Deckbuilding Contest - August 2024

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{"ops":[{"insert":"Voting has concluded!"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n\n"},{"insert":"1st Place: Drakryttare"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"2nd Place: Antz0r"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"3rd Place:A3th3r3al"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n\n"},{"insert":"Each winner has been contacted by the email associated with their Archidekt account. "},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n\n"},{"insert":"Congratulations, and thank you to all who participated!"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n--"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nHello brewers,"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nHappy August! First of all, I'd like to extend a big thank you to Matt for covering all of the contest administrative work for the past few months while I was out on paternity leave. Matt will continue to host our finalist announcement video over on the "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://www.youtube.com/@EDHRECast"},"insert":"EDHRECast YouTube channel"},{"insert":".\n\nHere's a reminder for the new structure of the Archidekt Deckbuilding Contest that started in the spring:\nContest participation is no longer limited by region. We’re so glad to finally have our friends outside of the US and Canada involved as well!"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Finalists are now awarded credit to "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://www.cardsphere.com/"},"insert":"Cardsphere.com"},{"insert":", a sister site to Archidekt. Cardsphere is a peer-to-peer marketplace for buying and selling Magic cards. If you’ve never used it before, Joey from the EDHRECast recently made a great "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUc4-FnefrU&t=1s&pp=ygUKY2FyZHNwaGVyZQ%3D%3D"},"insert":"video covering the basics"},{"insert":"! Depending on their placement, finalists will receive either $250, $150 or $100 in credit."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://www.youtube.com/@EDHRECast"},"insert":"EDHRECast YouTube channel"},{"insert":" will now feature a video highlighting the finalist decks from each contest! Matt Morgan hosts along with a special guest filling in for our usual cohost, Olivia Gobert-Hicks."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"After the three finalists are announced, their placement is now determined by upvotes on the deck pages themselves. Be sure to vote for your favorite!"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"We'll be following the same cadence as we have the past few months. (Wednesday-Wednesday-Wednesday-Wednesday). Details on that below."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nWith that out of the way, let's talk about this month's contest!\n\nWhat’s the contest all about?"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Working within the parameters of the prompt provided below, construct a decklist with your own creative spin. Three chosen finalists will be awarded store credit to cardsphere.com. \n\n"},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"For August’s deckbuilding contest, brew a Commander-legal list that you believe would serve as a good first deck for a new player. Things you may wish to consider include complexity, mechanic learning opportunities, and– of course– enjoyability. Please be sure to include an explanation of your approach in the deck description or along with the deck link wherever you submit!"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nHere’s how to participate:"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Brew an EDH/Commander legal deck on Archidekt that satisfies the prompt.\nAny unreleased cards spoiled during the contest’s duration "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"are"},{"insert":" allowed."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Silver-bordered and acorn cards, while cool, are "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"not "},{"insert":"allowed. "},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Digital-only cards (such as those designed for the Alchemy format on Arena) are "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"not"},{"insert":" allowed."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Strictly one deck submitted per user."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nReply to this newspost, the Discord submission post, or "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://x.com/archidekt/status/1821234764160102847"},"insert":"the announcement tweet"},{"insert":" from the "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://twitter.com/archidekt"},"insert":"@archidekt"},{"insert":" account on Twitter with a link to your deck before "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"9:00 pm EST (UTC -5, currently) on Wednesday, August 14, 2024"},{"insert":". Only one submission per user!\nFrom the eligible submissions, we'll select three finalists with lists that we believe best embody the spirit of the prompt. "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Deck descriptions are not required but certainly may provide valuable context!"