Analysis Paralysis in Deck Building (Help!)
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on April 22, 2020, 5:28 p.m. by robinjohnson
Hi Everyone!
I have been playing Magic since Scars/Innistrad blocks (kitchen table and EDH) but only recently returned to the game around Guilds of Ravnica. I currently only play EDH. I am one of those people who always has at least half a dozen decks in the works. Of course I can't build all of them, but it's fun to dream.
I have four primary issues I've been running into with deckbuilding.
1) I really don't connect with the color red, and so I've avoided using cards with red in their color identity as much as possible. This presents a problem because my knowledge of red cards is minimal. There are a handful of commanders with red in their color identity that I want to build around but the decks typically require more red cards than I'm comfortable with, so I end up abandoning the commander altogether. I want to get over my apprehensiveness to using red cards but I also don't want to play with cards I don't really like or connect with.
2) My playgroup typically plays at the 8-9 power level for all or most of their decks. I have decks at the 8-9 power level but many of these concept decks are closer to 5-7 because they need to be budget (at least for the time being while I slowly upgrade them). It can be difficult to build budget decks that are at the 8-9 power level that DO NOT revolve around "pushed" commanders such as Chulane, Korvold, Yarok, Golos, etc. I had a Chulane deck but it gotboring quickly. I have a Golos deck right now and I'm already getting bored of it.
3) Commander is a lot different now than it was when I was in high school. With EDHrec among many other resources, commander has been or is quickly "solved." It makes it much more difficult to build strong decks that stand out as "original" or "unique." I currently have four decks in paper: Momir Vig, Alela, Muldrotha, and Golos, none of which I would really call "original." There isn't really room for decks that are at 5-6 (7s can usually do alright).
4) There are a lot of commanders that I'm interested in building around (Roon, Athreos, Xyris, Kenrith, Animar, Tatyova, Oona, and many others) but I can't seem to focus on just one deck. I have decks in progress for all of the previously mentioned commanders, and many more. However, I've run into roadblocks characterized by the previous three bullet points.
If anyone has any guidance, I would really appreciate it! Thanks!
mortifolkmurphcaster says... #3
First identify cards you’ve enjoyed playing the most across all the games you’ve played. What were the moments, plays, interactions that were the most satisfying? What do those cards/moments have in common if anything? What were your favorite decks to play against? Once you’ve done this you should have a good idea of your preferred play style. Next find commanders/colors that facilitate your preferred play style and build in that direction
April 22, 2020 11:01 p.m.
As enpc has said, go with something that is 4-5 colours and just splash your Red cards that fit perfectly with the theme. I have a Kenrith deck which is basically a Bant deck but has some very 'hugs-but-not-really' B/R cards and it's so fun as all hell breaks loose when you just give away benefits to the table and then steal in for the win.
enpc says... #2
Unfortunately if your playgroup is playing in that 9-9 range, you will find that most decks that you would want to play (that can compete) will have quite a focues strategy, which is what a lot of people find boring about them.
Generally step one of this process is to find the kind of play style your prefer - this will help you stick with a deck a lot better than if it's just a list of 100 cards that you don't really feel much attachment to.
On the topic of building a deck with red in it - you have two options here. You can either pick a dual colour commander and build it in a way that you like (for example I put together an Aurelia, the Warleader combo deck, since that's how I play) or you can pick a 3-4 colour commander and just splash red to get used to it.
April 22, 2020 7:05 p.m.