Hello everyone! I'm Levi from The Thought Vessel Show, and today, we're diving into staples for one of the more challenging archetypes in Commander: aggro. Aggro in Commander differs significantly from 60-card formats, primarily due to the life totals. Instead of reducing one opponent from 20 to 0, you need to take down three opponents, totaling 120 life. Additionally, for every card you draw, your opponents collectively draw three, which usually translates to more resistance against your aggression. But fear not! We're covering some essential aggro staples today, so you'll be well-prepared. Specifically, we're focusing on "go wide" strategies rather than equipment- or Voltron-based approaches. Let's dive in!

Reconnaissance

To appreciate why this card is so powerful, we need to review the phases of combat. On your turn, combat has five phases: beginning of combat, declaring attackers, declaring blockers, damage, and end of combat. Typically, the end of combat is a cleanup step where damage resolves, and temporary effects wear off. However, it's still part of the combat phase. This means you can attack, deal damage, and then pull your creatures out of combat! It feels like it shouldn't work this way, but it does. You can attack with everything and, if a blocker threatens your creature, simply remove it from combat before damage. This card is one of the most broken interactions you can exploit in Magic.

Iroas, God of Victory

In a similar vein to Reconnaissance, Iroas lets you attack without the fear of losing your creatures. Additionally, Iroas gives all your creatures menace, making them harder to block, so more damage connects. In the event you can get your Boros loyalty above seven, having an indestructible 7/4 God on your side is pretty nice too.

True Conviction

Six mana can feel like a lot, especially in an aggro deck, but True Conviction earns its spot. With enough creatures on board, you can swing for big chunks of life gain every turn, outpacing crackback damage from your opponents. This allows you to attack without worrying as much about retaliation because your life total is just going to be so much higher.

Curse of Opulence

One way to further your goal is to incentivize your opponents to help you out. Curse of Opulence encourages others to attack a chosen player, generating you gold in the process. Finding ways to have your deck reward you for simply doing what you are wanting to do anyways, is very important commander, so ramping while attacking in aggro is no exception.

Grim Hireling / Professional Face-Breaker

Speaking of ramping, these two creatures provide valuable treasure generation as you deal damage to your opponents. Not only do they ramp you, but they also offer versatility: Professional Face-Breaker lets you impulse-draw cards, while Grim Hireling allows you to remove blockers or other threats using your treasures. Both effects are invaluable in any aggro deck.

Ohran Frostfang

There are many creatures that reward aggression with card draw, but Ohran Frostfang stands out because it grants deathtouch to all attacking creatures. This means that even if your creatures are blocked, they'll likely take an opponent's creature down with them. The more cards you can draw, the easier it is to rebuild and maintain pressure in an aggro strategy.

Heroic Intervention / Teferi's Protection

Both cards serve a similar purpose. Once you've built up a board, your opponents will likely start digging for board wipes in an attempt to slow you down. Instead of countering the board wipe, these spells let the wipe resolve while saving your creatures, often clearing the path for your next attack. This can be a game-ending move.

Sword of the Animist

As we're adding staples that reward us with treasure and card advantage, we also need some consistent mana ramp. Sword of the Animist provides this by fetching a basic land with each attack. At only two mana to cast and two to equip, it's an efficient way to keep your mana flowing and support your aggression.

Aurelia, the Warleader

This card has never failed me. With haste and the ability to grant extra combat phases, Aurelia is incredibly powerful. Plus, her three-power body, combined with multiple combat phases, means she can deal six flying damage in one turn--more impactful than you might expect.

Boros Charm

This instant does everything you need. Giving a creature double strike can unexpectedly take out an opponent, while granting your entire board indestructibility saves you from a board wipe. Its versatility in both offense and defense, all for just two mana, makes Boros Charm an auto-include in any aggro deck.

And that's our list of ten essential aggro staples for Commander! Since this is an archetype about finishing off your opponents before they have time to get set, I hope these staples will be helpful in your future builds. Until next time, happy gaming!