Commander Theory: Recent Episodes
Commander Theory
In this episode, Valerio (probably better known as @golgariguy on Twitter) returns to the show to discuss the absolute state of monored. Although White has gotten a lot of community attention in the last few years, Red has quietly fallen behind the other colors and is lacking many of the basic tools needed to compete in Commander. With data, deckbuilding, and a healthy bit of theorycrafting, we dissect Red and offer some areas where it could be improved without breaking the color pie.
Decks discussed in this episode:
Monogreen Goodstuff
Monoblue Goodstuff
Monoblack Goodstuff
Monowhite GoodstuffMonored Goodstuff (Nick)
Monored Goodstuff (Raphael)
Monored Goodstuff (@golgariguy)
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The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
Which cards from Lost Caverns of Ixalan are going to see the most play in Commander? How accurate were my predictions on which cards from Wilds of Eldraine would see the most adoption on EDHREC? Tune in to find out!
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If you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon! Now with ad-free episodes!
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The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
Nick and guest host Brian descend into the Lost Caverns of Ixalan (and the associated precons), exploring the many new staples being released in the set and discovering a few gems that you may have missed.
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If you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon! Now with ad-free episodes!
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The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
Taking a slightly different approach to this spoiler season, as I'm skipping past the limited fodder legends and only doing a highlight reel of the most interesting commanders from both Lost Caverns of Ixalan AND the set's Commander precons. Let me know how you like the new format with a slightly more digestible length and an extremely high concentration of bangers!
Decks discussed in this episode:
Akal Pakal, First Among Equals
Inti, Seneschal of the Sun
Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might
Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar
Hakbal of the Surging Soul
Xolatoyac, the Smiling Flood
Pantlaza, Sun-Favored Glass Cannon Combo
Wayta, Trainer Prodigy
Tetzin, Gnome Champion
Xavier Sal, Infested Captain
Support the show
You can reach me on Twitter or email me here
If you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon! Now with ad-free episodes!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
We're wrapping up our coverage of the Doctor Who Commander decks just in time for the end of Lost Caverns of Ixalan spoiler season! Nick is joined by patron Ben to discuss all the cards from WHO with potential to make a splash in the 99, from narrow tech to new Commander format staples!
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The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
We've gotten through WHO's Doctors and Companions, but the set of precons still has over 30 new options for Commanders to discuss, including many of the show's most iconic villains! Nick is joined by patron Ben to highlight the sweetest tech for these new decks and share some of the lore behind the new crossover!
Decklists discussed in this episode:
Danny Pink
The Master, Mesmerist
The Master, Multiplied
The Beast, Deathless Prince
Sergeant John Benton
Ashad, the Lone Cyberman
The Face of Boe
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The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
With 15 doctors and 25 companions, WHO has unleashed a huge number of options for Commander brewers. Nick is joined by patron Jason to call out the most powerful of the 375 doctor/companion combinations, highlight the sweetest tech for these new decks, and share some of the lore behind the new crossover!
Decks discussed in this episode:
The Ninth Doctor and Clara Oswald (Black)
The Ninth Doctor and Tegan Jovanka
The War Doctor and Ryan Sinclair
Support the show
You can reach me on Twitter or email me here
If you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon! Now with ad-free episodes!
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The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
Which cards from Wilds of Eldraine are going to see the most play in Commander? How accurate were our predictions on which cards from Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth would see the most adoption? Tune in to find out!
Support the show
You can reach me on Twitter or email me here
If you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon! Now with ad-free episodes!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
Valerio (probably better known as @golgariguy on Twitter) returns to the show to discuss which Commander archetypes have gained the most in the last year of Magic releases. You may be able to guess a few but there have been a lot of surprising winners that secretly synergize with new mechanics, changes in Wizards design policy, and critical masses that have recently been achieved. Let us know if any of your decks have been heavily impacted by new cards!
Support the show
You can reach me on Twitter or email me here
If you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon! Now with ad-free episodes!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
Wizards recently released Ponies: the Galloping 2 as a Secret Lair Drop benefiting children's charity Extra Life. In addition to discussing the cards in this drop and their applications in Commander, I brought in the Discord server's resident MLP expert, Logan, to unpack the references to My Little Pony's mane six and the world of Equestria.
Decks discussed in this episode:
Fluttershy
Pinkie Pie
Rainbow Dash
Support the show
You can reach me on Twitter or email me here
If you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon! Now with ad-free episodes!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
Taking a break to enjoy the post-spoiler season afterglow; please enjoy this re-run of one of my favorite eps from the past year.
Typal is a well you can come back to over and over because, well, it's fun! And there are infinite possibilities! So in this episode Nick and Zak dive into which types have the highest ranking members on EDHREC, and compare that to what the type overall is ranked to see where the biggest delta of power is. What's the difference between "how often played" and "how often played together"? What do these creature types need to "get there"? And why aren't people taking notice now if the cards are so strong? Listen in and find out!
Support the show
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If you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon! Now with ad-free episodes!
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The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
Did you read through the Wilds of Eldraine spoiler and wonder where the heck the Faerie typal commander was? It's in the precons, as well as a Role so strong they couldn't release it into Standard. Nick and guest host Brian delve into the new commanders and maindeck cards in the Wilds of Eldraine precons, sharing their thoughts on which have broader applications elsewhere in Commander.
Decks discussed in this episode:
Ellivere of the Wild Court
Tegwyll, Duke of Splendor
Support the show
You can reach me on Twitter or email me here
If you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon! Now with ad-free episodes!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
Nick is joined by patron Cary to review the new maindeck cards from Wilds of Eldraine! While the set's themes are on the weak side there are still plenty of new format staples, powerful role-players to bolster narrow archetypes, and a few sleepers that you might want to grab before everyone else jumps on the bandwagon. Disagree with our takes? Did we miss an important card? Hit me up and share your thoughts!
Support the showYou can reach me on Twitter or email me here
If you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon! Now with ad-free episodes!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
Nick is joined by patron Cary to review a fresh crop of legends from Wilds of Eldraine! Do you have a hot take or a spicy brew for one of the set's commanders? Hit me up and share your secret tech!
Decks discussed in this episode:
Imodane, the Pyrohammer
Hylda of the Icy Crown
Will, Scion of Peace
Rowan, Scion of War
Brenard, Ginger Sculptor
Support the showYou can reach me on Twitter or email me here
If you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon! Now with ad-free episodes!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
In this week's ep, Andy from the Legendary Creature Podcast swung by the pod to chat about our favorite keywords in Magic!
Decks discussed in this episode:
Everything Typal
Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
Sefris of the Hidden Ways
Zur - REM Cycle
Lord Windgrace
Kadena, Slinking Sorcerer
Oskar, Rubbish Reclaimer
Edgin, Larcenous Lutenist
Brokkos - Don't @ Me
Zagras, Thief of Heartbeats
Grenzo - Gentleman Bastards
Marisi - I'm Already in Your Ass
Esika, God of the Tree
Support the showYou can reach me on Twitter or email me here
If you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon! Now with ad-free episodes!
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The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
At GenCon this year Maro and the Magic: The Gathering Team released the plan for the next 3 years of magic sets, something they've never done before. They're calling these next 3 years the Omenpath Story and it starts with Wilds of Eldraine (which we'll start to go over soon!) and ends with "Zip-line" an as-of-yet unnamed set we know only as the capstone event set for these 3 years of releases! SO LET'S TALK ABOUT IT!! Nick and Zak discuss predictions, mechanical and otherwise, what they expect to see, and their hopes, dreams, and fears. So listen in and let us know what you think about it all too!
This is also Zak's last podcast (at least for now) And they want you all to know that You! The listener! Were the reason to keep making these episodes. Zak hopes you all keep listening and can't wait to see what the future holds, so thank you all for the support over the years!!
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
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The opening them...
Slothbear suggested this Episode in the CT discord server, and Nick and Zak thought it was a great idea for an episode. Slothbear asked how different formats affect the perception of build-arounds, synergies, and how to translate from 1v1 to multiplayer. So in this episode, the cohosts talk about what they've learned from limited that makes them better at commander. How are the two similar? Is there really anything these two very different ways to play magic have in common? Of course there is! So listen in and let us know what you think too!
Decklists:
Magar of the Magic stringsAmareth EnchantressMina and Denn DiscardFeldon of the Third PathAdeline, Resplendent CatharEzuri, Stalker of Spheres
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
There have been a TON of updates to Mono-White's suite of cards in the last few years since Nick and Zak released the "Quantifying The Color Pie" Episode, and we've checked in since, but this last year has been giving a lot of tools to white! So here we are again! Checking in and even looking ahead to see what some of this year will have in store. What was white lacking that it has now gotten? Are there any archetypes that stand out? Or can you sit down with Mono-White "goodstuff" and expect to win at most tables? Listen in and find out! Then let us know what you think wherever you can reach us usually!
Dungeonmancy
This D&D Podcast follows heroes that confront evil dwelling on the fringes of society.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
Commander Masters follows the tradition of being a reprint-only set. JK there are new cards in the commander decks and it doesn't have a separate set code! In this episode, Nick and Zak get to the thing you're all used to, card-by-card analysis and some deep dives into the new legendary creatures. This set is special/different in a few ways, and they all get some discussion, so listen in and let us know what you think about this crazy set too!
Decklists:
Zhulodok
Narci, Fable Singer
Commodore Guff
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
Well, we finished the set reviews, so what are your bets on the cards seeing the most play in LOTR??? Nick and Zak have some ideas, and do a quick check-in to see what they got right from March of the Machine from a few months back. How many did they guess correctly? How many do you think are dumb picks this time? What's your vote for the most played card in the set? Let us know! We'd love to hear from you all.
Also, apologies about the audio quality on Zak's track. The program we were using said it was hooked up to the correct microphone, but was using a headphone mic instead. Oops! We'll be back with better-quality audio soon.
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
There comes a time in every review cycle when the two hosts of a podcast make time to get together and look at every new card in the Lord of the Rings, Tales of Middle Earth Commander Decklists. For Nick and Zak, that time was last weekend. What are the deck themes, and which themes do the two hosts like the best? What cards are the coolest for the command zone and in the 99? Well, there's a lot here so listen in and tell us your favorite cards too!
Decklists:
Beregond of the Guard
The Gaffer
Treebeard, Gracious Host
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
There are a LOT of options for cards to play in Commander (basically all of them!), but that doesn't mean all cards get the love they deserve! On this episode Nick and Zak are joined once again by Valerio, better known as Golgariguy on Twitter, to discuss cards that have played incredibly well, but see play in 1% or less of decks on EDHREC. There are a lot of hidden gems in this episode, but also some straight-up surprises, so listen in, and let us know your favorite underplayed cards as well!
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
What's middle earth bringing to the 111th birthday this year? Well, a whole lot of new Magic cards! Nick and Zak dive straight into the nitty-gritty of the new set, talking about all the cards they think could have a splash in Commander. What's blue look like in a more casual set? How does mono-brown card draw fair in a world where white can, well, just draw cards on its own? And how many legends will we bring up from the last episode in this one? Listen in and find out!
Also want to say thank you for your patience. It's a lot prepping, recording, and editing these episodes so we thank you for being ok with this one coming out a little late. Enjoy, and as always, let us know what you think!
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
It's finally here! Nick and Zak get into the legends from the set that are poised to make a splash and there are a lot of them! If you don't hear us talking about your favorite new commander from the main set let us know! We'd love to hear about what you'd do to build them.
Decklists:
Gandalf, The White
Gandalf, White Rider (yes there's two white Gandalfs!)
Goldberry, River-Daughter submitted by Dionaea
Erekbrand, Lord of Westfold
Fanghorn, Tree Shepherd
Radagast the Brown
Arwen, Mortal Queen
King of the Oathbreakers
Shelob, Child of Ungoliant
Smeagle, Helpful Guide
Galadriel of Lothlorien
Shadowfax, Lord of Horses
Sauron, The Dark Lord
Tom Bombadill
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
Oh Boy! Our very first in the series before we knew we'd be doing it more! Due to some conflicts, this week will be a rerun episode, but we wanted to look back to an episode we really liked and to name it officially as part of the series. The Dark will always be a special set to both of us, and we hope you can hear that in this episode too.
Next week is the beginning of Lord Of The Rings, so get ready! We're not going to be able to cover every legend in the set, but we're gonna do our best! See you all then!
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
Nick and Zak are busy, which means more time away from the game table and friends. So how do they cope? Historic Brawl! The cohosts have sung the praises of the format before, but in this episode the two talk about what could be done to improve the format. What are queues like and how can you game them? Is that they best way things could be? Wether you play the format or not, there's some card discussion and meta-analysis of player experiences that you might find interesting, so listen in and let us know how you feel about historic brawl too!
Sorry for the late episode this week! Some mix-ups in queues meant the episode was delayed, but we'll be back this week with regularly scheduled content.
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
Nick and Zak are busy, which means more time away from the game table and friends. So how do they cope? Historic Brawl! The cohosts have sung the praises of the format before, but in this episode the two talk about what could be done to improve the format. What are queues like and how can you game them? Is that they best way things could be? Wether you play the format or not, there's some card discussion and meta-analysis of player experiences that you might find interesting, so listen in and let us know how you feel about historic brawl too!
Sorry for the late episode this week! Some mix-ups in queues meant the episode was delayed, but we'll be back this week with regularly scheduled content.
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
There are so many new cards, maybe you'd appreciate a blast from the past? This episode looks back at Portal, one of the first supplemental products for Magic: The Gathering that was intended as an on-ramp for new players. But did it work? What did they do differently? And what was the set's lasting impact on commander? Join Nick and Zak as they look back and talk about some stories of their favorite cards from Portal, and let us know if you have any favorites too!
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
So you saw a cool legend on the backside of a battle and were wishing you could play it as a commander, huh? Well, Nick and Zak look back at not just battles, but a lot of cards that are part legendary creature, just not in the way you can helm a deck with them. The "Flip" commanders! Whether it's MDFC or actual "flip cards" from Kamigawa block, we hope you might be inspired to play a commander that might not be a commander most of the time.
Decklists:
Caetus, Sea Tyrant of Segovia
Marchesa, Resolute Monarch
Ephara, Ever-Sheltering
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
Does it count as lying if you didn't know it wasn't going to be true in a week? Nick and Zak have one last (we mean it!) spoiler episode for this cycle, and it's some of the most notable cards from March of the Machine: Aftermath! This set is interesting for a lot of reasons. It has 5/6 card boosters, a 50-ish card set (don't look at the variants), and some rad new commanders! Every mythic and some rares are new legendary creatures! So let's get into it, and let us know what your favorite (or least favorite!) things are in the set!
Nissa, Resurgent Animist
Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin
Calix, Guided by Faith
Sigarda, Font of Blessings
Jirina, Dauntless General
Tyvar the Bellicose
Jolrael, Voice of Zhalfir
Kiora, Sovereign of the Deep
Sarkhan, Soul Aflame
Nahiri, Forged in Fury
Niv-Mizzet, Supreme
Karn, Legacy Reforged
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
Nick and Zak try to stay on top of what people tend to want to play from sets as a thermometer on the format, so predictions are here! What happened with All Will Be One? Did the two co-hosts hit the mark? And what do they think will be popular this time? The co-hosts get in the weeds about specific cards and reasons people might like them, so if you're into some nitty-gritty card analysis this is a great episode for you!
