Commander Social

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Commander Social is a podcast about the Magic: the Gathering variant, Commander! Your hosts Ryan, and Zack attempt to entertain you with interesting anecdotes about the game of Magic, including their experience running a Commander league.

Check Us Out on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/commandersocial

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/commandersocial/

Contact us on Twitter @commandersocial
Ryan - @greenegeek
Zack - @z4ck38

Email: cast@commandersocial.com

Having a Plan: Win Cons - Ep 25 0

Nov 27, 2019

Patreon
1. Patron of the week: T.H. The Intern
2. Patreon Contest: Win a Brawl Deck of your choice
1. Ryan - @greenegeek
2. Zack - @z4ck38
3. Together - @commandersocial
4. Twitter contest - Foil Kenrith, the Returned King
You can find us on Twitter
1. Mike Condon for audio engineering and a Metronome
Thanks
1. TH the Intern - 0:50
2. @dpkrausejr - 2:00
3. @chrisvondoom1 - 4:03
4. @MaxBloomfield4 - 6:48
5. @BentzMr - 22:59
6. @kanyewest - 23:54
7. @MothershipGames - 31:41
8. @MetalMatReturns - 32:56
9. @CommandersBrew - 37:08
10. @KayJewelers - 41:05
Ep 25 Community Spotlight:
1. 601.2f, 601.2g
Commander Rules!
1. Having a plan Starts even before you sit down to a game
2. 1. It happens when you’re building your deck
  2. 1. Decks should have a plan and ultimately, aside from everyone having fun while playing, this plan should end in winning.
    1. Games vary wildly, be ready to adapt your plan, or drop it all together
    2. 1. Sometimes the board gets clogged up, and you need to wait on a Board Wipe before you commit anymore resource
      2. Sometimes an opponent casts Wheel of Fortune, or Windfall, and now you have to come up with a new plan, cause your old plan is in the graveyard
      3. Sometimes you may have to rely on resources outside your deck, like Politics
  3. Be ready for your plan to change at a moment’s notice
    1. Super Friends
    2. Poison counters
    3. +1/+1 Counters
  4. Some Commanders facilitate having a plan more than others. Example, Atraxa, Praetors’ Voice
  5. Some Commanders are harder: Example Ertai the Corrupted, Tatyova, Benthic Druid
    1. Zack - I have lots of ideas for decks and I’ll see cool commanders that have sweet synergies that allow me to do cool things like generate infinite mana, draw a bunch of cards, or do other things like that, but I always have a problem finishing games.
    2. If you remember from two episodes ago, a slot ryan and I didn’t overlap in was wincons. This is because I like to specifically spell out what cards I plan to use to win, whether it be a combo or an eldrazi.
      1. Ryan - This is how I win :)
    3. Most games I kind of spin my wheels and do things, but I rarely win.
  6. Plan for your win-cons
    1. Example: Ryan has an Aryel, Knight of Windgrace deck, and cannot win outside of the combat step. Glacial Chasm/Constant Mists are nearly impossible for that deck to beat
    2. 1. Maybe add some cards like Skull Storm or Approach of the Second Sun, or Torment of Hailfire
      1. Maybe play a card like Meteor Golem (Thanks to Matt Jorgenson @MetalMatReturns)
      2. Maybe a Laboratory Maniac or Jace, Wielder of Mysteries
      3. Maybe Rite of Replication or Echo Storm
    3. Emry, Lurker of the Loch gets completely shutdown by Rest in Peace
  7. Maybe even have a backup plan or two.
  1. Attacking with fat creatures. Oftentimes this is accentuated with a little bit of the ole Craterhoof Behemoth, or Overrun, or Triumph of the Horde
    1. Mirrodin besieged
    2. Darksteel Reactor
    3. Revel in Riches
    4. Mortal Combat
  2. Alternate condition win cons
    1. Sharuum, Phyrexian Metamorph, Bitter Ordeal
    2. Exquisite Blood and Sanguine Bond
  3. Comboing out the table
  4. Milling Out someone, or Large amounts of mana and a Stroke of Genius
    1. Exsanguinate
    2. Torment of Hailfire
    3. Expropriate
    4. Past in Flames
    5. Mizzik’s Mastery
  5. Big Mana/Spells
3. So what are some common Win Cons?
  1. You’ll find games easier to navigate when you have a plan. It’s also a good idea to build in some backup plans, and maybe even some cards to counterspell or protect your primary plan. So plan on tuning into us next week for more Commander Content
4. Summary
Main Topic - Having a Plan
Thanks for watching! Please remember to Like and Subscribe, and you can follow us on Twitter, @commandersocial, @greenegeek, @z4ck38. Keep it Social!
Commander Social Intro and Outro Theme
Raindrop by Declan DP https://soundcloud.com/declandp Licensing Agreement 2.0 http://www.declandp.info/music-licensing
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/LbIb9_5_qNE
1. Komiku - Battle of Pogs
2. https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
Zack Gets it Together Theme
Thanks for listening and keep it social!
1. Consider becoming a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/commandersocial
2. You can check us out at commandersocial.com
3. YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/CommanderSocial
4. You can email us directly at cast@commandersocial.com
5. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/commandersocial
6. On twitter @commandersocial
  1. twitch.tv/greenegeek
7. Ryan individually @greenegeek
8. Zack individually @z4ck38
Contact Info
© Copyright 2019 Leaky Dinghy, LLC

