Beginner Friendly 2-color options

choicetolive
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Post by choicetolive » 3 years ago

I work with a lot of teens and young adults through schools, youth groups, and non-profits, so I've been working on making some new player friendly decks to introduce them to the game. I currently have 5 mono-colored commander decks for that purpose, but now I'm looking at making the ten 2-color combinations. However I'm struggling to find good options for commanders. I want decks that would fit a theme and be interesting to play, but not super complicated for new players or overwhelming in power level. Something like Tibor and Lumia, for UR. Can build on theme, interactive and interesting, but not an overwhelming or oppressive monster. Momir Vig for Simic (as long as you don't go the elfball or combo route), and things like that.

Some of my initial ideas:

Simic: Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy (could get out of hand, though), Rashmi, Eternities Crafter
Rakdos: Rakdos, Lord of Riots, Judith, the Scourge Diva
Izzet: Rielle, the Everwise , Melek, Izzet Paragon , Adeliz, the Cinder Wind
Selesnya:
Azorius: Daxos of Meletis ?
Gruul: Grumgully, the Generous, Nikya of the Old Ways
Orzhov: Teysa Karlov
Boros: Aurelia Exemplar of Justice, there's a few human related Boros options I think
Dimir: Lazav, Dimir Mastermind , Lazav, the Multifarious
Golgari: Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord , Izoni, Thousand-Eyed


Not sold on any of these ideas yet, and I'm just looking for good commander starting points (not looking for decklists, just the commanders specifically). Tribal is perfectly fine, but also looking for other themes and playstyles as well, without overwhelming them with tokens or a field full of triggers to manage. Suggestions?
Last edited by choicetolive 3 years ago, edited 2 times in total.

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benjameenbear
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Post by benjameenbear » 3 years ago

For Dimir, I recommend Dralnu, Lich Lord. It's a fairly straightforward deck with its primary game plan but has a hidden amount of skill involved. It could be a great way to introduce a Spellslinger archetype that doesn't necesarily care about volume of spells but the quality of spells.

For Azorius, I would recommend Bruna, Light of Alabaster. She's a very interesting and powerful Commander that focuses on an Archetype not normally seen at an EDH: true Voltron. It makes for a very Archenemy type of game though, so it may be outside of the scope of your budding players. The rules nuances could be a good learning experience for your players and the gameplan is fairly straightforward. Play some cheap auras and turn her sideways.

For Rakdos, Xantcha, Sleeper Agent is really cool as a deck concept. Rakdos control is a real thing and the Card Advantage that she offers will incentivize players to ignore the pilot. Could be an interesting take on the Rakdos pairing that can be built with a fairly straightforward gameplan of playing control with some Reanimation elements.

I dislike Gruul as a color pairing entirely, but Omnath, Locus of Rage seems like a good place to be that introduces a unique strategy to your gauntlet.

Trostani, Selesnya's Voice could be a great Selesnya deck that adds in a Token strategy to your gauntlet of decks. This can create some impressive board states that can help create the memorable EDH games we all know and love. It also is fairly straightforward in simply powering out Tokens.

Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim is probably one of the more complicated strategies, since it uses Recursion loops and incremental value to win the game. But it represents a theme/strategy that may not be as present in the rest of your decks a la Recursion and Sacrifice.

Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle looks WAY fun for a Commander since it encourages a Big Ramp strategy that you can easily build. Also a fairly easy strategy to grasp in that you want to Ramp hard and play haymaker after haymaker until something sticks.

Aurelia, the Warleader makes for an easy to understand strategy of Attack-all-the-time and creates a great Aggro element to a game.

I think Storrev, Devkarin Lich is a great Golgari Commander for newer players. Easy to understand and a great value Commander all around.

Finally, Niv-Mizzet, Parun is the best Izzet Commander in my opinion. It will definitely showcase the power of Blue to your group and will exert the most powerful Control presence at any given table. Sniping mana dorks or pinging players for damage will add a great dimension to your games while also being fairly straightforward to understand.

Good luck on your quest!

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toctheyounger
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Post by toctheyounger » 3 years ago

I can get behind Lazav, Dimir Mastermind. He scales really well to a table, whatever that table consists of, so is probably a really nice choice.