},{"insert":"\n\nOn "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Wednesday, August 21, 2024"},{"insert":", we’ll announce three finalists via Discord and a video on the "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://www.youtube.com/@EDHRECast"},"insert":"EDHRECast YouTube channel"},{"insert":". Each finalist will be awarded credit on cardsphere.com. The value of the credit is in US dollars and depends on the finalist's placement in deck upvotes at the end of the week-long polling period:\n1st Place Prize - $250"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"2nd Place Prize - $150"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"3rd Place Prize - $100"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Finalists will be contacted via email, Discord or Twitter/X (depending on where they submitted) regarding their winnings within roughly 24 hours following the conclusion of voting on Wednesday, August 28, 2024. Please note, you must have a Cardsphere account in order to receive your winnings. It's quick and free-- "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://www.cardsphere.com/signup"},"insert":"register here"},{"insert":" if you don't have an account already!\n\nWe also now apply a “Contest Winner” role to all finalists, giving them a little trophy icon next to their username on deck tiles (the links that appear on places like the homepage). Prior contest winners have already had this role applied. \n\n"},{"attributes":{"link":"https://archidekt.com/contestRules"},"insert":"Official contest rules"},{"insert":".\n\nThank you!"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nIf you have any questions, feel free to ask here, reach out on "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://twitter.com/archidekt"},"insert":"Twitter"},{"insert":", or join "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://discord.gg/sctEc9Ru36"},"insert":"our public Discord server"},{"insert":". We look forward to seeing what you all come up with! \n\nThe Archidekt Team"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n"}]}
Edited 8/29/2024, 2:25:24 PM
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Nembit avatarNembit 6 months
{"ops":[{"insert":"So the deck i have for this is my newly made MEGATRON deck.\nThe reasons I think its easy for new people is:\n\nIt combines two well known universes\n\nNo crazy complex triggers or combos\n\nIt is close to $100 so not too much of an upfront cost\n\nAll you do is ramp up, cast artifacts, and have megatron launch them at your enemies!\n\n"},{"attributes":{"link":"https://archidekt.com/decks/8776032/megatron"},"insert":"https://archidekt.com/decks/8776032/megatron"},{"insert":"\n"}]}
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TrveBlack avatarTrveBlack 6 months
{"ops":[{"insert":"Meet "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://archidekt.com/decks/8286226/outdooraptor?sort=cmc&stack=multiple"},"insert":"Outdooraptor"},{"insert":"!"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nMy beginner deck revolves around"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":" "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":{"card-link":"Indoraptor, the Perfect Hybrid"}},{"insert":", and it's Voltron but with a twist: it wins by torturing (kids please read this as: tickling) your own commander."},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nIt's key points are:\nAffordable: "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"30-40$/€"},{"insert":" on TCGPlayer/Cardmarket"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Monolithic focus on the commander"},{"insert":", simplifying decision making"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"A "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"simple but uniquely fun 4-step strategy, "},{"insert":"easily explained to a beginner:"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\t\t\t\t\t1. Hit Opponents' Faces\n \t\t\t2. Play Big Raptor\n 3. Hurt/Tickle Big Raptor\n 4. Watch Opponents' Life Totals Melt\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Some randomness"},{"insert":" for both fun and the classic "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"\""},{"attributes":{"italic":true,"bold":true},"insert":"Don't blame me, blame the dice "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"¯\\_(ツ)_/¯"},{"attributes":{"italic":true,"bold":true},"insert":"\" "},{"insert":"(Always good to learn this pattern early!)"