Commanders That are Fun for the Whole Table

[Morganator 2.0]

I recall Morganator making a Kenrith deck that focused on helping the whole table finish all of the commander night challenges. You could do the same thing, but use Kenrith as a politics engine.

I had forgotten about that deck. Shame that Commander Nights is probably not going to happen now. My friends and I would have won so many promo packs. Context for those who missed it: https://deckstats.net/forum/index.php/topic,52564.msg151860.html#msg151860

Getting back to the original question, you have to remember that fun is subjective to a lot of people, and it is – look at me – it is impossible to make a deck that everyone will like. There are always exceptions. If you can get everyone within your playgroup to like a deck you'll be lucky. Even then, you know that at some point your friend Jenny is going to invite her boyfriend over and he's only going to have an upgraded pre-con, his Edgar Markov is going to get countered one time, and then he'll spend the rest of the night saying "I thought this was casual commander?"

Screw you Jenny's boyfriend.

Despite this, there are still ways to make decks that more people will enjoy. I have a short mental list of things that will make more people happy than not, but try to remember that there are always exceptions. And the power level of your group will strongly influence what you should be using.

• Use a barebones removal package. Go light on the interaction, so everyone can play. Avoid a large amounts of boardwipes.
• If you're playing blue, don't use more than three counterspells.
• Commanders that allow you to play your opponent's cards (Etali, Primal Storm, Gonti, Lord of Luxury) and cards that let your opponents use your cards (Assault Suit, Order of Succession) make for some fun moments in games.
• You don't necessarily need to make a group hug deck, but a light hug theme can help. Stuff like Oath of Druids, Humble Defector, and Minds Aglow are things people like.
• Don't use stax. Go light on chaos effects.
• Last, and arguably most important, pay attention to feedback. People will very openly talk about the things they don't like to see in games. You've probably already heard these things in some shape or form. "Smothering Tithe is OP", "I hate chaos effects", "[insert card name] should be banned". Write them down in a notepad or something and then you can have a shortlist of the things that you shouldn't include in decks, or at least try to avoid when deckbuilding.

[WizardSpartan]

Even then, you know that at some point your friend Jenny is going to invite her boyfriend over and he's only going to have an upgraded pre-con, his Edgar Markov is going to get countered one time, and then he'll spend the rest of the night saying "I thought this was casual commander?"

Screw you Jenny's boyfriend.

r/oddlyspecific

Despite this, there are still ways to make decks that more people will enjoy. I have a short mental list of things that will make more people happy than not, but try to remember that there are always exceptions. And the power level of your group will strongly influence what you should be using.

• Use a barebones removal package. Go light on the interaction, so everyone can play. Avoid a large amounts of boardwipes.
• If you're playing blue, don't use more than three counterspells.
• Commanders that allow you to play your opponent's cards (Etali, Primal Storm, Gonti, Lord of Luxury) and cards that let your opponents use your cards (Assault Suit, Order of Succession) make for some fun moments in games.
• You don't necessarily need to make a group hug deck, but a light hug theme can help. Stuff like Oath of Druids, Humble Defector, and Minds Aglow are things people like.
• Don't use stax. Go light on chaos effects.
• Last, and arguably most important, pay attention to feedback. People will very openly talk about the things they don't like to see in games. You've probably already heard these things in some shape or form. "Smothering Tithe is OP", "I hate chaos effects", "[insert card name] should be banned". Write them down in a notepad or something and then you can have a shortlist of the things that you shouldn't include in decks, or at least try to avoid when deckbuilding.

Thanks for the tips for deckbuilding with everyone having fun in mind. This is pretty out of my comfort zone, so any tips I get are very useful.

It's probably naive of me to hope every person I play against will like the deck I build, but as long as it's a deck I can chill with and have some games that are enjoyable for the majority of the pod, that's win in my book.

My list so far: https://deckstats.net/decks/120669/1902063-queen-marchesa-sunforger-force

I definitely agree that the Monarch mechanic is a fun way to encourage people to attack and get the game moving, so Marchesa seems like an easy choice there.

I decided to forgo Ghostly Prison effects because that's kind of boring, and Sunforger can be really fun (someone attacks you for a bunch but you reverse card them with Comeuppance). Add in some Forced Combat cards to encourage people to pass around the Monarch even more, and I think I have a start?

