Commander has been turned upside-down thanks to the recent update to the Ban list:
I’m preparing for RIW’s cEDH 1K on November 2; these four cards being added to the ban list has shaken up the format. I personally welcome the bans to flatten out the average draws.
Dockside Extortionist pushed Grixis-based combo decks to the top tier alongside five color commanders that could also abuse the abundance of treasures. If you were serious about winning a cEDH tournament there aren’t many options that exclude Dockside. My favorite commander, Tivit, was hard to justify when the ability juiced everyone’s Dockside counts. Artifacts and enchantments are big winners with the ban.
Nadu, Winged Wisdom is one of the Dockside-free alternatives that features bad game play. Simic mages need not fret because Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy is still an excellent choice. Kinnan was only hurt by the Mana Crypt ban, but there are so many other fast mana alternatives thanks to the static ability.
Mana Crypt was played in nearly every cEDH deck so everyone got a nerf. The format is still very fast, but without Crypt there are fewer nut draws at the table. It’s still prudent to mulligan aggressively as you must defeat three opponents instead of one.
Jeweled Lotus was not played in every deck, but certainly helped more expensive commanders. The main consideration is to play more expensive commanders with less reliance as it will require more time to establish.
Scanning the top finishing decks in the post ban cEDH metagame we still see red decks winning tournaments without Dockside. The prior best deck, Tymna and Kraum, is here to stay, but certainly was powered down by losing Dockside, Jeweled Lotus, and Mana Crypt. Rograkh and Silas can still turbo out storm kills; spell-based combo still must be respected.
Green decks got a huge boost as mana dorks represent speed that is unmatched by other colors on average. In the past it wasn’t impressive to play creatures to advance mana if everyone else can use Dockside and Mana Crypt to better effect. For this reason, good stuff decks without red can now shine- enter Tymna and Thrasios.
The key takeaway is the metagame is more open as Dockside held down artifacts and enchantments while Mana Crypt and Jeweled Lotus held down green. Combine this with a dearth of post ban tournament results and we have a brewer’s paradise.
Where am I going from here? Back to old habits of course…
TIVIT, SELLER OF SECRETS
Here’s my current list:
How the deck wins
The main idea of the deck is to use Time Sieve in combination with Tivit’s ability to sacrifice five artifacts and take enough extra turns to attack the table. Since Tivit costs six mana it plays out like a control deck that threatens to turn the corner quickly. Your opponents will likely vote to give clues while you are looking to generate treasures.
Dimir is the strongest two color combination in cEDH and Tivit takes advantage of the best game-winning combo in Thassa’s Oracle and Tainted Pact/Demonic Consultation. Teferi, Time Raveler and Displacer Kitten can combo with cheap mana rocks to generate plenty of mana and draw as many cards required to win.
Hullbreaker Horror is a one card kill condition as well with a couple mana rocks on the battlefield.
The speed at which I play the deck depends on the pod composition. If there are a bunch of turbo decks I don’t expect my opponents to play responsibly and are encouraged to jam win attempts so I will do the same. In midrange pods I can play Tivit as a value piece and hold onto a game-winning combo until it’s backed by multiple layers of protection.
Commander decks have picked up plenty of new tools from recent sets.
Mockingbird is perhaps the most important because it’s a clone that can be found with Ranger-Captain of Eos. This can then clone Ranger-Captain to find Esper Sentinel and then have two powerful silence effects ready to go.
Sink into Stupor is an innocuous pickup that acts as a land, general interaction, and a blue card to pitch to Forces. Generally speaking, cEDH decks want more land post bans with less fast mana available.
Meticulous Archive gives a boost to white and blue fetch lands in the deck. Blue mana is the most useful color in Tivit while white is important for Ranger-Captain into Esper Sentinel. Surveil lands are good enough for Legacy and Modern and cEDH is no different.
The ban list updates have made old cards more powerful that were previously not up to snuff.
Copy Artifact has always been a favorite of mine as it can copy Sol Ring to keep parity or The One Ring for just two mana. It can even copy Esper Sentinel or whatever a Phyrexian Metamorph or Imposter Mech is cloning.
Grand Arbiter Augustin IV can slow down the table while ramping into Tivit. I place a greater emphasis on midrage threats that help me bridge to the commander- this includes Urza, Lord High Artificer.
Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir is a forgotten silence effect that happens to curve into Tivit. Creatures are harder to interact with so it can be flashed in before your next turn. I played Teferi in Tivit before the bans and it was very strong.
Gilded Drake plays well in cEDH. You can steal a commander that’s vital to a deck’s game plan or an asymmetrical stax piece and convince the new owner to attack an Ad Nauseam player.
Sheoldred’s Edict can serve as an asymmetrical wrath effect at instant-speed for just two mana. This is more powerful post bans as there are more green decks and fewer storm strategies.
I had high hopes for Supreme Verdict, but it’s expensive and kills Tivit.
When playing against blue cEDH decks you should expect to face:
The key takeaway here is most of the strongest and flexible counters don’t target creatures.
Tivit is looking to control the game so it plays additional counters.
In addition to the extra counters, Counterbalance has been phenomenal for me. I have won games where transmuting Muddle the Mixture finds Counterbalance because it’s less threatening than Time Sieve. Even without Sensei’s Divining Top you can easily control the table due to many mana values being concentrated toward cheap spells. Topdeck tutors and fetch lands can make Counterbalance even stronger.
Finding the right card with the numerous tutors in a ninety-nine card singleton deck can be daunting.
Now that Mana Crypt is banned Sol Ring is the most likely tutor target. Even if you secretly tutor with Demonic, Vampiric, Talisman, or Imperial Seal the opponents will look at you as a threat. Sometimes they have a right to think you’re going to threaten a win attempt, but you’re allowed to openly discuss and/or show the card to quell suspicion.
The artifact tutors can find Sol Ring, The One Ring, Time Sieve, or a clone. Grafdigger’s Cage can also be found if you suspect an opponent can threaten graveyard usage. Note you cannot bring back a creature with Sevinne’s Reclamation or tutor artifact clones as creatures when Cage is on the battlefield.
I’m leaning harder on creature removal with a wider metagame:
A single sweeper, Toxic Deluge, can be found with tutors in a gummed up board. There are times you may need to kill a Collector Ouphe as many of your win lines would be hindered.
Teferi, Time Raveler’s static can be a downside when passing the turn as the pressure lies on you to stop win attempts. If you want to cash in a Teferi, make a deal with the opponent to attack it down if it doesn’t look like they will win soon.
Blind Obedience – The power of the static effect is lower without Dockside, Mana Crypt, and Jeweled Lotus. Lion’s Eye Diamond can also add mana even when it’s tapped. The real downside is losing the extort ability when you’re comboing with Displacer Kitten/Teferi or Hullbreaker Horror to drain the table.
An Offer You Can’t Refuse- I only like this counter in Underworld Breach decks as countering your own spell can generate treasures to combo. It’s versatile, but giving the opponent mana is a serious risk.
Pollywog Prodigy – Fewer cheap artifact accelerants in the format and Tivit plays less creatures to evolve. I prefer this creature in Tymna/Kraum.
Mnemonic Betrayal – A very hit or miss effect as it only shines after a Storm deck threatens a win. Tivit is not short on win conditions.
CEDH is in a great place after the recent ban announcement and I’m excited to play at RIW’s 1K on November 2.
It’s still a fast and powerful format, but has been hobbled with the bans. The metagame is open so I am expecting the unexpected.