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"A "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"low manacurve"},{"insert":", guaranteeing impactful plays in early turns, no durdling around, lesser mana screw"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Commander Basics: "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"plenty Draw, Ramp and Removal"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"A "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"mix of all common card types"},{"insert":", to make oneself familiar with their traits"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" \t- 35 Lands (+2 MDFCs)\n \t\t\t\t\t- 23 Creatures\n\t\t\t\t\t- 14 Instants & 12 Sorceries\n - 9 Enchantments & 5 Artifacts\n \t- 1 Planeswalker\nA"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":" not too steep, not too shallow learning curve,"},{"insert":" "},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\t\t\t\t\t- commander damage as secondary WinCon\n\t\t\t\t\t- straight-forward card effects\n\t\t\t\t\t- small board state with some but few triggers and almost no tokens\n\t\t\t\t\t- improvement by sequencing (e.g. Tap "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Thermo-Alchemist"}},{"insert":" -> Cast "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Lightning Bolt"}},{"insert":" -> Tap "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Thermo-Alchemist"}},{"insert":" -> Cast "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Indoraptor, the Perfect Hybrid"}},{"insert":")\n\t\t\t\t\t- improvement by \"mini-combo\" recognition (e.g. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Fling"}},{"insert":" & "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Feign Death"}},{"insert":")\n - improvement by threat assessment (due to many spells doubling as Face-Damage/Self-Ping/Removal)\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"30 upgrade suggestions"},{"insert":" for when they are hooked and willing to invest into some more cool cards that fit the deck"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"link":"https://archidekt.com/playtester-v2/8286226?sort=cmc&stack=multiple"},"insert":"Try it out :)"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"}]}
Edited 8/11/2024, 9:16:55 PM
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Ydneo avatarYdneo 6 months
{"ops":[{"insert":"I playtested your deck and it's really fun! '' Tickling '' your dino to hit your opponent is a cool mechanic. :)\n"}]}
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davulz avatardavulz 6 months
{"ops":[{"insert":"Super cool deck! Maybe it's my own min/maxing, but would think it could be a bit timegrabby in the hands of a fresh player. Trying to find the right lines with 4-5 spell or abilities from relatively early on takes some getting used to, and can cause decision paralysis \n"}]}
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{"ops":[{"insert":"My first ever deck contest submission is my akawali voltron deck, which I affectionately call \"gravetron\" "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://archidekt.com/decks/5887695/akawali"},"insert":"Akawali • (Commander / EDH deck) • Archidekt"},{"insert":" \n\n\nThe goal of the deck is to get to 8 permanents in the graveyard to instantly boost akawali into a 7/7 trampler that can't be blocked by more than one creature, while using other enchantments, artifacts, and creatures to strengthen and support akawali. The deck features multiple self mill engines, creatures that benefit from large graveyards, and plenty of sources of recursion to keep the important things out of the graveyard. I originally built this deck to as part of a group challenge tournament where everyone was limited to only spending $60 on a deck (excluding basic lands), but that fell through. so instead I chose to beef it up with some fancier cards \n"}]}
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Pfhish avatarPfhish 6 months
{"ops":[{"insert":"Here's what I would introduce any new player to the format of Commander with:\n\n"},{"attributes":{"link":"https://archidekt.com/decks/3963868/ruxa_an_introduction_into_magic_the_gathering"},"insert":"Ruxa, Patient Professor"},{"insert":"\n\nThe deck is a simple ramp up and swing out to win, it touches on many core aspects of Magic along with touching on some niche commander specific mechanics and strategies. It has a great mix of classic Vanilla creatures and token creators to mix up and explore different creature avenues. Best of all, it's a very affordable deck as far as Commander. \n"}]}
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JaggedJAG avatarJaggedJAG 6 months
{"ops":[{"insert":"Here is a submission \nhttps://archidekt.com/decks/8763880/easy_elves\nThis deck is based off of the deck I learned to play magic with way back in 1999. Just a simple, but effective elf deck. It is also a slightly simplified version of my elf deck\n"}]}
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Manaax avatarManaax 6 months
{"ops":[{"insert":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/8719910/anya_glad_i_didnt_say_banana\n\nI've put my reasonings for submitting this deck in the primer. In short though, it lets players learn the game as they play without compromising the power of it's gameplay.\n"}]}
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ForlornJam avatarForlornJam 6 months
{"ops":[{"insert":"I submit: Mahadi Sacrifice\nhttps://www.archidekt.com/decks/7923662/mahadi_edh\n\nthe gameplan is simple, sacrifice creatures, and make your opponents sacrifice theirs.\n\nuse Mahadi's treasures to pay for some big creatures, or tap then to the Ghirapur Aether Grid for some direct damage.\n\nuse cards like dockside chef or deadly dispute to refill your hand while getting value.\n\nthe deck is filled with interaction, so you can easily deal with any big threats your opponents present.\n\nFinally, the deck is dirt cheap, coming it at <$35 on TCGPlayer, making the barrier to entry low. Additionally, the deck is easy to upgrade, so as you get better and want to invest more, the deck can grow with you\n"}]}
