Casual Commander is the strangest of formats. It's not enough to just build the best deck, though that's not a particularly hard thing to do. The goal in most casual circles isn't really to win the most games. It's to have fun. Everybody is going to have a different idea of what "fun" means, but it's generally safe to say that you want to win games, but you don't want to win so much that other players feel like you're pubstomping.

I've been told to just play what I like, but I really like explosive decks that are too powerful for most casual tables, but not really strong enough for cEDH. That puts me in an odd position. If I just played my favorite decks, I'd probably wind up doing a lot of pubstomping. That's not cool, and it's not something I want to be doing, so I try to have a range of decks to play on any given day.

What all that means is that I'm going to have to have some lightweight decks in my collection that I can pull out when I'm aiming to drop down in power and give other players more room to let their decks do their thing. That means the deck will run less interaction, very little in the way of oppressive cards or truly scary threats, and will have much more modest wincons compared to more powerful decks.

The fun of playing a lower powered deck can be found in the uphill battle to try to actually notch a win when playing it. You can also find fun in getting to see your tablemates' decks pop off, but it can be hard to enjoy a deck that feels like it never wins. Ideally a healthy playgroup will have everyone winning something close to their "fair share" of games. That means 25% if you're playing four player games. Someone always pushes the envelope and most groups have a player or two who are either less experienced or less focused on winning, but parity is still a good thing to keep in the back of your mind.

Let's be Friends

It might seem trite, but the gathering is and will hopefully always be the most important part of Magic: the Gathering. You may not be close friends with everyone you play with, but the goal of coming together to share and enjoy this odd hobby with like-minded people is the sort of thing that does inspire camaraderie and friendship.

When I opened my first booster packs of my favorite Universes Beyond set, Lord of the Rings, I was delighted to come across a shiny foil Gandalf. This card saw five different versions if you include the Secret Lair version. My favorite art might be the 2023 MagicFest version, but the prerelease promo in foil was just a delight.

My only problem with Gandalf is that he's really not that exciting a card. He has Flash and lets you cast your sorcery spells as though they had flash. He also cares about when the Ring tempts you. Sadly, there aren't a lot of great cards you can run in a Gandalf, Friend of the Shire deck that have the Ring tempt you.

To complicate matters, this Gandalf doesn't give you any obvious buildpaths. Gandalf may be a friend to the Shire, but good luck building a playable deck with Halflings in mono-Blue. You're basically looking at Alora, Merry Thief, and then maybe some changelings but they won't make it feel like you're playing deck about Halflings from the Shire.

A lore-focused Gandalf deck could run a few notable creatures from the lore, such as Meneldor, Swift Savior, but mono-Blue just doesn't provide enough options to build a convincing list that feels right for Gandalf.

You've got a Friend in Me

If I'm not going to be building mono-Blue Halflings and I can't settle on a decent lore-focused build that would satisfy the Tolkien fan in me, that means I'm free to really do whatever I want.

My first thought was a Sphinx deck, but I don't think there is a single Sphinx in any of the Middle-earth books, but there is a creature type that is absolutely present in the lore.

Wizards!

I'm not going to be setting up a mono-Blue deck with Gandalf, Radagast, and Saruman, but what if I just built a deck with a bunch of other Wizards to fill out its ranks? I know I don't want a deck with just one creature, and I didn't have any better ideas, so I settled on building a Wizards deck.

The first big benefit of building this deck around Wizards would be that they have a lot of synergy with instant and sorcery spells, and Gandalf lets me cast sorcery spells at instant speed. This clever plan also gave me the ability to swap commanders to power up or power down the deck. I don't think I have many options weaker than Gandalf, Friend of the Shire, but I was able to find some pretty decent Wizards to run.

Any deck that is awash is Wizards is going to want to draw cards, and Azami, Lady of Scrolls will let me tap my Wizards to do just that. Not to be outdone, Arcanis the Omnipotent can tap to draw three cards!

I've got some pretty sweet spells in this list, so Naru Meha, Master Wizard provides a convenient way to copy an instant or sorcery spell when he enters the battlefield. Naban, Dean of Iteration is also in the list, and can give me an extra enter the battlefield trigger from a Wizard I control entering play.

I'm running Murmuring Mystic, which has me create a 1/1 Blue Bird Illusion creature token whenever I cast an instant or sorcery spell, but if I'm serious about creature tokens, nothing beats Talrand, Sky Summoner. He'll have me create a 2/2 Blue Drake creature token with flying whenever I cast an instant or sorcery spell.