Yukon, North of Ordinary
Stories about life in northern Canada.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
HIGHERORBIT
Recorded in the back of a legal dispensary , obtain a higher orbit with our latest drop!
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
Another set another bunch of precons! What's that? This set is special and concludes a years-long, multi-set storyline about the Phyrexian invasion of the multiverse? Huh! In this episode Nick and Zak discuss the new cards you can find in the newest planechase release, I mean 5 pre-constructed decks for the MOM commander set. There's a ton of stuff to talk about, so listen in and let us know how you felt about this set of commander decks!
Decklists:
Evil Brimaz
Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir
Kasla, The Broken Halo
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
Not much to say here! Nick and Zak get into the main deck cards they thought were notable and talk a whole lot of shop. Listen in and let us know what your favorite cards from the set were! Did you like incubate? Hit us up!
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
That time again! With a huge swath of 33(!?!) new commanders, Nick and Zak get right to it! Digging into what decks might look like, what cards are really great within the decks, and the general designs they like and don't like. A standard CT approach to a very not standard set! So listen in and let us know what new legendary creature you like the most (or hate the most! Hating is fun too sometimes!)
DECKLISTS:
Jin-Gitaxias
Urabra... I mean Birgi??
Surrak and Goreclaw
Errant and Giada
Heliod, The Radiant Dawn
Inga and Esika
Quintorius, Loremaster
Slimefoot and Squee
Zurgo and Ojutai
Zimone and Dina
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
With the release of the Dungeons and Dragons movie comes a new Secret Lair Drop, complete with commanders for each main character from the movie, and one... large one! Did Wizards do a good job representing the characters on the cards? Are they too pushed? Not pushed enough? All this and more in this short little episode for y'all this week!
Decklist:
Themberchaud
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
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The opening them...
What would your favorite non-Magic characters look like as a magic card? We asked and patrons and other followers responded with some rad designs! In this episode, Nick is joined by Andy from the Legendary Creature Podcast to talk about some cards that don't exist! They dig into what new design space exists, what the new commanders could do, and how fun they'd be to play. It's an interesting look into what might be, and Andy brings some great energy, so listen in and let us know what you think of the new cards too!
We will have another custom commanders episode in about 6 months, so if you want to be featured or have yet to be featured, please don't worry! We would love to see your designs and can't wait to talk about them on the show!
If you want more of Andy (because we know you do!) Give the LC pod a listen by clicking the link above! Great content, cool decks, great guys, and a good compliment to our little podcast imo (says Zak)
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
Today's episode highlights community member, CT friend and fan Jason Belk, who is back again for an episode about brewing better! Sometimes a deck concept sits in your mind for a bit too long. Sometimes you buy cards you want to play with, but they end up just sitting there. Well, Jason is here to help! From concept to construction to destruction, Nick and Zak join Jason as he discusses his process and how it helped him take his deck building to the next level. Listen in and let us know what you think too! We'd love to hear your processes when it comes to deck building as we're all serial brewers here at Commander Theory HQ!
Manabase Builder Spreadsheet
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
Ever feel targeted because someone at the table didn't like that you were milling them? Ever get irrationally angry when you see someone play a plague stinger? Well, this episode might be for you! In this episode, Nick and Zak are doing a collab with Valerio, Twitter's very own GolgariGuy! Valerio uses the Golgariguy Twitter account to run polls and talk about cards and topics in commander that he loves. This episode is full of insights he was kind enough to bring to the table involving threat assessment at the table when people see things they can't help but have strong feelings for. The three talk about why that is, what parallels to other formats might exist, and what people can do to feel better and play better when it's all going down. And if you have any feel-bads you want us to know about feel free to let us know too!
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
The hype train keeps rolling, and with March of the Machines looming on the horizon Nick and Zak wanted to take a look at some decks they liked from the last few months that ended up being budget options! Some of these commanders you might have glossed over, but all of them offer unique gameplay experiences the cohosts think you'll enjoy!
Decklists:
Braids, Arisen Nightmare
Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor
Ramirez DePietro, Pillager
Ezuri, Stalker of Spheres
Ivy, Gleeful Spellthief
Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph
Neyali, Suns’ Vanguard
The Archimandrite
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
New sets this, product fatigue that, all these commanders you've never heard of before. Isn't there any hope for a Magic boomer around here?! Well, the answer is, unsurprisingly, yes! So Nick and Zak had friend-of-the-show and CAG member Charlotte Sable on to discuss a format she's been getting into this year: PreDH. The general gist is that it's Commander, except you're only allowed to put cards in your deck that existed before the 2011 Commander decks were released. What are the quirks of the format? Does it live up to the battle-cruiser hype? Why might this format survive when others variants have fallen? Listen to this very conversational episode, and let us know what you think about those questions!
Charlotte's PreDH Deck: Uril The Mist Stalker
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
About a third of all colorless commanders have been printed in the last 2 years. The family is small, but they sure are mighty! And with more confirmed on the way combined with a fairly large swath of exciting designs to choose from, Nick and Zak thought it would be a good time to talk about the best things you can do in a colorless commander deck! What payoffs exist that you should be focusing on? What staples exist in these colors, and what traps should you avoid? It's all here! So let us know your favorite colorless commander and enjoy!
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
LAST CALL! Boy, I sure am glad everything is one! But it's time to move on, and we had fun! Right? In this episode, Nick and Zak spend time looking over the cards that were most popular in BRO and make some guesses as to what cards people will like best from ONE. There are the card-by-card discussions, debate, and a final top 10 list that surprises even the cohosts! So let us know what cards you think will be popular as well!
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
ALL WILL BE ONE... top ten list! Normally we'd do the legends, and then the main-deck cards, but we had gotten some feedback and wanted to try something different this time. Here are Nick and Zak's 10 favorite cards from ONE! Both cohosts drop their top 10 cards, as well as why and what they think about the format at large, so you better listen and then tell us what you think too!
If you like this episode format let us know and we'll keep doing it! If you miss the older, more in-depth dive please let us know as well. And to note, one of the perks of being a patron is that you get access to our show notes, and can see that we reviewed most of the cards in the set there! So if we didn't cover something you were thinking about, feel free to check there and let us know if you agree! It's probably in there with some words about it.
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
ALL WILL BE ONE. Unless you're this review of ONE which is broken up into multiple parts. In this episode, Nick and Zak look at the commanders in the main set/theme boosters and see what each legend is doing. Are there any new archetypes? What's the deal with the allied color-paired commanders? DOMINI?!?! It's all here! So let us know what your favorite commander is and we'll see you in our maindeck cards episode (which will be a little different than normal!)
Decklists:
Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines
Unctus, Grand Metatecht
Drivnod, Carnage Dominus
Ezuri, Stalker of Spheres
Graaz, Unstoppable Juggernaut
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
Welcome to preview season! Is that some oil dripping from your eyes, or are you just happy to see us? All Will Be One is here and with it, two whole commander decks! As is tradition Nick and Zak get into the nitty gritty of all the new cards, the decks as a whole, and their favorite (and least favorite!) things about the decks. Let us know what you liked the most (or least!) and enjoy!
Decklists:
Ixhel, Scion of Atraxa
Neyali, Suns' Vanguard
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
Nick and Zak are off this week, but here's an episode from about a year ago they
"Many content creators on the internet have posted episodes of shows and podcasts where they discuss a baseline way to build decks. They're usually heuristics like, "You need 10 ramp spells" or "you need 3 board clears" that are easy to follow and remember. But what do the Commander Theory hosts use...? In this episode, Nick and Zak lay out their process for deckbuilding in as simple a way as possible (which sounds worse than it is!) We get into the weeds about why decisions are made, how to use a hypergeometric calculator, and just why to do this at all in the first place! So listen in and let us know what you think about deck-building and your favorite deck compositions! Is there a list you made you were super proud worked out? Tell us all about it!
Here's a link to a super easy-to-use Hypergeometric Calculator"
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
Since the story is out, and so are we, why not try this fun module Nick put a lot of effort into?
"You read that right: this week on Commander Theory Nick and Zak discuss a project Nick has been working on for a while. Phyrexian Rebirth is a fan-made module to be run using the 5th edition DnD rules that allows players to explore the world of New Phyrexia just after the event of the Mirrodin storyline. The GM and players will be able to use the rules to create phyrexians of every type, or just a sad elf that got stuck on this plane that's so inhospitable to natural life. Nick did a great job with this 100% fan made module that we think you'll love. We in no way own the rights to any of the material inside, so please, download for free, have fun, and...
Welcome to New Phyrexia! We can't wait to show you the potential that lies just beneath your skin...
Link to the Download (for now)
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
Recently Sam Black Tweeted about lands in commander which started a whole fire of people online getting upset and discussing something that's just probably true: you probably run too few lands in your commander decks. Most people will say that they supplement the lack of lands with ramp, as 2 mana rocks and others are all fairly ubiquitous within the format at this point. Sam Argues there's a point at which the mana rocks are a scam, and that you're probably better off just hitting your land drops and not playing some do-nothings that might lack synergies with your deck or are easily destroyed. So on this episode, Nick and Zak discuss some of their own decks and look at land counts, ramp, and what types of decks should be running ramp. Which decks are probably better off slimming down on rocks for more action and lands? It's an interesting topic, a little heady, but we assume that's what you're all into if you're listening! So let us know what you think, and what categories of decks you like to play the most. And ESPECIALLY let us know if we're forgetting an archetype here! We love to hear your thoughts!
I know I posted otherwise, but we will be on hiatus for the next two weeks as life has found a way to get too busy. We will be back with a bang as the All Will Be One spoiler episodes start Jan 26th, so we'll see you all then!
Also, we said we'd be better about card names and ABSOLUTELY were not this episode, so having your phone out with scryfall open probably wouldn't hurt if you're not too good with card names. Sorry! We are going to be A LOT better about it this preview season, and thank you all for letting us know how you felt about it! We want to make the show more accessible for everyone and sometimes we just get excited when we make the episodes and forget to slow down.
CT's Deck-Building Template
Frank Karsten's How Many Lands - Number 1, and
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
Magic is hard! Sometimes there are corner cases in the rules that people never learn or interactions that don’t quite work the way people expect them to. Are there any cards that people are just playing wrong? Today friend of the show and CAG member Charlotte Sable joins Nick and Zak (who's just kinda hanging out) to talk about some card interactions that are not very intuitive! And worse yet, tons of people are including them in their decklists on EDHREC! We learned a lot, had a lot of fun, and hope you all do too!
This is the last show of the year! We'll probably take a break after the next set drops, but for now, thank you for staying with us through this crazy year and a million new cards! We couldn't do this without you all, and we're so thankful for the community that's grown because of so many creative and wonderful people who listen in! Thanks, and happy new years!
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
What a wild time it was for Magic back in 1998! Cards were crazy powerful, interaction was basically non-existent, and there were bannings galore in the only real format at the time. People were leaving in droves! And yet, most people look back fondly to Urza's Saga and laugh about it, the cards, the power level! In this episode, Nick and Zak look back at one of the most influential sets of all time: Urza's Saga. What was happening at the time? What cards and mechanics made a splash? And what were the two host's favorite cards? Listen in and find out! And be sure to tell us YOUR favorite card from Urza's Saga too!
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
How well did Nick and Zak do on their Dominaria United predictions? What made the top ten? And what's on the co-hosts lists for most played in BRO? But honestly, what were YOUR favorite cards from BRO? Let us know!
The BRO content ends with some discussions of individual cards. Later this week will be a Season's Past, and then even more NON-SPOILER CONTENT. Thank you all for listening through these insanely busy times. Only with your support can we do any of this, so enjoy, and thank you for coming along on this ride with us!
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
AND NOW we return to the Brother's War! This time closing out the set with Maindeck cards. What caught Nick and Zak's interest and what looked like cool cards for specific decks? Listen in and find out!
There will be one more BRO episode, looking at predictions and the overall set, and then WE'RE FREE BABY HELL YEAH. We have some cool episodes planned, notably something with Charlotte Sable (it's been too long!) So be ready for some fun stuff in the pipeline! And, as always, let us know you're thoughts on BRO or anything that's come out recently. We can only do our job well because of all of you, and we always love seeing your takes on the format, sets, good cards, etc.
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
Hi! Hello! Took a little unintended break, but we're back! And no, we didn't forget about BRO. Brother's War maindeck cards will be releasing next week! This episode was short, sweet, and more timely so Nick and Zak just kinda... did it. So... yeah! Jumpstart!
This set followed the lead of the original jumpstart, introducing new commanders and supporting archtypes that haven't gotten support in the past, but was it worth it? Does this stand up to the original Jumpstart? Or does this one fall flat with the set-specific jump starts? Listen in and find out! Also there's a Monkey commander! Hell yeah!
Decklists:
Lita, Mechanical Engineer
Preston, The Vanisher
Kibo, Uktabi Prince
Zask, Skittering Swarmlord
Kenessos, Priest of Thassa
Mizzix, Replica Rider
Argus Kos, Eternal Soldier
Isu the Abominable
Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening them...
Time for the Legends of Brother's War! In this episode, Nick and Zak go over the many legendary creatures you can pick up in Brother's War packs. Which version of Urza is the strongest? Did Mono-White get shafted again? Was Wizard's listening to our last podcast?!? (probably not) It's all here! So listen in and tell us which is your favorite legendary creature too!
Decklists:
Myrel
Gix
Gwena, Eyes of Gaea
Urza, Prince of Kroog
Mishra, Tamer of Mak Fawa
Tawnos the Toy Maker
The Archimandrite
Liberator
We will be back with two more BRO episodes, Maindeck cards and Predictions. We will also be at the Magic Summit in Salt Lake City this weekend! If you see us feel free to say hi and play some games!
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
Mad Dungeon
Epic Levels and a guest create a playable content using improv and lifetimes of gaming
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Support the show
WELL WELL WELL, if it isn't the perpetual hype machine coming to roost. In this episode Nick and Zak review the new cards from the two Brother's War commander decklists. What's really hitting the mark this time? Are there common design themes the deck creators were leaning on? What do I do with these counters?!?! (The answer is Skullbriar) It's all here! So listen in and be sure to tell us what you liked best about these decks.
Decklists:
Ashnod The Uncaring
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
Dumbgeons & Dragons
Your new best friends play D&D, try to save the world in this hilariously epic adventure.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Support the show
WELL WELL WELL, if it isn't the perpetual hype machine coming to roost. In this episode Nick and Zak review the new cards from the two Brother's War commander decklists. What's really hitting the mark this time? Are there common design themes the deck creators were leaning on? What do I do with these counters?!?! (The answer is Skullbriar) It's all here! So listen in and be sure to tell us what you liked best about these decks.
