Commander Social

How to Upgrade Your Deck - Ep 93

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  1. Thanks
    1. Mike Condon for the music and editing
    1. @jumbocommander - 5:39, 40:13
    2. @MothershipGames - 7:41
    3. @quailancer - 15:35
    4. @SBMTGDev - 17:25, 41:28
    5. @CommandersBrew - 41:48
    6. @TCGplayer - 19:20
    7. @Card_Kingdom - 19:40
    8. @edhrec - 38:53
    9. @scryfall - 39:31
    10. @TheManaSource - 41:00
    11. @CraigBlanchette - 43:27
    12. @ghirapurigears - 43:52
  3. Ep 93 Community Spotlight:
    1. Played at Mothership last night, and met up with a Listener, Ben, who drove all the way in from San Marcos
    2. Also got to play with Alden, who Ryan had played with before
      1. Game 1
        1. Zack playing Ayli
        2. Ryan playing Gonti
        3. Ben playing Rona. Disciple of Gix
        4. Alden playing Meren of Clan Nel Toth
        5. Zack did something SILLY this game (wrathing with 22 creatures in play while Ryan had Revel in Riches
        6. Ryan ended up winning after doing some Erratic Portal shenanigans with Gonti and Panharmonicon, then using Alden’s Overwhelming Stampede and Eldrazi Monument for the win
        1. Zack playing Niv-Mizzet Parun
        2. Ryan playing Mr. OPC Grenzo
        3. Ben playing Jodah
        4. Alden playing Edgar Markov
        5. Ryan ended up winning when Alden had a crazy Damnable Pact on the stack by sacking a bunch of goblins to Siege Gang Commander and Goblin Sharpshooter
      3. Game 2
        1. Zack playing Saheeli
        2. Ryan playing Alden’s Edgar Markov deck
        3. Ben playing Jodah
        4. Alden playing Lord Windgrace
        5. Ben ended up winning this game with a hefty amount of planeswalkers, including Ultimating Ral, Izzet Viceroy
      4. Game 3
    3. We played 3 games
  4. LGS Fun!
    1. A lot of new players have trouble knowing how to make their decks better.
      1. How often are you playing the deck?
      2. How often do you find yourself with dead cards in hand?
    2. How do you know when it’s time to upgrade your decks?
      1. Decide if you’re completely scrapping the deck, or just adding a few cards
      2. Is there a new Commander that you want to helm the deck? That’s closer to an overhaul
    3. Decide what your Goal is going to be: entire deck overhaul vs. small upgrade
      1. Maybe you save up for big upgrade, but there are plenty of good cards that are cheap AND good!
      2. Trade in old cards that you may not want anymore. A lot of stores give you a bonus if you take store credit over cash.
    4. Updating your deck doesn’t have to cost a TON of money.
      1. Give the deck several plays with the new cards before you decide if you like them or not.
      2. Ask playgroup if you can start a game with a couple of new cards in your opening hand.
      3. Ryan -  I keep the last 20 or so cards originally cut from the deck, WITH the deck, so that I can always try out something new, when I find something that isn’t working.
    5. Play it
      1. Focus on where you deck is weak. Do this by asking yourself some questions
        1. What decks have been problematic / have I been losing to?
          1. How have those decks been winning?
          1. Mana troubles?
          2. Never having enough cards in hand?
          3. Losing to problematic Artifacts/Enchantments?
        3. How has my deck been losing?
        4. Do you often find yourself with a bunch of high casting cost cards in your hand. Maybe it’s time to lower your curve
        5. Are there times when your deck isn’t doing what it’s supposed to - why is that?
        1. If built with slot theory and deck is doing okay - swap slot for slot (Ie. Removal for Removal)
        2. If you switch cards 1 for 1 from slots write down what you swapped and when you draw new card think if you’d rather have new card or old card.
        3. If you’re getting decimated - reevaluate which slots you have, and how many cards you assign to each slot type
      3. Slot Theory
      4. When a new set comes out if you see a card you like add a note in your phone.
        1. EDHRec new cards feature
        2. YouTube Videos
        3. Podcasts
        4. Scryfall - look for similar cards
        5. Lastly...your friends! - Consult friends and playgroup for advice. All of us Magic players LOVE talking about Magic
      5. What are some resources for inspiration on upgrading your deck.
        1. Counter magic heavy?
        2. Combo heavy?
        3. Infect?
        4. Token based decks
      6. Consider your meta
    6. How can you maximize upgrading your deck?
      1. Changing the way your deck functions by removing too many cards that make your deck an deck (tokens, discard, control,
      2. Sometimes upgrading a deck turns into me brewing a new deck.
    7. Potential Pitfalls
      1. I consider this one of the first successful EDH decks I’ve ever built
        1. It was originally a budget brew for Season Two of the EDH League.
        2. I’ve put a few new cards into the deck, but I’m starting to see cards that feel not great when I draw them.
        1. Lands - 38
        2. Creatures - 23
        3. Instants - 9
        4. Sorceries - 9
        5. Enchantments - 10
        6. Artifacts - 11
      3. Deck Stats
        1. Exquisite Blood
        2. Ethereal Absolution
        3. Approach of the Second Sun
        4. Hour of Revelation
        5. Kaya's Wrath (We’ll talk about why this is not so great)
        6. Fumigate
      4. Cards I want to add
    8. Upgrading Zack’s Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim
  5. Main Topic - Updating your decks (Inspired by Quincy Quail @quailancer on Twitter)
  6. Thank everyone for listening. Your support means the world to us. Remember to Follow us on Twitter, Subscribe on Youtube, and like the videos. Tell a friend!
    1. You can check us out at brotherswarcast.com
    2. YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/BrothersWarPodcast
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      2. https://www.facebook.com/groups/brotherswarcast/
      3. Official Page:
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    4. You can email us directly at [email protected]
    5. On twitter @brotherswarcast
      1. twitch.tv/greenegeek
    6. Ryan individually @greenegeek
    7. Zack individually @z4ck38
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Commander SocialBy Ryan Greene & Zack Taylor
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