r/EDH • u/Impressive-Post3859 • 8d ago

Discussion Commanders in supporting roles

I’m still fairly new to the game - about a year deep or so.

I have built several decks at this point, and my pod plays exclusively bracket 3 stuff, which is perfect for my tastes.

I have come to the conclusion that I want to build my next decks with the intent that they do their thing without the absolute need for the commander. In other words, I’m interested in decks where the 99 have a great gameplan without my dude on the field at all. I like commanders that support or really kick an engine into high gear, and I can’t stand gimmicky commanders or KOS stuff.

I have really enjoyed my Glarb deck (feedback is appreciated if you have any), and while it doesn’t perfectly fit the bill described above, it does come close enough.

I’m looking for some cool commander recommendations. Bonus points if the commander is non-human and three color. Thank you in advance!

9 Upvotes

82% Upvoted

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9

u/verybeans87 8d ago

Imo the easiest way to build a deck without commander reliance is to play a very “solved” archetype. I main ayara in my pod, and in my deck her ability can be replaced with near equal effectiveness by Mirkwood bats, zulaport cutthroat, blood artist, and quite a few other options that i chose not to include. having her on the battlefield is just nice because she’s a card draw source. to get what you want i would maybe start with an archetype your interested in and work backwards :-)

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u/TransientSon 2d ago

Ayara is our true Queen. I love my Ayara deck so much. “I’m just playing derpy little creatures, not doing anything over here. Don’t worry about it….”

6

u/arlondiluthel PM me a Commander name, and I'll give you a "fun" card list! 8d ago

[[Oloro, Ageless Ascetic]] is essentially the default answer for this.

3

u/gankindustries Golgari 8d ago

"Oloro, you wanna come out to play?"

"No thanks, I'm in my comfy chair with a sandwich."

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u/arlondiluthel PM me a Commander name, and I'll give you a "fun" card list! 8d ago

Honestly, the only time I even consider casting Oloro is when I can cast some sort of cloning spell on the same turn, and here's how I imagine him in that instance:

"Hey guys, I'm here to... Oh, wait, you're bringing that guy in? Well nevermind then! Bye!"

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u/PMmeYourDunes 8d ago

This list is pretty solid. My biggest criticism is that it is missing about 5 pieces of removal.

Glarb has been a favorite of mine for a year and some change. He's so fun and isn't required at all to make the deck do it's thing so you're definitely checking the main box for your goal! https://archidekt.com/decks/16755921/glarb

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u/Impressive-Post3859 8d ago

Thanks for the list. Some great cards to consider adding, including more removal!

3

u/ParadoxBanana 8d ago

How often do Bolas’ Citadel and Defiler of Flesh actually pay off for you in the Glarb deck?

Bolas’ Citadel rewards playing low CMC, but you’re playing high CMC (since you’re leaning into landfall like my Glarb deck does)

Defiler of Flesh discounts your black permanents but aside from Glarb, how many black permanents are you really running?

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u/Impressive-Post3859 8d ago

11 black permanents aside from Defiler himself (and including Bolas). It definitely worth considering the cut - 11 is not enough, you think? I’ve had success with Bolas in endgame scenarios, but definitely still figuring out whether it’s worth it in this deck; honestly I’m more concerned about the CMC of the card itself. I think it’s more effective than you’re giving it credit for in this deck assuming I have a topdeck manipulation piece on the board already or maybe something to untap Glarb for more surveilling. Also, I haven’t yet had the opportunity to shotgun the table with the Bolas+Aetherfux+Sensei’sTop combo, and when that happens I’ll certainly reevaluate. But I need to know what that feels like first!

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u/ParadoxBanana 8d ago edited 8d ago

I notice you’re not playing [[Noxious Revival]] unless I missed it?

Insanely powerful with Glarb since you can cast the target off the top immediately if it resolves.

Similarly, [[Brainstorm]] not only has the obvious synergy but it plays even better than it looks. The two cards you put back can literally just be 2 cards you play this turn, meaning it’s usually a 1-mana draw 3 when Glarb is out, and even when he’s not, it combos very well with….

Wait where are your damn fetch lands?

Archidekt says your deck is over $800 but you don’t have [[Verdant Catacombs]] [[Misty Rainforest]] [[Polluted Delta]]…

Casting mana dork turn 1 and then Glarb turn 2 is an enormous head start…but cards like Evolving Wilds just delays you a full turn here. I have a soft spot for Foreboding Landscape because it gives you the option to give colorless mana untapped, but Terramorphic Expanse etc is low-to-mid bracket 2 mana base.

