MTG: Layers of Safety – Top Five Wall Commanders
You read that right: Walls. Even the buildings of MTG are getting in on the EDH action, and they prove the best offense is a good defense.
Welcome Planeswalkers and Praetors to our ongoing series about the best casual experience in Magic: Commander.
Magic is full of interesting creature types. From Warriors and Clerics to Crabs, Serpents, and Lhurgoyfs, there’s no shortage of fun things to play. However, did you know that even the masonry can get up and fight? Walls have been a creature type since early Magic, with one caveat: they don’t attack. They have high defense, however, and usually some tasty effects that make them great blockers. All you need now is some way to animate them. That’s where these five Commanders come in.
For the uninitiated, Commander is a semi-casual format for Magic: the Gathering. You use a deck of 100 cards led by a legendary creature, your Commander.
Aside from basic lands, you are only allowed one copy of each card in the deck. Moreover, you can only include cards in your Commander’s “color identity” or artifacts. Each color and color combo has a unique playstyle and a wealth of mighty generals to lead your deck to victory. EDHRec.com is an excellent source for Commander info and can give you ideas on how to build your next Commander deck or tune an existing one.
Arcades, the Strategist
Arcades is one of the OG Elder Dragons, so it makes sense he’d find his way onto one of these lists. Arcades is the master of big booty creatures, and he makes your Walls into real threats. Thanks to an errata, “Walls can’t attack” was changed to “Defender,” so all of your Walls will trigger Arcades’ draw effect. Even better, they can fight back, and deal their damage based on their toughness. Walls are cheap because they can’t attack and have no attack power, but they usually have monstrous toughness. Watch your opponent’s walls crack when your 0/7 blockers become 7/7 beat sticks.
Pramikon, Sky Rampart
Less of a Wall fight deck and more of a damage director, Pramikon can make sure damage is pointed away from you. While it doesn’t do much other than that, it’s a cheap 1/5 in Jeskai, and you can fill your deck with other buff effects. After all, if you see an enemy that looks like they’re going to be an issue for your strategy, you can simply divert their violence elsewhere.
The Pride of Hull Clade
Ah, yes, the common Crocodile Elf Turtle. We’ve all seen one of those, right? The Pride is the perfect leader for a Wall deck since its ability will count even towards Commander Tax (assuming your opponent can get rid of it). It’s also just a massive beatstick and can turn your walls into strikers. They won’t be doing as much damage as the other decks, but they net you some cards, so it all balances out.
Doran, the Siege Tower
Another Commander that cares about toughness, Doran, lets all your creatures fight with their butts. He’s also essentially a 5/5 for three, which is obscene. The best part is that he’s in Abzan, so there are tons of ways to animate your defenders, give them trample, or figure out all sorts of nasty things to give them.
Sapling of Colfenor
The Sapling is a bit of a double-edged sword in most cases since you lose life for her ability. However, in a deck with huge toughness and middling power, you’ll always come out on top. Plus, in Golgari, sometimes losing a little life isn’t so bad.
What do you think of these Commanders?
