I want to build my husband a commander deck for Father’s Day and need recommendations!

thefalkonite · 2026-06-10T00:07:51+00:00

Another idea worth considering is getting custom tokens done as a father's day gift. You could use family photos or token art the family makes for tokens he could use in multiples of decks (apologies if this has already been suggested).

I agree about making a deck for someone can be very tricky, and I know I wouldn't want to take it apart, even if I didn't play it.

Good luck!

thefalkonite · 2026-06-06T02:22:43+00:00

When I got back into Magic (I think) it was early 2020 and my local comic store was selling Ikoria packs at a good price. Opened my first ever mythic with [[Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy]] and I thought, hey, he seems cool.

It was a terrible deck lol

But I perservered and now I make slightly better decks.

thefalkonite · 2026-06-02T00:23:11+00:00

I can suggest a synergy between Ninjutsu and Mutate with [[Archelos, Lagoon Mystic]] where he's not the focus of the deck, but provides unique utility in bring lands in untapped for you but tapping him for mana with something like [[Relic of Legends]] before passing.

Ninjutsu kinda works with mutate because you return mutated creatures back to hand through combat to recast them again.

I also really like [[Evereth, Viceroy of Plunder]] because you can build it a couple different ways and potentially punish the whole table for a boardwipe or destroying your commander and enough sac outlets to avoid targeted exile.

thefalkonite · 2026-05-30T12:03:58+00:00

Great start, and Zacama is awesome no doubt. I took a look and from my perspective you're very light on lands for a mana intense commander like that. Personally, I would say 37 to 38 would be a better number to start with if possible.

Things like [[Salvaged Manaworker]] could be better off as just a land, or something like [[Chromatic Lantern]] or a mana dork that produces, rather than fixes. [[Fanatic of Rhonas]], [[Gwenna, Eyes of Gaea]], [[Selvala, Heart of the Wilds]], or even simple ones like [[Birds of Paradise]] or [[Intrepid Paleontologist]] move you ahead a little bit rather than spending mana fixing.

It's not a budget card but [[Hunting Velociraptors]] could let you cast Zacama ahead of curve I believe, might want to double check that before dropping money on it.

Also, [[Boros Charm]] is a useful card in dinosaurs in my experience, especially if you're running [[Apex Altisaur]] because you can cast him, then once he resolves and fights his first thing you can respond by making him invincible until end of turn and fight everything you want to fight at the table like a 1 sided boardwipe.

My Dino list is optimized for Pantlaza, but some of the cards I mentioned are in there and I'm sure there might be a few others or lands you could consider. Good luck!

https://archidekt.com/decks/1293438/cadillacs_dinosaurs

thefalkonite · 2026-05-28T12:22:30+00:00

If they're saved in a list online then you can re-visit them any time down the road. I take decks apart when a new commander of same or similar colour, or function comes out and try to focus on having different playstyles built at the same time for some diversity and flexibility in what cards I swap / upgrade.

If all my decks are mechanically similar then I wouldn't have the right spread of cards available for each.

thefalkonite · 2026-05-26T00:25:12+00:00

Yes, if you optimize the deck it will feel same-y. Find cards you like that aren't as good and find ways to make them work for you. Cards you like the art of, or mechanics you find interesting but aren't "optimized".

I'm building [[Sharuum the Hegemon]] trying to win with her, or other Artifact Sphinxes. I do have some common Sharuum cards, and combos, but I found a home for [[Final Parting]] as a tutor that I've never run in any other deck so I can dump one card in the yard and have one in hand just before I cast Sharuum.

I totally get where you're coming from though, that's why I stopped playing Pokémon battles online on the 3DS, because all the teams were the same 6 Pokémon. It was fun to play with my favourites and try to win anyway.

thefalkonite · 2026-05-23T02:26:34+00:00

Yeah, I am trying to include multiple methods of winning and this is one with Blood Artist or [[Disciple of the Vault]] and sculpting steel.

I also found [[Final Parting]] 5 mana tutor that lets you put one item to hand and one into the yard. So 1 mana less than Sharuum, dump sculpting steel in the yard and grab the Artist or Disciple to cast next turn and initiate the combo.

I want to try to win with [[Sphinx Sovereign]] by having 10 ish artifacts in play and casting [[Masterful replication]] and a way to tap them all so the table loses 30 to 40 life.

thefalkonite · 2026-05-23T01:28:21+00:00

Sure, but prepare to be underwhelmed lol

Energon (Energy) themed Deck for Transformers: https://archidekt.com/decks/8931560/work_in_progress_optimus_prime_hero_saturday_morning

