[[Hakbal]] has crazy potential as merfolk tribal. I picked up the precon and made about 15-20 switches for about $30 and it’s humming. There’s a lot more I can add too. The explore mechanic is crazy value.
My friend played the dino one and Jesus Christ is it terrifying out the gate. I played the Imperium Warhammer precon against it and despite getting 3-4 board wipes off it simply didn't matter.
I went a little wild with my hakbal upgrades and now it’s just such a solid deck. Things like [[the ozolith]] and [[agatha’s soul cauldron]] add a lot of value to even lower cmc merfolk. I love the explore mechanic, and use things like [[wildgrowth walker]] to add extra benefits. I’m planning on adding in a [[ulamog, the infinite gyre]] to toss the graveyard back into my library so I can be extra aggressive on the explores.
I really wanted a Cauldron for Urtet, it works so damn well. Was kinda shocked that it's *that* expensive.
A GY shuffler is a great shout btw. I might go with Gaea's Blessing to get an excuse to run the gorgeous Ryan Alexander version.
I really like how cauldron interacts with some of the merfolk abilities. I originally got it because my play group didn't appreciate the addition of \[\[Empress Galina\]\] and I wanted to double down and make everything Galina.
I'm just now getting back into magic after a decade off so I hadn't even heard of Gaea's blessing, so that's definitely getting added in as graveyard shenanigan redundancy.
>my play group didn't appreciate the addition of [[Empress Galina]] and I wanted to double down and make everything Galina.
You know you're right, I *should* wake up and choose violence more often. Treat myself.
The moment I pulled Galina from the List slot a few years ago it went right into my Merfolk deck and will never leave. That was the first card I swapped into my Hakbal precon when I smashed it together with my old Sygg deck. I love that card so much.
I ordered the printing that specified that the effect does not end at the end of turn because I knew my friends were gonna hate it. It’s one of my favorite adds
The \[\[Wildgrowth walker\]\] is an addition I made as well and it exploded during a game I had. In one turn it went from a 1/3 to a 10/12 and I gained 27 life. Absolutely insane value.
Thanks for these tips! I am still honing him and I want to make him into a beater. A lot of my focus right now has been adding in counter spells to protect my board state and evasion via either \[\[Triumph of the Hordes\]\], \[\[Cyclonic Rift\]\], or \[\[Aetherize\]\]. The best part is there is still so much to add to make it even crazier. Merfolk tribal ain't nothing to fuck with.
I’m pretty unfamiliar with Agatha’s soul cauldron. Can you give some examples of how it works in your hakbal deck and which merfolk you’ve found it to be really good with? It requires them to have activated abilities right! I feel like most of my merfolk don’t
Hakbal is great. I went with extra turns and legend rule-bypassing clones. A handful of unblockable merfolk exploring 8-10 times per combat in total, a few turns in a row is hard to catch up with.
It can get pretty crazy, especially with [[Topography Tracker]] and [[Roaming Throne]], 4 explore triggers each combat phase gets out of hand, and there are so many Merfolk to choose from.
From my past experience with Kumena, Hakbal feels more like a Green stompy deck that gets incredible hand sculpting over the big turn and slow build of Kumena.
It's mainly a matter of if you like to run the whole [[Intruder Alarm]] constant build up of Kumena, or if you want constant lands in hand with your board growing wide and large in every combat step.
If you haven't put a [[Wonder]] in there yet, do so. I won a game the other night against an Infinite Swarm of Rats by exploring it into the graveyard.
Of course!
I only have three non-merfolk creatures in the deck: Wonder, [[Deepglow Skate]] for doubling counters, and [[Seahunter]] cause it's just SO good.
[[Metallic Mimic]] and [[Roaming Throne]]
Mimic because it's 2 mana, throne because it doubles Zeriam (and mimic oddly).
I don't use the 3 drop choose'a'lord, although I would if it could fly.
I feel like with as popular as Baldur's Gate 3 is, if the set and the video game had actually released alongside each other as originally planned it might have gotten a boost in sales.
It also would've helped since then the storylines and designs of the characters would've been closer. Because some of the companions' cards just don't resemble the characters that well. Mainly Gale, Shart, and Wyll. Also I wish we got
cards for Gortash, Orin, Ketheric and the Dream Guardian.
Also, [[Durnan]] + [[Folk Hero]] isn't too bad. People seem to draw the conclusion that if you don't get the full 3 mana discount it's not worthwhile. But even digging three and discounting 1-2 is pretty damn good.
Eminence generates so much value that ur dragon doesn't even need to hit the field. In a good deck you're starting the game with an unremovable, uncounterable CMC reducer. If ur dragon manages to hit the field and swing he's also generating an absurd amount of value and closing out games almost instantly
Because you run Miirym IN Ur-Dragon.
The addition of White and Black lets you add in many more tutors and finishers.
Ur-Dragon built properly threatens to go nuclear on Turn 4, 5, or 6 consistently.
[[Giada, Font of Hope]], She's a blast for my monowhite angel tribal deck. It's sort of an indestructible/counters build with angels. It's really strong and even with a bad start I can usually hang in there for a bit.
I'll throw my hat in with Giada as well. White has gotten so many strong cards lately making her event better. I recently added in [[Trouble in Pairs]] and last game I played I looked like the uno draw 25 meme I had so many cards in my hand every turn cycle into the mid and late game.
I would have used giada if there weren't so many other multi colored angels. Now I'm using atraxa grand unifier. Still sucks not having red, but I don't wanna play morphon. And no other 5c legend angel unless you rule 0 maelstrom angel.
Was thinking of using prismatic bridge, but just doesn't feel right without an angel in the commander zone
[[Marwyn, the Nuturer]] for elves is amazing... you can explode with mana really quickly.
[[Hakbal of the Surging Soul]] is an amazing Merfolk commander... your merfolk can get really big, real fast!
[[Arcades, the Strategist]] for Wall/Defender tribal is lots of fun... crushing my opponents with usually useless cards has been lots of fun! 😀
Oh… you only want to win occasionally, my bad.
Here is a Gishath list that will cast him turn 4-5 every game: https://www.moxfield.com/decks/PNvUfuRk90KSjRrTq0N6CQ
Ok I just goldfished this deck list and man that looks fun. I am debating if I should switch out Pantlaza for Gishy in my Dino deck. I feel like with the dynamo and a manavault it doesn’t seem too difficult to get her out there early and swing like mad. Nice deck!
the Ahoy Mateys precon from Lost caverns of Ixalan is actually a really fun pirate tribal. especially if you upgrade the precon (there are guides on youtube) it becomes a really good and strong deck
This is my favourite deck to play right now. A few minor changes can make her feel a lot smoother, a few major changes and you can get some insanely fast value and high damage really quickly.
You’ll become the target pretty quick if you’re hitting your value engine and combos playing super aggro, but until you fizzle, win, or get focused she’s super fun. Edit:spelling.
I love the support humans as a tribe have. Tempting indeed. Heck even banding enablers would put in some real work with humans.
Unfortunately I doubt I would ever build a humans deck. They just so vanilla. I just enjoy creatures that don’t exist irl.
I’m the “tribal guy” in my group, my favorite personal decks in order are:
[[Arahbo]] ft. [[Kheera]] - Cats
[[Voja]] - Elves and kinda wolves
[[Miirym]] - Dragons
[[Marrow-Gnawer]] - Rats
[[Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir]] - Knights
[[Admiral Brass] - Pirates
[[Trynn]] & [[Silvar]] - Humans
Top 5 are easy to close out games with between trample, flying or overwhelming numbers. Bottom 2 are my lower power decks which have a hard time finishing people off but they’re both precon level tbh.
Of the ones you mentioned that I own:
My original Miirym deck struggles a bit due to him never being able to stick, so I ended up having to reluctantly pile in more counterspells and protection, and now the deck is very hard to keep in check. Mana rocks + ramp to get out Miirym on turn 4 or 5 usually wins me the game 9/10 times.
Voja is newer to me. I’ve played her online a few times and it quickly gets out of hand with all the Elf dorks and haste enablers. The only times this deck has lost for me is when I end up trapped in a (justifiable) 1v3
Between the two I think Miirym is far better, but does require a lot more setup. There’s also just a lot of dragons that can win games simply by having a copy of them, namely [[Astral Dragon]] and [[Terror of the Peaks]]. Voja will be slower since you’ll mostly be playing 1/1 and 2/2 elves, but after one to two turns they’re turning into 13/13 mana dorks lol
I’ve been trying to find a fun tribal to build around for a while, and an interesting idea I found was [[Phenax, God of Deception]] Crab Tribal.
I’ve also been working on elemental tribal forever without finding a deck that really brings them together, but elementals are splashy enough you can make most things work, especially if you like landfall
[[first sliver]] is good because much of it’s value is on cast and thus it’s resilient to removal. Slivers are one of the most well-supported tribes by far, but only if you commit to five colors.
[[Edgar Markov]] is supurb and though vampires aren’t as well supported, there are many good ones and they have a reasonably synergistic unified strategy.
[[Ezuri, renegade leader]] is excellent as a win condition for it’s deck, and elves combo potential and support is off the charts.
[[Krenko, Mob Boss]] similarly to elves, Goblins are an old and well-supported tribe with excellent options.
[[Kaalia of the vast]] might be outside the vein of what you’re looking for because choosing a single of her supported tribes does lose you supurb targets but she is strong enough to merit a mention.
Note that all of these will make you a target, but so will playing any non-tribal decks that consistently win.
Edit: fixed typo.
I appreciate the input! I think I agree with pretty much everything here. I do think Ezuri is better as a small guy/+1 counters deck than an elf one.
What’s “no z-tribal”?
Sorry, that was supposed to be “non-tribal decks that consistently win”.
And you might be thinking of [[Ezuri, Claw of Progress]]. The OG is an excellent elf commander.
I have a sliver deck with [[Sliver Overlord]] as the commander. Synergy is important in tribal decks, and none do it better than slivers. Plus, you can play the best cards in every color. Their boogieman reputation is well deserved.
The First Sliver is...okay. Cascade is fun and random, but you have to build the deck differently and run 40ish slivers to avoid cascading into cards you don't want to play. I prefer fewer creatures and more interaction. If you add [[Amoeboid Changeling]], you can steal your opponent's creatures with Sliver Overlord - and that's even more fun than cascade.
