Hey guys! Commander 2018 brought us some seriously awesome decks. If you're diving into the format or just curious about what these decks offered, you've come to the right place. This guide provides a detailed look at each decklist, highlighting key cards, strategies, and potential upgrades. So, let's get started and explore the fantastic world of Commander 2018!

Overview of Commander 2018

The Commander 2018 set, released by Wizards of the Coast, introduced four unique preconstructed decks designed for the Commander format, a popular multiplayer format in Magic: The Gathering. Each deck centered around a distinct theme and featured new commanders, as well as reprints of valuable and synergistic cards. These decks provided a fantastic entry point for new players and offered experienced players a wealth of new strategies and deck-building ideas. The themes ranged from enchantment-based strategies to token swarms and graveyard recursion, ensuring there was something for everyone. The release was highly anticipated, and the decks quickly became staples in the Commander community. Each deck was carefully crafted to offer a balanced and engaging gameplay experience right out of the box, while also providing a solid foundation for customization and upgrades. Let's dive deeper into each of the individual decklists.

Exquisite Invention

The Exquisite Invention deck, led by the innovative artificer Saheeli, the Gifted, focuses on artifact synergies and token generation. This deck excels at creating a board presence through the use of artifacts, which then synergize with Saheeli’s abilities to generate even more value. The deck features a mix of new and reprinted cards that work together to flood the board with tokens and overwhelm opponents. Saheeli, as the commander, allows you to tap artifacts for mana, which can then be used to cast more artifacts or activate abilities. This creates a powerful engine that can quickly snowball out of control. Key cards in this deck include efficient token generators like Thopter Foundry and efficient mana rocks to ramp into bigger threats. The deck's strategy revolves around establishing a strong board presence early on, then using Saheeli's abilities to generate additional mana and value. Cards like Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer can turn your small artifact tokens into copies of your best artifacts, creating overwhelming board states. The deck also includes several utility artifacts that provide card draw, removal, or protection, ensuring that you have answers to a variety of threats. Overall, Exquisite Invention is a well-rounded deck that offers a fun and engaging play experience, and is a great starting point for players interested in artifact-based strategies.

Key Cards in Exquisite Invention

• Saheeli, the Gifted: The commander around which the entire deck is built, enabling artifact mana and token synergies.
• Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer: A powerful card that can turn all your tokens into copies of your strongest artifact.
• Thopter Foundry: An efficient token generator that provides a steady stream of Thopters.
• Myr Battlesphere: A massive artifact creature that generates Myr tokens and deals damage based on the number of artifacts you control.
• Daretti, Scrap Savant: A planeswalker that can recur artifacts from your graveyard and provide valuable card advantage.

Subjective Reality

The Subjective Reality deck, helmed by Aminatou, the Fateshifter, is all about manipulating fate and controlling the game through a variety of tricky and strategic plays. Aminatou's unique abilities allow you to manipulate the top card of your library, flicker permanents for value, and even exchange life totals with another player. This deck excels at card advantage and disruptive tactics, making it a challenging but rewarding choice for experienced players. The deck's strategy revolves around using Aminatou's abilities to gain incremental advantages, disrupt opponents' plans, and ultimately control the flow of the game. Cards like Oath of Teferi allow you to activate Aminatou's abilities multiple times per turn, further amplifying the deck's control potential. The deck also includes several powerful planeswalkers, such as Teferi, Temporal Archmage, which can generate card advantage and provide board control. Flicker effects, like those provided by Deadeye Navigator, allow you to reset your own permanents for value, triggering enter-the-battlefield abilities and disrupting opponents' strategies. Overall, Subjective Reality is a complex and nuanced deck that rewards skillful play and strategic thinking. Its ability to control the game through a variety of means makes it a formidable opponent in the Commander format. This is a fun deck but it can be very annoying to play against when piloted correctly.

