Extreme Beginner Commander
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on Feb. 7, 2016, 3:08 a.m. by Aztraeuz
Okay, my 7 year old daughter asked to play Magic with me so I gave her the 
2015 Precon to play with. She had a decent amount of fun and the only word she had trouble reading was Vigilance.
I'm looking to build her her own deck but need ideas on an easy to play, pretty straight forward Commander to build a deck around.
So no crazy combos, probably not a lot of tutoring or control. I was thinking maybe some sort of Tribal like Elves maybe.
Maybe Edric, Spymaster of Trest. Maybe a Jenara, Asura of War deck because I have one from the From the Vault set that I will probably never use and it's pretty.
Pretty much looking for a Commander that would be easy and fun for a beginner to EDH and a beginner to Magic itself.
DERPLINGSUPREME says... #3
well, tribal decks tend to be fun and easy to pilot, but theres also the matter of finding a clan that won't scare her. many kids probably won't like Marrow-Gnawer for example, b/c (from my experience) kids don't really like rats. elves are a good idea, cheap(ish), easy to play, and nothing that could scar her. except for the sheer terror that is Extinction.
IDK, if she has an animal she likes that'd be good. Soraya the Falconer makes for a really nice commander with some easy to pilot durdle-birds if she likes birds, and if she likes rats then Marrow-Gnawer is back on the table! (i really love him as a commander, btw. not with Relentless Rats cuz thats boring, though.)
but, as my 2 personal favorites, Goblins (cuz they're friggin COOL and have Wort as her new favorite aunt. maybe) and, of course, sticking to giants! or angels! both are so simple to play and have their perks, with giants having a little more in the uniqueness category.
February 7, 2016 3:18 a.m.
Steelspike says... #4
Get her the commander 2014 Guided By Nature (Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury) deck.
Nice, safe elves. With just a few tweaks it becomes an almost unbeatable deck. I took mine apart because it just wouldn't lose.
February 7, 2016 3:38 a.m.
Her attention span seems good. She can focus on the game for over an hour which is good for 1v1. She plays extremely aggressively which I suppose is to be expected from a beginner which is what made me think of Edric, Spymaster of Trest. She also really enjoys extra card draw which fit Edric as well.
Was really just looking at other options. I'm usually pretty bad at picking stuff for beginners as I gravitate towards Commanders that can get pretty complex.
I actually own all 2013, 2014 and 2015 Precons. I wasn't sure about getting into Planeswalkers just yet. Although I could break the Green deck down for Edric.
February 7, 2016 3:40 a.m.
iBleedPunk says... #6
Elves are probably the easiest beginning deck to pilot next to straight Burn
February 7, 2016 5:03 a.m.
Gidgetimer says... #7
If she is pretty good about remembering a single trigger each turn I would suggest Xenagos, God of Revels. He does lend himself to land tutors but I am assuming the tutors you were trying to not have her play were the ones where you have to choose something strategically instead of just grabbing a land. It is a hyper aggressive deck that rewards people for swinging as most beginners like doing.
February 7, 2016 7:28 a.m.
RoarMaster says... #8
Goblin tribal with Purphoros, God of the Forge would be my suggestion. Spam goblin tokens and thus direct damage, turn goblins sideways, win. Its simple, effective, has exciting big plays, and is cheap to build.
Tis hard to go wrong with elves though, its a bit more, 'on theme' for a little girl.
February 7, 2016 8:37 a.m.
DeathChant17 says... #9
Granted she is 7, but kids are sponges. If her attention span is good, I don't think she'll need an over simplified deck. Give it a few games with you coaching her, she'll start to remember things and soon won't need so much coaching.
I think edric would be a good start. She already likes card advantage (smart), she's aggressive (likes to get stuff rolling), and having triggers and some simple combos could really advance her learning curve.
I'm impatiently waiting to teach my son (5) magic, though his attention span seems next to nonexistent and I doubt he'll be playing by 7. If your daughter seems to have what it takes, challenge her! It's awesome she has an interest. I'm jealous you are at that point, congrats!
February 7, 2016 9:45 a.m.
