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 di...

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 show You can reach me on Twitter or email me here If you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon ! Now with ad-free episodes! If you're planning on shopping wit...

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. Support the show You can reach me on Twitter or email me here If you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon ! Now with ad-free episodes! If you're planning on shopping with TCGPlaye...

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 t...

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 show You can reach me on Twitter or email me here If you like the podcast, please support it on...

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 Pink The Master, Mesmerist...

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 an...

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 show You can reach me on Twitter or email me here If you like the podcast, please support it on Patreon ! Now with ad-free episodes! If you're planning on sho...

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...

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: Flutters...

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 t...

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. D...

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 shar...

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 Pyrohammer Hylda of the Icy Crown Will, Scion of Peace Rowan, Scion of War Brenard, Ginger Sculptor Support the show You can reach me on Twitter or ema...

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 Typal Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon Sefris of the Hidden Ways Zur - REM Cycle Lord Windgrace Kadena, Slinking Sorcerer Oskar, Rubbish Reclaimer Edgin, Larcenous Lutenist Brokkos - Don't @ Me Zagras, Thief of Heartbeats Grenz...

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 thes...

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? I...

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...

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...

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 lo...

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...

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, bu...

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 ma...

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, R...

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...