Key Cards in Subjective Reality

• Aminatou, the Fateshifter: The commander that enables the deck's fate manipulation and control strategies.
• Oath of Teferi: Allows you to activate planeswalker abilities multiple times per turn, amplifying their impact.
• Teferi, Temporal Archmage: A powerful planeswalker that provides card advantage and board control.
• Deadeye Navigator: Enables flicker effects that can reset permanents for value.
• Spark Double: Can copy planeswalkers, doubling their abilities and impact on the game.

Nature's Vengeance

Led by the elemental champion Lord Windgrace, the Nature's Vengeance deck harnesses the power of lands and graveyard recursion to overwhelm opponents. This deck thrives on playing and replaying lands from the graveyard, generating value and building a formidable board presence. Lord Windgrace’s abilities allow you to discard lands for card draw and then replay them from the graveyard, creating a powerful engine of card advantage and mana ramp. The deck features a mix of new and reprinted cards that synergize with this land-based strategy, including landfall triggers and creatures that benefit from having lands in the graveyard. Key cards in this deck include those that allow you to search for lands, such as Rampant Growth and Cultivate, as well as those that benefit from landfall triggers, such as Avenger of Zendikar. The deck's strategy revolves around quickly ramping into a large mana base, then using that mana to cast powerful spells and generate a overwhelming board presence. Cards like Titania, Protector of Argoth, create elemental tokens whenever lands enter your graveyard, providing a steady stream of threats. The deck also includes several utility lands that provide card draw, removal, or protection, ensuring that you have answers to a variety of threats. Overall, Nature's Vengeance is a resilient and powerful deck that offers a fun and engaging play experience, especially for players who enjoy land-based strategies.

Key Cards in Nature's Vengeance

• Lord Windgrace: The commander that enables the deck's land recursion and card advantage strategies.
• Avenger of Zendikar: A powerful creature that generates plant tokens based on the number of lands you control.
• Titania, Protector of Argoth: Creates elemental tokens whenever lands enter your graveyard.
• Ramunap Excavator: Allows you to play lands from your graveyard, fueling landfall triggers and recursion synergies.
• Splendid Reclamation: Returns all lands from your graveyard to the battlefield, creating a massive board presence.

Adaptive Enchantment

The Adaptive Enchantment deck, commanded by Estrid, the Masked, is built around enchantment synergies and token generation. Estrid’s abilities allow you to enchant your lands with totem armor, protecting them from destruction and generating mana. This deck excels at creating a resilient board presence through the use of enchantments, which then synergize with Estrid’s abilities to generate even more value. The deck features a mix of new and reprinted cards that work together to flood the board with enchantments and overwhelm opponents. Key cards in this deck include enchantment creatures like Verduran Enchantress and Mesa Enchantress, which provide card draw whenever you cast an enchantment. The deck's strategy revolves around establishing a strong board presence early on, then using Estrid's abilities to protect your lands and generate additional mana and value. Cards like Tuvasa the Sunlit amplify this strategy by growing in power based on the number of enchantments you control. The deck also includes several utility enchantments that provide card draw, removal, or protection, ensuring that you have answers to a variety of threats. Overall, Adaptive Enchantment is a well-rounded deck that offers a fun and engaging play experience, and is a great starting point for players interested in enchantment-based strategies.

Key Cards in Adaptive Enchantment

• Estrid, the Masked: The commander around which the entire deck is built, enabling enchantment and mana synergies.
• Verduran Enchantress: Provides card draw whenever you cast an enchantment.
• Mesa Enchantress: Another card draw engine that triggers when you cast enchantments.
• Tuvasa the Sunlit: Grows in power based on the number of enchantments you control.
• Replenish: Returns all enchantments from your graveyard to the battlefield, creating a massive board presence.

Conclusion

So, there you have it! A detailed look at the Commander 2018 decklists. Each deck offers a unique playstyle and a ton of potential for customization. Whether you're into artifacts, fate manipulation, lands, or enchantments, there's something here for everyone. Hopefully, this guide has given you a better understanding of these decks and inspired you to dive into the awesome world of Commander. Happy gaming, and may your mana always be plentiful!