Today we've got the Top 20 White Commanders.
As you've seen so far, there's some common traits I've used to calculate a more-unique and different list than the average player.
Lately, I find that most of my picks have been based on a quality that I call the "Element of Surprise."
Recently, this quality has been a big focal point in my unconscious when I go to craft my decks because it provides outlets for inspiration as well as a degree of difficulty in order to keep the game fresh.
But that's me and my intricate EDH Philosophies, so we'll save that for another day and dollar.
Let's just count 'em down then, shall we?
20. Akroma, Angel of Wrath
As one of the most iconic creatures in magic, Akroma's everything you could expect out of a general, and there's no denying that she's definitely a good late game damage plan. Haste on a white creature. What a beautiful thing.
However, 8 mana is hefty, and your opponents can see that play a mile off. So if that's all you've got, then you might be in big trouble.
Therefore, I think the strategy with Akroma would be to make her feel like less of a threat by imposing heavy beats early game. Cards like Mirror Entity, Mikaeus, and any combo of pump-equipment would make this deck scale nicely into the Angel of Wrath.
Conversely, the early game could be a nice combination of a bajillion Wrath effects coupled with a Luminarch Ascension or other token generators like Sacred Mesa and Mobilization.
Sounds soo much better than Angel tribal or straight-up Voltron, doesn't it?
19. Kemba, Kha Regent
I played Kemba a while ago, and I was pretty unenthused by the results.
While 2/2 Cat tokens are cool, there's still an army-building process that has to take place, and I'm not necessarily a fan of it.
However, I do think this is the right place to play Eldrazi Monument if you ever had one, and other sweet "Army-in-a-can" cards like the White Shrine and Luminarch Ascension.
And protect Kemba at all costs. Attacking with shroud and indestructibility is the key to victory in the Voltron sub-theme.
18. Isamaru, Hound of Konda
Isamaru is rather vanilla, and probably not something I'm immediately going to play.
However, getting there with general damage is much more possible with him than some of the previously mentioned, because this Hound loves to hold swords, even though that's not logical.
There's not a whole lot of dimensions to playing Isamaru, but if you want to jump out to early leads, he's good. The late game is perhaps where you'll have to get creative.
For me, I like the idea of trying to play Isamaru more "sparingly" after he's cast on Turn 1 or 2, so he can get repeatable quick battles with haste Equipment after a late game Wrath.
So yeah, Voltron will be your strategy, but the deck tactics will be more "Guerilla Warfare" style.
17. Mikaeus, the Lunarch
Honestly, the image of white Mikaeus haunts my dreams. It's like a colonial, ceremonial klan member.
Still, I really like this card. It pumps your dudes early game, and can be put out late game cause he scales nicely for general damage.
He also doesn't give away any semblance of a strategy, which can be pretty nice.
16. Cho-Manno, Revolutionary
If you recall a few months back, I did an Extreme Home Deck Rebuild of my buddy's Atalya EDH deck, where I changed his commander to Cho.
So yeah, I am pretty fond of the card. It comes with its own combos and tutelage, so durdling is an option.
Cho is a great card to have as a removal target in the deck. The card is unique in this way, as the majority of your deck should or could be filled with better threats.
Though not exactly a creature going to Battle-Town, Cho provides a great way to sneak others in for damage whilst keeping your opponents from getting in.
15. Commander Eesha
Speaking of Battle-Town, here's the mayor! Just kidding, mostly because he's #15, but flying and prot-creatures has to account for something.
I played this guy a couple times. It's kinda good. Still dies the way most creatures die. Wraths and Swords to Plowshares.
This is another solid Voltron strategy, but I'd warn against making it the primary main objective. People will be wise to a dude who's unblockable, essentially.
14. Eight-And-A-Half-Tails
Tails is perhaps one of the top White legends that could actually be considered "good," but I'm rather disillusioned with it after playing this deck myself and getting beat down with Grandpa Growth's better version of this deck.
There's too many ways to win, especially with early game aggro and late game beats. Tempo is essentially the strategy, and it scales just so nicely with the game that winning comes pretty easy, especially to those who play Caged Sun and Gauntlet of Power.
13. Michiko Konda, Truth Seeker
I love Michiko. She's a great attack deterrent for 1v1, and a great supplement to the multiplayer meta where she makes your opponents attack each other.
Whether she's helping you build a cute little pillowfort or not, Michiko is a sweet card to have.
I do wish she had flash though.
12. Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero
So many Rebels...
This deck is pretty linear, but I'm still rather excited at the prospect of one day building this deck.
Rebel-Tribal is a lost creature type in Magic, and Lin Sivvi helps to re-create nostalgia for those earlier times.
And it's a strong deck, as you'll tutor for rebels who tutor for more rebels, until your whole deck is played. In this way, it's kinda like Captain Sisay, except with less cards in the pool, and slightly more Hipster-y.
11. Patron of the Kitsune
Patron of the Kitsune has some great art and mystery about him. There are a lot of other things to like though, including the fact that his trigger for gaining life happens for each creature and during the attack step.
Being a 5/6 means he can perhaps get you there if protected properly. I like the idea of using tricks like Scout's Warning, Winding Canyons, Vedalken Orrery, and some of the better Fox creatures to flash him in.
10. Kataki, War's Wage
In my mind, Kataki completely outclasses Isamaru if you're on the all-in white aggro, and here's why.
