Should I Keep These Cards in These Decks?
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on Dec. 6, 2024, 9:27 p.m. by DemonDragonJ
I have copies of Primal Command in several of my EDH decks, as it is an excellent card (in my mind, it is the second-best of the original five commands, after Cryptic Command *list*), but I am contemplating replacing those copies with other cards. First, in my Jenara, Asura of War deck, I am considering replacing Primal Command with Blossoming Bogbeast, since that deck has a strong focus on gaining life; in the other decks in which I have copies of Primal Command, I am considering replacing it with Shared Summons, since the newer card is an instant, rather than a sorcery, and searching for creatures is the mode that I use most frequently, anyway, so I certainly would appreciate any feedback, about that.
Also, I have copies of Grand Arbiter Augustin IV in these three EDH decks, and I shall certainly keep him in my Sen Triplets deck, since that is a dedicated control deck, but I am not certain about my Jenara, Asura of War deck or my Numot, the Devastator deck; I am considering replacing Augustin with Forgotten Ancient in my Jenara deck, since +1/+1 counters are the other major theme of that deck, and, while I do not wish for that deck to be too limited in what it can do, I also wish for it to be consistent and efficient. My Numot deck is essentially a jack-of-all-trades deck, so, perhaps, Augustin is not too unusual for it.
What does everyone else here say about this? Should I keep those cards in those decks, or should I replace them?
TheoryCrafter says... #3
You posted this roughly at the same time most Friday Night Magic events are finishing up. On a weekend where American Gridiron football at every level is determining playoffs one way or another, Moana 2 is in its second week out in theaters and during the Christmas season. If you intend to post again on your own thread to call attention to it, the least you can do is wait another day or two and give everyone another chance to get to it before you go making changes to the deck(s) anyway.
In your Numot deck, while the majority of your cards will only cost one mana less, only 7 of them will fully benefit from Grand Arbiter Augustin IV's 1st two static abilities. So it comes down to whether one mana off and one more for your opponents is worth a four mana card. If it doesn't, then you have the excuse you need to slide in Elsha of the Infinite
. Though personally, I'd consider just rebuilding the whole deck with Elsha as my Commander.
As for the choice between Primal Command and Shared Summons, without knowing which decks you are considering, put Primal Command in decks in need of graveyard interaction and/or control and put Shared Summons in decks where you need specific creature cards to carry out a combo.
December 8, 2024 9:08 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #4
TheoryCrafter, I actually have an EDH deck with Elsha of the Infinite as its general, and that deck is quite different from my Numot, the Devastator deck, and, at this moment, I feel that Grand Arbiter Augustin IV is perfectly fine, in that deck, so I shall keep him in it, for the present time.
As for Shared Summons, several other players to whom I spoke felt that it is superior to Primal Command, especially since the decks in which I wish to put it have a strong emphasis on creatures, and I rarely ever use the other modes.
DemonDragonJ says... #2
At this point, should I presume that no one here has anything to say, on this subject?
December 8, 2024 6:19 p.m.