Graphic design is my passion.
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Table of Contents
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Introduction
The bro is not in its essence a gender stereotype. The simplest definition of a bro: a person who loves to party.
This deck a modular mid-to-high power deck which represents four different kinds of partying. Each party has a theme and style. You can pick, randomly select, or let your opponents choose which party you'll play.What this means: this deck has a core of 80 cards, and each "party pack" is a selection of 20–30 cards built around one of four playstyles and moods:
Bros' Night (Aggro/Creatures);
Galaxy Brain (Turns/Spellslinger);
Mosh Pit (Slug/Boardwipes);
and Posi Vibes Only (Hug).
Galaxy Brain (Turns/Spellslinger);
Mosh Pit (Slug/Boardwipes);
and Posi Vibes Only (Hug).
Jodah is simply a bro: as long as he's throwing the party, he's happy. Since Jodah provides a generically powerful effect, I run a lot of cards that remind me of my early days playing the game. This deck is my love letter to Magic's history.
If you want a modular, customizable, 5-color deck that is explosive and nonlinear, this deck is for you.
The original party accessory.
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Commander Analysis/Why Play This Commander
Those who should play Jodah & the deck's strengths
- You'll like this deck if you like classic, powerful spells and explosive turns
- Jodah can create memorable board states and interactions
- Can be played as a Aggro, Turns, Slug, or Hug deck
- No one card is make-or-break: each mode has many threats
- Jodah cheats out big spells but the deck can still do big things without its commander
- You'll dislike this deck if you prefer maximally competitive average CMCs or using an inexpensive mana base
- Players who know your deck will do all they can to slow you down
- You have to think carefully about which lands you play each turn
- Stax and nonbasic land hate makes Jodah cry
Piloting this deck will strengthen two skills:
a) Seeking diverse lines of play that maintain your powerful board state and maximize your potential to win
and b) Adjusting to different play styles each time you play.
a) Seeking diverse lines of play that maintain your powerful board state and maximize your potential to win
and b) Adjusting to different play styles each time you play.
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Alternate Commanders
OTHER BIG STUFF, MODULAR, & WUBRG COMMANDERS
Ramos and Kenrith have reputations as combo decks and thus draw hate. Jodah is less conspicuous. Plus, as a 4-drop, Jodah comes down 1-2 turns earlier; this tempo tends to surpass opponents in most mid-power games because the first post-Commander spell you cast will be more impactful (because higher-CMC) than theirs. Golos has become a popular replacement for Jodah, but his lists require more build-around cards (e.g. Training Grounds and Mistmeadow Witch) that aren't great on their own. Jodah is faster and more explosive, though less resilient and value-based, than Golos.
Finally, I learned from the Command Zone podcast about someone's modular Mayael deck that works like this: its pilot adds cards randomly picked from a pile of 100 Creatures with power 5 or greater into the rest of their deck before each game. That modularity and unpredictability guided this build.
My favorite effect in Magic.
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Deck History
This deck started out as a Chaos deck that included obnoxious cards like Timesifter and Grip of Chaos. Gradually I turned it into a pile of Big Stuff, including some of my favorite spells like Omniscience. Then over time, as I dismantled other EDH decks, I added in value pieces (for example: Sylvan Library), good lands, and pet cards like Necropotence). Eventually I realized I wanted to design and play a modular deck, meaning a deck with a core set of cards supporting multiple different play styles. Since the deck's first Chaos incarnation, I'd always referred to Jodah as "Brodah", or to the deck as "Jodah Likes to Party"—so I decided to structure these modes around five kinds of parties.
Three principles guide my revisions:
- Make each party/mode distinct;
- Make the deck resilient to most non-competitive deck types.
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Current Decklist
Brodah: Bros' Night
Approximate Total Cost:
Brodah: Galaxy Brain
Approximate Total Cost:
Brodah: Mosh Pit
Approximate Total Cost:
Brodah: Posi Vibes Only
Approximate Total Cost:
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Card Choice Discussion
Here's an in-depth look at the each card in the deck. If you have any questions or recommendations, please reply to this thread! I'd love to hear from you.
The Core 80 Cards, a.k.a. The Party House
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- The Lands - My mana base consists of 10 fetchlands, 10 Revised dual lands, 7 lands that tap for up to 5 colors, 2 Battlebond lands, 5 MDFC or cassette lands, and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth. How to sequence your land drops: Prioritize and on the first few turns for ramp and your best tutors. Ideally, each dual you fetch also provides one of the 4 colors required to cast Jodah. I've found it's often wise to play your fetchlands as late as possible, since you'll have more information the longer you wait to fetch. When to cast Jodah: Cast Jodah as early as you can. You want your first turn after Jodah enters to be big.
- Ramp & Fixing - Deathrite Shaman plus Bloom Tender and Jodah will give you . Noble Hierarch is another efficient dork with a combat-damage upside. Dockside Extortionist scales up with the power level of your pod, and rarely feels bad to draw. Fist of Suns is cheaper Jodah that's more resilient to removal. Smothering Tithe pairs nicely with wheel effects. Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Fellwar Stone, and the Land Auras are efficient.
