#building my first commander deck

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austere crow
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I have ablack and red deck that a friend build me to get into the game, and ive wanted to try different colors. Ive found a commander i want to build a deck around and came up with a deck list. Before i buy the cards i would like feebback about the deck to see if i need to add anything or scrap it in all.

DECK LIST

100 cards
1 commander
Ghalta and mavren
36 lands
12 basic plains
12 basic forests
1 Promising vein
1 Sandstorm verge
1 Command Tower
1 Graypelt Refuge
1 Nantuko Monastery
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Temple of the False God
1 Temple of Plenty
1 Sunpetal Grove
1 Selesnya Sanctuary
1 Path of Ancestry
1 Canopy Vista
31 spells
1 Staggering size
1 Throw from the saddle
1 Thornado
1 Brave the wilds
1 Sol ring
1 Arcane signit
1 Generous Gift
1 Kabira Takedown
1 March of the Multitudes
1 White Sun's Zenith
1 Windswift Slice
1 Hour of Reckoning
1 Overwhelming Stampede
1 Inquisitorial Rosette
1 Thought Vessel
1 Garruk's Uprising
1 Up the Beanstalk
1 Horn of the Mark
1 Cosmic Rebirth
1 Beast Within
1 Druid's Deliverance
1 Naturalize
1 Path to Exile
1 Ram Through
1 Return of the Wildspeaker
1 Tyvar's Stand
1 Broken Bond
1 Explore
1 Last March of the Ents
1 mirari's wake
1 battle
1 Invasion of Gobakhan
32 creatures
1 Basking capybara
1 Intrepid paleontologist
1 Nurturing bristleback
1 Poison dart frog
1 Ankle biter
1 Bounding frlidar
1 Goldvein hydra
1 Giant beaver
1 Apex altisaur
1 Atzcon seer
1 Curious Altisaur
1 Earthshaker Dreadmaw
1 Goring Ceratops
1 Kinjalli's Caller
1 Knight of the Stampede
1 Rampaging Brontodon
1 Ranging Raptors
1 Wakening Sun's Avatar
1 Temple Altisaur
1 Regal Behemoth
1 Aggressive Mammoth
1 Ancient Imperiosaur
1 Emmara Tandris
1 Cemetery Protector
1 Gwenna, Eyes of Gaea
1 Queen Allenal of Ruadach
1 Rampaging Baloths
1 Scute Swarm
1 Shanna, Sisay's Legacy
1 Trostani, Selesnya's Voice
1 Regal Bunnicorn
1 King Darien XLVIII

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small turret
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It's usually much easier to discuss decklists using one of the online web applications like moxfield. I've copied your deck in using the bulk edit feature, and copied the link below. I'd recommend making a moxfield account, and then duplicating the deck list so you can have your own version that you can adjust over time:

https://www.moxfield.com/decks/tNI2aZxd-EKwqOeneQDLew

Moxfield
Discord - Commander (Ghalta and Mavren)

A deck created using the deck building website, Moxfield.

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Also, it looks like you're at 101 cards as your commander counts as a card so you'll need to cut one (I'd recommend the Emmara Tandris as she is very bulky and slow for very little upside).

austere crow
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Ah ok ill do that, i see how its much easier

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But other than that and taking out emmara tandris, how is the deck?

warped pier
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I agree above. I use ManaBox. Moxfield is pretty good too. Makes it much easier to talk about.

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It looks like you’re trying to go both wide and tall.

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That works pretty good for ghalta and mavren. I would look at removing some of the Dino specific cards.

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Because it’s so easy to get a 12/12 token. I would add in some populate cards.

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[[!growing ranks]] for example

proven talonBOT
warped pier
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Untap.in is a great place to test you decks online with other players. If you’re unsure about buying the cards, it has an amazing community.

small turret
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I'd say your list is looking pretty good already! There's a couple of cards that I might take out because they don't excite me, but I'd recommend doing some playtesting first to determine which cards you like to play.

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One of the reasons why I enjoy moxfield in particular, is that they have a really good playtesting feature that lets you play out the deck on your own. I use it to test the first ~6 turns several times after I've finished a list to determine if the deck is functioning how I expected it to i.e., am I hitting land drops? Are there any cards that don't work how I thought they did? These kinds of questions that can only truly be answered by playtesting.

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Moxfield also has a super handy feature that will suggest cards to you based on what cards you've already put in the list. It does this by seeing what cards you're playing, looking at related cards on EDHrec and then suggests ~100 cards. So, if you're clever, and make a decklist of just the cards you want to play, you can game the system to primarily suggest cards at the same power level.

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And finally, the cards that I think I'd swap out are:

  • Ankle Biter (doesn't really synergize with anything else you've got going on and typically deathtouch is a defensive tool but you're planning on having giant creatures anyways which are likely a better deterrent).
  • Basking Capybara (again, doesn't really synergize with anything)
  • Emmara Tandris (too expensive for such a medicore effect)
  • Brave the Wilds (doesn't actually ramp you, and a deck with a 7 mana commander definitely wants to ramp)
  • Staggering Size (basic combat tricks like this are hard to justify in a 4 player format)
  • Thornado (this can be fine if you find yourself playing against flying commanders frequently, but it's otherwise waaaay too situational)
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And finally finally, I really want to commend you on your deck building here. If this was your first attempt, then you're absolutely approaching this in the right way. I've been playing commander for 16 years and can guarantee you my decks looked much worse than this for more than half that time hahahaha. Keep it up, hope you enjoy the game!

junior flax
junior flax
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@austere crow alright, first off. Like the others have said, great deck, I like the fact you have leaned into both Go Big and Go Wide to get a taste of both playstyles. Looked over the list and I'm sure there minor upgrades to be made in the main core but guys above me when over most of those

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The main thing I want to suggest bc you have a card in here that is almost lines up great and I think you should try to upgrade the lands

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Nantucko Monastery is the right idea but the wrong execution of that idea.