Enchantment-Voltron is a thing, especially in white. There are a bunch of sweet cards like Armored Ascension, Battle Mastery, and Daybreak Coronet to help you get damage in.
Conversely, Faith's Fetters and Prison Term help keep stuff out of your way.
The other cool dimension to Kataki is that you can still play artifacts like Solemn Simulacrum and Spine of Ish Sah as sources of card advantage- especially with Open the Vaults, Second Sunrise, and Faith's Reward.
Kataki also shuts down Any of the Arti-factory decks like Sharuum and Karn as well as other pesky Voltron decks.
Overall, he's a great hate bear that can moderate the game while effectively helping you to maximize resources by providing a constant artifact removal system on the field of play.
9. Linvala, Keeper of Silence
I'm all in on Linvala. having her in The General Zone with enough mana to cast her ensures that your non-aggro generals like Azami and the Firemind won't be able to go off and draw more cards than you.
Linvala also opens up the doors for any of white's strategies, namely an awkward Voltron where you get to both protect the 3/4 Angel and let her beat down.
Really up on this card as a General.
8. Masako the Humorless
Though Masako is rather unfunny, I'm only excited to play this card because I think it's hilarious.
First off, Masako has flash, which is pretty fly for a white chick, and really makes her second ability of pseudo-vigilance pretty hot.
Though perhaps inconsequential when you're getting overrun by a horde of tokens or big beaters, playing Masako would definitely add some strange combat steps to the game, and if your opponents forget what she does or don't play around it, they might be in for a rude awakening. Again, another really unique tempo-based card.
7. Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile
Jokingly, I used to call my Brigid deck Miss Piggy because of the squashed-likeness of her little Kithkin face.
Still, both her and her prolly-not-doppelganger can throw tantrums and do damage.
Brigid with a Basilisk Collar or Quietus Spike has a tendency to go the distance, and it's pretty sweet. One of the best rattlesnake/pillowfort combos that basically locks people out of turning dudes sideways.
Also, I'd advise against Kithkin tribal because it's dumb, but Galepowder Mage and Militia's Pride are pretty good targets for a Kithkin Harbinger. See also Springjack Shepherd for 0/1 Goat token fun.
6. Hokori, Dust Drinker
You know, people hate on this card so much- but I freakin' love it. Sure, playing against it isn't fun. I'll admit to that.
Hokori can control the pace of the game, and really hate on ramp decks and annoying combo-control decks, leaving these guys to have to play around him, especially when he's in the General Zone.
Very few cards have this talent, and Hokori is one of them.
Perhaps this card should be even higher on my ranks than it already is.
5. Jareth, Leonine Titan
A friend of mine has been playing this deck for a while, and it's awesome. Jareth is a force all on his own, and there's really nothing that can be done when he hits the table short of a wrath or a Brittle Effigy.
Vigilance on this guy is a raw deal too. Any equipment will basically get him to total Voltron annihilation, so make sure you bring artifacts, cause Eldrazi are super-lame.
4. Konda, Lord of Eiganjo
Maybe it's just me, but I'm really up on this card. I'm excited about it because he makes one basically unplayable card good- Worldslayer.
I imagine this lonely, old, badass samurai wrecking everyone with a Worldslayer, and it feels like the dream. Like true Elder Dragon Highlander, except with more literal allusion and emphasis on the "Highlander" part, because there is now only one lonely badass with a sword on the battlefield.
Konda is pretty indestructible, which is his primary talent here. Being wrath-proof in a game of "sweeps and doom blades" is raw, epic, and means that you can go full on romp-stomp Voltron if you want, and for flavor, add the whole Konda family.
Make sure you bring an early game to this party though, or you'll be in for some trouble.
3. Kiyomaro, First to Stand
I'm currently playing this deck, and really enjoying it, so we've got some bias here.
Still, this deck is surprisingly improved, considering that we have many more ways to draw cards outside of Howling Mine and Font of Mythos, which do more harm than good.
The key, however, is keeping them in your hand, and with cards like Land Tax and a few buyback and bounce creatures, Kiyomaro can either go to battlez or protect what is his.
2. Mageta the Lion
Mageta might actually be the next general I make, if I ever decide to retire Kiyomaro.
Sure, he's sort of the opposite because he runs on eating cards, but with easy ways to equip him with Vigilance, you can sit back and pitch creatures while you repeatedly Wrath the board, waiting to activate your Emeria, the Sky Ruin.
Cause in white, the best offense is a good defense. And Mageta puts that on the table, in your opponent's face. Which can be a powerful psychological deterrent if used properly.
1. Darien, King of Kjeldor
So my top choice is Darien, and maybe that comes as a surprise, but a friend of mine was playing this Commander several months ago, and I had some pretty sweet tech for this deck, complete with all the pain lands and damage inducing things I could play in white.
City of Brass, Staff of Nin, and Rod of Ruin are the things that come to mind immediately.
Darien can also weather the damage with Suture Priest or Soul's Attendant, so you'll never actually "lose" the life, you'll just net dudes.
I do wish Darien had flash, because that would give him a little bit of an advantage in the surprise department. Stuff to flash in creatures during combat would be sweet though.
Well, that rounds out Day 1 of Monocolored General week!
As always, I'd like to know how you rank your faves, so feel free to comment, discuss, and critique.
Since we're going down the color pie in a tick-tock clockwise fashion, tomorrow I'll share 20 blue Commanders that I'm excited to play.
So look forward and stay tuned.
Your Move!
-UL
No comments:
Post a Comment