- Draw & Tutor - Powerful, low-CMC tutors help you find engines and answers. Necropotence is a pet card that can be hard to cast, but Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth can fix you. The wheel effects (e.g. Wheel of Fortune, Windfall, Dark Deal, and Time Spiral) fill or recur your graveyard; filling your yard is great for Eerie Ultimatum and shuffling it in is useful if you'd like to tutor a key card into hand. Speaking of wheel effects: Consecrated Sphinx, Notion Thief, and Alms Collector pair so nicely with them (as does Smothering Tithe). Rhystic Study is a classic and only-a-little-annoying way to draw many cards. Sylvan Library is efficient. And Peer into the Abyss, a.k.a. Pita, will win you the game if you've resolved an Omniscience.
- Boardwipes & Removal - Damnation, Wrath of God, and Toxic Deluge are solid boardwipes which can be used early as card advantage. Ruinous Ultimatum is a powerful asymmetrical sweeper. Assassin's Trophy hits anything. And Soul Shatter scales up and gets around Indestructible.
- Protection & Recursion - Lightning Greaves and Sylvan Safekeeper often protect Jodah, but can also slot onto the early mana dorks. Teferi's Protection is powerful because this deck relies on maintaining a strong board state. Eerie Ultimatum can be burned as an early ramp spell (since it recurs Lands) or as a late-game finisher after filling your graveyard. And Emiel the Blessed protects your Creatures from targeted removal and combos with Dockside Extortionist.
- Value - Omniscience is a pet card; nothing feels better to me than casting spells for free.
The Parties: Bros' Night
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- Avacyn, Angel of Hope - The party's central bouncer. Indestructibility protects you and turns Wrath of God and Damnation into asymmetrical sweepers.
- Blightsteel Colossus - If you need to one-shot someone, this is your dude.
- Defense of the Heart - Watch with glee a low-CMC competitive-minded deck play out a bunch of mana dorks! To protect yourself, grab Avacyn, Angel of Hope and Shalai, Voice of Plenty. To punch hard, grab Gisela, Blade of Goldnight and Pathbreaker Ibex. To ramp, grab Nyxbloom Ancient and Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy. To draw cards, grab Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur and Nezahal, Primal Tide. The list goes on and on.
- Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite - Keeps your opponents off dorks and blockers and pumps your team.
- Emrakul, the Promised End - A fantastic attacker, blocker, and control piece. Also cheat-outable after a wheel effect.
- Gisela, Blade of Goldnight - She protec but she also attac. A good incentive for your opponents to hurt each other and a great enabler of your alpha strike.
- Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur - Oppressive and lucrative. A great source of card draw. Pairs nicely with the "no maximum hand size" clause on Nezahal, Primal Tide.
- Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy - You know when you're partying with your homies and there's clearly an underage kid there pretending to be old enough to drink? Kinnan is that. (Potent with Treasure tokens from Smothering Tithe and a great mana sink since this deck is 23% non-Human Creatures.)
- Kozilek, Butcher of Truth - Card draw, Annihilator, and a reshuffle effect. What more could you want in a friend?
- Maelstrom Wanderer - A haste-enabler that also gets you more value. I've cast Ruinous Ultimatum off the Wanderer more than once, and let me tell you: that feels good.
- Nezahal, Primal Tide - Thicc Mystic Remora that also lets you get key cards into the yard to be recurred later. The "no maximum hand size" clause pairs well with Jin-Gitaxias, sure. But it pairs particularly well with Necropotence.
- Niv-Mizzet, Parun - Wonderfully powerful against spellslinger and combo decks. Pairs beautifully with Gisela, Nezahal, and Jin-Gitaxias. Also pairs well with Sylvan Library and all our wheel effects!
- Nyxbloom Ancient - A tremendous ramp spell. Sets up a 3x turn with Jodah on the field, which will often win you the game.
- Ohran Frostfang - A modest inclusion, but card draw is good. And deathtouch can dissuade your opponents from blocking.
- Pathbreaker Ibex - The G.O.A.T. and this deck's Craterhoof Behemoth.
- Rune-Scarred Demon - Tutors on ETB, which is potent off Defense of the Heart or Tooth and Nail. Also a big flying beater!
- Sakashima the Impostor - Copies Gisela to quadruple damage. Copies Shalai to provide a Hexproof lock. Copies Jin-Gitaxias to draw you a TON of cards. Flexible, modular, and powerful.
- Shalai, Voice of Plenty - Hexproof for your bros is useful.
- Tooth and Nail - You can cast this for WUBRG and pay an additional two mana of any color to Entwine it. A great way to find a potent pair to deal with your opponents in whatever way seems best.
- Zacama, Primal Calamity - A former mainstay of the core Party House, this Dino is often free if you cheat it out with Jodah. If Zacama sticks around, its activated abilities make a powerful toolbox that keeps your opponents in check.
The Parties: Galaxy Brain
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- Academy Rector - A learned person who can fetch you a high-CMC Enchantment like Swarm Intelligence. (A lot of experimentation with drugs happens in college.)
- Aminatou's Augury - An all-star of my prior Jodah build, this will cheat you into a lot of value—or more extra turns.
- Approach of the Second Sun - This party's alternate win condition. Casting Approach for the first time puts the table on high alert, though, so be careful.
- Beacon of Tomorrows - Another solid extra turn spell that you can recur/tutor up later.
- Capture of Jingzhou - An extra turn that you don't even need to cheat out.
- Double Vision - An efficient Enchantment that will turn each first extra turn spell per turn into two extra turn spells. Devastatingly good with Expropriate.
- Expropriate - A game-ender. Gross if you copy it with Swarm Intelligence.
- Karn's Temporal Sundering - A little risky since you'll need Jodah to cast it, but the bounce can be very useful.
