Category: Tips/Tricks

How many boardwipes in commander?

1-2 boardwipes are the ideal amounts in commander. Any more and the deck gets too slow for the game to progress.

What Are Boardwipes In MTG?

Now before we go into detail on how many boardwipes to run in commander, we should answer what are boardwipes. To those unaware, a boardwipe, also known as a wrath, is a spell that destroys or exiles all permanents of a certain type. These are usually instant and sorcery spells, but are also found on creatures, enchantments, and artifacts. 

While most often found in white, boardwipes are in every color of the color pie, including colorless. These earned their nickname of wraths back in 1993 when the card wrath of god existed. To this day, the manner of boardwipes has not changed. Often destroying creatures, but occasionally other things as well. This can be seen in Austere commander, Nevinhrayls disk, and vandalblast.

Due to their nature, they have always been well-loved in control decks where faster decks might accrue too much value before they can pop off. Making boardwipes a great way to control your opponents till you can win.

What Makes Boardwipes Good

To explain why you should only run 1-2 boardwipes in commander, we should answer what makes boardwipes good?

The reasoning is simple, a boardwipe is a great way to reset the board. 

Let’s say you have an opponent with a very developed board that is just outvaluing you and your opponents. Surgical removal with something like a reality shift usually won’t cut it. The only option you have is to remove all the value they have generated in one swoop.

This will allow you to rebuild when you were too far behind. Because of this, a boardwipe is a necessary component to a deck because, in at least 75% of our games, we are going to have a less developed board than someone else. 

But, just because it is a necessary component, does not mean there should be a lot of them for a few relevant reasons. This is talked about in more detail in “why only 1-2 boardwipes”.

Why Only 1-2 Boardwipes?

Why should a deck only run 1-2 boardwipes? 

Because boardwipes suck. 

Boardwipes in commander are one of the worse cards to cast for several reasons. They are (1) mana intensive, (2) destroy your board, and (3) are only good when you are way behind. 

This means that casting a boardwipe sets the tempo in your opponent’s favor. You are effectively taking a turn off to destroy the board and let the next person set the tempo. Which, if your opponents have at least a few cards in hand, chances are you are going to be falling behind again as soon as your turn starts. Putting you in the same position you were before.

Now, that said, the ability to reset boards is amazing, and it is vital to being able to recover when a player has an overwhelming board. So a boardwipe basically trades you being really far behind, to only slightly behind.

Because of that, you should only have 1-2 boardwipes in commander. This reduces the number of times you will draw a dead card in a majority of games, while still giving you the silver bullet needed when you fall far behind. Making the deck as lean as possible while still having the power needed in worse-case scenarios.

When Should You Run More Than 2 Boardwipes?

Now, let’s assume you want to run more boardwipes. When is that a good decision?

When boardwipes don’t hurt you. A good example of this is Creatureless decks, planeswalkers decks, and enchantress decks. 

The reason for this is simple, when boardwipes don’t affect you, then they are more effective forms of removal that hit multiple targets without affecting you. 

Each of these strategies can run boardwipes like winds of rath, wrath of god, and Austere command without their board being affected. Allowing them to get mass value out of their decks by making their boardwipes effectively asymmetrical.

In fact, it is this benefit and others like it, that make certain boardwipes a league of their own, and are infinitely better options than your standard wrath of god.

What Makes A Good Boardwipe?

So, now that we talked about why boardwipes should be limited to 1-2, let’s go over what a good boardwipe should have.

A good boardwipe should have as many of the following traits as possible:

1. Low Mana Value
2. Instant Speed
3. Asymmetrical 
4. High versatility

Let’s talk about these briefly. 

The lower the Mana Value means the easier it is for you to cast. More importantly, the lower the Mana Value, means you can potentially cast another spell after boardwiping. Allowing you to set the tempo rather than your opponents.

Instant Speed boardwipes, mean you can do this before your turn allowing you to set the tempo on your turn. This also allows you to boardwipe in response to something, making this a great panic button that you can use at any given moment.

Asymmetrical boardwipes are beautiful. This means you get to keep your board while dismantling your opponents. Allowing you to not only set the tempo but also come out on top after the boardwipe usually.