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deadlyrequiem avatardeadlyrequiem 6 months
{"ops":[{"insert":"I submit my K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth Deck.\n"},{"attributes":{"link":"https://archidekt.com/decks/8755482/new_players_krrik_son_of_yawgmoth"},"insert":"https://archidekt.com/decks/8755482/new_players_krrik_son_of_yawgmoth"},{"insert":".\nI chose this commander because of the ability to help pay for spells using life while also getting a bigger commander for it. This, while having a life link, helps offset the cost of paying for abilities, which makes it less scary for new players to do while also helping them ramp. ‘\nThe themes I included in this deck were swamps matter, card advantage, Recursion with powerful ETB effects lifegain/opponent lifeloss and minor token generation.\nI had a bunch of rules going into this as I wanted to limit complexity as much as possible while keeping the power.\nI wanted to keep mana cost low while still allowing for impactful plays \nI wanted to limit extra mechanics, not considered evergreen mechanics as much as possible so the deck would be easily played for new characters. \nI wanted to include as few activated abilities as possible so all the effects would happen at trigger points.\nI wanted to limit triggers to the same points as much as possible so that the new player would always check at the same moments for both their own and opposing players' turns. This would limit the player's forgetting when triggers happened as much as possible and always force them to check for triggers at the same events during turns.\nI wanted to limit the token generation to as few styles of tokens as possible so that the players would not have to remember a lot of different types of tokens.\nI wanted to eliminate difficult choices as much as possible as new players might have a hard time knowing which is best and when to use cards and when to save them. \nI wanted the deck and the commander to have lots of powerful effects that synergized mostly with each other to help the new player win easily. \nI tried to limit replacement effects to mostly things that applied against opponents or things that happened primarily when you tapped land as those are easy to remember for new players or things opponents must remember more than the player has to.\nI also tried to limit layering effects as much as possible because layers really confuse new players.\n\nFinally, I wanted most mass effects to affect only opponents. While blacks love sacrifice effects and love to wipe the board, most new players are afraid of such things or do not know when the best times are.\n\nI’ll address how I did most of these in order.\n1. Non-evergreen Mechanics: I only included devotion and extort. Devotion plays very well with mono-colored decks and leads to powerful effects. This would allow for big plays by the player. Devotion is also very recursion-friendly. Devotion is easily explained and easily countable. Extort is very friendly with the commander because you can pay the extort cost with the commander and if you are in a >=3 player game you still come out in a net positive in life as each extort is an individual trigger so you can get the life before the next extort trigger resolves. It also triggers every time you cast a spell, so it's very easily remembered, and it feels very rewarding, especially when you activate it multiple times.\n\n2.     Triggers: I tried to keep most triggers at the following points. When a creature enters. When a creature attacks. When a player draws a card. When a creature dies and when a player loses life, or the deck player gains life. I only included a couple at upkeep or end step. This is so it's very easy for them to start recalling when they need to check and put triggers on the stack. One of the biggest issues I’ve seen with new players is missing triggers. Because they are all at the same points, they can also stack them as such If they need to. \n\n3.     Trigger Time choices: ETB. I choose these effects most because they happen when the creature comes in, or a creature comes in. For the ones the player controls, this happens immediately and, once so, limits memory requirements. When a creature attacks, I specifically say when this creature attacks vs. when this creature deals combat damage for the same reason. It happens the second you declare them, and it also helps reward bad attacks because they still get something out of it, even if the attack was bad. This combined well with the whenever a creature attacks you affects which also force them to check when the opposing player declares attackers. When a player loses life or when you gain life, when a creature dies, and when a player draws a card, it happens almost every turn, so they are easy things to remember.\n\n4.     Token generation. The only tokens generated are zombies and harpies. \n\n5. Replacement effects are only 1 effect, which doubles life loss (remembered more by opponents than the player). Opponents can't gain life (remembered by opponents), maha (remembered mainly by and only affects opponents), and mana-affecting ones, which Liliana, Crypt Ghast, and Nirkhana Revanent provide. \n\n6.     