These MTG legends may not be able to carry the Ring for you, but they can carry you…to victory in EDH games.
Welcome Planeswalkers and Praetors to our ongoing series about the best casual experience in Magic: Commander.
In the lands of Middle-Earth, Halflings are not the strongest, bravest, or brightest of the inhabitants. In fact, they are so insular that many “big folk” aren’t even aware of their existence. However, without a few exceptional Halflings, the land of Middle-earth would have fallen to darkness. Sometimes, it’s the smallest things that make the largest difference.
In MTG, the Halflings are still relatively small and unassuming (at least initially). However, like their book counterparts, they are big fans of food and fellowship and can get surprisingly strong quickly. Making a Halfling typal deck will give you a deck that, if left to its own devices, will quickly get out of control.
Frodo, Adventurous Hobbit/Sam, Loyal Attendant
It makes sense that the OG Halfling duo is at the top of our list. Frodo and Sam are the face Commanders of the aptly named “Food and Fellowship” precon deck, and they make good use of both. Sam gives you Food tokens and reduces their cost, and Frodo gets tougher everytime he attacks, as long as you’ve gained at least 3 life. Convenient that that’s exactly how much you gain from Food, isn’t it? Load this deck up with things that care when your artifacts disappear and you’ll be back to Second Breakfast in no time.
Merry, Warden of Isengard/Pippin, Warden of Isengard
While Frodo and Sam traveled through Mordor, Pippin and Merry were joining the armies of Gondor and Rohan, respectively. However, before they joined the army, they were given the watch of Isengard under Treebeard. In MTG, they can create an army out of Food and then turn all that Food into a boost for your army. Watch your army of Soldiers take out your opponent and gain you life while you sit back and reap the rewards.
Bilbo, Birthday Celebrant
Bilbo is the titular Hobbit from…The Hobbit, and the catalyst for many of the events of Lord of the Rings. However, on his 111th birthday, all he wants is to celebrate, and he’s inviting everyone in your deck! If you can get your life total up to 111, you can put your entire deck on the field. Not an easy task, but certainly not an impossible one.
What do you think of these Commanders?
What is Commander?
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.
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From North Carolina to Texas and back to North Carolina again, Clint lives the life of a traveling artist. An avid gamer, writer, actor, pyrotechnician, and general nerd, he has finally turned his love of EDH into a career. When not busy being a clueless cowboy, Winterfell Bannermen, or whatever else acting life throws at him, he enjoys reading folklore from around the world, writing narratives for his Wargaming armies, or running D&D 5e games as a professional DM. Look for his storytelling podcast, By the Dancing Fire, or find him on Twitch at FeybornPhyrexian, where he produces MTG content.
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