High Versatility, any boardwipe can kill creatures, but a boardwipe that can hit multiple targets, exile, or cause mass disruption no matter a player’s game plan, makes this a much more painful boardwipe for your opponents to go against.

Each of these should be evaluated when considering a boardwipe and will be shown in the next section, best boardwipes for commander.

Best Boardwipes For Commander.

There are 5 boradwipes that are best for commander. Chances are you will know a few of them, but maybe not all of them. So buckle up and get ready for the 5 best boardwipes in commander.

1. Cyclonic Rift
2. Fire Covenant 
3. Farewell
4. Toxic Deluge 
5. Blasphemous Act

Surprisingly, only 1 of these boardwipes are white, while 3 of them are in red or black. But, these are some of the most effective boardwipes you can find in magic.

Cyclonic Rift is instant speed, Asymmetrical, and can be used on a single target or multiple.

Fire covenant is identical to cyclonic rift but has a lower mana cost, but higher life cost.

Meanwhile, Farewell is neither asymmetrical, instant, nor low mana, but is incredibly versatile. Able to shut down any game plan a person can have.

Then we have toxic deluge, 3 mana sorcery speed, but can hit a lot of creatures and can get around indestructible. A solid boardwipe most black decks would love to run.

Finally, we have blasphemous act. The mana cost can be as low as 1 while still clearing the board. Making this a great option for those looking to rebuild their board after the wipe.

As you can see each of these meets some if not all the requirements for a good boardwipe due to the fact that they counter the usual negatives a boardwipe has.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this answered many of your questions in regards to boardwipes. In general, a deck should only try to run 1-2 boardwipes in a deck. More than that and you increase your chances of drawing a dead card in most games or stalling the game way past the limit most people want to play at. Making for a bad time for a lot of players.

If the top 5 boardwipes have piqued your interest. I highly suggest looking at my article “best boardwipes in each color. This will go over 20 boardwipes that are absolutely great for any deck.

Till next time and wrath away!

Can you exile a mtg commander?

In most cases, you can not exile a commander unless a player chooses to leave their commander in exile. But, there are niche situations where, yes, you can exile a mtg commander.

That said it is incredibly hard to do.

When Can you not exile a mtg commander?

Usually, a commander cannot be exiled for any reason unless the commander’s owner chooses to be put them in exile. The reason for that is 

rule 704. 903.9b If a commander would be put into its owner’s hand or library from anywhere, its owner may put it into the command zone instead. This replacement effect may apply more than once to the same event.

Therefore, whenever a commander is moved from one zone to another, the commander can be chosen to be put in the command zone. Even if a person chooses to put it in the graveyard, if that graveyard would be exiled they can just put it in the command zone in response.

When can you exile a mtg commander?

That said, there is exactly one way to exile a commander, using effects from cards like Roon of the Hidden Realm.

Roon of the hidden realms ability is used to flicker your or opponents’ threats to generate value as the game progresses. But, if you use Roon’s ability to flicker opponents’ commanders, that player can choose to leave their commander in exile or put it in the command zone. 

If the player chooses to leave it in exile so it can be flickered back to the board, a delayed trigger will be put on the stack.

Now, what happens if someone stifles that delayed trigger? Then the commander is permanently exiled. After all the player already chose to leave it in exile. Meaning that with abilities from cards like Roon of the hidden realm, you can in fact exile a mtg commander.

To help you out here is a list of 10 cards with flicker abilities and 10 cards with stifle effects

10 cards with flicker abilities?

1. Otherworldly journey
2. Oblivion ring
3. Admonition Angel
4. Journey to Nowhere
5. Parallax Wave
6. Fiend Hunter
7. Leonin Relic Warder
8. Touch of the spirit realm
9. Savior Of Ollenbock
10. Long Road Home

10 cards with Stifle Effects

1. Stifle
2. Tales end
3. Trickbind
4. Disallow 
5. Green slime
6. Voidslime
7. Overcharged amalgam
8. Brokers Confluence
9. Sublime epiphany 
10. Repudiate

Conclusion

And there you have it exiling a commander is incredibly difficult but is a blast to do the first time you do it. Just don’t expect to win afterward as everyone will kill you in response. But well worth it in my opinion. If you like the idea of building a deck around Roon, I highly suggest taking a look at my guide to deck building. It can help you make sure your deck will do what you want more and lead to more fun overall. Happy exiling!

