Hello everyone and welcome to CommanderCast Episode 290! We’re your weekly source for Community, Strategy, and Technology, hosted on MTGcast.com and our homesite: CommanderCast.com! This week Mark and Adam are talking all about tiers, baby! For those of you not in the know, tiers are kind of a ranking system with 1 being the highest and everything else falling into a lower tier. Not saying one is better than the other, but the higher the tier the more proficient and cut-throat the deck. This is a great way to keep your playgroup all on the same level of game play. If your group is more casual and based on fun, you may want to play a lower tier deck. But if you’re trying to be the best (like no one ever was) a higher tier meta might be what you seek. So if you’re down with that all you have to do is click the IB!!!

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CommanderCast Episode 290

Posted: July 17, 2017

Intros:

Adam

Mark

Community Question: Any interest in starting a page listing community member’s TappedOut decks?

Keep up with the conversation on Facebook & Twitter.

Community:

• The Big List (seems bananas): “[List – Multiplayer] EDH Generals by Tier“

• The Smaller List (more reasonable): “EDH Generals by Tier“

• Honorable Mention: “The Commander Tiers,” by Erik Tiernan

“The Line”: What separates a Tier 1 deck from a Tier 2 (or Tier 2 from a Tier 3, etc.) ?

Our strictly science-based, totally objective rankings:

• Tier 1 – Cut-throat. Knives are out and ready to shank a fool at a moment’s notice:
  • Sharuum, the Hegemon
  • Arcum Dagsson
  • Zur, the Enchanter
  • Damia, Sage of Stone

• Tier 2 – Powerful, highly synergistic, but not dominating:
  • Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief
  • Rhys the Redeemed
  • Rafiq of the Many
  • Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed
  • Maelstrom Wanderer
  • Uril, the Miststalker
  • Bruna, Light of Alabaster
  • Purphoros, God of the Forge

• Tier 3 – Casual, but effective:
  • Drana, Liberator of Malakir
  • Rhys the Exiled
  • Sygg, River Guide
  • Karn, Silver Golem
  • Lorthos the Tidemaker
  • Ephara, God of the Polis

• Tier 4 – UNLEASH THE DERP:
  • Phage the Untouchable
  • Hope of Ghirapur
  • Skyfire Kirin
  • Nebuchadnezzar

• Tier 5 – What Are You Doing With Your Life? (Vanilla/French Vanilla Generals)
  • Lady Orca
  • Barktooth Warbeard (Best name in Magic? Survey says “Yes.”)
  • Jasmine Boreal

Strategy:  

How do you move your deck up (or down) a tier in Commander? Is there a specific time or reason to do so?

• How do you use this information?
• Optimize vs. De-optimize for power
• Movin’ On Up:
  • More tutors
  • More optimal removal
  • More instant speed interactions
  • EDH rec
  • Deck primers
• Slowin’ It Down:
  • Remove key combo pieces
  • Build a different deck
  • Fewer tutors, more card draw
  • Other 99

Technology:

Return of an old segment: “Bad Cards We Love”

Adam – Ondu Giant, Gate to Phyrexia, Chronatog

Mark – Stream of Acid, Skirsdag High Priest, Gideon’s Avenger

Outtro/Contacts:

CommanderCast  – Email: commandercast(at)gmail(dot)com // twitter: (at)CommanderCast

Rachel – Email: wiehernandez(at)gmail(dot)com // twitter: (at)Blueram1409

Calvin – Email: captainredzone(at)gmail(dot)com  // twitter: (at)CaptainRedZone

Mark – Email: mahlerma(at)gmail(dot)com

Adam – (at)squire9999 // (at)thetrinisphere

Be sure to check out our CommanderCast Facebook page.

And a big thanks to everyone here at the CommanderCast Network. We’ll see you next week with more community, strategy, and technology. Until then, LET’S GET IT!