- Nexus of Fate - A great extra turn spell that can be tutored and looped a few times.
- Personal Tutor - This can find any of the very powerful turns spells OR just expedite your win with Approach of the Second Sun.
- Seedtime - More of a meme than anything, but this card can sneak in an extra turn when your opponents try to be controlling.
- Sublime Epiphany - So flavorful! And generally useful. This package's only counterspell.
- Swarm Intelligence - Meant primarily to copy your extra turns spells. Very, very gross if this triggers on an Expropriate.
- Teferi, Master of Time - I'm yet to pull off the ultimate, but the looting and protection is useful. Its utility only scales up in a turns deck, too.
- Temporal Manipulation - A simple, low-to-the-ground extra turn spell.
- Temporal Mastery - An extra turn spell with an upside: you can tutor it to the top of your library on the end step before your turn via a Mystical Tutor or Vampiric Tutor!
- Temporal Trespass - Fetch lands can pay the Delve cost, or just irrelevant cards you've wheeled away.
- Time Stretch - I've won probably 75% of the games in which I've resolved a Time Stretch targeting myself.
- Time Warp - Another simple extra turn spell. Though this one can be stolen with a Misdirection!
- Walk the Aeons - You'll almost never buy it back, but it's just more fodder for stringing together turn after turn after turn.
The Parties: Mosh Pit
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- Blasphemous Act - A solid boardwipe that can also dome your opponents for 13 per Creature under their control with Repercussion.
- Brash Taunter - You know when you're partying with your homies and some guy just keeps trying to pick a fight, even though he's clearly outnumbered? Brash Taunter is that. A great source of direct damage with Star of Extinction and Blasphemous Act.
- Decree of Pain - A boardwipe that'll also refill your hand. You can cycle it to get around pesky Indestructible Creatures.
- Disrupt Decorum - Say something incendiary then walk out the back door. Spread damage, tap your opponents' creatures out, and generally disrupt their plans.
- Earthquake - Just an old school way to kill everyone simultaneously.
- Fiery Emancipation - It's not the most synergistic card in this pile, but it's just so sluggy. I love it.
- Havoc Festival - Pairs nicely with Wound Reflection. A great clock.
- In Garruk's Wake - An asymmetrical board wipe.
- Insurrection - Incite a riot. Turn friends against friends; make enemies of all. Flavorful and potentially game-winning.
- Kaervek the Merciless - Other people should suffer for trying to cast Big Stuff. You can also point smaller amounts of damage at yourself if you've got Vilis, Broker of Blood out to draw cards whenever your opponents cast spells.
- Massacre Wurm - A little boardwipe that sets up the pain when a bigger boardwipe arrives. It also hoses some graveyard combos/strategies.
- Overwhelming Forces - Hit the tokens player, lol. More seriously: this is essentially a big targeted removal spell that hopefully will draw you 5+ cards.
- Painful Quandary - Punish your opponents for trying to cast spells. Pairs well with Wound Reflection!
- Repercussion - Pair this with a Star of Extinction or Blasphemous Act to kill or nearly kill everyone at once. Winning shouldn't really be your primary goal in this mode—only to inflict as much pain as possible.
- Rise of the Dark Realms - Great recursion that also serves as a win condition after a few boardwipes have resolved.
- Season of the Witch - This old card forces the action and also puts more creatures in the graveyard (to be recurred later via Rise of the Dark Realms). Plus it's just so spooooooky.
- Star of Extinction - If you see a nice Gaea's Cradle or a control player's open Island, just go ahead and blast it off the board and kill 99% of life on Earth while you're at it.
- Treachery - Thematically aligned with a party-gone-violent, but also an essentially free piece of theft.
- Vilis, Broker of Blood - A source of incremental card draw with fetchlands; disincentives your opponents from attacking you; and he might just drag you to Hell if you've got a Repercussion out. In a pinch, he helps you kill some dorks or tiny Commanders. Pairs well with Kaervek the Merciless for greedy card draw.
- Wound Reflection - Speeds the game up and potentially wins you the game.
The Parties: Posi Vibes Only
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- Aether Snap - Why does this fit into a Hug deck? If you've hugged everyone into a stupor, or if they'd simply like to stop playing, then you can cast this with Divine Intervention under your control to end the game fairly. Because we play primarily to have fun, right?
- Boldwyr Heavyweights - Let your buds tutor out their best Creature straight onto the battlefield.
- Claws of Gix - A seemingly strange inclusion, but this is here to get rid of Hive Mind so that players don't abuse it.
- Collective Voyage - Go on a road trip with your friends!
- Dictate of Karametra - Why not double your friends' resources? They'll surely use them responsibly.
- Divine Intervention - Draw the game and create a nice pressure cooker (if and only if your players don't particularly care about winning).
- Eureka - This card lets everyone put as many non-Planeswalker permanents from their hands onto the battlefield for free. It's the original Hypergensis. It's a 4-CMC Sorcery. Magic's original designers did not see Commander coming.
- Fractured Identity - Give everyone your best thing. Most of the time, you'll want to give them your Seedborn Muse.
- Heartbeat of Spring - Another efficient mana doubler.
- Hive Mind - Pairs well with New Frontiers, or anyone's ramp or card draw spells. If someone plays a removal spell into this, prepare for a ridiculous squabble. (Claws of Gix can help you rid the table of this nuisance.)
- Hypergenesis - You can suspend this, sure: or you can cast it immediately for the alternate costing or .