[Cosmic_Insight]

From what I've seen, the best "casual" commanders are in Naya. You have rather fun cards such as Mayael the Anima, Gishath, Sun's Avatar, and Rin and Seri, Inseperable. I wouldn't totally mind if I was trampled to death by an army of thicc bois (the cattos) or dinos. Go for Timmy stuff, and people really like dying to that 10 cmc spell that you finally get to cast.

[WizardSpartan]

From what I've seen, the best "casual" commanders are in Naya. You have rather fun cards such as Mayael the Anima, Gishath, Sun's Avatar, and Rin and Seri, Inseperable. I wouldn't totally mind if I was trampled to death by an army of thicc bois (the cattos) or dinos. Go for Timmy stuff, and people really like dying to that 10 cmc spell that you finally get to cast.

Mayael the Anima is yet another commander I've been interested in. The problem with big Timmy commanders like Mayael is most of the best big creatures are just too expensive for me ($$ wise). Obviously, there are options, but having to opt out of cool, splashy cards like the Eldrazi titans, Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, Terror of the Peaks, Xenagos, God of Revels, etc. etc. just feels bad.

[Firegriff]

I have found Feather, the Redeemed to be a fun Commander that doesn't get other players hating you.  They don't like letting her live for long periods of time, but they certainly don't automatically scoop just seeing her.

Haven't had a chance to play her yet, but Elenda, the Dusk Rose seems like it will be fun to play.  And having play tested against my other decks, she looks like she will be quite powerful.  But it's been a while since I've had a chance to go out and play Commander.

One I have considered building is Mirri, Weatherlight Duelist.  I haven't seen her as a Commander yet, so most players would likely be interested to see her played out, but has great potential to be dangerous.

Just learn from me, and don't go play Anafenza the Foremost unless you WANT the table to hate you.  I don't even have the deck set to the full on evil that I could, just having her as my Commander makes me target number one.

[The Golgari Guy]

Personally I've been having lots of fun with Braids: https://deckstats.net/decks/149180/1728026-eldraziless-braids-edh-/en.

The idea is to let everyone make take advantage of Braids' ability and make dumb plays. Also I decided to not include Eldrazis or Blightsteel because (1) I don't want to spend the money on them and (2) they tend to result in a poor play experience for the whole table.

The deck can and sometimes does win, but when I play it my focus is not on winning but rather on letting everyone have the most fun

[robort]

Since you went Marchesa and forcing combat. I would suggest war's toll, and if you go with flyers you could add mudslide. You want to go full balls to the wall you could add bedlam. I like to use Visions of Brutality because it is a surprise card that one hardly ever sees at a table. Hunted Horror especially on turn 2 always messes with my opponents. Granted that someone is getting 3/3's but a 7/7 with trample on turn 2 makes everyone go what?!! Then Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs makes any of my opponents pay to come my way. When I play combat decks like my playgroups know my saying "I may not win but I can guarantee I am not coming in last".

[WizardSpartan]

Since you went Marchesa and forcing combat. I would suggest war's toll, and if you go with flyers you could add mudslide. You want to go full balls to the wall you could add bedlam. I like to use Visions of Brutality because it is a surprise card that one hardly ever sees at a table. Hunted Horror especially on turn 2 always messes with my opponents. Granted that someone is getting 3/3's but a 7/7 with trample on turn 2 makes everyone go what?!! Then Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs makes any of my opponents pay to come my way. When I play combat decks like my playgroups know my saying "I may not win but I can guarantee I am not coming in last".

Your saying is definitely what I'm going for.

War's Toll, Mudslide, and Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs are cards that are strong in Queen Marchesa, but they seem to discourage my opponents from attacking. I honestly don't care if they attack me (and I sorta want them to so the Monarch starts getting passed around), so these cards don't necessarily fit.

I'm considering the various cards that give my opponents creatures, namely Hunted Horror, Hunted Dragon, and Akroan Horse, and I am also considering Bedlam. I probably need to do some playtesting to see whether I need Bedlam to get people swinging.

[Morganator 2.0]

I'm considering the various cards that give my opponents creatures, namely Hunted Horror, Hunted Dragon, and Akroan Horse

I've tried these before. Unless you're playing at a pre-con level, they have no effect on the game. The only ones that can make a difference in the game are Sylvan Offering and Tempt with Vengeance.

