# set · TD0 · 2 decks

MTGO Commander Theme Decks

Digital only Commander decks released on Magic Online in 2009, before Wizards printed a paper Commander product.

Released
2009-01-01
Colors
White manaBlue manaBlack manaRed manaGreen mana

Mechanics

  • Pre-official Commander

    These predate Commander 2011 and the first official paper product. Nothing here was designed for the format; the decks assemble existing cards around a legendary creature.

  • Old border card pools

    The card pool is entirely reprints from the game first fifteen years, so the power level and the speed are both well below anything printed since.

  • Dredge and cycling

    The graveyard deck leans on dredge, which replaces a draw with self mill. It is one of the few mechanics here that still shows up in modern graveyard decks.

The set

Before Wizards printed a Commander product, Magic Online sold Commander theme decks. These are those: digital only, assembled from reprints, and interesting now mostly as a historical footnote.

Neither deck was built to a modern power level, and neither introduced a mechanic. What they show is what the format looked like when it was still called Elder Dragon Highlander and the deck lists were passed around by players rather than published by a design team.

If you are looking for a deck to play, start with almost anything else. If you are curious about where the format came from, these two are the earliest thing on this site.

The differences from a modern precon are worth spelling out. There is no commander specific card design, so nothing works from the command zone and nothing scales with the number of opponents. The removal is slow and sorcery speed. The mana bases are painlands and basics. Games with these decks run long not because they are grindy by design, but because nothing in them closes.

What they do capture is the original appeal of the format: a big singleton pile built around one legendary creature you like, played at a table where everyone else is doing the same. That is still why people play, and it is why two obscure Magic Online products are still worth a page.

Where to start

Neither, if you want to win a game tomorrow. Both, if you want to see how much the format has changed. The commanders still work as budget starting points for their archetypes.

The decks 2

Xira Arien

A Jund graveyard reanimator deck from the original 2009 MTGO Commander Theme Decks, led by Xira Arien, fill the graveyard with Dredge and Buried Alive, then return everything to the battlefield through Cauldron Dance, All Hallow's Eve, and Dread Return.

Deck page →

Rubinia Soulsinger

A Bant enchantress and creature control deck from the original 2009 MTGO Commander Theme Decks, led by Rubinia Soulsinger, steal creatures indefinitely while Yavimaya Enchantress grows massive, protect enchantments with Sterling Grove and Privileged Position, and draw cards off every enchantment cast.

Deck page →

Other sets

All precon sets →