Activated abilities. I actually didn’t lower this as much as I wanted to, but I was forced to give up a few things, sticking to the above rules. I did still try to keep them as similar effects as possible.\n\n7.\tFinally, I chose card draw over tutors because new players often don't know when to tutor for what, especially if they are new to the deck. That is why the one thing they can tutor for is swamps via Liliana, but the rest of the abilities are card draws.\n\nThis ended up being significantly more difficult than I expected, but I like what I came up with. I feel most new players could play this deck easily and do well with it. It is also not too committed to one strategy and can win in a few different ways, so if the main strategy isn’t countered, they are not left wondering what to do.\n\nThank you for your time. I appreciate any comments. \n"}]}
Edited 8/11/2024, 8:04:32 PM
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FadingMemory avatarFadingMemory 6 months
{"ops":[{"insert":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/8613148/mabels_mousey_mayhem\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Mabel’s Mousey Mayhem (Red/White)"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Commander: "},{"insert":"Mabel, Heir to Cragflame\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Hint : "},{"insert":"Look at the deck with categories multiple selected\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Concept: "},{"insert":"The reason I chose Mabel, Heir to Cragflame is because she is new. Bloomburrow is the set new players are going to see on the shelves in game stores and department stores. The set we first learned to play magic tends to hold emotional value to us; I learned to play in 6th edition. While the game has changed a lot, I look forward to every opportunity to play white boarder cards. For new players who stick around, Bloomburrow will be their nostalgic set; it was the current set at their time of learning.\n\n    The other reason I chose Mabel is because of something The Command Zone talked about. Part of playing commander is using the tools the commander gives us, but how often do we fly too close to the sun and burn when our commander never lasts more than a rotation (if that)? Mabel’s Mousey Mayhem functions whether or not she is on the table or not. This means new players are going to get to play this deck regardless of Mabel. Mabel becomes a support card and an enabler for the new Valiant mechanic. There is nothing more disheartening for new players than sitting down for a game and not being able to play. This deck lets players play the game without fear of missing out from the commander.\n\n    As for the deck, it is a Boros style creature/combat focused approach. There are 23 mouse/ changeling mouse cards, so there is always a creature on the battlefield. With the new Valiant mechanic there are 17 cards under the Pump category to trigger this new mechanic. Most of these triggers happen at the beginning of combat which makes it much easier for new players to track the triggers. Triggers triggering triggers can be too much for a new player. The other targets are activated abilities, so the player can activate them if/when needed, again much easier to handle.\n\n    There is plenty of removal as well, so new players get to interact with the battlefield and feel like they impacted the game even while losing. And that is the joy of magic; it’s not about winning but playing a game where you felt you made an impact.\n\n   The mana curve is also low at 2.55 so there should not be much issue of not being able to cast a spell.\n\n    As for Keywords there are: Valiant, Vigilance, Trample, Haste, Indestructible, Landfall (1 source), First strike, Doublestrike, Changeling, and Scry.\n\n    For mechanics there are: creatures, artifacts, enchantments, instants, sorceries, abilities at instant speed, abilities at sorcery speed, triggers, impulse draw, destroy, exile, and extra combat (1 card). But all of these keywords and mechanics are in small doses. There is no overwhelming-all-at-once feeling. Most of these happen because of a start of combat trigger and are resolved one at a time. It’s deceptively simple. When you do this, this happens. This happens all the time, this happens when you want it. \n\n    The beauty of its simplicity is that it allows for Magic leveling up (another concept talked about on The Command Zone  (I’m fairly new to EDHRECast so unsure of older episodes). Brambleguard Captain and Flowerfoot Swordmaster allow for learning of stacking triggers in the right order. Sunhome and Slayers’ Stronghold, and Mirror Entity allow for combat tricks instead of activating them at sorcery speed. New players get to level up their play through this deck.\n\n    The price point is cheap, but can easily be upgraded with stronger lands, draw, ramp, and tribal cards. Glorious Anthem is a card designed to ease fears of smaller creatures and can easily be one of the first cuts. But from experience, new players like cards that make their creatures feel more resilient. It’s a part of the level up process.\nMabels Mousey Mayhem is the trill of learning the game while you swing with a 6/6 doublestrike, trample woodland critter, playing Relentless Assault and doing it again for victory.\n"}]}
