Some people like building a stable of Commander decks that can last for years, slowly being tweaked and upgraded over time. Others prefer to seek out new experiences, taking apart any deck that starts to go stale and constantly brewing new ones. I fall strongly in the former category.

One of my favorite aspects of Commander is being able to build an emotional connection to decks that I’ve been playing for months or years. I love having a collection of decks that are reliably fun and scouring each new set for cards that can improve those decks.

Of course, this works in part because improving decks doesn’t always mean making them more powerful. Sometimes, it means cutting good stuff for on-theme cards or diversifying a deck that has grown stale and repetitive. It’s all about intentionally shaping the experiences I want out of my decks.

Today, I want to feature a few standbys from my permanent collection and talk about why I like them.

"KARRTHUS DARGONS"

• Commander (1)
• 1 Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund

• DARGONS (17)
• 1 Hellkite Overlord
• 1 Utvara Hellkite
• 1 Bogardan Hellkite
• 1 Scourge of Kher Ridges
• 1 Bladewing the Risen
• 1 Kilnmouth Dragon
• 1 Knollspine Dragon
• 1 Balefire Dragon
• 1 Broodmate Dragon
• 1 Dragon Broodmother
• 1 Mordant Dragon
• 1 Mana-Charged Dragon
• 1 Hoard-Smelter Dragon
• 1 Moonveil Dragon
• 1 Flameblast Dragon
• 1 Hellkite Charger
• 1 Steel Hellkite

• MOAR DARGONS (9)
• 1 Dragonstorm
• 1 Tooth and Nail
• 1 Death by Dragons
• 1 Sarkhan Vol
• 1 Sarkhan the Mad
• 1 Dragonmaster Outcast
• 1 Patriarch's Bidding
• 1 Living Death
• 1 Torrent of Souls

• BETTER DARGONS (5)
• 1 Crucible of Fire
• 1 Steely Resolve
• 1 Cover of Darkness
• 1 Aggravated Assault
• 1 World at War

• KILL THINGS (8)
• 1 Terminate
• 1 Putrefy
• 1 Beast Within
• 1 Crushing Vines
• 1 Decimate
• 1 Damnation
• 1 Decree of Pain
• 1 Violent Ultimatum

• MOAR CARDS (7)
• 1 Sylvan Library
• 1 Phyrexian Arena
• 1 Greater Good
• 1 Momentous Fall
• 1 Harmonize
• 1 Mind's Eye
• 1 Demonic Collusion

• MOAR MANA (17)
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Expedition Map
• 1 Rampant Growth
• 1 Farseek
• 1 Nature's Lore
• 1 Explore
• 1 Sylvan Scrying
• 1 Search for Tomorrow
• 1 Recross the Paths
• 1 Cultivate
• 1 Kodama's Reach
• 1 Explosive Vegetation
• 1 Hunting Wilds
• 1 Skyshroud Claim
• 1 Reap and Sow
• 1 Mana Reflection
• 1 Boundless Realms

• Lands (36)
• 1 Cavern of Souls
• 1 Kessig Wolf Run
• 1 Skarrg, the Rage Pits
• 1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
• 1 Spinerock Knoll
• 1 Mosswort Bridge
• 1 Rakdos Carnarium
• 1 Golgari Rot Farm
• 1 Gruul Turf
• 1 Temple of the False God
• 1 Ancient Tomb
• 1 Molten Slagheap
• 1 Fungal Reaches
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Savage Lands
• 1 Dragonskull Summit
• 1 Fire-Lit Thicket
• 1 Twilight Mire
• 1 Graven Cairns
• 1 Verdant Catacombs
• 1 Wooded Foothills
• 1 Blood Crypt
• 1 Overgrown Tomb
• 1 Stomping Ground
• 6 Forest
• 3 Mountain
• 3 Swamp

Buy This Deck

Commander is first and foremost a casual format for making big plays, and it doesn't get much bigger or more casual than attacking with a bunch of Dragons. This deck has a pretty single-minded game plan of turning Dragons sideways, but it has the ramp, card-draw, removal, and explosive potential to be a strong and resilient deck despite its apparent linearity.

While Karrthus rewards clever play, it's a great deck to hand to new players or people just getting into the format. It encourages active play and ensures you always have something to do with your turn. As you become better with the deck, you start learning the power of specific game plans such as pushing through commander damage or going Greater Good into Living Death.

This is not the most original deck I've ever designed. But when I'm introducing someone to Commander or just want to kill the table with Dragons, I'm happy to have it with me.

"Sivitri Scarzam Pauper"

• Commander (1)
• 1 Sivitri Scarzam

• Win Conditions (5)
• 1 Whispersilk Cloak
• 1 Protective Bubble
• 1 Neurok Stealthsuit
• 1 Vanishing
• 1 Ulamog's Crusher

• Creatures (13)
• 1 Dreamscape Artist
• 1 Dimir Infiltrator
• 1 Trinket Mage
• 1 Drift of Phantasms
• 1 Crypt Rats
• 1 Ophidian
• 1 Scroll Thief
• 1 Stealer of Secrets
• 1 Architects of Will
• 1 Mulldrifter
• 1 Mnemonic Wall
• 1 Twisted Abomination
• 1 Jhessian Zombies

• Answers (22)
• 1 Counterspell
• 1 Muddle the Mixture
• 1 Negate
• 1 Faerie Trickery
• 1 Put Away
• 1 Traumatic Visions
• 1 Perplex
• 1 Soul Manipulation
• 1 Executioner's Capsule
• 1 Victim of Night
• 1 Ashes to Ashes
• 1 Seal of Doom
• 1 Eyeblight's Ending
• 1 Rend Flesh
• 1 Snuff Out
• 1 Nihil Spellbomb
• 1 Shred Memory
• 1 Echoing Truth
• 1 Into the Roil
• 1 Capsize
• 1 Reality Acid
• 1 Spreading Seas

