Group hug commanders

Group hug decks are found around the fringes of Commander, taking a very unusual approach to playing the game. They're filled with cards group hug commanders benefit the entire table, usually in the form of drawing everyone cards, gaining everyone life or generating everyone extra mana.

In Magic the Gathering's Commander format, fun is meant to be put before winning. If everybody gets some time in the spotlight, with their deck popping off and being a threat, it's generally considered a good game regardless of who wins. They just want to help everybody have a good time, right? Well… no. Not exactly.

Group hug commanders

While Magic: The Gathering is a game that is often played one-on-one, the largely popular Commander format is designed to be played with additional players, with many made-for-Commander cards being designed around four-player games. For this reason, Commander is home to a unique deck archetype that can't be found in any other format: Group Hug. Group Hug decks look to garner favor with other players by offering them helpful effects and bribes, incentivizing your opponents to attack each other. It's common for a Group Hug deck to include cards that can help reverse a board state such a Reins of Power, potentially allowing a game to be swung in your favor once one or more players have been eliminated from a game. Group Hug Commanders come in a variety of forms, offering a wide array of abilities that you can utilize. Updated on June 2, by Chris Stomberg: Group Hug Commanders aren't printed all too often seeing as their effects interact specifically with more than one other opponent. Most Magic products are made for more competitive constructed formats featuring just two players; however, Commander products do manage to deliver a handful of new Group Hug cards every year. Beyond that, there's also the occasional Standard print card that just happens to have the proper rules text to be effective against multiple players. All that being said, let's see what new Group Hug Commanders have emerged since last summer. This is because Angus has never again been reprinted and comes with a rather unique activated ability. For the cost of a green, a white, and a blue, you can tap Angus to prevent all combage damage that would be dealt this turn.

With a good Group Hug deck, everybody gets to be scary in a game at least once, group hug commanders, and Magic designers achieve that with goal in two key ways:. Thanks for the mana!

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Group Hug is a Commander deck archetype known for providing resources to opposing players, sometimes in exchange for political favors, for the purpose of using those resources or favors to eventually win the game. Unlike other deck archetypes, Group Hug strategy is considered unique to the Commander format. Group Hug decks may appear in any color, but most commonly contain white , blue , and green. Group Hug decks frequently use cards that provide symmetrical benefits to all players at the table, such as Rites of Flourishing , Temple Bell , or Collective Voyage. Group Hug also enjoys almost-symmetrical effects, which help all players, but help themselves just a little bit more, turning incremental advantages over the course of a longer game into eventual victory. Examples of this include Tempt with Vengeance or Well of Ideas. Unlike Stax decks, which focus on resource denial, Group Hug decks focus on providing an excess of resources, gently tilting the scales of the game in their direction over time. The goal of these symmetrically beneficial cards is usually twofold.

Group hug commanders

With cards that provide benefits to all players, not just yourself, group hug decks try to help all players in the match until they put themselves in a position to win the game. Some of the best group hug cards provide card advantage to your opponents while giving you a bigger boost. This incremental increase of value over your opponents helps everyone feel good, but you slowly take the lead in a game. Some of the best group hug cards are those with asymmetrical benefits for you and your opponents. Rootweaver Druid is one of those cards, letting players search for up to three extra basic lands when it comes into play, under the condition that one of them has to go to you.

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Hopefully your opponents will thank you for your generosity by not immediately turning those threats on you, but it's by no means a guarantee - as nice as it is to play with a group hug player, Commander players can be extremely punishing when they want to be! Ideally, Braids decks are constructed with this in mind, containing a plethora of high-value cards so that you benefit from this effect more than your opponents. Group Hug is full of cards that look nice, but are much more sinister when you think about them. Drawing extra cards for the table is a staple of the group hug archetype, and the original Jace is here to help make sure that everyone's hand remains well-stocked. Decks featuring large creatures and artifacts in particular will find Braids extremely helpful while decks stocked with smaller creatures will feel left out. Fog effects normally come in at a cost of two mana, but this is a repeatable effect that can lock an opponent out of dealing combat damage for the entirety of the game. Beyond that, there's also the occasional Standard print card that just happens to have the proper rules text to be effective against multiple players. Printed in Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate, Gluntch, the Bestower is a Jellyfish Group Hug commander capable of providing different benefits to various players each turn — allowing you to tactically provide yourself or other players whatever they may need. Kingmaking is when you pick a player and do everything in your power to help them win. But why would you make a deck that helps other people win? These decks aim to convince your opponents that your deck is all love and peace, until it very suddenly isn't.

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Keep in mind that Group Hug is an archetype exclusive to multiplayer formats like Commander or Two-headed Giant. Now you've got an Animal Farm-type situation where some people are more equal than others. It's this kind of asymmetrical advantage that makes Group Hug such an disarming playstyle. Updated on June 2, by Chris Stomberg: Group Hug Commanders aren't printed all too often seeing as their effects interact specifically with more than one other opponent. The first is what Wizards of the Coast sees as the 'ideal' Group Hug deck. They won't want to kill it because it's drawing them cards, and they'll have a tricky time attacking past such high toughness! The original Jace isn't by any means the best, but he's certainly one of the most fun Jaces ever printed. Drawing extra cards for the table is a staple of the group hug archetype, and the original Jace is here to help make sure that everyone's hand remains well-stocked. They're filled with cards that benefit the entire table, usually in the form of drawing everyone cards, gaining everyone life or generating everyone extra mana. If you find yourself up against a Group Hug deck, the best thing to remember is don't fall for it. It's also worth noting that you get to draw before the second part of the card triggers, meaning any land you find off the top of your library can be put directly into play.