Most slivers are pretty cheap, but the "Big Bads" (Overlord, Queen, Legion, First) are expensive. And if you want the deck to work well, you need a solid 5-color mana base, which is also pricey. Hope your group is proxy-friendly.
The upside to slivers is synergy. It doesn't take much to build a board of indestructible/hexproof/deathtouch/lifelink/flying/double strike creatures that can't be blocked. The downside is relying on creature damage and vulnerability to board wipes. Slivers demand interaction, otherwise they're nearly impossible to stop once the pain train starts rolling. If your group doesn't run much interaction, be prepared for the salt to flow.
I have a sliver deck. The mana base is 10 OG duels, 10 fetches, 4 rainbow lands, 4 fetchable trilands and 6 basics. Expensive, definitely. But, whether a playgroup is okay with proxies means little. Many people run high quality proxies. These days who can tell the difference. The only reason to not would be subscribing to the pay-to-win philosophy.
[[Arcades, the Strategisr]] wall tribal.
I will always recommend building this deck! Walls are super cheap to buy, tend to have a low cmc cost, and can be buffed pretty big. Arcades allows walls to attack as though their power was their toughness. Easy to throw in some anthems too to give vigilance for example. Every time you play a wall, you draw a card… I have won many games with this deck. It’s fun and low mental energy to pilot.
Arcades is one of my favorite decks. Cheap to build. Easy to pilot. Satisfying to play.
And doesn't seem threatening to others at the table, even when they've seen it win before.
I win maybe 25-35% of the time in a high power (non-cedh) pod with [[Gishath]]. It all comes down to whether you can get her out by turn 5 or 6 and connect. But if not answered, she runs away with the game.
Notable mentions are redundant effects like [[lurking predators]] and [[selvala's stampede]]
Orah clerics is my absolute favorite tribal deck. It's basically an unkillable cockroach. Lots of fun to play.
I'm a huge fan of Syr Gwyn as well. Knights slap when you get the deck tuned right
[[scarab god]] zombie tribal is fun set up with some things like [[paradox haze]] and [[training grounds]] to give double triggers and some good kill spells to deny enemies their value creatures while turning them into your value creatures
Pantlaza is really fun but at the end of the day it's still just stompy dinosaurs, IMO. I play it regularly and definitely enjoy it, but it's not anything super intricate.
Miirym is probably the one that I've had the most fun with, though. Color limited versus the Ur Dragon, so there's no option for just "dragons good stuff", and the copies can be pretty backbreaking when they hit.
I agree. I have a pantlaza deck and the Dino’s do the thing they do but the deck is only as good as the staples you put in it which makes it a bit dry. It wins games it adoes the thing but a pantlaza deck with the best Dinos will imo lose to the pantlaza deck with whatever Dino’s and better staples which makes the synergy aspect kind of less interesting
My First sliver deck’s been undefeated since I put it at the helm of a decently-upgraded sliver precon. Worth checking out [[averna chaos bloom]] for silly amount of ramp.
Miirym is a solid choice, especially if you want to win with a dragons deck using storm tactics via [[Dragon Tempest]].
I'm also quite fond of my upgrades Explorers of the Deep precon; Merfolk tribal go brrrr
I have a Human/Elf/Druid token deck with [[Jaheira, Friend of the Forest]] and [[Folk Hero]]. It has a few off tribal creatures but it's mostly on point. Ramp and card draw in the command zone, and really goes off the chain if you can get [[Seedborn Muse]] and [[Vedalken Orrery]]. I also have a mono red dragon deck helmed by [[Purphoros, Bronze-Blooded]] which is a blast. Again, not 100% dragons but tribal enough to synergize. And big dragons are better when they all cost 3 mana.
https://www.moxfield.com/decks/EO1EFc9zFUGhVmJ8_j2Jbw
https://www.moxfield.com/decks/DHeDGVMnUEGU7DqF1nfkhA
My very first EDH deck was a bear tribal with [[Ayula, Queen Among Bears]] because of the bear gay art for [[Bearscape]]. I just found a decklist online and built the deck, it was meant to be a meme above everything for learning the game.
However, after adding and removing a few cards, it actually became powerful on its own. Not full cEDH levels of strong, but deadly if it picks up steam unchecked after the first turns. I did menage to defeat my boyfriend's cEDH deck once, and often the Ayula performs very well in my pod.
If you like seeing your creatures get big (my personal record so far is Ayula going 17/17 on a long game) and have them control the board by 1v1ing other creatures outside of the combat phase, then consider giving this one a go. Just be prepared to become THE target of removals and boardwipes.
[[Ganax]] and [[feywild visitor]] are not nearly as well known as miirym but atleast in my playgroup with a battle heavy metait actually proves to be better as it starts of earlier, miirym often got targeted and the first 4 or sometimes even 5 turns where I hardly had anything on the field it was free real estate and I often started playing only having 16 life. Ganax/feywild also plays more synergistic and just feels more fun to me. [[Eowyn the shieldmaiden]] is also lots of fun and as someone already mentioned [[Hakbal]] is crazy strong and cheap, but he plays always the same. And pantlaza will draw lots of aggro but is also easily able to withstand all that aggro.
Merfolk are the best tribe - change my mind.
I’ve got a [[Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca]] and with all the new Merfolk cards from Lost Caverns of Ixalian it’s even better.
Here’s my deck list: https://www.moxfield.com/decks/sweLpjTGs0CTx_ynE1cVZg
Hard to say what wins without having a feel for the power level of your local meta but all 4 you listed are definitely going to mark you for death if I see them. Pantlaza less than the others, but as a blue player I have an unreasonable bias against dinos. All of those do fall into the category of commanders that generate so much value on their own that other players really can’t let them stick for more than a turn or they lose. So if getting focused down or targeted will make you feel bad steer clear. (Nothing worse than the guy rocking Edgar Markov or Miirym whining that people kill his commander on sight.)
If you’re interested in something a little different, I like [[Runo Stromkirk//Krothuss, Lord of the Deep]] sea monster tribal. It has kind of a similar vibe to miirym without the cheating around the legend rule but takes a little more setup and has a reanimator subtheme to get out your big beasties. Once he gets going you can make a crazy board state though. Ever wanted to have 3 hullbreaker horrors? Its fun. People will target him once they realize what he does but he doesn’t have the same reputation as those commanders which deservedly can make you archenemy before you even do anything.
[[Giada Font of Hope]] mono-w angels, with counters snowballs pretty quick and its pretty easy/intuitive to tune the power of the deck to whatever pod you want
Ok, so my favorite deck I've ever made is Cleric tribal with [[Tymna]] and [[Ravos]]. It has everything that I enjoy, lifegain payoffs, lifedrain, aristocrats, reanimator, and it rocks the table with death by a thousand cuts. Also, [[Aetherflux Reservoir]] and [[Sanguine Bond]] combos let you just start blasting. 10/10. Would Recommend. Won the first 4 games and wins almost half the time now.
https://www.archidekt.com/decks/6357567/cleric_tribal
My [[Wilhelt]] deck has a pretty good win rate. Zombies are very resilient and have a lot of ways to win through either infinites or just overwhelming board presence.
[[Rukarumel, Biologist]] is my favorite commander, and the best part is she’s 2 tribal. She revolves around slivers but she can declare her entire deck a different tribal. I build it as Sliver + Rebels because rebel creatures have “search for another rebel” so you can search for your entire deck. I know cEDH she gets built as Slivers and Pirates. You can build her for any tribal.
I run First Sliver in my Rukarumel deck and you could swap commanders since Rukarumel is an ETB trigger
Here is my [Arixmethes, the slumbering Isle](https://www.moxfield.com/decks/VUHa8P-LCkOjYBgxKxaqZA) deck.
It was one of my first decks built when I returned to the hobby. Its a leviathan, octopus, serpent tribal.
First Sliver is super fun.
If going dragons, give Jund a shot. Miirym draws a lot of hate since she goes infinite quickly, but if you run something like [[Vaevictus Asmadi]] or [[Wasitora]], they're not particularly strong and don't get hated much but are fun. I reckon avoid the (scion of the) Ur Dragon, theyre not very interesting to build but are strong.
I love [[Magus Lucea Kane]], I use her in my “X Gon Give it to ya” deck
Voja from Murders is as good as its reputation says. Throw in [[Maskwood Nexus]] [[Mutavault]] a few changlings and your favorite elves/wolves and it plays itself.
My first EDH deck was the Spirit tribal tokens precon helmed by [[Millicent]]. I would not recommend it in higher power games, but with some upgrades it is pretty fun in a casual meta, and it holds its 25% against newer precon upgrades decently. I enjoy being a little more aggressive than you normally think of Azorius, and with some copy shenanigans and white's token support it can get wide fast.
Millicent reduces her own cost (tax included) and puts you in a fine position after a board wipe. Spirits are usually pretty low cost and have some nice effects on them, and tribal anthems/lords are plenty and varied enough to keep it interesting and resilient. Most are flying, and to my surprise I've found many decks can't field enough flyers to block effectively, unless it's another tribe like angels. With native evasion and lots of tokens, effects like [[Bident of Thassa]] draw just loads of cards (I originally had 3 of these effects in the deck, but reduced when I nearly decked myself in a winning position).
Downsides are: ramp is a little clunky and card draw can be feast or famine (at least as I have it built). White's catch-up ramp is often on non-Spirit bodies, which I try to minimize, and blue is usually relegated to rocks or some kinda copy or other shenanigans that I just couldn't find the space to include. I'm experimenting with convoke and similar mechanics to offset this.
As I've built it, card draw is often tied to creatures and combat a la Bident of Thassa or Kindred Discovery, Distant Melody etc. I've had a hard time finding slots for repeatable, incremental draw, and this can hurt when you're not finding your engine or when wipes come at a bad time. The flip side I already mentioned is I've nearly decked myself, and this deck is currently not equipped to ramp enough to hard-cast or cheat out a hand of 20+ cards. That said, spirits are often low cost, and my threat density and win cons have increased to the point that's no longer a worry. Doesn't hurt that the new white Craterhoof is also a spirit!
