The Commander Tax

MTG Ramblings and memes EDH enthusiast!

[blogging-phelddagrif]

on my first game of LoL in like 3 years i’ve been yelled at even though i was doing fine. god how i missed this game : )

[karadork-deactivated20170813]

Lolol I just mute the troll asap. I have a handful of friends to play with to so it’s never a drag

[blogging-phelddagrif]

I don’t really pay attention to the chat either, but this jungler who was like 0/10/0 was yelling at me for building Galio as a tank, even though I was like 0/1/x and my lane was doing fine…it feels like this happens every game -_-

[mayaels-petting-zoo]

If you wanna play with some nice people, let me know. I’ll add you. :) My name is Mayael the Anima .

[blogging-phelddagrif]

cool!

[thesnacken]

Count me in too :) Same name as the blog

[doombladez]

I’m doombladez21, feel free to add me as well if you want.

[mimkana-deactivated20171030]

Yo! I need league friends! Mine is Mimkana!

[oldtumblhurgoyf]

zanmor here, mostly do aram when I’m on

[gitblog-monster]

You’ll all get invites sometime. nightcrafter27 here!

[thecommandertax]

Joining the parade: Baloo

[tanknspank]

Every time you post an MtG leak, Wizards delays the reprinting of Damnation by another 6 months

[noir-selune-and-sombra]

Honorary Goats

@commandtower-solring-go: Sol Goat

@sarkhan-volkswagen: Sarkhan’s Goatwagon

@odric-master-swagtician: Odric, Goat Tactician

@bace-jeleren: Jace the Goat Sculptor

@magicjudge: Isperigoat, Supreme Judge

@askkrenko: Krenko, Goat Boss

@sarpadianempiresvol-viii: Goat Empires, Vol. VIII

@flavoracle: Flav, Goat Oracle

@elspethsunschampion: Elspeth, Goat’s Champion

Claim your cards!

[thecommandertax]

Wheel of Creatures -- Jalira, Master Polymorphist

Jalira, Master Polymorphist (full list)

I love gimmicky commanders and Jalira is a prime example. The only thing better than winning the game is winning the game by accident! The strategy here is pretty simple: make small guys, spin them into big guys and win off that. For a deck built on randomness, it is surprisingly consistent. If you want to spend most of the game revealing your library and windmill slam a Kraken that used to be a squid then this is the deck for you!

Wheel of Creature Grand Prizes

These are what you want to spin into!

Artisan of Kozilek: An Eldrazi is a pretty good prize who gets better when he comes with a bonus.

Colossal Whale: Removal on evasion, score.

Diluvian Primordial: Evasion and the possibility of winning off opponents spells.

Endbringer: I have won off ping alone. Also can play defense and draw cards so good value.

Guile: Big, super menace, and lets you steal spells.

Inkwell Leviathan: Evasive beater. Standard but effective.

Ixidron: Honestly, I'm never happy when I spin into this, but it's so worth the look on everyone's face when their commander is a 2/2 that is difficult to remove.

Pearl Lake Ancient: Big and can get bigger with prowess.

Scourge of Fleets: Cyclonic Rift on a stick. This is a game ender and in combination with Ghostly Flicker and Archaeomancer soft locks the board.

Sphinx of Magosi: A growing, flying, card engine mana sink.

Stormtide Leviathan: My choice for best blue EDH creature.

Ulamog's Crusher: Big beat stick. Nothing special but annihilator is wonderful.

Fodder

Here are the things we throw at the wheel to make is spin!

Akroan Horse: One free spin per turn.

Thopter Spy Network: Put out 2 artifacts and it gives you one free spin per turn.

Chasm Skulker: Let it build for a little while then throw it at the wheel and be rewarded with MORE FODDER.

Reef Worm: The fodder that keeps on giving. Until it's a 9/9. Then it's a beater.

Trading Post: Besides being my all-time favorite magic card, this is another reusable fodder producer.

Springjack Pasture: Expensive fodder, but fodder and a side effect of producing mana.

Wonder: Begging to be fodder.

Upgrading the Wheel

These are cards that help make each wheel spin easier or more impactful.

Heartstone, Training Grounds: Cheaper wheel spins.

Illusionist's Bracers: Each spin nets me a bonus creature, 2 for the price of one.