Selesnya - Emmara, Soul of the Accord is decently strong and easy enough to pilot. Otherwise, Selvala, Explorer Returned is a cool build that's fun too.
Azorius - Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun is a LOT of fun.
Izzet - Tibor and Lumia kinda really suck. Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain is decent, and easy enough to build. It can get pretty crazy, but only if you're dropping massive coin for an artifact centric cheerio storm build.
Simic - This one is really tough to pick someone that isn't busted to hell. Prime Speaker Zegana could be a good option.

Hope this helps.
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MeowZeDung
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Post by MeowZeDung » 3 years ago

I just posted a Melek, Izzet Paragon list tailored towards newer budget players here. Copying spells and weird stuff going on with the stack might not be the easiest for new players to understand, but it would certainly be a learning process.

If that's not what you're looking for Izzet wise, I agree: avoid Tibor and Lumia. Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain is definitely straightforward, but can go absolutely berserk casting 20+ artifacts and drawing off of each one in a single turn. She's kind of a storm or nothing general, it's really hard to avoid with her. Adeliz, the Cinder Wind might be an option to showcase tribal and aggro strategies.
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Hawk
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Post by Hawk » 3 years ago

Hi, welcome to the forums! Some stuff I think about is that I find the following things are awful for the average new players in descending order of awfulness:

1. Tutoring: Land fetch is fine, but any time I've had a new player resolve a Demonic Tutor or even a Shared Summons it has ground the game to an absolute halt as analysis paralysis blue screens them to death. I would avoid tutors at all costs, which also means avoiding commanders like Momir Vig, Simic Visionary, Prime Speaker Vannifar, or Isperia the Inscrutable even though they are very fun.

2. Heavy graveyard play: For the same reason I would recommend avoiding tutoring, Commanders that effectively treat the 'yard as a second hand, like Muldrotha, the Gravetide or Dralnu, Lich Lord, can be overwhelming for new and younger players. You can have grave-centric decks, but you're looking for more Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord and less Meren of Clan Nel Toth.

3. Lots of complicated on-board tricks and stack manipulation: Keeping track of triggers and turns and threat assessment is hard enough without also having to mico-manage all the complex decision trees around when and why to fire off abilities. You shouldn't avoid creatures with activated abilities entirely, but I'd be mindful of not running Commanders that live and breath on doing so like Ghave, Guru of Spores or Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim. Where possible, I'd look to emphasize triggered abilities and if you must have activated abilities, focus on ones like Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy, Selvala, Explorer Returned, or Oona, Queen of the Fae where the correct time and use of that ability is exceedingly obvious and/or where activating that ability during your own turn (instead of holding up) won't be crushingly punishing. For this same reason, I'd recommend avoiding commanders like Yeva, Nature's Herald or Raff Capashen, Ship's Mage that push one to play the whole game at instant speed.

4. Expensive Commanders: New players are less likely than veterans to make smart mulliganing decisions or use their cards efficiently, so a 5+ CMC commander is a good way to ensure they forgot they have it, or never cast it, or get baited into continuing to recast it and get blown out by the tempo loss of paying 13 mana for their commander and then having it eat a removal spell. I'd strongly consider making every commander 2-4 CMC to ensure that players get to play their commander and enjoy that commander's personality, if you can.

5. Extremely passive commanders/decks: That's not to say new players can't play control - but they tend to have more fun with decks that can actually swing out. If you are going to play a more passive commander, I'd still make sure the deck itself was fairly aggressive (like using Selvala, Explorer Returned to ramp out huge fatties).

With a list of what I'd recommend NOT doing, a list of commanders I think are good:

Azorius: Brago, King Eternal is awesome, and could be built to not dominate...maybe. Daxos of Meletis and Geist of Saint Traft are also great calls. Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun is a bit more oddball but definitely a doable choice.

Dimir: Lazav, Dimir Mastermind is a great choice. Sygg, River Cutthroat is also a great call.

Rakdos: I think Judith, the Scourge Diva is the best choice hands down. Anje Falkenrath might be doable too.

