By Adam Styborski

Stybs has played Magic the world over, writing and drafting as part of the event coverage team and slinging Commander everywhere his decks will fit.

Achievements feel great. Breaking through a barrier—whether small or tall—is a positive step. Magic is filled with moments to strive for, such as winning Friday Night Magic or qualifying for this weekend's Pro Tour Battle for Zendikar. Going the distance is a notable notch to make in one's belt.

Barrage Tyrant | Art by Chris Rallis

While pushing through to a goal in the competitive world is worthy of praise, there's much more to the game than simply defeating an opponent in a tournament. Commander is filled with amazing moments and splashy cards, making every game a wonderful mix of happy little accidents.

Unless, of course, you have something more in mind.

WUBRG Ring of Death

When I asked you to share some of your Commander achievements—amazing moments that came from gameplay—I wasn't sure what to expect. What stands out as stunning to one of us may be just another trip to the 100-card decks for another.

Fortunately there were plenty to choose from, starting with a deck made to run down a checklist of unlockables sent in by The Commander Lounge:

Okay, so the best achievement I've unlocked while playing Commander would have to be winning with Maze's End. My Progenitus deck is a Five-Color Political Turbo Fog deck (I know, long name) that runs all kinds of weird win conditions such as Azor's Elocutors, Door to Nothingness, and Maze's End. The game plan is to group hug everyone while setting up all your fogs so you can try to win with all these unique win cons.

It was icing on the cake that the first game I won with Maze's End was against a friend who said I would never win with that card, because the win condition is too fragile. All the regrowth effects help make this win con more resilient, plus Tempt with Discovery is the best combo with Maze's End.

-The Commander Lounge

Progenitus Political Turbo Fog

Decklist Stats Sample Hand

COMMANDER: Progenitus

Planeswalker (1)

1 Jace Beleren

Creature (13)

1 Aegis of the Gods 1 Archaeomancer 1 Azor's Elocutors 1 Elite Arcanist 1 Eternal Witness 1 Fog Bank 1 Gatecreeper Vine 1 Glen Elendra Archmage 1 Guard Gomazoa 1 Mnemonic Wall 1 Seizan, Perverter of Truth 1 Spore Frog 1 Zealous Conscripts

Sorcery (13)

1 Cultivate 1 Exsanguinate 1 Kodama's Reach 1 Merciless Eviction 1 Regrowth 1 Restock 1 Revoke Existence 1 Rite of Replication 1 Sylvan Scrying 1 Tempt with Discovery 1 Treasured Find 1 Urban Evolution 1 Whelming Wave

Instant (19)

1 Arcane Denial 1 Constant Mists 1 Counterspell 1 Cyclonic Rift 1 Darkness 1 Defend the Hearth 1 Dream Fracture 1 Druid's Deliverance 1 Fog 1 Fracturing Gust 1 Moment's Peace 1 Naya Charm 1 Negate 1 Noxious Revival 1 Rakdos Charm 1 Respite 1 Safe Passage 1 Unravel the Æther 1 Winds of Qal Sisma

Artifact (10)

1 Chromatic Lantern 1 Crystal Ball 1 Door to Nothingness 1 Expedition Map 1 Font of Mythos 1 Isochron Scepter 1 Orbs of Warding 1 Perilous Vault 1 Relic of Progenitus 1 Spectral Searchlight

Enchantment (3)

1 Dictate of Kruphix 1 Rhystic Study 1 Rites of Flourishing

Land (40)

1 Maze's End 1 Azorius Guildgate 1 Boros Guildgate 1 City of Brass 1 Command Tower 1 Dimir Guildgate 5 Forest 1 Golgari Guildgate 1 Gruul Guildgate 5 Island 1 Izzet Guildgate 1 Mountain 1 Opal Palace 1 Orzhov Guildgate 1 Plains 1 Raging Ravine 1 Rakdos Guildgate 1 Reflecting Pool 1 Reliquary Tower 1 Rupture Spire 1 Selesnya Guildgate 1 Simic Guildgate 1 Strip Mine 1 Swamp 1 Tectonic Edge 1 Temple of the False God 1 Transguild Promenade 1 Vivid Crag 1 Vivid Creek 1 Vivid Grove 1 Vivid Marsh 1 Vivid Meadow

99 Cards

Deal Another Hand

Cards that say "lose the game" or "win the game" have a long history in Magic. Once alternate ways to win—or cause another player to lose—started appearing, players started looking for ways to make it happen. Some, like Phage the Untouchable, seem straightforward but come with such severe risks they're a rarity to see. Others, like the recently returned Felidar Sovereign, have some obvious advantages in formats like Two-Headed Giant and Commander.

The deck The Commander Lounge sent in is fairly typical for the long-game approach cards such as Maze's End and Azor's Elocutors ask for. Stymieing damage while setting up the ultimate "I win" turn others see coming is intense, but once you pull off a combo everyone saw coming, it's a moment you won't forget.

There are other ways to win the game, baked into the rules that can come up in the course of play. The most common is failing to draw a card from your library—that is, once you're out of cards to draw, you lose the next time you try to. Milling (effects that put cards from libraries into graveyards) until your opponents are out is tough in any format, but it seems almost impossible in Commander. Larger decks and larger spells means getting the time to get through them all becomes a distant possibility.

Which, of course, just means some of you try even harder to make the achievement happen. Thor made it happen with his Zedruu the Greathearted deck:

Hi Stybs,

Of all the achievements earned in the last few years of Commander play, one is my favorite. I won a game, but I didn't use any of the following:

Making my opponents lose life

Giving poison counters

"I win" or "you lose" cards (Mortal Combat and friends)

Milling cards

Infinite combos

How did I win, then? Well, many players strongly dislike being milled, so I built a Zedruu "Mill" deck that has no actual milling in it.

While Zedruu is happily giving away Howling Mine and its cousins and replenishing my health, the many Wheel of Fortune effects red and blue have to offer are making all players draw through their whole decks really fast. The two Eldrazi are there only to keep myself from decking while Stifle and Trickbind stop my opponents from doing the same (or Bojuka Bogging my graveyard).

P.S.:

If you say the deck's name, imagine a bleating goat and you'll get it right.

-Thor

Thor's "ZeDrawawaw"

Decklist Stats Sample Hand

COMMANDER: Zedruu the Greathearted