Seer's Lantern, Crystal Ball, Thassa, God of the Sea: Scry can help set up the next wheel spin to be how I want it.

Proteus Staff: An extra wheel to spin if you so choose and can double as removal if need be.

Control Shell

Protecting my prizes, protecting my wheels.

I am running 12 counterspells/redirect of different varieties. Since I need Jalira alive for this deck to do anything, It's pretty useful to be able to stop harm thrown her way. That being said, I try to only use them if I really have to. I hate stopping people from playing as much as the next guy but I also hate being told my deck isn't allowed to play either.

Dissipation Field: My favorite blue control spell. I'm not stopping you from attacking me, just discouraging.

Rhystic Study: "Did you pay an extra for that?"

Refocus: Surprise blocker or extra wheel spin and replaces itself.

Spirit Away: Well if I can't kill your threat, I'll just take it

Ghostly Flicker+Archaeomancer: An excellent reusable protection/ETB effect. Works nice with Scourge of Fleets and Diluvian Primordial.

Petals of Insight: This card is criminally underrated. Repeatable draw 3 is pretty awesome, especially because I can cycle wheel targets with it so they're not dead in my hand.

Man-o'-War: Bounce a creature then becomes wheel fodder is a nice 2 for 1.

Polymorphist's Jest: This can be used to set up Scourge or just swing in and make the combat much more favorable.

Misc.

Cards that don't fit the other categories.

Hour of Need: Either removal or a finisher.

Cackling Counterpart: Make emergency fodder or set up extra ETB effects or blockers.

Slip Through Space: Let's me hit and replaces itself.

Everything else is fixing or draw.

Updated 11/29/16

[markrosewater]

“Tales from the Pit” #1422

[commandollar]

Invaders (Commander Variant)

I finally have the time to type this out, in response to your post “If you have ever played a variation of EDH/Commander that we have yet to cover, let us know!” if this has already been covered before I apologize, but I wanted to let you know about it just in case.

A variant recommended for 6, 8, or 10 players: Invaders! I don’t recommend playing games with 7, 9, or 11+ players since it would be easier to divide up pods. But if you really want to play with a group of 6, 8, or even 10, there is a format I have had success with called Invaders. In invaders, even teams face off against each other using a Plane card from Planechase and Schemes from Archenemy. Each player on the Plane team is defending the plane from invasion, and represents a capital city on the Plane (their commander being the king or queen of the city, go in as deep on flavor as you want.) The plane team takes their turn all at once, shared untap, upkeep, draw, shared main phase, shared combat step, etc. Once per turn, someone on the team can pay 4 mana to activate the Plane’s chaos effect (since the natives know the plane, the invaders can’t access this ability. The first plane ability is a global effect of the plane that happens to all players). The objective of the Plane team is to kill all the invaders.

The Invader team goes first, because they invade the plane without warning. They also take shared turns the same way as the Plane team, and represent invading generals of a combined army. Instead of the planar ability, the Invaders have a 10-card Scheme deck that any of them can pay 4 mana to flip the top scheme and play it once per turn. Their combined objective is to destroy every capital city on the plane and rule it. Players have a “reach” of 1 player so they can only see the players closest to them. Example:

ABCDE

12345

Player A can attack players 1 or 2, but can’t see or cast spells targeting anything further than players 1, 2, or B. If player 3 casts wrath of god, all creatures controlled by players BCD and 234 are destroyed, but players 1, 5, A, and E are unaffected, they were too far away on the plane.

The fact that it requires schemes and (at least one, but ideally more) planes makes this format inaccessible for a lot of players, but there are digital ways to substitute any missing parts, and I highly recommend trying it out if you have a group large enough, rather than a free-for-all multi-hour game. I have had an especially great time with the flavor of these games. Maybe a team of the 5 Phyrexian praetors try to invade Alara, and a general from each Shard defends their section of the plane? You could use one of the Alara plane cards like Bant or Jund, or for a more balanced experience the Maelstrom. Or maybe the Rakdos, Gruul and Golgari guild leaders from Ravnica want to invade the Azorius headquarters, Prahv, as defended by 3 Azorius legends, or perhaps Azorius with support from Boros and Selesnya companions? I’m happy to answer anyone’s questions about this format, it was introduced by Wizards in an article years ago, but I have spent a lot of time making little modifications that I feel improved the play experience. Until then, happy invading!

