Defense Matters

Whether in the NBA or in Commander, defense is crucial to winning and executing your game plan. Unlike the NBA however, most Commander players don't (but should) run good blockers in their decks.

People always say: a great defense is a good offense. You hear it all the time in sports, games, the likes. But could the opposite be true? Could a good offensive plan be to have a killer defense?? That’s what I want to challenge today in terms of defense in Commander.

Offense is running rampant at Commander tables currently. So many gameplay videos are just letting each deck go off and “do their thing” and there isn’t as much defense or response as I think there should be.

Now I’m a huge MTG fan (as evidenced by the fact I’m writing about Magic…in my free time…) but I’m also equally as passionate about basketball, specifically the NBA. As I’m from Arizona, the Phoenix Suns are my home team and I’ve followed not only them but professional basketball for quite some time now. And I think my basketball knowledge can help us get a good look at some impressive defenses.

In basketball, it’s not always enough to just have offense. You can be wildly talented in scoring, but if you can’t get a stop on the other end, then the other team just keeps up. In Commander, it’s a lot of the same! A lot of people just build decks that want to pop off as hard and fast as they can, but that doesn’t always guarantee victory. The perfect balance is when you can both give it everything you’ve got but then pump the brakes on your opponents’ game plans as well.

Back in 2003-04, we witnessed one of the best defenses in the NBA we had ever seen by the San Antonio Spurs. Led by Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobli, and Tony Parker, this team was elite defensively. They were first in the league in defensive rebounds (and 3rd in rebounding overall), they were third in blocked shots, and they held their opponents to 40% shooting percentage as well! Just as in Magic as in basketball, there are different types of defenses you can employ.

You can have great shot blockers that act like removal spells in Magic (like Path to Exile or Go For the Throat). Then you have zone defenses that specialize in the whole team constantly moving and shutting the opponent down at every opportunity (this is Control in Magic, either through Stax or counterspells). You also have some great defenses that are built on the backs of the best defenders in history, such as Tim Duncan, Bill Russell, Hakeem Olajuwon, etc. (the best blockers in Magic).

So let’s build a full starting 5 of elite defenders at each position, but in Commander! I believe playing more of these types of creatures can actually help you win more, and all it takes is adding a few of these S tier blockers! The ball is up and the game is on!

KEYWORDS (SMALL FORWARD)

There are a few ability keywords that make for some incredible blockers. First Strike, Deathtouch, and Reach are critical when looking for creatures who block well. These are the Mikal Bridges of the NBA, who has over a 7 foot wingspan; with his length, he is able to efficiently stop his opponents from getting where they want to go, gives them a hassle keeping control of the ball, and his long arms swoop in the empty lanes to grab lots of loose balls. 

In Magic, these specific keywords act like a long wingspan, allowing them to stop a variety of creatures big or small and prevent combat damage. Take for example one of the best blockers we’ve seen in some time: Thalia and the Gitrog Monster. As a 4/4 with First Strike AND Deathtouch, nobody is going past these two. They make sure no one has a path to the basket and will kill any creature who attempts to swing in. Now while not every deck can play an Abzan legend, there are many other creatures who have one or more of these abilities that allow them to be critical in your defensive plan, and can even further your own deck’s gameplan as well!

Take for example Argentum Masticore. With First Strike and Protection from multicolored, this Phyrexian can make sure that no Voltron Commander, no chip damage, and no big beefy creature will make it through your defenses. Protection is another incredible keyword since it literally won’t take damage back if the creature it’s blocking is multicolored. In a graveyard, reanimator, or discard deck, this guy is the GOAT! He will block for you extremely well, help you fill your graveyard, AND will destroy any problem on the board! And it’s colorless, meaning he can go in any deck! Talk about a guy with all 5 skills. 