- Mana Flare - An efficient mana doubler.
- New Frontiers - Mana screw? No problem! Particularly fun if you manage to spend 20 or so Treasure token mana on this after a big wheel.
- Phelddagrif - If someone plays an Intruder Alarm and you've got Bloom Tender or Faeburrow Elder, you'll be able to generate infinite mana of most if not all colors, and thus put as many Phelddagrif activations on the stack as you'd like. Otherwise, this is here to draw people cards, make people blockers, and gain people life. Also: if you've got Omniscience, Smothering Tithe, and the Friendly Hippo out, you can draw that person as many cards as they'd like.
- Rites of Flourishing - Draw and ramp. Free property! Free books!
- Seedborn Muse - Useful with Phelddagrif, but meant primarily to be gifted to your opponents via Fractured Identity.
- Show and Tell - You can cheat an Omniscience into play this way, sure; but more importantly, what are your buddies going to get?
- Tempt with Discovery - More lands! This is particularly useful if your opponents have pet lands (for example: Glacial Chasm, Rogue's Passage, Gaea's Cradle).
- Tempting Wurm - A 2-CMC Eureka.
- Tidal Barracuda - Give everyone Flash and protect your own turns so that you can continue to deploy hug pieces without worrying about anyone having a strange idea about your intentions.
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Notable Exclusions
Notable Exclusions
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- Efficient/low-CMC removal in 4/5 parties - This deck is mostly proactive, meaning it tries to assemble its own winning game state more so than it interrupts others from doing the same.
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Deck Philosophy
This deck was and has always intended to surprise, delight, and scare other players. It does this by pairing classic cards from Magic's history with the format's costliest, most impactful spells. Once I realized I wanted this deck to encompass all of my interests in Magic and in Commander, I decided to make it modular. The unpredictability of opponents requesting different party packs, or of the table finding out which party I'm throwing when I cast that first big spell, is so much fun.
The deck's core 80 cards provide enough ramp, fixing, card draw, and defense for Jodah to keep up with mid-power tables. While this deck is far too explosive for battlecruiser and pre-con pods, it's also too slow and non-interactive to keep up at cEDH tables. But this deck's primary goal is to delight me with cards that I love and keep me on my toes with strategies that are all unique. Winning is a side effect.
Some cards in the core 80 / Party House aren't really that practical or synergistic. Necropotence, for example, requires three pips, a difficult feat to pull off consistently in a 5-color deck. But Necro bring me back to playing games of Magic with my older brother on the carpeted floor in his bedroom, us playing to inhabit and admire imaginative realms. To this day, I think Necroptence is just cool.
Each 20–30 card suite / Party Pack embodies an archetype established early on in Magic's history. Bros' Night is a Timmy's dream: big creatures; turning cards sideways; winning through combat. Galaxy Brain is a Johnny's dream: extra turns; complex interactions; winning through a chain of spells. Mosh Pit is a Vorthos' dream: each card represents the scary possibilities we feel when we're violent. Posi Vibes Only is meant to bring out the best in us: it's meant to help us help our friends have a good time.
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Deck Strategy & Challenges
Pre-game Considerations
How do I assemble this deck before the game begins? Your options:
- 1. You choose. Which deck would you like to play? Which deck fits the table? Once you've chosen, you can tell your opponents before the game starts or you let your choice be a surprise.
- 2. The table chooses. What kind of archetype or play style would they like to play against? Aggro, Turns, Slug, or Hug? Reach a consensus then follow it. (Don't say you'll choose one pile/party and then choose another. Be excellent to each other.)
- 3. The gods choose. Assign each pile a number then roll a d4. You can tell your opponents before the game starts or you can let your choice be a surprise. Alternately, you can put your piles face down, move them around a bit, then let the gods choose so that the party is surprising even to its host!
Common Patterns
This deck tends to work in two phases. The first phase is to setup to cast a high-CMC spell. The second phase is to go off. This dual nature is also a quality of glass cannon builds (I'm looking at you, Zada!)—but Jodah has just enough recursion and protection to recover from mid-game boardwipes or targeted removal.In my meta, this deck typically wins around turn 7.
Early Game Strategy (Turns 1 – 4)
An ideal opening hand contains 1 ramp or fixing spell, 1 draw or tutor spell, 1 value piece, and 4 lands that will let you cast the ramp spell in your hand and land Jodah as soon as possible. An example ideal hand:
Usually you want to prioritize ramping and establishing a solidly-fixed mana base so you have for your first cheated-out spell with Jodah. Stay under the radar, establish value/ramp/fixing, and point out other peoples' threats.
A potential challenge at this point in the game:
Opponents on high alert. Sometimes you've just gotta tutor and reveal Omniscience. Opponents will be on edge when you do. That's okay! Just know that for every high-CMC threat you fail to resolve or that gets removed, there are more on their way. And potent cards like Omniscience, Necropotence, and Consecrated Sphinx can all be recurred with Eerie Ultimatum or Seasons Past for another explosive turn. Don't worry: no one card is this deck's primary win condition. There are enough powerful spells that can bring you back into most games.
Mid-Game Strategy (Turns 5 – 6)
If you've managed to resolve Jodah or Fist of Suns, then your next step is to look to accomplish whichever goal your Party Pack sets out for you.If you're playing Bros' Night, you want to assemble and protect a group of threatening Creatures. If you're playing Galaxy Brain, you want to think through tutor and extra turns to string together an Approach of the Second Sun win. If you're playing Mosh Pit, you want to let your id rule: blow up lands; destroy things for no reason; kill everyone at once. If you're playing Posi Vibes Only, ask the table what kind of help they'd like, then help them in those ways (while trying not to kingmake).
