Commander Theory

In this episode, Valerio (probably better known as @golgariguy on Twitter) returns to the show to discuss the absolute state of monored. Although White has gotten a lot of community attention in the last few years, Red has quietly fallen behind the other colors and is lacking many of the basic tools needed to compete in Commander. With data, deckbuilding, and a healthy bit of theorycrafting, we dissect Red and offer some areas where it could be improved without breaking the color pie.Decks discussed in this episode:Monogreen GoodstuffMonoblue GoodstuffMonoblack GoodstuffMonowhite GoodstuffMonored Goodstuff (Nick)Monored Goodstuff (Raphael)Monored Goodstuff (@golgariguy)Support the showYou can reach me on Twitter or email me hereIf you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon! Now with ad-free episodes!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)

Which cards from Lost Caverns of Ixalan are going to see the most play in Commander? How accurate were my predictions on which cards from Wilds of Eldraine would see the most adoption on EDHREC? Tune in to find out!Support the showYou can reach me on Twitter or email me hereIf you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon! Now with ad-free episodes!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)

Nick and guest host Brian descend into the Lost Caverns of Ixalan (and the associated precons), exploring the many new staples being released in the set and discovering a few gems that you may have missed.The Gaming BlenderHave you ever wanted to design your own video game?Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the showYou can reach me on Twitter or email me hereIf you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon! Now with ad-free episodes!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)

Taking a slightly different approach to this spoiler season, as I'm skipping past the limited fodder legends and only doing a highlight reel of the most interesting commanders from both Lost Caverns of Ixalan AND the set's Commander precons. Let me know how you like the new format with a slightly more digestible length and an extremely high concentration of bangers!Decks discussed in this episode:Akal Pakal, First Among EqualsInti, Seneschal of the SunOjer Axonil, Deepest MightKutzil, Malamet ExemplarHakbal of the Surging SoulXolatoyac, the Smiling FloodPantlaza, Sun-Favored Glass Cannon ComboWayta, Trainer ProdigyTetzin, Gnome ChampionXavier Sal, Infested CaptainSupport the showYou can reach me on Twitter or email me hereIf you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon! Now with ad-free episodes!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)

We're wrapping up our coverage of the Doctor Who Commander decks just in time for the end of Lost Caverns of Ixalan spoiler season! Nick is joined by patron Ben to discuss all the cards from WHO with potential to make a splash in the 99, from narrow tech to new Commander format staples!Support the showYou can reach me on Twitter or email me hereIf you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon! Now with ad-free episodes!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)

We've gotten through WHO's Doctors and Companions, but the set of precons still has over 30 new options for Commanders to discuss, including many of the show's most iconic villains! Nick is joined by patron Ben to highlight the sweetest tech for these new decks and share some of the lore behind the new crossover!Decklists discussed in this episode:Danny PinkThe Master, MesmeristThe Master, MultipliedThe Beast, Deathless PrinceSergeant John BentonAshad, the Lone CybermanThe Face of BoeSupport the showYou can reach me on Twitter or email me hereIf you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon! Now with ad-free episodes!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)

With 15 doctors and 25 companions, WHO has unleashed a huge number of options for Commander brewers. Nick is joined by patron Jason to call out the most powerful of the 375 doctor/companion combinations, highlight the sweetest tech for these new decks, and share some of the lore behind the new crossover!Decks discussed in this episode: The Ninth Doctor and Clara Oswald (Black)The Ninth Doctor and Tegan JovankaThe War Doctor and Ryan SinclairSupport the showYou can reach me on Twitter or email me hereIf you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon! Now with ad-free episodes!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)

Which cards from Wilds of Eldraine are going to see the most play in Commander? How accurate were our predictions on which cards from Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth would see the most adoption? Tune in to find out!Support the showYou can reach me on Twitter or email me hereIf you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon! Now with ad-free episodes!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)