Decklists:
Ashnod The Uncaring
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
Dumbgeons & Dragons
Your new best friends play D&D, try to save the world in this hilariously epic adventure.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Support the show
Tribal is a well you can come back to over and over because, well, it's fun! And there are infinite possibilities! So in this episode Nick and Zak dive into which tribes have the highest ranking members on EDHREC, and compare that to what the tribe overall is ranked to see where the biggest delta of power is. Whats the difference between "how often played" and "how often played together"? What do these tribes need to "get there"? And why aren't people taking notice now if the cards are so strong? Listen in and find out! And get in touch with us at the links down below!
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
Support the show
We asked our patrons for some episodes you might want to hear before ENDLESS HYPE started up and one of the topics was our decks! We try to keep Commander Theory free of deck techs for the most part (If you want them they're out there!) so instead, we looked at some of our decks we love or made recently and the lessons they taught us about deck building, card selection, gameplay, all of it! Even though the real lessons were the friends we made along the way. Or something! Listen in and tell us a deck that taught you a lot too!
Decklists:
Shanid
Hazezon
Burakos + Guild Artisan
Cadira
Jarad
Gale + Raised By Giants
Willowdusk
Strefan
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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We asked our patrons for some episodes you might want to hear before ENDLESS HYPE started up and one of the topics was our decks! We try to keep Commander Theory free of deck techs for the most part (If you want them they're out there!) so instead, we looked at some of our decks we love or made recently and the lessons they taught us about deck building, card selection, gameplay, all of it! Even though the real lessons were the friends we made along the way. Or something! Listen in and tell us a deck that taught you a lot too!
Decklists:
Shanid
Hazezon
Burakos + Guild Artisan
Cadira
Jarad
Gale + Raised By Giants
Willowdusk
Strefan
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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Another spoiler episode? Would it be modern magic if it wasn't? Irrelevant! In this episode, Nick and Zak talk about the surprise cards you can find in BRO set and collector boosters: TRANSFORMERS. Every card has two sides and converts (yes, not the other word) back and forth! Pretty cool idea! But what do the decks look like? And what Transformer card is your favorite? Use the socials below and let us know!
DECKLIST (only one this time):
Ratchet
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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Better late than never! (for this podcast and the set at hand!) Nick and Zak split this one up a little differently, first the Non-Acron Stamped legends and main deck cards, THEN the Acorn cards. We highly recommend you stay for the acorn section, because (no spoilers) the eternal-legal cards might leave you with a negative taste in your mouth if you're anything like the two hosts. And Nick did some major diving into cards for the goofs, so stay tuned, and let us know what cards you liked, what you wished was or wasn't legal, or just your feelings about the set as a whole!
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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In a violently long episode (sorry!) Nick and Zak dig pretty deep into the new commanders and cards of the Warhammer 40K Universes Beyond Commander Decks. There is A LOT going on, so best to just dig in and prey to your appropriate void entity for a swift victory!
Next week we will be taking a break, so you'll see a re-run in the feed, then UNFINITY EPISODES. So see y'all soon!
Last thing: a massive thank you to Alex Whiteclay for all the help with these cards.
DECKLISTS:
Ghyrson Starn Kelermorph
Magnus The Red
Be'lakor, The Dark Master
Imotekh The Stormlord
Celestine, The Living Saint
Marneus Calgar
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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BONUS: Well Disney is jumping into the TCG market full steam ahead with Ravensburger as the developer. What do the few cards we've seen look like? Can we guess the mechanics? Nick and Zak have thoughts and figured, why not a bonus episode?! And we would love to hear your thoughts too by reaching out with the links below!
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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PREDICTIONS TIME. Nick and Zak check their work from Baldur's Gate and did pretty good! With some notable surprises... Then the hosts compile a list of what cards are gonna be bangers in DMU. Is there a card you think will be big we didn't mention? Let us know with the links down below!
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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Another spoiler season, another card-by-card analysis with your two hosts, Nick and Zak! This one is pretty short all things considered! The off-color kicker costs narrow the availability of many cards so the two hosts get through their favorites and most powerful spells fairly quickly! Listen in and let us know what you like from the set too!
Once again, a huge thank you to our friend Alex Whiteclay for the help behind the scenes!
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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HOOBOY. Studio X did not make this one easy! But in this episode, Nick and Zak get through every Legendary Creature in Dominaria United, including the boxtoppers! What do they like? what don't they like? are there any trends they see? The crew get through 65!(?!?) legends this episode, so listen in and tell us what you think too! and if we missed any tech (we definitely missed some tech) then absolutely let us know and we'll give you a shoutout in a later episode!
As is tradition, this episode would not have been remotely possible without the support of our friend Alex Whiteclay who helped SO MUCH behind the scenes brewing, searching, and generally riffing with us. Thank you Alex!
DECKLISTS:
Braids, Arrisen Nightmare
Ramirez DePietro, Pillager
Ohabi Caleria
Torsten, Founder of Benalia
Ivy, Gleeful Spellthief
Balmor, Battlemage Captian
Hazezon, Shaper of Sand
Jodah, The Unifier
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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It's time again! The spoils phase back into view as Nick and Zak get into the two new Commander decks that release with Dominaria United! What do they like? What don't they like? Was it necessary to have planeswalker face commanders? Listen in and tell us your favorite cards too!
DECKLISTS:
Shanid Sleepers' Scourge
Zeriam, Golden Wind
Bladewing, Deathless Tyrant
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
The Gaming Blender
Could you design a video game? We create a new hypothetical game every episode.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Tiny House Conversations
Australian tiny house podcast. Stories with tiny housers, tiny builders & other experts.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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THE BIG 200! Nick and Zak cannot thank you enough for all you've done for them. In this special #200 episode, the two hosts take a note from Maro's book and look back at some of their favorite episodes from the last 100 episodes. We look at why we liked them, why you guys might have liked them, and what we're proud of. Let us know your favorites too! Thank you for everything, through all the changes, set reviews, secret lairs, and the whiplash of the zeitgeist, we couldn't do this without you all.
The Episodes We Talk About:
What Leads to Bad Games (And How to Avoid Them)One-and-Done Commander DecksCards We Were Wrong AboutBuilding with Common Combo EnginesQuantifying Color Power Level in CommanderLet’s Make a Deal: Advice for Better Political PlayAscension and You: How to Tie the Game in CommanderConsulting the Counsel: White and Colorless with Chris MooneySeasons Past: The DarkCommander Theory 101
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
Reality Life with Kate Casey
Three times a week I interview directors, producers, and stars from unscripted television.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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We looked at quantifying the color pie back in 2019, and one of the things we found was data to back up Mono-white (and white in general) was being underplayed in commander. Well, white's been the main topic of discussion next to treasure for a bit now! So what's white looking like now? Is white "fixed" do they need to stop with all of the juice they've been pumping into this color for the commander format? Listen in and find out what Nick and Zak found looking at the numbers!
And yes, we goofed up and missed episode 200! We have a little thing planned for y'all so with a little elbow grease, we'll give you guys a fun one soon.
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
The Proffitt Podcast
The podcast that shows you tips & strategies to create content with confidence!
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Beyond Cheaters: Detective Gomez Files
From the hit televsion show, Cheaters, Detective Gomez spills the beans on some of his...
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Reality Life with Kate Casey
Three times a week I interview directors, producers, and stars from unscripted television.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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A week later and Nick and Zak had some time to rest! But first, an interview on the floor with Gavin Verhey! Senior Magic: The Gathering designer at Wizards! And one of the people responsible for many of the products you see at your local game stores! We caught him just after his panel discussing the new Casual Play Design team within Studio X, and had a few more questions for him (You can hear that panel Here). On top of that, just some insights and takeaways from the weekend at large.
You can reach Gavin here, and see his youtube channel, Good Morning Magic here. Thanks for coming on the show Gavin!
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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Commander Theory is working with Pastimes Events to bring you this panel of Wizards of the Coast employees who you've probably heard of before: Sara Mox who's director of personnel for the casual play design team, Mellisa DeTora Who is leading casual play design, and Gavin Verhey, senior Magic: The Gathering designer. From CommandFest Bellevue 2022, this panel hones in on designing in an era when tournaments aren't the most significant design focus anymore. What does it mean to develop sets and mechanics with fun as the primary goal? The panelists get into this as well as answer a host of separate questions from audience members.
Panel Members:
Sara Mox
Mellisa DeTora
Gavin Verhey
Special Thanks to Pastimes Events for hosting this panel!
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Commander Theory is working with Pastimes Events to bring you this panel of content creators from CommandFest Bellevue 2022. This panel focused on being a Magic: The Gathering content creator and getting started in content creation. The panelists answered a host of separate questions from audience members.
Panel Members:
Cedric Phillips
Anna Margaret
PowrDragn
Commander Cookout
Special Thanks to Pastimes Events for hosting this panel!
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There's a ton of tribal in magic, and always room for more, but are there any creature types that actively make the game worse? Nick and Zak have some hot takes and in this episode, they talk about the creature types that they think have been bad for the game overall. Some creature types got screwed over by old Wizards policies, and some got the Star Trek alien treatment. Some creature types are just two things mashed together in a worse way! So dive in and let us know what you agree with, disagree with, and if there are any creatures that you love even though they might not help the game too much (spoilers, Zak likes certain legendary hippos).
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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A blast from the past! Nick and Zak get into Tempest and its HUGE contributions to Commander, and Magic as a whole. The designs were amazing and the staples have stuck with us for over two decades! So what can we learn? What cards were most impactful, and what cards do the two hosts like the most? More importantly, what cards do YOU like the most from Tempest? Listen in, and let us know with the links below!
We are still trying out and learning how these ads work, so we apologize for any inconvenient add breaks in the episode at this time!
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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Mark Rosewater always says, "restrictions breed creativity," so in this episode Nick and Zak look at some themed ideas that restrict your card choices but still let you get some good games in with your friends. These decks are definitely not budget though! So be warned if you're looking to buy! (and if you are please use the affiliate link down below!) And as always, let us know about any theme decks you've made too! We love to hear about them.
Decklists:
Old Border Tribal (With Ol' Tim)
Full Art Tribal (With Kyodai)
Etched Foil Tribal (With Garth One-Eyed)
White Border Tribal (With Rubina Soulsinger)
Kev Walker Tribal (With Ertai, The Corrupted)
Svetlin Velinov Tribal (With Morophon)
We are still trying out and learning how these ads work, so we apologize for any inconvenient add breaks in the episode at this time!
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
The Dungeons, Dragons, & Psychology Podcast
An TTRPG podcast that looks at different aspects of RPGs, and the psychology behind them.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Low Five Gaming
Join us as we tackle the game of the moment or cross a classic off our backlog.
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We made a lot of deck lists for the CLB set reviews, and Nick noticed something about them: Baldur's gate leads you to playing with cheap cards!! So in this episode, without trying too hard, Nick and Zak show off some of the cooler builds that ended up working out throughout the episode. Some of the builds are basically $100!!
Decklists:
Lae'zel Flicker
Jon Irenicus (meme)
Jon Irenicus (not meme)
Thrakkus The Butcher
Lae'zel, Master Chef
Vhal, Master Chef
Allaunduntappin'
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
The Dungeons, Dragons, & Psychology Podcast
An TTRPG podcast that looks at different aspects of RPGs, and the psychology behind them.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Low Five Gaming
Join us as we tackle the game of the moment or cross a classic off our backlog.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Streamforge Radio
Exclusive interviews with renowned content creators and game developers.
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To mimic a famous, modern philosopher, "What's the deal with Commander Theory?!" Well in this episode Nick and Zak tell you! It's been a long time since the two of them ever talked about the actual "theory" Commander Theory stands for. Why do the two of them like or dislike certain cards, etc? So this time the two go over some broad categories that really make up the general platform of what the podcast is all about. If you're a long-time listener you might have known this already, or if you've been listening to our set reviews this might be more obvious, but for all the new people listening, this is really what we're about! Find a deck or play pattern, and MAKE THOSE CARDS WORK.
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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Every set Nick and Zak like to take the temperature of the format and how the last set has affected Commander on the whole by looking at predictions and seeing what is and isn't true. So this episode includes that, but done a little differently than normal! Nick and Zak brought ten cards each, the matching cards go on the predictions board, the others they talk about and dig into so that we can figure out what might or might not be good enough! This is a new thing we're trying so let us know what you think, and let us know what cards you think will be popular too!
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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BONUS EPISODE:
It's release weekend! And a lot of people have never gotten to participate in a commander draft before. So Nick and Zak decided to release a small primer on how one might go about crafting a great deck in commander legends!
Just some tips, tricks, and an archetype overview for those who want a quick entry into the format. Cheers! And happy drafting!
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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HOOBOY The Last bit of CLB content, the Commander decks are here! In this episode, Nick and Zak discuss the new cards you can find in the decks right off the shelves. What's the deal with horror tribal? Is the Izzet dragon a dragon deck? And why did they do that to the party deck?!? Listen in and let us know your sweet brews too, because there's a lot to dig into in this batch of commander cards!
DECKLISTS:
Captain N'Ghathrod
Wyll, The Haunted
Jahiera, The Haunted
Nalia de'Arnise
Burakos, Guild Artisan
Imoen, Folk Hero
Firkraag, GOAD
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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You've seen the legends, you've seen the backgrounds, but what about... Backgrounds in the 99? Yes! And also everything else in the 99! Nick and Zak dig into the main-deck cards from Commander Legends, Battle For Baldur's Gate, and there's A LOT. What color got the coolest ancient dragon? Which cards are coolest for what decks? How do we feel about the set overall? And backgrounds in general: do we like them? It's all here! So listen in, and let us know your favorites too!
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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Is that creature tapped? Because we're taking back the initiative in this episode, all about the new multicolor legends you can find in Commander Legends: Baldur's Gate! Nick and Zak get right to it, discussing important cards, play patterns, and what they like and don't like. And oh yeah, does anybody want some more decklists?!?! It's all here, so listen in, and let us know what legend got your brain brewing!
Another huge thanks to our friend and accomplice Alex Whiteclay, whose efforts made this episode possible.
DECKLISTS:
Jon Irenicus
Raphael, Fiendish Savior
Raggadragga!!!
Thrakkus, The Butcher
Alaunduntappin'
Korlessa Sees Your Top Card
Commander Liara Portyr
Duke Ulder Ravenguard
Zevlor, Elturel Exile
Miirym, Too Many!
Myrkul, Lord of Bones
Dynaheir, Invoker Adept
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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CLB IS HERE. The sequel to both Commander Legends AND Adventures in the Forgotten Realms is here! Commander Legends: Baldur's Gate is a draftable commander format with 85(!!!) New legends and... backgrounds? To mix, match, and slam down as you duke it out with your friends and brew some more cool decks! This will be the first episode of spoilers for Nick and Zak, where they look at specifically the partners... I mean Choosers! And their Backgrounds they can pair with! Basically a partner variant. Which Choosers got the two co-hosts brains turning? What pairs are obvious and what ones... don't really make sense? It's (mostly!) all here as the crew digs into the first part of all the new legendary goodness! So listen in and let us know which choosers you're thinking about playing also!