Gruul: Grumgully, the Generous is an outstanding option and my top pick. I think Omnath, Locus of Rage AKA Angry Omnath is also very good despite his high CMC. Grand Warlord Radha and Radha, Heart of Keld are also interesting and of the right power level.

Selesnya: I really like Emmara, Soul of the Accord, Selvala, Explorer Returned or Siona, Captain of the Pyleas as solid commanders that give clear direction. I think Trostani, Selesnya's Voice is also doable. I think Shalai, Voice of Plenty is better in the 99 of one of their decks.

Orzhov: Teysa Karlov is 100% the right call. I think Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim could work despite my criticisms and I think new players would also love playing with Karlov of the Ghost Council but Teysa is budget-friendly, powerful, provides a clear direction, captures everything Orzhov is about (tokens and aristocrat death triggers), and works without a lot of thought.

Izzet: I second Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain and just avoid any combo nonsense, but if you are concerned or want a more classic spell-slingery Izzet build, I think Adeliz, the Cinder Wind is a fantastic choice as well. Rielle, the Everwise can also work. I'd avoid Tibor and Lumia as they're wildly underpowered.

Golgari: Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord is a great call. I think Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons, Slimefoot, the Stowaway, and Skullbriar, the Walking Grave are all doable as well, but again Jarad does all the stuff one might want in a Golgari deck.

Boros: What about Winota, Joiner of Forces? I like Winota as a newer, thematic, powerful option. I think there's also room to do Gerrard, Weatherlight Hero or Tajic, Blade of the Legion as a "boardwipe control" deck. I think these three are powerful enough to crowd out other options without being "too much", the way Feather, the Redeemed might be. I think a lot of other options (Kalemne, Disciple of Iroas, Anax and Cymede, Tajic, Legion's Edge) are just too underpowered to make a real go of it in Commander's worst color combination.

Simic: I know it's boring as sin, but Tatyova, Benthic Druid deserves a mention as an easy-to-play, powerful, and "fun to a newbie" Commander. If you don't want to be boring, Ezuri, Claw of Progress and Rashmi, Eternities Crafter are also options. I feel better about making a "balanced power" deck with any of them than I do with Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy and for all the reasons I previously mentioned, I'd avoid Vig, Vannifar, and Kumena.

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MeowZeDung
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Post by MeowZeDung » 3 years ago

Simic seems to be a tough one. I like Rashmi, Eternities Crafter for a beginner. Super straightforward game plan: ramp, cast a big spell each turn, get rewarded.
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choicetolive
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Post by choicetolive » 3 years ago

MeowZeDung wrote:
3 years ago
Simic seems to be a tough one. I like Rashmi, Eternities Crafter for a beginner. Super straightforward game plan: ramp, cast a big spell each turn, get rewarded.
I'm really liking that idea, but what types of instant speed things can I include that aren't nutty, to get more out of it than just their turn? Or would it be better to just keep it that way for a beginner?

EDIT: Great ideas everyone, keep them coming!

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Post by Hawk » 3 years ago

choicetolive wrote:
3 years ago
MeowZeDung wrote:
3 years ago
Simic seems to be a tough one. I like Rashmi, Eternities Crafter for a beginner. Super straightforward game plan: ramp, cast a big spell each turn, get rewarded.
I'm really liking that idea, but what types of instant speed things can I include that aren't nutty, to get more out of it than just their turn? Or would it be better to just keep it that way for a beginner?

EDIT: Great ideas everyone, keep them coming!
I built Rashmi Sea Monsters as my sister-in-law's first ever Commander deck. The thing is, you don't HAVE to include nutty instants. People get so pumped by Rashmi's highroll (which is a 6-drop cascading into a 5-drop or whatever) that they miss that just casting Opt or other cheap cantrips also triggers Rashmi to effectively "draw another card", and that's preetttttty good. People are willing to pump a lot of investment into a card like Whirlwind of Thought or Beast Whisperer and this isn't far off in terms of 4 CMC to have "when you cast your first spell each turn, draw a card" as a baseline.