Wizards recently released Ponies: the Galloping 2 as a Secret Lair Drop benefiting children's charity Extra Life. In addition to discussing the cards in this drop and their applications in Commander, I brought in the Discord server's resident MLP expert, Logan, to unpack the references to My Little Pony's mane six and the world of Equestria.Decks discussed in this episode:FluttershyPinkie PieRainbow DashSupport the showYou can reach me on Twitter or email me hereIf you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon! Now with ad-free episodes!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)

Valerio (probably better known as @golgariguy on Twitter) returns to the show to discuss which Commander archetypes have gained the most in the last year of Magic releases. You may be able to guess a few but there have been a lot of surprising winners that secretly synergize with new mechanics, changes in Wizards design policy, and critical masses that have recently been achieved. Let us know if any of your decks have been heavily impacted by new cards!Support the showYou can reach me on Twitter or email me hereIf you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon! Now with ad-free episodes!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)

Taking a break to enjoy the post-spoiler season afterglow; please enjoy this re-run of one of my favorite eps from the past year.Typal is a well you can come back to over and over because, well, it's fun! And there are infinite possibilities! So in this episode Nick and Zak dive into which types have the highest ranking members on EDHREC, and compare that to what the type overall is ranked to see where the biggest delta of power is. What's the difference between "how often played" and "how often played together"? What do these creature types need to "get there"? And why aren't people taking notice now if the cards are so strong? Listen in and find out!Support the showYou can reach me on Twitter or email me hereIf you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon! Now with ad-free episodes!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)

Did you read through the Wilds of Eldraine spoiler and wonder where the heck the Faerie typal commander was? It's in the precons, as well as a Role so strong they couldn't release it into Standard. Nick and guest host Brian delve into the new commanders and maindeck cards in the Wilds of Eldraine precons, sharing their thoughts on which have broader applications elsewhere in Commander.Decks discussed in this episode:Ellivere of the Wild CourtTegwyll, Duke of SplendorSupport the showYou can reach me on Twitter or email me hereIf you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon! Now with ad-free episodes!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)

Nick is joined by patron Cary to review the new maindeck cards from Wilds of Eldraine! While the set's themes are on the weak side there are still plenty of new format staples, powerful role-players to bolster narrow archetypes, and a few sleepers that you might want to grab before everyone else jumps on the bandwagon. Disagree with our takes? Did we miss an important card? Hit me up and share your thoughts!Support the showYou can reach me on Twitter or email me hereIf you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon! Now with ad-free episodes!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)

Nick is joined by patron Cary to review a fresh crop of legends from Wilds of Eldraine! Do you have a hot take or a spicy brew for one of the set's commanders? Hit me up and share your secret tech! Decks discussed in this episode:Imodane, the PyrohammerHylda of the Icy CrownWill, Scion of PeaceRowan, Scion of WarBrenard, Ginger SculptorSupport the showYou can reach me on Twitter or email me hereIf you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon! Now with ad-free episodes!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)

In this week's ep, Andy from the Legendary Creature Podcast swung by the pod to chat about our favorite keywords in Magic! Decks discussed in this episode:Everything TypalSkithiryx, the Blight DragonSefris of the Hidden WaysZur - REM CycleLord WindgraceKadena, Slinking SorcererOskar, Rubbish ReclaimerEdgin, Larcenous LutenistBrokkos - Don't @ MeZagras, Thief of HeartbeatsGrenzo - Gentleman BastardsMarisi - I'm Already in Your AssEsika, God of the TreeSupport the showYou can reach me on Twitter or email me hereIf you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon! Now with ad-free episodes!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening theme is Lincoln Continental by Entrophy (now Nic Cage on Soundcloud)

At GenCon this year Maro and the Magic: The Gathering Team released the plan for the next 3 years of magic sets, something they've never done before. They're calling these next 3 years the Omenpath Story and it starts with Wilds of Eldraine (which we'll start to go over soon!) and ends with "Zip-line" an as-of-yet unnamed set we know only as the capstone event set for these 3 years of releases! SO LET'S TALK ABOUT IT!! Nick and Zak discuss predictions, mechanical and otherwise, what they expect to see, and their hopes, dreams, and fears. So listen in and let us know what you think about it all too! This is also Zak's last podcast (at least for now) And they want you all to know that You! The listener! Were the reason to keep making these episodes. Zak hopes you all keep listening and can't wait to see what the future holds, so thank you all for the support over the years!! Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

