Hello everyone and welcome to CommanderCast! This week in honor of Father’s Day Mark and Adam are taking a week off from the regular to give you something different. Instead of the usual CommanderCast episode that you have come to know and love, you’ll be receiving what is known as an off episode of CommanderCast. This week’s discussion will be involving Commander damage and its effects on the format.

So sit back relax and Click the IB!!!

CommanderCast Off-Week Q+A #1

Posted: June 21, 2020 

The Topic: Commander Damage

The Basics

• How Does Commander Damage Work?

• Why is it 21?

• What if a Commander changes controllers?

• How does Partner Commander Damage work?

• What if a Commander is face-down for some reason?

• Why are Commander Damage-focused decks called “Voltron” decks?

• What are the most important abilities / keywords to focus on for a Commander Damage strategy?

  • Evasion – flying, trample, unblockable, landwalk
    • FAVES: Rogue’s Passage, Steel of the Godhead, Dauthi Embrace, Trailblazer’s Boots, Whispersilk Cloak, Prowler’s Helm, Swords of X+Y
  • Protection – Lightning Greaves, et. al.
  • Pump? – how important is to get that “turn clock” down?

• What cards best play into or support a Commander Damage strategy?

Casual Questions

• Do you play a Commander Damage focused deck differently at casual tables?

• Is a good Commander Damage oriented deck too strong for truly casual games?

Competitive Questions

• Can Commander Damage ever be relevant in the competitive (cEDH) game?

• What about Voltron makes it inherently less competitive?

Top Tier Commander Damage Options

• What are the best options if you want to build a Commander Damage focused deck?

Mid-range Commander Damage Options

• What are some less competitive but still strong/viable options to lead a Voltron deck?

Oddball Commander Damage Options

• What’s the weirdest Commander Damage deck you’ve played or seen?

Final Questions

• What would Commander be like if there was no Commander damage?

• How does Commander Damage act as a balance against other strategies?

• Will the RC ever remove Commander Damage from the format?

*Super Secret Actual Tech: EDHREC’s Voltron page

Outtro/Contacts:

GUEST: Stephen Johnson – check out Steve’s work on CoolStuffInc. & contact him at ardentscribbler@gmail.com

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

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

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

Adam – (at)squire9999

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!

Editor’s note: the music for this episode is “Swan Song” by Paper Navy. 

It’s used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 license. No changes were made to this track.