First stab at a Commander Deck

[Palinvan]

Hi all.  I've been playing Magic since the 90s but had taken a 15 year break and when I came back Commander seems to be all the rage. This is my first attempt at building a Commander deck.  Your thoughts?
Ignore the size of my sideboard.  I'm just using that to remember what I had in there at one time.  I don't currently have a real sideboard.  My maybe board has a Peer into the Abyss into it.  I would like to work that in but not sure what to take out.

https://deck.tk/25PL2Qsl

Main
1 [C16] Nath of the Gilt-Leaf # !Commander
1 [MM3] Abrupt Decay
1 [ZNC] Armorcraft Judge
1 [THB] Aspect of Lamprey
1 [KHM] Canopy Tactician
1 [8ED] Coat of Arms
1 [CMR] Command Beacon
1 [CMR] Command Tower
1 [XLN] Contract Killing
1 [KHC] Crown of Skemfar
1 [KHM] Darkbore Pathway // Slitherbore Pathway
1 [UMA] Demonic Tutor
1 [KHC] Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen
1 [KHC] Elderfang Venom
1 [KHC] Elvish Archdruid
1 [KHC] Elvish Mystic
1 [KHM] Elvish Warmaster
1 [KHM] Eradicator Valkyrie
1 [SOM] Exsanguinate
1 [THB] Field of Ruin
1 [M21] Finishing Blow
1 [MIR] Fog
11 Forest
1 [KHC] Foul Orchard
1 [ORI] Gilt-Leaf Winnower
1 [GRN] Golgari Guildgate
1 [KHC] Golgari Rot Farm
1 [M21] Grim Tutor
1 [RNA] Guardian Project
1 [ZNR] Hagra Mauling // Hagra Broodpit
1 [XLN] Heartless Pillage
1 [ZNR] Inscription of Ruin
1 [KHC] Jagged-Scar Archers
1 [KHC] Jungle Hollow
1 [CMR] Kamahl's Will
1 [PKHM] Kolvori, God of Kinship // The Ringhart Crest
1 [KHC] Lathril, Blade of the Elves
1 [KHC] Llanowar Tribe
1 [M21] Llanowar Visionary
1 [CMR] Lys Alana Bowmaster
1 [KHC] Marwyn, the Nurturer
1 [MH1] Mind Rake
1 [M21] Mind Rot
1 [M20] Murder
1 [F16] Nissa's Pilgrimage
1 [CMR] Opal Palace
1 [CMR] Opposition Agent
1 [KHC] Pact of the Serpent
1 [KHC] Poison-Tip Archer
1 [ELD] Questing Beast
1 [KHM] Realmwalker
1 [KHC] Rhys the Exiled
1 [M21] Rise Again
1 [JMP] Rise of the Dark Realms
1 [KHC] Shaman of the Pack
1 [PNPH] Sheoldred, Whispering One
1 [M21] Skyway Sniper
1 [XLN] Slice in Twain
1 [KHC] Sol Ring
1 [5ED] Stream of Life
12 Swamp
1 [ZNC] Sylvan Advocate
1 [M21] Temple of Malady
1 [SCG] Temple of the False God
1 [KHM] Tergrid, God of Fright // Tergrid's Lantern
1 [MRD] Terror
1 [CMR] Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools
1 [KHM] Toski, Bearer of Secrets
1 [MRD] Tree of Tales
1 [KHM] Tyrite Sanctum
1 [KHM] Tyvar Kell
1 [M21] Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
1 [CMR] Undergrowth Stadium
1 [CMR] Vampiric Tutor
1 [KHM] Vengeful Reaper
1 [M15] Waste Not
1 [ONS] Windswept Heath
1 [KHM] Withercrown
1 [KHC] Wolverine Riders


Thanks!

[ApothecaryGeist]

Welcome back to Magic.  And welcome to the Commander format.


For a first-build, you deck is better than most first attempts that I see.