Slothbear suggested this Episode in the CT discord server, and Nick and Zak thought it was a great idea for an episode. Slothbear asked how different formats affect the perception of build-arounds, synergies, and how to translate from 1v1 to multiplayer. So in this episode, the cohosts talk about what they've learned from limited that makes them better at commander. How are the two similar? Is there really anything these two very different ways to play magic have in common? Of course there is! So listen in and let us know what you think too! Decklists:Magar of the Magic stringsAmareth EnchantressMina and Denn DiscardFeldon of the Third PathAdeline, Resplendent CatharEzuri, Stalker of SpheresSupport the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

There have been a TON of updates to Mono-White's suite of cards in the last few years since Nick and Zak released the "Quantifying The Color Pie" Episode, and we've checked in since, but this last year has been giving a lot of tools to white! So here we are again! Checking in and even looking ahead to see what some of this year will have in store. What was white lacking that it has now gotten? Are there any archetypes that stand out? Or can you sit down with Mono-White "goodstuff" and expect to win at most tables? Listen in and find out! Then let us know what you think wherever you can reach us usually!DungeonmancyThis D&D Podcast follows heroes that confront evil dwelling on the fringes of society.Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

Commander Masters follows the tradition of being a reprint-only set. JK there are new cards in the commander decks and it doesn't have a separate set code! In this episode, Nick and Zak get to the thing you're all used to, card-by-card analysis and some deep dives into the new legendary creatures. This set is special/different in a few ways, and they all get some discussion, so listen in and let us know what you think about this crazy set too! Decklists:ZhulodokNarci, Fable SingerCommodore GuffSupport the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

Well, we finished the set reviews, so what are your bets on the cards seeing the most play in LOTR??? Nick and Zak have some ideas, and do a quick check-in to see what they got right from March of the Machine from a few months back. How many did they guess correctly? How many do you think are dumb picks this time? What's your vote for the most played card in the set? Let us know! We'd love to hear from you all. Also, apologies about the audio quality on Zak's track. The program we were using said it was hooked up to the correct microphone, but was using a headphone mic instead. Oops! We'll be back with better-quality audio soon. Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

There comes a time in every review cycle when the two hosts of a podcast make time to get together and look at every new card in the Lord of the Rings, Tales of Middle Earth Commander Decklists. For Nick and Zak, that time was last weekend. What are the deck themes, and which themes do the two hosts like the best? What cards are the coolest for the command zone and in the 99? Well, there's a lot here so listen in and tell us your favorite cards too! Decklists:Beregond of the Guard The Gaffer Treebeard, Gracious Host Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

There are a LOT of options for cards to play in Commander (basically all of them!), but that doesn't mean all cards get the love they deserve! On this episode Nick and Zak are joined once again by Valerio, better known as Golgariguy on Twitter, to discuss cards that have played incredibly well, but see play in 1% or less of decks on EDHREC.  There are a lot of hidden gems in this episode, but also some straight-up surprises, so listen in, and let us know your favorite underplayed cards as well! Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

What's middle earth bringing to the 111th birthday this year? Well, a whole lot of new Magic cards! Nick and Zak dive straight into the nitty-gritty of the new set, talking about all the cards they think could have a splash in Commander.  What's blue look like in a more casual set? How does mono-brown card draw fair in a world where white can, well, just draw cards on its own? And how many legends will we bring up from the last episode in this one? Listen in and find out! Also want to say thank you for your patience. It's a lot prepping, recording, and editing these episodes so we thank you for being ok with this one coming out a little late. Enjoy, and as always, let us know what you think! Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

