Introduction
Are you hungry for a unique Commander strategy? Do you yearn for a deck that can consistently gain life while simultaneously generating surprising value? Look no further than the world of Food tokens in Commander! While often underestimated, these delectable artifacts can fuel surprisingly potent and resilient strategies in the multiplayer mayhem that is Commander. This article delves into the savoury depths of building a successful food token commander deck, exploring the commanders, strategies, and key card combinations that will leave your opponents begging for a doggy bag.
Food tokens, those seemingly innocuous colorless artifact tokens, offer more than just a quick three life boost. Their presence on the battlefield creates a wealth of synergistic opportunities, turning simple life gain into card advantage, mana generation, and even game-winning combos. Prominently featured in sets like Throne of Eldraine, Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, and Wilds of Eldraine, the food token mechanic provides a compelling, flavourful, and often unexpected path to victory in Commander.
This guide aims to equip you with the knowledge to build a powerful and enjoyable food token commander deck. We’ll explore the commanders that thrive on this mechanic, the essential cards that form the deck’s engine, and the strategic considerations necessary to outmaneuver your opponents and claim your place at the Commander table as the ultimate culinary champion.
Commanders Who Feast: Top Picks for Food Token Commander Decks
Selecting the right commander is crucial for any Commander deck, and food token strategies are no exception. The ideal commander will synergize with the food token mechanic, provide access to relevant colors, and offer a way to generate card advantage or ramp mana to fuel the delicious strategy. When selecting the best commander for a food token commander deck, it is important to focus on commanders that can create or interact with food tokens in a consistent and powerful manner. The ability to generate food tokens repeatedly or leverage their sacrifice is paramount.
Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar: Culinary Chaos Embodied
This legendary chef from the depths of Magic lore embodies the spirit of food token commander. Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar, affectionately known as Asmo, provides access to red and black, two colours rich in sacrifice outlets and value engines. Her activated ability, allowing you to sacrifice a food token to deal significant damage to a creature, is incredibly potent. This enables efficient creature removal and provides a direct avenue to victory. Asmo excels in an aristocrats style deck, leveraging sacrifice effects for maximum value. Key cards include The Underworld Cookbook (a powerful food token generator) and any card that deals persistent damage, such as Pestilence or Pyrohemia, creating a powerful loop to decimate your opponents’ creatures.
Gyome, Master Chef: A Taste of Card Advantage
Gyome, Master Chef, offers a more supportive approach to the food token strategy. This legendary creature provides a consistent stream of card draw whenever you create a food token and a consistent way to create food tokens. His ability to tap to make your creatures harder to block is icing on the cake! Gyome excels in decks focused on maximizing food token generation and utilizing them for card advantage and incremental value. Supporting cards for Gyome could include Peregrin Took, Rosie Cotton of New Loxton, and even cards that generate more artifact tokens like Servo Exhibition.
Samwise Gamgee: A Comforting Approach
Samwise Gamgee, the loyal companion from the Lord of the Rings, perfectly embodies the resilience of food tokens. He provides consistent food token generation and recursion, enabling you to bring back a sacrificed creature. This makes him an excellent choice for sacrifice-heavy strategies and provides a layer of protection against board wipes. He can create a food token on entry and whenever another hobbit enters the battlefield. His colours include white and green, offering access to ramp, tokens, and protection.
Frodo, Adventurous Hobbit: A Delicious Journey
Frodo, Adventurous Hobbit offers a different spin on the food theme. He provides a way to turn food tokens into card draw, and a win condition by pairing him with Samwise Gamgee. His colours align with food and token synergy, allowing for a powerful food token commander deck.
Honourable Mentions
Consider these commanders that, while not top tier, can still lead fun and effective food token decks. They may have specific strengths or offer unique deckbuilding challenges. Some include:
- Oko, Thief of Crowns: While not specifically a food token commander, Oko’s ability to turn creatures into food tokens can be a powerful disruption tool.
- Bess, Streamhopper: Bess cares about the number of creatures you control, and foods can help you generate creatures!
- Chatterfang, Squirrel General: Chatterfang makes a squirrel whenever you make a token, giving you even more tokens and opportunities to attack.
The Recipe for Success: Key Cards and Synergies
A successful food token commander deck relies on a combination of cards that generate food tokens, provide sacrifice outlets, and leverage the lifegain and artifact synergy inherent in the strategy. Understanding these key card combinations is crucial for building a deck that can consistently generate value and overwhelm your opponents.
Food Token Generators: The Cornerstone of the Strategy
Reliable food token generation is paramount. Cards like Gingerbrute, Golden Goose, and Academy Manufactor provide consistent sources of food tokens. Samwise Gamgee and Peregrin Took offer recursion and synergy with other creatures. Rosie Cotton of New Loxton can make food and buffs creatures. The key is to have a mix of early-game and late-game generators to ensure a steady supply of delicious artifacts.