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Working for Your Wins - Ep 24 0

Nov 20, 2019

Patreon
1. Patron of the week: Andrew Harmon
  1. ALSO, Patron ONLY Brawl Tournament, winner to get a Brawl Deck
2. Patreon Contest - Win a Brawl Deck of your choice
1. Ryan - @greenegeek
2. Zack - @z4ck38
3. Together - @commandersocial
You can find us on Twitter

1. Twitter contest - Foil Kenrith, the Returned King
1. https://moteam.co/commander-social?mc=1
Movember

Thanks
1. Mike Condon for audio engineering and Maple Tree Tap
1. Andrew Harmon - 1:25
2. @chrisvondoom1 - 5:23
3. @GingerJ0E - 5:23
4. @PKP_Magic - 5:41
5. @Kesswylie - 6:01
6. @theMMcast - 6:01
7. @danaroach - 25:27
8. @CMDRCentral - 25:27
9. @thespikefeeders - 31:12
10. @BentzMr - 37:02
11. @JasonEAlt - 39:06
Ep 24 Community Spotlight:
1. 500.1
Commander Rules!
1. This topic is a little more on the psychological side of things, but I thought it would be an interesting thought experiment about why we play magic, and maybe why we like Commander chief amongst formats
2. So, WHAT is Working for a Win? To me, it’s the notion that a close game or a hard fought game is more satisfying to win.
  1. I played a LOT of video games in the 80s.
  2. 1. Super Mario Brothers
    2. Zelda
    3. Mega Man
    4. Metroid
    5. Ghosts n’ Goblins
  3. These games were TOUGH! If you didn’t grow up playing these games, and you’ve never gone back and played them you can look up ppl playing these games on youtube
  4. Zack’s game was X-Com UFO Defense
  5. In order to beat many of these types of games, it required a LOT of persistence, and banging your head against a wall in frustration. Many of the games didn’t have a save system, so you just had to play repeatedly until you got good enough to beat them.
  6. There weren't any walkthroughs you could look up on the internet. There wasn’t internet.
3. Part of this may stem from growing up during the time that we grew up
  1. - That euphoric feeling when you finally DO best a video game.
  2. 1. I remember I got in front of my TV and got my parents to take a “selfie” (ie polaroid) of me standing next to the credits when I beat the original Final Fantasy NES game.
  3. Zack - didn’t really get into beating games until college / post college when I beat the first few Halo games in a row as well as the first couple of Gears of War. It was an awesome feeling knowing these games were pretty difficult and there were a lot of times I just had to keep playing through to keep going. I remember getting soo mad at this on thing in GoW where I was behind like a counter and there was a dude on a cannon and two dude covering him and I’d jump out and die almost immediately. It took me two days to beat that I i remember being immensely proud when i did.
4. So WHY do we like working for a win?
  1. Disclaimer: This next bit mostly applies to Multiplayer games.
  2. 1. I think Magic players WANT a good game. I think most people would describe a good game as one that is CLOSE. Essentially, I think Magic players want to WORK for their WINs. (Audience, do you think this is true?)
    2. Even coming from a Standard / Modern grinder perspective games that are blowouts always felt like hollow victories.
  3. If a game is a good game, and a close game, it will often feel like a puzzle. We as humans like feeling smart, and so it’s only natural that we enjoy solving puzzles. Part of what makes Magic such an amazing game is that it continually generates new and unique puzzles for us to solve.
    1. Example story about Dana getting 6 alt-lose kills in-a-row in back-to-back games.
    2. 1. Mirrodin Besieged:
      2. 2U Enchantment:
        