I'm also running Venser, Shaper Savant and Baral, Chief of Compliance. The former has Flash and can return target spell or permanent to its owner's hand when he enters. The latter gives me a 1 mana discount on my instant and sorcery spells and will let me draw and discard whenever I counter a spell.

With well over a half dozen viable legendary creatures, this deck could easily pivot from Gandalf to another commander. My deck's power level won't change too much from just having a different card in the command zone, but it will give me a different experience when playing the deck, and that can be nice.

Tempted by the Ring

Another way to force a deck to be at a lower power level is to lean into something you know just isn't that sensible. In Gandalf's case, I decided that I'd be leaning into playing cards that will have me be tempted by the Ring. That's a reference to the One Ring from The Lord of the Rings, and it's not a particularly strong mechanic. In Gandalf's case, if I choose a creature other than Gandalf as my Ring-bearer, I get to draw a card.

Inherited Envelope is just a mana rock that tempts you, and with Gandalf out that will mean an extra card in my hand. Glorious Gale is a creature counter, which isn't the kind of counter I generally run. In commander you'll often be able to save it for a commander, and of course it will have the Ring tempt you. Soothing of Smeagol is a 2-mana bounce spell with a tempt trigger tacked onto it.

I'm running six cards with the Ring tempts you on them, and if Gandalf didn't care about them, I probably wouldn't either. You might wonder if I'm running The One Ring, but for a lower powered deck it didn't make sense to include. It would also be a flavor fail, as Gandalf never took possession of the ring in the story.

I'm also leaning heavily into my Wizard kindred theme. That means I'm running cards that fit in with that creature type.

I don't run classes that often in my EDH decks, but Wizard Class was an auto-include. It will give me no maximum hand size and I can level it up to draw cards and even put +1/+1 counters on my creatures. I'll have to play for that privilege, but it feels like a great support card for this deck.

I've also got a few cards that benefit from having a Wizard under my control. Wizard's Retort was the only counterspell in this deck's first draft, but I added more after playing a few games. It's effectively a Cancel, but if I control a Wizard it's equivalent to a Counterspell. Arcane Epiphany will draw me three cards, and costs one less if I control a Wizard.

Beyond my Wizards, my tempt spells and my Wizards-related spells, I just decided to run a bunch of fun cards that I would enjoy casting. I have no idea what I'll get if I cast an Aminatou's Augury in response to someone's wincon going onto the stack, but it'll be fun to shoot my shot and see if I can luck into anything helpful.

This deck is most likely to win games with a Coat of Arms and maybe some help from Archetype of Imagination to give my Wizards flying. I've got a few other tricks up my sleeve, like Rite of Replication, Strata Scythe, and Stoneforge Masterwork, but I've left out a lot of Blue staples. I'm not running Force of Will, Rhystic Study, Aetherspouts, or Cyclonic Rift and there isn't a Jin Gitaxias in sight. It didn't feel honest trying to build for lower powered games and then throwing in powerhouses like that.

Gandalf and Friends

This still might wind up being a decent mid-powered deck, but when I put it together in paper I was genuinely grabbing what was left in my binders and my loose commons and uncommons. Apparently I don't build decks with a lot of Wizards, as I had plenty to throw into the deck. I'm got an Archmage Emeritus in the mail and may throw in a few upgrades, but this is the list I'm currently shuffling up and playing.

Gandalf, Friend of the Shire EDH | Commander | Stephen Johnson

• Commander (1)
• 1 Gandalf, Friend of the Shire

• Creatures (27)
• 1 Arcanis the Omnipotent
• 1 Archaeomancer
• 1 Archetype of Imagination
• 1 Archmage of Runes
• 1 Azami, Lady of Scrolls
• 1 Azure Mage
• 1 Baral, Chief of Compliance
• 1 Etherium Spinner
• 1 Glen Elendra Archmage
• 1 Harbinger of the Seas
• 1 Karfell Harbinger
• 1 Micromancer
• 1 Mischievous Mystic
• 1 Murmuring Mystic
• 1 Naban, Dean of Iteration
• 1 Naru Meha, Master Wizard
• 1 Portal Mage
• 1 Serum Visionary
• 1 Siren Stormtamer
• 1 Solemn Simulacrum
• 1 Talrand, Sky Summoner
• 1 Thalakos Deceiver
• 1 Triskaidekaphile
• 1 Venser, Shaper Savant
• 1 Vodalian Arcanist
• 1 Volshe Tideturner
• 1 Wizards of Thay