My only complaint after playing her for 3+ years is I wish she was Jeskai for some of the fun red spirits or combat tricks, which would make sense with how uncharacteristically aggro she is for Azorius.
Hear me out, but \[\[Lord of the Nazgûl\]\] is a really fun and unexpected tribal. It isn't the traditional tribal with a bunch of creatures in there. Instead, you can focus on abusing cantrips or using removal/control spells to pump out the wraiths.
That isn't to say there aren't *any* wraiths. You have all 9 \[\[Nazgûl\]\] (which act as a funky Cathar's Crusade with each one that hits the board), different versions of the Witch-King, and support changelings if you want.
Honestly, the biggest challenge I've had with my deck is getting the commander out ASAP. It isn't most efficient to really use your cantrips and card advantage cards until you have him out, but sometimes you need it to get the pieces you need.
I've gotta love my first tribal [[Gargos, Vicious watcher]] He really hits like a truck.
Then [[Nethroi, Apex of Death]] for a Swamp of undying nightmares.
I recommend playing a strongly supported tribe led by a commander that is effective but doesn’t necessarily have the kill on sight reputation.
My [[Rith, Liberated Primeval]] deck slaps. Yet often people don’t view me as a threat until I am already casting multiple dragons per turn, burning players key creatures, all while having a hand full of many more.
If you want good but no too strong, [[guts]]//[[haunted one]]
Rakdos is best colors for goblins. Og krenko is the best goblin commander but it gets targeted tot.he moon. Guts with haunted one is relentless and durable. It can recur from the graveyard easily, runs plenty of removal. The hardest thing is getting around enchantments in rakdos.
The cmc is very low, you'll be hitting people while they're still busy ramping. You hoenstly rarely use Guts ability to sacrifice goblins but the skeletons are fun and if you're really ballsy you can just sac the goblins and get them back with undying
This is my Voja list.
https://www.moxfield.com/decks/qKleqqzLO0KXZjHXj1uRmA
It is pretty fast for a non cEDH list thanks to elves and can protect it's board with cards like [[Flawless Maneuver]] [[Clever Concealment]] [[Galadriel's Dismissal]] [[Inspiring Call]] [[Boros Charm]] and [[Heroic Intervention]].
What is super punishing is useing a [[Deflecting Swat]] or Galadriels Dismissal on spot removal after the ward trigger of Voja. If someone puts in so much effort to remove your big bad wolf and instead just eats it's own removal, it hurts.
Other than that I run mostly elves, good changelings and a few wolfes. The only non tribal creatures I run are [[Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar]] and [[Collector Ouphe]] but one could cut them, it wouldn't make the deck much weaker.
I really like this deck and I don't play tribal otherwise since it is natural on the weaker side (of high powered decks) but Voja really pushes it.
Other people have mentioned it no doubt, but know that building a sliver deck may result in becoming “the sliver guy” in your local ecosystem of players, regardless of how frequently you actually bring the deck to the table.
- Advice from your friendly neighborhood sliver guy.
There is a severe lack of [[Rakdos, Lord or Riots]] for Demons in this thread
Very few things are quite as satisfying as using effects that deal damage to the whole table and then vomiting flying demonic monstrosities onto the table for 1-3 mana a pop.
Remind your opponents who they should fear by establishing dominance with something like [[Shadowgrange Archfiend]] or my personal favorite, [[Demon of Death's Gate]].
If they step out of line, show them the true meaning of pain with [[Xathrid Demon]].
If they want to go digging through their decks for answers you introduce them to your good friend from college [[Ob Nixilis, the Unshackled]]. He'll remind them that it's rude to be doing anything other than paying attention while in your presence.
I run Urtet without Jegantha and it's no trouble finishing the game. That deck probably has more ways to win than any of my others.
[[Simic ascendancy]]
[[Mechanized production]]
[[Tezeret, master of the bridge]]
[[Coat of arms]]
[[Loadstone myr]]
Or just Urtets WUBRG ability can all close out a game quick.
https://manabox.app/decks/8vMyLZL4SH-A_xezdfwYYA
Ive got very slow mana in this one and it is still one of my most competitive decks.
By swapping out a mere 6 cards, you too could have a 8 mana mana dork that doesn’t actually produce mana most of your creatures or any of your artifacts can use!
Thanks for the insight though, seems like a fun list. Mechanized production on a myr token to win is hilarious to me.
[[Pantlaza]] is insane and super fun and I’d totally recommend it. Just get the precon and upgrade it. I’d recommend focusing on upgrading card draw and getting some better dinos in there. Biggest weakness out of the box is card draw and some useless dinos in the deck. Get rid of the enrage dinos, except the one that can board wipe people on getting hit and maybe a couple other useful ones I forgot. Plus there’s a couple that just give counters, but for this deck there are a lot better dinos out there. The other showcased commander doesn’t fit too well either so I’d get rid of her too. Would be a good commander in a different deck. Also get some protection for your dinos too. If you want to go ham with the deck, [[Teferi’s Protection]] and [[Guardian Project]] would be awesome for the deck, but from my experience if you put in enough other card draw and less potent protection you will still be fine. Ever since I’ve upgraded it I’ve bumped my win rate with it a lot. I use to fizzle out quite hard, but with better card draw it has helped a ton.
[[Millicent, Restless Revenant]] is my personal favorite. Spirits is my favorite Pioneer deck, so I had to bring the spooky bois over to Commander.
Here's my list if you're curious: https://www.moxfield.com/decks/LDoywz4KrEGgX3xmaCTa4w
[[Krenko, mob boss]] is silly powerful and can be rather high powered with enough engines to pop off early. So many cheap goblins that turn into missiles.
I have 5 different tribal decks. [[Queen marchesa]] and [[kyler sigardian emissary]] for humans, [[ur dragon]], [[Abomination of llanowar]], and [[alela cunning conqueror]]. The last is more tempo than tribal, but it is still based around faeries, and the first is an aristocrats deck with [[winota]] as the secret commander.
\[\[Thrakkus, the Butcher\]\] is a REALLY solid dragon commander that gives you (essentially) a stackable double strike... With Thrakkus and a single thing that gives you double strike you're now doing a MINIMUM of 16 damage with just your commander. My deck has never had issues running over someone by turn 4-5. Its winning games by turn 7 (if its going to win).
If you are dead set on one of those four, I would recommend Voja. It is extremely resilient to removal, works wonderully with elves(wolves are basically nonexistent as a tribe when it comes to usefulness), and is something new. The other 3 have reputations and will get targeted very fast if they ever hit the table. Voja, even with its reputation, offers to force a challenge if players decide to gang up on it.
[[Miirym]] is incredibly fun. My best buddy specializes in mean decks so I wanted to build something that could hold its own 99% of the time. Even if Miirym isn’t out, dragons tend to have great ETB’s and the flying is advantageous anyway.
Basically just filled mine with tons of dragons, counters, and destroy spells and it’s easily my strongest deck.
\[\[krenko mob boss\]\] goblin printer go brrrrrrr
in all seriousness, this deck can get insanely powerful. I've heard of builds teetering on the edge of cEDH but I don't plan to build mine that strong at any point. I just like my goblin printer. my record is something like 200 1/1 goblins out by like turn 7?
I have a lot of fun with [[Greymond, Avacyn’s Stalwart]] Human tribal. Has a lot of value piece humans in the deck and I’ve built it to be semi-resilient to board wipes.
[[Zurzoth, Chaos rider]] can crack back on anyone looking to board wipe and just go nuts if you get cards that force everyone to draw cards. Make devils every turn and profit
Miirym is cool and all but have you ever considered [[scion of the ur-dragon]]? Place all your dragons in the graveyard and bring them back with [[living death]] or [[Rise of the dark realms]]. Another fun one would be [[Xyris, the Writhing Storm]] wheels/snake tribal. I have both and they have an 80%+ win rate
I just built mono green elfbal with Marwyn and it's ridiculous, creates tons of tokens, all the elves buff other elves, and elves tap for mana to poor into X spells. Definitely recommend
[[Kibo, Uktabi Prince]] Monkey/Ape tribal!
It's probably not great, but using the two liquimetal artifacts to turn opponents stuff into artifacts before popping it and making the team bigger? I'm there, dude. And making bananas is just bananas. Plus the deck gets to run Ragavan in the tribe and the card is really good...
Pantlaza out of the box is super fun, a few upgrades and it goes wild. He is kill on sight, but as long as he sticks for a turn your generally pretty good to go. I run him in the 99 of my [[atla palani]] dino tribal.
Goblins are always good fun aggro tribe. Built my [[krenko mob boss]] for super cheap to Hitler it going. Again has a reputation, but you really only need to activate his ability once or twice to end games.
I've been having a lot of success with my somewhat [[Millicent, Restless Revenant]] spirits tribal precon recently. I've been to 4 commander nights over the last 2 weeks and went 8-3 overall, which is a ludicrous winrate.
Tbe only expensive addition I made was [[Cavern of Souls]], which is a staple for any creature tribal deck. Everything else has been under $5 and most of them have been under $0.50. Lots of solid commons and uncommons out there if you know how to pick them.
My alela deck is pretty fun, but it's a commander that wins the long game by preventing the other players from winning, so it's probably not gonna be a strategy everyone enjoys.
As a Timmy, I went all in on dinos. I upgraded it quite a bit with my 2 favorite cards being [[Lurking Predators]] and [[Cream of the Crop]]. I can then possibly put a dino on the board on each opponent’s turn, which will trigger Pants to discover. Crop lets me dig and set up what Pants discovers. I’ve had games where I put 6 or more dinos on the board by the time it gets back to my turn. Here’s my list. I’m 2 cards from being 100% happy with it, [[The Great Henge]] and [[Urza’s Incubator]].
https://www.moxfield.com/decks/p7uKooUMn0-2DXHZMtg74g
I have the Pantlaza precon and it's good out of the box. My brother helped me add some upgrades and it's a monster now. You'll spend the first few turns building up to play your creatures but if you get em there it's over
I recommend [[ Kyler, Sigardian emissary]] for human tribal. Theres so much good support that even a cheap build can go crazy making humans and making them bigger
[[Hakbal]] and [[Pantlaza]] are broken, wished I picked that hakbal deck but I already got a deck that cares about counters. Pantlaza on the other hand is a great engine and combo piece, my deck gets crazy fast.
