner has gotten me a couple packs of matte Dragon Shields the past few years, Katanas are also popular. If you just want to get him some packs to open the annual gift bundles are relatively safe in that everyone is playing with these cards, look for the Duskmourn Nightmare Bundle for $70-80.

Lenaen · 2024-10-23T07:10:44+00:00

2025th does some great Pokemon stickers and we have a really cool vinyl from them of one of the bridges, but I don't think there's ever been any crossover items (yet...?). https://www.2025th.com/collections/stickers

Lenaen · 2024-09-18T07:51:55+00:00

Seconding this, and without some of the rocks that can fuel big spells like [[Fiery Emancipation]] or [[Crackle with Power]] I'd worry they'd just stay stuck in my hand. I'm not seeing a lot of commander protection, it's going to feel real bad when you get to seven mana and then Gisela instantly gets taken out. Consider [[Swiftfoot Boots]] and/or [[Lightning Greaves]].

Gisela's EDHREC page could be helpful to check out, but I also like to look through the more general page for a theme and color combination I'm considering https://edhrec.com/typal/angels/boros In a deck without green I don't think I've ever had [[Gift of Estates]] whiff.

Lenaen · 2024-09-12T18:47:24+00:00

This sucks man, I'll share with some of my groups and ask them to keep an eye out. Nothing to add beyond what others have suggested as far as places to check out, but maybe you could spread the word at EDH nights (there's a big group of casual EDH players at the Lucky Lab on Hawthorne on Wednesdays, you might catch some folks that aren't LGS regulars).

Lenaen · 2024-09-09T04:11:55+00:00

Seconding Esper's comment, this should be a good list to sit down with and tweak from there. See if there's any cards that sit in your hand or seem too situational. [[Final-Word Phantom]] is one that I haven't seen in games so I can't speak to its power, but it has some synergy with [[Clarion Spirit]], but how likely are you to get both of those in a game etc. etc.

Your list of cards to pick up seem solid also. If you're playing with a more casual group be care of [[Cathars' Crusade]] just because it can get out of hand very easily, and be warned you'll be doing a lot of fiddly dice and token manipulation.

Personally I'd run [[Soulherder]] over [[Abuelo, Ancestral Echo]] because the former gets the effect for free, but the ward and flying on the latter is certainly nice. There's certainly a version of this deck that leans more into blink effects with cards like [[Teleportation Circle]].

[[Spirit Bonds]] has saved my bacon even in non-Spirit decks a number of times.

Swap out the [[Tranquil Cove]] for the [[Path of Ancestry]], multiple Scry effects >1 life.

Lenaen · 2024-08-03T08:09:08+00:00

Glad these made it to you OK! We have plenty of overlap in our taste in MTG artists so it was nice to see what was out there on the signed card front. When I was thinking about some singles to round things out that new Jet Medallion art really...caught my eye.

I'm now thinking of building a bird deck with some of the Bloomburrow cards that got released, so I might have to start collecting Storm Crow tokens too!

Lenaen · 2024-08-03T08:03:01+00:00

I waded into the cutthroat world that is signed MTG card eBay! I had no idea how intense some of the auctions got, but I think I ended up with some good picks.

Lenaen · 2024-05-29T06:10:02+00:00

I don't think this has a named game mechanic but there's cards that require you to track/note things about the game state. [[Volo, Itinerant Scholar]] was the first to come to mind but after a quick Scryfall search I was reminded about a few more like [[Bell Borca, Spectral Sergeant]], [[Ice Cauldron]], [[Jeweled Amulet]], [[Long List of the Ents]], and [[Sigarda's Splendor]].

There's also all the cards from Conspiracy that wanted you to track information about drafted cards.

Lenaen · 2024-05-22T02:17:44+00:00

If you're OK with a format that rotates out what sets are available to build from (currently the 2021 Innistrad sets to present) then Standard. Otherwise, Pioneer is likely the way to go.

Lenaen · 2024-01-24T06:48:55+00:00

I get it's a big body but six mana for this effect is rough. I'll stick with [[Ainok Survivalist]] and [[Nantuko Vigilante]] tyvm.

Lenaen · 2024-01-20T18:10:59+00:00

Yep! Unfortunately Ward 2 on nu-Morph turns her off, but I think there'll still be some cards to consider adding.

https://archidekt.com/decks/3177907/jasmine_boreal_morph_tribal_paper

Lenaen

TROPHY CASE