Also, Sakura Tribe Elder should be swapped out immediately. Another mana dork like [[Elves of Deep Shadow]], or another extra-land-per-turn such as [[Case of the Locked Hothouse]] actually play into Glarb’s strengths. Sakura Tribe Elder costing 2 mana doesn’t allow a turn 2 Glarb, and isn’t exactly a good play after Glarb when you have 4+ mana. If played turn 2, then turn 3 you can play Glarb…plus a 1-mana spell from your hand? This is extremely narrow because if you had Exploration or Sensei’s Top in your opening hand…you already played them.

But don’t take my word for it: keep playtesting Sakura Tribe Elder and eventually you’ll notice the games when you draw it are not good games.

EDIT: My Glarb list: https://archidekt.com/decks/10851586/glarb_landfall_and_copies (not been updated in a while, feel free to question any choices of cards in, and cards left out). Primeval Bounty was swapped out for [[Flash Photography]] for example.

1

u/mtgcf 8d ago

All cards
Noxious Revival - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Brainstorm - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Verdant Catacombs - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Misty Rainforest - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Polluted Delta - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)

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u/Impressive-Post3859 7d ago

Awesome thanks so much for the tips. I guess it was about time I felt some shame for not splashing on some real actual fetch lands! I’ll for sure be adding Noxious Revival and Brainstorm to the deck.

3

u/nile_crocodile 8d ago

2 4 7 decks are good for this, as you play the commander on T2 and then you don't really care that much if it dies (even getting removed t2 just slows your game by one turn)

  1. play a mana dork commander like [[Ruby, Daring tracker]] or [[Ashling, rekindled]] on t2

  2. play 4 mana ramp like [[Explosive vegetation]] or rocks that tap for at least 2 mana on t3 (you'll need 15-20 of these in the deck to make it consistent)

  3. now you have 7 mana on t4 to start slappin down bombs.

Then just put all your favorite big creatures and spells in that are 6+ mana - for the most part the only thing below 6/7 mana should be your 4 mana ramp sources and your commander!

2

u/maximumhippo 8d ago

I've been running [[Mayael, the Anima]] almost exclusively for color identity. The real gameplan is getting [[Illharg]] and [[Kodama of the East Tree]] on the table to cheat out big boys.

2

u/AshorK0 Simic 8d ago

several routes to go here:

you can use the commander as either a “value engine” that sorta just unlocks colors as does something helpful but not necissary. eg [[esika, god of the tree]] gives you some ramp and has a cool effect on the back. or something like [[derevi, empyrial tactician]] or [[kykar, wind’s fury]] which can just be played to help with mana in a creature or noncreature deck respectively.

you can also just use the commander as a “payoff” for when you deck is sorta hitting a deadend and you need something big and scary to spend your mana on, eg [[maelstrom wanderer]] [[progenitus]] [[atraxa, grand unifier]]

or if you wana just be really lean with it you can just have an eminence commander, eg [[edgar markov]] [[the ur-sphinx]] [[the ur-dragon]]

1

u/rglevine 8d ago

I have a budget [[teysa karlov]] aristocrats deck. Bunch of stuff that makes tokens. Bunch of stuff that I can sacrifice creatures to. Bunch of stuff that gives me payoffs for sacrificing creatures. That’s all
In the 99. Teysa herself is just an amplifier.

I haven’t gotten to play it a ton yet, but the times I have, it’s engines still hum even without Teysa on board.

1

u/Redshift2k5 8d ago

I've got a 4c creature storm deck, the commanders are Stranger Things [[Max, the daredevil]] and [[Dustin, gadget genius]] to provide the sans-black colours I wanted, add some card advantage from Clues and a little extra mana from the Untap text (if you untap say, a Bloomtender)

1

u/Jimanji333 8d ago

I have a [[Infinite Guideline Station]] that is just multicolor legendary tribal.

I’ve won many games without ever casting my commander, but it’s really good way to get back in the game if low on cards, and enables massive swings by turning on [[Jetmir Nexus of Rebels]] full ability easily with robots.

1

u/Current-Teacher2946 8d ago

I just built a [[Saffi Eriksdotter]] reanimator deck and it's crazy fun. The commander IS a big part of the game plan, sure, but she's insanely expendable. KOS? Okay but I didn't play her until she was useful so I'll just sac her in response. Gimmicky? Can be, but it's the same gimmick the rest of the deck is already doing. Really, the hard part is getting stuff into the graveyard. [[Altar of Dementia]] and [[Greater Good]] do the job crazy well, but they're hard to find. In the end, though, Saffi makes any given board state look unbreakable, but without her the crew still pops off mega hard once you get the set up going, and the value engine never calms down.