It's finally here! Nick and Zak get into the legends from the set that are poised to make a splash and there are a lot of them! If you don't hear us talking about your favorite new commander from the main set let us know! We'd love to hear about what you'd do to build them. Decklists:Gandalf, The White Gandalf, White Rider (yes there's two white Gandalfs!)Goldberry, River-Daughter submitted by DionaeaErekbrand, Lord of Westfold Fanghorn, Tree Shepherd  Radagast the Brown Arwen, Mortal Queen King of the Oathbreakers Shelob, Child of Ungoliant Smeagle, Helpful Guide Galadriel of Lothlorien Shadowfax, Lord of Horses Sauron, The Dark Lord Tom Bombadill Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

Oh Boy! Our very first in the series before we knew we'd be doing it more! Due to some conflicts, this week will be a rerun episode, but we wanted to look back to an episode we really liked and to name it officially as part of the series. The Dark will always be a special set to both of us, and we hope you can hear that in this episode too. Next week is the beginning of Lord Of The Rings, so get ready! We're not going to be able to cover every legend in the set, but we're gonna do our best! See you all then! Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

Nick and Zak are busy, which means more time away from the game table and friends. So how do they cope? Historic Brawl! The cohosts have sung the praises of the format before, but in this episode the two talk about what could be done to improve the format. What are queues like and how can you game them? Is that they best way things could be? Wether you play the format or not, there's some card discussion and meta-analysis of player experiences that you might find interesting, so listen in and let us know how you feel about historic brawl too! Sorry for the late episode this week! Some mix-ups in queues meant the episode was delayed, but we'll be back this week with regularly scheduled content. Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

There are so many new cards, maybe you'd appreciate a blast from the past? This episode looks back at Portal, one of the first supplemental products for Magic: The Gathering that was intended as an on-ramp for new players. But did it work? What did they do differently? And what was the set's lasting impact on commander? Join Nick and Zak as they look back and talk about some stories of their favorite cards from Portal, and let us know if you have any favorites too! Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

So you saw a cool legend on the backside of a battle and were wishing you could play it as a commander, huh? Well, Nick and Zak look back at not just battles, but a lot of cards that are part legendary creature, just not in the way you can helm a deck with them. The "Flip" commanders! Whether it's MDFC or actual "flip cards" from Kamigawa block, we hope you might be inspired to play a commander that might not be a commander most of the time. Decklists:Caetus, Sea Tyrant of Segovia Marchesa, Resolute Monarch Ephara, Ever-Sheltering Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

Does it count as lying if you didn't know it wasn't going to be true in a week? Nick and Zak have one last (we mean it!) spoiler episode for this cycle, and it's some of the most notable cards from March of the Machine: Aftermath! This set is interesting for a lot of reasons. It has 5/6 card boosters, a 50-ish card set (don't look at the variants), and some rad new commanders! Every mythic and some rares are new legendary creatures! So let's get into it, and let us know what your favorite (or least favorite!) things are in the set! Nissa, Resurgent AnimistOb Nixilis, Captive KingpinCalix, Guided by FaithSigarda, Font of BlessingsJirina, Dauntless GeneralTyvar the BellicoseJolrael, Voice of ZhalfirKiora, Sovereign of the DeepSarkhan, Soul AflameNahiri, Forged in FuryNiv-Mizzet, SupremeKarn, Legacy ReforgedSupport the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

Nick and Zak try to stay on top of what people tend to want to play from sets as a thermometer on the format, so predictions are here! What happened with All Will Be One? Did the two co-hosts hit the mark? And what do they think will be popular this time? The co-hosts get in the weeds about specific cards and reasons people might like them, so if you're into some nitty-gritty card analysis this is a great episode for you! Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

Another set another bunch of precons! What's that? This set is special and concludes a years-long, multi-set storyline about the Phyrexian invasion of the multiverse? Huh! In this episode Nick and Zak discuss the new cards you can find in the newest planechase release, I mean 5 pre-constructed decks for the MOM commander set. There's a ton of stuff to talk about, so listen in and let us know how you felt about this set of commander decks! Decklists: Evil Brimaz Sidar Jabari of ZhalfirKasla, The Broken HaloSupport the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

