Commander Clash 17: Anything Goes! (Child of Alara vs Zedruu vs Ghave vs Zada)
Hello and welcome to another Commander Clash, a video series where several MTGGoldfish contributors battle in a four player Commander game for fun and bragging rights. Each week we pick a theme and then build decks around that theme. However, at this point each of us have at least one deck we've been yearning to try out, but unfortunately they never fit with a week's theme. So this week, anything goes in terms of deckbuilding, so we can finally bust out the decks we've never had an opportunity to play up until now! Let's see what we've got:
- Jake brings a unique spin to the Spellslinger archetype with a 5-color cascade deck led by Child of Alara.
- Richard swaps around permanents for value with the oddball Zedruu the Greathearted.
- Seth... look, he has Ghave, Guru of Spores as his commander, but who knows what his deck actually does. You'll have to watch to find out.
- Tomer plays Mono Red in the most Blue way possible by drawing a zillion cards and doing weird combos with Zada, Hedron Grinder.
I should mention now that we recorded this game before Jake suffered a cardiac arrest. We're extremely happy he's recovering now, but keep in mind that future Commander Clash videos may be delayed until he's back to 100%.
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Jake's Deck (Child)
Richard's Deck (Zedruu)
Seth's Deck (Ghave)
Tomer's Deck (Zada)
I feel bad about this game. No, not about my horrible misplays — regular viewers know I'm not the most skilled pilot — but my decision to build Zada, Hedron Grinder in that manner. I think overall the concept is fine, but I added some unfair cards that I should've known better than to run: Krenko, Mob Boss is an absurd card in any Goblin deck, possibly the most competitive Mono Red commander out there along with Purphoros, God of the Forge. Even worse, I added Brightstone Ritual and Battle Hymn to my deck, cards which are never used in any remotely "fair" manner. Granted, I did have a nut draw to get all the most unfair cards in my hand at the same time, but I don't think they should've been there in the first place. I surprised myself on how effective the deck could be.
On the other hand, if you want to do some evil things to your own playgroup, maybe my quick demonstration of Zada, Hedron Grinder will inspire you.
I really hope the rest of the crew brings these decks back for a future game. Jake has a really sweet and unique Spellslinger list that I've never seen before; hopefully Puca's Mischief is fixed and Richard gets better results with Zedruu the Greathearted; and Seth's Astral Slide deck was absurd, unique, and an unexpected powerhouse. I need to build a version of it for myself!
Next Commander Clash
Since Jake is out for the next while, we're not sure what to do with the playgroup. We'll brainstorm some ideas and see what happens next week! As always, your feedback is greatly appreciated, be it thoughts on the game, ideas on how to improve the series, or suggestions for future themes; we read all of them and bring them up in discussions. Thanks for watching! And get well soon, Jake!
