It’s been a while since I’ve indulged myself in the “dash of Commander” that this page purports to support. So today I’m putting off tracking last weekend’s Pauper Challenge recap for a bit to talk about the three games of Commander I got to play yesterday. Self-indulgent? Sure. But I finally feel like I have something to say about the format.
One of my biggest truisms when it comes to writing (and really, creating content in general) is that you have to have something to say. This has been my biggest struggle with writing about Commander, largely because I find the entire format to be so personal. With Pauper there is a metagame and tournaments, a best deck for a given event and new cards to constantly evaluate. Commander, to me at least, is less about the latest cards.
So then what is it about? That’s harder to nail down. It is absolutely a social experience (which my games yesterday were) but that isn’t always the case. More often than not for me it is about solving a puzzle. Win or lose if I get to set up a challenge for myself and meet it, I was able to participate in the game. Now this is often easier to accomplish with known associates but with good pregame conversations they can happen in open play scenarios. Now these conversations are not always easy for people to have and due to the nature of my work I have had a lot of practice in guiding these discussions so I’m able to jump start these chats.
The biggest advice I can provide here is to practice “I Statements”. Clearly state what you would like to get out of the game and have everyone do the same and adjust accordingly.
Back to Labor Day 2024. As a 40-something with a full time job and a family it can be hard to get a regular gathering together. Over the past few months I’ve managed to assemble a semi-regular play group that has met up a handful of times. A few weeks ago we started up the chain again and settled on Labor Day as a good time to get together for some games. And so we did: myself, Andrew, Ryan, and Anthony.
While these particular collection of folks as a regular play group is relatively new all of the players are veterans of the New York City Magic and Commander scene. One reason that this group works is we all operate on a similar axis and have similar expectations for what we want games to look like. And I cannot remember the last time I had three games that were as good as the set we played yesterday.
Game 1: Ryan (Dakkon Blackblade), Anthony (Pippin, Warden of Isengard/Merry, Warden of Isengard), Alex (Captain Storm, Cosmium Raider), Andrew (Duke Ulder Ravenguard)
My Captain Storm deck is one I built when I realized the absurd interaction between the Commander and Animation Module where every mana available leads to another +1/+1 counter and another Servo. Andrew was the person who keyed me on the strength of Animation Module and it’s been a pet card ever since. Captain Storm is all about trying to one shot players with Commander damage and then use Fling effects to steal games. Things started out well for me with an early copy of my Commander with Sunshot Militia. Gleaming Geardrake, Crime Novelist and Forensic Gadgeteer all going. I was able to apply pressure but was at the whim of various removal spells. Ryan had Dakkon carrying the Blackblade Reforged to fight in the Arena while Anthony had Kambal, Profiteering Mayor keeping his life total high. He also had Tarrrian’s Journel going but had no idea what the back face of the card could do. Andrew was slower to develop and helped to progress the game with Spectacular Showdown into a board wipe (Austere Command I believe). That set me back as I had Animation Module ready to go off with Ashnod’s Altar and Chandra’s Ignition in my hand. But then Dakkon came in a dealt me lethal Commander damage and Ryan mopped up everyone else in short order.
Game 2: Andrew (Horobi, Death’s Wail), Ryan (Kraum, Ludevic’s Opus/Tormod, the Desecrator), Anthony (Chulane, Teller of Tales), Alex (Imoti, Celebrant of Bounty with Keruga, the Macrosage Companion)
This game was a wild ride. Andrew had an early Mirage Mirror which threatened to machine gun the entire board thanks to Horobi. Ryan was assembling his zombie horde and trying to pressure life totals with Nekusar, the Mindrazer. Anthony’s deck was blink focused and leaned heavily on Lagrella, the Magpie for full shenanigans. Imoti’s puzzle, for me, was in the deck build in an effort to maximize the wild swings inherent with Cascade. I managed to resolve a Hurl Into History against Ryan only to draw the Equilibrium rather than put it into play in the face of Anthony’s Reclamation Sage. I ended up drawing a ton of cards thanks to my copy Nezahal, the Primal Tide. Nezahal kept me in the game as I was able to rebuild from board wipes and targeted removal. Alchemist’s Refuge and Winding Canyons gave me ample opportunity to try and sneak threats into play but eventually Anthony had enough creatures to go with his Mirror Entity and was able to deal lethal to all three of us over two turns.
Game 3: Ryan (Daretti, Scrap Savant), Anthony (Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist/Vial Smasher the Fierce), Alex (Laughing Jasper Flint), Andrew (Yusri, Fortune’s Flame)
While it did not come up in this game, Andrew’s Yusri deck is a Rule Zero affair with Wish and a pack of cards to replicate the spell from Dungeons & Dragons. This game was played under the threat of Ryan and his Dragonspark Reactor which thanks to the nature of his deck could kill the table in one shot between Stuffy Doll effects and Rings of Brighthearth. Anthony’s deck was Grixis Deterrent Control and forced the table to go after each other while Andrew was flipping coins and drawing cards. Me? I was slowly building up an army of Outlaws which granted me access to my opponent’s cards. The key play came when Anthony tried to Blasphemous Act the board away only for him not to pay the one for Andrew’s Rhystic Study, which in turn drew Andrew An Offer You Can’t Refuse and keep the board well stocked. Ryan went for the OTK with Dragonspark Reactor only to be stymied by interaction from Anthony, and then Ryan pushed Anthony to single digits. That knocked Anthony low and when he went for Prisoner’s Dilemma both Ryan and I took a dozen to the dome, knocking Ryan out of the game. Whip of Erebos was keeping me alive and I managed to Author of Shadows back Prisoner’s Dilemma which took Anthony out and then had Dire Fleet Daredevil to snipe Andrew’s Delayed Blast Fireball from his graveyard and take the game.
These games were all great. We all were able to impact the outcome. There were big plays and massive swings and all of us had a shot at winning every game. Now the problem is we all want to do it again…
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