Not much to say here! Nick and Zak get into the main deck cards they thought were notable and talk a whole lot of shop. Listen in and let us know what your favorite cards from the set were! Did you like incubate? Hit us up! Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

That time again! With a huge swath of 33(!?!) new commanders, Nick and Zak get right to it! Digging into what decks might look like, what cards are really great within the decks, and the general designs they like and don't like. A standard CT approach to a very not standard set! So listen in and let us know what new legendary creature you like the most (or hate the most! Hating is fun too sometimes!) DECKLISTS: Jin-Gitaxias Urabra... I mean Birgi?? Surrak and Goreclaw Errant and Giada Heliod, The Radiant Dawn Inga and Esika Quintorius, Loremaster Slimefoot and Squee Zurgo and Ojutai Zimone and Dina Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

Much like the MOM story, we had problems too! While recording we didn't realize Zak's mic was being bypassed by the laptop mic (weird!) so please forgive the less-than-optimal quality on this bonus episode. THAT SAID, Nick had a lot of thoughts about Phyrexia and this "event set", so we recorded this episode about it! This is a MASSIVELY spoiler-heavy episode, so if you haven't read the story yet and would like to, I'd skip it for now. But if you are interested in some lore discussion, listen in, and tell us how you felt too! We'd love to hear your takes! This is a bonus episode this week, due to being outside of our normal wheelhouse, but also for the quality issues, so thank you for listening! Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

With the release of the Dungeons and Dragons movie comes a new Secret Lair Drop, complete with commanders for each main character from the movie, and one... large one! Did Wizards do a good job representing the characters on the cards? Are they too pushed? Not pushed enough? All this and more in this short little episode for y'all this week! Decklist: Themberchaud Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

What would your favorite non-Magic characters look like as a magic card? We asked and patrons and other followers responded with some rad designs! In this episode, Nick is joined by Andy from the Legendary Creature Podcast to talk about some cards that don't exist! They dig into what new design space exists, what the new commanders could do, and how fun they'd be to play. It's an interesting look into what might be, and Andy brings some great energy, so listen in and let us know what you think of the new cards too! We will have another custom commanders episode in about 6 months, so if you want to be featured or have yet to be featured, please don't worry! We would love to see your designs and can't wait to talk about them on the show! If you want more of Andy (because we know you do!) Give the LC pod a listen by clicking the link above! Great content, cool decks, great guys, and a good compliment to our little podcast imo (says Zak)Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

Today's episode highlights community member, CT friend and fan Jason Belk, who is back again for an episode about brewing better! Sometimes a deck concept sits in your mind for a bit too long. Sometimes you buy cards you want to play with, but they end up just sitting there. Well, Jason is here to help! From concept to construction to destruction, Nick and Zak join Jason as he discusses his process and how it helped him take his deck building to the next level. Listen in and let us know what you think too! We'd love to hear your processes when it comes to deck building as we're all serial brewers here at Commander Theory HQ! Manabase Builder SpreadsheetSupport the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

Ever feel targeted because someone at the table didn't like that you were milling them? Ever get irrationally angry when you see someone play a plague stinger? Well, this episode might be for you! In this episode, Nick and Zak are doing a collab with Valerio, Twitter's very own GolgariGuy! Valerio uses the Golgariguy Twitter account to run polls and talk about cards and topics in commander that he loves. This episode is full of insights he was kind enough to bring to the table involving threat assessment at the table when people see things they can't help but have strong feelings for. The three talk about why that is, what parallels to other formats might exist, and what people can do to feel better and play better when it's all going down. And if you have any feel-bads you want us to know about feel free to let us know too! Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

The hype train keeps rolling, and with March of the Machines looming on the horizon Nick and Zak wanted to take a look at some decks they liked from the last few months that ended up being budget options! Some of these commanders you might have glossed over, but all of them offer unique gameplay experiences the cohosts think you'll enjoy! Decklists:Braids, Arisen Nightmare Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor Ramirez DePietro, Pillager Ezuri, Stalker of Spheres Ivy, Gleeful Spellthief Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph Neyali, Suns' Vanguard The Archimandrite Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