Let’s look at what is probably considered one of the greatest blockers in all of Magic: Elder Gargaroth. Not only is he a big body, not only does he have great keywords in Vigilance, Reach, and Trample, but he also has a blocks trigger! Making a 3/3, gaining 3 life, or drawing a card can be huge at any point in the game! This beast offers so much defensively but also does the same things on offense! That’s a two-way player if I’ve ever seen one. But if you want something smaller, try a Baleful Strix! Deathtouch and Flying that draws you a card on entering? That will deter most players from sending their creatures your way in fear of losing their best creature. 

So next time you’re adding creatures to your deck, consider looking for a few keywords and see if there are a creature or two that have them that can slot into your deck and work with your theme! Then you’ll have a prototypical 3-and-D player that can play on both sides of the ball.

BIG BOYS (CENTER)

Sometimes, just having a giant creature that doesn’t really do anything else can give you an advantage when it comes to blocking. Just like having Giannis Antetokounmpo on the low block will scare any guard from trying to drive to the basket. You don’t want to lose your creature to the giant monster on the other side of the board, so you might wait until you think there’s an opening. But the longer the big guy sticks around, the more life you save and the better chance it can even get in some damage himself. 

Let’s take a look at a couple of Giannis’s in Commander: first up, Beanstalk Giant. Every Commander deck needs ramp and the Adventure side of Beanstalk Giant does exactly that: ramps you a basic land onto the battlefield. But after a few turns, you can bring out this behemoth (likely as a 7/7 to start) and while it doesn’t have any other abilities, a 7/7 or bigger will make many opponents pause before going to combat! Finding larger creatures that can also do something else critical to your game plan is an awesome way to shore up defenses. 

Another example I really like is in Kogla and Yidaro. For 6 mana, you get a 7/7 that will either fight and kill just about any creature on the battlefield or can just get Trample and Haste and start swinging right away. But they also have the option to be cycled to destroy an artifact or enchantment and draw you a card! All of that is upside on the fact that they are also just a massive 7/7! Even Steph Curry would hesitate to go for a layup with that guy in his way. 

There are other blockers that can do a lot of work on the battlefield because they cost less but maybe have some “downside”. Shakedown Heavy can be removed if attacking in combat, but if you just hold him back as a blocker?? That’s a 6/4 for 3 mana! Or you have creatures in the “hunted cycle” like Hunted Horror. For only 2 mana, you get a 7/7! That’s crazy value! Sure, you have to give an opponent two 3/3’s but you can give it to the player that’s the furthest behind! Finding these beefy creatures will help put you ahead on board more than the “downside” they might have. 

Doom Weaver is the last category of defenders I wanted to mention, and while he doesn’t actually have the keyword Defender, he’s got a big butt! Creatures with high toughness can also be a great blocker in your deck no matter what style of deck your building. Whether you want to draw cards with Doom Weaver or a Wall of Omens or you want to be losing life with something like Wall of Blood or even if you want to hurt your opponent for attacking with creatures like Wall of Frost or Aether Membrane, there are countless options of big butts to help you take the advantage and keep your life total high. 

SMALL GUYS/TOKENS (POINT GUARD)

On the opposite side of the Big Boys, we’ve got the strategy of just having blockers for days with lots of tokens or playing some small guys that offer value on cast or ETB but then can chump block when no longer needed. In the NBA, you’ve got pesky defenders like Chris Paul who just constantly pick the pocket of their opponent and steal the ball at any point. Or you can watch highlights of someone like Jose Alvarado who while small utilizes that to his advantage by hiding in the corner and stealing the ball when the player doesn’t notice him on the inbound. 

One of the best cheap and small blockers you can get is Spirited Companion. For only two mana, you’re gonna draw a card and possibly trigger any Constellation pieces or even small creature triggers like a Welcoming Vampire. But after he’s gotten his value of drawing a card, he’s only a 1/1 so he doesn’t really need to stick around. And if someone has a giant dinosaur on the other side without trample, they won’t really swing in because it’s not really worth it to just get rid of one simple doggo. But also, never forget the John Wick advantage of Spirited Companion; whoever kills the doggo, WILL PAY. 