Karns_Pyromancer says... #10
Personally, I'm highly jealous of your good fortune that your daughter wants to play. My son-granted, he's 1-thinks he can flick cards like a pro. He can't. I now have an over abundance of creased bookmarks. But, the zeal is there, right?
Back to topic, Edric is a fine choice. Not many blue Elves (aside from Simic mages), but for 1v1 Sphinx's Tutelage/Jace's Erasure could be brutal along with draw effects.
February 7, 2016 10:19 a.m.
Simic sounds great.
You can play a nice simple elves deck but a bit of complication could be with bounce spells or card draw spells, maybe remembering a Thassa, God of the Sea trigger or something.
February 7, 2016 10:27 a.m.
Simic is FANTASTIC for beginners! The color combination can be made to be fairly simple and straight-forward in what it wants to do. Even so, you can sprinkle in some instants and permanents with triggers to reward her for playing well. something like Soul of the Harvest is a great example of rewarding a player for remembering a trigger.
February 7, 2016 11:27 a.m.
I'm working on convincing that Simic would be great.
She wants ideas on Boros Angel Tribal. This should have been obvious, girls like Angels, + = Pink.
My first thoughts are Aurelia, the Warleader or Gisela, Blade of Goldnight. Gisela seems more likely but high cost Angels, limited card draw might not be good. Tons of Life Gain though.
February 7, 2016 3:38 p.m.
DeathChant17 says... #14
Even if you go angels, using a higher cmc commander like Gisela can show the importance of mana rocks, other forms of exceleration, and protection.
There are plenty of solid white angels that are 5 cmc, red has plenty of instant speed buffs and burn to go with them, along with other great boros colored creatures like Tajic, Blade of the Legion, Firemane Avenger (angel!), Balefire Liege, and Iroas, God of Victory.
It's an aggressive color combo, with simple triggers, that teaches balance between protecting yourself and going for your opponents face.
If that's what she wants, go with it. You don't want to go away from what she wants to try at this point as she could then lose interest.
February 7, 2016 4:51 p.m.
RoarMaster says... #15
I am more of a fan of Gisela myself, being a 10/10 first strike flyer for 7 is balling, and the fact she double/halves for your whole field is just nuts. That being said, she does require a fair bit of math, and the basic concepts of fractions and rounding up/down probably have not been taught her yet(you can do that though). Bot Gisela and Aurelia are great voltron commanders, but aurelia I feel is shoe-holed into that specific decktype far more than Gisela, and new players tend to stick less to one specific goal or theme and instead often prefer simply the 'cool'(or in this case 'cute'?) cards. I also feel gisela stalls out less than aurelia, if you dont have the proper sword of x and y out and you cast aurelia but she cant swing past a flying blocker bigger than her, she is almost useless, wheras dropping gisela instantly doubles your offensive and defensive power. Gisela when you are in a bad spot theoretically 'doubles' your life total, giving you time to make a comeback or just try and outrace if possible, where aurelia only has the outrace option available.
Gisela is a bigger, splashier, awesomer effect on a far more timmy impressive body that adds a lot of wiggle-room for misplays due to the inherent protection that she provides. If it was between those two, I would choose Gisela for a newer player.
February 7, 2016 5:23 p.m.
Karns_Pyromancer says... #16
Having played against a lot of Boros and mono-white angel tribal EDH decks, I cannot stress boardwipes or ramp enough for those players. It's absolutely crucial to be able to reset at any time. Also, she'll need a Herald of War.
February 7, 2016 10:34 p.m.
Deckologist says... #17
I have to agree simic is incredible for beginners and can then be later developed as she developes as a player. Take Edric for example. Load it with creatures and let her rip faces open. As she developed as a player throw in some land fetch. Then some counterspells. Then some tutors. The only other combination I would say would be better than simic for beginners is gruul. Because gruul cares not for your feelings or for your loyalty. Gruul smash.
-Fulcrum says... #2
Edric seems like a decent choice. It can start off as simple elf tribal; just make sure you don't put in a thousand different triggers to remember. Those can come later as she learns the game better, though I might be overestimating the attention span of a seven-year-old. It seems like the kind of commander that can grow with her.
February 7, 2016 3:17 a.m.