        As Mirrodin Besieged enters the battlefield, choose Mirran or Phyrexian.
  4. Getting good stories. Games where you have to Work for your Win often generate good stories. Another thing about us humans, we enjoy a good story.
5. HOW does working for a win apply to Magic?
Main Topic - Working for Wins

Mirran — Whenever you cast an artifact spell, create a 1/1 colorless Myr artifact creature token.
Phyrexian — At the beginning of your end step, draw a card, then discard a card. Then, if there are fifteen or more artifact cards in your graveyard, target opponent loses the game.

1. 1. 1. 1. Atemsis, All-Seeing
      2. 3UUU 4 / 5 Flying Sphinx
        
        2U tap: draw two cards then discard a card
        
        When Atemsis, all-seeing deals damage to player you may reveal your hand and if there’s 6 different mana costs in the hand that player loses the game
      1. Once in league i was playing niv mizzet and just went off. I don’t remember exactly what happened, but I remember everyone at the table was cheering for me to get the win and I did!
    2. Zack any good stories you want to share?
      1. Zack - This speaks to my philosophy on EDH where I don’t care if i win or loose, I just want to see crazy things happen! I want to have awesome stories to tell whether I win or lose!
    3. Also, I think that games with good stories are more satisfying for EVERYONE involved, win or lose.
    1. Ryan - I personally haven’t played very much cEDH
    2. cEDH players players probably do a fair amount of this, cause they have lots of interaction to fight through, so maybe their deck wins in the same way most games, but they are trying to balance WHEN to go for it, and when to leave up interaction for their opponents
    3. If you’re out there, and you like/play a lot of cEDH, holler at us, and let us know if this is correct, and how you might feel.
  2. cEDH (or Competative EDH) may really feel like this.
    1. This is why we have the talk to ensure everyone is playing an equally powered deck and thus have an equal chance at winning.
  3. Why we all want decks of similar power levels, so that each game is not just a cake walk. Cake walks don’t generate good stories.
  4. Ryan - Working for a win is part of why I personally don’t like playing a LOT of tutors. I do play some, but I often find I like to play more narrow tutors
  5. Working for a win is also probably a lot of the reason that I like playing with O.P.C. (cause it oftentimes makes the puzzle harder, or at least more interesting, AND the pieces of the puzzle change depending on WHO I’m playing against)
  6. Zack - working for a win for me is why i always like to play some convoluted combo in my decks, but not run tutors for them. I like the idea of having to fight to survive long enough to get the pieces assembled. Usually these are alt win cons.
  1. Magic is the best game ever, and the ability to work for our wins is probably a big part of what makes magic so good. Did we get this right? Do you enjoy working for your wins? Let us know in the comments below, or via Twitter
2. Summary:
Thanks for watching! Please remember to Like and Subscribe, and you can follow us on Twitter, @commandersocial, @greenegeek, @z4ck38. Keep it Social!
Commander Social Intro and Outro Theme
Raindrop by Declan DP https://soundcloud.com/declandp Licensing Agreement 2.0 http://www.declandp.info/music-licensing
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/LbIb9_5_qNE
1. Komiku - Battle of Pogs
2. https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
Zack Gets it Together Theme
1. Consider becoming a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/commandersocial
2. You can check us out at commandersocial.com
3. YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/CommanderSocial
4. You can email us directly at cast@commandersocial.com
5. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/commandersocial
6. On twitter @commandersocial
  1. twitch.tv/greenegeek
7. Ryan individually @greenegeek
8. Zack individually @z4ck38
Contact Info
© Copyright 2019 Leaky Dinghy, LLC

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A Tail of Two Emrys - Ep 23 0