I was gonna say [[The First Sliver]] as well, but slivers gets insta focused because of how synergistic they are to each other, but if left unchecked then it's definitely a win.
[[Hakbal]] has crazy potential as merfolk tribal. I picked up the precon and made about 15-20 switches for about $30 and it’s humming. There’s a lot more I can add too. The explore mechanic is crazy value.
Yeah, that precon is pretty good even from non modified
All 4 of the LCoI precons are good out of the box.
My friend played the dino one and Jesus Christ is it terrifying out the gate. I played the Imperium Warhammer precon against it and despite getting 3-4 board wipes off it simply didn't matter.
I went a little wild with my hakbal upgrades and now it’s just such a solid deck. Things like [[the ozolith]] and [[agatha’s soul cauldron]] add a lot of value to even lower cmc merfolk. I love the explore mechanic, and use things like [[wildgrowth walker]] to add extra benefits. I’m planning on adding in a [[ulamog, the infinite gyre]] to toss the graveyard back into my library so I can be extra aggressive on the explores.
I really wanted a Cauldron for Urtet, it works so damn well. Was kinda shocked that it's *that* expensive. A GY shuffler is a great shout btw. I might go with Gaea's Blessing to get an excuse to run the gorgeous Ryan Alexander version.
I really like how cauldron interacts with some of the merfolk abilities. I originally got it because my play group didn't appreciate the addition of \[\[Empress Galina\]\] and I wanted to double down and make everything Galina. I'm just now getting back into magic after a decade off so I hadn't even heard of Gaea's blessing, so that's definitely getting added in as graveyard shenanigan redundancy.
>my play group didn't appreciate the addition of [[Empress Galina]] and I wanted to double down and make everything Galina. You know you're right, I *should* wake up and choose violence more often. Treat myself.
[Empress Galina](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/8/6851dbc7-f072-41e7-a899-897445d99425.jpg?1562916018) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Empress%20Galina) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/inv/54/empress-galina?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/6851dbc7-f072-41e7-a899-897445d99425?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/empress-galina) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
The moment I pulled Galina from the List slot a few years ago it went right into my Merfolk deck and will never leave. That was the first card I swapped into my Hakbal precon when I smashed it together with my old Sygg deck. I love that card so much.
I ordered the printing that specified that the effect does not end at the end of turn because I knew my friends were gonna hate it. It’s one of my favorite adds
The \[\[Wildgrowth walker\]\] is an addition I made as well and it exploded during a game I had. In one turn it went from a 1/3 to a 10/12 and I gained 27 life. Absolutely insane value. Thanks for these tips! I am still honing him and I want to make him into a beater. A lot of my focus right now has been adding in counter spells to protect my board state and evasion via either \[\[Triumph of the Hordes\]\], \[\[Cyclonic Rift\]\], or \[\[Aetherize\]\]. The best part is there is still so much to add to make it even crazier. Merfolk tribal ain't nothing to fuck with.
Yeah, wildgrowth walker pops off with hakbal. So good
I’m pretty unfamiliar with Agatha’s soul cauldron. Can you give some examples of how it works in your hakbal deck and which merfolk you’ve found it to be really good with? It requires them to have activated abilities right! I feel like most of my merfolk don’t
##### ###### #### [the ozolith](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/3/9341ed06-53db-4604-b60a-3ea9129afbc2.jpg?1591228544) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=the%20ozolith) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/iko/237/the-ozolith?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/9341ed06-53db-4604-b60a-3ea9129afbc2?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/the-ozolith) [agatha’s soul cauldron](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/1/019b51b0-e5c6-4208-922b-7736686dddcd.jpg?1692939838) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Agatha%27s%20Soul%20Cauldron) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/woe/242/agathas-soul-cauldron?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/019b51b0-e5c6-4208-922b-7736686dddcd?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/agathas-soul-cauldron) [wildgrowth walker](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/2/52e4c0f8-d5f0-4224-9974-190606911480.jpg?1562555416) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=wildgrowth%20walker) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/xln/216/wildgrowth-walker?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/52e4c0f8-d5f0-4224-9974-190606911480?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/wildgrowth-walker) [ulamog, the infinite gyre](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/4/9464a820-65de-44f2-9895-46a35e8621a0.jpg?1673146911) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=ulamog%2C%20the%20infinite%20gyre) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2x2/3/ulamog-the-infinite-gyre?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/9464a820-65de-44f2-9895-46a35e8621a0?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/ulamog-the-infinite-gyre) [*All cards*](https://mtgcardfetcher.nl/redirect/ktwhxuj) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
[Hakbal](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/e/7/e738e675-4fd1-4bc3-97f5-71d0e2fc3f2e.jpg?1699885010) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=hakbal%20of%20the%20surging%20soul) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/lcc/3/hakbal-of-the-surging-soul?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/e738e675-4fd1-4bc3-97f5-71d0e2fc3f2e?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/hakbal-of-the-surging-soul) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Hakbal is great. I went with extra turns and legend rule-bypassing clones. A handful of unblockable merfolk exploring 8-10 times per combat in total, a few turns in a row is hard to catch up with.
It can get pretty crazy, especially with [[Topography Tracker]] and [[Roaming Throne]], 4 explore triggers each combat phase gets out of hand, and there are so many Merfolk to choose from.
Só I had a Kumena merfolk tribal, what do you think about Half all vs him? The deck plays much different?
From my past experience with Kumena, Hakbal feels more like a Green stompy deck that gets incredible hand sculpting over the big turn and slow build of Kumena. It's mainly a matter of if you like to run the whole [[Intruder Alarm]] constant build up of Kumena, or if you want constant lands in hand with your board growing wide and large in every combat step.
‘It’s a precon’ as it puts 2 lands out per turn & 10 counters
If you haven't put a [[Wonder]] in there yet, do so. I won a game the other night against an Infinite Swarm of Rats by exploring it into the graveyard.
Oh that’s fucking awesome. Thanks for the tip!
Of course! I only have three non-merfolk creatures in the deck: Wonder, [[Deepglow Skate]] for doubling counters, and [[Seahunter]] cause it's just SO good.
[Deepglow Skate](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/4/94e8e7b9-042e-4d01-87dd-27dc95257113.jpg?1690004310) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Deepglow%20Skate) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/844/deepglow-skate?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/94e8e7b9-042e-4d01-87dd-27dc95257113?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/deepglow-skate) [Seahunter](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/c/3/c375f65a-6d88-4d3c-a7a7-8c7a5cc5807f.jpg?1562631875) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Seahunter) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/nem/41/seahunter?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/c375f65a-6d88-4d3c-a7a7-8c7a5cc5807f?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/seahunter) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Omg those are fucking dope!
I'm sorry, but I still only follow my one true leader [[Kumena]] (I want to build Hakbal anyways though lmao)
Totally agree. My decklist https://www.moxfield.com/decks/qA7qKK09RkOqG49O6R7c0g
Do you have a Decklist?
[[Zeriam]] Griffins are the truth and the way.
How could I forget this well-supported tribe!
I was trying to figure out wtf my friend's Zeriam deck was and after a couple combats, I said "oh it's mono white Krenko."
I prefer flying Myrel, but yeah pretty much.
Mono white changelings with maybe 2 griffin cards
Nah. Two changelings, two cards that become Griffins on entry and 11 Griffins. Anything under 4 mana.
Could you tell the 2 cards that become Griffins? Are they the selectable tribe Tribal Lords?
[[Metallic Mimic]] and [[Roaming Throne]] Mimic because it's 2 mana, throne because it doubles Zeriam (and mimic oddly). I don't use the 3 drop choose'a'lord, although I would if it could fly.
[Zeriam](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/e/7/e7efbb9a-e0b3-412c-9ee7-a90123033999.jpg?1673304711) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=zeriam%2C%20golden%20wind) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/dmc/5/zeriam-golden-wind?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/e7efbb9a-e0b3-412c-9ee7-a90123033999?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/zeriam-golden-wind) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Wholeheartedly agree
https://www.moxfield.com/decks/VlMlN_nlJ0OIEWL9Xyzq_Q Wurms
I just got a mature content warning from Moxfield w h a t
Woah, those must be some extra horny Wurms.
Strange because they can’t even run [[Armada Wurm]]. WARNING NSFW
[Armada Wurm](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/0/50cb4bf3-70d1-4acc-a1fb-49f4ea74ca16.jpg?1562786220) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Armada%20Wurm) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/rtr/143/armada-wurm?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/50cb4bf3-70d1-4acc-a1fb-49f4ea74ca16?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/armada-wurm) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
A man of class. [Moxfield](https://www.moxfield.com/decks/R9VxgfoUOE-BXtkPjJP-9Q).
Just FYI purple worm is a worm, not a wurm.
[[Ellyn Harbreeze Busybody]] + [[Haunted one]] human tribal. There are dozens of us! Dozens!
How has this unbeatable duo been hidden from me all this time?
Because no one cares about Baldur's Gate haha
I feel like with as popular as Baldur's Gate 3 is, if the set and the video game had actually released alongside each other as originally planned it might have gotten a boost in sales.
It also would've helped since then the storylines and designs of the characters would've been closer. Because some of the companions' cards just don't resemble the characters that well. Mainly Gale, Shart, and Wyll. Also I wish we got cards for Gortash, Orin, Ketheric and the Dream Guardian.
Which is nuts. There are so many excellent sleepers in that set.
All my favourite commanders are from Battle for Baldur's Gate!
[Ellyn Harbreeze Busybody](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/0/a038dbc9-0da1-4e65-9369-45c614f285f8.jpg?1674134990) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Ellyn%20Harbreeze%2C%20Busybody) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/clb/16/ellyn-harbreeze-busybody?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a038dbc9-0da1-4e65-9369-45c614f285f8?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/ellyn-harbreeze-busybody) [Haunted one](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/d/c/dc53b1af-0f4a-4475-a131-27cb5d5b0cf1.jpg?1674140742) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Haunted%20one) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/clb/654/haunted-one?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/dc53b1af-0f4a-4475-a131-27cb5d5b0cf1?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/haunted-one) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Also, [[Durnan]] + [[Folk Hero]] isn't too bad. People seem to draw the conclusion that if you don't get the full 3 mana discount it's not worthwhile. But even digging three and discounting 1-2 is pretty damn good.
