Wall of Rambles: Ode to My EDH Decks
I recently finished building Alela. I've had multiple pass with this deck over the years, it was so satisfying to find it working just like I wanted. I could talk at length about my decks and I'd always wanted a space for me to just gush about them... Well, why not here? I planned to have individual pages for each of them, but for now...
In chronological order:
Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign: My first deck. My signature deck. This is a Sphinx deck which began as a Sharuum deck and cycled over different commanders until Yennett was finally printed. Sharuum was cool, but its presence screamed "INFINITECOMBOWOMBO" before you could say "hello". I lamented Unesh being monoblue, because I liked the Alara sphinges. Azordidn't have black, which would also exclude the Alara sphinges.
Along with the difficulty of finding a good commander, it suffered from the difficulty of finding good sphinges fit for inclusion in the deck. In the early years I had to fill it with so. many. overcosted. underwhelming. sphinges. Because most of them were designed as control finishers in Standard. The curve was so heavy, the deck was so slow I had to slow everyone else down too. Even after getting Yennett, the deck didn't come together until around 2022, where we got bonkers nonsense like Raffine to smooth out the curves.
I have a personal philosophy when it comes to designing typal decks: generic typal supports are boring. I want to make something that feels like the type, so other than the sphinges I load the deck with as many Fact-or-Fiction effects I could reasonably cram in. Someone recently suggested that I could perhaps throw a sphinx riddle whenever I cast one, but I'm afraid that's a bit too extra even for me.
I do know Yennett's reputation. There was a period where I stopped bringing this deck out since people would just pummel me down the moment they saw Yennett, thinking it was a Void Winnower deck. These days? Annoying, but I guess I signed up for that. Besides, WoTC has printed more fearsome commanders since then so Yennett no longer gets the side-eyes it once commanded. Since this is technically an Esper Goodstuff Pile, it could hold its own well into higher-powered tables (not cEDH).
Arjun, the Shifting Flame: My second signature deck. Maldhound said it best: I pay for 99 cards, I see 99 cards. I fell for Arjun's shifting flames the first time I saw it in my friend's trade binder. It was among the very first cards I purchased. I knew I had to build the deck. It's a big mana spellslinger combo deck with minor Wizards subtheme and all the wincons are six-mana permanents.
Initially, I wanted this to utilize Teferi's Puzzle Box, which I adored since it was a cheap card nobody used. Well, I was a poor student and waffled at buying it, and then Dominaria was released...bringing a certain blue planeswalker that shot the card price into the stratosphere... The furor had since died down and I got it when it was reprinted.
In the early days, the deck also had a light chaos theme because I was scrambling for fillers. I resolved Warp World about twice...? And promptly removed it. For the longest time the deck had Possibility Storm, but I removed it earlier this year because my group was a bit tired of it. Honestly, the way the deck is built now, Teferi's Puzzle Box also no longer fits. But it will stay.
Arjun and Yennett are very not-online-friendly due to the amount of shuffles. I used to lend people the list to play on Cockatrice, but the experience was always overwhelming for everyone involved. Due to the way the deck is built, it's actually sort of awkward, boom/bust feast/famine deck inbetween brackets.
Jan Jansen, Chaos Crafter: My Rube-Goldberg machine. My fidget spinner. It's also somehow the little baby of the family, because it keeps getting toys from random people and random places. I pulled cards perfect for the deck. Someone had extra copies lying around and would like me to have one.
This deck built itself.
I don't understand.
Whenever I attend competitive events, this is the deck I disassemble as the base. It houses my best cards and some of the best gifts I'd ever received. Jan Jansen started out with my fascination to Krark-Clan Ironworks and the Eggs style of combo deck, but in the end it was finished with everything but the KCI itself (because up to the time of this writing it never budges from its price range, and that's way way way higher than I'm willing to shell out).
My friends are convinced that I keep this deck just to be able to say that not all my decks have blue. They are partially correct, but it's also so much fun. Turns can be long, so this one I don't bring out unless I know the people I play with.
Narset, Enlightened Exile: I have always wanted a prowess commander. Prowess was the mechanic that greatly endeared me when I started playing magic and my favorite Standard deck ever. I had always been chasing that feeling ever since.
When Adeliz was previewed, I thought I found my prowess commander, but there was something lacking I couldn't place. Narset was perfect because I got into EDH adoring my friend's beautiful Narset, Enlightened Master deck. So this deck is also a Narset/Jeskai/Tarkir appreciation deck, housing all the Narsets I have. Yes, I'm well aware of Narset's reputation. When attending competitive events, sometimes I turn this into that Narset deck.
I usually limit this deck to one game per night because the amount of tracking with all the different tokens with different number of prowess can be truly staggering. It also requires a fairly tight play, as getting color screwed or doing sequencing wrong can throw you off really badly. Definitely not something I reach for the last game of the night.
Alela, Artful Provocateur: A pillowfort, death-by-thousand-cuts deck. I tried so hard to make this work, and the last piece turned out to be Within Range.
My insistence in using both artifacts and enchantments instead of leaning towards one certainly put a damper on the deck's synergy and potential power, but I'm finicky that way. This deck is kinda difficult still, in that you always gun to be the 2nd threat. Mass noncreature permanent removals would set you back to stone age, so you have to lay down the pieces with care, biding your time until you are ready to topple a kingdom.
The original concept was that every card would make sense in Eldraine, a fairy tale setting, or a prank Alela would spring upon the unsuspecting. The final version slightly deviated from this (or too obscure no one would end up noticing) but I like what I have.
The elusive wishlist card for this deck is Glacial Chasm, which up to the time of this writing is never reprinted (outside of one-time FtV appearance) and therefore out of my budget. The deck plays just fine without it, though.