You have plenty of lands.  Maybe too many.  I will reiterate what many in this forum have taught.  If your land must enter the battlefield tapped (every time), then it must benefit you in some way.  So Foul Orchard and Golgari Guildgate need to go right off the bat.  Consider if you really want that 1 life from Jungle Hollow, or that scry from the Temple, or that double mana (and bounce) from Golgari Rot Farm.  (One of my colleagues on this forum also really hates Temple of the False God.  But I, personally like it.)


I counted 6 pieces of ramp.  This would be adequate for a Boros deck - something that doesn't have much access to ramp.  But green is the king of ramp.  You have Mystic Elf.  In an elf deck, I would also want to run Llanowar Elves and Fyndhorn Elves.  Possibly even an Elves of Deep Shadow and a Deathrite Shaman.  All these only cost 1 mana.


Creature ramp is almost a must in an elf deck.  But you still want some land-based ramp.  The staples are Rampant Growth, Cultivate, and Kodama's Reach.  Green has many choose from.  Go crazy.


Make sure you've got some card draw too.  You want at least 6 sources.  I didn't go through the deck looking for those.


And lastly - every card in your deck should have a reason.  I separate my deck into categories (like card draw, ramp, discard, counterspells, pillowfort, make my opponent cry - that kind of thing - whatever you're trying to make your deck do).  That helps me determine what to pull out when newer/better cards come along.  It also helps me decide what I need to shore up when things go all wrong.

[Palinvan]

And lastly - every card in your deck should have a reason.  I separate my deck into categories (like card draw, ramp, discard, counterspells, pillowfort, make my opponent cry - that kind of thing - whatever you're trying to make your deck do).  That helps me determine what to pull out when newer/better cards come along.  It also helps me decide what I need to shore up when things go all wrong.

Thank you for the great tips and the tip above about separating the deck into categories is golden! 

As far as Temple of the False God, I'm not taking that one out.  It's a nostalgia thing   I lost all my old cards in a basement flood and my Temple of the False God is all I have left from my original collection because I happened to have it in the junk drawer of my desk for some reason.

I've been playing this deck for the past month in a casual setting but 2 of the 5 guys have commander tournament experience.  I haven't won yet but I've held my own.  I'm having fun tweaking it.  So far the hardest hurdle is playing against a few decks that have board wipes in them.  Other than putting more counter spells into the deck, I'm not sure how to handle it.

[ApothecaryGeist]

[size=0px]Thank you for the great tips and the tip above about separating the deck into categories is golden! [/size]

For beginning builders, I've often heard of the Rule of 8's.  You set up 8 categories - say ramp, card draw, removal, discard, recursion, protection, token generation, life drain just as examples.  Each category then gets 8 cards each.


This is 64 cards.  Which leaves room for 35 lands.  I usually find that 34 lands is sufficient, especially when playing with green ramp.  So you've got one extra slot for a fun card that doesn't really go into any of the categories.
[/size][size=78%] [/size][size=0px]

 So far the hardest hurdle is playing against a few decks that have board wipes in them.  Other than putting more counter spells into the deck, I'm not sure how to handle it.

Are these board wipes of the "destroy" nature (Wrath of God, Damnation)? Or more of the "exile" type (Austere Command)?


For the destroy type - golgari is all about graveyard recursion - Meren of Clan Nel Toth, Living Death, Rise of the Dark Realms, Agadeem's Awakening.


If the problem is more the mass exile effects ... well, there isn't much Golgari can do about that.  The obvious strategy for you commander would be to go bigger with the discard strategy and beat them to the punch.  And every card you make them discard nets you an Elf.  I've got a lot of good ones in my The Haunt of Hightower deck.

[Syintist]

It doesn’t hurt to run things like heroic intervention or golgari charm to protect from some board wipes. There are other ones I cant think of that also regenerate all your creatures in green and black.

[Palinvan]

They play Wrath of God and Damnation.

I like the suggestion of using heroic intervention or golgari charm.  I think I even have those 2 cards already.  I'll have to look tonight before playing.

[MrSnuggles]

Withercrown, steam of life, and armorcraft judge might be good to replace once you find other cards. They look out of place in this deck.