[maskedheromaskedchampion]

I would certainly try this.

[isharton]

gdi @odric-master-swagtician, @bace-jeleren, @zombieella

[zombieella]

I cant believe this Karlov doodle is relevant again

[kynaios-and-tiro-of-meletis]

wait what is the context of the karlov doodle…. i need more information….

[bizarre-trader]

Hi, i'm making good progress on my EDH Simic Deck i focus alot on creatures that can give +1/+1 and other abilities to green/blue creatures; but i may have cornered myself here. I have alot of cards that either give shroud or hexproof, if i remember correctly "shroud" is like hexproof but friendly ability/spells are ignored. So say i have an UG creature with shroud and a Murkfiend Liege (gives +2/+2 for having green/blue), does that mean the creature with shroud doesn't get those +2/+2 counters?

THOSE IS NOT THE COUNTERS SO DOES NOT MATTER

SHROUD AND HAXPROF ONLY MATTER WITH TARGET

FOR EXAMPLE YOU HAVE SHIELD

YEEN SPITS AT YOU

BUT CAN BLOCK BECAUSE HAVE SHIELD! IS GUD!

YEEN DROPS YOU INTO OCEAN

CAN BLOCK WHOLE OCEAN???

[doctor-roman]

Maybe I can, you don’t know me

[accomplished-automodad]

REBLOG THIS TO GET A CUSTOM MAGIC CARD BASED OFF OF YOUR URL/BLOG IN YOUR INBOX

I may call myself crazy for doing this later but hey I wanna go ahead and put this out there!

[markrosewater]

Have you ever had to discard podcasts because you revealed something you shouldn't have?

Yep. There’s a tape of me mentioned something I shouldn’t, realizing it a second later and me swearing for about a minute.

[keranos-god-of-storm-crows]

Dark Rosewater, Show me the forbidden drive to work

[tlatotem]

All those in favor of hearing what was accidently mentioned, please click “like.”

All those who want a full minute of Maro swearing, please click “reblog.”

[ezurad]

How could I say no to that face really

[wizardsmagic]

Seattle Seahawks linebacker Cassius Marsh had his Magic collection stolen earlier this week, so we delivered him a care package of Magic product. Some came from our warehouse, but plenty of it came from private collections of employees who wanted to help. While it can’t replace what was lost, hopefully it can lessen the sting.

In addition to the care package we gave to Cassius, we will also be donating a gift of equivalent retail value to a Seattle-based children’s charity.

We also got to chat about Magic (Cassius’ favorite deck is Legacy Elves!) and about how wonderfully supportive our community is. Happy pack cracking, Cassius!

[markrosewater]

For those that haven’t seen this story.

[dragongirltitties]

consideration:

•Rapid Reload takes a feat to let me reload my dual wield crossbows quickly

The alternative?

•Carry like 12 crossbows

•With Two-Weapon Fighting and a BAB of +1, i can retrieve two hand crossbows at once as part of a move action, making it essentially a free action to drop bow 1 and 2 and grab 3 and 4

•Fuck you I’m medieval Reaper.

•I can retrieve discarded crossbows post-combat

[thecommandertax]

This makes Rapid Reload obsolete

[flavoracle]

Commander 2016 Rap Battle

Atraxa, Praetors’ Voice

When all seemed lost Everything seemed broken Every Mirran screamed Phyrexia was awoken

Fighting for this plane Outnumbered, in pain Retreating in vain

My tears marked my final defeat Yet now I see with eyes compleat

Praetors preserved me All except Urabrask In their image, rebuilt me New in body and task

My plea to you all Is embrace unity Rebellion just makes you weak Reject such futility On the road to perfection Don’t you see you belong In the service of Praetors Now come and be strong

[miss-machete]

Its ya boy Yidris, four arms make it easy to clap back. I’m gonna break all of your words with a snap crack. Serenade you with my rhymes, maelstrom ridin’ all the time. Cascade in to fight, you will see my might. Flow into each verse, shorter than the last. That don’t make it worse, just fast. Chaos is gonna be in flux. You’ll be out of luck. It sucks to suck. What you heard? Hear that? Word.

((This was actually super fun.))