Usually you don't want to slow-roll your opponents, since your threats will outpace theirs. (This is the nature of cheating on mana costs.) So you should run out your biggest, most impactful spell as soon as you can. If you're able to resolve a huge enabler like Peer into the Abyss or Omniscience, then your next goal is to keep building your board state as rapidly as possible. Remember: this deck is proactive and all-in—and you'll find that the risk will most likely pay off!
A potential challenge at this point in the game:
Jodah gets removed. Past turn 5, this isn't as much of a problem. You'll typically have enough fixing and ramp available to cast whatever big spell you've got in hand without cheating it out via an alternate cost. Think of Jodah primarily as an accelerant: he's there to get you to the late game faster, but he isn't necessary to the deck's plan of casting high-impact spells. An alternate plan: resolve Smothering Tithe then cast a wheel. The amount of Treasure tokens you create will often enable a game-winning or lead-establishing turn.
Late-Game (Turns 7+)
Closing the game out should be self-explanatory. You'll either a) have a commanding board state or b) will be visibly behind other opponents. If you're in the latter situation, persuade your opponents to let you rebuild or help you; build back up so that you can cast one or two game-changing spells in a row. If you've got a commanding board state, protect it and try as aggressively as possible to accomplish your goal. The goal will depend on what kind of party you're throwing!Party-specific Tips!
Bros' Night
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Your goal is to win via combat damage. Unless your meta is scared of big monsters, this will likely be your least threatening and simplest pile.
Starting out: Try to establish the fundamentals (card draw or ramp) with a Creature like Nyxbloom Ancient or Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur. Alternately, you can use sneakier cards like Defense of the Heart or Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy since they're harder for opponents to assess. You won't be able to kill your opponents with combat damage in the early turns, so you need to build up your resources and protect them.
Building up: Maybe you've assembled some beaters and applied pressure to your opponents' life totals. Good! Now find and resolve an asymmetrical boardwipe like Ruinous Ultimatum. If things haven't gone as well, you'll want to recur your creatures using Eerie Ultimatum or go for an explosive turn via Smothering Tithe and Wheel of Fortune. If you manage to assemble Omniscience + card draw, with a little luck you'll be able to cheat out your Creatures, give them haste with Maelstrom Wanderer, protect them with Avacyn, Angel of Hope, and use the G.O.A.T. goat Pathbreaker Ibex to swing in for the win that turn.
Finishing it: Close out the game with an alpha strike. Make sure you have enough damage on board to eliminate your opponents in one combat step—or that you've got ways to protect yourself (like Teferi's Protection) until your next combat step.
Starting out: Try to establish the fundamentals (card draw or ramp) with a Creature like Nyxbloom Ancient or Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur. Alternately, you can use sneakier cards like Defense of the Heart or Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy since they're harder for opponents to assess. You won't be able to kill your opponents with combat damage in the early turns, so you need to build up your resources and protect them.
Building up: Maybe you've assembled some beaters and applied pressure to your opponents' life totals. Good! Now find and resolve an asymmetrical boardwipe like Ruinous Ultimatum. If things haven't gone as well, you'll want to recur your creatures using Eerie Ultimatum or go for an explosive turn via Smothering Tithe and Wheel of Fortune. If you manage to assemble Omniscience + card draw, with a little luck you'll be able to cheat out your Creatures, give them haste with Maelstrom Wanderer, protect them with Avacyn, Angel of Hope, and use the G.O.A.T. goat Pathbreaker Ibex to swing in for the win that turn.
Finishing it: Close out the game with an alpha strike. Make sure you have enough damage on board to eliminate your opponents in one combat step—or that you've got ways to protect yourself (like Teferi's Protection) until your next combat step.
Galaxy Brain
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Your goal is to win via Approach of the Second Sun, Commander damage with infinite-ish turns, or to inspire your opponents to concede. This will be your strongest non-cEDH pile, since extra turns in a Big Stuff deck will provide you an uncatchable lead.
Starting out: Don't be afraid to burn an extra turn spell in the early game in order to ramp and draw a card, since this pile is full of them. PSA: Be wary of Misdirection when casting a targeted spell like Time Stretch! Alternately, resolve Swarm Intelligence to setup for a string of extra turn spells. An early Academy Rector is a great blocker which can give you a free Omniscience in case you want to win or a free Swarm Intelligence.
Building up: If things are going well, string together as many extra turn spells and tutors as possible. If things aren't going well—if your spells are getting countered—then you have to keep trying to resolve turns spells; you'll need to outpace your opponents' development, even if you can't secure a win. If you do manage to assemble Omniscience + wheels, though, you probably can stumble into an Approach of the Second Sun win.
Finishing it: Go for the Approach of the Second Sun alternate win condition, or just inspire your opponents to scoop (which, in my experience, happens more often; typically an opponent facing down 5+ extra turns would rather shuffle up and play another game). If your opponents can't take combat damage (cf. Glacial Chasm), you'll need your Assassin's Trophy. If Approach somehow gets exiled, you can win via Commander damage with Jodah. You'll only need 18 or so turns. Easy!
