Looking for commander ideas for an 8 person EDH group.

[Caveman Clay]

I currently have an mono red deck ( Krenko, Mob Boss ). Slow to build and gets shut quickly with a large group. my second deck is ( Mizzix of the Izmagnus) storm / spell deck.  And it works, but I'm losing friends.  looking for something in the middle for large group play that holds it own, and fun to play in a large group.

[Firegriff]

Arcades, the Strategist might make a good fit.  Lots of good Defender cards in his colors that let you have solid defenses and plenty of protective spells in his colors.

[ApothecaryGeist]

Etali, Primal Storm gets waaayyy better with more players!!!

 

Happy Brewing!

[Albeer]

Hi,
if you are playing 8 man edh games, maybe change Krenko, Mob Boss to Purphoros, God of the Forge
Dont know your list, but it should not be a great change from Krenko and would push the powerlevel (14 dmg on etb sounds not bad ^^ )
Cant imagine any non-combo deck that can win in such a game tbh
Maybe a super grindy prison deck after boardwiping 5 hours
You could ofc go grouphug with Selvala, Explorer Returned and try to win with gigantic hydras (or just speed the game up)

[Morganator 2.0]

When you say "8 person", do you mean games that have 8 people at once, or do you have a group of friends that comprises of 8 people?

[WWolfe]

When you say "8 person", do you mean games that have 8 people at once, or do you have a group of friends that comprises of 8 people?

That was the question I had as well.

[Caveman Clay]

yep 8 person games.  and thanks for the ideas everyone.

[Morganator 2.0]

8 person games.

Oh boy. The most I've done is 7, and we had partners.

At this point, if you're playing Krenko as aggro, it's not going to work to well. Aggro decks don't work all that great as you add more people.

Stax decks could work, because they affect everyone equally, but you're also going to draw the hate of 7 people.

Combo decks will work for a while. If you can pull a combo fast enough, before your opponents have time to get a response, you'll win. This will work so long as your opponents are using decks with very little early game interaction.

The way to go will probably be an incremental deck like Brago, King Eternal. Slow down your opponents, and win by just getting more value than them over time.

[robort]

Wow!! 8 person pod!! All out battle royal along with lots of patience when it isn't your turn. I would personally try some kind of life/gain and drain. With so many interactions with so many opponents. You need a deck that will help you survive to get close to the end game.

[WWolfe]

I've played 8 person pods before multiple times and you have to have a deck that can hold it's own until it's ready to win without making itself too big a threat before then for you to be the target. Aggro is just the opposite of the strategy you want to employ. My Skullbriar deck is an example of what I mean. It's a beast 1v1 (12-0 this calendar year) but only 4-6 (3-1 in 3 player, 1-5 in 4 or more) in multiplayer games because it becomes a target quickly the more people are at the table.

Your best bet is something value based like Morgantor.

[Marshstepper78]

As much as I would love to recommend Purphoros, I don't think it's a good idea in an 8-player pod.

In theory, I understand how Purphoros seems great. In reality though, and I am speaking from personal experience, Purphoros tends to make you public enemy #1. I won all the time at the beginning, but the moment your group realizes how savage a good Purphoros build can be, they generally take you out first.

Purphoros makes people nervous.

[WWolfe]

I second the point about Purphoros, the one I have is a dumbed down version to play with newer people and it still does enough major work that people realize it's a huge target.

[Izzet808]

With a lot of players, maybe group hug so you don't lose friends. I like to play asymmetrical group hug so I don't stand out as a target until the end. Maybe Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis? Use Propoganda, Norn's Annex, and Ghostly Prison while building up your resources, and let your opponents duke it out. Use Howling Mine, and Tempting Offer cards to make friends.

Also, Selvala, Explorer Returned or Edric, Spymaster of Trest are good commanders for group hug.

[Morganator 2.0]

Maybe if I talk about my personal experience with 7 player games this could help.

I used Krenko, Mob Boss in some of the games. The issue is that I had to have an early win. Mono-red really can't play the long game, especially not in an 8 person pod. Too many things change by the time your turn comes around.

Instead I used Captain Sisay. Her early game wins we're way more consistent, and she could last into the late game if needed. The issue is that it wasn't needed; she was too powerful, and most people in that group were using low interaction decks. I stopped using her out of fairness.

Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis gave the best results. I dubbed the deck "specific-hug" because it emphasized on helping my partner and myself only (using cards like Intellectual Offering, Skullwinder, and Guided Passage). The combo was pretty subtle, which I think is what gave this deck the most mileage. The deck was entirely ramp and card draw until the combo turn. It was Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Felidar Guardian, but the deck had multiple ways of building into it (Tooth and Nail, Birthing Pod chain). Maybe something like this would work for you.
Actually, if you give me an idea of the meta, I might be able to help more. Specifically, how often do you see combo decks, stax decks, and aggro decks (approximate number of players)? Are games usually won with a combo, or incremental damage over time? How much interaction is there? Are people usually able to stop a combo when it's set in motion? And which of the decks you see are the most threatening?

[Marshstepper78]

Edric, Spymaster of Trest is an excellent suggestion. He is easy to pilot and incentivizes the table to leave you alone.

Edric is the kind of commander that plays well on a budget or without one if your meta is a bit more cutthroat.