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3 Rules of Commander Card Evaluation

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Developing articles for Magic: The Gathering's Commander format often approaches the enjoyment of playing the format. While not always initially apparent, half of the fun of the format is exploration, research, and experimentation. My inroad to Magic began with Standard. Like most folks, I began playing constructed with sixty-card decks. I started collecting cards and playing local tournaments following the release of the Eventide expansion and rocked the Faeries and Elves with great enthusiasm. Eventually, I waged a little war with Doran and Five-Color Control. It turns out that none of those former Standard decks offered players a chance to sling nutty cards like Demonic Tutor, Maze of Ith, or Sensei's Divining Top. In fact, I had missed out on fifteen years of Magic.

The most enticing lure of Commander was the experimentation and newness of older, powerful (and not-so-powerful) cards. Sol Ring is a staple. Players regularly banish creatures from the battlefield with mono-Black board-sweepers. Older artifacts are amazing, and recent Standard cards are mere shadows of the historical Blue powerhouses (save Jace, the Mind Sculptor). I never played in the days of Daze. My Magical résumé does not include a brief hiatus due to Affinity, and I never had the chance to draw my way through the "Black Summer." Jewels of the past were buried under the rubble of rotation and rarely played in the then-barely-played Legacy and Vintage formats.

Each classic card and forgotten powerhouse was brand-new to me, and each time I played inspired awe and amazement at all that Magic's storied past had to offer. Eventually, I played my way through the first wave of highly powered, devilishly costed bombs, and began to explore the subtle synergies, the nuance, and sleepers that rested awaiting glorious rebirth in a new, casual format.

Have you ever cast Insurrection into a board filled with all of your opponents' strength and hard work, just to see the disappointment and fear as their legions and Commanders betray them in the final moments before their death? It is poetry. Whether you are sticking your very first copy of Maelstrom Nexus or kicking it old-school with your beta Timetwister, Commander offers you a chance to sling classic cardboard.

For some, the cards inspire a sense of nostalgia; for others, a childlike wonderment at cards that you never had a chance to experience or play. The draw to the format is undeniable. It calls to you.

Commander is so right on so many levels. But before this article turns into a Valentine's sonnet to the format, we should jump into the exciting task laid before us. We are going to tackle the card choices and threat selections that will best accomplish our aim to answer Commander's call.

Card Selection

There are three rules that cards must satisfy to find a way into my Commander decks. There are simply too many options in Magic's card pool to justify the inclusion of lackluster, ultra-narrow, or underwhelming card choices. Most Magic cards are generally unplayable or underpowered. However, you have a large number of cards that fit the bill.

Following these rules will help you figure out which cards make the cut and which cards stay in the binder or get left hanging out in that online shopping cart that you never close out:

  1. Must be the best at what it does.
  2. Delivers heavy impact on game play.
  3. Allows you to achieve your deck-construction goals.

The first rule requires study. Let's work through some examples and nonexamples to demonstrate the importance of this concept. Over time, the makers of Magic have generated thousands of cards. Many times, the cards will do very similar things. Imagine that I want a Green utility creature. I need some answers to problematic artifacts and enchantments.

After some research, we come up with some creatures that generally fulfill our requirements. Caustic Wasps (3 CMC) will only destroy artifacts and is conditional. This card is too narrow. Nantuko Vigilante (4 CMC) will do the trick, but it is a little slow. You have to Morph it, and it only delivers the desired effect when it is turned face-up. The time and mana investment seems steep. Uktabi Orangutan (3 CMC) is a boss but ignores enchantments. Viridian Zealot (2 CMC) taxes Green pretty heavily, but offers our desired ability for an additional 1g. The only concern is the one-for-one trade. I really like card advantage and hate to sacrifice my creatures (unless it fits a theme). Therefore, we are down to two solid options. Indrik Stomphowler (5 CMC) offers a 4/4 frame in addition to removal of problematic artifacts or enchantments, while Acidic Slime (5 CMC) only offers a 2/2 body. However, we find added value from Acidic Slime. It has Deathtouch, so it might trade with an interesting opposing threat, and it broadens our options. It can target lands. In Commander, there are tons of powerful land cards that you are going to want to answer. Acidic Slime wins. He seems to be the best at what he does. In fact, he might be considered a Green staple.

This thought process can be applied to nearly any type of card. Often, there is a standout among the masses. You can find the "best" Blue card-drawing sorcery or the most impressive burn spell. Often, my decks begin with a theme or outline of goals, win conditions, and play goals. These goals and needs drive the card slots. After you determine the need, it is generally a process of research and evaluation.

