Just Starting Commander, what year to start with?
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on March 4, 2016, 9:37 p.m. by Jastorm
Just getting into Magic, have friends to talk with but no inventory of my own. I'm thinking of buying the Commander Deck sets to start me off so I can get playing and even get others into the game. What year should I buy if I choose to go this route?2015/2014/2013...etc ?
MonsmtgRed/Black/Green tend to be the colours I enjoy the most but Im still learning and see benefits to all.
TheDevicerWhy 11 or 13? (just curious to your reasons)
March 4, 2016 9:50 p.m.
MindAblaze says... #5
Tri color decks have the most intrinsic power, and C11 and C13 have some of the most played casual commanders out there.
March 4, 2016 9:54 p.m.
It's all in your preference. Of the precons, Single color decks (C14) are the best way to start off because they're the most basic (only 1 color). Tri-color decks (C13) are the most advanced because they run 3 colors. Medium decks (C15) might be the best to start off, because they are not to difficult to pilot, they're easy to get, and they seem really fun. They are also a great deck, right out of the box!
March 4, 2016 9:55 p.m.
All great feedback, thanks to those who have given replies.
I have been playing but using my friend's decks that he has personally made (he has been playing for years). So I have played a green/red omnath deck, a white angel deck and a few other decks that range from 1-3 colours. I am getting pretty good at the game play as I am starting to beat him most rounds, but I would rather start off with premade decks and tweak them to my liking instead of trying to dive into Commander decks with no inventory. He's looking to bring me in on magic nights where it will be 4-6 of us playing. However others playing are also veteran and have been working on their decks for a while so something that can compete would be nice.I don't know if that background helps the advice/decision making.
March 4, 2016 10:26 p.m.
MagicalHacker says... #8
I suggest starting with two colors as building gets much harder with fewer colors and pricier with more colors. Plus the two color decks are fresh and new, and people haven't really adjusted enough to know their weak spots just yet.
That said, Meren of Clan Nel Toth and Mizzix of the Izmagnus are strolling towards the field of overplayed (at least in the playgroups I know), so I would suggest building one of the other 6 commanders if you want to avoid playing the same deck or a similar deck to many players. I wish they had made some Boros commanders this year...
March 4, 2016 10:46 p.m.
Build Riku of Two Reflections. Best commander ever. Here's my deck if you want to get a sneak peak of some of his power:
March 4, 2016 11:04 p.m.
MindAblaze pretty much covered my answer. I don't know what to do now. EMERGENCY .gif!
March 4, 2016 11:26 p.m.
Dredge4life says... #11
My personal favourites are the 2014 commander decks, Freyalise being my first ever "real" commander deck. It's up to you though. Personally, I'd try building ons from scratch. A YouTube channel by TolarianCommunityCollege has an awesome review series for the commander decks. Check it out.
March 4, 2016 11:49 p.m.
Dalektable says... #12
Personally, I built my first commander deck from scratch with help from Tolarian Community College and friends but precons are good. I don't recommend any of the mono colored ones, however the C15 ones are pretty good especially the GB.
March 5, 2016 12:37 a.m.
canterlotguardian says... #13
MagicalHacker you wish they'd made some Boros commanders this year? Kalemne, Disciple of Iroas and Anya, Merciless Angel would like to have a word with you. hell, Gisela, Blade of Goldnight probably wants her two cents in too. :P
March 5, 2016 11:30 a.m.
fadelightningmm says... #15
My personal favorite commander series was the 2014 mono series but that is because I enjoy the challenge of a mono build. But Ezuri, Claw of Progress is a super solid general from C15 and is relatively cheap to upgrade.
I played a game last night with him and comboed off on turn 5. Sage of Hours is a must for ezuri
March 5, 2016 11:54 a.m.
All of the tri-colors from '13 have provided some of the most played commander's out there, but can be expensive to upgrade. '14 also has some notable reprints, but it has limited choices and upgradability because they are all mono-color. '15 is pretty much good but not great at all of the above. '11 is pretty much unobtainable now unless you pay a lot.
You should buy the deck you like the most.
March 5, 2016 12:31 p.m.
Thanks for all the advice and info. I looked into quite a few of the Precons, but I have decided to go with "Swell the host". The Ezuri, Claw of Progress C15 deck. I'm actually surprised I'm going with deck based on blue. Really like the way this one plays out and have a few ideas for upgrades. FadelightningMM good suggestion on [Sage of Hours], I can see how that would make this deck amazing. I'll try and post the deck when I have made my upgrades.
Thanks again for the help
March 9, 2016 12:41 a.m.
TheGrayMerchant says... #18
Since you've gone with Ezuri, I would like to recommend some cheap upgrades that you can get:
Mycoloth - A lot of exp counters
Sage of Hours - As many turns as you want
Deadeye Navigator - When soulbond with Mystic Snake, you can counter whatever you want. If you get Palinchron, its infinite mana.
Hornet Queen - Giant flying deathtouch army
Blighted Agent - Like infect wins?
Chasm Skulker - Blow it up for lots of tokens and exp
Gyre Sage - Lotsa mana
Simic Manipulator - Steal stuff
Here: http://edhrec.com/commander/Ezuri,%20Claw%20of%20Progress/ is a pretty complete list of what people put in their Ezuri decks, just remember that Prophet of Kruphix is banned. Also, I recommend you just playing around with this website. It's an incredibly useful resource to have and will help you with what to put into your deck.
March 12, 2016 10:05 p.m.
Thanks again for all the helpful adviceThe Gray Merchant I have taken some of those advice choices and would like to see what everyone thinks. I plan on having two decks (switch cards in and out as needed)
Deck one:Swell the host
This one I'm losing some of the draw mechanics to really put in more Token generation. There are a few creatures that didn't make the list due to price restrictions as I'm trying to keep this on a decent budget
Deck two: Are you feeling sick?
This one I'm dropping as much draw mechanics as I can (except maybe early game) and adding a ton of poison counters. Two reasons for this
1) poison counters + Ezuri seems highly dangerous
2) One of the guys I play with uses Nekusar, the Mindrazer in which case draw mechanics would basically implode myself.
I'm also thinking a third deck based on Prime Speaker Zegana and massive draw mechanics but I haven't worked that one out yet.
Would love some advice on my changes that I have made. FYI all the cards I removed from the original pre-con deck are in the side board in case I should switch something back.
Monsmtg says... #2
Depends, what colors do you want to play? The decks are all pretty close in terms of price. You could also wait until C16 comes out.
March 4, 2016 9:39 p.m.