Sacrifice Outlets: Unleashing the Value
Sacrifice outlets allow you to turn food tokens into valuable effects. Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar, Witch’s Oven, and Disciple of the Vault are excellent examples. Asmo lets you deal damage to a creature while Witch’s Oven can make more foods! It is also important to leverage cards that trigger when artifacts are sacrificed, such as Disciple of the Vault, turning food tokens into direct damage to your opponents.
Lifegain Synergy: Turning Life into Victory
The lifegain provided by food tokens can be leveraged with cards like Aetherflux Reservoir, Sanguine Bond, and Heliod, Sun-Crowned. These cards turn incremental life gain into a powerful win condition or a way to control the board. Aetherflux Reservoir can shoot your opponents for massive damage with lifegain, while Sanguine Bond can steal your opponents life.
Artifact Synergy: Fueling the Engine
Food tokens are artifacts, making them synergize with cards that care about artifacts. Emry, Lurker of the Loch, Cranial Plating, and Kappa Cannoneer benefit from having artifacts on the battlefield. Emry can help reduce costs, while Cranial Plating can turn a creature into a deadly threat. Consider cards like Urza, Lord High Artificer or Kappa Cannoneer for making your artifacts into a win condition!
Value Engines: Converting Food into Power
Cards like Oko, Thief of Crowns, Urza, Lord High Artificer, and Chatterfang, Squirrel General turn food tokens into card advantage, mana, or other resources. Oko can turn opponent’s threats into harmless food tokens, while Urza can use artifacts to ramp into something powerful. Chatterfang makes squirrels, allowing you to generate an army and deal even more damage with Disciple of the Vault!
Combos: The Ultimate Feast
The food token strategy can lead to surprising and powerful combos. A classic example is the combination of Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar, The Underworld Cookbook, and any persistent damage enabler. This combination allows you to repeatedly sacrifice food tokens to deal damage to creatures, effectively wiping the board. Academy Manufactor, when combined with food generators, create multiple types of tokens to increase your token count. There are lots of ways to find different combos within the food token theme.
Strategic Savories: Gameplay Tips
Mastering the food token commander strategy requires careful planning and execution. Here are some gameplay tips to help you succeed:
Early Game: Laying the Foundation
Focus on ramping and setting up your food token generation. Prioritize playing key enablers like Golden Goose or Academy Manufactor. Early card draw can help you assemble your key pieces faster.
Mid Game: Cooking Up a Storm
Establish board control with food tokens and sacrifice outlets. Start generating value by sacrificing food tokens for card draw, damage, or other effects. Disrupt your opponents’ plans by turning their creatures into food tokens with Oko.
Late Game: Serving Up Victory
Close out the game with a combo or overwhelming value. Be prepared to grind out long games with incremental lifegain and continuous value generation. Control the board with life gain and sacrifice outlets to defeat your opponents.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
- Running out of food token generators: Ensure you have a sufficient number of cards that can create food tokens.
- Not having enough sacrifice outlets: Include a variety of sacrifice outlets to maximize the utility of your food tokens.
- Ignoring threats from opponents: Don’t get so caught up in your own strategy that you ignore the threats your opponents pose.
Navigating the Meta: Tips for Playing Against Common Commander Archetypes
- Graveyard Strategies: Utilize graveyard hate to disrupt opponents who rely on reanimating creatures or spells.
- Control Decks: Focus on generating incremental value and avoiding board wipes. Protect your key enablers with counterspells or protection spells.
- Aggro Decks: Utilize lifegain to stay alive and stabilize the board with removal spells and blockers.
Feasting on a Budget: Building a Food Token Deck Affordably
Building a competitive food token commander deck doesn’t have to break the bank. Many budget-friendly options can provide consistent food token generation, sacrifice outlets, and synergy. Consider cards like Gingerbrute, Deadly Dispute, and Treasure Vault.
Upgrading Your Culinary Creations
Once you’ve built a budget food token deck, you can gradually upgrade it with more powerful cards. Upgrading your deck can involve acquiring stronger commanders, faster mana ramp, and more resilient token producers. Cards such as Oko, Thief of Crowns, are a strong addition to any food token themed deck, and should be considered when upgrading.
Final Course: Savoring the Victory
Food token strategies in Commander offer a unique and enjoyable playstyle. They provide resilience, synergy, and a surprising amount of power. From the culinary chaos of Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar to the comforting support of Samwise Gamgee, there’s a food token commander deck for every playstyle. By understanding the key cards, strategies, and synergies involved, you can build a deck that will leave your opponents hungry for more. So, gather your ingredients, fire up the oven, and prepare to feast on victory! Share your experiences and creations with us – what delicious dishes are you cooking up in your Food Token Commander decks?