New sets this, product fatigue that, all these commanders you've never heard of before. Isn't there any hope for a Magic boomer around here?! Well, the answer is, unsurprisingly, yes! So Nick and Zak had friend-of-the-show and CAG member Charlotte Sable on to discuss a format she's been getting into this year: PreDH. The general gist is that it's Commander, except you're only allowed to put cards in your deck that existed before the 2011 Commander decks were released.  What are the quirks of the format? Does it live up to the battle-cruiser hype? Why might this format survive when others variants have fallen? Listen to this very conversational episode, and let us know what you think about those questions! Charlotte's PreDH Deck: Uril The Mist StalkerSupport the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

About a third of all colorless commanders have been printed in the last 2 years. The family is small, but they sure are mighty! And with more confirmed on the way combined with a fairly large swath of exciting designs to choose from, Nick and Zak thought it would be a good time to talk about the best things you can do in a colorless commander deck! What payoffs exist that you should be focusing on? What staples exist in these colors, and what traps should you avoid? It's all here! So let us know your favorite colorless commander and enjoy!Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

LAST CALL! Boy, I sure am glad everything is one! But it's time to move on, and we had fun! Right? In this episode, Nick and Zak spend time looking over the cards that were most popular in BRO and make some guesses as to what cards people will like best from ONE. There are the card-by-card discussions, debate, and a final top 10 list that surprises even the cohosts! So let us know what cards you think will be popular as well! Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

ALL WILL BE ONE... top ten list! Normally we'd do the legends, and then the main-deck cards, but we had gotten some feedback and wanted to try something different this time. Here are Nick and Zak's 10 favorite cards from ONE! Both cohosts drop their top 10 cards, as well as why and what they think about the format at large, so you better listen and then tell us what you think too! If you like this episode format let us know and we'll keep doing it! If you miss the older, more in-depth dive please let us know as well.  And to note, one of the perks of being a patron is that you get access to our show notes, and can see that we reviewed most of the cards in the set there! So if we didn't cover something you were thinking about, feel free to check there and let us know if you agree! It's probably in there with some words about it. Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

ALL WILL BE ONE. Unless you're this review of ONE which is broken up into multiple parts. In this episode, Nick and Zak look at the commanders in the main set/theme boosters and see what each legend is doing. Are there any new archetypes? What's the deal with the allied color-paired commanders? DOMINI?!?! It's all here! So let us know what your favorite commander is and we'll see you in our maindeck cards episode (which will be a little different than normal!) Decklists: Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines Unctus, Grand Metatecht Drivnod, Carnage Dominus Ezuri, Stalker of Spheres Graaz, Unstoppable Juggernaut  Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

Welcome to preview season! Is that some oil dripping from your eyes, or are you just happy to see us? All Will Be One is here and with it, two whole commander decks! As is tradition Nick and Zak get into the nitty gritty of all the new cards, the decks as a whole, and their favorite (and least favorite!) things about the decks. Let us know what you liked the most (or least!) and enjoy! Decklists: Ixhel, Scion of Atraxa Neyali, Suns' Vanguard Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

Nick and Zak are off this week, but here's an episode from about a year ago they "Many content creators on the internet have posted episodes of shows and podcasts where they discuss a baseline way to build decks. They're usually heuristics like, "You need 10 ramp spells" or "you need 3 board clears" that are easy to follow and remember. But what do the Commander Theory hosts use...? In this episode, Nick and Zak lay out their process for deckbuilding in as simple a way as possible (which sounds worse than it is!) We get into the weeds about why decisions are made, how to use a hypergeometric calculator, and just why to do this at all in the first place! So listen in and let us know what you think about deck-building and your favorite deck compositions! Is there a list you made you were super proud worked out? Tell us all about it! Here's a link to a super easy-to-use Hypergeometric Calculator"Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

