… each of which serves the over-arching purpose of the format: richer experiences. Done right, Commander isn’t just competition, it’s performance art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Colour Identity is only one way to achieve those goals, and you should feel free to experiment with others. Back in Coldsnap, I experimented with a way to abandon the mana-symbol restriction, and replace it with a restriction on creature types. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enter, Lovisa Coldeyes… the OG representation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Image](\"https:\/\/gamepedia.cursecdn.com\/mtgsalvation_gamepedia\/thumb\/c\/c9\/Lovisa.jpg\/250px-Lovisa.jpg?version=c3b309c70f6feec6864604413b103f5a\")
I decided to build a deck with any colour of mana symbols, but only cards which fit the “Warriors, Barbarians, and Berserkers” theme. Adapted the standard rules for Tribal decks:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- At least one third (33) of the cards must be creatures <\/strong><\/li>
- All non-land cards must <\/strong>
- Mention a relevant creature type in their name, subtype, or text, <\/strong>OR<\/li><\/ul>
- Contain the text “Choose a creature type”<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
This is a pretty high bar… which is one of the secrets to making it work. It’s obvious to other players that I’m not trying to circumvent the normal deckbuilding challenge to a net advantage. I considered restricting non-basic lands as well, but it goes over the top — the effective prohibition on mana rocks and other fixing is sufficiently punishing. Excluding all non-basic lands as well would be equivalent to saying that all lands in a Commander deck must generate coloured mana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Yes, allowing “Choose a creature type” cards is a hack, with several holes… it’s not something which could ever be codified in real rules, but we have the advantage of just having fun)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, let’s get the obvious questions out of the way:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Is this deck good? No, not even close.<\/li>
- Is this deck fun? Oh yes.<\/li>
- Could I could have made a mono-red deck instead? Of course, but the result would have been less interesting than a deck which really leveraged her ability.<\/li>
- Could I have used a different commander for the same deck? Sure… a Najeela deck would be much better at winning the game, and lots of other commanders would suffice. Less interesting though, somehow.<\/li>
- Could I have abused this? Yes… but nobody would want to play against it. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
I’ve rebuilt this deck a few times over the years. These days it looks like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Contain the text “Choose a creature type”<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- All non-land cards must <\/strong>