How to Lose Friends and Influence People

By Sam Black

Sam Black is a Platinum Pro Player and longtime writer for StarCityGames.com. He is a respected deck builder and took over Daily Decks for the first half of 2013.

In honor of the release of Gatecrash, I wanted to feature a Commander list based on one of the new commanders the set offers. Unfortunately, most of them are remarkably straightforward aggressive creatures. Prime Speaker Zegana is the most compelling to build around. The problem with this is that Zegana plays perfectly into what I would call "everything that's wrong with Commander."

I've discussed in the past, and will probably reference again in the future, how far a Commander deck diverges from the traditional method of winning games of Commander, which is to get more mana and draw more cards than your opponents.

Zegana wants an extremely pure form of that. She provides all the card draw you need. All you have to do is provide the fatty. Well, if you're trying to provide a fatty, obviously you want to get more mana to cast it faster. She leads you naturally down the path of building the least original Commander deck with the least distinctive or compelling plan.

There's nothing clever here. This is intended to provide a frame of reference on what not to do in Commander. I hope it's a useful public service.

Also, if for some reason you're looking to win a game of Commander in a way that probably won't impress anyone, this would be a reasonable start.

Prime Speaker Zegana

Deckliste Statistiken Beispiel-Kartenhand

Kreatur (21)

1 Phyrexian Hydra 1 Spectral Force 1 Eternal Witness 1 Tarmogoyf 1 Birds of Paradise 1 Oracle of Mul Daya 1 Avenger of Zendikar 1 Gaea's Revenge 1 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary 1 Multani, Maro-Sorcerer 1 Panglacial Wurm 1 Thragtusk 1 Ravaging Riftwurm 1 Terastodon 1 Kalonian Behemoth 1 Hunted Troll 1 Silvos, Rogue Elemental 1 Tidespout Tyrant 1 Terra Stomper 1 Draining Whelk 1 Sakura-Tribe Elder

Hexerei (18)

1 Time Warp 1 Walk the Aeons 1 Skyshroud Claim 1 Summer Bloom 1 Hunting Wilds 1 Explosive Vegetation 1 Temporal Manipulation 1 Temporal Mastery 1 Green Sun's Zenith 1 Explore 1 Search for Tomorrow 1 Time Stretch 1 Rampant Growth 1 Farseek 1 Three Visits 1 Nature's Lore 1 Harmonize 1 Capture of Jingzhou

Spontanzauber (5)

1 Force of Will 1 Mana Drain 1 Counterspell 1 Harrow 1 Brainstorm

Artefakt (13)

1 Worn Powerstone 1 Sol Ring 1 Lotus Petal 1 Everflowing Chalice 1 Lion's Eye Diamond 1 Mana Vault 1 Chrome Mox 1 Grim Monolith 1 Mana Crypt 1 Mindslaver 1 Lotus Bloom 1 Mox Diamond 1 Gilded Lotus

Verzauberung (2)

1 Khalni Heart Expedition 1 Exploration

Land (40)

1 Tropical Island 1 Ancient Tomb 1 Verdant Catacombs 1 Breeding Pool 1 Academy Ruins 1 Saprazzan Skerry 1 Flooded Grove 1 Windswept Heath 1 Simic Growth Chamber 1 Misty Rainforest 1 Wooded Foothills 5 Island 1 Polluted Delta 1 Flooded Strand 1 Scalding Tarn 1 Hickory Woodlot 19 Forest 1 Temple of the False God

99 Karten