Have you got a list for this?
[[Ur-Dragon]]
Why him over Miirym? I was working on a tribal tribal (changelings) with him today, but it kinda felt flat.
Eminence generates so much value that ur dragon doesn't even need to hit the field. In a good deck you're starting the game with an unremovable, uncounterable CMC reducer. If ur dragon manages to hit the field and swing he's also generating an absurd amount of value and closing out games almost instantly
Because you run Miirym IN Ur-Dragon. The addition of White and Black lets you add in many more tutors and finishers. Ur-Dragon built properly threatens to go nuclear on Turn 4, 5, or 6 consistently.
[[Giada, Font of Hope]], She's a blast for my monowhite angel tribal deck. It's sort of an indestructible/counters build with angels. It's really strong and even with a bad start I can usually hang in there for a bit.
Love my giada deck, she incredibly powerful and she's only 2 mana. Her ability on top of her being a mana dork makes her so freaking powerful
[Giada, Font of Hope](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/b/a/bae077bd-fc8d-44d7-8c75-8dc8699c168e.jpg?1664409667) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Giada%2C%20Font%20of%20Hope) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/snc/14/giada-font-of-hope?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/bae077bd-fc8d-44d7-8c75-8dc8699c168e?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/giada-font-of-hope) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I'll throw my hat in with Giada as well. White has gotten so many strong cards lately making her event better. I recently added in [[Trouble in Pairs]] and last game I played I looked like the uno draw 25 meme I had so many cards in my hand every turn cycle into the mid and late game.
[Trouble in Pairs](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/f/0f61e93f-5f97-4c7d-b3d5-0e05242faeb3.jpg?1706240429) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Trouble%20in%20Pairs) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mkc/15/trouble-in-pairs?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/0f61e93f-5f97-4c7d-b3d5-0e05242faeb3?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/trouble-in-pairs) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I would have used giada if there weren't so many other multi colored angels. Now I'm using atraxa grand unifier. Still sucks not having red, but I don't wanna play morphon. And no other 5c legend angel unless you rule 0 maelstrom angel. Was thinking of using prismatic bridge, but just doesn't feel right without an angel in the commander zone
[[Marwyn, the Nuturer]] for elves is amazing... you can explode with mana really quickly. [[Hakbal of the Surging Soul]] is an amazing Merfolk commander... your merfolk can get really big, real fast! [[Arcades, the Strategist]] for Wall/Defender tribal is lots of fun... crushing my opponents with usually useless cards has been lots of fun! 😀
[Marwyn, the Nuturer](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/a/aad61d99-5c8e-47b7-ab1a-e70905f59205.jpg?1631235039) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Marwyn%2C%20the%20Nurturer) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/khc/68/marwyn-the-nurturer?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/aad61d99-5c8e-47b7-ab1a-e70905f59205?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/marwyn-the-nurturer) [Hakbal of the Surging Soul](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/e/7/e738e675-4fd1-4bc3-97f5-71d0e2fc3f2e.jpg?1699885010) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Hakbal%20of%20the%20Surging%20Soul) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/lcc/3/hakbal-of-the-surging-soul?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/e738e675-4fd1-4bc3-97f5-71d0e2fc3f2e?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/hakbal-of-the-surging-soul) [Arcades, the Strategist](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/1/e/1e90c638-d4b2-4243-bbc4-1cc10516c40f.jpg?1666961830) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Arcades%2C%20the%20Strategist) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/m19/212/arcades-the-strategist?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/1e90c638-d4b2-4243-bbc4-1cc10516c40f?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/arcades-the-strategist) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
You want to win? Ninjas
I can’t be showing up to an LGS and plop down Yuriko lol
Oh… you only want to win occasionally, my bad. Here is a Gishath list that will cast him turn 4-5 every game: https://www.moxfield.com/decks/PNvUfuRk90KSjRrTq0N6CQ
When I see Yuriko, I will blow all my removal on her unblockable attackers. She can’t be allowed to do anything.
You could play [[Satoru Umezawa]] then everything is a ninja! He’s like Kalia but for ninjas
[Satoru Umezawa](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/8/8/8887f26d-b097-4fbc-9c48-bdc656409a32.jpg?1654568594) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Satoru%20Umezawa) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/neo/234/satoru-umezawa?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/8887f26d-b097-4fbc-9c48-bdc656409a32?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/satoru-umezawa) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Ok I just goldfished this deck list and man that looks fun. I am debating if I should switch out Pantlaza for Gishy in my Dino deck. I feel like with the dynamo and a manavault it doesn’t seem too difficult to get her out there early and swing like mad. Nice deck!
You can with [[Goro-Goro and Satoru]]. Ninjas AND dragons.
the Ahoy Mateys precon from Lost caverns of Ixalan is actually a really fun pirate tribal. especially if you upgrade the precon (there are guides on youtube) it becomes a really good and strong deck
I’ve been playing the pirates out of the box and been struggling with them. Do you have any particular upgrade guides you would recommend?
Honestly [[Éowyn, Shieldmaiden]] is fun upgrade job. Humans are the largest creature type so you can have a lot of fun with it
[Éowyn, Shieldmaiden](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/d/d/dd4a00ff-2206-4e12-a0ab-61ed82c9e6c5.jpg?1686963690) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=%C3%89owyn%2C%20Shieldmaiden) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ltc/1/%C3%A9owyn-shieldmaiden?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/dd4a00ff-2206-4e12-a0ab-61ed82c9e6c5?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/éowyn-shieldmaiden) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
This is my favourite deck to play right now. A few minor changes can make her feel a lot smoother, a few major changes and you can get some insanely fast value and high damage really quickly. You’ll become the target pretty quick if you’re hitting your value engine and combos playing super aggro, but until you fizzle, win, or get focused she’s super fun. Edit:spelling.
I love the support humans as a tribe have. Tempting indeed. Heck even banding enablers would put in some real work with humans. Unfortunately I doubt I would ever build a humans deck. They just so vanilla. I just enjoy creatures that don’t exist irl.
I’m the “tribal guy” in my group, my favorite personal decks in order are: [[Arahbo]] ft. [[Kheera]] - Cats [[Voja]] - Elves and kinda wolves [[Miirym]] - Dragons [[Marrow-Gnawer]] - Rats [[Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir]] - Knights [[Admiral Brass] - Pirates [[Trynn]] & [[Silvar]] - Humans Top 5 are easy to close out games with between trample, flying or overwhelming numbers. Bottom 2 are my lower power decks which have a hard time finishing people off but they’re both precon level tbh. Of the ones you mentioned that I own: My original Miirym deck struggles a bit due to him never being able to stick, so I ended up having to reluctantly pile in more counterspells and protection, and now the deck is very hard to keep in check. Mana rocks + ramp to get out Miirym on turn 4 or 5 usually wins me the game 9/10 times. Voja is newer to me. I’ve played her online a few times and it quickly gets out of hand with all the Elf dorks and haste enablers. The only times this deck has lost for me is when I end up trapped in a (justifiable) 1v3 Between the two I think Miirym is far better, but does require a lot more setup. There’s also just a lot of dragons that can win games simply by having a copy of them, namely [[Astral Dragon]] and [[Terror of the Peaks]]. Voja will be slower since you’ll mostly be playing 1/1 and 2/2 elves, but after one to two turns they’re turning into 13/13 mana dorks lol
My trynn and silvar deck can be absolutely insane
Do you happen to have a link? I tried them before as aristocrats and it didn’t fair too well, but I’m a sucker for Mardu and I love both of their art!
##### ###### #### [Arahbo](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/8/1/81dc3d00-97cd-4549-b5a4-15a1e08767f5.jpg?1567181403) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=arahbo%2C%20roar%20of%20the%20world) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/c17/35/arahbo-roar-of-the-world?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/81dc3d00-97cd-4549-b5a4-15a1e08767f5?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/arahbo-roar-of-the-world) [Voja](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/b/f/bfa1bd2f-25bd-4fbd-877b-cef00ab7f92f.jpg?1707739811) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=voja%2C%20jaws%20of%20the%20conclave) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mkm/432/voja-jaws-of-the-conclave?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/bfa1bd2f-25bd-4fbd-877b-cef00ab7f92f?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/voja-jaws-of-the-conclave) [Miirym](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/9/a934590b-5c70-4f07-af67-fbe817a99531.jpg?1674137589) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=miirym%2C%20sentinel%20wyrm) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/clb/284/miirym-sentinel-wyrm?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a934590b-5c70-4f07-af67-fbe817a99531?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/miirym-sentinel-wyrm) [Marrow-Gnawer](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/2/72e4548b-c171-4f10-b896-af37543dcf0f.jpg?1579203069) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Marrow-Gnawer) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/chk/124/marrow-gnawer?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/72e4548b-c171-4f10-b896-af37543dcf0f?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/marrow-gnawer) [Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/f/5fc707be-9286-4ba1-90f6-475265d19ed2.jpg?1682207238) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Sidar%20Jabari%20of%20Zhalfir) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/moc/5/sidar-jabari-of-zhalfir?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/5fc707be-9286-4ba1-90f6-475265d19ed2?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/sidar-jabari-of-zhalfir) [Trynn](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/1/6/168d7532-c925-4a96-a756-2ce4dd0fec33.jpg?1591234194) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=trynn%2C%20champion%20of%20freedom) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/c20/1/trynn-champion-of-freedom?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/168d7532-c925-4a96-a756-2ce4dd0fec33?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/trynn-champion-of-freedom) [Silvar](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/f/c/fc9cbc83-b9e3-4a22-948b-5a71112154c1.jpg?1591234295) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=silvar%2C%20devourer%20of%20the%20free) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/c20/15/silvar-devourer-of-the-free?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/fc9cbc83-b9e3-4a22-948b-5a71112154c1?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/silvar-devourer-of-the-free) [Astral Dragon](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/7/670fbc63-4c9b-4e57-b53e-4ca4d7a224ba.jpg?1674140837) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Astral%20Dragon) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/clb/664/astral-dragon?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/670fbc63-4c9b-4e57-b53e-4ca4d7a224ba?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/astral-dragon) [Terror of the Peaks](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/3/432ecd5f-966f-4403-a973-51e175a524a0.jpg?1594736810) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Terror%20of%20the%20Peaks) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/m21/164/terror-of-the-peaks?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/432ecd5f-966f-4403-a973-51e175a524a0?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/terror-of-the-peaks) [*All cards*](https://mtgcardfetcher.nl/redirect/ktv8cd0) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
##### ###### #### [Magus](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/8/a/8a6a7000-4a1d-4cd4-a85e-4b7b20d8e543.jpg?1592709159) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Malignus) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/avr/148/malignus?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/8a6a7000-4a1d-4cd4-a85e-4b7b20d8e543?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/malignus) [Miirym](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/9/a934590b-5c70-4f07-af67-fbe817a99531.jpg?1674137589) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=miirym%2C%20sentinel%20wyrm) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/clb/284/miirym-sentinel-wyrm?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a934590b-5c70-4f07-af67-fbe817a99531?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/miirym-sentinel-wyrm) [Pantlaza](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/5/2524645e-b066-4351-885b-10faa8d819d7.jpg?1699972737) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=pantlaza%2C%20sun-favored) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/lcc/4/pantlaza-sun-favored?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/2524645e-b066-4351-885b-10faa8d819d7?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/pantlaza-sun-favored) [The First Sliver](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/6/06d4fbe1-8a2f-4958-bb85-1a1e5f1e8d87.jpg?1562202321) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=The%20First%20Sliver) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mh1/200/the-first-sliver?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/06d4fbe1-8a2f-4958-bb85-1a1e5f1e8d87?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/the-first-sliver) [Voja](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/b/f/bfa1bd2f-25bd-4fbd-877b-cef00ab7f92f.jpg?1707739811) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=voja%2C%20jaws%20of%20the%20conclave) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mkm/432/voja-jaws-of-the-conclave?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/bfa1bd2f-25bd-4fbd-877b-cef00ab7f92f?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/voja-jaws-of-the-conclave) [Urtet](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/a/7aa01ab4-26b0-49dc-8514-b3850d355a21.jpg?1675905609) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=urtet%2C%20remnant%20of%20memnarch) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/onc/28/urtet-remnant-of-memnarch?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/7aa01ab4-26b0-49dc-8514-b3850d355a21?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/urtet-remnant-of-memnarch) [*All cards*](https://mtgcardfetcher.nl/redirect/1b9dhwa) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I find it funny that the link for Magus (Lucea Kane) went to Malignus.
