EDH (Commander) with Karador, Ghost Chieftain!

Today I am going to take a break from my usual competitive view on the game and take a walk on the wild side. I built my first EDH (Commander) deck! I haven’t even played it yet and I am already excited about it!

I know that I am late to the party with regards to the format. So late, in fact, that Wizards has Commander listed as an official Casual format on their website.  Most players, however, still regard the Elder Dragon Highlander page as the official EDH/Commander ruling body.

My view on the format is that it is supposed to be fun. You should do things in deck construction and game-play that are fun for you to do. Personally, I like the black version of card advantage where you use your graveyard as a resource. This makes green and black obvious choices for my starting colors. I threw white in there because of my love of the Green/Black/White cards.

I then had to decide on a general, and while there are many competitive and “spiky” generals out there (Doran, the Siege Tower, for instance), I want to have fun. Enter the eight-mana Centaur Lord… Spirit… Guy… Yeah…

This guy is so BA. Look at that art… I mean, he’s got a GHOST BEAR and a Ghost Elf!!  I am terribly excited to cast sweet creatures from my graveyard every turn! There’s no holding back now… Behold! My first attempt at an EDH deck:

GENERAL
1 Karador, Ghost Chieftain

SPELLS
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
1 Syphon Flesh
1 Vraska the Unseen
1 Garruk Relentless
1 Regrowth
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Syphon Mind
1 Reanimate
1 Sol Ring
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Disturbed Burial
1 Diabolic Edict
1 Jarad’s Orders
1 Deadbridge Chant
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Mulch
1 Path to Exile
1 Orzhov Signet
1 Golgari Signet
1 Syphon Soul
1 Ancient Craving
1 Selesnya Signet
1 Cultivate
1 Harmonize
1 Skullclamp
1 Grisly Salvage
1 Farseek
1 Grave Pact
1 Attrition

CREATURES
1 Armada Wurm
1 Thragtusk
1 Verdant Force
1 Wall of Blossoms
1 Trostani’s Summoner
1 Eternal Witness
1 Krosan Tusker
1 Teneb, the Harvester
1 Twisted Abomination
1 Spike Weaver
1 Angel of Despair
1 Deadwood Treefolk
1 Spike Feeder
1 Acidic Slime
1 Gravedigger
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Lotleth Troll
1 Varolz, the Scar-Striped
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Force of Nature
1 Pale Recluse
1 Spiritmonger
1 Dark Hatchling
1 Shattered Angel
1 Eternal Dragon
1 Shriekmaw
1 Yavimaya Elder
1 Brawn
1 Somberwald Sage
1 Avatar of Woe

LANDS
4 Plains
7 Swamp
8 Forest
1 City of Brass
1 Command Tower
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Exotic Orchard
1 Gavony Township
1 Godless Shrine
1 Golgari Guildgate
1 Golgari Rot Farm
1 Homeward Path
1 Orzhov Basilica
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Selesnya Guildgate
1 Selesnya Sanctuary
1 Sunpetal Grove
1 Tainted Field
1 Tainted Wood
1 Temple Garden
1 Temple of the False God
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Vault of the Archangel
1 Volrath’s Stronghold

Okay, be gentle, I am a Commander virgin after all. I have no idea how this deck draws or plays, but I do know that I will likely have fun with it. I tried to put in quite a few mana sources and land cyclers/artifacts. Hopefully it’s enough to make it somewhat viable.  Unlike most of my Magic playing, this deck is IRL only.  If you see me at Gamer’s Gauntlet or elsewhere in Metro Detroit, I’d definitely be willing to play some EDH inbetween rounds if I have the time!

The first opening hand I drew with the deck contained Force of Nature.  I think that seals the deal, this is the EDH deck for me.

So… I built an EDH deck and drew a sample hand… #meanttobe #edh #commander pic.twitter.com/9RXzI7gQnV

— Force_of_Nature (@moxdoogle) July 1, 2013

Who’s your general?

Collection Revitalization and eBay Auctions

A long time ago I sold my collection.  It was a hasty decision made at a bad time. It is still one of my biggest regrets.  Recently, however, I got a “second chance” at a collection.  The collection I owned previously included four copies of every standard and extended legal card along with all the restricted Type 1 cards, etc, etc.  While the collection I recently purchased was not as vast, it makes up for it in character.  Old favorites like Cursed Scroll, Wall of Blossoms, Sol Ring and, of course, Force of Nature (Revised is close enough to Unlimited) are back in my possession and I couldn’t be happier about it.

One of the best parts of this collection is that there are several cards that do not hold a place in my heart, but have grown in value over time as EDH (Commander) staples.  Cards like Chains of Mephistopheles and The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale are perfect examples.  I am trying to recoup the cost of the collection by eBaying and/or selling pieces to local stores.  While I don’t think I’ll recoup all the money I spent, I will more than make up for it in the restoration of my emotional connection to Magic.

While my new collection does not contain Standard powerhouses like Jace, the Mind Sculptor or Titans, etc, it does enable me to start exploring EDH/Commander.  I have not played Multiplayer Magic in a loooong time, so this should be interesting.  I’m thinking that it will be rather odd to try and play just for the fun of it as I’m used to having some level of competition to the game.

Well, here’s to the possibilities that revitalizing a collection brings!  Thanks to Jeremy for giving me back the spark I once had for the game.  And if anyone is interested, here are some links to my eBay auctions:

MTG 1x ** Bazaar of Baghdad ** Arabian Nights NM/EX !!

MTG 1x **The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale** Legends NM!!

MTG 1x **Chains of Mephistopheles** Legends NM/EX!!

MTG 1x ** Enlightened Tutor ** Mirage NM!!

MTG 1x ** Vampiric Tutor ** Visions NM!!

MTG 1x ** Survival of the Fittest ** Exodus NM!!

MTG 1x ** Entomb ** Odyssey NM!!

MTG 1x ** Serra’s Sanctum** Urza’s Saga NM!!