The deck might want Wilderness Reclamation and Seedborn Muse and Vivien, Champion of the Wilds anyways, but it isn't a requirement by any means.

choicetolive
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Post by choicetolive » 3 years ago

Hawk wrote:
3 years ago
choicetolive wrote:
3 years ago
MeowZeDung wrote:
3 years ago
Simic seems to be a tough one. I like Rashmi, Eternities Crafter for a beginner. Super straightforward game plan: ramp, cast a big spell each turn, get rewarded.
I'm really liking that idea, but what types of instant speed things can I include that aren't nutty, to get more out of it than just their turn? Or would it be better to just keep it that way for a beginner?

EDIT: Great ideas everyone, keep them coming!
I built Rashmi Sea Monsters as my sister-in-law's first ever Commander deck. The thing is, you don't HAVE to include nutty instants. People get so pumped by Rashmi's highroll (which is a 6-drop cascading into a 5-drop or whatever) that they miss that just casting Opt or other cheap cantrips also triggers Rashmi to effectively "draw another card", and that's preetttttty good. People are willing to pump a lot of investment into a card like Whirlwind of Thought or Beast Whisperer and this isn't far off in terms of 4 CMC to have "when you cast your first spell each turn, draw a card" as a baseline.

The deck might want Wilderness Reclamation and Seedborn Muse and Vivien, Champion of the Wilds anyways, but it isn't a requirement by any means.
So in regards to your mention of avoiding the Flash Commanders, are those cards acceptable in the 99? Yeva, Nature's Herald , etc.

choicetolive
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Post by choicetolive » 3 years ago

So in addition to the OP, I'm also looking for one more thing. I want each deck to have at least one really powerful bomb. Something like a "Ah so that's what happens when you leave those colors alone" type of card. Maybe Hydroid Krasis in Simic, possibly something like Deadbridge Chant in Golgari. Just looking for a couple options for each color. Not something totally demoralizing to see or that feels unbeatable, but something that will make a newer player realize their colors go together REALLY well.

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MeowZeDung
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Post by MeowZeDung » 3 years ago

Ideas:

Boros - Sunforger is probably not a great idea for newer players who aren't going to tutor quickly, so probably Aurelia, the Warleader

Izzet - Epic Experiment for funsies or Thousand-Year Storm for nonsense.

Azorius - Mirrorweave for funsies and nonsense or Soulherder if showcasing etb tribal, or maybe Sphinx's Revelation for general goodstuff?
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Post by frogchild » 3 years ago

As a former new player myself, and more importantly someone who is used to playing on the lower end of the powerscale, I thought I'd throw out a couple recommendations
Azorius: As much as it hurts to not recommend Isperia, she is a bit too complex for newbies. I would go with Temmet - nice, simple strategy that has a fair bit of support and is engaging for beginners, plus it can be a way to start introducing control aspects
Dimir: I agree with you here, Lazav 1 feels like a good fit. Don't do Lazav 2 tho - it's quite complicated and although being a much more fun card can easily get overwhelming for new players
Rakdos: Judith would be my top consideration. You get introduced to a prominent strategy, she's a simple design and she gives quite a lot of visceral fun.
Gruul: I dont find much of Gruul interesting but I'm inclined to agree with @benjameenbear and @Hawk here, angry Omnath seems like a good pick
Selesnya: Siona - simple, fun and easy to make interesting imo. I wouldn't include the combo if I were you tho
Orzhov: I'm inclined to say that Teysa is a good idea, tho Kambal is also wicked fun and Aryel can be an interesting way to mix tribal with control
Izzet: I just built Adeliz and wow is it fun. 100% recommend here
Golgari: Hapatra seems simple and fun, tho something like Jarad might be a bit better at conveying the colour's themes
Boros: Winota. She's appropriately powered, interesting and not complicated like say, Feather. I like it
Simic: Arixmethes sounds pretty damn cool - new players love big things
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toctheyounger
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Post by toctheyounger » 3 years ago