Outside of Spirited Companion, you can basically look at any blink deck and find some good options for small creatures that can perform their task and then be ready to die. From ramp options like Wood Elves to recursion in Eternal Witness to removal in Skyclave Apparition, there are tons of little guys who can defend after their job is done. 

Tokens are also great for chump blocking if they aren’t your main win con in your deck. Cards like Arasta of the Endless Web that make blockers with Reach whenever an opponent casts an instant or sorcery or The Locust God to make a 1/1 whenever you draw a card. There are an endless number of creatures that make more blockers so depending on your colors and strategy, you can find the ones that will make the most sense in your deck! Tendershoot Dryad makes a 1/1 (or potentially a 3/3) EVERY upkeep! Defiler of Faith can make you a 1/1 every time you cast a white permanent spell. Any way you build your deck, you can take advantage of creating small, consistent tokens whose only purpose in life will be to die…guess that’s actually a little dark when you think about it. 

DIE/DAMAGE TRIGGERS (POWER FORWARD/SHOOTING GUARD)

But speaking of death, how about playing creatures in your deck that want to die in combat! Yeah, there are tons of creatures in aristocrat style decks that want to be sacrificed and die, but we don’t even need to do that. We can just play our creatures fairly and let them block until they are killed! In the NBA, these are your bruisers, the guys who will give you everything they got and be ultra aggressive. They may foul out or get some technicals, but their job is to just bully the other team and try to get in their opponent’s head.

Starting off with one of the strongest cycles of this type of creature, we have the Kamigawa dragons. With the likes of Ao, the Dawn Sky, Kokusho, the Evening Star, Keiga, the Tide Star, to Junji, the Midnight Sky, these are some of the best creatures that are just begging for death. And all of them have respectable bodies as well! They’ll hang around to block and intimidate all the small guys until the big boys come knocking and then they’ll happily accept their invitation to the graveyard. 

But these dragons are not alone! There are lots of creatures with die triggers who are perfect blockers in any deck. One of my favorites is Rampant Rejuvenator, who upon dying, will let you search any number of basic lands to put onto the battlefield equal to his power! Or even creatures that replace themselves with more bodies like Reef Worm or Chasm Skulker. Once they hit the graveyard, they’re either making lots of smaller bodies or gradual bigger ones. And don’t underestimate one of the best blockers in red who will literally never go away no matter how much you want him to: Squee. (Whether you choose Goblin Nabob, the Immortal, or his partnering with Slimefoot, you can’t go wrong.)

In a similar vein to dying, there are also tons of options that trigger off of damage being dealt to them, hello Ixalan! With great dinosaur options like Ranging Raptors or Ripjaw Raptor, these guys will happily block any creature swinging to ensure they either ramp or draw you cards. Sporeweb Weaver will gain you life and make you spider tokens every time they are dealt damage. Vigor grows your team with +1/+1 counters to continuously make your creatures HUGE and they won’t die easily either. 

And a personal favorite, Brash Taunter. You put a Brash Taunter in your deck, you’re never getting attacked again unless it’s with a flier. Whenever he’s dealt damage, he’s gonna deal that much back to any opponent! Plus with Indestructible, he’ll never die! Wait, basketball analogy! These guys who have dealt damage triggers are like NBA defenders who take a charge or can set a hard screen! They’ll put themselves in front of anyone coming at them and try and get an offensive foul called on the other team. I wanted to mention Kyle Lowry in the big butts section, but I think he fits better here since he is one of the all time greats at drawing charges. 

CONCLUSION

All in all, there are so many options for great blockers and defenders to run in your deck. And that’s the beauty of it all, no matter how you like to play, there is a style that will work so well in your deck. The NBA is full of elite defenders at every position and they are so critical to helping their team win games and championships. And I think most decks would improve by including a few more of these creatures as well. Now you don’t have to make every creature in your deck fit these categories, but rather than just playing another offensive bomb that makes your deck go off, try spicing it up a bit and run some better blockers! You’ll be surprised at how effective they are in furthering your own gameplan without strictly furthering your own gameplan!