Starting out: Don't be afraid to burn an extra turn spell in the early game in order to ramp and draw a card, since this pile is full of them. PSA: Be wary of Misdirection when casting a targeted spell like Time Stretch! Alternately, resolve Swarm Intelligence to setup for a string of extra turn spells. An early Academy Rector is a great blocker which can give you a free Omniscience in case you want to win or a free Swarm Intelligence.
Building up: If things are going well, string together as many extra turn spells and tutors as possible. If things aren't going well—if your spells are getting countered—then you have to keep trying to resolve turns spells; you'll need to outpace your opponents' development, even if you can't secure a win. If you do manage to assemble Omniscience + wheels, though, you probably can stumble into an Approach of the Second Sun win.
Finishing it: Go for the Approach of the Second Sun alternate win condition, or just inspire your opponents to scoop (which, in my experience, happens more often; typically an opponent facing down 5+ extra turns would rather shuffle up and play another game). If your opponents can't take combat damage (cf. Glacial Chasm), you'll need your Assassin's Trophy. If Approach somehow gets exiled, you can win via Commander damage with Jodah. You'll only need 18 or so turns. Easy!
Mosh Pit
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Your goal is to… well, do whatever you want. Want to win? Then pursue that win via damage and life loss, using cards like Wound Reflection and Havoc Festival. Want to kill everyone at once? Then resolve a Star of Extinction with Repercussion out. This will be your riskiest pile, since early mass land destruction and a high density of boardwipes can throw you off a linear gameplan.
Starting out: Early on, a mass Creature destruction spell (like Devastation) can work in your favor, since this deck's core 80 cards feature some recursion, plenty of fetchlands for post-MLD fixing, and efficient ramp spells (like Smothering Tithe or Dockside Extortionist). If you can manage the secrecy, try not to reveal a big boardwipe or similarly disruptive spell via Mystical Tutor, since surprise will work in your favor.
Building up: Let your whims dictate your play pattern. If your disruptive spells are being countered, then you can revert to your core game plan of assembling value or explosive plays. If you'd like to kill your opponents with damage, then resolve Repercussion and Star of Extinction once your opponents have rebuilt their battlefield. If you manage to assemble the Omniscience + wheels engine, you can win via Rise of the Dark Realms after a few boardwipes, or via Insurrection pre-boardwipe. Or just put together Wound Reflection and Havoc Festival then pass the turn. Or try to kill your opponents with Brash Taunter!
Finishing it: Go for the win via one of the lines above, or just make yourself and your opponents miserable enough to scoop. Or take yourself out in an entertaining way (pay your life total into Necropotence, for example). Again: let your id rule.
Starting out: Early on, a mass Creature destruction spell (like Devastation) can work in your favor, since this deck's core 80 cards feature some recursion, plenty of fetchlands for post-MLD fixing, and efficient ramp spells (like Smothering Tithe or Dockside Extortionist). If you can manage the secrecy, try not to reveal a big boardwipe or similarly disruptive spell via Mystical Tutor, since surprise will work in your favor.
Building up: Let your whims dictate your play pattern. If your disruptive spells are being countered, then you can revert to your core game plan of assembling value or explosive plays. If you'd like to kill your opponents with damage, then resolve Repercussion and Star of Extinction once your opponents have rebuilt their battlefield. If you manage to assemble the Omniscience + wheels engine, you can win via Rise of the Dark Realms after a few boardwipes, or via Insurrection pre-boardwipe. Or just put together Wound Reflection and Havoc Festival then pass the turn. Or try to kill your opponents with Brash Taunter!
Finishing it: Go for the win via one of the lines above, or just make yourself and your opponents miserable enough to scoop. Or take yourself out in an entertaining way (pay your life total into Necropotence, for example). Again: let your id rule.
Posi Vibes Only
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Your goal is to hug your opponents, and if everyone is tired of playing, to draw the game. This will be your most loved but also most complicated pile since it can cause hugely-complex board states.
Starting out: In the early game, the strongest pieces of hug are Eureka and Tempting Wurm. They'll supersede everyone's need to ramp and put the table solidly into the late game as early as turn 2. To make most players' heads explode, give them plenty of lands via New Frontiers on a Hive Mind, cast Tidal Barracuda, then Fractured Identity your Seedborn Muse. It's a good policy to always ask your opponents what kind of help they want (e.g. draw, flash, ramp, or a little bit of everything) then to give them what they want (and only what they want). Remember: this is a pure Hug deck with no real win condition, so don't play to win.
Building up: Typically you'll give your opponents some free ramp (with cards like Mana Flare, New Frontiers, and Collective Voyage), some free card draw (Phelddagrif!), flash (with Tidal Barracuda), and a little bit of all of that (with Rites of Flourishing). Try not to cast boardwipes unless a majority of players at the table asks for it; same goes for your targeted removal spells. Hive Mind is particularly fun with a ramp or draw spell, and can be a potent engine to give your opponents/friends resources and let them build up crazy stacks and board states. If you manage to assemble the Omniscience + wheels engine, try to draw everyone as many cards as they'd like (with Phelddagrif + Smothering Tithe).
Finishing it: You can either draw the game with Divine Intervention or wait (it won't be a long wait) for one of your opponents to "go for it." Remember: your job is not to kingmake, so don't prevent anyone from winning. An ideal Hug endstate:
Starting out: In the early game, the strongest pieces of hug are Eureka and Tempting Wurm. They'll supersede everyone's need to ramp and put the table solidly into the late game as early as turn 2. To make most players' heads explode, give them plenty of lands via New Frontiers on a Hive Mind, cast Tidal Barracuda, then Fractured Identity your Seedborn Muse. It's a good policy to always ask your opponents what kind of help they want (e.g. draw, flash, ramp, or a little bit of everything) then to give them what they want (and only what they want). Remember: this is a pure Hug deck with no real win condition, so don't play to win.