HUGE thank you to Alex Whiteclay for help digging into the new cards, on this and the next few review episodes. We couldn't do it without you!
Timestamps:
Are in the Chapters Section!
Decklists:
Vhal, Master Chef
Wyll, Acolyte of Bahamut
Erinis, Guild Artificer
Jaheira, Guild Artificer
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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The last of the episodes about #MTGSNC to keep us honest! It's prediction time!! How right were Nick and Zak about Kamigawa Neon Dynasty? What do they think about SNC? Any cards they're impressed by or not impressed by? And what's the deal with spells with four color-pip costs in... 5 color decks?!?! It's all here! So listen in, laugh and cry with our mistakes and successes, and let us know what your favorite cards are too!
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!
The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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In this very special episode, Nick and Zak are delighted to talk to Megan Smith! Magic: The Gathering Designer and current Green Council Member on the Council of Colors in Studio X. For those who might not have listened before, The Council of Colors is a team put together so Studio X can help to stop breaks in the color pie between all the products they release in a year. The council members are resident experts as to what each color can do, and where each color might go in the future. Megan and the crew discuss "technically correct" green, the sins of the past, what green means to different planes/sets, and so much more! So listen in and tell us what you think!
Thank you so much to the Wizards PR team, and Megan for being such an amazing guest! We couldn't have done this episode without all of your help.
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
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The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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HOOBOY! Welcome to a long episode! All about the new commanders and cards in the NCC set (That's New Capenna Commander). Nick and Zak get right deep into the decks starting off with the commanders and getting into main deck cards in WUBRG order, so if you want to hear about only a particular color feel free to skip around! What family got the best new commanders? Which decks are more casual-focused? Are there any cards that just make us scratch our heads? Confluences?!? It's all here! So listen in and tell us your thoughts too!
Decklists:
Oskar, Rubbish Reclaimer
Jolene, the Plunder Queen
Bess, Soul Nourisher
Kamiz, Obscura Oculus
Anhelo, the Painter
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
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The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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AND NOW: Ladies and cephalids, boys and germs! We give to you, this doozy of an episode! And a bit early! The Maindeck cards from Capenna are many and there's a lot going on, So Nick enlisted the help of supporter and friend of the show Jason to get into the nitty-gritty of what's good in New Capenna! What can you do with the new white protection spell? Is Elspeth a new staple? Did they really make Farhaven Elf a rare?!? All this and more in this episode!
Thank you Jason for all the help!!! Loved your input and your creativity!
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
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The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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Here again! A new set is upon us in all its art deco wonder! Streets of New Capenna bring us a whole lot of new stuff to play with! So in this episode, Nick and supporter and friend of the show, Jason (Zak was on vacation, sorry!) get into the nitty-gritty of the new commanders available! What legends look really fun? Anything busted? Did Edric really need white added to the color identity?!? It's all here! So listen in, and as always let us know what you think too!
DECK LISTS:
Bennie Bracks
Giada, Font of Hope
Mari, the Killing Quill
Raffine
Xander
Ognis, The Dragon's Lash
Jetmir
Rocco (secret commander)
Rigo, Streetwise Mentor
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The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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You read that right: this week on Commander Theory Nick and Zak discuss a project Nick has been working on for a while. Phyrexian Rebirth is a fan-made module to be run using the 5th edition DnD rules that allows players to explore the world of New Phyrexia just after the event of the Mirrodin storyline. The GM and players will be able to use the rules to create phyrexians of every type, or just a sad elf that got stuck on this plane that's so inhospitable to natural life. Nick did a great job with this 100% fan made module that we think you'll love. We in no way own the rights to any of the material inside, so please, download for free, have fun, and...
Welcome to New Phyrexia! We can't wait to show you the potential that lies just beneath your skin...
Link to the Download (for now)
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The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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Last week's episode got us thinking: What are our favorite mechanics and why? So in this episode, Nick and Zak have a little chat about just that! What makes a good mechanic, and why? There's so much space in magic design, but what can be mined further and to good ends? Listen in and tell us what you think too!
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The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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We asked for some custom commanders and you all delivered! In this episode of Commander Theory, Nick and Zak asked for custom legendary creatures that focused on underutilized mechanics from the past. There's everything from combat-focused commanders to Mono-black spells, and even energy and charms thrown in there too! Was that an arcane/cipher legend as well...? Listen in and tell us your favorites!
(Nick should have the commanders up on the tumblr soon if you want to see them as well!)
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.com
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If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
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The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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Sometimes life hands you lemons, and sometimes you gotta put out a rerun podcast to deal with all those lemons, so here we are! Nick and Zak are fine, just had a lot on their respective plates this week, so here's one of the podcasts we think about a lot (and should really revisit soon tbh...) If you've never heard before please enjoy! It's a trip down memory lane for sure. What things have been addressed by wizards since the end of 2019, and what hasn't? Well listen in and find out!
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Many content creators on the internet have posted episodes of shows and podcasts where they discuss a baseline way to build decks. They're usually heuristics like, "You need 10 ramp spells" or "you need 3 board clears" that are easy to follow and remember. But what do the Commander Theory hosts use...? In this episode, Nick and Zak lay out their process for deckbuilding in as simple a way as possible (which sounds worse than it is!) We get into the weeds about why decisions are made, how to use a hypergeometric calculator, and just why to do this at all in the first place! So listen in and let us know what you think about deck-building and your favorite deck compositions! Is there a list you made you were super proud worked out? Tell us all about it!
Here's a link to a super easy to use Hypergeometric Calculator
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The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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We're back with another retrospective! In this Seasons Past we look at a set that had a huge influence on Nick and Zak: Mirage! What did Mirage do differently than the sets before it? What cards are people still playing? There's even a little controversy?!? All this and more! So listen in and tell us your favorite card from the set!
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us @commandertheory@gmail.com
If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon!
If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!
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The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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One of the benefits of this whole New Secret Lair Cards thing is that, oh wow! A TON of new commanders to build around!! In this episode, Nick and Zak get into the legendaries from the (now in preorder) Secret Lair - Street Fighter cards. There are some interesting build-arounds and some not-so-subtle build paths, on top of some really cool things in general! So listen in,, let us know what card is your favorite, OR if you think SLDs with new cards are an abomination unto the game! Either or! There's no wrong answer, just more harmful coping mechanisms.
If you liked the song Zak couldn't make sound super good at the end of the episode, you can find more of it Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here, where it will sound much better! The band is The Havnauts, and the song is called "Bummer Man". It was the B side to a single from last year and there's more like it and more to come.
DECK LISTS:
E. HONDA
DHALSIM
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us @commandertheory@gmail.com
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YOU THOUGHT WE WERE DONE. Well, Nick and Zak wanted to take one more look back at the joys of Kamigawa Neon Dynasty and assess how well their predictions went from Crimson Vow. This episode is a great check-in on what people are actually playing, what new players like, what cards the two co-hosts enjoy, and generally get to talking about Magic and Commander. They go over their top 10 new cards as well as some favorites that might not make that list. Listen in, tell us your top 10, and finally! We say goodbye to seeing NEO in the feed (even though we love the set very much).
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AND WITH THAT we have finished another review season! Nick and Zak get right to it, digging into possible builds for the two new Commander decks to come out alongside Kamigawa Neon Dynasty! There are six new legends and a ton of new cards, but not all that shimmers in cyber tech is golden. What do the two hosts think about the themes, and how were they executed? What cards are their favorites, and what might have been better served on the cutting room floor? Listen in and find out! And let us know what you're excited about too! We in no way want something we're not super excited about to bring you down! (We're gonna build the decks for science to see how things go, even if they're not linked here)
- EDIT -
FIXED THAT BREAK IN THE MIDDLE, thank you to everyone who reached out!
DECKLISTS:
Kotori, Pilot Prodigy
Shorikai, Genesis Engine
Kosei, Penitent Warlord
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us @commandertheory@gmail.com
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A ratfolk on a hoverbike just zoomed by my house and painted graffiti all over the alley. Guess that means Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty is out! In this doozy of an episode, Nick and Zak review all the commanders and cards they think you should note in the regular set for NEO (basically anything you can get in a set booster). There is SO much and the episode is definitely fat because of it, and we hope it means there's just more you'll enjoy! What is white getting in this set that's worth looking at? How are these saga's going to play out? Are there... Too many words on cards?!? Listen in and let us know how you feel too! Because this set is jam-packed with cards that are great in commander!
Deck Lists:
Ao
Light-Paws
Jin-Gitaxias 2.0
Kairi
The Reality Chip
Heiko Yamizaki (the red one)
West-side Kodama
Shigeki
Tameshi
Isshin (NOT from Okami =c )
Hinata Value AND Hinata Blink
Tatsunari
Go-Shintai
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Commander Theory focuses a lot on what the format looks like if we observe the whole. Nick and Zak often use language about what you "should do" or "ought to do" or "ought to play" when describing the format, but what do they actually play? Not these decks anymore! That's for sure! In this episode Nick and Zak talk about decks that just... weren't fun for themselves or the table. They discuss what to look for to avoid the pitfalls of spending time and especially money on a deck, only to hate the experience once you're sitting at the table. And once you're done let us know what decks you've played and hated as well!
DECKLISTS:
Just DM us, there are a lot of them
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us @commandertheory@gmail.com
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In this episode, Nick and Zak look at some builds that won't break the bank! Commander can be an expensive hobby, and it can often feel like you need to keep up in an arms race to compete, but that's not necessarily the case! Nick and Zak layout 7 decks that can really punish a table, some for under $100! And they work so effectively because the commanders are doing things most decks don't really care too much about. Who needs a Jeweled Lotus when a Strike It Rich does the same thing! Wait? Realy?!? It's all here! So listen in and let us know what your favorite budget builds are down below! (They include some of the upgrades we'd highly recommend to expand your collection! And they're still cheap!!)
DECKLISTS:
Teshar's Robos
Orvar, The All-Appropriate Budget List
Grazi-Relaxin Over This Cheap Deck
Shirei, Shizo's Budget List
Rionya Fire Budget List
Dargo and Jeska at Tanagra
Yedora, Great Investment
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Nick and Zak do a little different take on a retrospective this year. The twist? As they look back at their favorite cards from 2021 they have to pick cards that are WAY too good for how cheap they are! There's a few from every set last year, so come on the ride and use the affiliate link below to buy some cards on the cheap!
Did you have some favorite cards from 2021? We'd love to hear about them and why! Always feel free to use the links at the bottom of our episode descriptions to give us a shout and bug us about cards! It's our favorite!
You can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us @commandertheory@gmail.com
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On this very special episode of Commander Theory Nick interviews Corey Bowen! Magic: the Gathering designer and the representative for Black on the Council of Colors in Wizard's of the Coast's Studio X. What is the history of black's color pie in Magic? What has it gained? what has it lost? There's talk of treasure, life payments, sacrifice, so much more! So listen in and let us know what your favorite part of Black's color pie is too!
Nick was also recently on an episode of The Legendary Creature Podcast! Kyle, Andy, and Nick get into the nitty-gritty of White, and the vibe is kind of a more laid-back version of what this series has been. If you've enjoyed this look into Magic design with us, then you can catch that episode HERE. It's really fun and we can't recommend them enough!
This is also a very special episode for us because (with some caveats...) with this episode releasing we've interviewed a member of each color on the Council of Colors! We hope you've enjoyed this look into Magic design! We had a blast doing it and can't thank Wizards and all the council members who were a part of it enough. Thank you all! We have more design-focused material and interviews planned for the year, and we're really excited to share it all with you later! Thanks for listening!
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WE ARE BACK! It's 2022 and we're kicking things off with a wonderful interview with Chris Mooney! GDS3 competitor and full-time Magic designer since 2019, working on wonderful sets you might have heard of like Innistrad: Midnight Hunt and Innistrad: Crimson Vow! In this interview, we talk about Chris's old job as the Colorless Council Member, their new job as the White Counsel Member, and just what these slices of pie have to offer! What is white's new relationship with card draw? Reanimation? Treasure production?!?! It's all here! So listen in and let us know what you think about what white's doing too!
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As you've probably heard by now, the sky is falling! Oh wait, there are more digital-only cards! And a... new format? What does this have to do with Commander? And what does this mean for design in the future? Join Nick and Zak as they lament some changes to the easiest way to pick up games of magic, talk about what they do like about the changes, Historic Brawl, and in general T H E F U T R E! It's all here! So listen in and let us know what you all think as well.
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Back so soon? You hardly finished your first few MID drafts. But that's alright, because on this episode Nick and Zak look at some preliminary numbers for their Innistrad Midnight Hunt predictions! The two take some guesses as to what's gonna be the top 10 most popular cards from Innistrad Crimson Vow! What's different this time around? Can we see anything about the general design philosophy between the two sets? How do the commanders from the Precons play now that we've gotten our hands on them? All this plus more individual card discussion on this episode!
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A new installment, a new series! Now officially named Seasons Past! Where we look back at old designs to see how we got to where we are today. In this episode, Nick and Zak get friend-of-the-show Charlotte Sable - CAG member and excellent writer of magic knowledge - to look back at one of her favorite sets: Alliances! What cards stuck with us? How did they end up designing the "final" set to be paired with Ice Age? And... Gorillas?!? It's all here! Along with favorite cards and just, a lot of reminiscing, so listen in and let us know what you think!
You can find Charlotte HERE, and you can read her excellent writing HERE (seriously, it's awesome!)
We apologize for the mic problems in this episode, but for sure we'll be up and running again for next week.
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In a short and sweet episode, Nick and Zak talk about, well, what it was like at MTG Las Vegas! We got to go and meet a ton of new people, some old friends, play a ton of Magic, and generally get a good look at what the future might hold for the Commander Community! (We're playing a game while recording so there's a little bit of that happening too) In the future we plan to go to as many of these events as we can, so always feel free to contact us and let us know if you'd like to meet up and jam games!
We did a review of the main-deck cards from Crimson Vow with Kyle and Andy from the Legendary Creature Podcast, and you can find it HERE. We're really into a lot of the cards and it was a blast to hang out with those guys! A small warning, there is cursing so be careful if you usually listen with kids in the car.
Other than that, we're excited to get back to your regular scheduled Commander Theory programming! Yay 2-ish months without previews we hope!
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Watch out! Behind you! It's the two Crimson Vow commander preconstructed decks! And they have dozens of new cards to brew with! In this episode Nick and Zak get into, you guessed it! The new cards from the Innistrad: Crimson Vow commander decks. We look at what's cool, what's new and inventive, and if reanimation needs more... reanimation spells? It's all here! So listen in, and let us know if anything has inspired you to brew!
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Time again so soon - Grab your finest cloak and gown, stow your weapons at the door, and help yourself to the... blood fountain? Because Crimson Vow is upon us! And with it, a bevy of Magic: The Gathering cards to build around and with! In this episode, Nick and Zak get into the nitty-gritty of the legendary creatures! What cards do they want? What do they remind us of? And even.... why does this exist?!? It's all here! So listen in and let us know what your favorite (or least favorite!) commander in the set is!