[maris-solstice]

Yo, it’s Saskia,

got a question to axe ya.

How’s it feel to have a pain train comin’ at ya?

Because I’m a locomotive,

and I’m bringing the pain

more than the rain mainly on the plains of Spain.

I’m a professional soldier and me and my crew

are fully prepared to eliminate you!

My whole village is dead, got nothin’ to lose,

ready to rumble, ready to bruise!

So what you gonna do with your fancy spells?

You didn’t have time before the axe fell!

[flavoracle]

Of the four-color legends We are still missing two So come pick up the mic Show us what you can do!

If you don’t prefer those Well then just take a gander There’s still 15 to choose from With a Partner commander

[horde-of-impressions]

Hey, we’re here, it’s Kyanios and Tiro (Tiro) As oldies from Theros, we’re pretty old Heroes (Heroes) Though in the future, our legacy will be marred (Das right) We still help everyone to get just one more card 

We’re one more step forward for representation Many are happy Wizards caught the train before it left the station If you need a deck stragegy, we’re perfect for group hug We make opponents dance like they are a lil jitterbug

[mtgrapbattles]

Breya, what a playa, here to saya back down! Crackdown the whack flak I get for no more mono-brown Attack with artifacts, a blue and black smackdown No lack of Boros too, my deck pack full It’s a fact! I’m filigree and can’t you see no flesh No part of me, my heart is free, etherium is fresh I shaped it myself, got all of Esper going “Whoa!” Thanks to my carmot (or should I say car-moe?) My power is fluid and you would best get out my way Chop chop! (Thop thop!) My inventions here to stay Like Akroma full text, and to an angel you should pray Dishing bolts, killing dolts, gaining life, I’m an A! And there’s No way my artifice won’t conquer No room for flavor cause I’m bonkers No weakness, I only get stronger No choice, just try me Planeswalker! WHAT!

[flavoracle]

Tana, the Bloodsower

Here in the wild And the forest so deep I feed what I tend And I tend what goes creep The saprolings raised me And kept me from harm Now I return the favor And bring food to the swarm

They say I’m not like my family And they call me an “elf” But then where were these “elves” When I was all by myself? No you cannot fool me I know my tribe and my kin Their heads are all moss And their hearts are open

Our wise leader is Ghave He taught me all that he knew As I watched this great fungi My skill in growing grew too

In our forest home lush We all fight to protect it From those human invaders Who seek to infect it And we drove them all back Not long after the flood ‘Cause you reap what you sow And I’m the sower of blood

[mtg-realm]

Magic: The Gathering Commander - Frontier

New article over at MTG Realm - https://goo.gl/EBQpUI

This very new casual (not officially recognized by Wizards of the Coast) game format, also known as Postmodern is a casual constructed MTG format allowing expansion and core sets from Magic 2015 onward.  Essentially, this format uses the modern card frame incorporating the custom WotC Beleren font, the holofoil stamp for rares / mythic rares, and collector information, where deck construction rules are the same as in Standard and Modern format.

Specifically, the following card are legal. • Magic 2015 • Khans of Tarkir • Fate Reforged • Dragons of Tarkir • Magic Origins • Battle for Zendikar • Oath of the Gatewatch • Shadows over Innistrad • Eldritch Moon • Kaladesh

Read about our tournament this past weekend and more notes on this format.

[ugin]

I’ve actually been testing this with my playgroup for a while! I encourage other people to try it out with their friends, it’s like a cheaper, less powerful Modern. So much fun too!

[commandtower-solring-go-deactiv]

Spread the Good word!

[thecommandertax]

I like it!

[flavoracle]

Welcome MTG Bloggers!

[trashkittyinthebasement]

saskia-the-trans-lesbian:

ugin:

kytheon-hero-of-akros:

linvala-the-memer:

sorinsdinnerparty:

dimestoretajic:

wort-boggart-auntie:

blogging-phelddagrif:

nyxfleeceram:

yourrightfulking:

tumblhurgoyf:

flavoracle:

Hi there!

Are you blogger who plays/collects/enjoys Magic: the Gathering?

Are you relatively new to Tumblr, or just wish you had more people seeing your posts and commenting on your content?

Are you trying to get more involved in the MTG Community here on Tumblr?

PLEASE LET US KNOW!!

