I Built Final Fantasy's Best Budget Commander

Final Fantasy Commander Deck Building Journey

Introduction to the New Legendary Creature

• The speaker highlights a standout budget commander among 160 new legendary creatures in Final Fantasy, comparing it to the more expensive Vivv Orniter. The entire deck costs around $46, making it an attractive option for players.

Exploring Card Marketplaces

• The speaker mentions exploring alternative marketplaces like Manipool due to TCG Player's union busting practices. Manipool offers similar card values and has Vivv listed at approximately $53.

• While discussing costs, the speaker notes that shipping charges may apply when purchasing from different shops, which could affect overall expenses.

Quest for the Commander Card

• After arriving in New York City during Final Fantasy pre-release weekend, the speaker aims to find their desired commander card, Emperor of Polyomishia. They visit Monty Comics but miss out on checking upstairs binders for singles due to time constraints.

• Despite not finding singles at Monty Comics, they express hope about pulling the commander from their pre-release kit packs back at their hotel.

Opening Packs and Finding Cards

• In a well-lit area of their hotel room, the speaker opens packs from their pre-release kit and successfully pulls Emperor of Polyomishia along with other useful cards for their Is It deck strategy. They reflect on how missing the pre-release might have been beneficial as they had no prior research on set builds.

• The excitement grows as they realize they can build a strong Is It deck using cards already available from previous decks they've dismantled. They feel optimistic about completing this new deck before returning home.

Searching for More Singles in Brooklyn

• On day two, the speaker leaves Manhattan seeking more card shops in Brooklyn but finds limited options; 20sided shop lacks singles despite having sealed products priced higher than market value. This leads them to another shop called Frontier Games where they finally find success after searching through bulk boxes and acquiring seven needed cards for just one dollar.

• The search continues as they plan to visit one last shop in Queens known for its extensive selection of singles before concluding their trip in New York City.

Exploring Gametori and Building a New Deck

Visiting Gametori

• The speaker visits a card shop called Gametori, checking their inventory for specific cards while browsing through binders of EDH staples.

• They express nostalgia for early 2000s Magic: The Gathering, opting to purchase an Odyssey Traumatize despite it being pricier than other options.

Shopping Experience

• The total cost at Gametori was around $30, with clear pricing appreciated by the speaker. They note that while prices are higher than TCG Player, supporting local game stores is prioritized.

• After returning to LA, the speaker visits Collector Legion, another favorite shop close to LAX, to pick up remaining cards needed for their deck.

Deck Overview

• The speaker discusses playtesting and tuning their new deck centered around the Commander card "The Emperor of Polomia," which costs blue and red mana.

• The Emperor serves as both ramp and win condition; its abilities allow for generating mana and dealing damage based on non-creature spells in the graveyard.

Strategy Insights

• When transformed into "Lord Master of Hell," the Emperor can deal significant damage based on graveyard content. This strategy emphasizes filling the graveyard with non-creature cards.

• Compared to previous decks like Leavonne's, this deck offers more resilience and alternative win conditions if initial strategies fail.

Protection Mechanisms

• To protect the Emperor during gameplay, several four-mana protection spells are included such as Zephid's Embrace and Protective Bubble that grant shroud or unblockable status.

• Additional protective measures include equipment like Swiftfoot Boots and Lightning Greaves along with Kasmina, Enigmatic Mentor which provides ward effects against targeting spells.

Graveyard Management

• The deck incorporates multiple versions of Unexpected Windfall to facilitate drawing and discarding cards efficiently. This helps fill both hand and graveyard effectively for strategic plays.

Card Draw and Discard Mechanics

Key Card Interactions

• Weight of Memory: Allows the player to draw three cards while putting three into the graveyard, facilitating both card advantage and graveyard synergy.

• Illtimed Explosion: Draw two cards, discard two, dealing damage based on the highest mana value among discarded cards; serves as a potential board wipe.

• Channeled Force: Discard X cards to draw X cards and deal X damage to a target creature or planeswalker, combining removal with card cycling.

Self-Wheel Effects

• Breakthrough: An X spell that allows drawing four cards and discarding down to the chosen value for X.

• Illuminate History & Others: Cards like Mishra's Command and Collective Defiance act as wheels while providing additional effects such as damage or token creation.

Ramp Strategies

Mana Generation Techniques

• Four-Mana Rocks: Utilizing any four-mana mana rock that taps for two colorless is crucial for ramping up quickly in gameplay.

• Than Dynamo: A more expensive but powerful option that taps for three mana, allowing significant early-game acceleration if played correctly.

Importance of Ramp

• Having extra mana is emphasized as essential for recasting key spells or maintaining board presence after losing important pieces like the Emperor.

Mill Strategies

Direct Mill Effects

• Increasing Confusion: Mills yourself for X, doubling the effect with flashback; effective self-mill strategy.

• Jace Memory Adept: Utilizes its zero ability to mill 10 cards from an opponent’s library effectively.

Advanced Mill Techniques

• Tunnel Vision: Targets a specific card name; mills until that card is revealed. This can be strategically used to set up future draws with known outcomes.

Combat Enhancements

Extra Combat Spells

• Full Throttle & World at War: Provide additional combat phases which can lead to massive damage output when combined with other strategies in play.

Backup Plans

Alternative Win Conditions

• The deck includes creatures like Spellheart Chimera and Kinetic Augur that benefit from filling up your graveyard while serving as backup threats if primary strategies falter.