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In 2017 Mark Rosewater released an article/resource for Magic: The Gathering fans and home designers called the Mechanical Color Pie. The article includes TONS of drop-down menus and various ways in which every mechanic used on a magic card at the time was sorted into color, by color, and in alphabetical order. It was a HUGE undertaking, and incredibly helpful to passionate fans like CT hosts Nick and Zak. It had its downsides though, mainly that it was backward-looking. You could think of it as more of a snapshot of the color pie around 2017. So when Maro finished the 2021 update to the Mechanical Color Pie, with the help of the Council of Colors, AND it was forward-looking this time? Well, that means a ton to people who care about the future of the format! So listen in as we get into the changes made to the color pie, and let us know what you think too!
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HAPPY HALLOWEEN! For this week Nick and Zak get back to the original set to bring horror to the MTG universe! Not Innistrad in 2011, but The Dark! Originally released in 1994 the cards have left lasting impressions on the two hosts for a long time! So for this spooky weekend take a trip down memory lane to see the set that made mana rocks the way they are and top-down sets possible. For each color-pie break there's an equally flavorful card that... well it probably doesn't do much, but it's interesting and fun! And there's a lot to look back on and learn from and pet cards galore! So join us as we delve deeper into The Dark!
Last note, if you like this retrospective let us know! It's something we've talked about doing more of since there's a lot to learn from the past and it makes it easier to see what's coming down the line! (Also, it's just cool to see how far design has come and take some trips down memory lane)
Edited the name to reflect it's the first in the series Seasons Past.
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Best friends and mindflayers and clues, oh my! SLD Stranger Things features a bunch of new commanders and a special but familiar new mechanic. So Nick and Zak dig into builds, preferences, and what this means for design in the future! Because ethics aside, the designs are pretty interesting! It is a proto Universes Beyond deal after all! We also are almost done with some research, digging deeper before we get into some new series for you all. So stay tuned! Listen in! Let us know what you think! Do you like the ethics of this? What about The List stuff? We always love to hear from you.
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BONUS EPISODE:
After every set review we check in to see what cards players are adopting from the previous sets, and Innistrad, Midnight Hunt is no exception! After a flood of content for MID we finally got it out! Nick and Zak invited their friend and collaborator Alex Whiteclay to join rounding out the set review. Together they look at what was most popular from Modern Horizons 2 and Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, make predictions about Midnight Hunt, and get into the nitty-gritty of what player are looking for when they put cards in thier decks. Together it adds up to some solid speculation on what the format looks like, so let us know what you're excited to play with too!
You can read Alex's stuff here.
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How much space is there left for new commander designs really? A WHOLE LOT. On this episode of Commander Theory, Nick and Zak solicited designs from you, the listeners, and you didn't let us down! There's a ton of custom commanders that open up new spaces in the format, and frankly, we're sad they're not real! So if you like theory crafting, if you would like a glimpse into a future commander that could be, or you just wanna hear us talk about a ton of cards that don't fit into decks right now, we got it all here for you!
Wizards of the Coast employees beware! This episode has custom designs so you might wanna skip it to be safe.
Special thanks to @JohannStrottman, Addison Sage, Micah, Alex Whiteclay, and Dionaea for the rad designs featured in this episode. You're all amazing!
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Midnight hunt wasn't the only boon for commander players this fall. With each Innistrad set we get this fall, there are an additional two new Commander Preconstructed decks with new cards! So Nick and Zak get into the two decks from Midnight Hunt - Zombies and Coven - with their friend and collaborator Alex Whiteclay to see what looks strong, what looks cool, what looks novel, what looks not good, and what's inspiring! It's all here! So listen in and tell us what you think too!
You can find Alex's writings here, and he's in our discord! Along with some others on the internet if you wanna let him know your thoughts.
DECKS:
Eloise in New Phyrexia (proof of concept)
Kyler
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MID is here! The newest Magic: The Gathering set - Innistrad Midnight Hunt - is here with a deluge of new commanders and a torrent of new main deck cards. Nick and Zak invite their good friend and collaborator Alex Whiteclay on to discuss all the new goodness, what they're excited about, set mechanics, the whole thing! All of it! Wierd card interactions, cards we're excited about, promises fulfilled by WotC, it's all here in this (very long) episode!! So listen in and tell us what you thought too!
You can find Alex's old writings here, and on the Commander Theory discord server, as well as many others.
DECKLISTS:
Jerren and his apostles
Florian approaches
Tovolar's The Boss Now
Katilda Dorks
Sigarda "humans"
Liessa, no die good
Vadrok, I mean angry Mizzix (Vadrik commander list)
Ol' Stick Finger's (a proof of concept)
Slogurk from the loam
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In a startling turn of events, GOLOS HAS BEEN BANNED IN COMMANDER and Worldfire has been unbanned in commander! (Also rule 11 is rule 10 now) This caught Nick and Zak by surprise, as well as many in the community, so friend of the show Charlotte Sable came on to help explain the thoughts and discussions the RC and CAG had to highlight the goals behind the changes. The three share thoughts, opinions, and outlooks, and just really get into what Golos was and what the format is gonna look like moving forward! So listen in and tell us what you think too!
You can find Charlotte Here and her writing Here!
Golos review is at 36:12 in this episode
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Jumpstart Historic Horizons hit MTG Arena and it brought with it dozens of new to the format cards and commanders! Even digital-only cards! What does this mean for historic brawl moving forawrd, especially now that we're in the age of 100 cards? What have we Nick and Zak liked, and what do they think could make it better? Could there be... trouble in the program? Listen in and find out!
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We had some record-breaking years for Magic in 2019, 2020, and 2021 which is almost over (!!!) And now we get to see what's on the horizon for 2022! The Magic showcase was set to announce most of what 2022 has in store, so Nick and Zak invited a friend and friend of the show Charlotte Sable (of the CAG and writer for Commander's Herald) to come and talk about hopes, expectations, and just what they think about the new sets! We all feel pretty strongly and differently about the announcements, and we bet you do too! So listen and let us know what you think about the new Magic products coming in 2022!
You can reach Charlotte here, and read her very good articles here.
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Today is the release of Jumpstart Historic Horisons! Which honestly doesn't mean too much to commander players, but Nick and Zak liked some of the cards and thought you would too! The thing is, even after a rule zero discussion where everyone says you can play with proxied digital cards, how can you? Is it possible to play with these cards made to be too complex for physical space? Listen in and find out!
Zak's band released some new music! They're called The Havnauts, and if you give it a listen let us know! They even have a new music video to go with the song!
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Almost every Magic: The Gathering set has a cycle of rare lands to help you cast your spells, and most have at least one utility land that does something either the set wants, or the standard environment wanted. Over the years this has really added up! Every deck wants to cast spells, but what decks want a lot of utility lands? Are there any decks that want really funny mana bases on purpose? Maybe lands that do particular things rather than just make your colors easy to access? In this episode Nick and Zak get into the nitty-gritty about why you might want to play with certain utility lands, and what decks specifically call them out. It starts broadly and then gets more specific, so listen in and tell us what your favorite utility lands are after!
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Part 2 of this series has Nick and Zak looking even further into cards they look out for in each release. Weird ramp? Enchantments dying? What about things that combo with... Allies? It's all here in this episode of cards that don't quite have enough members to... just work every game. So listen in and let us know what you think!
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A little while ago Hullbreacher was banned for crimes against the table when combined with "Wheel" effects, or cards that make each player discard their hand and draw 7 new cards. The ban was abrupt, to say the least. Putting aside if the card was too good or too bad, that the card is gone is the topic we were more interested in. What were the thoughts behind the ban itself? So luckily Nick and Zak got friend-of-the-show and CAG member Charlotte Sable to come on after the dust has settled and discuss what the RC was thinking, the CAG's points on the matter, and generally be transparent about the whole thing. So enjoy as we have a little talk about a card that when a line too far!
You can reach Charlotte Here, and read her stuff Here
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You win some, you lose some. In this episode, Nick and Zak look back at old reviews to see what cards they got wrong from long ago. What cards did we undervalue? What cards were we really down on? What did we hype up that turned out to be a clunker? And very importantly, what cards are the WORLD wrong about, and not us! It's all here in this episode, so listen in and find out!
This is just the tip of the iceberg! Let us know if there are any cards you remember us reviewing unfavorably, or any reviews you disagree with, and why. We'd love to hear it! And definitely tell us if you liked this episode because we can dredge up more!
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There are so many Magic: The Gathering cards, and so many strategies that are supported across the thousands of options you have available to you. Every set adds a little more, and if you're lucky maybe a card for your specific archetype! So on this episode, Nick and Zak take a good, hard look at groups of cards that are very close to having a threshold of members you'll be guaranteed to see every game, but maybe need a few more cards printed to really be consistent. These are the Sub-Critical masses of cards, and they represent a ton of different styles of play! So listen in and be sure to tell us about cards you wish you could run more of too!
We're also gearing up for a custom commanders episode, so feel free to send in your designs for those as well!
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Grab your friends! Grab a deck! And venture into the dungeon with Nick and Zak on this very special (and extra-long) episode where they delve into the nitty-gritty of the new Adventures in the Forgotten Realms MtG Commander decks! What commanders look awesome? What commanders look lame? Are there any accidental oops I'm too powerful staples? Listen and find out!
Decklists:
Sefris of the Hidden Ways
Minn, Wily Illusionist
Vrondiss, Rage of Ancients
Wulfgar of Icewind Dale
Prosper, Tome-Bound
Lorcan, Warlock Collector
Galea, Kindler of Hope
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This week, Nick and Zak dive into the ENTIRE Adventures in the Forgotten Realms set: the legends we hadn't seen, planeswalkers, maindeck cards, and we made sure to have a little Class... That was a bad joke, but there's so much stuff! So jump in and tell us what you think too!
DECK LISTS:
Oswald Fiddlebender
Grazilaxx
Barrowin
Volo, Guide to Monsters
Acererak
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Our story begins with a modest showing of new cards! In this episode, Nick and Zak look over the first few cards from Adventures In The Forgotten Realms. What are the themes? How's the power level? anything standing out as of right now? What's this about dungeons? Listen and find out!
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In this episode, Nick and Zak get to dive into what makes 100 card Historic Brawl FEEL like Commander, and what the format actually looks like once you put everything together. Did some decks get better? Worse? Is this a change they should make permanent? Listen and find out! And let us know what you all played for the event too!
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Recently, and unexpectedly Magic: the Gathering Online got a creature type update. That update? PHYREXIA. That's right, the phyrexian creature type was retroactively added to over 200 magic cards! What does this mean for decks that already exist? What commanders get retrofitted into this new tribe? Is there any mechanical space these random cards from over 20 years have in common? Nick and Zak discuss all that and so much more on this episode!
DECK LISTS:
Ezuri, Claw of Progress
Skithiryx, The Blight Dragon
Volrath, The Shape Stealer
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This week Nick and Zak had a smattering of cards for Modern Horizons 2 to go over. You can also see how we did guessing what cards would be popular from Strixhaven, and our guesses with what people will play most from MH2 itself! Spoiler, this is the worst we've done in... a while... But we're able to see some patterns... So listen in and tell us what you think!
ANYWAY We forgot to put decklists for the last few episodes so we're just gonna post them all here:
Thrasta, Tempests' Roar
Chatterfang, Squirrel General
Lonis, Cryptozoologist
General Ferrous Rokiric
Sythis, Harvest's Hand
Golos Gonna Blow Up Your Lands
Thank you all for listening!
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GET READY. In this episode, Nick and Zak discuss all the spoils from last week, and WOW is it a LOT! An accelerated preview season means we get cards faster, which is great! But in the modern age (pun intended) and in this straight to modern set, almost every card has some interaction with a deck that already exists. And that's not even getting into the dozens of new Commanders! So join us for this wild ride! There's a lot we're excited about and we can't wait for you to all be excited with us!
Next week we'll be discussing the final spoils from MH2 and some takes and predictions, then we'll be back to original content for you all. We MOST DEFINITELY miss some stuff this episode, so if there's special tech for a commander you like, a card you think is great, or a deck you've tried out, let us know with the links down below! We love hearing from you all!
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Most people, no matter how casual, like winning games. In games of Magic that's usually the goal: defeat your opponents and claim victory. Games of Commander are a little different though. You have multiple opponents, and your chance of victory - all things being equal - is only 25% in a 4 player game vs. the normal 50% in 1v1! But what if there was another way? What if you could all hold hands, sing, and fly into the sunset together? What if you could tie the game on purpose? In this episode, Nick and Zak dive into why you might want to, and ways you might not have known to tie the game using cards you probably are already playing! It might not be for everyone, but knowing these interactions exist broadens your horizons and could give you outs when there didn't seem to be any at first glance. So listen in and see what path you might choose for yourself.
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BONUS EPISODE!!
Nick and Zak got the first taste of MH2 and couldn't wait to share some early thoughts. There will be a regular episode tomorrow not related to MH2, and next week we'll begin diving into the nitty-gritty of Modern Horizons, and HOOBOY is it a lot! Legends and main-deck cards GALORE. So lets dive in, shall we?
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On our last episode, Nick and Zak looked into what a world with no access to the reserved list looks like for casual Commander and discovered some interesting tidbits about the format. Thing is, there's one format that can't help but play with only the most efficient cards regardless of price, and they too have their own solutions for what to do about the reserved list. Enter Addison, our link to the cEDH community for this episode who's been playing since re-entering the Magic community some year back. Addison joins us to talk about what cards are most ubiquitous, what cards would be sad to see gone, and what would happen to the format overall? All this and a lot more on this deep dive into our second hypothetical look at what no reserved list would mean for the world of Commander.
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Lately, as many people have noted, the landscape of Magic has changed. There are more players than ever, and the MTG markets in the USA have been growing at an unimaginable rate. One of these effects has been that it's simply more difficult than ever for most players to acquire Reserved List cards. So Nick and Zak got to thinking: What would Commander look like if all the cards on the reserved list were banned? What happens to the format, and what would players do?
This is 100% just a thought experiment. We are in no way advocating for this, but the conclusions reveal a lot about what players are playing with and where the format is headed. So listen and find out!
This episode is also a 2-parter. This week we get into "Traditional", casual Commander. Next week we'll have a special guest to talk about cEDH, and what might happen in that format if the cards of the Reserved List were to disappear tomorrow, so stay tuned!!
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Preconstructed decks are one of the main ways Commander gets new cards and staples injected into the format. A lot of decisions are made about how the new cards are designed, what old cards get reprints, and how they play together, but is there more? There's always going to be a debate about the value for the player and reprint equity, but how do cards being delivered in a made-to-play setting shape the format itself? In this episode (recorded a while ago but being released now) Nick and Zak crunch the numbers. What cards stayed in people's builds of the commander deck commanders? What did they play with and take out? What trends can we see, and how does this affect the format as a whole? Listen, find out, and then use the links below to contact us and tell you what think!
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You might notice that this episode is pretty short. Well, you're right! and you should head over to the Wizard Staff podcast to listen to their C21 review episode Nick and Zak did with them! It's a ton of fun and we can't wait for you to listen!
