I’ve often found it very difficult to choose a commander when it pertains to building decks I enjoy.
I’m the type of player that falls in love with the color combo itself, and what that color combo means to the game of magic itself.
Usually this brings up a problem, which legendary creature do I choose to helm my commander deck. There are way too many to choose from that can all execute the strategy I have in mind really well.
In a golgari self mill deck, there are so many great options that are available that it becomes tiresome trying to find which of these creatures would work best in the commander slot.
So when I see a color combo I like, but can’t find a commander to be at the helm, this is what I do.
I make a legends deck.
Now of course, that might seem like a generic answer and you’d probably right.
A legends deck allows me to stick to a strategy and color combo, rather than a commander.
I have three great examples of this exact type of build, and I’ll explain why I chose the legend route, how I stayed true to the strategies I chose, and how I chose the commander to helm the deck itself.
Each of these decks have been some of my favorites to build and pilot.
Each of them started as decks built around the commander, but of course as more legendary creatures come out and fall into the colors provided by these commanders the more I just want to add them to this deck.
As stated previously, I love color combos and fall more and more in love with them the more I play the game. These three commanders I feel truly embody their color combos the most.
In addition to that, these are some of the most powerful commanders the color combo has to offer.
With Jetmir, you have access to token generators in Boros, Red, and Sylesnia. You have great aggressive creatures offered from gruul, and the access to white allows you to go wide so easily as well as slow down your opponents just enough to take a game. The legends you have at your disposal create tokens at an alarmingly fast rate, protect your board, and help you draw the card necessary to take down your opponents. This is by far my most powerful deck I own, and it’s all thanks to the legendary creatures that help tie it all together.
Queen marchesa is an amazing value engine with both token and card draw access. The deck aims to assist in the oppressive nature of mardu, taxing opponents for their mistakes, using your own creatures as pawns to deal damage over the course of a game, and using spells to bait in your opponents into mistakes. This deck is oppressive to a table due to the stax offered by white and black, the token generation of all three, and the legends that act as passive engine to bring the entire strategy together.
Maelstrom wanderer is every timmy player’s wet dream. This stompy legends deck has been changed since the last time the channel aired it. Switching from a combo oriented “extra turns” deck, to a hasty, stompy, big creature legends deck. The access to gruul should tell you enough about the creatures we are running, however adding blue to the mix gives us access to simic, providing some of the beefiest and powerful legends the game has to offer. This deck doesn’t quite pop off like it used to with the extra turns missing, but Maelstrom wanderer and it’s friends will still run you over as quickly as possible any day of the week.
The great thing about legends decks is that everywhere you look is a valuable piece to your puzzle that always will accelerate your gameplan further.
The goal of legends decks is to provide a broad brush strategy you are wanting to follow. This strategy should be something relevant to the color combo you are choosing to build within.
For Jetmir, I knew Naya likes to go wide and go big. When looking at the options provided, you have access to Mono White, Red, and Green. You have access to Gruul, Boros, and Sylesnia. You have a pool of 6 different colors and avenues to pursue your legendary lineup.
Each of these 6 colors provides the legendary creatures that are stars in their own decks, and brings them into our deck to shoot up the value of the deck itself. Every card you draw provides something for your gameplan and propels you forward toward the goals the deck want to achieve.
Each of these decks finds a different way to include their legendary creatures. Jetmir is aggressive and fast, Marchesa is controlling and oppressive, and Maelstrom is intimidating and explosive.
Legendary decks allows players access to powerful decks with very flexible budgets, while also being able to bling them out when the time comes to upgrade them.
You can make very affordable legends decks since commanders are typically reprinted often and very available to players.
If you are going to choose to have some expensive cards included, you can always decide to put them at the helm of the deck itself, or you can decide to add other legendary creatures that aren’t as strong but still fit the overall gameplan.
My favorite
So when you finally know what strategy you are looking for, and you know the colors you want to fall into, how do you actually choose a commander for your legends deck?
Every creature involved that holds all the available colors could be a good choice for the deck, but you also know they can’t all be the best possible fit for you.
The way I chose the commanders I did were from 2 different factors.
I loved the Creature, and the creature provided some sort of function or value.
Jetmir could have absolutely been a Marisi, Breaker of the Coil deck. Jetmir could have been a Baylen, the haymaker deck. Jetmir could have been a Kitt Kanto deck, a Samut deck, and Phabine deck, but it wasn’t.
Those commanders could provide value to the deck in some sort of function, but Jetmir was the creature I enjoyed the most. Jetmir was the creature I could always rely on to win me a game, and it also felt great to play him every time.
The same is true for any other commander that is chosen for a legends deck. The commander must be a commander you personally enjoy, and that can provide the most value to your deck.
Jetmir, Marchesa, and Maelstrom Wanderer all do that for me. Which is why they are the legendary creatures of choice for my commander decks.