Building a Commander Deck

Commander Deck Breakdown Guide

Building a Commander deck can seem daunting, but breaking it down into key components makes it manageable. Here’s a quick guide to help you structure your deck:

 

1. Lands (35-38)

Basics: Include around 35-38 lands, depending on your deck’s mana curve.

Mana Fixing: Use lands that produce multiple colors of mana if your deck has more than one color.

Utility Lands: Include a few utility lands that provide special abilities.

 

2. Ramp (8-10)

Artifacts: Cards like Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, and Cultivate help accelerate your mana production.

Spells: Use spells that fetch lands or generate mana.

 

3. Card Draw (8-10)

Spells: Include spells like Rhystic Study, Harmonize, or Fact or Fiction to maintain card advantage.

Recurring Effects: Cards like Phyrexian Arena or Outpost Siege provide continuous card draw.

 

4. Removal (8-10)

Targeted Removal: Use spells like Swords to Plowshares, Beast Within, or Chaos Warp to deal with specific threats.

Board Wipes: Include a few board wipes such as Wrath of God, Damnation, or Cyclonic Rift.

 

5. Counterspells (3-5)

Interaction: If you’re playing blue, include counterspells like Counterspell, Mana Drain, or Negate to disrupt opponents' plans.

 

6. Creatures (20-25)

Utility Creatures: Creatures that provide additional benefits like card draw, ramp, or removal (e.g., Eternal Witness, Solemn Simulacrum).

Synergy Creatures: Include creatures that support your deck’s theme or strategy.

 

7. Theme/Strategy Cards (15-20)

Synergistic Cards: Cards that work well with your commander’s abilities or your deck’s theme (e.g., enchantments for enchantress decks, spells for spell slinger decks).

 

8. Protection (5-7)

Protection Spells: Cards like Swiftfoot Boots, Lightning Greaves, or Heroic Intervention to protect your key pieces.

 

9. Win Conditions (3-5)

Finishers: Cards that help you close out the game (e.g., Craterhoof Behemoth, Expropriate, or combo pieces specific to your strategy).

 

Tips:

Balance: Ensure a balanced mana curve to avoid being mana-flooded or mana-screwed.

Synergy: Focus on cards that synergize with your commander and overall strategy.

Playtesting: Regularly playtest and tweak your deck based on its performance.

 

 

By following this guide, you’ll have a well-rounded Commander deck ready for battle! However, if that all seems too much, we've always got competitive decks that you can check out here: Collector's Cove EDH Decks