Hello folks! I hope that you are having a great day today! And keeping yourself safe in our modern COVID-19 World! Today I want to take a look at another alternate format.

Are you getting a little tired of Commander and looking for a new challenge? Great!

A lot of friends and fans have been telling me that they've gotten a bit tired of the big amount of play they've given the format of Commander. They aren't enjoying it as much as they used to. They aren't getting as much out of it as they previously did. They are feeling increasingly blasé about it. Does that sound like you?

I have dedicated each of my articles for the month to other formats you can explore at the kitchen table! Whether you are looking for an affair for a few weeks or a new love interest, there are a lot of options for your consideration! Today we'll be looking at Alphabet Soup which is....

Alphabet Soup Format

1. What is your given name? Your deck may only use cards that start with that letter. If your given name is a rarer card name, like Yvonne, which has to use Y, then you can use your last name instead. If it is also rare, like, O'Conner, then you can use your middle name. Enjoy!
2. You can run any basic land in addition to the above restriction.

Take me. My full name is Wesley Abraham Sargent. I was meant to be called by my middle name. My parents felt that the order Wesley Abraham Sargent sounded better than Abraham Wesley Sargent. Hence my given name is Abraham, which I shorten to Abe.

Therefore, all of my decks will begin with the letter "A".

Let's do a few decks!

Let's start with an Angel deck that is inspired by my Commander deck.

Boros Angels | Alphabet Soup | Abe Sargent

• Creatures (32)
• 2 Adarkar Valkyrie
• 2 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
• 2 Angel of Grace
• 2 Angel of Serenity
• 2 Angel of the Dire Hour
• 2 Archangel Avacyn
• 2 Aurelia, Exemplar of Justice
• 2 Avacyn, Angel of Hope
• 4 Angel of Finality
• 4 Angel of Invention
• 4 Angel of the God-Pharaoh
• 4 Archangel of Tithes

• Planeswalkers (2)
• 2 Ajani Goldmane

• Lands (26)
• 14 Plains
• 4 Mountain
• 4 Ancient Amphitheater
• 4 Ancient Ziggurat

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I built this deck around a controlling infrastructure. We have removal like Angel of the Dire Hour and Ghostly Prison effects like Archangel of Tithes. I can hose graveyards, flash out combat tricks, and loads more! I even have a full set of cycling dorks to get extra card flow if needed.

I have run into Alphabet Soup decks in other formats, and I have one in Commander that is Boros Angels built around Archangel Avacyn that inspired that deck for you.

How about another deck?

Azorius Control | Alphabet Soup | Abe Sargent

• Creatures (17)
• 1 Arcanis the Omnipotent
• 2 Azor, the Lawbringer
• 2 Azorius Guildmage
• 4 Aether Adept
• 4 Agent of Treachery
• 4 Arashin Cleric

• Spells (18)
• 4 Absorb
• 4 Archmage's Charm
• 2 Amass the Components
• 4 Ancestral Vision
• 4 Azorius Signet

• Lands (25)
• 11 Island
• 6 Plains
• 4 Azorius Chancery
• 4 Azorius Guildgate

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This is a much more traditional control deck with counters, value creatures, and loads more! I hope you enjoy it with its Archmage's Charm, Agent of Treachery, and more!

Want to do one more? Sure thing!

How about Mono-Blue artifacts?

Mono-Blue Modular | Alphabet Soup | Abe Sargent

• Creatures (22)
• 2 Arcbound Overseer
• 4 Arcbound Crusher
• 4 Arcbound Fiend
• 4 Arcbound Ravager
• 4 Arcbound Reclaimer
• 4 Arcbound Worker

• Instants (4)
• 4 Artificer's Epiphany

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 Argivian Restoration

• Artifacts (4)
• 4 Animation Module

• Lands (24)
• 20 Island
• 4 Academy Ruins

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This deck is basically modular cards that play with +1/+1 counters and then a full set of Animation Modules. We have cards like reanimation with Academy Ruins, Arcbound Reclaimer, and Argivian Restoration as well as card draw and loads of Arcbound bodies. Enjoy!

And there we have it! Anything in there that you enjoyed? Are you interested in trying it out? Any suggestions for other formats to explore? Just let me know! Have an awesome and safe day!

Appendix - Beyond Commander Articles

Here are my articles that explore other formats in the Beyond Commander series thus far.

1. Beyond Commander - Five Color - This alternate format has at least 300 cards, at least 25 of each color, gold cards count for only one color, and it has its own Banned and Restricted list. You can check it out here!
2. Beyond Commander - Rainbow Stairwell - In this format you must have 24 basic lands and 36 other cards. Those 36 cards must be in each color and colorless artifacts. They must have converted casting costs of 1 - 6. You can check it out here!
3. Beyond Commander - Chameleon - In this format you must have at least 60 cards, and no card other than any lands and gold cards. You can check it out here!