That said, this little episode is mostly telling you to go there, and also looking at the predictions Nick and Zak had about Kaldheim. What did they get right, wrong, and what do they think will be popular in Strixhaven? Listen and find out.
One last big thanks to Blake and Guy at Wizard Staff Podcast. It was a blast doing these reviews with you. Thank you Alex Whiteclay once again for your help and input / ideas on the spoilers. And thank YOU! The listener!
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The maindeck cards overfloweth. On this episode Nick and Zak finish up the Strixhaven review with help from Blake and Guy from The Wizard Staff Podcast. What cards are we excited about? Is there any new tech for existing decks? What does this set mean for design moving forward? Listen to this behemoth of an episode and find out!!
BIG, huge, gigantic shout out to Alex Whiteclay for all the help theory crafting, deck building, and offering opinions and takes. We love and appreciate your help. Spoiler season would not be as enjoyable without you there. You can check out some words about commander by him here.
We have a review for C21, but it will be hosted by The Wizard Staff! We'll let you all know when that goes live. Yes, we get pretty drunk.
And of course, THANK YOU PATRONS!! We love you and couldn't do gargantuan episodes without your love and support. NOW LETS GET BREWING!!
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It is time to pick up your quills and begin your notes, because this episode has Nick and Zak joined by Blake and Guy of the Wizard's Staff podcast to look at the legendary creatures of Strixhaven. Who do we like, what do they do, what cards work well with them? Listen and find out!
This is the first of 3 episodes we'll be doing with the Wizard's Staff crew. Maindeck cards will be a separate episode, followed by a Wizard's Staff episode (on their feed) where we'll be guests with them to talk about C21! So stay tuned! There's a lot of good stuff!
Also a very special thank you to Alex Whiteclay of Commander Manifesto for some rad deck submissions and help researching cards!
DECKLISTS:
Jadzi
Extus
Tanazir (Thanks Alex!)
Galazeth
Plargg and Augusta
Shaile and Embrose
Rootha (Thanks Alex!!)
Killian
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Ken Nagle has made his mark on Magic: The Gathering whether you were aware or not. As Co-lead and Lead on over a dozen sets to date (and some of Nick and Zak's favorite sets too), Ken has a lot of experience under his belt when it comes to design. And that can only help him now as he has donned yet another robe within wizards as the Green Guru on the Council of Colors! Nick and Zak get to ask a lot of questions. Why does Green go wide and tall? Who decided that green can draw so many cards? Why is green so fun?? Come get a glimpse into the future of green on this episode!
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Often times in press releases Wizards of the Coast will diminish the value of the data on sites like mtgGoldfish and EDHREC. Nick and Zak asked the question: WHY? So they did some digging, asked their friend Charlotte Sable of the CAG and Magic Judge Tumblr (and recently a writer for commander's herald) to come on, and talked about "Who" WoTC knows that we don't, why, and how could we possibly find them? It's a casual conversation with some large points made, and we hope you enjoy it!
You can reach Charlotte Here
Sheldon Merery's State of The Format Article for 2021
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Kaldheim brought a lot of stuff with it when those longboats landed on the shore. Standard was shaken up and very importantly Brawl and Historic Brawl were rocked pretty hard. What decks are you gonna see the most in this new world? What are some key cards and strategies for success? Nick and Zak dive into their experiences and favorite decks so far, now that the Vikings are here to stay.
Historic Brawl Deck Lists:
HamzaTyvar KellBirgi/HarnfelOrvarVegaNarfi
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On the 25th of February, we got a pretty large announcement, and a lot of the Magic community was up in arms over it. Crossover IP's? In Magic: The Gathering? But what does Universe's Beyond really mean for the future of Magic. Nick and Zak take a deep look now that the dust has settled.
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What if I told you that tutor commanders might have a place in this world? What if I told you that the gameplay doesn't have to be repetitive and tiring? Well do we have some news for you! The phenomenon of "Secret Commanders" ie a card inside of your deck that you build around instead of the commander you picked, has many opponents and fans. But what are the benefits? Can you make it fun for the table or will you always be doomed to repetitive, boring, and samey games? On this episode Nick and Zak meet with friend, supporter, and collaborator Russell Holley-Hurt who brewed an amazing secret commander deck around Zada and Orvar. The "commander" in question? General Tazri! Overview and case study in one episode? What's not to love!
Russell's Tazri list
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Faster than the flick of a wand! Quicker than uttering a true name! Strixhaven is already showing off some of what makes it tick! In this episode, Nick and Zak get into the lore, style, possible mechanics, pretty much everything there is so far released about Strixhaven and what it could mean for Magic moving forward. Oh, and there are some new preview cards too!
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If there's one thing people have been led to believe it's that the Magic: The Gathering color pie is confusing. In this episode, Nick gets down into the weeds about Blue and Magic design in general with Ethan Fleischer: Blue Mana Guru on the Council of Colors, winner of the Great Designer Search 2, and all-around great guy! What blue cards shouldn't have been printed in recent sets? What does the future look like for a color that's already so powerful? Listen and find out!
You can reach Ethan Here at his twitter (as long as you're respectful!)
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Feeling like Kaldheim left you out in the cold in regards to some tribal rewards? Well some creative friends and listeners try to remedy that on this episode! Nick and Zak look at some tribal designs that could have been left on the cutting room floor for Kaldheim propper, and go into other designs that were just too cool not to talk about as well! If you work for wizards skip this one, otherwise, listen in and let us know what you think about these designs and more!
Thank you to everyone who submitted! We will be doing more custom commander episodes this year so always feel free to submit designs!
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Tribal is a big component of design in Magic. Good tribal mechanics can make or break limited environments, and tribal legends almost always facilitate new decks in Commander. But what happens when your tribe gets pushed aside? Replaced by little green babies and grape jelly men? In this episode, Nick and Zak talk about how and why changelings can push out members of a tribe from their own tribal list. This episode gets into precepts of designing for Commander, and what designs make it easy for the night hags to swap their own children into your tribal deck's ranks.
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We made it everyone! Made it through this turbulent spoiler season that is! In this episode Nick and Zak get into the final commanders and main deck cards before going deep on what this set and its design means for the future of Commander. There are also predictions for what will see the most play, and a look into how we did with Commander Legends predictions. There's a lot to glean, tears to be had, laughs to share, and brews to discuss, so please, enjoy!
DECKLISTS:
Orvar
Birgi // Harnfel
If you want to listen to the year in review Legendary Creature Wrap Up Episode, then this link should do it. Kyle and Andy do great work, and if you like our podcast you'll probably like hanging out (virtually) with them too!
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Another week, another MASSIVE amount of spoilers! Kaldheim is here, and so is snow, some boasting, and a whole mess of other commanders. In this episode, Nick and Zak really get into the legends and dive straight through the maindeck cards and the various possibilities they might have. If you have any cool ideas let us know in the links down below!
DECKLISTS:
Nick and Zak's Cosima // Omenkeel lists ( they're just Omenkeel lists of various flavors)
Fynn
Maja
Aegar
Jorn // Kaldring (but really just Jorn)
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IT'S TIME
The first week of spoilers has come (and gone) and Nick and Zak had to process A LOT of information. This episode is what was thought based on what the community knew this weekend, before more spoilers have been revealed. So enjoy our speculation and musings on some topics that have since been revealed. And enjoy the builds and discussions on broader topics, like what's the tier list for Golos archetypes? And what should you do with all these snow lands? (The answer is play them). This set looks awesome and we're really excited to play with these cards!!
DECKLISTS:
Tegrid
Toski
Vorinclex
TIBALT
Firja
Koma
Koll
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The top 20 Commanders over the last two years is one of the most interesting features on EDHREC. It's interesting to see it change over time and to see what commanders have the go-get-'em attitude needed to break into the top spots, but what can it teach us about design? In this episode, Nick and Zak look at the top 20 commanders on EDHREC and try to analyze what makes them popular? Why should Muldrotha succeed when Chainer, Nightmare Adept and other graveyard strategies don't even make it to the top 100 most popular commanders? Listen and find out!
We especially want your feedback from this episode, so please let us know what you think, see, and feel about this kind of topic! What decks and cards do you see the most of? What have the beginners in your magic playgroups been drawn towards?
Next week will be our first Kaldheim spoiler episode, so stay tuned! It's gonna be big!
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HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! On this very special episode, Nick and Zak have the red mana guru -Jules Robins - on to talk about, what else, but the color red in Commander! Jules was lead set designer for Commander Legends amongst so many other things and enlightens us: what red can and can't do, where might red go mechanically, what experiments has WotC tried, and so much more! This is a great conversation and we hope it lets you all ring in the new year with some rad new CONTENT.
And if you're reading this THANK YOU to our patrons. We couldn't do this without your amazing support. Here's to a great year for Magic in 2021!!
You can reach Jules here (it's his Twitter)
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Happy Holidays! Nick and Zak's gift to you all is this nice little (maybe not so little) episode talking about what we know about Kaldheim! Wizards was kind enough to spoil cards from their Set and Theme boosters, as well as the face commanders for the two Commander preconstructed decks the will release as part of Kaldheim. There's a lot to take in, hopes, fears, treasure, changelings, and more! So listen in and tell us what you're most excited about too!
What's this? DECKLISTS:
Magda
Ranar
Lathril
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Life and the holidays might have gotten in the way of finishing some new stuff, but Nick and Zak have been talking about this episode a lot lately and figured it was worth a relisten! Zak for sure gets the episode number wrong in the intro so don't mind that. But we hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane as we continue to work on other content for the future!
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On this very special episode, Nick and Zak have a special guest, Ari Nieh! Great Designer Search 3 winner and the current White Mana Guru on the Council of Colors within Wizards R&D. He discusses what it means to be on the Council of Colors, what it means to be the White Mana Guru, and what's going on with White's slice of the color pie, in commander and beyond. This is an excellent conversation so please enjoy!
You can reach Ari Here
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Sometimes a deck is just not quite in the right spot for a fun gameplay experience. Sometimes another color exists that might handle it better. On this episode, Nick and Zak get into what a world would look like if some popular (and not popular) commanders were shifted into a different color identity, much as commander legends did with Blim. How could lead to better or new gameplay experiences? Is this something Wizards of the Coast should do more of? Listen and find out!
Decklists:
Darien, but Red
Thassa, but White
Shirei, but White
Gitrog, but Red/Green
Ezuri, but Green/Black
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On this episode Nick and Zak get into some tech that's so secret, EDHREC doesn't even list them on the commander's page! They discuss the cards themselves, why they're uniquely good, and what this means about how people are building their decks.
Thank you to Alex Whiteclay, Mark Churchwell, and Kevin Kelley, for dusting some of these bad boys off and starting a series we're excited to continue into the future!
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RE-REUN
We apologize for the "heat" of the recording here. This was recorded a while ago with older equipment. The gain is pretty high(spicy even), but the conversation is relevant to what Nick and Zak, and the community at large have been having in the last few weeks due to CMR and the topic of white in general. Buckle up, enjoy, and we'll be back next week with a new episode just for you!
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The second half! Nick and Zak finish off the legends and some notable main-deck cards. But stay tuned, because there's set and color analysis as well as a look at what the two of them think this set's design means for Commander at the end! (Honestly, it's pretty interesting and it starts around 2:14:30 !!) There's also a look at what Nick and Zak guessed right and wrong about the most played cards in Zendikar rising, and predictions for what will be most popular in Commander Legends as well. WOW that's a lot!
Deck Lists:
Sakashima and Kodama
Falthis and Jeska
Numa and Miara
Keskit + Tormod & Tormod + Kydele by Dr. Bunni
Ich-Tekik + Akiri & Ich-Tekik + Rebbec by YggdrasilAraumi
Tuya
Hamza
Imoti
Wyleth
Jared Carthalion by DionaeaArchelos
Thank you to everyone who helped with decklists and helped evaluate cards / talk about tech with us. We'll be taking a week off (there's gonna be a re-run episode) and then we're gonna be BACK AT IT BABY. And lastly, Dragon Tier Patrons will be getting a collector's booster of Commander Legends for sticking with us and being the amazing people they are. We couldn't do this without the support of all of our patrons, so thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
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Get ready to hit that times 1.5 speed, this episode is a doozy! Nick and Zak get through the first batch of spoils for Commander Legends, talking about tech, color pairs for partners, cards that maybe shouldn't exist, and more! Also, there are decklists!
Keleth and Reyhan
Malcolm and Vial Smasher
Jeska and Dargo
Krark and Tymna
Kodama and Thrasios
Blim
Obeka
Ghen
Colfenor
We'll have EVEN MORE decks next week, and a few we weren't able to finish in the notes of next week's episodes, so stay tuned!
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The zeitgeist in the Commander sphere of the internet has been alight with cries of "power-creep" and "acceleration" and "arms-races," but is this forever? Commander is a non-rotating, eternal format for Magic: The Gathering players, but can we reverse course? In this episode Nick and Zak get into the nitty-gritty of why the format is faster, and ways to slow down that make a lot more sense than just "BuILd YoUR DeCK WoRse!!1!"
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Nick and Zak were hard at work on SECRET FUTURE PROJECTS and couldn't finish an episode this week. So please, enjoy this fun re-run and next week there'll be more new content!!
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You all have been busy cooking up some really spicy custom commanders and sending them in, and Nick and Zak finally get to talk about them! We get to look at gaps in the format, what makes a commander "good" or "fun", and of course, talk about cool tech for these custom cards. We highly recommend giving these cards a try if you hear one you like. They're all incredibly interesting and open up space and cards that don't get played very much right now! Just ask your playgroup and go to town.
We weren't able to talk about all the cards we liked this time around due to constraints on the recording time, but feel free to continue submissions! If you submitted one and we didn't talk about it feel free to submit them again, we got a lot and things piled up very fast. We'll probably have time for one more of these episodes before the year is over (and more next year), so don't lose hope!
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In this episode, Nick and Zak talk 'em dead with guest and friend of the show, Charlotte Sable (CAG, Magic Judge Tumblr). We go over what the Rules Committee decided to do about the Secret Lair Drop: The Walking Dead, and what that means moving forward. The discussions we have are part of a greater effort to heal and move forward, and we hope you listen and start positive discussions in your communities about what's next for magic as well.
CONTENT WARNING: 22:20 - 30:50 is our discussion of Negan and sexual violence, so if that's not something you're in the mood for today feel free to skip it!
If you wanna reach out and let your voice be heard here are two places to do that:
Wizards comment page
MARO (this is his twitter so be nice)
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If you'd like to contact Charlotte you can reach her on Twitter or check out her really cool blog.
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We can't meet up for Commander, and that standard environment post Zendikar Rising has been controversial for standard... SO LETS BRAWL!! In this episode, Nick and Zak talk about The format as a whole, what new cards you should be playing, and what cards have gotten better and worse post rotation.
Got any cool decks or secret tech? Let us know! We'd love to hear it.
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What's so cool about lifelink? Is indestructible its own reward? WHAT COLORS SHOULD A TRAMPLE COMMANDER BE!? Nick and Zak discuss all of this and more, looking at what design room is left open for future "evergreen keyword lords" like we saw in Ikoria.