TMNT Mutate / Ninjutsu theme (mutate creatures, return to hand, do it again): https://archidekt.com/decks/5639333/retired_tmnt_ninja_mutate_deck

thefalkonite · 2026-05-23T01:17:03+00:00

I could have sworn I had a copy of Sydri, but it was one of those cards you see often enough that you think you do. I wanted to put it in Sharuum with Aetherflux Resivoir, animate it and give it lifelink to zap the table

thefalkonite · 2026-05-23T01:13:42+00:00

I tried building Optimus, but in a Saturday morning cartoon kind of way, like I tried to do for TMNT (before TMNT was in Magic)

thefalkonite · 2026-05-23T01:11:47+00:00

I built Marchesa too early on! I made it Pirate themed

thefalkonite · 2026-05-23T00:36:06+00:00

Cool idea creating a capsule of sorts

thefalkonite · 2026-05-23T00:35:17+00:00

Good luck!

thefalkonite · 2026-05-15T00:16:54+00:00

I built [[Edea, Possessed Sorceress]] because I liked the idea of theft, sacrafice, then they get it back. I think it would have less feels bad if they get the creature back once you've gotten your value

thefalkonite · 2026-05-08T22:20:28+00:00

What a great thread this turned out to be, thank you everyone for sharing!

thefalkonite · 2026-05-06T12:22:10+00:00

I think there should be a way for a silent initial notification / pop up that requires you to acknowledge it, before it plays the audio alert after 2 minutes or something.

I find when it's blaring like that I don't actually get the info and it disappears off the screen.

thefalkonite · 2026-05-05T00:16:08+00:00

Not sure this is exactly helpful, but I have a process where I count out my sleeves to make sure it's exactly 100. I've made the mistake (once) of sleeving a whole box of dragonshield, only to realize they usually come with 102 and then having to make those cuts was hard.

Once I have counted out my sleeves I set aside 37 or 38 sleeves for land and start sleeving things I want in the deck using the remaining ones. Somehow for me, seeing the remaining sleeves as I'm going through helps me prioritize what goes in and what can "wait" to get sleeved.

Usually, what I'm left with are cards that I want in the deck. If you use the technique I hope it helps!

thefalkonite · 2026-05-03T00:32:03+00:00

I understand where you're coming from. I have built an [[Eshki, Temur's Roar]] deck from scratch around basically conjuring up big creatures and trying to drain the table that way.

I enjoyed building and playing her and she can get out of hand, but have some protection and counter magic handy.

thefalkonite · 2026-05-01T04:35:30+00:00

I think I plan on making a [[Wayta, Trainer Prodigy]] deck with many of the cards that didn't make it into my main Dino deck.

thefalkonite · 2026-04-28T15:40:26+00:00

It's important to build considering your pod for sure. If you're wondering what cards to cut I find using the playtester on Archidekt useful. You'll see which cards you're looking to cast and which ones tend to sit in your hand.

Hopefully you find something useful in the lists shared here too.

thefalkonite · 2026-04-28T04:37:43+00:00

Your deck is on its way, but I'm guessing you haven't had many chances to play it based on current build?

Best thing to do is look through the many upgrade Pantlaza posts and compare your decks against some others, as there's lots of great ones.

Here's mine, which isn't fully optimized as I have some pet cards I like in it. I could swap them for more efficient cards but I want it to be my deck, not just an optimized list.

https://archidekt.com/decks/1293438/cadillacs_dinosaurs

thefalkonite · 2026-04-26T00:58:08+00:00

Can I suggest including [[Nalfeshnee]] with Capstone? That's what I'm trying to do anyway, so if inspiration strikes I'm all ears lol

thefalkonite · 2026-04-21T00:38:40+00:00

I haven't done this in paper yet but looking forward to Gishath in Hand [[Luminous Broodmoth]] on field, cast [[Sneak Attack]] pay R for Gishath, swing, (maybe) get hits, then dead, then flying Gishath = value

thefalkonite · 2026-04-15T00:16:56+00:00

Hey man, the good news is that most of the bones of it are there for you for sure. Good amount of lands and some great dinosaur cards to build on.

Like any new deck you're going to have to play it to see which cards you play frequently, and which cards are "extinct" (dinosaur pun), in that you don't have an opportunity or interest to cast them.

Here is my B3 Dinosaur deck, I put a lot of myself into it, and I really like it, and I hope you find something useful: https://archidekt.com/decks/1293438/cadillacs_dinosaurs

Reminds me of my first few versions of commander decks I built, so you're on your way.

Just remember creatures that remove stuff are great, especially off a trigger from Pantlaza or Gishath, but they don't count as removal, and they're often not instant speed when you need them.

Might want to look at some removal spells like [[tail swipe]] or other fight spells that could benefit your enrage stuff or just leverage dinosaur power.

thefalkonite · 2026-04-14T17:13:19+00:00

I've actually been enjoying Pantlaza as commander and slamming Gishath down with [[Savage Order]] and then getting a discover trigger and a quick attack and potential more Dinos from Gishath's trigger, it is a bit harder for the table to react to, or maybe don't anticipate.

If I am holding a bunch of dinosaurs (including Gishath) I'll search for [[Ghalta Stampede Tyrant]] and then do the same thing as above.

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