[CleanBelwas]

I'm considering the various cards that give my opponents creatures, namely Hunted Horror, Hunted Dragon, and Akroan Horse

I've tried these before. Unless you're playing at a pre-con level, they have no effect on the game. The only ones that can make a difference in the game are Sylvan Offering and Tempt with Vengeance.

I'd like to put forward Clackbridge Troll as being somewhere closer to the "Impact a game" end of the spectrum. 8/8 Trample Haste is pretty good in a deck that wants everyone attacking, the Goats can't actually hurt you on the crack back, and if they want to shut it down its an edict effect, 3 life and a card. Not the worst and very budget friendly.

[robort]

I'm considering the various cards that give my opponents creatures, namely Hunted Horror, Hunted Dragon, and Akroan Horse

I've tried these before. Unless you're playing at a pre-con level, they have no effect on the game. The only ones that can make a difference in the game are Sylvan Offering and Tempt with Vengeance.

So haven't I and they have worked fine. Sylvan Offering wouldn't work in a Marchesa deck though.

However there is still other things that can be done with such a deck. You could make a sub them of more assasins. You could try to use either/or/both of approach of the second sun and revel in riches as your win con(s). Continue on the route of combat with disrupt decorum and Rowan Kenrith. Angel's Trumpet to keep the attacks going. Buff everyones creatures with Crescendo of War

[twotontimmy]

Color hugging is fun. Either Crovax is hilairous for this. Dont forget to run removal that affects anything other than your color. I had mixed results with a budget deck, but it is fun.

[SIRrobthenob]

I played against someone a couple of days ago who mixed chaos and group hug and that wasn't as obnoxious as those archetypes normally feel.  I think it doesn't matter who the commander is when your played those two archetypes it depends on who the player is.  He cast Korona his commander only once at the end of one of the games.  One card he played did get someone to instantly concede but he was starting to get hella butthurt from something before, I don't remember what.  I think Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis would probably be better though.  I think other good commanders for those themes are Averna, Kami of the Crescent Moon, Zedruu, and Pramikon.  Those might be cool in the 99.

[Bonethousand]

From what I've seen, the best "casual" commanders are in Naya. You have rather fun cards such as Mayael the Anima, Gishath, Sun's Avatar, and Rin and Seri, Inseperable. I wouldn't totally mind if I was trampled to death by an army of thicc bois (the cattos) or dinos. Go for Timmy stuff, and people really like dying to that 10 cmc spell that you finally get to cast.

Mayael the Anima is yet another commander I've been interested in. The problem with big Timmy commanders like Mayael is most of the best big creatures are just too expensive for me ($$ wise). Obviously, there are options, but having to opt out of cool, splashy cards like the Eldrazi titans, Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, Terror of the Peaks, Xenagos, God of Revels, etc. etc. just feels bad.

As a big Timmy gamer, I totally get this. My Mayael the Anima deck has been a huge work in progress. It's always fun to play against, but I can't really compete against anything higher than a 5 or 6 without the big splashy etb and anthem effects; and, they're just too expensive, usually at a solid $25 dollars a pop. So, what I've started doing instead is finding similar Timmy style commanders that often get used to min/max their abilities instead of just having fun with them, and flipping the meta. Like, I built a Rhys the Redeemed big tokens deck without almost no elves. It's not phenomenal, but it's got teeth, and people think it's hilarious when you populate like 4 Giant Adephage tokens or just a bunch of oozes and squirrels. Also, restricting decks for hilarious payoffs keeps a playgroup engaged against even some of the roughest commanders. For example, my friend built a permanents only Lord Windgrace deck so that he could play Primal Surge, and I just always want to see that go off.

[terminalgeek]

Rankle, Master of Pranks... now hear me out. Everyone draws a card, sure someone has to pay four life to do so but it gets spread around. Various pranks to either help or hurt the table: Head Games (to sculpt the hand of the person behind), Infernal Genesis, Ritual of the Machine, Darkness (black fog), Avarice Totem, Imp's Mischief, Parasitic Impetus, Abyssal Persecutor (keep people alive), etc.

Rankle's capable of taking someone out with combat damage eventually or you get your life low enough and switch it with someone else's.