by Kristen Gregory
Those of us who grew up with TCGs being a big part of the cultural ecosystem likely grew up at least watching – if not playing – Yu-gi-oh!. Cool Egyptian iconography and meme material aside, the one thing that stands out about that show is how each duelist had a signature style, a signature deck, and a personal brand that was entirely their own. They had unique monsters and unique effects that embraced their personal flare.
Back in real life, It’s always been difficult to stick to one style of deck as a competitive grinder, because those decks aren’t always well placed in the meta. You can favor Red Deck Wins, but it might be completely unviable in a format dominated by midrange decks that answer it. And, though I’ll always play the splashiest aggressive decks in a format – whether that’s Ramunap Red, or Speed Lugia and Mega-Rayquaza in Pokemon TCG – I’ve sometimes played them with the knowledge that I’m making an off meta pick, instead of forcing myself to play a deck that I just didn’t vibe with. While a lot of the time that got me results and Top Cut finishes, it also gave me middling results in the wrong fields. Mostly, it bought me time to eat between rounds, which is very important.
This brings me neatly to Commander. Commander is many things, but Commander is above all else a format about identity. A large part of why I embraced it as a format – and I’m sure it’s the same for countless others – is the opportunity to pick something that resonates with you and make it work. For me, though I dabbled in Meren and Geist of St Traft and Atraxa Superfriends (my first precon, upgraded into an exhaustingly unoptimized mass of engines with too few wincons), I really found my footing with Boros, and Aurelia.