Needing some commander win cons? This article has you covered! This will give you 3 win conditions in each color to say “I win”.

Mono-Red Commander win cons

Mono red is a combo color for winning through combat. So as such mono red win conditions will usually do exactly that.

Twinflame+ Dualcaster Mage

A classic combo where you cast twin flame targeting a creature, then flash in a dual caster mage. When dual caster mage enters the battlefield, he copies twinflame and targets himself. The copies then proceed to do this an infinite number of times and then you swing with 42,069 dualcaster mages and win the game.

Basalt Monolith+ Rings of Brighthearth+ Fireball

One of the classic mono red win conditions, fireball. Fireball is simple, create infinite mana and win the game. Which Basalt monolith and rings of brighthearth will do. The goal of this is to tap basalt for 3 mana, use the ability to untap basalt monolith, then pay 2 mana to copy the ability. From there you will generate infinite colorless as you continually pay only 2 mana to untap it and then tap it for 3 colorless mana. Once you have a googleplex of colorless mana you cast fireball and win.

Kiki Jikki + Zealous Conscript

Probably one of the most famous mono-red win conditions. This one may cost more mana than the dualcaster mono red combo, but has the added protection of being all creatures, making it much harder to interact with. The goal of this win con is to tap kiki, to make a copy of zealous conscript. Zealous conscript etbs targeting kiki, which will untap it. Then you repeat the process and swing out with your 80,085 zealous conscripts and win the game.

Mono-White Commander win cons

Karmic Guide+ Reveilark+ Blasting Station

More convoluted than kiki jiki, this mono white win con is to play the cards, reveilark and karmic guide to infinitely cause etb triggers. As these creatures continuously enter the battlefield and replace each other, blasting station is going off and dealing 1 damage to everything. After doing this 69 times to a player they are going to most likely be dead.

Rest in Peace + Helm Of Obedience

Who says blue is the only color that can mill? White can do it too. In fact, this mono-white win con does a better job milling than most blue decks. The reason being is with rest in peace on the battlefield, no creatures actually hit the graveyard, so helm of obedience will keep milling that player until their deck is gone. Resulting in them losing the game.

Walking ballista + Heliod

The best mono-white win con to date. Simple, easy to play, and resilient. This is a solid choice for decks needing a combo in white. The goal is simple, play heliod, sun-crowned. Cast walking ballista for 1. Give it life lifelink. And every time it loses a +1/+1 counter you gain a life and give it a +1/+1 counter making it infinite. Do this 420 times just to be safe and you win the game.

Mono-Green Commander win cons

Earthcraft+ Squirrels nest

That’s right squirrels win games. Simply play squirrel’s nest and EarthCraft, tap the land to create a 1/1 squirrel, tap that squirrel to untap squirrel’s nest, and repeat. Get 855 squirrels on board and swing out to win the game Be sure to do this on the player before you end step so they have the least likely chance of dying

Food Chain+ Eternal Scourge+ Walking Ballista

Another walking ballista combo, but honestly, that card is broken. The goal of this is to play food chain and cast eternal scourge. Then exile it to food chains ability. From there you constantly replay eternal scourge and constantly get 1 more mana each time. Do this 8,554,013 times and use it on walking ballista and kill everyone.

Kodama of the East Tree+ Field of the Dead + Guildless Commons

Kodama was considered broken when it was first revealed, and this mono green win con proves it. The goal of this is to get infinite 2/2 zombies that can swing for game. You cast Kodama, with field of the dead online. You play Guildless commons, bouncing field of the dead back to hand. Kodama triggers, allowing you to put field of the dead on the battlefield. Field of the dead triggers creating a 2/2 zombie. Kodama triggers allowing you to put guildless commons back on the battlefield. Repeat this process until you have 4,377 zombies ready to swing and kill the board.