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dsBlocks avatardsBlocks 6 months
{"ops":[{"insert":"Presenting: "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://archidekt.com/decks/8754112"},"insert":"Grim Balance"},{"insert":", a "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Xavier Sal, Infested Captain"}},{"insert":" list that aims to, unsurprisingly, turn tokens into counters and counters into tokens, gaining additional value at every step of the way. In fact the signpost nature of the commander while simultaneously only having 5 lines of rules text (ignoring reminder text, despite the fact that I specifically chose the version that has the reminder text) is what drew me to it for this occasion. Also, the commander focused on activated abilities (and deck around it) let you make the most fun thing in this game even without cards in hand: choices.\n\nMy personal deckbuilding criteria were:\nMake it a real deck, with real complexity and synergy: I personally don't like when tutorials in games have a training-wheels feel to them, and I believe that if you're interested in MtG, you're likely specifically craving that complexity and synergy."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"On the other hand, no need to make it unnecessarily hard on players for little benefit. For example, i chose not to go down the route of oil counter creatures, or other creatures that will regularly end up with multiple different types of counters on them, unnecessarily cluttering the game state. ("},{"insert":{"card-link":"Dreamtide Whale"}},{"insert":" specifically was on the short list of inclusions before being ditched for this reason.)"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Keep the power level in the proximity of a precon. Getting into MtG sounds a whole lot less fun if your sparring partners have to be decks on the door to cEDH, where lack of experience and knowledge of the \"metagame\" matter a lot more. Also, less (if any) proxying nessessary, if you don't like that sort of thing. While I didn't build with that metric in the front of my mind and it's also not a reliable indicator of power level, the deck comes in at around $100 in card value according to TCGPlayer prices, matching some of the more powerful precons."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Create a solid base power level, with opportunities to discover rules interactions to unlock additional power. Specifically the facts that counters on planeswalkers and sagas are also able to be interacted with, that getting rid of a counter as payment can be a good thing, and that token copies of nontoken things are copyable with Populate can plausibly be derived naturally while playing. The most out-there thing in the deck is definitely a rogue inclusion of "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Dark Depths"}},{"insert":" as a gesture towards the deep end of messing around with counters in unintended ways. It may seem unpractical without a combo to instantly get all counters off it, until you consider that the counters are a resource in and of themselves, on top of serving as a signpost towards possible upgrades."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nThe deck's prime win cons include "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Kiora Bests the Sea God"}},{"insert":" for copious amounts of 8/8 Kraken Tokens, "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Doppelgang"}},{"insert":" for copious amounts of whatever your heart desires, and (exemplifying the spirit of Commander) just generally a tropical cyclone's worth of value. \n\nSultai Value™ -- it's Simic Value but someone dies along the way.\n"}]}
Edited 8/11/2024, 1:39:06 AM
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77hi77 avatar77hi77 6 months
{"ops":[{"insert":"Hellaur! This is my submission: "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/8748179"},"insert":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/8748179"},{"insert":"\n\nThe deck is called "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Your Cards Have So Much Writing!"},{"insert":"\n\nThe commander is "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Jasmine Boreal of the Seven"}},{"insert":", and basically whenever I try to get my newer friends to play a game, they ask me which of my decks requires the least amount of reading. So, a deck of vanilla creatures! Not much more to say, cast vanilla creatures, they're basically unblockable because of the commander, ramp to cast bigger creatures and token producers, attack. It's sort of built like a precon in that there isn't one strategy I went all-in on, you can swap out cards to go wide or tall. I also didn't put much interaction in because that gets in the way of all the Wurms and Gigantosauruses (or, maybe you can say that I want new players to learn firsthand how important interaction is... by making them miss it... Really I just love building glass cannons). \n"}]}
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Alundrium avatarAlundrium 6 months