• Instants (8)
• 1 Arcane Denial
• 1 Arcane Epiphany
• 1 Counterspell
• 1 Dreadful as the Storm
• 1 Fact or Fiction
• 1 Glorious Gale
• 1 Soothing of Smeagol
• 1 Wizard's Retort

• Sorceries (20)
• 1 Aether Gale
• 1 Aminatou's Augury
• 1 Birthday Escape
• 1 Borrowing 100,000 Arrows
• 1 Deep Analysis
• 1 Horses of the Bruinen
• 1 Into the Void
• 1 Invoke the Winds
• 1 Lorien Revealed
• 1 Merchant Scroll
• 1 Minds Aglow
• 1 Ponder
• 1 Portent
• 1 Preordain
• 1 Rite of Replication
• 1 Selective Snare
• 1 Serum Visions
• 1 Solve the Equation
• 1 Step Through
• 1 Windfall

• Enchantments (1)
• 1 Wizard Class

• Artifacts (8)
• 1 Coat of Arms
• 1 Extraplanar Lens
• 1 Gauntlet of Power
• 1 Inherited Envelope
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Stoneforge Masterwork
• 1 Strata Scythe
• 1 Urza's Incubator

• Lands (35)
• 26 Island
• 1 Access Tunnel
• 1 Castle Vantress
• 1 Otawara, Soaring City
• 1 Path of Ancestry
• 1 Reliquary Tower
• 1 Riptide Laboratory
• 1 Rogue's Passage
• 1 Secluded Courtyard
• 1 Three Tree City

Buy This Deck Export text

One of the first upgrades this deck probably wants is a Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, and it's worth noting that I'm well under the CSI party line of 40 lands. I'll probably nudge that land count up from 35 but I can guarantee I'm unlikely to bring it up past 37. I don't love being short on lands but I've never felt like my decks need 40 lands.

If you wanted to tune this up, the first place to start would be to run a different commander and then focusing the list around what that legend brings to the party. Keeping Gandalf, you could load up on Blue staples and end up with a much better list. If I were to tweak this list in any major way I might drop out all of my instants and focus just on sorceries. If I were drunk I might drop out all my creatures, because Gandalf always felt like something of a loner to me, but I'm not saying it would be a great idea. Like Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, I could build Gandalf and the Forty Sorcery Spells. I'd better stop now or I'm going to talk myself into that idea.

Early Results

I was able to play this deck in a few games and while I didn't win, I did enjoy playing it. There were a few takeaways from those games that are worth sharing.

My Coat of Arms came up and I was actually able to get enough Wizards into play to present a modest threat, but I wasn't close to being able to really threaten to knock anyone out. Coat of Arms gives all creatures +1/+1 for each other creature in play that shares a creature type with it. I was lucky that nobody else was playing a kindred deck, but I also didn't have enough of a board presence yet. Someone exiled it before I was able to really become a problem.

The ability to hold back your mana and cast sorcery spells at instant speed is pretty cool, but in my first match I hadn't yet added Arcane Denial and Counterspell and it felt weird having the table expect me to be able to help deal with threats on the stack. Even though I had been up front about the deck trying to be lower powered, I felt like I was letting the table down by not being able to help stop a win attempt.

I did have a moment where I was able to respond to a spell on the stack by casting Aminatou's Augury. It was exciting to resolve that spell but I knew I wouldn't hit a counterspell to help deal with the problem.

At this point my expectation is that this could be a deck to play when I know I want to be coming in at a lower power, or want to drop down in power after a strong game or a win. I'm looking forward to playing it again, but I don't know that it will still be together a year from now. That may be determined by whether it is fun to play with different Wizards swapped into the command zone.

Final Thoughts

I struggle with playing low powered decks because they can just be really frustrating when your personal sweet spot is closer to playing a tuned storm or combo deck. I think it's really good to have the occasional "cream puff" of a deck that you can pull out when you really ought to power down. My problem is that I often find myself playing those decks at tables where I end up being really outmatched.

One of the hardest things to do in all of Magic is to reliably pick decks that are at the right power level for the table you are playing at. Low-powered decks can feel like world beaters on those rare games where everything goes right and you catch the table without any answers. High-powered decks will occasionally give you nothing but lands and sadness, or some other unhelpful combination of cards that leave you with little you can do in a game.

Whether you share my struggle with enjoying lower powered decks or that happens to be your favorite playstyle, I hope you enjoyed today's look back at an underpowered old Wizard!

That's all I've got for today. Thanks for reading and I'll see you next week!