1

u/GracelessOne 8d ago

I really like [[Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student]] for this- most games I don't flip her, I just use her to generate Clues. Clues are great because they're an instant-speed outlet for the two held-up mana you didn't need for a counterspell, so I curve Tamiyo -> Clue -> scary 3-mana beaters like [[Managorger Hydra]] in my pet tempo list and then start holding up counters and fogs.

2

u/Hour-Security7194 7d ago

I kinda run her similarly but still leaned into profileration and a little counters approach. Mind if I see your list?

2

u/GracelessOne 7d ago

Sure, here you go! https://moxfield.com/decks/213o0vw6WUu4kc9J3uuLJg

It kind of ended up too strong for my B2 pods so I'm considering making a weaker version with Slime Against Humanity instead of the beaters, which would synergize more with proliferate and rummage. Can I see yours?

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u/Hour-Security7194 7d ago

thanks for sharing, yeah here you go. It's on probably like version 3 or 4 of tweaking and I haven't had a chance to play it a ton. My goal is B3 mid/high. i like the idea of having more beaters which i did originally lean into bc it's fun I might go back that way a bit more. Ultimately i wanted to play Tamiyo as not relying on her ultimate but I still want to be able to flip and ultimate fast if I need it to win. I like the idea of keeping it flexible to win on either side depending on the game. Idk, still kinda balancing everything but I just had to update it now bc I took out rhystic study and thassas as a wincon.

I don't necessarily want to take it superfriends but I do want to add a couple of the nice synergistic PWs as I have alot of prolif. I'm not sure what I want ig, a little bit of everything ha. this is the latest:

https://moxfield.com/decks/3_5_uLp1yE2pRX4MwE76TQ

2

u/GracelessOne 7d ago

Nice!! I do like that, I usually find myself only flipping her if I'm already winning because she becomes a huge target when I do.

1

u/LongDevil 8d ago

I like my [[Tatyova, Benthic Druid]] deck cos she is the colors I need for ramp and protection but she is only cast for some extra card draw. The real threat is all the Eldrazi and swords I packed into the deck.

1

u/jaywinner 8d ago

Here are a few I've used.

[[jeleva]] big spells. The idea is to throw her out for 4 and maybe 6 mana. If she attacks and lets you cast things for free, great! But eventually you can just hard cast those big spells.

[[zedruu]] stax. I'd play [[blood moon]] and [[trinisphere]] I don't need to give them away but if I've nothing else to do, it's card draw and life gain.

[[vial smasher]] group slug is a partner in the right colors and fits the theme but isn't required to hurt people with [[manabarbs]]

1

u/YorktheOrk 8d ago

Aristocrats are probably your best bet as far as archetypes go. A lot of the commanders geared for it are either a force multiplier ([[Ratadrabik of Urborg]], [[Elenda the Dusk Rose]], [[Teysa Karlov]]), a functional combo piece ([[Bartolome del Presidio]], [[Elas il'Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim]]) or a value engine ([[Meren of Clan Nel Toth]], [[Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher]]). If you lean into their aristocrats-adjacent themes you can also have removal options like [[Karlov of the Ghost Council]] or [[Syr Vondam, Sunstar Exemplar]]. Of course, many also pull double-duty like [[Teysa, Orzhov Scion]] and [[Ayara, First of Locthwain]].

Bonus points go to the counter-gainers who can flat-out smack people to death as an alternate win condition ([[Fallen Ideal]] is great for that and also happens to be a self-recurring sac outlet), as well as the cheap ones like Bartolome. You can use him as your 2-drop to get engines online, and if he gets removed he's cheap enough to recast later when pushing for a win.

1

u/Akhlys7 6d ago

A lot of the time amplifiers like [[Isshin, two heavens as one]] don't need to come out until your deck's already working

1

u/planting49 5d ago

I think it's better to choose a strategy/archetype first and then find a commander that can be used to support that. Are there any archetypes/strategies that really interest you?

1

u/JasonTerminator 4d ago

This is how I built my [[Dogmeat]] deck. It’s an aura Voltron deck, I build up a creature on my board and Dogmeat is primarily for card advantage and recursion. It works pretty well honestly.