Locations
Even though we've made the change from ManaNation to GatheringMagic, you're still going to get the same great content here. In fact, I know the guys who ran GatheringMagic before we were merged, and I was kinda hoping that Trick would move up to Seattle now. But, it doesn't look like it. (Shakes fist.) One day. If you're lucky, and if Trick has set up the old archives, you'll find an old piece of mine that I wrote as the voice of Andy Rooney. [Trick's Note: It's there, go digging :)]
But today, we're talking about Commander, not some archaic work (at least archaic in Internet times). Most of what you read online about Commander is how to construct your deck, or deck lists of the writers' decks. You already know how I feel about deck lists, but I want to address a little Commander deck-construction theory.
First, you have to know what a "silver bullet" is. For those not completely versed in mythology, a silver bullet was the only thing that absolutely killed a werewolf. (As proven by Robot Chicken.) In the traditional Magic sense, it's a deck that has all the answers to the rest of the main decks in the metagame. However, I'm going to be using it in the sense of "actual" bullets against your opponent's deck.
Let me say this: You're not a jerk for playing destruction spells or abilities. Of course, it's all relative—how many spells you play and the style in which you play them. No one should get mad at you for having some in your deck in the first place. Even though Commander is more of a casual "gentlemen's" format, you simply can't allow players to run around and do whatever they want.
Your opponent doesn't want his game disrupted, which is why he casts cards like Asceticism. If he's playing a five-card combo that requires three enchantments and two artifacts, he will get pretty upset if you kill one of those enchantments; you're "ruining" his fun and being a jerk. But your opponent doesn't mind killing your creatures, because they're the threats. It's like he's a villain from a Bond movie; he wants to rule the world and kill you, but gets upset when you try and stop him. It's like you're supposed to roll over and let him go on with his plans.
You need to have controls to help keep the game in check. It doesn't matter what style of deck you or your opponent plays (aggro, control, combo, or some combination), you need to have disruption in your deck.
Having Strip Mine or Ghost Quarter in your deck is not a jerk thing to do.
The list of permanents in order from hardest to easiest to get rid of goes like this:
Planeswalkers
Enchantments
Lands
Artifacts
Creatures
There are many more cards and ways to deal with creatures than Planeswalkers (which can be attacked, but if your opponent's sent up a huge creature defense, it's much harder to do). Being a monocolored deck shouldn't slow you down, either. You'd be surprised to see how many cards can neutralize permanents. The following is a list that can destroy all or almost all permanents on the board. (The ones in italics can handle all permanents.)
Didn't think you'd see so many Green cards, did you?
Suddenly, dealing with that Planeswalker doesn't seem so tough now. This list is missing cards like Oblivion Ring and bouncing, which only gets rid of a permanent temporarily, though that may be enough to win games sometimes.
Having that silver bullet is key, though. Sure, you may have a hand full of them so you think you're invincible, but you just don't go firing all your bullets at the first sign of trouble. The key to knowing when to fire is knowing your own deck. What can an opponent do that will keep you from winning? It could be that your deck is a token deck, so anything that lowers the toughness of creatures needs to be destroyed. Yes, that means that counterspells might be involved, but defending against silver bullets will be a topic for another time, as that involves way more planning on your part for deck construction.
But what about your opponent's deck?
You should have played against it several times so you know what the general idea of the deck is. You can take a look at his Commander as well to get an idea of what he wants to do. If he's got Uril, he's going to attack with him and enchantments. Rhys? Tokens. Sharuum deals with artifacts and the graveyard. That requires something different; we'll get to that in a minute. By looking at your opponent's Commander, you can get a general idea of what types of spells you need to be watching out for.
A silver bullet doesn't just mean destroying something, it means stopping power. Killing artifacts in a Sharuum deck doesn't mean anything, because they can be brought back with the Commander. You've got several options.
Remove your opponent's graveyard.
With more and more decks using the graveyard as a shopping cart for their goodies, it's a good idea to think about packing some sort of anti-graveyard cards. There are more and more artifacts that deal with cards in the graveyard, and now it's getting to the point of choosing which ones you prefer rather than just having one.
Look at other zones.
Dealing with a permanent doesn't have to be just destroying it (though that's the more common case). There are three other zones you can move permanents to: the hand, the library, and the exile zone. The hand is the least appealing, since the opponent can just cast it again. However, cards like Oblation have become—dare I say it?—almost a staple in my White decks, because they can hide a problem card away in a library waiting to be drawn once again. The best solution is exiling a card, so if you have that option, I would highly recommend that.
Stop the effect.
Sometimes, what you need is a Stifle effect. Yes, it's very narrow, and cards like this only stop an ability once, but you only need it once versus a Mindslaver to stop that turn. There are permanents that can do some of the same thing (Azorius Guildmage), but that won't work in the Sharuum case. Remember: An activated ability is one that looks like [Cost] : [Effect]. You have to have the colon (:) for it to be an activation. You need to find other ways around it. Ground Seal seems to be a good solution.
Thinking outside the box catches people off guard. The traditional silver bullets are what everyone expects, because they work. No one expected the Spanish Inquisition . . . because it was unexpected. If you can find a way to deal with things without players expecting it, it makes for a great silver bullet. A combination of Spirit Mirror and Unnatural Selection means destroying a creature for 1 mana.
The best silver bullets are the ones that naturally fit in your deck for other reasons, like Unnatural Selection. If you have a deck where you're changing creature types, and suddenly you can kill your opponent's creatures on top of what you're already doing, that's amazing. Instead of taking out cards for kill, you can keep those cards in there to make it more synergistic (which I love).
How many slots should you have to silver-bullet effects? It all depends on your personal preference. I know that seems like a cop-out answer, but if you have plenty of enters-the-battlefield creature effects and enchantments that stop the opponent from doing anything, you might not need a whole lot. Take a look at your deck, and see where there are holes to deal with something. You might be comfortable with missing it; it's all up to you.
There's no shame in destroying certain lands, or picking off creatures. This is how you play Magic and interact. Opponents may complain that you shouldn't do it, as it makes the game unfun. Then they combo out for 500 damage and don't know why you're rolling your eyes. In order for the game not to get out of control, you need to make sure you can stop your opponent.
After all, a silver bullet is the only thing that can stop a werewolf. And if you don't point one at your opponent, you're going to get mauled.