Much like before, this episode doesn't feature any decklists, but we would love it if listeners submitted custom commanders for another custom commander episode we could do pretty soon! Feel free to submit to any of the links below.
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The other half! But more like the last few cards and some extrapolation. This set has been crazy, and on this episode Nick and Zak finish their reviews, dig into the Zendikar Commander Precons, and see how right they were about what cards were most played from M21. If you've ever wondered what to do with a giant crab, or you're interested in some new tech come and listen!
Decklists:
Akiri
Anowon
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Historic Brawl has turned into a great format with all the recent additions. Being that we're all stuck at home, Nick and Zak wanted to take a little bit closer look at the format as a whole. There's a lot of cards to try, and a lot of rewards for trying, so why not look at some new tribal builds? Lists are bellow so try not to look if you don't want any spoilers!
Kumena
General Kudro
Omnath, Locus of The Roil
Unesh
Marwyn
Krenko
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IT IS TIME. That's a lot of spoils! In this massive episode Nick and Zak get into what Zendikar Rising will mean for Commander, and what individual cards could slot into your deck. This is a long one so hit that 2 times speed and enjoy.
Decklists:
Moraug
Zagras
Phylath
Orah
Omnath 4.0
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Ever wonder what it's like to have infinite mana? Ever realize your deck was full of combos and none of them were intentional? Are you afraid of combos or think that they're too antisocial? Well this episode is for you! Nick and Zak get into some of their favorite combos with multiple, redundant pieces so you're never at the whim of a discard spell. You'll learn about how to play with them, against them, and a bunch of goofy cards that are great before you pop-off as well! All these cards are great on their own, so why not lean into the synergy every once in a while?
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On this episode, Nick and Zak talk about the flood of information about Commander Legends. Commander Legends will be a draftable commander-like experience with a whole 71 new legends, 41 of which have partner(!!!) What does that mean?!? What will the format be like after this set, and what are we hoping the set can deliver? Listen and find out!
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You might have noticed it's kind of hard to play magic in person in the US right now. Nick and Zak did too! So what is there to do? How about some Historic Brawl on Arena! Aggro was easy, control had all the right tools, but combo was harder to piece together... So in this episode, they get pretty deep on some combo lists! We got mill, mana, cheating permanents into play, the works!
Featured lists:
BruvacUgin’s Eggs
Deck 5Deck 4Deck 3Deck 2Deck 1
Shoutout to the people in the Brawl Hall Discord Server for the fun games and wonderful community.
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On this episode Nick and Zak dive into table politics! There's more to a game of commander than just technical skill and knowing the cards. You have a few other players who can be resources all on their own too! So how do you make a deal that sticks? If I blow up this Gilded Lotus will you attack someone else next turn? This episode gets right into it!
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This week was the SDCC 2020 at Home panel for Magic presented by Mark Rosewater, head designer of Magic. There weren't any cards spoiled, but there was a lot of content that has a very large impact on how we will consume magic in the future spoiled! Also some first looks at the return of Zendikar Rising releasing this fall. There's a lot going on, and Nick and Zak make some predictions while diving into the nitty-gritty of it all.
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We made it to triple digits! Thank you everyone for your support and for listening! In this episode, we're joined by friend of the show, Alex Whiteclay of Commander Manifesto to dig into trends we've seen in the format. What has the RC and CAG done right, and where could they grow? What are players feeling about the state of commander, and what could the community and leadership do to make things better. We're normally a future-focussed podcast, and we really flex those brains here!
Thank you to Charlotte Sable of the CAG and Magic Judge Tumblr for your help and being a friend of the show!
Thank you to Andy and Kyle of Legendary Creature for the kind words
And thank you to you! the listeners! Here's to another 100!
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WOW! These are a lot of spoilers! This week Nick and Zak get into builds for the jumpstart commanders, and where the maindeck cards should go. There are also some points about how the format has changed, how much MTG really needed something like this, and how products like this can inject wonderful little things like the custom basic lands (can you tell we like this product?).
Decks discussed in the episode:
Bruvac
Tinybones
Muxus
Zurzoth
Inniaz
Sethron
Neyith
Emiel
Next Episode is the big 100! So thank you for listening and going on this journey with us!
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On this episode Nick and Zak are joined by friend of the show Charlotte Sable! A level 3 magic judge, CAG member and owner of the Magic Judge blog on Tumblr, and we finish the last of the new cards, as well as make predictions on what we think will see play!
Ever wonder where to play your hondens? Want a cool new wizard to build around? Wanna see how right we were about Ikoria? It's all here!
Next week will be the full spoiler for Jumpstart, and it will actually be pretty fun, so stay tuned!
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Charlotte Sable on twitter @JqlGirl
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On this episode, Nick and Zak are joined by friend of the show, Charlotte Sable: level 3 magic judge, CAG member and owner of the Magic Judge blog on Tumblr to get through
most of the M21 spoils!
They discuss builds for even more new commanders, and where new cards might find a home. Next week's episode will also be a bit late. We apologize for all the delay's but we promise it'll be a fun one, with the last few M21 cards, our predictions on what cards will make an impact in the future, and our review of Jumpstart!
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On this episode, Nick and Zak are joined by friend of the show, Charlotte Sable: level 3 magic judge, CAG member and owner of the Magic Judge blog on Tumblr!
They discuss builds for the new commanders we've seen so far, and where certain new cards might find a home. There's only been a few cards, but there's a lot to talk about!
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There's been a commander rules update! And friend of the show Charlotte Sable, of the CAG and Magic Judge Tumblr comes on to help Nick and Zak with the what and why of the change. We discuss the thought process behind the change, as well as decks that gain a lot. There's also a few corner cases where things get worse (spoiler alert, really not that many!)
You can read the full update here.
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Brawl has been going through changes! And in this episode Nick and Zak discuss the recent bans and changes to the meta. Nick talks about how to beat the best decks in the format, and there's a TON of good stuff (and not good...) in Historic Anthology 3. We hope you've been finding as much solace in Arena as we have and maybe this episode can help you step up your game.
Some info we talk about in the show:
Brawl according to MTG Goldfish
Brawl according to Aetherhub
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Get ready for a really theoretical episode!
On this episode Nick and Zak welcome their friend Alex Whiteclay of Commander Manifesto to discuss an alternate universe for Commander.
The Prompt - What if you could only make mana of your Commander's color identity, but could put any card in your deck?
This discussion leads to a lot of places. It highlights a lot of strengths and weaknesses in the format as it is, and lets us look at some decks that would get more love than they do currently. (We don't get to this point on air, but it very much would require Wizards to reprint staples, something that they should be doing more of anyway. It's a conclusion you'll probably draw too as a listener.)
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Ikoria brought with it many new mechanics and design space. One of the most interesting and deep pools was the idea of a "Keyword Lord," or creature that rewards creatures with specific evergreen keywords. In this episode, Nick and Zak look at what commanders exist that have, grant, or reward the existing evergreen keywords. Where is there room to grow? Who is already doing a great job? Listen and find out!
This episode doesn't feature any decklists, but we would love it if listeners submitted custom commanders for another custom commander episode we could do pretty soon! Feel free to submit to any of the links below.
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Ikoria is here and Nick and Zak go over what cards from the new set will have an impact on commander as a whole.
Decklists featured in the episode:
Brokkos, Apex of Forever
Snapdax, Apex of the Hunt
Yorion, Sky Nomad
Obosh, the Preypiercer
Jegantha, the Wellspring
Kaheera, the Orphanguard
Lurrus of the Dream Den
Umori, the Collector
Keruga, the Macrosage
Zirda, the Dawnwaker
General Kudro of Drannith
Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy
Rielle, the Everwise
Winota, Joiner of Forces
Karlov with Lurrus
We also discussed some innovative lists developed by friend of the show Commander Manifesto. Check out his sweet decks and follow his blog for more excellent Commander content!
Illuna, Apex of Wishes
Nethroi, Apex of Death
We thank all of you for sticking with us as we try to get out content in a timely manner while making the best of the situations thrown at us. Stay safe everyone, and keep brewing!
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In this episode Nick and Zak have a discussion with friend of the show Charlotte Sable, member of the CAG and the judge behind the Ask a Judge Tumblr.
We ask questions about the banning of flash, the functionality of companion, general attitudes of the RC and CAG towards cEDH, as well as the effects quarantine might have on magic in the future. This is a great look into how the CAG has interacted with the RC this last year, so thank you Charlotte for coming on!
All opinions Charlotte expresses are her own, and not reflective of the other members of the CAG or RC. If you want to get in touch with Charlotte, you can reach her at:
Twitter
Tumblr
General contact info for the RC and CAG can be found here
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The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)
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The season for spoils has hit hard and in this episode Nick and Zak go over what cards from the new Commander set will have an impact on the format as a whole. The builds for a ton of the new commanders are at the beginning, so if you're only in it for the brews start there.
Decklists featured in the episode:
Jirina Kudro
Gavi, Nest Warden
Tayam, Luminous Enigma
We thank all of you for sticking with us as we try to get out content in a timely manner while making the best of the situations thrown at us. Stay safe everyone, and keep brewing!
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In this episode Nick and Zak interview friend of the show Charlotte Sable, member of the CAG and the judge behind the Ask a Judge Tumblr.
We discuss this historic banning, the thought processes behind it, and what implications it may or may not have on the format moving forward.
If you want to get in touch with Charlotte, you can reach her at:
Twitter
Tumblr
General contact info for the RC and CAG can be found here
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In this episode, Nick and Zak examine commanders who look appealing on the surface, but once you dig in might not offer as much power as you originally thought.
This episode is the first one where we have had to record remotely. We thank all of you for sticking with us as we try to get out content in a timely manner while making the best of the situations thrown at us. Stay safe everyone, and keep brewing!
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In this episode, Nick and Zak dig through the second batch of popular tribes in Commander and find a few spaces where current commanders just aren't pulling their weight for a tribal list.
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It's time for another episode on custom commanders! We've solicited commander designs from our listeners, with a focus on commanders that create new archetypes, and we're sharing the best submissions with all of you!
Album of designs
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In this episode, Nick and Zak dig through the most popular tribes in Commander, highlighting the best commanders for each and identifying when existing commanders don't serve the tribe's needs.
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In this episode, Nick and Zak discuss the pros and cons of two potential changes to Commander: allowing legendary enchantments, artifacts, and lands as commanders and allowing players to run hybrid cards in decks that only include one of their two colors.
Decks discussed in this episode:
Lich's Mastery Lifegain Combo
Oath of Teferi Superfriends
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Nick and Zak discuss how to build around the new commanders in Unsanctioned and share what silver-bordered cards they would most like to play with in Commander.
Decks discussed in this episode:
Alexander Clamilton
Surgeon Commander
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Nick and Zak complete their set review of Theros Beyond Death, discussing how to build around the new commanders and which decks can best make use of the new nonlegendary cards.
Decks discussed in this episode:
Siona, Captain of the Pyleas
Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath
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Theros Beyond Death spoiler season has begun in earnest and Nick and Zak have a ton of new cards and commanders to evaluate for the Commander format!
Decks discussed in this episode:
Heliod, Sun-Crowned
Thassa, Deep-Dwelling
Erebos, Bleak-Hearted
Purphoros, Bronze-Blooded
Nylea, Keen-Eyed
Dalakos, Crafter of Wonders
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In this episode, Nick and Zak discuss the post-Christmas trickle of spoilers from Theros: Beyond Death and walk you through their process as they build a deck for the newly spoiled Klothys, God of Destiny.
Decks discussed in this episode:
Gallia of the Endless Dance
Klothys, God of Destiny
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In this episode, we're talking about the highlights of 2019 for Commander and for Commander Theory, as well as opening up our mailbag to respond directly to your questions. What was the best commander of 2019? What types of episodes will you see more of in 2020? What do we think about a rules change allowing commander death triggers? We answer all of these questions and more!
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Currently, wish effects don't work in Commander; sideboards are not supported within the official rules. Despite their lack of rules support in the game's most popular format, we've seen more wishes printed in the last year than in the previous decade, and Wizards shows no signs of slowing down, as wishes are used to improve gameplay in Best-of-One formats.
A few months back, we started experimenting with wishboards to see how all these wishes would affect deckbuilding and gameplay in Magic's largest format to help understand the pros and cons of changing the current rules surrounding wish effects in Commander.
In this episode, we share our experiences and the lessons we learned from this experiment.
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In this episode, Nick and Zak discuss the new and returning mechanics from Theros Beyond Death, as well as the cards and commanders spoiled so far.
Decks discussed in this episode:
Athreos, Shroud-Veiled
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In this episode, we look at a few of the bogeymen of the format and offer some more prosocial builds that'll lead to fun games but won't terrify your playgroup.
Decks discussed in this episode:
King Brago's Klone Kombo
Derevi Tokens
Animorphs
/r/competitiveedh Decklist Database
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We chat with Andy and Kyle from the Legendary Creature podcast and share stories about our most memorable games, from big plays to big personalities.
You can listen to Legendary Creature here, watch their videos here, follow them on Twitter here, or support them on Patreon here!
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In this episode, we expand on our previous episode quantifying color power level in Commander by focusing on the power level of multicolor identities.
We encourage you to listen to the previous episode on the subject or read its companion article before you listen to this one.
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In the third episode in this series on budget decks, Nick and Zak talk about the best budget commanders in white/black, black/green, green/blue, blue/red, and red/white.
Decks discussed in this episode:
Karlov of the Ghost Council
Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons
Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis
Savra, Queen of the Golgari
Edric, Spymaster of Trest
Kruphix, God of Horizons
Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer
Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain
Mizzix of the Izmagnus
Feather, the Redeemed
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In this episode, Nick and Zak discuss the banning of Oko in Brawl on Magic Arena, touching on whether the ban was warranted, which decks stand to gain or lose from the banning, and what cards will replace Oko in the decks that lost him.
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In this episode, Nick and Zak discuss the many new Commander products announced for 2020, including the Ikoria Commander precons, the Zendikar Rising Commander precons, Commander Collection: Green, and Commander Legends. They speculate on what impact these products are likely to have on the format, what cards are likely to be reprinted in Commander Collection: Green, and what characters and mechanics are likely to get new legendary creatures in Commander Legends.
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In honor of the release of Brawl on Magic Arena, Nick and Zak share their perspective on the current Brawl metagame, the format's most promising decks, potential format staples, and how to play Brawl without getting stung by the format's rotation.
Decks discussed in this episode:
Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner Brawl
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In this episode, Nick and Zak discuss what causes bad games of Commander and how players can shape their decks and their metagames to prevent them.
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In this episode, we share our expectations for Unsanctioned, the new silver-bordered product coming this February, and evaluate the new face cards being released in Game Night 2019.
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In this episode, we set about quantifying color power level and offering suggestions for how Wizards could promote color balance in Commander.
This episode has a companion article that dives a little deeper into the topic; we recommend reading it if you'd like to learn more.
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In this episode, we team up with Charlotte Sable, level 3 judge and member of the Commander Advisory Group, to evaluate fan-submitted custom commanders aimed at filling in the gaps in Commander's tribal archetypes.