In my experience, most of the blogs in the Magic community are run by very nice, welcoming, encouraging people who enjoy making new friends.

Many of us that have been around for a while are flattered and/or delighted to have other bloggers send us messages or tag us in posts when you have content you’re proud of that you want us to reblog for more people to see.

So if you’re one of those who has been waiting for your chance, SPEAK UP NOW!

Reblog this post and tell us about yourself. Say hi. Let us know what you love about Magic.

(If you’re somebody who HAS been around for a while, maybe reblog this post to spread the word?)

I feel like it’s been too long since we’ve had a big hello to new community members on here. So let’s fix that.

:D

Signal boost.

Also if you’re looking for a particular prompting or something, feel free to send me your Gatewatch head canons or ask about my own (or just planeswalker head canons in general).

Signal boost. I’ll add that anyone looking for somebody to talk about random stuff (magic related or not) should absolutely message me. I’m always bored and like making friends.

Hello potentially new friends. Message me whenever because I guarantee you I’ll love hearing your headcanons or ideas or OC stuff and I will regale you with my own if that’s what you wanna hear. :)

Same here! Always a pleasure to meet new mtg bloggers!

Goblins are great! And so are new Mtg blogs.

yo again

Hey everyone I’d recommend following @dimestoretajic @wort-boggart-auntie @elspethvevo @glissa-the-traitor @dimir-support-group and of course @dimir-librarian-cait

I recommend following @bace-jeleren @chandra-nalaar @fresh-prince-of-beleren @elspethsunschampion @kytheon-hero-of-akros @l-ki @wizardsmagic 😊

Thanks for tagging me! I recommend @wardanofthefirsttree, @ajohnnygoldmain, @chelsea-beleren-vess, @ugin, @kothophed-soul-hoarder, @karnslivergolem, @kiki-jinkies. Not sure how big any of y'all are but I’m sure you deserve more followers

Aw, thank you! I’d like to contribute by adding that I’d love to talk deckbuilding with anyone. I’m more of a fun/casual EDH player than competitive but I still know my stuff :)

@bizarre-trader is a delight

@yawgmoth-lord-of-sin is awesom.  :D

Also I do the MTG blog thing.. sorta.  Just not as active as I would like because my workjob consumes my soul.  I mostly draw.  :3

[atlas-sinner]

^ Same here, and this person is amazing too asfgasjk

I primarily do art-stuff (a lot of Phyrexia and izzet League doodles), and whatever is my aesthetic~ Mind I say I am not that good and currently lack my computer to do more things. So it’s sketches for a while. Don’t be shy either! I love meeting new people~

Some other awesome peeps: @zeico @dragons-suck @dominian-dracologist @gemstonechronologist @arlinn-kordd @augur-of-colas @commandtower-solring-go @vorthosjay

Seriously there are a lot of interesting people I could list but these were the first to come to mind!

[blogging-phelddagrif]

I make a couple articles each week and most of what I post about is mtg related. My inbox/message box is always open if anyone has some questions or just want to talk. Also, follow @isharton @island-delver-go @sarkhan-volkswagen @sarpadianempiresvol-viii @avacynthepurifier they are amazing people with quality blog!

[gitblog-monster]

@thecommandertax

[thecommandertax]

Hi everyone! Im mostly here for the memes but will occasionally do primers on my shitty decks!!

[deckd-out]

First Post

Deck’d Out Cards is the accumulation of several years of desire to have my own blog, streaming page, and eventually store. The first step of this process is the blog to start building name recognition and while I was setting up the blog why not just start the streaming page too. As such I have started the Twitch channel https://www.twitch.tv/deckdoutcards and hope to set up a streaming schedule shortly for both Magic the Gathering and Hearthstone. 

The inaugural streaming will be this Thursday November 3rd @ 8PM Est where I’ll be streaming Commander. My deck this first night will actually be one I also own in Paper so I hope to have a lot of fun with it. After Thursday I hope to stream Monday and Thursday with Monday being Hearthstone and Thursday being Magic starting with Commander for the first several streams. On Tumblr besides announcing when I am streaming I will also be posting deck techs for the Magic decks I play I’ll also be answering questions, posting opinions on MTG news and Spoilers, and other magic related post like alters, and sharing other great Magic blogs I follow.

[kytheon-hero-of-akros]

Boost!