Mono-Blue Commander win cons

Dramatic Reversal+ Isechron Scepter+ Aetherflux reservoir 

The dramatic reversal + Isochron Scepter is iconic. It works so easily that it breaks with a ham sandwhich. Simply play isechron scepter, imprinting dramatic reversal. Cast dramatic reversal with at least 2 mana-producing rocks. Generate infinite casts + mana. Cast Aetherflux reservoir and death star everyone with this mono blue win con.

Mystic Forge+ Sensei’s Divining Top+ Etherium Sculptor+ Laboratory Maniac

This mono blue win condition looks complicated but is actually relatively easy. Play mystic forge and sensei. Proceed to dig until you find Ethereum sculptor. Play Ethereum sculptor until you find laboratory maniac with sensei’s top. Cast lab man and draw with top until you win. Simple as that.

Bruvac, the grand delinquent + Maddening Cacaphony 

The ultimate mono blue win con for milling. Play the mill master himself, Bruvac, then cast a kicked maddening cacophony and watch as everyone mills their entire library and loses.

Mono-Black Commander win cons

Exquisite Blood + Sanguine Bond

Life gain decks love this combo. Simply play a sanguine bond and follow up with exquisite blood. Gain life or force someone to lose a life, and the chain begins, killing everyone with a combo that drains the table.

Bolas Citadel+ Senseis, divining top+ Aetherflux reservoir

This works a lot like Mystical forge. Play Bolas citadel and tap top to draw a card and put top on top. Pay 1 life to recast top. Do this until you find aetherflux reservoir. Cast aetherflux and proceed to gain an abnormal amount of life and kill your opponents with an insane amount of damage.

Professor Onyx + Chain of Smog

The mono black win con that is scary to cast. Play professor Onyx, then cast chain of smog on YOURSELF. Discard 2 cards then repeat, repeat, repeat. Do this until everyone is dead or counterspells the copy when you have no cards in hand. Either way, this wins games more often than not, just be careful of blue players.

Artifact Commander win cons

Painters Servent + Grindstone

Now time for the colorless artifact win cons. Painterservant and grindstone are one of the oldest combos in the world. Have grindstone on the battlefield, play painter servant naming a color. Proceed to mill target opponent till they have nothing left, and watch them lose the game.

Myr Battlesphere+ Nim Deathmantle + Ashnod’s Altar

This colorless combo requires 3 cards. The win con is simple, play myr battlesphere with Nim deathmantle on the board and ashnods altar. Myr triggers giving you 4 myr tokens. Sac a token and Myr Battlesphere to get 4 mana for Nim’s Deathmantle. Recur this ability until you have 69,420 myr tokens and swing out to win the game.

Salvaging Station + Flayer Husk+ Grinding Station

Another mill strategy but wins nonetheless. Play flayer husk getting you a 0/0 germ token. Sack the husk to grinding station milling someone for 3. The germ dies causing salvaging station to trigger. Return flayer husk getting another 0/0 germ token. Do this 42 times per opponent and watch this colorless combo win games.

Commander Win Conditions: Conclusion

There you have it 18 win conditions for any mono-color deck. With this, you should have a strategy that any deck can implement to win you the game. Be sure to check out my article, top 10 best combos in commander. It goes over more than just mono color win cons, but the most powerful win cons in the game for players to use. Have a great day and enjoy comboing!

How many lands in a commander deck? A question as old as 1996 and still relevant today. 

The numbers have changed over the years of course. In the beginning, it was 40 lands, then 35, and now people say anywhere around 33-40. 

Of course, here at commander20, we think that is too vague. As such, we came up with a formula to help players build efficient decks.

So, how many lands in a commander deck? 

Simple, a commander deck should have 28+ your commander’s cost in lands.

So if you have a 4 mana commander, you should have 32 lands, or if you have a 10 mana commander, 38 lands.

The reasoning behind this is based off the central guide that goes over efficient deck building, The Rule of 20. A free guide that I give to everyone interested in becoming a better deck builder.