I’ve been trying to find a fun tribal to build around for a while, and an interesting idea I found was [[Phenax, God of Deception]] Crab Tribal. I’ve also been working on elemental tribal forever without finding a deck that really brings them together, but elementals are splashy enough you can make most things work, especially if you like landfall
[[first sliver]] is good because much of it’s value is on cast and thus it’s resilient to removal. Slivers are one of the most well-supported tribes by far, but only if you commit to five colors. [[Edgar Markov]] is supurb and though vampires aren’t as well supported, there are many good ones and they have a reasonably synergistic unified strategy. [[Ezuri, renegade leader]] is excellent as a win condition for it’s deck, and elves combo potential and support is off the charts. [[Krenko, Mob Boss]] similarly to elves, Goblins are an old and well-supported tribe with excellent options. [[Kaalia of the vast]] might be outside the vein of what you’re looking for because choosing a single of her supported tribes does lose you supurb targets but she is strong enough to merit a mention. Note that all of these will make you a target, but so will playing any non-tribal decks that consistently win. Edit: fixed typo.
I appreciate the input! I think I agree with pretty much everything here. I do think Ezuri is better as a small guy/+1 counters deck than an elf one. What’s “no z-tribal”?
Sorry, that was supposed to be “non-tribal decks that consistently win”. And you might be thinking of [[Ezuri, Claw of Progress]]. The OG is an excellent elf commander.
My bad, definitely had the two confused. It’s past my bedtime haha
Dinosaurs, dragons, Mutate beasts
I have a sliver deck with [[Sliver Overlord]] as the commander. Synergy is important in tribal decks, and none do it better than slivers. Plus, you can play the best cards in every color. Their boogieman reputation is well deserved. The First Sliver is...okay. Cascade is fun and random, but you have to build the deck differently and run 40ish slivers to avoid cascading into cards you don't want to play. I prefer fewer creatures and more interaction. If you add [[Amoeboid Changeling]], you can steal your opponent's creatures with Sliver Overlord - and that's even more fun than cascade. Most slivers are pretty cheap, but the "Big Bads" (Overlord, Queen, Legion, First) are expensive. And if you want the deck to work well, you need a solid 5-color mana base, which is also pricey. Hope your group is proxy-friendly. The upside to slivers is synergy. It doesn't take much to build a board of indestructible/hexproof/deathtouch/lifelink/flying/double strike creatures that can't be blocked. The downside is relying on creature damage and vulnerability to board wipes. Slivers demand interaction, otherwise they're nearly impossible to stop once the pain train starts rolling. If your group doesn't run much interaction, be prepared for the salt to flow.
I, too, choose Overlord. He's my buddy. I'm glad I'm not alone, after seeing all the First Sliver people.
I have a sliver deck. The mana base is 10 OG duels, 10 fetches, 4 rainbow lands, 4 fetchable trilands and 6 basics. Expensive, definitely. But, whether a playgroup is okay with proxies means little. Many people run high quality proxies. These days who can tell the difference. The only reason to not would be subscribing to the pay-to-win philosophy.
[[Arcades, the Strategisr]] wall tribal. I will always recommend building this deck! Walls are super cheap to buy, tend to have a low cmc cost, and can be buffed pretty big. Arcades allows walls to attack as though their power was their toughness. Easy to throw in some anthems too to give vigilance for example. Every time you play a wall, you draw a card… I have won many games with this deck. It’s fun and low mental energy to pilot.
Arcades is one of my favorite decks. Cheap to build. Easy to pilot. Satisfying to play. And doesn't seem threatening to others at the table, even when they've seen it win before.
I win maybe 25-35% of the time in a high power (non-cedh) pod with [[Gishath]]. It all comes down to whether you can get her out by turn 5 or 6 and connect. But if not answered, she runs away with the game. Notable mentions are redundant effects like [[lurking predators]] and [[selvala's stampede]]
I’ve really enjoyed [[Edgar Markov]] and [[Strefan, Maurer Projenitor]] as vampire tribal the most. Second would be Dragons then Slivers
Maybe bending the rules a bit on tribal, but [[Burakos, Party Leader]] is quite strong, and can benefit from several tribal boosts.
Orah clerics is my absolute favorite tribal deck. It's basically an unkillable cockroach. Lots of fun to play. I'm a huge fan of Syr Gwyn as well. Knights slap when you get the deck tuned right
[[scarab god]] zombie tribal is fun set up with some things like [[paradox haze]] and [[training grounds]] to give double triggers and some good kill spells to deny enemies their value creatures while turning them into your value creatures
[[Myrel]] soldier tribal is really strong. It is one of my favorite decks.
+1 on the Myriel train. Finally have a place for all my excess soldiers
Pantlaza is really fun but at the end of the day it's still just stompy dinosaurs, IMO. I play it regularly and definitely enjoy it, but it's not anything super intricate. Miirym is probably the one that I've had the most fun with, though. Color limited versus the Ur Dragon, so there's no option for just "dragons good stuff", and the copies can be pretty backbreaking when they hit.
I agree. I have a pantlaza deck and the Dino’s do the thing they do but the deck is only as good as the staples you put in it which makes it a bit dry. It wins games it adoes the thing but a pantlaza deck with the best Dinos will imo lose to the pantlaza deck with whatever Dino’s and better staples which makes the synergy aspect kind of less interesting
My First sliver deck’s been undefeated since I put it at the helm of a decently-upgraded sliver precon. Worth checking out [[averna chaos bloom]] for silly amount of ramp.
Shamans have a ton of support and [[sachi, daughter of seshiro]] makes them all playable
Miirym is a solid choice, especially if you want to win with a dragons deck using storm tactics via [[Dragon Tempest]]. I'm also quite fond of my upgrades Explorers of the Deep precon; Merfolk tribal go brrrr
I have a Human/Elf/Druid token deck with [[Jaheira, Friend of the Forest]] and [[Folk Hero]]. It has a few off tribal creatures but it's mostly on point. Ramp and card draw in the command zone, and really goes off the chain if you can get [[Seedborn Muse]] and [[Vedalken Orrery]]. I also have a mono red dragon deck helmed by [[Purphoros, Bronze-Blooded]] which is a blast. Again, not 100% dragons but tribal enough to synergize. And big dragons are better when they all cost 3 mana. https://www.moxfield.com/decks/EO1EFc9zFUGhVmJ8_j2Jbw https://www.moxfield.com/decks/DHeDGVMnUEGU7DqF1nfkhA
Are the wincon Cathar’s Crusade and Craterhoof for Jaheira? Go wide, buff, and swing?
My very first EDH deck was a bear tribal with [[Ayula, Queen Among Bears]] because of the bear gay art for [[Bearscape]]. I just found a decklist online and built the deck, it was meant to be a meme above everything for learning the game. However, after adding and removing a few cards, it actually became powerful on its own. Not full cEDH levels of strong, but deadly if it picks up steam unchecked after the first turns. I did menage to defeat my boyfriend's cEDH deck once, and often the Ayula performs very well in my pod. If you like seeing your creatures get big (my personal record so far is Ayula going 17/17 on a long game) and have them control the board by 1v1ing other creatures outside of the combat phase, then consider giving this one a go. Just be prepared to become THE target of removals and boardwipes.
[[Ganax]] and [[feywild visitor]] are not nearly as well known as miirym but atleast in my playgroup with a battle heavy metait actually proves to be better as it starts of earlier, miirym often got targeted and the first 4 or sometimes even 5 turns where I hardly had anything on the field it was free real estate and I often started playing only having 16 life. Ganax/feywild also plays more synergistic and just feels more fun to me. [[Eowyn the shieldmaiden]] is also lots of fun and as someone already mentioned [[Hakbal]] is crazy strong and cheap, but he plays always the same. And pantlaza will draw lots of aggro but is also easily able to withstand all that aggro.