choicetolive wrote:
3 years ago
So in addition to the OP, I'm also looking for one more thing. I want each deck to have at least one really powerful bomb. Something like a "Ah so that's what happens when you leave those colors alone" type of card. Maybe Hydroid Krasis in Simic, possibly something like Deadbridge Chant in Golgari. Just looking for a couple options for each color. Not something totally demoralizing to see or that feels unbeatable, but something that will make a newer player realize their colors go together REALLY well.
Dimir - Mnemonic Betrayal or Gyruda, Doom of Depths?
Orzhov - Debt to the Deathless or Merciless Eviction.
Golgari - Lord of Extinction is a must.
Azorius - A second for Mirrorweave, that card is nuts. Or maybe Sphinx's Revelation.
Rakdos - Torrent of Souls or Rakdos's Return?
Simic - Biomantic Mastery is pretty simic without being busted to hell.
Selesnya - Voice of Resurgence
Izzet - A second for Epic Experiment. I feel like Thousand-Year Storm is probably a little too pushed for beginners personally.
Gruul - Xenagos, God of Revels seems good. Or for something a little lower power Escape to the Wilds is pretty cool.
Boros - Aurelia's Fury is pretty cool, or Assemble the Legion. Hell, even Boros Charm is pretty awesome.
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bobthefunny
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Post by bobthefunny » 3 years ago

I actually was looking into a similar set of concepts, with building beginner friendly budget decks:

I build first, with Emmara, Soul of the Accord at the helm, but substitutable for Tolsimir Wolfblood or Chorus of the Conclave (in true precon style).
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=29999

Then I built next on a challenge by a friend. I started with Illuna, Apex of Wishes, but I felt that the mutate path overlapped current precons too much, and that it locked too many slots of the deck, so I rebuilt with Yasova Dragonclaw instead, with Surrak Dragonclaw as backup (both of these were the backups for the original Illuna deck, as well).
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=30004

I rounded off with a combo Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain next, but I'm unhappy with that, as I don't feel this is a good deck for new players, or really introduces them to the proper EDH spirit. I'm likely to update to Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer, or some other commander with a token swarm/aggro strategy.
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=30008
choicetolive wrote:
3 years ago
MeowZeDung wrote:
3 years ago
Simic seems to be a tough one. I like Rashmi, Eternities Crafter for a beginner. Super straightforward game plan: ramp, cast a big spell each turn, get rewarded.
I'm really liking that idea, but what types of instant speed things can I include that aren't nutty, to get more out of it than just their turn? Or would it be better to just keep it that way for a beginner?

EDIT: Great ideas everyone, keep them coming!
Hawk wrote:
3 years ago
I built Rashmi Sea Monsters as my sister-in-law's first ever Commander deck. The thing is, you don't HAVE to include nutty instants. People get so pumped by Rashmi's highroll (which is a 6-drop cascading into a 5-drop or whatever) that they miss that just casting Opt or other cheap cantrips also triggers Rashmi to effectively "draw another card", and that's preetttttty good. People are willing to pump a lot of investment into a card like Whirlwind of Thought or Beast Whisperer and this isn't far off in terms of 4 CMC to have "when you cast your first spell each turn, draw a card" as a baseline.

The deck might want Wilderness Reclamation and Seedborn Muse and Vivien, Champion of the Wilds anyways, but it isn't a requirement by any means.

I built a Jori En, Ruin Diver deck built around 6 drops, rather than the standard "cantrip everything" plan that most decks go for. A lot of people get too hung up on triggering Jori/Rashmi every turn... Here's the problem: If you fill your deck with cantrips in order to trigger Jori/Rashmi every turn... then the card you draw... is likely going to be another cantrip!

Anyways, Rashmi got spoiled shortly afterwards, and I was a bit saddened because it was essentially Jori, but way better, and with green. I knew that if I was going to make my commander better, I'd need to compensate by making a serious concession to a deck-building limitation.

So I built Rashmi, Eternities Crafter Wurm Tribal. No non-Wurm creatures allowed. On it's first outing, the deck nearly decked itself. I was at 0 cards in library when I cast the aftermath half of Commit // Memory. Exciting game.
viewtopic.php?p=75585

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Post by NZB2323 » 3 years ago

I would highly recommend Edric, spymaster of trest. I even run a version with only commons, and it's surprisingly effective. The deck is mainly creatures that cost 1 mana that have evasion and it can start rolling.
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