Nov 13, 2019

Patreon
1. Patron of the week: Lee
  1. ALSO, Patron ONLY Brawl Tournament, winner to get a Brawl Deck
2. Patreon Contest - Win a Brawl Deck of your choice
1. Ryan - @greenegeek
2. Zack - @z4ck38
3. Together - @commandersocial
4. Twitter contest - Foil Kenrith, the Returned King
You can find us on Twitter
1. https://moteam.co/commander-social
2. We’re growing sweet staches and walking 60 miles in the month of November
Movember
1. Mike Condon for audio engineering and Peanut Butter Parfaits
Thanks
1. Lee - 1:12
2. @GavinVerhey - 3:48
3. @GingerJ0E - 15:45
4. @CMDRCentral_Max - 15:45, 22:26
5. @danaroach - 33:31
6. @CommandersBrew - 49:42
7. @MothershipGames - 1:01:47
Ep 23 Community Spotlight:
1. 110.1, 110.5
Commander Rules!
1. While Ryan and I tend to gravitate towards similar decks and playstyles, we often take different approaches to how we would build decks. Tonight we are comparing Ryan’s Emry deck to Zack’s!
2. 1. Zack’s Deck: https://archidekt.com/decks/258206#Zack's_Emry
    1. Ryan’s Budget version: https://archidekt.com/decks/269099#Ryan's_Emry_-_Budget
  2. Ryan’s Deck: https://archidekt.com/decks/266924#Ryan's_Emry
    1. Joe Hoffman, Max Crandell, Brando Calrisian
  3. Thanks to the Folks that helped us work on these decks
  1. Zack - To draw all the cards, and take all the turns
  2. Ryan - Robots in de-Loch. Constructs wage a war to destroy the evil forces, of the Zack-ticons (Construct Tribal)
3. Deck Motivation / Plan
  1. Maybe make some graphics for this
    1. Removal - 12
    2. Ramp - 8
    3. Card Draw - 8
    4. Synergy - 5
    5. Counterspells - 4
    6. Wincon - 6
    7. Combo - 6
    8. Moar Turns - 4
    9. Flex - 9
    10. Lands - 37
  2. Zack’s Slots
    1. Constructs - 13
    2. Commander Synergy - 6
    3. Self Mill - 5
    4. Card Draw - 8
    5. Ramp - 8
    6. Recursion - 6
    7. Removal - 4
    8. Board Wipes - 4
    9. Flex - 9
    10. Lands - 36
  3. Ryan’s Slots
    1. Ryan
    2. 1. 42 Artifacts
      2. 30 Creatures
      3. 8 Instant
      4. 4 Enchantment
      5. 3 Sorcery
      6. 37 Land
      1. 27 Artifacts
      2. 11 Creatures
      3. 15 Instant
      4. 6 Enchantment
      5. 9 Sorcery
      6. 2 Planeswalker
      7. 37 Land
    3. Zack
  4. Card types
    1. Ryan - 3.06
    2. Zack - 4.13
  5. Average CMC
    1. Surprisingly, we overlapped in very few cards:
      1. Academy Ruins
      2. Castle Vantress
      3. Darksteel Citadel
      4. Inventors' Fair
      5. Seat of the Synod
    2. Lands
      1. Cyclonic Rift
      2. Duplicant
      3. Flood of Tears
      4. Mind Stone
      5. Mirrodin Besieged
      6. Reality Shift
      7. Solemn Simulacrum
    3. Non-lands
    4. HOW DID I FORGET SOL RING!!!!!!??!?!?!?!!?!
  6. Overlap
4. Stats - Before we get into it let’s compare some data points on the deck
  1. Ryan
  2. 1. Giant Robots - Arcbound Ravager, Metalwork Colossus, Myr Battlesphere, Torrential Gearhulk, Traxos, Triskelion
    2. Artificer’s Intuition, 13 zero and one mana artifacts, Also this allows for potential Emry on Turn 1
    3. Paradoxical Outcome - Potential to return lots of cards, and draw lots of cards
    4. Self Mill to get lots of Fuel for Emry in the yard
    5. Urza, Lord High Artificer - Finally have a place to play this
    6. Scrapyard Recombiner - 15 Constructs (13 in the construct category and two in other categories)
    7. Artifact Sac Outlets - Dedicated ways to use out of Emry’s replay effect.
    8. Recursion - Emry does this, but so does Scrap Trawler, Trading Post, Junk Diver, Salvaging Station
    9. Untapping Emry to bring a LOT of things back - Minamo, School at Water’s Edge, Freed from the Real
    1. Sol Ring
      1. Extra Planar Lens
      2. Caged Sun
    2. Mono Color gotta have mana doublers
    3. Mirrodin Besieged
      1. Dramatic Reversal
      2. High Tide
      3. Reset
    4. Isochron Scepter with two drop instants
    5. Cyclonic rift and clones
    6. Chasm Skulker
    7. Mystic Forge
  3. Zack
5. Fun card synergies
  1. Zack
  2. Ryan - Not your typical Emry deck. I tried to make sure there weren’t any infinite combos in the list. Each turn is going to feel like a puzzle, on how to extract the most value out of your cards. Plus, Huge robots!
6. Why my deck is the most fun to play / play against
  1. Let us know by voting in our week long poll.
7. So what did you think of our decks?
Main Topic - A Tail of Two Emrys
Thanks for watching! Please remember to Like and Subscribe, and you can follow us on Twitter, @commandersocial, @greenegeek, @z4ck38. Keep it Social!
Commander Social Intro and Outro Theme
Raindrop by Declan DP https://soundcloud.com/declandp Licensing Agreement 2.0 http://www.declandp.info/music-licensing
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/LbIb9_5_qNE
1. Komiku - Battle of Pogs
2. https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
Zack Gets it Together Theme
1. Consider becoming a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/commandersocial
2. You can check us out at commandersocial.com
3. YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/CommanderSocial
4. You can email us directly at cast@commandersocial.com
5. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/commandersocial
6. On twitter @commandersocial
  1. twitch.tv/greenegeek
7. Ryan individually @greenegeek
8. Zack individually @z4ck38
Contact Info