Creature Strategies and Graveyard Synergies

Key Creature Abilities

• The power of certain creatures is determined by the number of instant and sorcery cards in your graveyard, allowing for high damage output even against blockers.

• Kinetic Augur can help fill the graveyard while providing card draw, enhancing early game strategies.

Token Generation and Synergy

• Experimental Overload creates a creature token based on the number of instants and sorceries in your graveyard, also allowing you to return a spell to your hand.

• Shandra's Ignition can be devastating when combined with large tokens from Experimental Overload, potentially winning the game by dealing damage to all opponents.

Backup Plans

• Seize the Storm generates a trample creature token that benefits from both instants and flashback cards in exile, offering versatility.

• Gandalf's Sanction deals damage based on instant/sorcery count, enabling potential direct damage to opponents if used strategically.

Board Control Options

• Imilating Gy serves as a board wipe that scales with your graveyard size, effectively removing threats while dealing significant damage.

• Rise from the Tides creates multiple tapped zombie tokens based on instants in your graveyard; although slow, it can overwhelm opponents with numbers.

Interaction and Counterplay

Alternative Strategies

• Notorious Throng generates flying fairy rogue tokens based on damage dealt this turn; its extra turn ability is rarely utilized due to limited rogues in play.

• Access Denied grants haste to creatures temporarily, allowing immediate attacks after generating large tokens or playing big creatures.

Counterspells and Value

• Access Denied also functions as a counterspell that produces Thopter tokens equal to the mana value of the countered spell, providing defensive capabilities.

• This type of counterspell should be reserved for impactful spells rather than minor threats; maximizing value is crucial for maintaining board presence.

Integrated Interaction Strategy

• Many cards serve dual purposes—removing threats while advancing your main strategy of filling up the graveyard.

• The deck’s interaction suite focuses on multi-target removal options for late-game scenarios when opponents have established boards.

Bounce Spells and Graveyard Utilization in Gameplay

Bounce Spells Overview

• The spell allows players to return a target non-land permanent and other non-land permanents with the same mana value to their owner's hands, enabling multiple targets for effective board control.

• "Turbulent Dreams" requires discarding X cards as an additional cost, allowing players to return X target non-land permanents, which can include problematic artifacts or enchantments.

• Ether Gale is a five-mana spell that returns six target non-land permanents, providing a strategic way to clear the board of threats.

Importance of Bounce Mechanics

• In blue and red decks, bounce spells are crucial since there are limited options for permanently dealing with enchantments; thus, targeting multiple threats becomes essential.

Free Casting from the Graveyard

Key Cards for Graveyard Interaction

• "Mix's Mastery" allows casting an instant or sorcery from the graveyard but should be used cautiously to avoid emptying it completely.

• "Pneummonic Deluge," while costly at nine mana, enables exiling an instant or sorcery and copying it three times—ideal for powerful game-ending plays.

Strategic Uses of Pneummonic Deluge

• Targeting cards like "Gandalf Sanction" can deal significant damage by hitting multiple creatures simultaneously.

• Other strong targets include "Seize the Storm" and "Experimental Overload," which provide substantial board presence through elementals or card retrieval.

Utility Cards and Mana Base Considerations

Essential Utility Cards

• "Summons of Sarummon" serves multiple functions: milling cards while allowing casting an instant or sorcery without paying its mana cost. It also has flashback capabilities.

Protection Against Graveyard Disruption

• The Elixir of Immortality is vital for protecting against graveyard disruption strategies like bog effects.

Land Choices

• Mystic Sanctuary can retrieve instants or sorceries back on top of your library when conditions are met. Spine Rocknull offers free casting opportunities if certain damage thresholds are achieved.

Game Plan Execution

Ideal Opening Hand Strategy

• An ideal opening hand includes lands, protection pieces, and card draw options to set up effectively for early turns.

Early Game Play Sequence

• On turn two, it's optimal to cast your commander early to ramp into more mana on turn three while maintaining protection with spells like Swiftooth Boots.

Mid-game Development

• By turn three, using protective spells ensures your commander remains safe from targeted removal while setting up for drawing and discarding mechanics essential for deck strategy.

Commander Strategy: Winning with Lord Master of Hell

Ramp and Setup

• The strategy begins by ramping up mana to support the commander, utilizing cards like Ring of the Luci to enhance the commander's power.

• By turn five, there is potential for a quick win if specific cards are drawn that can mill half the library and allow an attack.

Key Plays and Card Interactions

• A risky move involves casting Summons of Sarummon, creating a 5/5 Orc army while milling five cards from the deck.

• Ill-timed Explosion is cast for free after another spell boosts the emperor's stats, setting up for significant damage output.

Threat Assessment and Game Dynamics

• With Lord Master of Hell on board, opponents recognize the threat level; discussions arise about removing enchantments to counteract it.

• The game dynamic shifts as players must collaborate to address this emerging threat early in gameplay.

Drawing Cards and Building Damage

• On turn six, Breakthrough is played to draw four additional cards, increasing graveyard damage potential significantly.

• Tunnel Vision is cast on turn seven, allowing for strategic milling that sets up a lethal attack with unblockable damage.

Conclusion: Social Dynamics in Commander

• The player reflects on enjoying decks that transparently communicate their win conditions, fostering social interaction among players during gameplay.

• Emphasizes how such strategies create memorable moments at the table where everyone engages in addressing threats collaboratively.