Phelddagrif Group Hug EDH (EDH / Commander)

Phelddagrif is my personal favorite EDH deck. There are two ways to build and play this deck: all-out group hug without any regard to personal well-being, or, as the most political deck ever manufactured. This deck is political. It is not easy to pilot, but, once you get the hang of it, cards like Spectral Searchlight can win you friends and allies that last many games down the road. As a political deck, this build features targeted removal and combat shenanigans. It's up to you how you want to use these, but saving the table from the guy who's comboing off is usually worth it. On the other hand, enabling the degenerate shenanigans of certain decks is too much fun to pass up sometimes. Basically, what I'm saying is, play kingmaker and maybe sneak in a win every now and then. The ride is always more fun than the destination.

COMMANDER
Phelddagrif is custom-built with 3 awesome abilities to help out the table for a scant W, U, or G. Let's take a look at the abilities.

W - Grants flying unti EoT and donates 2 life to any opponent. Useful when someone is getting wrecked early by faster aggro decks or if a player is paying large life sums for big effects. Sorin Markov and Magister Sphinx are staples, this helps out the poor souls on the receiving end of a life total reset.
U - Bounces Pheld back to your hand and gives any opponent a drawn card. Lend some help to the people missing their draws or turn that dredge/reanimator up to 11.
G - Trample unitl EoT and a 1/1 hippo token to any pal you have. Sometimes a chump hippo is all someone needs.

The biggest benefit of any of these abilities is the instant-speed nature of the activations. Any time a player needs life, creatures, or a card, you make that happen. The U ability is tricky, because you have to respond to your own activations to give multiple cards. Many times the deck plays draw-land-go in mid/late rounds to keep options available. Bouncing Pheld with the U ability also keeps the Commander Tax at bay when people board wipe.

Specific Card Choices:

LAND
There is some good value to be had inside of these lands. I like consistency, which is why I'm running Duals/Shocks/Fetches, but this deck can easily get away with running mostly basics with the following cards.
Rainbow Vale - This card speeds the game along. In most groups, the first few turns of the game are spent passing the Vale around in turn order until somebody decides to be greedy. This list ramps mana like crazy, so don't be worried when it gets stuck across the table.
Boseiju, who Shelters All - Uncounterable spells are always worth it when trying to help out a fellow wizard. Sticking a Reverse the Sands late game is a nice feeling.
Homeward Path - Help out the players who are having their graveyards ransacked by that guy playing Reanimator.
Mikokoro, Center of the Sea - About as group hug as it gets. Give everyone cards. The politics comes into play when you ultimately decide to make people draw.
Arcane Lighthouse - People like to protect their creatures. Help out everyone else by cracking the shield and letting some targeted removal in.
Maze of Ith/Mystifying Maze/Kor Haven - Protect the table from Voltron or some other horrible beats and bask in the appreciation that follows.

MANA ROCKS
There's a lot of them in this deck. Helping people costs mana, and these guys enable you to do just that.
Spectral Searchlight - The shining example of how to just give away mana.
Basalt Monolith - There to speed out some splashy group plays like Collective Voyage or Minds Aglow. Can go infinite with Mana Reflection.
Azorius Signet/Simic Signet/Selesnya Signet - Mana fix and accelerate your plays. Solid choices in 2+ color decks.

ARTIFACTS
Elixir of Immortality - A staple card that buys a bit of life and recycles your most helpful spells back into your library. Innocuous and very usable.
Font of Mythos/Howling Mine/Temple Bell/Otherworld Atlas/Well of Knowledge - People like having cards in their hands. Help them out!
Gate to the Aether - You're going to start feeling like Oprah with all of the free gifts you're giving away.
Helm of Awakening - It's like a coupon that everyone can use!
Soul Conduit - Tricky to keep in play, but one activation is usually all you need to swing the game.

ENCHANTMENTS
Awakening - Stasis/lockdown/combo players don't really like this card, but it makes most people happy for a few turns, anyway.
Dictate of Karametra/Heartbeat of Spring/Dictate of Kruphix/Rites of Flourishing/Upwelling - Cards and lands make everyone happy. Indulge them.
Mana Reflection/Mirari's Wake - You need to pay the bills for all of the presents you've been giving everybody.
Well of Ideas - Some cantrip action as well as a rare source of card advantage for the deck. Everyone benefits, you just benefit more.
Dueling Grounds - Control the combat step with your Mazes.

INSTANTS
Beacon of Immortality - Buff anyone x2 and watch them smile, or, build up your own life if you're feeling greedy.
Constant Mists - Fogging those beats multiple times. Creature-based decks that explode with Craterhoof Behemoth cry.
Cryptic Command - Emergency control or reusable win piece with Eternal Witness.
Cyclonic Rift/Evacuation - Resetting the board without sending anything to the grave. Friendly yet stabilizing.
Return to Dust - Sometimes you need to make sure combos don't.

SORCERY
Alliance of Arms/Collective Voyage/Minds Aglow - Most players want in on all of that. Potential alt-win with Minds. These three sort of align with the abilities of Phelddagrif in giving tokens and cards, with trample being replaced with land drops. Fits the flavor!
Prosperity - Like above, but you have to do all the lifting.
Beacon of Tomorrows - Everyone wishes they had one more turn. You can make that happen!
Eureka/Hypergenesis - The essence of the deck. Get things on the board fast and see what craziness ensues.
Hallowed Burial - Do you feel like you made a mistake by letting the table board 60 creatures? Now you have an emergency reset button!
Show and Tell - Like above, but smaller.
Reverse the Sands - Sometimes Suicide Black needs more suicide. Sometimes that guy with 1000 life needs to feel bad. Sometimes is always the right time to Reverse.

CREATURES
Arbiter of Knollridge - If redistributing life totals isn't working, making everyone have max HP usually will.
Braids, Conjurer Adept - Just a Show and Tell on legs.
Edric, Spymaster of Trest - Nothing makes people attack not you like this guy.
Heartwood Storyteller - Makes interesting plays and fuels hands. Win-win.
Kami of the Crescent Moon - Howling Mine on legs makes people happy.
Magus of the Candelabra - Players like free mana.
Noble Benefactor/Veteran Explorer - Get them in the graveyard to make everyone glad their uncle died and left them something in the will.
Nullmage Advocate/Pulsemage Advocate - A little recursion and control while refueling some hands. Funtastic!
Seedborn Muse - Get more activations on Phelddagrif! Spread more joy!
Tempting Wurm - People love dropping all the bombs on turn 2. Backup to Hypergenesis/Eureka.
Skullwinder - This is like Eternal Witness but helper-y.

Now that you have all of my reasons, I encourage you to go and play this list. Or, if you think I'm ridiculous and want to make your own choices in life, here are some links to get you on your way.

EDHREC: http://edhrec.com/commander/phelddagrif/
Manabase Crafter:http://manabasecrafter.com/r/dYSGK

I hope this primer helped you in your journey. If you like what you saw, or if you just like clicking buttons that have a star on them, click like and make your voice heard!