• Card-Draw and Recursion (17)
• 1 Gitaxian Probe
• 1 Ponder
• 1 Brainstorm
• 1 Preordain
• 1 Think Twice
• 1 Compulsive Research
• 1 Forbidden Alchemy
• 1 Deep Analysis
• 1 Foresee
• 1 Rush of Knowledge
• 1 Rhystic Study
• 1 Merchant Scroll
• 1 Mystic Remora
• 1 Mystical Teachings
• 1 Grim Discovery
• 1 Death Denied
• 1 Grim Harvest

• Mana (6)
• 1 Dimir Signet
• 1 Darksteel Ingot
• 1 Mind Stone
• 1 Wayfarer's Bauble
• 1 Expedition Map
• 1 Armillary Sphere

• Lands (36)
• 1 Dimir Aqueduct
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Halimar Depths
• 1 Bojuka Bog
• 1 Lonely Sandbar
• 1 Barren Moor
• 1 Esper Panorama
• 1 Grixis Panorama
• 1 Terramorphic Expanse
• 1 Evolving Wilds
• 1 Seat of the Synod
• 1 Haunted Fengraf
• 12 Island
• 12 Swamp

Buy This Deck

Now, here's a more unusual brew. Half the fun of this deck is seeing people's faces when I set Sivitri Scarzam out in front of me. The other half is the challenge of trying to beat three real decks with ninety-nine commons and a commander who closely resembles Craw Wurm.

The primary strategy of this deck is to use your tutors to build card-advantage engines and just one-for-one threats long enough to survive. Hope some opponents eliminate each other because your win condition is hitting people four times with Sivitri Scarzam. It takes some work, but eventually, counterspells, recursion, and Capsize can force her through.

It's always an uphill battle, but Sivitri is not to be underestimated. After all, who else could have tamed Scarzam's Dragon?

Fredric (French Edric)

• Commander (1)
• 1 Edric, Spymaster of Trest

• Creatures (38)
• 1 Arbor Elf
• 1 Llanowar Elves
• 1 Fyndhorn Elves
• 1 Boreal Druid
• 1 Sylvan Safekeeper
• 1 Spawnwrithe
• 1 Jhessian Infiltrator
• 1 Fauna Shaman
• 1 Scryb Ranger
• 1 Thada Adel, Acquisitor
• 1 Thalakos Seer
• 1 Spellstutter Sprite
• 1 Looter il-Kor
• 1 Cloud of Faeries
• 1 Erayo, Soratami Ascendant
• 1 Invisible Stalker
• 1 Snapcaster Mage
• 1 Phantasmal Image
• 1 Plaxmanta
• 1 Scavenging Ooze
• 1 Silhana Ledgewalker
• 1 Ingenious Thief
• 1 Wu Scout
• 1 Mayor of Avabruck
• 1 Spiketail Hatchling
• 1 Eternal Witness
• 1 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
• 1 Man-o'-War
• 1 Aether Adept
• 1 Viridian Shaman
• 1 Uktabi Orangutan
• 1 Vendilion Clique
• 1 Pestermite
• 1 Mystic Snake
• 1 Sower of Temptation
• 1 Venser, Shaper Savant
• 1 Wonder
• 1 Acidic Slime

• Noncreatures (7)
• 1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
• 1 Treachery
• 1 Survival of the Fittest
• 1 Umezawa's Jitte
• 1 Skullclamp
• 1 Birthing Pod
• 1 Winter Orb

• Spells (17)
• 1 Gitaxian Probe
• 1 Foil
• 1 Force of Will
• 1 Spell Pierce
• 1 Stifle
• 1 Remand
• 1 Memory Lapse
• 1 Mana Leak
• 1 Delay
• 1 Counterspell
• 1 Snap
• 1 Cryptic Command
• 1 Time Warp
• 1 Notorious Throng
• 1 Temporal Manipulation
• 1 Green Sun's Zenith
• 1 Worldly Tutor

• Lands (37)
• 1 Breeding Pool
• 1 Flooded Strand
• 1 Flooded Grove
• 1 Verdant Catacombs
• 1 Dryad Arbor
• 1 Scalding Tarn
• 1 Misty Rainforest
• 1 Polluted Delta
• 1 Wooded Foothills
• 1 Windswept Heath
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Wasteland
• 1 Gaea's Cradle
• 1 Yavimaya Coast
• 1 Hinterland Harbor
• 1 Cavern of Souls
• 1 City of Brass
• 9 Forest
• 11 Island

Buy This Deck

Finally, here’s my only competitive deck. I started building this before Edric was even released. I loved the idea of a Commander deck in which you were playing a bunch of terrible 2-mana creatures instead of awesome 6-drops. I built it as a goofy experiment, and it proceeded to destroy everything else in my local meta. This was building a board and drawing four cards per turn while other decks were casting Cultivate.

I appreciated the deck's novelty and power, but I decided I'd rather rebuild it for the one-on-one competitive French format than water it down or keep ending multiplayer games on turn six. I've had fun playing it since then, and it's my only Commander deck that is researched, tweaked, and tested for maximum power.

Edric is such a force in the mainstream French metagame that most decks have a solid anti-Edric plan. But if you ever want to show that guy with the Zur or Jhoira deck what's what, this is a hard deck to beat.

Wrapping Up

I hope this has proved to be a useful walk through some successful builds rather than a pointless exercise in self-indulgence. As usual, let me know what you think in the comments, and tune in for something completely different next week!