u/CommanderMechanic

I built an all-elf combo deck on just a $50 budget and it kicks all kinds of ass:

https://moxfield.com/decks/CcKHjeUqOkmYnAaVPq4Uag

[[Thranduil, the Elvenking]] makes for an awesome intro to combos for newer players and makes for a different kind of elf deck than the elfball or aggro decks we've all played against before. I like this one for a different approach and a different deck in my collection.

And I want to give a copy of the WHOLE DECK away! You can check out the details in the deck's full deck tech over on my channel, but this one's a freebie, on me. Check it out now:

https://youtu.be/IXjTo7Ou3GQ?si=pHP-mqi3YMDQyGy0

Recently I started finding my [[Indominus Rex, Alpha]] deck a little tiresome to play. Folks weren't enjoying playing against it and that was crushing my enjoyment of it too. So I decided, rather than tear it apart, how can I make it MORE FUN?

I made a whole video detailing how I did this to my deck, as well as how I'm self-nerfing my [[Orvar, the All-Form]] deck to find more FUN in commander.

Have you ever done this? Removed good cards in favor of more fun or thematic cards? Turned the power DOWN on your decks?

With everyone building [[Blech, Loafing Pest]] the same way, focusing on life gain only, I wanted to do something different. Why can't a pest lead an insect deck? Or snake deck? So I let this chonky fella teach me something new - and I made a video all about it.

It turns out that building for a more consistent experience, and a more unique deck, is more rewarding than a fragile deck with almost no additional synergies. Who knew??

As the title says, I'm not a fan of the base Goblin Storm secret lair deck. Both the way they handled it and the deck itself. The art? Fantastic. So if you want to use the art and the cards towards something, I've got you covered.

I made THREE $50 budget goblin brews, all covered in my video and linked on my moxfield profile here.

This covers decks for the aggro player, spellslinger, and combo fanatic. But most all of, they're all built with goblin players in mind!

Broad strokes, both [[Silverquill the Disputant]] and [[Aziza Mage Tower Captain]] so the same thing - use creatures to copy instants and sorceries. But Silverquill is seeing thousands of decks build and Aziza basically none.

So what I did was take the white package that both want, being tokens based, and copied it 1:1 under the two commanders then filled out the rest of the deck. This way I could build out two decks for basically one and a half decks. My full video on the process is here.

But the crazy thing is? On a $50 budget Aziza is probably the better commander.

I've been playing, reviewing, and upgrading all 5 of the Secrets of Strixhaven precons and of them I found the unedited Witherbloom Pestilence precon seriously underwhelming. It was OK but it never really had a solid gameplan outside of 2-3 game enders like [[blossoming bogbeast]]

BUT I firmly believe that, with a few upgrades, it's THE BEST precon to get to upgrade to a bracket 4 deck. Here's my full breakdown on what I think needs to be cut and added, but it turns into an infinite combo engine with [[Gorma, The Gullet]] and a few persist creatures.

A $25 brew from scratch would go HARD even in bracket 4. Worthwhile to pick up if that's your jam!

The Quandrix Unlimited precon is a fine precon, I've played it, upgraded it, torn it apart - but it's never anything more than JUST FINE. Part of the problem is that [[Zimone, Infinite Analyst]] requires so much spin-up time, like a minigun - gotta protect her, gotta save her, and you don't even benefit from her until you cast your SECOND X-cost spell.

I've done a full deep-dive on the deck with my thoughts and feelings, but overall I've come to the conclusion it's too much trouble to upgrade and you're better off building a whole new deck around her. Same for [[Primo, the Unbounded]] - the precon doesn't support him ENOUGH to put him at the deck's lead either, but makes a fine commander for a fresh deck.

Have you had any success upgrading this precon or building something new with the guts of the Quandrix Unlimited deck?

When I asked on my channel I got over 5,000 responses for peoples' picks for the best Secrets of Strixhaven precon and lots of folks said they were skipping the Prismari Artistry precon because they "already had a spellslinger deck". But the deck isn't a spellslinger deck, it's a token deck. It took me a moment to realize it as well, as I break down in my video on the deck this week, but is this just uninformed bias against UR as THE SPELLSLINGER ARCHETYPE?