{"ops":[{"attributes":{"link":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/8734992/queen_of_arrows"},"insert":"My submission to the August build off "},{"insert":"\n\nI call this deck 'Queen of Arrows' with commander "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Ohabi Caleria."},{"insert":"\n\t\tThis is a green/white tribal deck focused on archers and creature abilities.\n\t\tUtilize 'creature type' buffs to make your archers more powerful and allow them to block without worry. \n\t\tFlagbearer creatures included as decoys for incoming spells; ultimately allowing you to swing your archers every player untap.\n\nKey Features:\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Ohabi"},{"insert":" states \""},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Untap all archers you control during "},{"attributes":{"underline":true,"italic":true},"insert":"each other player's untap step\""},{"insert":"\n\tArchers with tap to attack target. Use these as much as possible\n\tUtilize flag bearers as decoys to divert spells away from your key archers\n\tUtilize 'creature type' buffs on your archers to bolster your army\n\tCast changeling spells to bring your archer buffs onto your defenders and flag bearers\n\tSome draw mechanics are sprinkled throughout to keep your hand full\n\t\nThis deck include the following effects:\n\tDeathtouch, Reach, Defender, Hexproof, Lifelink, Myriad, Training, Outlast, First Strike, Morph\n\nThere is no token play in this deck besides the Myriad token copies.\n\nI would recommend having d20s available to track the +1/+1 buffs that many of the cards have. There is a mix of creature-exclusive and battlefield-wide buffs.\n\t\n\n"}]}
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Jefferson92 avatarJefferson92 6 months
{"ops":[{"insert":"My first submission for a contest here!!\n\nhttps://www.archidekt.com/decks/8722667\n\nI went with the partners Rograkh and Anara. I tried to keep the budget to less than $100 with room to improve as collections grow and cards are obtained. I kept my theme close to the combat phase and the few different timings within combat. That aspect was something that I struggled with when i was first learning and still fumble today. The idea and hope is to reliably get Rograkh equipped with a variety of auras and equipments and help him get through for some commander damage. There are plenty of instants that can boost him to be stronger just before damage or get him a little protection to make him harder to destroy. Cheers!\n"}]}
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{"ops":[{"insert":"This is a list I made a while ago that I updated to be more in line with the goal of the contest. The deck description will go into more detail, but it focuses on a Minotaur kindred theme while remaining relatively low-budget.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"link":"https://archidekt.com/decks/6263816/moo_he_said_calmly"},"insert":"Moo (He Said Calmly)"},{"insert":"\n"}]}
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Kriller avatarKriller 6 months
{"ops":[{"insert":"I tried to teach a friend to play the game recently and one of the most annoying things we came across was KEYWORDS. So many keywords. And I feel like one of the worst parts of the game even after playing for a while is needing to read an entire paragraph on every single card. Then came Jasmine Boreal of the Seven. Building a deck around creatures with no abilities makes it much easier to explain the core concepts of the game. To do this effectively I made sure to include decent amounts of creatures, enchantments, artifacts, sorceries, and instants, but actively avoided some pieces with more complexity such as class cards, planeswalkers, dice roll cards, equipment, split second cards and more. With the creatures there is a pretty nice mana curve for a casual game, and I've also included mana dorks to introduce that form of ramp. The enchantments included are primarily anthems. This is because they are much less complicated that many of the other enchantments and they will give a new player a chance to feel more powerful if they opt for a wide board state. The artifacts are there to demonstrate different kinds of utility you'd find with them. And lastly the sorceries and instants give the player an opportunity to try and plan for a game winning state through buffing their creatures and be able to practice basic interaction. Now I will admit one or two keywords did sneak in. The two I know for sure are in the deck are hex proof, indestructible, and trample. However, learning three keywords is absolutely fine. Especially since these three keywords are quite common. Lastly, I wanted to make sure that this deck was very cheap. There is not a single card in the deck over two dollars in cost. The whole deck totals at $50. The deck is simple, and combat focused which I feel is perfect for learning the game. \n\n"},{"attributes":{"link":"https://archidekt.com/decks/8746685/its_kind_of_a_simple_game_tbh"},"insert":"It's kind of a simple game tbh • (Commander / EDH deck) • Archidekt"},{"insert":"\n"},{"insert":{"image":"https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/c/1/c1f5bcc4-3ec7-42ae-8e4b-80a9b9135ff0.jpg?1679172088"}},{"insert":"\n^She the commander\n"}]}
Edited 8/11/2024, 12:34:43 AM
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