The Commanders concept is one of the elements that make Infinity Wars stand out from others Trading Card Games, as it allows each deck to start off with a core strategy or, at least, an opening one in motion.
This page intends to offer a better understanding of the Deck Commanders concept.
The Commanders Concept[]
A Commander represents a human, beast, demon or any kind of creature that became involved with the conflicts generated by the opening of the rifts and ended up, for some reason, at the frontline of a battle.
In game terms, a Commander is a Character card that starts a match OUTSIDE the players' deck and, for this reason, can intervene at the game in a different way that characters inside the deck would. That's the primary difference between Commanders and other Character cards of a deck.
As the Commanders start the game directly on the Playing Field, they can be played ‘on demand’ without the need to draw them before hand and, they can use as well (if the proper requirements are filled) their Activated and Passive Abilities described at the card Ability Text .
For that reason, The Commanders Concept are a unique and very important part of Infinity Wars decks and matches.
The Deck Commanders[]
Every deck in Infinity Wars is required to have 3 (three) Commanders and each of these Commanders must be a Character Card. ANY Character card can be a Commander (the only exception is Sydern).
However, for a Character card to be used as a Commander, that card must, among others, meet the Purity of the deck (as any other card) in which the player wants to use it.
Another important feature of the Deck Commanders is that, even though they are a main component of a deck, they are not considered to be a part of it.
The consequences of this is that the Deck Commanders do not count towards some deck card limits, potentially allowing players to have more than the usual number of Character cards at the deck. For more information about it, check the Building a Deck Guide.
Deck Purity and the Deck Commanders[]
There is a correspondence between the Deck Purity and the Deck Commanders.
Essentially, if a player wants to include a specific faction card at a deck, this card Purity Requirement has to meet the Deck Purity. As acknowledged at the Purity System Guide, a Deck Purity is defined by the 3 (three) Factions insignias attached to it.
But, for the players to have the chosen Purity into their decks, each of those 3 (three) Factions insignias must be represented, respectively, by a Commander that belongs to that faction.
That’s why the Deck Commanders can be seen in different places of the game BEHIND those insignias, as follows:
Consequently, as each of the Commanders symbolizes the presence of one of the Factions at a deck, not only they must meet the Purity of a deck; they must be placed at a deck in order to preserve a correspondence between the Character card Purity Requirement and the faction insignia the card is representing.
For example, even being legal inside a deck, a Single Purity Sleeper of Avarrach Character cannot be placed as a Commander representing a Flame Dawn insignia.
What else is good to know:
- If a Factionless Character card is used as a Commander, it does not provide a Faction Purity to a deck, in order that the deck will be Double Purity (if only one Factionless card is used as a Commander), Single Purity (if two Factionless are used) or will have no Purity at all (if all the Commanders are Factionless - in that case, only Factionless cards can be used at the deck);
- If a player uses the Character Card Enyah, Of The Endless Possibilities as a Commander, for purity purposes, this card count as being a Commander from every faction of the game, giving the player, at least, a Single Purity of all the Factions to his deck (but the player may not have more than 1 copy of any card in the Deck).
Deck Commanders and Gameplay[]
The Commanders concept is one of the components that bring a unique in depth-strategy to Infinity Wars.
As those Character cards start a match outside the player’s deck (at the Command Zone), the Commanders allow the players to take advantage of them in a variety of ways.
Basically, if players want to, they can plan their game strategy around the commanders. To exemplify, a player may use them to enhance resource progression, to balance consistently early game plays or to guarantee late game power, etc.