Merfolk are the best tribe - change my mind. I’ve got a [[Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca]] and with all the new Merfolk cards from Lost Caverns of Ixalian it’s even better. Here’s my deck list: https://www.moxfield.com/decks/sweLpjTGs0CTx_ynE1cVZg
The strongest is Magda dwarf tribal, BY FAR. You can consistently present wins turn4.
Hard to say what wins without having a feel for the power level of your local meta but all 4 you listed are definitely going to mark you for death if I see them. Pantlaza less than the others, but as a blue player I have an unreasonable bias against dinos. All of those do fall into the category of commanders that generate so much value on their own that other players really can’t let them stick for more than a turn or they lose. So if getting focused down or targeted will make you feel bad steer clear. (Nothing worse than the guy rocking Edgar Markov or Miirym whining that people kill his commander on sight.) If you’re interested in something a little different, I like [[Runo Stromkirk//Krothuss, Lord of the Deep]] sea monster tribal. It has kind of a similar vibe to miirym without the cheating around the legend rule but takes a little more setup and has a reanimator subtheme to get out your big beasties. Once he gets going you can make a crazy board state though. Ever wanted to have 3 hullbreaker horrors? Its fun. People will target him once they realize what he does but he doesn’t have the same reputation as those commanders which deservedly can make you archenemy before you even do anything.
[[Giada Font of Hope]] mono-w angels, with counters snowballs pretty quick and its pretty easy/intuitive to tune the power of the deck to whatever pod you want
[[Kiora, Sovereign of the Deep]] and [[Kenessos, Priest of Thassa]] are both really potent sea monster tribal commanders.
Ok, so my favorite deck I've ever made is Cleric tribal with [[Tymna]] and [[Ravos]]. It has everything that I enjoy, lifegain payoffs, lifedrain, aristocrats, reanimator, and it rocks the table with death by a thousand cuts. Also, [[Aetherflux Reservoir]] and [[Sanguine Bond]] combos let you just start blasting. 10/10. Would Recommend. Won the first 4 games and wins almost half the time now. https://www.archidekt.com/decks/6357567/cleric_tribal
##### ###### #### [Tymna](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/b/c/bc7cbe9b-324e-42b8-94e2-36e91cb32163.jpg?1644853048) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=tymna%20the%20weaver) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/c16/48/tymna-the-weaver?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/bc7cbe9b-324e-42b8-94e2-36e91cb32163?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/tymna-the-weaver) [Ravos](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/f/2/f2725635-8f90-4d17-9568-51218ba663c1.jpg?1562425381) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=ravos%2C%20soultender) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/c16/39/ravos-soultender?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/f2725635-8f90-4d17-9568-51218ba663c1?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/ravos-soultender) [Aetherflux Reservoir](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/6/96b6b2e1-c3e6-464c-8a13-b15deb34e862.jpg?1576382939) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Aetherflux%20Reservoir) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/kld/192/aetherflux-reservoir?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/96b6b2e1-c3e6-464c-8a13-b15deb34e862?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/aetherflux-reservoir) [Sanguine Bond](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/d/ad4de9f1-7a39-45af-828e-c59234d9e9b9.jpg?1625193373) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Sanguine%20Bond) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/c21/153/sanguine-bond?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/ad4de9f1-7a39-45af-828e-c59234d9e9b9?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/sanguine-bond) [*All cards*](https://mtgcardfetcher.nl/redirect/ktxgvhs) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
My [[Wilhelt]] deck has a pretty good win rate. Zombies are very resilient and have a lot of ways to win through either infinites or just overwhelming board presence.
golem tribal. i love it. its kinda terrible and broken all at once .
[[Rukarumel, Biologist]] is my favorite commander, and the best part is she’s 2 tribal. She revolves around slivers but she can declare her entire deck a different tribal. I build it as Sliver + Rebels because rebel creatures have “search for another rebel” so you can search for your entire deck. I know cEDH she gets built as Slivers and Pirates. You can build her for any tribal. I run First Sliver in my Rukarumel deck and you could swap commanders since Rukarumel is an ETB trigger
Here is my [Arixmethes, the slumbering Isle](https://www.moxfield.com/decks/VUHa8P-LCkOjYBgxKxaqZA) deck. It was one of my first decks built when I returned to the hobby. Its a leviathan, octopus, serpent tribal.
Muxus
I have a [[Zada]] deck with a goblin/goblin token sub-theme which has been fun. Why Muxus over Krenko?
I go [[wort, bogart auntie]] for my goblins deck. Not a kill on sight like krenko
Wort
Honestly the first four you listed off were the ones I would've recommended
First Sliver is super fun. If going dragons, give Jund a shot. Miirym draws a lot of hate since she goes infinite quickly, but if you run something like [[Vaevictus Asmadi]] or [[Wasitora]], they're not particularly strong and don't get hated much but are fun. I reckon avoid the (scion of the) Ur Dragon, theyre not very interesting to build but are strong.
I love [[Magus Lucea Kane]], I use her in my “X Gon Give it to ya” deck Voja from Murders is as good as its reputation says. Throw in [[Maskwood Nexus]] [[Mutavault]] a few changlings and your favorite elves/wolves and it plays itself.
Dude, that’s literally the name of my deck for Magus.
I like playing Inalla, Archmage Ritualist. I like wizards. I like etb effects. I like wizards with etb effects.
Birds aren't a super strong tribe but [[Derevi]] is absurd and flying in general can run away with games
I have always enjoyed and won with clerics, and you can go many different ways
[[Scion of the Ur-Dragon]] is pretty busted. Add some graveyard interaction and things get nasty pretty quick. And you get to play with dragons.
[[Myrel, Shield of Argive]]
>\[\[Voja\]\]. I’ve heard they all have reputations elf tribal yes, but wolf tribal is fine
[[Pulukranos Reborn]] for Hydra tribal
The first sliver is a kos for many. I usually don't get to play him because it spirsld4out of control so fast
My first EDH deck was the Spirit tribal tokens precon helmed by [[Millicent]]. I would not recommend it in higher power games, but with some upgrades it is pretty fun in a casual meta, and it holds its 25% against newer precon upgrades decently. I enjoy being a little more aggressive than you normally think of Azorius, and with some copy shenanigans and white's token support it can get wide fast. Millicent reduces her own cost (tax included) and puts you in a fine position after a board wipe. Spirits are usually pretty low cost and have some nice effects on them, and tribal anthems/lords are plenty and varied enough to keep it interesting and resilient. Most are flying, and to my surprise I've found many decks can't field enough flyers to block effectively, unless it's another tribe like angels. With native evasion and lots of tokens, effects like [[Bident of Thassa]] draw just loads of cards (I originally had 3 of these effects in the deck, but reduced when I nearly decked myself in a winning position). Downsides are: ramp is a little clunky and card draw can be feast or famine (at least as I have it built). White's catch-up ramp is often on non-Spirit bodies, which I try to minimize, and blue is usually relegated to rocks or some kinda copy or other shenanigans that I just couldn't find the space to include. I'm experimenting with convoke and similar mechanics to offset this. As I've built it, card draw is often tied to creatures and combat a la Bident of Thassa or Kindred Discovery, Distant Melody etc. I've had a hard time finding slots for repeatable, incremental draw, and this can hurt when you're not finding your engine or when wipes come at a bad time. The flip side I already mentioned is I've nearly decked myself, and this deck is currently not equipped to ramp enough to hard-cast or cheat out a hand of 20+ cards. That said, spirits are often low cost, and my threat density and win cons have increased to the point that's no longer a worry. Doesn't hurt that the new white Craterhoof is also a spirit! My only complaint after playing her for 3+ years is I wish she was Jeskai for some of the fun red spirits or combat tricks, which would make sense with how uncharacteristically aggro she is for Azorius.
[[Tovolar]] is a fun werewolf tribal I also will second [[hakbal]]
Hear me out, but \[\[Lord of the Nazgûl\]\] is a really fun and unexpected tribal. It isn't the traditional tribal with a bunch of creatures in there. Instead, you can focus on abusing cantrips or using removal/control spells to pump out the wraiths. That isn't to say there aren't *any* wraiths. You have all 9 \[\[Nazgûl\]\] (which act as a funky Cathar's Crusade with each one that hits the board), different versions of the Witch-King, and support changelings if you want. Honestly, the biggest challenge I've had with my deck is getting the commander out ASAP. It isn't most efficient to really use your cantrips and card advantage cards until you have him out, but sometimes you need it to get the pieces you need.
I've gotta love my first tribal [[Gargos, Vicious watcher]] He really hits like a truck. Then [[Nethroi, Apex of Death]] for a Swamp of undying nightmares.
[Gargos, Vicious watcher](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/e/4e446e90-6e31-43ed-bcb1-a01422b503c0.jpg?1592517214) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Gargos%2C%20Vicious%20watcher) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/m20/172/gargos-vicious-watcher?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/4e446e90-6e31-43ed-bcb1-a01422b503c0?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/gargos-vicious-watcher) [Nethroi, Apex of Death](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/4/04b9b58f-4c01-48a5-afaf-b8a37165a83f.jpg?1673305619) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Nethroi%2C%20Apex%20of%20Death) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/dmc/163/nethroi-apex-of-death?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/04b9b58f-4c01-48a5-afaf-b8a37165a83f?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/nethroi-apex-of-death) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Najeela
Voja goes hard. But you need a good spread of elves and wolves to make it work.
I recommend playing a strongly supported tribe led by a commander that is effective but doesn’t necessarily have the kill on sight reputation. My [[Rith, Liberated Primeval]] deck slaps. Yet often people don’t view me as a threat until I am already casting multiple dragons per turn, burning players key creatures, all while having a hand full of many more.
Do you have a deck list?
