deck ideas EDH/Commander

{"ops":[{"insert":"Hi Mentalgen,\n\nWelcome to that point all EDH players come to! Upgraded precons are a good start, but eventually you wanna spread your wings, and figuring out how is tough! \nPersonally, I have 2 or 3 main methods for deciding on a new commander deck to build, relating to what it is I'm hoping to do with the deck:\nI see a cool card, whether when sorting my own collection or online, and think \"What kind of commander deck could I make from this card?\" This is how I decided to make my first few commander decks; Zada, Hedron Grinder, Minthara, Merciless Soul, and Alaundo the Seer as examples."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"I see a mechanic I like. For example, Experience counters, as seen with cards like Otharri, or Mizzix of the Izmagnus, or Ninjutsu, like with Yuriko and Satoru Umezawa. This is likely my personal favourite way of building a deck, as it lets you intentionally design in cool interactions and tech, but depending on how prevalent the mechanic, you may have to substitute for functionally similar things, or more support cards than payoff."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"I choose a colour Identity I haven't built/played with before. Recently, this means I built an Esper ninjutsu deck, using Rebbec, Architect of Ascension, and Silas Renn, Seeker Adept."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nWhile none of these are fool proof methods, I believe they're quite effective in finding something new to play around with and try out. If you're trying to find cards that do particular things, then literally googling what you're hoping for, or using the type of phrasing you might expect to see on the card in a scryfall search may find good results. For instance, if I wanted a commander that would synergise well with Madness (the keyword ability), then I might look up something like \"Discard commander in rakdos,\" or use scryfall.com/advanced to narrow my criteria with the various filters available (such as type filters, to filter for legendary and creature, and text filters, to filter for words in the card's rules text) which may lead me to Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar, or to Rielle, the Everwise (whose name I forgot and I just scryfall'd to find!)\n\nOf course, there's also here, and EDHRec, which are more community driven, but show popular choices for commanders, what people use with them, and what kind of deck they make out of them. You can also search for core functions of a deck, such as +1/+1 counters on those sites, to find commanders to suit those themes.\n\nSorry if this is a bit of information overload, but that's just because there's so many resources available to use!\n\nAs for one I think you would like, based on the precons you have enjoyed, then I might recommend Athreos, the Shroud Veiled, or Teysa Karlov, as it seems you likely enjoy token generation, control, and a little bit of Aristocrats (sacrificing your creatures as fuel for your plans.) \nIf you're more a fan of your creatures getting big, and doing big attacks with lots of big creatures, then Raffine, Scheming Seer will likely tickle your fancy, or Oskar, Rubbish Reclaimer. If you wanna try new colours, then Muldrotha, the Gravetide may be a good choice in an adjacent theme. \n\nI will forewarn, however, that some people have something I refer to as \"Commander hate\" - they see you running a commander that has whooped their butt in the past, and then immediately target you from start until you're dead because they have bad memories of someone else's deck; I personally recommend prefacing most games with \"I didn't build this using a busted list; I'm new to the game\" to help assuage that a little. And if you do build with a busted online list... well, be upfront I guess! That's the point of the Rule 0 discussion of Commander!\n\nBut either way, I hope this helps you sink a hook into making your own Commander, and that you find something you'll enjoy!\nHappy brewing!\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"I am not great at deck building but here is how I approach it.\n\nGenerally, I get the desire to build a deck 1 of 2 ways:\nA: I see a Legendary Creature and think \"I want to build that\"\nB: I see a theme and think \"I want to build that\"\n\nThen I dump 100-200 cards that fit either that commander or that theme. I do a search for the color combos I want and check EDHrec for ideas. If I need a commander still I search legendary creature and look for something in that color combo I like. Sometimes the commander is just a means to the color combination. If that is the case, I just look for something/somethings that are useful even if they aren't really the core of the deck. And also pretty cards. Pretty cards end up in decks because I like the way they look. \n\nAs I've grown through my MTG years, my decks went from \"Do I even have 100 viable cards in this combination?\" to:\n\"I want to make a landfall deck that uses blue, because I have 0 decks with islands and some cool full art Islands.\"\n\"OMG A CAT DOG!? I NEED THIS! -proceed to throw a bunch of cats and dogs onto the list, trim and tune it up, then get a secret liar announced of the same theme and be in heaven-\"\n\"My friend hates mono blue because of counter spells, I am going to make a few mono blue decks without counter spells.\"\n\nAnd then at the very end, I look critically at how I want the deck to win. Especially as I go to tune it up, cut cards, or even change the commander.\n\nThere are a lot of EDH youtube videos that give a lot of pointers, ideas, and thought processes to building decks or using certain commanders. I highly recommended just listening to some of them in the background while building/organizing. They really helped me get over my \"I feel overwhelmed trying to make a deck\" feelings.\n\nRemember too: Playgroups impact the deck and how it feels to play. If you build a deck and feel it plays poorly or like crap, give it a few more games. If you still feel that way, look for cards that are not helping that feeling or causing it. Does it feel mana starved? Look at the land count/ramp count. Does it lose steam? Look at card draw. Don't give up on an idea you love due to 1 bad game. Play a few before deciding.\n"}]}