Building up: Typically you'll give your opponents some free ramp (with cards like Mana Flare, New Frontiers, and Collective Voyage), some free card draw (Phelddagrif!), flash (with Tidal Barracuda), and a little bit of all of that (with Rites of Flourishing). Try not to cast boardwipes unless a majority of players at the table asks for it; same goes for your targeted removal spells. Hive Mind is particularly fun with a ramp or draw spell, and can be a potent engine to give your opponents/friends resources and let them build up crazy stacks and board states. If you manage to assemble the Omniscience + wheels engine, try to draw everyone as many cards as they'd like (with Phelddagrif + Smothering Tithe).
Finishing it: You can either draw the game with Divine Intervention or wait (it won't be a long wait) for one of your opponents to "go for it." Remember: your job is not to kingmake, so don't prevent anyone from winning. An ideal Hug endstate:
- Resolve Hive Mind then your ramp Sorceries (like Collective Voyage). Or play your equitable mana doublers (like Mana Flare).
- Draw everyone as many cards as they'd like with the Phelddagrif/Smothering Tithe/Omniscience combo.
- Give everyone Flash with Tidal Barracuda.
- Sacrifice your Hive Mind with Claws of Gix.
- Cast Fractured Identity on your Seedborn Muse.
- Pass the turn and watch 3+ players play with quintupled mana, all their permanents untapped, 20–85 cards at their disposal, and at Flash speed.
Challenges
Challenges and moments that require careful attention:
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- Mana screw. With 35 lands, plenty of ramp, and a handful of tutors, this isn't likely. Try to appear meek and bide your time.
- Nonbasic land hate. Sit in a corner and cry. Or just spend time persuading your opponents that the player playing nonbasic land hate or stax has GOT TO GO.
- If your opponents dislike extra turn spells… You can mitigate this by playing quickly; knowing the deck's combo and combo-ish lines helps you move fast. That said, this pile is full of extra turn spells, so you might have to avoid playing it in certain pods.
- If your opponents dislike Hug… You can rehabilitate hug for them. I'm sure of it. (Only sort of jk.) Remind your opponents that this deck doesn't intentionally kingmake (though cards like Tempting Wurm disproportionately favor permanent-heavy decks vs. spellslinger decks); its Hug is equitable. Remind your opponents that the game will likely be over quickly. Or, at worst, you can give everyone only the resources they ask for, and then scoop so that your permanents no longer affect the game thus leaving players to their own devices.
- If your opponents really, really dislike a certain archetype or one particular card… Let's take a mass Land destruction spell like Expropriate as our example. If your playgroup or pod hates that card, then you have a few choices: a) with enough notice, replace it; b) take out that card and replace it on the fly with another card from your collection that seems thematic or synergistic; or c) replace that card with a random or chosen card from the other parties/packages. This last option would be the least potentially synergistic, but also probably surprising and fun in its own way. Accidents and unintuitive interactions can lead to great discoveries!
Matchup-related Considerations
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Tier 0 or 1 cEDH decks: Jodah can't compete.
Aggro decks: Tutor for and resolve an early- to mid-game boardwipe. Usually you'll outpace their development afterwards.
Voltron decks: You don't want to be forced into blocking with Jodah, since he's the most readily available tool by which you can cheat out game-winning spells. Though don't worry too much about losing Jodah since the core 80 cards tend to build up enough resources to cast most of your spells without Jodah.
Control decks: If they're smart, they'll keep you off explosive pieces of ramp. If they're smarter still, they'll be very wary of your fourth, fifth, and sixth turns. You can either bide your time and wait for someone else's threatening spell to soak up their counterspell or removal, or you can run straight into it and throw threat after threat at the table, hoping that one sticks. Judge the character and habits of your pod's control player(s) to the best of your ability.
Aggro decks: Tutor for and resolve an early- to mid-game boardwipe. Usually you'll outpace their development afterwards.
Voltron decks: You don't want to be forced into blocking with Jodah, since he's the most readily available tool by which you can cheat out game-winning spells. Though don't worry too much about losing Jodah since the core 80 cards tend to build up enough resources to cast most of your spells without Jodah.
Control decks: If they're smart, they'll keep you off explosive pieces of ramp. If they're smarter still, they'll be very wary of your fourth, fifth, and sixth turns. You can either bide your time and wait for someone else's threatening spell to soak up their counterspell or removal, or you can run straight into it and throw threat after threat at the table, hoping that one sticks. Judge the character and habits of your pod's control player(s) to the best of your ability.
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Change Log
October 11th 2020
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IN & OUT
We added some more cards to benefit from the core 80's wheel subtheme, a little infinite mana combo via Emiel the Blessed, some flexible removal and MDFC Lands from the newest Zendikar set, upped our Land count a bit, and tweaked all parties save for the Hug package. I'm also trying out a version without Seasons Past and Sunbird's Invocation—I'm not sold I'll prefer this non-Sunny Seasons version, but we'll see! Also, my friends and I recently started a YouTube channel for Commander (casual and cEDH) content. So far we've got gameplay videos, a video essay about Commander and mental health, and a deck tech for this very deck!