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I think animatable lands are a great idea. Even if your board is reduced to nothing but your commander, being able to use a land to have something to trigger his ability is pretty good tech to me.

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Here are a few options:
[[Lair of the Hydra]]
[[Cactus Preserve]]
[[Cave of the Frost Dragon]]
[[stirring wildwood]]
[[Grove of the guardian]]

proven talonBOT
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https://scryfall.com/card/otc/40/cactus-preserve

Cactus Preserve

Land — Desert
Cactus Preserve enters the battlefield tapped.
manat: Add one mana of any type that a land you control could produce.
mana3: Until end of turn, Cactus Preserve becomes an X/X green Plant creature with reach, where X is the greatest mana value among your commanders. It's still a land.

junior flax
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[[Restless prairie]]
[[Treetop village]]

proven talonBOT
junior flax
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Now I also think this deck in it current construction is well built to use a couple other awesome utility lands!

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[[Castle Garienbrig]]

proven talonBOT
junior flax
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Worst case, it replaced a forest and doesn't do much, best case... It ramp... On a land... To help cast that chonky commander and all these other massive creatures!

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[[minas tirith]]

proven talonBOT
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https://scryfall.com/card/ltr/256/minas-tirith

Minas Tirith

Legendary Land
Minas Tirith enters the battlefield tapped unless you control a legendary creature.
manat: Add manaw.
mana1manaw, manat: Draw a card. Activate only if you attacked with two or more creatures this turn.
"I would see the White Tree in flower again in the courts of the kings, and Minas Tirith in peace." —Faramir

junior flax
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Land that draws cards potentially when we attack with just two creatures in a go wide strategy? Yes please!

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[[Okina temple to the grandfather's]]

proven talonBOT
junior flax
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This one isn't super strong but the basic idea is that second ability could be used to get either an extra power or an extra token with commander ability potentially.. ((this one I feel the least strongly for buuuut literally can't enter tapped, so can't be worse than a basic forest))

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[[bonders enclave]]

proven talonBOT
junior flax
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Once again, draw on a land if we really need it.

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Now for the best two

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[[mosswort bridge]] [[windbrisk heights]]

proven talonBOT
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https://scryfall.com/card/mkc/275/mosswort-bridge

Mosswort Bridge

Land
Hideaway 4 (When this land enters the battlefield, look at the top four cards of your library, exile one face down, then put the rest on the bottom in a random order.)
Mosswort Bridge enters the battlefield tapped.
manat: Add manag.
manag, manat: You may play the exiled card without paying its mana cost if creatures you control have total power 10 or greater.

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https://scryfall.com/card/lcc/370/windbrisk-heights

Windbrisk Heights

Land
Hideaway 4 (When this land enters the battlefield, look at the top four cards of your library, exile one face down, then put the rest on the bottom in a random order.)
Windbrisk Heights enters the battlefield tapped.
manat: Add manaw.
manaw, manat: You may play the exiled card without paying its mana cost if you attacked with three or more creatures this turn.

junior flax
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These two are perfect for this decklist

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This deck tows the line of going tall and wide so you can play both of these. We are built to be able to hit either of these. The green card we meet the condition of by just playing the commander!

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With all of those big mana creatures, casting them for 2 mana is awesome value

proven talonBOT
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No card found for “growing rite of itlamac”

junior flax
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[[growing rites of itlimoc]]

proven talonBOT
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https://scryfall.com/card/lci/188/growing-rites-of-itlimoc-itlimoc-cradle-of-the-sun

Growing Rites of Itlimoc <:mana2:292901509060886528><:manag:292901508654301185>

Legendary Enchantment
When Growing Rites of Itlimoc enters the battlefield, look at the top four cards of your library. You may reveal a creature card from among them and put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.
At the beginning of your end step, if you control four or more creatures, transform Growing Rites of Itlimoc.

Itlimoc, Cradle of the Sun
Legendary Land
(Transforms from Growing Rites of Itlimoc.)
manat: Add manag.
manat: Add manag for each creature you control.
Though the Sun Empire and the River Heralds once came together to plant the sacred forest, its roots have been tended by the mycoids ever since.

junior flax
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You cast it for 3 and get to grab a creature off the top and put it into your hand. Then once you get 4 creatures on the board you flip it into a gaea's cradle...

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Which is a $900 card btw. And this card has a better version of that ability if you can flip it over

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Now understandably you have to cut to add these so I'd make these changes.
Cut Temple of the False God - it's okay but your replacing it with a better ramping land potentially in the Castle or Itlimoc.

Cut Promising Vein - this land wants to color fix but this is a two color deck, it'll be rare for you to not have your colors.

Cut Nantucko Monastery - Most of the animation lands I suggested tap for colored mana which is an upgrade and this one's condition for activation might be difficult to reach

Cut Graypelt Refuge - 1 life is negligible in a 40 life format, any of the lands I suggested offer much better utility, even if they don't tap for colored mana.

Then cut whatever amount of basics you are comfortable with to add any more slots you may want... I'd advise staying above 16 at the MINIMUM. 18-20 non basics / 16-18 Basics / 2 MDFCs is a solid ratio for a deck like this.

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Okay I've said my piece... Good luck on the rest of your upgrades my friend!

austere crow
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Wow! Thxs ill definitely do that i can see how these cards can be really good and useful.

austere crow
small turret
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Ideal way to do it, really