This list does not include three modified-precons I have on hand to play with new people. If you have been here before, you may notice that some of my posts mention constant financial struggles. I hear you. You play Magic and have five full paper EDH decks! Surely you're not truly struggling?
Well. I don't feel like fighting on definitions, but here are how I keep my Magic within budget. We like to joke about our hobbies being addictions, but I like to encourage keeping healthy relationships with what you love in order to enjoy them longer. It's my life and my needs, so suit yourself.
I don't crack packs, I buy singles. I'm never into lootboxes. I have average luck, limited funds, and some great statistics classes. If I want something, I get it right away. No blind boxes, no fuss. An exception: if buying a pack is part of an event entry fee (because some stores do this), or if it's part of draft and sealed events. I tend to gravitate towards events with guaranteed participation promo, suits me better.
I do enjoy my LGSes, but instead of cracking packs I broker sales, bring friends into events, and teach new people how to play. When I buy sealed products, I buy preconstructed decks or starter kits where the contents are fixed and known ahead of time, and only if I like more than half the list.I scavenge and trade a ton. Old-fashioned, but here we are. Many, many, many people would just leave cards on the table after events. I skim through them, ask if I could take them, and pick the ones I think would be usable for someone/something. They make for good learning tools and care packages. I usually keep mental notes of what people like/want, so I could then sort the cards into piles I can offer someone.
If I see cards on sale in shops I frequent or trade binders I peruse, I contact the person asking if they're still looking. I check what people pull in events and match that with my "known list of wants". This way, I have a web-like, convoluted "trading network". The cards may take months to arrive through half a dozen intermediaries (and absolute pain to track), but it's a win-win for everyone (more favorable rates than dealing with merchants). I have also been fortunate in getting gifts thrown in, because these trades happen between humans.I don't buy overpriced stuff, I don't keep overpriced stuff. Over my years of playing, I have developed heuristics for valuation. I also have upper limit for price I'm willing to buy, which as of 2025 is around $8 for nonlands and $12 for lands. If I see a card expensive just because it hasn't been reprinted, I skip it. If I see a good card priced beyond my valuation, I skip it. This card is good, but is it $5 good? .
BUTBUTBUT, how do you afford the good cards then? Many of them are more expensive than your limits! See number 4. Basically, Magic cards follow cycles. They eventually get reprinted or replaced. Just wait a couple years.
Similarly, if I have cards that suddenly surge in prices, hitting numbers I don't think is reasonable, it's time to part with them. Sea Gate Restoration has no business being $40. Exception: for obvious reasons, I do not sell cards gifted to me.
By the way, if you have sold a card, do not check the prices unless you plan on getting it again. It doesn't matter if it continues to rise, because you have cashed out where you think you already get a good price. Getting hung up on "potential extra profit" will only cloud your future judgment. A done deal is a done deal.I'm price sensitive. I paid attention to releases. Mostly stopped since they pulled the whole UB in Standard fiasco and I lost interest in checking out spoilers when schedules crashed and blurred into each other. I used to keep up with prices and reprints so I could snag what I want when it's within my comfortable range. Note: I do not speculate. I never buy cards for "stock". Whenever I buy and sell, it's a one-card-trade (I mainly play EDH, I have no need of multiples most of the time. In colors I play often, I keep a playset of cards at most).
I also take advantage of arbitrage. Many casual EDH cards are way cheaper in Japan, especially if you get them in Japanese. A lot of people around me frequently take trips to Japan both for business and leisure, so they would take orders within reasonable rates. Foreign language cards may be a dealbreaker for some, but I personally find them charming. It's also common in my friend groups to be able to read some semblance of Japanese. However, I keep these cards away from decks I intend to lend people as learning tools.Decks are multiyear projects. Alela took me six years to finish. Yennett and Arjun took five. Jan Jansen and Narset took only two because by then I had big enough collection to start speeding up the process. I started from whatever I had, gathering the pieces slowly. My next project, which I predict will be completed in 2027, is Sokrates, a recent commander for a Superfriends deck I had been chipping away since around 2022 (PWs are expensive).
See, the beauty of EDH is you're supposed to be able to keep your deck(s) for a lifetime, so there should be no rush for you to complete one. I usually have up to two open projects at a time (subject to my financial condition), and only moving onto a new one when the current projects are in decently usable state.
Cards are getting printed every day and in an especially rapid pace in the last five years. That expensive staple? You may see its price halved in three years when the next reprint drops. Or a new version comes out in a set you happen to attend events for. If it doesn't fall to your range, it eventually will. If you've waited long and it soars even higher, eh. Cross that off the list. You don't need that. There are 25000 cards, you can fill that slot with something else.Finished decks don't get constant maintenance. I don't chase the shiniest stuff to give every single one of them. If they still deliver their intended experiences, they're good. If I happen to get something from the newer sets that might fit them, they may get something. This amounts to about 1-3 cards per deck per half a year.
Up until recently, not every deck had Sol Ring-Arcane Signet-Command Tower. I got a promo Sol Ring so no reason not to use it. I see no reason to buy a Command Tower/[insert staple here] if the deck had functioned well so far without it.Fortunes wax and wane. Sometimes I have more to splurge. Sometimes I don't. I've had periods where I would attend every single prereleases. I've had periods where I didn't buy anything at all for years and just played what I had. I have been playing Magic for a while now and there are shared collections with friends I can tap to.
I know some people in Bear also play MtG. Tell me about your decks! I like hearing how people's decks come together! In my opinion, the magic is not in the constant new-shinies-dopamine-rush. It's in the stories people collect and weave along the way.