We added some more cards to benefit from the core 80's wheel subtheme, a little infinite mana combo via Emiel the Blessed, some flexible removal and MDFC Lands from the newest Zendikar set, upped our Land count a bit, and tweaked all parties save for the Hug package. I'm also trying out a version without Seasons Past and Sunbird's Invocation—I'm not sold I'll prefer this non-Sunny Seasons version, but we'll see! Also, my friends and I recently started a YouTube channel for Commander (casual and cEDH) content. So far we've got gameplay videos, a video essay about Commander and mental health, and a deck tech for this very deck!
August 18th 2020
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So many changes! While the mid-power Parties have undergone mostly small changes—a few cards swapped in and out—I've made a handful of important alterations to the core Party House, including cutting the mid-power decks' only near-infinite combo (by cutting Conflux), and I've added an entire new Party! I've also made a bunch of line edits to the primer itself, hopefully making this a clearer and more enjoyable reading experience. Thanks for your attention—and party on!
So many changes! While the mid-power Parties have undergone mostly small changes—a few cards swapped in and out—I've made a handful of important alterations to the core Party House, including cutting the mid-power decks' only near-infinite combo (by cutting Conflux), and I've added an entire new Party! I've also made a bunch of line edits to the primer itself, hopefully making this a clearer and more enjoyable reading experience. Thanks for your attention—and party on!
July 28th 2020
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- Seedborn Muse for Posi Vibes Only - I wanted to figure out how to untap everyone's permanents at the end of a Conflux loop, so casting Fractured Identity on this made the best sense.
- Shalai, Voice of Plenty for Bros' Night - Great early protection. I'm considering running Sakashima the Impostor for a hexproof lock off Defense of the Heart!
- Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy for Bros' Night - A placeholder for now, but it might provide enough value with Smothering Tithe Treasure tokens to stay in. (He's the obviously-underage kid who's sneaking drinks.)
- Nyxbloom Ancient for Bros' Night - A solid body that gives the ridiculous ramp effect Jodah wants!
- Clone Legion - Doesn't copy the ridiculous Legendary Creatures, so I'm cutting this to increase my Creature density.
- Lurking Predators - With fewer than 30 Creatures, this didn't provide value as often as I'd like.
- The Great Henge - Better in a mono- stompy deck. I rarely wanted to cast or tutor this.
- Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis - The effect is too small for 4 mana.
July 20th 2020
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- Deflecting Swat for Party House - Good protection against early removal, or just a game-altering change of plans.
- Spine of Ish Sah for Posi Vibes Only - Seemingly weird in a Hug package, right? But this gets rid of Hive Mind without triggering Hive Mind.
- Boldwyr Heavyweights for Posi Vibes Only - Excellent hug.
- Aether Snap for Posi Vibes Only - Draw the game with Divine Intervention with one cast! Excellent with Tidal Barracuda.
- Sublime Epiphany for Galaxy Brain - So flavorful for Galaxy Brain, and so generally useful! Also thematic since it's modular.
- Beacon of Tomorrows for Galaxy Brain - Recurrable/tutorable turns.
- Cataclysm for Mosh Pit - Another punishing boardwipe that hurts you too. Delicious.
- Nature's Lore - A decent spell, but dead in the late game. (Whereas Deflecting Swat, while dead in the early game, can be game-altering in the mid- to late-game.)
- Unifying Theory - Felt dead—too rarely paid for. Hug tends to give opponents everything they want on the turn it & you go off, so this felt like too small a help.
- Mana Cache - See above.
- Upwelling - See above.
- Braids, Conjurer Adept - I love Braids! But Tempting Wurm, Eureka, and Hypergenesis almost always empty an opponents hand in repeatable ways such that Braids felt underwhelming.
- Maelstrom Nexus - Unnecessary. Swarm Intelligence is much more powerful in a Turns build.
- Possibility Storm - Chaotic, but unpopular. Plus it drags the game out even longer (particularly combined with Mosh Pits frequent boardwipes)…
July 13th 2020
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- Nexus of Fate - An extra turn spell that can be looped indefinitely with the Omniscience/Conflux/Seasons Past line.
- Grim Tutor - A great tutor recently reprinted with beautiful art.
- Fiery Emancipation - So sluggy. Speeds up the game.
- Peer into the Abyss - Great art, versatile effect, and pairs nicely with Wound Reflection.
- Massacre Wurm - An asymmetrical boardwipe, graveyard combo punisher, and slug effect on a 6/5.
- Teferi, Master of Time - Decent value if it lives a rotation, and a great thematic ultimate.
- Nature's Lore - Low-CMC ramp that gives you a Forest untapped. Pairs well with duals.
- Selvala, Explorer Returned Without ways to abuse this or give it haste, this felt dead.
- Swiftfoot Boots - Greaves is friendlier re: mana cost.
- Captive Audience - A little too slow, a little too targeted.
- Painful Quandary - Not enough slug for 5 mana!
- Warp World - Chaotic, but helps token decks more than I like.
- Forced Fruition - A very thematic effect, but it often just hands combo players the game.
- Prismatic Omen - I don't need fixing (on a card that provides no other benefit) because of this deck's mana base.
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Credit & Thanks
Thanks to all those folks who are piloting Chaos, Hug, and modular decks! And a big thanks to the Command Zone podcast, which clued me into that modular Mayael deck and thus inspired this deck's commitment to partying.
If your ears bleed, it's a party. If your eyes bleed, it's a Rakdos party.