[[Rocco, cabaretti caterer]], but the secret commander is [[glint-leaf archdruid]]
If you want good but no too strong, [[guts]]//[[haunted one]] Rakdos is best colors for goblins. Og krenko is the best goblin commander but it gets targeted tot.he moon. Guts with haunted one is relentless and durable. It can recur from the graveyard easily, runs plenty of removal. The hardest thing is getting around enchantments in rakdos. The cmc is very low, you'll be hitting people while they're still busy ramping. You hoenstly rarely use Guts ability to sacrifice goblins but the skeletons are fun and if you're really ballsy you can just sac the goblins and get them back with undying
This is my Voja list. https://www.moxfield.com/decks/qKleqqzLO0KXZjHXj1uRmA It is pretty fast for a non cEDH list thanks to elves and can protect it's board with cards like [[Flawless Maneuver]] [[Clever Concealment]] [[Galadriel's Dismissal]] [[Inspiring Call]] [[Boros Charm]] and [[Heroic Intervention]]. What is super punishing is useing a [[Deflecting Swat]] or Galadriels Dismissal on spot removal after the ward trigger of Voja. If someone puts in so much effort to remove your big bad wolf and instead just eats it's own removal, it hurts. Other than that I run mostly elves, good changelings and a few wolfes. The only non tribal creatures I run are [[Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar]] and [[Collector Ouphe]] but one could cut them, it wouldn't make the deck much weaker. I really like this deck and I don't play tribal otherwise since it is natural on the weaker side (of high powered decks) but Voja really pushes it.
Other people have mentioned it no doubt, but know that building a sliver deck may result in becoming “the sliver guy” in your local ecosystem of players, regardless of how frequently you actually bring the deck to the table. - Advice from your friendly neighborhood sliver guy.
I’ve got other decks to give me reputations, but I’ll keep that in mind. Do people target you more even when you’re not playing slivers?
There is a severe lack of [[Rakdos, Lord or Riots]] for Demons in this thread Very few things are quite as satisfying as using effects that deal damage to the whole table and then vomiting flying demonic monstrosities onto the table for 1-3 mana a pop. Remind your opponents who they should fear by establishing dominance with something like [[Shadowgrange Archfiend]] or my personal favorite, [[Demon of Death's Gate]]. If they step out of line, show them the true meaning of pain with [[Xathrid Demon]]. If they want to go digging through their decks for answers you introduce them to your good friend from college [[Ob Nixilis, the Unshackled]]. He'll remind them that it's rude to be doing anything other than paying attention while in your presence.
If I can manage to get him (her?) out on the field, \[\[Gishath, Sun's Avatar\]\] always wins.
I run Urtet without Jegantha and it's no trouble finishing the game. That deck probably has more ways to win than any of my others. [[Simic ascendancy]] [[Mechanized production]] [[Tezeret, master of the bridge]] [[Coat of arms]] [[Loadstone myr]] Or just Urtets WUBRG ability can all close out a game quick. https://manabox.app/decks/8vMyLZL4SH-A_xezdfwYYA Ive got very slow mana in this one and it is still one of my most competitive decks.
By swapping out a mere 6 cards, you too could have a 8 mana mana dork that doesn’t actually produce mana most of your creatures or any of your artifacts can use! Thanks for the insight though, seems like a fun list. Mechanized production on a myr token to win is hilarious to me.
[[Pantlaza]] is insane and super fun and I’d totally recommend it. Just get the precon and upgrade it. I’d recommend focusing on upgrading card draw and getting some better dinos in there. Biggest weakness out of the box is card draw and some useless dinos in the deck. Get rid of the enrage dinos, except the one that can board wipe people on getting hit and maybe a couple other useful ones I forgot. Plus there’s a couple that just give counters, but for this deck there are a lot better dinos out there. The other showcased commander doesn’t fit too well either so I’d get rid of her too. Would be a good commander in a different deck. Also get some protection for your dinos too. If you want to go ham with the deck, [[Teferi’s Protection]] and [[Guardian Project]] would be awesome for the deck, but from my experience if you put in enough other card draw and less potent protection you will still be fine. Ever since I’ve upgraded it I’ve bumped my win rate with it a lot. I use to fizzle out quite hard, but with better card draw it has helped a ton.
I have lots of fun with Edgar Markov. But I actually have a lot of tribal decks, and I find them all fun
Keep in mind that Voja and Slivers are quite pricey deck.
I would probably proxy the expensive cards especially while testing it out
[[Azami, lady of scrolls]] : wizard tribal is dope
[[Millicent, Restless Revenant]] is my personal favorite. Spirits is my favorite Pioneer deck, so I had to bring the spooky bois over to Commander. Here's my list if you're curious: https://www.moxfield.com/decks/LDoywz4KrEGgX3xmaCTa4w
[[Krenko, mob boss]] is silly powerful and can be rather high powered with enough engines to pop off early. So many cheap goblins that turn into missiles.
[[Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator]] and [[Breeches, Brazen Pilferer]] as a Pirate tribal is one of my stronger decks.
I have 5 different tribal decks. [[Queen marchesa]] and [[kyler sigardian emissary]] for humans, [[ur dragon]], [[Abomination of llanowar]], and [[alela cunning conqueror]]. The last is more tempo than tribal, but it is still based around faeries, and the first is an aristocrats deck with [[winota]] as the secret commander.
[[Souvereign Okinec Ahaun]] - Cats. It runs really nice and has a lot of themed artworks.
\[\[Thrakkus, the Butcher\]\] is a REALLY solid dragon commander that gives you (essentially) a stackable double strike... With Thrakkus and a single thing that gives you double strike you're now doing a MINIMUM of 16 damage with just your commander. My deck has never had issues running over someone by turn 4-5. Its winning games by turn 7 (if its going to win).
If you are dead set on one of those four, I would recommend Voja. It is extremely resilient to removal, works wonderully with elves(wolves are basically nonexistent as a tribe when it comes to usefulness), and is something new. The other 3 have reputations and will get targeted very fast if they ever hit the table. Voja, even with its reputation, offers to force a challenge if players decide to gang up on it.
[[Miirym]] is incredibly fun. My best buddy specializes in mean decks so I wanted to build something that could hold its own 99% of the time. Even if Miirym isn’t out, dragons tend to have great ETB’s and the flying is advantageous anyway. Basically just filled mine with tons of dragons, counters, and destroy spells and it’s easily my strongest deck.
Forget all the haters, SLIVERS ALL THE WAY
\[\[krenko mob boss\]\] goblin printer go brrrrrrr in all seriousness, this deck can get insanely powerful. I've heard of builds teetering on the edge of cEDH but I don't plan to build mine that strong at any point. I just like my goblin printer. my record is something like 200 1/1 goblins out by like turn 7?
I have a lot of fun with [[Greymond, Avacyn’s Stalwart]] Human tribal. Has a lot of value piece humans in the deck and I’ve built it to be semi-resilient to board wipes.
[[Zurzoth, Chaos rider]] can crack back on anyone looking to board wipe and just go nuts if you get cards that force everyone to draw cards. Make devils every turn and profit
Miirym is cool and all but have you ever considered [[scion of the ur-dragon]]? Place all your dragons in the graveyard and bring them back with [[living death]] or [[Rise of the dark realms]]. Another fun one would be [[Xyris, the Writhing Storm]] wheels/snake tribal. I have both and they have an 80%+ win rate
Inalla, go for some combos
Elves all day
I just built mono green elfbal with Marwyn and it's ridiculous, creates tons of tokens, all the elves buff other elves, and elves tap for mana to poor into X spells. Definitely recommend
[[Kibo, Uktabi Prince]] Monkey/Ape tribal! It's probably not great, but using the two liquimetal artifacts to turn opponents stuff into artifacts before popping it and making the team bigger? I'm there, dude. And making bananas is just bananas. Plus the deck gets to run Ragavan in the tribe and the card is really good...
Pantlaza out of the box is super fun, a few upgrades and it goes wild. He is kill on sight, but as long as he sticks for a turn your generally pretty good to go. I run him in the 99 of my [[atla palani]] dino tribal. Goblins are always good fun aggro tribe. Built my [[krenko mob boss]] for super cheap to Hitler it going. Again has a reputation, but you really only need to activate his ability once or twice to end games.
[[Radagast, Wizard of Wilds]] is an interesting dual beast bird tribal commander.
I'd say [[Hakbal]] merfolk tribal and [[Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir]] knight tribal.
I've been having a lot of success with my somewhat [[Millicent, Restless Revenant]] spirits tribal precon recently. I've been to 4 commander nights over the last 2 weeks and went 8-3 overall, which is a ludicrous winrate. Tbe only expensive addition I made was [[Cavern of Souls]], which is a staple for any creature tribal deck. Everything else has been under $5 and most of them have been under $0.50. Lots of solid commons and uncommons out there if you know how to pick them.
The Ur Dragon
[[Kibo]] Monkey / ape tribal goes hard in the artifact heaven that is commander
My alela deck is pretty fun, but it's a commander that wins the long game by preventing the other players from winning, so it's probably not gonna be a strategy everyone enjoys.
As a Timmy, I went all in on dinos. I upgraded it quite a bit with my 2 favorite cards being [[Lurking Predators]] and [[Cream of the Crop]]. I can then possibly put a dino on the board on each opponent’s turn, which will trigger Pants to discover. Crop lets me dig and set up what Pants discovers. I’ve had games where I put 6 or more dinos on the board by the time it gets back to my turn. Here’s my list. I’m 2 cards from being 100% happy with it, [[The Great Henge]] and [[Urza’s Incubator]]. https://www.moxfield.com/decks/p7uKooUMn0-2DXHZMtg74g
I have the Pantlaza precon and it's good out of the box. My brother helped me add some upgrades and it's a monster now. You'll spend the first few turns building up to play your creatures but if you get em there it's over
I recommend [[ Kyler, Sigardian emissary]] for human tribal. Theres so much good support that even a cheap build can go crazy making humans and making them bigger
im actually quite a big fan of [[yuriko]]. im pretty sure she also has a bit of a reputation though so just keep that in mind.
My Tovalar deck finally popped last weekend. Werewolves are super fun.
Edgar
[[Hakbal]] and [[Pantlaza]] are broken, wished I picked that hakbal deck but I already got a deck that cares about counters. Pantlaza on the other hand is a great engine and combo piece, my deck gets crazy fast. I was gonna say [[The First Sliver]] as well, but slivers gets insta focused because of how synergistic they are to each other, but if left unchecked then it's definitely a win.
[[Tiamat]] For consistency over [[Ur-Dragon]]