Follow Charlotte on Twitter and Tumblr to talk about Commander or ask rules questions!
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In this bonus episode, we discuss how to build around the three silver-bordered legendary creatures in the new Magic/My Little Pony crossover product Ponies: the Galloping.
Decks discussed in this episode:
Rarity
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While we were off enjoying ourselves at MagicFest Vegas, we made some time to chat with Shivam Bhatt, member of the Commander Advisory Group and co-host of the Commanderin' podcast, about his banning philosophy and his thoughts on Commander variants like Brawl and Oathbreaker.
Share your thoughts with Shivam on Twitter and listen to his podcast, Commanderin'!
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In this episode, Nick and Zak discuss the new commanders and non-legendary cards from the final week of Throne of Eldraine spoilers.
Text Set Review
Decks discussed in this episode:
Torbran, Thane of Red Fell
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In this episode, Nick and Zak discuss the new commanders and non-legendary cards from the second week of Throne of Eldraine spoilers.
Decks discussed in this episode:
Legendary Creature's Syr Konrad Lantern Control
Kenrith, the Returned King
Emry, Lurker of the Loch
Syr Carah, the Bold
Grumgully, the Generous
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In this episode, Nick and Zak discuss the new mechanics, cards, and legendary creatures from the first week of Throne of Eldraine spoilers.
Decks discussed in this episode:
Alela, Artful Provocateur
Chulane, Teller of Tales
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King
Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale
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In this episode, Nick and Zak look at EDHREC rankings of all the ally color commanders in the format to find out which commanders are being slept on by the majority of Commander players.
Decks discussed in this episode:
Rasputin Dreamweaver
Circu Citadel Combo
Ramses Overdark
Lyzolda, the Blood Witch
Atarka, World Render
Saffi Eriksdotter
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We met up with Ryan and Brando from Commander Cookout while we were all at the biggest Commander event of the year: MagicFest Las Vegas. In this episode, we share some of the best stories from the event, as well as what we learned about the format as we played against scores of players from across the United States and Canada.
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In this episode, Nick and Zak discuss how to hold Commander's leadership accountable, Commander's competitive advantages and disadvantages relative to other formats, and how Commander's leaders can maintain or strengthen those advantages and mitigate those disadvantages to ensure Commander remains the #1 format for casual multiplayer Magic.
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In this episode, Nick, Zak, and Alex complete their discussion of which cards and commanders from the Commander 2019 precons are likely to make an impact on the format.
Decks discussed in this episode:
Chainer, Nightmare Adept
Greven, Predator Captain
Atla Palani, Nest Tender
Pramikon, Sky Rampart
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In this episode, Nick, Zak, and Alex discuss the face commanders from the new Commander precons and the other new cards spoiled at Gencon 2019.
Decks discussed in this episode:
Anje Falkenrath
Gerrard, Weatherlight Hero
Ghired, Conclave Exile
Kadena, Slinking Sorcerer
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In this episode, Nick and Zak discuss the first two cards spoiled from Throne of Eldraine's Brawl precons and share a deck built around the newly-spoiled legendary creature Chulane, Teller of Tales.
Decks discussed in this episode:
Chulane, Teller of Tales
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In this episode, Nick and Zak discuss news from San Diego Comic Con regarding the upcoming fall set, Throne of Eldraine, as well as exciting developments for the Brawl format.
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In this episode, Nick and Zak interview Charlotte Sable, one of six members of the Commander Advisory Group (CAG), about the rationale behind the recent unbanning/bannings in Commander, as well as the format's updated philosophy document.
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In this episode, Nick, Zak, and special guest Alex react to the July 2019 banlist changes, discuss their repercussions on gameplay and the Magic market, and predict how market volatility resulting from banlist changes could be mitigated in the future.
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In this episode, Nick and Zak look at EDHREC rankings of all the monocolor commanders in the format to find out which commanders are being slept on by the majority of Commander players.
Decks discussed in this episode:
Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle
Hokori, Dust Drinker
Thada Adel, Acquisitor
Iname, Death Aspect
Marton Stromgald
Reki, the History of Kamigawa
Hua Tuo, Honored Physician
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In this episode, Nick and Zak discuss which cards from the final week of Core Set 2020 spoilers are likely to have an impact on Commander.
Decks discussed in this episode:
Gargos, Vicious Watcher
Chandra, Acolyte of Flame
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In this episode, Nick and Zak discuss which cards from the first week of Core Set 2020 spoilers are likely to have an impact on Commander.
Decks discussed in this episode:
Vilis, Broker of Blood
Kykar, Wind's Fury
Rienne, Angel of Rebirth
Kethis, the Hidden Hand
Yarok, the Desecrated
Circu Citadel Combo
Everything Tribal
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In this episode, we conclude our review of all the major creature types without a tribal commander and explore what these tribes would need from a commander in order to be viable.
We encourage any custom card designers to try their hand at the opportunities we identify here so we can discuss them in a future episode!
Tribes discussed in this episode:
Eldrazi
Scout
Shapeshifter
Illusion
Werewolf
Avatar
Faerie
Spellshaper
Assassin
Skeleton
Shade
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Inspired by the printing of Morophon the Boundless, we're starting a new series that looks at all the major creature types without a tribal commander and explores what the tribe would need from a commander in order to be viable.
We encourage any custom card designers to try their hand at the opportunities we identify here so we can discuss them in a future episode!
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In this episode, Nick and Zak discuss which cards from the final week of Modern Horizons spoilers are likely to have an impact on Commander.
Decks discussed in this episode:
Yawgmoth, Thran Physician
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In this episode, Nick and Zak discuss which cards from the first week of Modern Horizons spoilers are likely to have an impact on Commander.
Decks discussed in this episode:
Urza, Lord High Artificer
Ayula, Queen Among Bears
Morophon, the Boundless
Sisay, Weatherlight Captain
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In this episode, Nick and Zak talk about their first Commander decks, what type of gameplay they enjoy, and what they're playing now.
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In this episode, Nick and Zak define the characteristics of a win condition in Commander and provide examples for each color.
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In this episode, Nick and Zak interview Adam Styborski, one of six members of the newly formed Commander Advisory Group (CAG). Learn about Adam's Commander philosophy, his priorities as a CAG member, and his stance on some of the format's most controversial topics, including his personal preferences on what cards should be banned/unbanned.
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Follow Adam Styborski on Twitter!
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Although the Commander Rules Committee has opted not to allow planeswalkers as commanders on either a permanent or temporary basis, we love brewing decks and figured it would be a fun thought experiment to try to build decks around War of the Spark's 37 planeswalkers. While not all of the set's planeswalkers were useful in the command zone, there were a surprising number of hits; if your playgroup is permissive enough to allow unofficial commanders, consider checking out some of the decks discussed in this episode:
Ajani, the Greathearted
Huatli, the Sun's Heart
Sorin, Vengeful Bloodlord
Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner
Saheeli, Sublime Artificer
Nahiri, Storm of Stone
Karn, the Great Creator
Ugin, the Ineffable
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In this episode, Nick and Zak wrap up their discussion of which cards from War of the Spark spoilers are likely to have an impact on Commander and give their overall impressions of the set from a Commander standpoint.
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In this episode, Nick and Zak discuss which cards from the second week of War of the Spark spoilers are likely to have an impact on Commander.
Decks discussed in this episode:
Ilharg, the Raze-Boar
Feather, the Redeemed
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
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In this episode, Nick and Zak discuss which newly-spoiled cards from War of the Spark are likely to have an impact on Commander.
Decks discussed in this episode:
Massacre Girl
Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin
Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion
Storrev, Devkarin Lich
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CAG member Charlotte Sable returns to the podcast to share her Sheoldred reanimator list and discuss the recently released CAG charter.
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In this episode, Nick and Zak discuss the new information, story tidbits, and cards spoiled at PAX East. They also discuss a Circu, Dimir Lobotomist deck that utilizes the powerful new engine Bolas's Citadel:
Circu Citadel Combo
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Nick and Zak dig through more EDHREC data to determine which cards have the biggest mismatch between their power level and their popularity.
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In this episode, Nick and Zak dig through EDHREC data to determine which cards have the biggest mismatch between their power level and their popularity.
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In this episode, Nick and Zak talk about what characteristics of commanders make for fun gameplay and what traits will lead to frustration.
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In this episode, Nick and Zak discuss a Child of Alara list that uses Gods and a lot of land synergies to break the symmetry on Child's Planar Cleansing effect.
Land of the Gods Decklist
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In the second episode in this series on budget decks, Nick and Zak talk about the best budget commanders in white/blue, blue/black, black/red, red/green, and green/white. Follow the links below to see the decklists they discuss:
Bruna, Light of Alabaster
Phenax Dredge
Grenzo, Dungeon Warden
Lyzolda, the Blood Witch
Xenagos, God of Revels
Wort, the Raidmother
Atarka, World Render
Arahbo, Roar of the World
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In the first episode in a new series, Nick and Zak talk about the best budget commanders in monowhite, monoblue, monoblack, monored, and monogreen. Follow the links below to see the decklists they discuss:
Sram, Senior Edificer
Jazal Goldmane
Talrand, Sky Summoner
Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign
Arcum's Elocutors
Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
Krenko, Mob Boss
Purphoros, God of the Forge
Zada, Hedron Grinder
Neheb, the Eternal
Feldon of the Third Path
Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Sachi, Daughter of Seshiro
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In this episode, Nick and Zak interview Charlotte Sable, one of six members of the newly formed Commander Advisory Group (CAG). Learn about Charlotte's Commander philosophy, her priorities as a CAG member, and her stance on some of the format's most controversial topics.
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Sheldon Menery recently announced the creation of the Commander Advisory Group, a new body made up of prominent members of the Commander community who will advise the Rules Committee on important decisions about the format. In this episode, Nick and Zak share what they know about the Group's members and speculate on how they might influence the format.
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In the final episode of this six-part series, Nick and Zak look at decklist aggregator EDHREC's stats on Commander's 4- and 5-color commanders and analyze the state of each color identity. We also wrap up our EDHREC series by sharing the insights about the format we’ve gleaned from looking at aggregate data from tens of thousands of decks.
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In this episode, Nick and Zak complete their set review of Ravnica Allegiance, sharing their thoughts on the new cards likely to make an impact on the Commander format and offering their overall impressions of the set.
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In this episode, Nick and Zak discuss the newly-spoiled legendary creatures from Ravnica Allegiance and predict which nonlegendary cards are likely to have an impact on Commander.
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In this episode, Nick and Zak discuss the new Commander-playable cards and legendary creatures released in 2018, give a broad overview of the year as a whole, and share their hopes and predictions for 2019.
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In this episode, Nick and Zak discuss the new guild mechanics in Ravnica Allegiance and predict which of the first cards spoiled are likely to have an impact on Commander.
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In this episode, Nick and Zak review fan-submitted custom commanders and offer ideas for how to build around them. Our listeners sent in some really interesting designs that have the potential to create fun new play experiences and open up new archetypes, including Curses, Shaman Tribal, manifest tricks, and a meaner version of Zedruu.
If you'd like to see the cards as we discuss them, please follow this link.
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Nick and Zak continue their deep dive into EDHREC data by moving on to the five shards, three-color groupings composed of a color and its two allies. Using data on popular commanders, staple cards, and the associations between them, Nick and Zak analyze the state of the shards.
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The Command Zone recently released data from hundreds of Commander games, which included variables such as deck color identity, who got an early Sol Ring, deck archetype, and most importantly, who won the game. In this episode, Nick and Zak explore that data and explain some of the most interesting associations between deck characteristic and win percentage.
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Nick and Zak continue their deep dive into EDHREC data by moving on to the five wedges, three-color groupings composed of a color and its two enemies. Using data on popular commanders, staple cards, and the associations between them, Nick and Zak analyze the state of the wedges.
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Nick and Zak continue their deep dive into EDHREC data by moving on to the five remaining two-color pairs. Using data on popular commanders, staple cards, and the associations between them, Nick and Zak analyze the state of these pairs and discuss what opportunities exist for new commanders to open up archetypes in these colors.
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In this episode, Nick and Zak respond to Sheldon Menery's most recent article for StarCityGames. The article, "Commander Cards You Shouldn't Play," highlights several cards Menery considers to be against the spirit of the format, including Armageddon, Paradox Engine, and Mindslaver.
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After finishing up the monocolor identities in their previous deep dive into EDHREC data, Nick and Zak move onto the two-color pairs, starting with the five pairs from Guilds of Ravnica. Using data on popular commanders, staple cards, and the associations between them, Nick and Zak analyze the state of the format and what new opportunities exist for new commanders to open up archetypes.
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Nick and Zak discuss the new cards spoiled in the final week of Guilds of Ravnica previews, sharing ideas for how to build around the new commanders and analyzing what decks could make use of the new nonlegendary cards.
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It wouldn't be a Ravnica set without guild leaders, guild champions, and powerful multicolor cards. Nick and Zak suggest ways to build around the new legendary creatures and identify which nonlegendary cards are likely to become format staples and which have more narrow applications.
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Nick and Zak discuss the mechanics of Guilds of Ravnica, GRN Mythic Edition, guild basics, and (spoilers!) how to build around the new Emmara.
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In this new series, Nick and Zak will use data from the popular decklist aggregator EDHREC to gain insight into the most popular decks in the format, how typical builds differ from optimal lists, and what opportunities might exist for new commanders to add archetypes to the format. In the inaugural deep dive, they will explore monocolor and colorless identities.
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Recently, Magic has had a run of sets that have been great for Commander. However, this string of successes could not begin until we left the jungles of Ixalan behind. In this episode, Nick and Zak discuss the mistakes (and successes!) of Ixalan and Rivals of Ixalan, as seen through the lens of Commander.
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Nick and Zak discuss which of the new nonlegendary cards from the 2018 Commander precons are likely to make their way into decks and which are better left in the trade binder.
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Nick and Zak discuss the successes and opportunities for improvement present in the 2018 Commander precons. They also share their thoughts on the new commanders: their impact on the format, their design, and how to build around them.
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In this episode, Nick and Zak discuss which nonlegendary cards in M19 will have an impact on Commander.
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Last week, Wizards told us about the themes and color identities of the Commander 2018 precons. In this episode, Nick and Zak share their predictions for Commander 2018, critique the choice of color identities, and analyze what C18's themes need to be viable in Commander
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Core Set 2019 has more legendary creatures than a typical Core Set, which makes it a boon for Commander deckbuilders. Nick and Zak discuss the new archetypes created by M19 commanders, as well as which existing archetypes might benefit from adopting one of the new legends. Later on, they discuss the applications of M19's planeswalkers in Commander.
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In this episode, we evaluate the new legendary creatures (and planeswalkers) released in Battlebond and suggest ways to build around them.
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In this episode, Nick and Zak discuss which cards in Battlebond are going to make an impact on Commander.
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In this episode, we discuss the information revealed on Announcement Day 2018.
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In this episode, Nick and Zak share ideas for how to build around several commanders from Dominaria, including Jhoira, Teshar, Firesong & Sunspeaker, and more!
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