TABLETOP TALES PRESENTS
MY 1ST COMMANDER DECK: TIMMY THE ANIMA
To check out my other decks, hit the links below:
This
article serves two purposes: To share the nerd entertainment around
with anyone who might find it interesting and, in this case, to build a fun, casual commander deck on a reasonable budget.
That's right folks! This week we're looking at my very first commander deck list and I'll be telling you about the themes of the deck, the strategy, the alternate forms the deck could take, the contents of the deck, and finally, what sort of cards I'll be picking up in the near future. So far, I've already spent $20, here and there, on singletons for this deck, but it is otherwise hard to gauge how much I've spent on it, since many parts of its contents come from a variety of purchases, and I don't know how much more I'm willing to spend. With that said, feel free to suggest cards for this deck and future builds of this deck.
Before we continue, let me explain what Commander format is for the uninitiated; EDH (Elder Highlander Dragon) is a format that was created by fans and has become more and more popular since Wizards of the Coast embraced it with the release of the Commander sets (thus giving the format a new official name, with official rules, Commander specific cards and paraphernalia).
In Commander, you start with a Legendary Creature (like the popular Commander staple, Kaalia of the Vast, above). You designate it as your Commander.You then construct a deck, consisting of at least 99 more cards, that are all unique in the deck, except for basic lands and a few specified exceptions and only include mana costs in the color of your commander (ex. if you use Kaalia, only cards with Red, White, and Red mana costs). You shuffle up your 99 card deck and go in against at least one other opponent in a free-for-all game starting with 40 life each (as opposed to the usual 20). You can cast your Commander out of the "Commander Zone", an in-game area separated from any effects yet to be printed, and can recast your Commander onto the battlefield, at any time, by paying it's mana cost and adding an additional mana for each time you've summoned it. From there you attempt to defeat your opponents using any number of win conditions from milling to beat downs to the more obscure win-conditions.
But, like any casual format, Commander is not merely about winning; it's about expressing yourself, using your collection to create something fun, and trying to create interesting interactions around some themes. This is a format that favors Johnnys, then Timmys (which is what my deck is all about), and, rather than the usual case, favors Spikes least. For those of you wondering what Johnny, Timmy, or Spike is... CHECK OUT THIS CLASSIC ARTICLE!
You can find Magic Cards in super stores (Ex. Walmart, Target) but the best place you can buy your cards, meet other players, and play in events is at your local comic book store or hobby shop. I buy most of my cards at The Comic Cellar. Here is a link to its Google Maps location at 3620 Austin Peay Highway #2 Memphis, TN 38128.
Now that I got advertising my favorite shop out of the way, let's get down to business!
Every Magic player is a mix of Timmy, Johnny, and Spike, but I definitely lean toward Timmy and Johnny on the triangular spectrum. I love themes, like a Johnny should. One of my favorite themes? I wouldn't be a Timmy if I didn't love playing down big creatures. So, the theme to my first Commander deck grew out of my collection of big Naya (Red, Green, & White) creatures that I've been collecting every chance I get. I'm a Naya mage, what can I say.
Once I snagged up Mayael in a trade, I stopped collecting for a while. I hesitated. Commander is a little intimidating. I had many components of this deck in a little casual deck I'd throw out for a little fun with my other casual playing friends. But every time I went to the Comic Cellar, there'd be folks looking for a Commander game. After months of putting it off, I finally built the deck in an evening with what I had available to me.
The current theme is just winning with big creatures, but there were two other themes I considered playing around with; first, I thought about turning my Hakuna Matata deck into a Commander life-gain deck but a couple of the components I want to make that deck work out like I want are rather pricey. The other big contender for my Commander is pictured above with Uril, the Miststalker, a card that would lead me into more of an enchantment themed Commander deck that I'll probably make down the line.
Instead, I went with the far simpler strategy of smashing in my opponent's faces with big fat stupid creatures either directly or indirectly. I don't have much more to say, so let's get to this Zoo of a deck, shall we folks?
Before we continue, let me explain what Commander format is for the uninitiated; EDH (Elder Highlander Dragon) is a format that was created by fans and has become more and more popular since Wizards of the Coast embraced it with the release of the Commander sets (thus giving the format a new official name, with official rules, Commander specific cards and paraphernalia).
You can find Magic Cards in super stores (Ex. Walmart, Target) but the best place you can buy your cards, meet other players, and play in events is at your local comic book store or hobby shop. I buy most of my cards at The Comic Cellar. Here is a link to its Google Maps location at 3620 Austin Peay Highway #2 Memphis, TN 38128.
Now that I got advertising my favorite shop out of the way, let's get down to business!
MY COMMANDER DECK:
TIMMY THE ANIMA
Every Magic player is a mix of Timmy, Johnny, and Spike, but I definitely lean toward Timmy and Johnny on the triangular spectrum. I love themes, like a Johnny should. One of my favorite themes? I wouldn't be a Timmy if I didn't love playing down big creatures. So, the theme to my first Commander deck grew out of my collection of big Naya (Red, Green, & White) creatures that I've been collecting every chance I get. I'm a Naya mage, what can I say.
Once I snagged up Mayael in a trade, I stopped collecting for a while. I hesitated. Commander is a little intimidating. I had many components of this deck in a little casual deck I'd throw out for a little fun with my other casual playing friends. But every time I went to the Comic Cellar, there'd be folks looking for a Commander game. After months of putting it off, I finally built the deck in an evening with what I had available to me.
