Well, it looks like no one is reading this yet. No matter; it's still constructive for me to get my thoughts out, and hey, maybe I'll be discovered by some big shot on the Internet. If not, hi Mom!
So I've gone over the basic theory of Commander. In this part, let's explore the guts of a fairly standard EDH deck.
Also, Blogspot is not great about links and stuff, so I won't be linking all the cards like I did before. Hopefully, I can get my information on a site that has plugins for MtG information.
Concept 2: What's In The Flippin' Box?
(Disclaimer: this is not supposed to be a magic recipe for making an EDH deck. This is intended as a baseline to help you make decision on what cards you can play.)
So over the next 3 parts, I'm going to go through, card by card, the three decks I mentioned in the first post. The first one we'll be examining is Ezuri, Renegade Leader. He's the first one up because his deck is fairly straight-forward: make more elves and make them bigger.
We'll start with what Ezuri himself does, and what the deck should revolve around. Both of his activated abilities affect the elves that you control, so obviously, we want the deck to have as many elves as possible. That should be easy enough. Also, he's a mono-color Commander, so we only need to look at the green and colorless (there's a few) elves, right?
There are 207 (at time of writing) different cards with the type Elf. Since the deck can only have 100 cards in it, and we need to make room for lands, we obviously need to pare that list down somewhat. So, here's the elves that made it into the deck, sorted by the role they fill.
Mana-producing elves:
Llanowar Elves (foil, of course)
Arbor Elf (can come in really handy)
Joraga Treespeaker (good on turn 1, really good when you have lots of tokens)
Heritage Druid (only good with lots of dudes, but it's REALLY good)
Priest of Titania (required for any Elf deck)
Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary (no longer banned, yay!)
Wood Elves (technically a mana elf. If you can flicker it, it's really good)
Elvish Archdruid (pumping my guys and making mana? Yes please)
Keeper of Progenitus (can be risky, but the dividends can be massive)
Wirewood Channeler (having three guys that make mana equal to the number of elves totally isn't overkill)
Argothian Elder (part of the only infinite combo in the deck; also good on its own)
More damage/more creatures
Joraga Warcaller (combos well with Immaculate Magistrate)
Fauna Shaman (Survival of the Fittest on a creature)
Elvish Champion (forestwalk is totally relevant in many matchups)
Imperious Perfect (tokens and pump equals necessary)
Gilt-Leaf Ambush (not a creature, but still type Elf, and the element of surprise is good)
Timberwatch Elf (temporary pump is still pump)
Jagged-Scar Archers (because flyers suck)
Immaculate Magistrate (combos well with Joraga Warcaller)
Elvish Promenade (also not a creature, but this can get crazy fast)
Heedless One (because bigger is better)
Drove of Elves (more in here for the big hexproof than anything else)
Lys Alana Huntmaster (free tokens are best tokens)
Voice of the Woods (turning elves into tokens since 2002)
Blowing stuff up
Elvish Skysweeper (because flyers still suck)
Viridian Corrupter (random infect is gamechanging)
Nullmage Shepherd (easily one of the biggest threats to a gamestate)
Utility elves
Taunting Elf (being a distraction is its own reward)
Quirion Ranger (untapping creatures is good, and replaying lands if you don't have a land drop is good)
Seeker of Skybreak (untapping creatures continues to be good)
Gaea's Herald (because blue decks suck)
Nissa's Chosen (we'll get to Nissa in a bit; don't worry)
Wellwisher (lifegain due to elves is the most common cause of survival)
Eladamri, Lord of Leaves (remember, he doesn't give himself shroud)
Tajuru Preserver (good against lots of stuff)
Elvish Harbinger (searching for an Elf, eh? We got lots of options)
Masked Admirers (costs more than Elvish Visionary, but it's easier to repeat its effect)
Yeva, Nature's Herald (a good way to bounce back from a Cyclonic Rift)
Sylvan Messenger (it can whiff, but when it hits, it is so good)
And that's all the elves in the deck. That's not the entire deck, of course. There's a strong supporting cast. So, here's the non-elf creatures.
Wirewood Symbiote (untapping creatures is still good, and "enter the battlefield" effects are good)
Skyshroud Poacher (what's that? You like putting elves directly into play? We can do that)
Seedborn Muse (practically required to play a green deck in Commander)
Genesis (for when your stuff is dead, and you don't like it that way)
Primordial Sage (you'll run out of cards quickly. Get more)
Regal Force (still need cards? Try this guy)
Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger (beware: if you play this guy, you are an immediate target)
It looks like we need to cover a few more sections of cards. We'll move now into the non-creature spells.
Helix Pinnacle (alt wins for the win)
Concordant Crossroads (it's the cheapest way to give your guys haste, but it hastes everyone's guys)
Worldly Tutor (usually searches for Skyshroud Poacher, which searches for everyone else)
Nature's Lore (strictly better than Rampant Growth in a mono-green deck)
Elvish Guidance (this makes Arbor Elf waaaaaay better)
Recollect (recurring cards can be the key to success)
Extraplanar Lens (this is why I use weird lands)
Skyshroud Claim (strictly better than Nature's Lore, if you have the mana for it)
Greater Good (respond to board wipe by drawing cards)
Nissa Revane (I knew that Nissa's Chosen was in here for a reason)
Creeping Corrosion (because artifacts suck)
Gauntlet of Power (remember that this powers up opponent's green stuff)
Asceticism (hexproof for everyone!)
Lurking Predators (free creatures are best creatures)
Wild Pair (free creatures continue to be best creatures)
Mana Reflection (because green doesn't have enough mana ramp)
Desert Twister (wait, a green Vindicate? Huh.)
Akroma's Memorial (ha! Now the elves can fly!)
Genesis Wave (for when you just have to have 20 permanents come into play in one turn)
Now all that's left is the backbone of the deck's function: the landbase. (My no-lands EDH deck is coming along, but it's tricky).
27 Snow-Covered Forest (remember Extraplanar Lens? This means that I only double up my lands and not everyone else's Forests)
Dryad Arbor (creature lands? Why not)
Wirewood Lodge (untapping creatures is still cool)
Reliquary Tower (in case you have too much power in your hand)
Oran-Reif, the Vastwood (free +1/+1 tokens are nice)
Mosswort Bridge (it's inconsistent, but it can be a lifesaver)
Yavimaya Hollow (Ezuri can't regenerate himself. Give him a hand)
Gaea's Cradle (only acquire if you have $150+ to spend. If you do, it's totally worth it)
So that's the deck. This deck doesn't require a lot of strategy. You just want to have the biggest board presence, and then you start killing people. It works pretty well.
Tune in next time when I go through my blue/red deck and discuss the finer points of copying a spell five times.
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