If you want some quick cheats that will aid you along in the evaluation process, it can be helpful to reference the forums and Commander blogs. Many Top 25 or Top 50 lists will include cards representing the cream of the crop. Once you identify the need and research the top-card-for-X-color lists, you will be very close to making the best selections. Consider some of these questions: What is the best removal spell in White? Which ramp spell(s) will put the most lands into play for 4 or less mana? Which ones come into play untapped? What are the top three cards for bringing a creature onto the field from the graveyard?

Answering questions like these might aid deck development, help you adjust your power levels, and assist you in selecting the perfect cards for your deck design. It might also be noted that there are some players who do not simply want the "best competitive" cards for their decks. They may want to decrease the competitiveness or take some of the proverbial edge off for casual games. The process is the same. Maybe you are a player who wants the challenge of winning games with Caustic Wasps instead of Acidic Slime. Maybe you don't have access to a foil Acidic Slime and will settle for foil Indrik Stomphowler so you can pimp out your deck.

Satisfying the second rule can be tricky. Each card should meet the goal of your deck design. I meet new players who rock out suboptimal cards because they don't know about other options, or they simply don't understand how to identify cards that provide a strong impact on the game.

Again, let's walk through some examples and nonexamples. You are a new player to the Commander format. However, you have played competitive Magic for eight years and have been itching to sling your Tarmogoyf. You build a Green/Black deck and run a few matches. Over time, you notice that Tarmogoyf is almost always hitting the board as a 5/6 or better, but it rarely makes much of a statement. How can this be? Tarmogoyf is one of the premier constructed creatures of all time!

We can reference the prior article discussions on tempo in Commander and note the doubling of our life total to best explain poor Tarmogoyf's inadequacy in this format. But you really wanted a creature that gets bigger when the graveyards are loaded? Adjust the CMC a bit, and you will find a 5-drop that sports a real "It Factor" in Commander: Lord of Extinction. Now we're talking! I have seen this guy come into play at roughly 30/30. He is a house and can close the deal on an undefended player. Give him the gift of Trample, à la Rancor, or maybe Shroud and Haste, à la Lightning Greaves, and you have a real threat.

However, Lord of Extinction and his hefty ilk are barely making the cut. There is a ton of removal, and somebody in your multiplayer game is likely to come up with an appropriate answer before you start racking up headhunter trophies. In fact, I like my creatures to typically yield a two-for-one (or greater) advantage. I like to impact the board with cool abilities and effects that either answer opposing threats or build up my hand. Eternal Witness, Duplicant, and the newly printed Consecrated Sphinx, as well as the legions of amazing creatures that populate the most potent decks, tend to share those characteristics. I would take Eternal Witness over Tarmogoyf every time.

In order to satisfy the second card-evaluation rule, you should think about the power level of the creatures that you aim to play. Consider competitive versus casual inclusions, and ultimately make selections that make a big splash. Some alternative style examples include selections from my Group Hug Commander deck. I picked out Hunted Wumpus and Tempting Wurm. Both cards can alter the board dramatically and fit my theme of helping other players create crazy game states.

These alternative selections present a great segue into the third rule to guide card selection. Always try to optimize the inclusion of cards that drive your deck's goals or theme. Is Pirate Ship a great card? Many players might find it lacking in power and consider the Sacrifice-Pirate Ship-if-you-control-no-Islands drawback a little risky. Are there cards that do what this card is trying to do that might be better selections? It seems obvious. However, it might be a quintessential inclusion in your Seafarer's theme deck. I have seen Pirate Ship make an appearance in a pirate-themed Commander deck, a ocean/sea deck, and in another strange deck that focused on modes of transportation. The odd choice was a perfect fit.

It is important to remember that folks create decks to satisfy all sorts of win conditions and game-play goals. Many decks aim to be competitive, while others simply want to be the best Cat deck on the planet! Our armada of Commander decks contains a splash of Spike-ish competitive decks and hated Commanders, decks developed to meet the conditions of league play achievements, and decks that are just doused in awesome-sauce. Only you can decide the direction in which you want your deck to go. I have noted players making themed decks with a sideboard for "competitive" play, and have seen others simply craft decks to show off their favorite judge foils and altered-art cards. For all of the talk in this article about card selections, there has to be a good dose of reality. Commander is a format that will attract all types of players. Some folks will chase the stone-blade, killer cards, while others will be happy packing forty angels into an unlikely three-color casual monstrosity.

Ignore posts and lists that purport to outline the best cards for Commander. The truth remains that beauty (er . . . in this case, playability) is in the eye of the beholder. Select the cards that you love, and you will always make decks that are fun and enjoyable. I hope that you can sample a little piece of the nostalgia or land a chance to sling some storied stars that burned hot before your time in the Magic community.

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