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The One About Brawl - Ep 22 0

Nov 6, 2019

Patreon
1. Patron of the week: Max Crandell
2. Patreon Contest - November Giveaway: Brawl Deck of Your Choice
1. Ryan - @greenegeek
2. Zack - @z4ck38
3. Together - @commandersocial
4. Twitter contest - November Giveaway: Foil Kenrith, the Returned King
You can find us on Twitter
1. Mike Condon for audio engineering
Thanks
1. @CMDRCentral_Max - 1:46, 2:16, 5:37
2. @CMDRCentral, @danaroach, @wisesquishy1 - 2:16
3. T.H.e Intern, @TheTokenOtaku, @Tequila_Nebula, @chrisvondoom1, @GingerJ0E - 5:37
4. @MTG_Arena - 14:00, 18:27
5. @MothershipGames - 23:30
6. @StarCityGames - 24:00
7. @Sunyveil - 24:00
Ep 22 Community Spotlight:
1. 606.4
  1. Legendary Artifact
  2. Whenever you activate a loyalty ability of a Chandra planeswalker, you may pay {1}. If you do, copy that ability. You may choose new targets for the copy.
  3. {1}, {T}, Discard a Mountain card or a red card: Draw a card.
2. Chandra's Regulator {1}{R}
Commander Rules!
1. Commander Social Brawl Stream: https://youtu.be/N4Khy6SZBig
2. Starcity Games article by @Sunyveil: http://www.starcitygames.com/articles/39143_Twelve-Card-Upgrades-To-Throne-Of-Eldraines-Preconstructed-Brawl-Decks.html
Main Topic - Brawl
Thanks for watching! Please remember to Like and Subscribe, and you can follow us on Twitter, @commandersocial, @greenegeek, @z4ck38. Keep it Social!
Commander Social Intro and Outro Theme
Raindrop by Declan DP https://soundcloud.com/declandp Licensing Agreement 2.0 http://www.declandp.info/music-licensing
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/LbIb9_5_qNE
1. Komiku - Battle of Pogs
2. https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
Zack Gets it Together Theme
1. Consider becoming a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/commandersocial
2. You can check us out at commandersocial.com
3. YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/CommanderSocial
4. You can email us directly at cast@commandersocial.com
5. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/commandersocial
6. On twitter @commandersocial
  1. twitch.tv/greenegeek
7. Ryan individually @greenegeek
8. Zack individually @z4ck38
Contact Info

Download this Episode