Since the story is out, and so are we, why not try this fun module Nick put a lot of effort into? "You read that right: this week on Commander Theory Nick and Zak discuss a project Nick has been working on for a while.  Phyrexian Rebirth is a fan-made module to be run using the 5th edition DnD rules that allows players to explore the world of New Phyrexia just after the event of the Mirrodin storyline.  The GM and players will be able to use the rules to create phyrexians of every type, or just a sad elf that got stuck on this plane that's so inhospitable to natural life. Nick did a great job with this 100% fan made module that we think you'll love. We in no way own the rights to any of the material inside, so please, download for free, have fun, and...Welcome to New Phyrexia! We can't wait to show you the potential that lies just beneath your skin...Link to the Download (for now)Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

Recently Sam Black Tweeted about lands in commander which started a whole fire of people online getting upset and discussing something that's just probably true: you probably run too few lands in your commander decks. Most people will say that they supplement the lack of lands with ramp, as 2 mana rocks and others are all fairly ubiquitous within the format at this point. Sam Argues there's a point at which the mana rocks are a scam, and that you're probably better off just hitting your land drops and not playing some do-nothings that might lack synergies with your deck or are easily destroyed. So on this episode, Nick and Zak discuss some of their own decks and look at land counts, ramp, and what types of decks should be running ramp. Which decks are probably better off slimming down on rocks for more action and lands? It's an interesting topic, a little heady, but we assume that's what you're all into if you're listening! So let us know what you think, and what categories of decks you like to play the most. And ESPECIALLY let us know if we're forgetting an archetype here! We love to hear your thoughts! I know I posted otherwise, but we will be on hiatus for the next two weeks as life has found a way to get too busy. We will be back with a bang as the All Will Be One spoiler episodes start Jan 26th, so we'll see you all then! Also, we said we'd be better about card names and ABSOLUTELY were not this episode, so having your phone out with scryfall open probably wouldn't hurt if you're not too good with card names. Sorry! We are going to be A LOT better about it this preview season, and thank you all for letting us know how you felt about it! We want to make the show more accessible for everyone and sometimes we just get excited when we make the episodes and forget to slow down. CT's Deck-Building Template Frank Karsten's How Many Lands - Number 1, and Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

Magic is hard! Sometimes there are corner cases in the rules that people never learn or interactions that don't quite work the way people expect them to. Are there any cards that people are just playing wrong? Today friend of the show and CAG member Charlotte Sable joins Nick and Zak (who's just kinda hanging out) to talk about some card interactions that are not very intuitive! And worse yet, tons of people are including them in their decklists on EDHREC! We learned a lot, had a lot of fun, and hope you all do too! This is the last show of the year! We'll probably take a break after the next set drops, but for now, thank you for staying with us through this crazy year and a million new cards! We couldn't do this without you all, and we're so thankful for the community that's grown because of so many creative and wonderful people who listen in! Thanks, and happy new years! Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

What a wild time it was for Magic back in 1998! Cards were crazy powerful, interaction was basically non-existent, and there were bannings galore in the only real format at the time. People were leaving in droves! And yet, most people look back fondly to Urza's Saga and laugh about it, the cards, the power level! In this episode, Nick and Zak look back at one of the most influential sets of all time: Urza's Saga. What was happening at the time? What cards and mechanics made a splash? And what were the two host's favorite cards? Listen in and find out! And be sure to tell us YOUR favorite card from Urza's Saga too! Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...

How well did Nick and Zak do on their Dominaria United predictions? What made the top ten? And what's on the co-hosts lists for most played in BRO? But honestly, what were YOUR favorite cards from BRO? Let us know! The BRO content ends with some discussions of individual cards. Later this week will be a Season's Past, and then even more NON-SPOILER CONTENT. Thank you all for listening through these insanely busy times. Only with your support can we do any of this, so enjoy, and thank you for coming along on this ride with us! Support the showYou can reach us on Twitter or Tumblr, and our YouTube has videos for even more Commander content! You can even email us at commandertheory@gmail.comIf you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon! Now with add-free episodes!If you want to hear more of Zak's band, The Havnauts, you can do so Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here!If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlayer, you can support the show by using our affiliate link. It costs you nothing and earns money for the show!The opening them...