The general basis is that a deck on average should have 20 pieces of ramp to advance their board state. The reasoning is explained in detail in the guide, but when you have 20 pieces of ramp, your land count matters much less and you develop a board much quicker.

So by running the magical number of 28+ Commanders CMC, you will be able to answer the question of “How many lands in a commander deck?” every time.

And, now let’s prove it with math.

The Math For How Many Lands In A Commander Deck? 

To do this, we used deckstats probability calculator to show how your land count will look.

To do this I built an example using Lathril, blade of the elves as the commander. Her CMC is 4 so the deck should have 32 lands in it.

Now, if we assume you are running exactly 20 pieces of ramp with a mana cost between 1-3, then you will effectively have 52 lands as long as you can get to 2 lands.

Which the probability calculator shows an 85% chance of happening (pre-mulligans). Therefore, this should be relatively easy to achieve for most players. (Each additional land only gives you a 1% increased chance to have 2 or more lands by turn 2 btw)

Now, if that is the case, then if we ran 20 ramp cards that can generate our mana, then 85% of the time we will effectively have 52 mana sources in the deck. This means we have a 92% chance of being able to have 4 mana sources for our commander on turn 4. 

Comparing Rule 20 land count to others

Now, what if we use the old rules of 36 lands and 10 sources of ramp that Command Zone Recommends? 

Assuming the same commander and Mana Ramp CMC, you have a 90% chance to have 2 lands by turn. This is undoubtedly better than the 85% that 32 lands have. But, you only have an 84% chance to have 4 mana sources for your commander by turn 4.

If we were to compare this means you are less likely to be able to get your commander out by turn 4 running 36 lands and 10 ramp over 32 lands and 20 ramp. This of course ignores the fact that 20 forms of ramp can get your commander out sooner than 10 forms. Which has a drastic impact on the tempo of your board state. As shown in detail on my Guide To Efficient Deck Building.

But let’s go over some additional reasons why your lands for your commander deck should be 28+ your commander CMC.

Theory Behind how many lands in a commander deck 

There is 1 main theory in which this number became relevant, Quadrant Theory.

The basic idea of Quadrant Theory is that there are four places you can be in the game: (1) Developing, (2) Ahead, (3) At Parity, and (4) Behind. Let’s take a few moments and evaluate When lands are useful in comparison to these situations.

1. While developing, basic land allows you to keep parity. It allows you to play all your other cards, but it does not accelerate development of your board.
2. While ahead, a basic land is a dead card. If you have a blightsteel collosus on the board, you’re very far ahead. 
3. At Parity, a basic land is a dead card. You play it but it does virtually nothing for actually progressing your board at this point and does not stop your opponents either.
4. Behind, a basic land allows you to try and keep up with your opponent’s mana. But, If your opponent has a game-ending play, you’re far behind, then your lands do nothing to help. 

This means in general, basic land is only good for keeping parity with your opponents in the early stages. It does nothing for actually developing your board after you reach your ramps CMC, it does nothing while ahead, at parity, or behind. 

But there is something that does the job of land while also allowing you to accelerate your board, ramp. Ramp is much better than land because you can play more than 1 a turn. With this one restriction removed, even if the ramp cost a little bit, it becomes much better than a land.

So as such your land count should only be considered for developing your board state, after that, a land is usually one of the last things you want to draw as it does nothing for you. Especially when you already have one in hand. So by relying on your lands only to cast your commander (the strategy on which most decks are based) you will find that every other card type becomes much more impactful. Meaning to answer the question on “how many lands in a commander deck?” should be as stated 28 + Commander CMC.

Conclusion

I hope this answer was insightful for you! I think this will put the question of “How many lands in a commander deck” to rest. This provides a flexible route that caters to any commander you want to play. Of course, going 1-2 more or less is still good but this should give you a baseline that all your decks should have. If you are interested in developing an even better understanding to effecient deck building I highly recommend giving my guide of Rule 20 a read. It’s an insightful guide that I spent hours working on to answer any and all basic questions to building efficient decks.

P.S.Have fun playing and remember, lands aren’t free real estate when you can only play 1 a turn!