Five Great Monocolor cEDH Decks

That's right: we're going to be taking a close look at some different single-color competitive Commander decks. How's this for a change of pace?

As somebody who's always looking for new and different things to write about, I thought why not check in with the best (subject to personal interpretation) available for mono-color? Since I've historically played a three-color deck in Temur Pirates (shhhh I swapped to Najeela, the Blade-Blossom

It's obvious that higher-color decks are going to be, on average, much more powerful than their alternatives, but how close can they get? It's also interesting looking at them before Modern Horizons 3, as I'm of the opinion that it's low-color decks that usually benefit the most from high-power sets. Why? Higher power level equals more playables, which many low-color decks struggle to hit the requisite number of. Even with that caveat, I was more impressed with some of these decks than I initially thought I would be.

I selected the Commander and deck I was most impressed with for each of Magic's foundational colors and have written up my analysis and thoughts below. Let's get into it!

White: Heliod, Sun-Crowned

When I looked at the white commanders, I knew there was still only one option for me to talk about as the best. Heliod, Sun-Crowned

Heliod gets to take advantage not only of this combo, but of powerful Stax effects, such as Drannith Magistrate

In that vein, thanks to the huge number of lower-cost creatures, Heliod is a sneaky good Aether Vial

Where Heliod falls flat (and where, spoiler, most of these decks fall flat) is that its card quality options fall off quickly past a point. I mean, we're playing Paladin Class

Blue: Urza, Lord High Artificer

I'll be straight with you here: mono-blue doesn't have a lot of options as far as commanders go. What are we gonna do, kill people with a lot of Talrand birds? As a result, I ended up here, with Urza, Lord High Artificer

The easiest way to win is through creating infinite mana, usually with Grim Monolith

Urza does have a lot going in his favor in comparison to other mono-colored decks, notably getting to actually play counterspells and Rhystic Study

Black: Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire

I know: it's not K'rrik. However, I think Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire

Red: Magda, Brazen Outlaw

Nobody look now, but Magda has a 23% conversion rate top Top 16 in the last year (granted, with a bit under 100 entries). It's also is a deck that's receiving a constant drip of strong role-player cards, with recent additions being Roaming Throne

Magda is always a deck that's threatening to win games thanks to its ability to produce a ton of mana and tutor up its combo pieces directly. Unlike some of the other decks on this list, your commander gets to be both a value piece (producing mana in spades) while also being your win condition (tutors all of your pieces directly into play through Treasure sacrificing). This tutor ability also enables the deck to play expensive utility artifacts that can pull you through games, like Portal to Phyrexia

Of all of the single-color decks, this one is the one that impresses me the most. Your commander gives you a win and also generates the most important currency in the format as a side effect. Of course, she doesn't draw cards, sometimes leaving you up high and dry, but that's worth the risk. If you like the look of Magda, you can learn more about the deck from Sam Black here on Commander's Herald. 

Green: Yisan, the Wanderer Bard

Old reliable is here to stay. Yisan, being a tutor in the command zone, will be hard to ever supplant with other green options, unless you're interested in the likes of true elfball in Ezuri, Renegade Leader

Green does have pretty great creatures, through and through, though. Whether you're tutoring up a Collector Ouphe

I guess this sums up as a real feast or famine deck, one that will either quickly win through a tutor chain or be stuck with little to nothing to do all game long. If that's an experience you're in for, give Yisan a shot for your best Green deck prospects! That was a bit harsh, sorry.

Go Forth & Mono-Color

There you have it: a cEDH deck and commander for every single color! Some are certainly more impressive than others, with Magda standing out above the rest for pretty obvious reasons. I personally want to try to sleeve each of them up to take to my Monday night cEDH games for a change of pace. Sure, I can take out Najeela every time, but eventually what becomes the fun of that? If you're looking to mix up your games sometime too, give some of these a try!