Deck Archetypes
Every Commander deck is trying to do something. These are the twenty things: what each archetype does, which colors suit it, and the cards and commanders that define it.
An archetype is a deck's primary game plan: not what is in it, but what it is trying to do on the turn it wins. Two decks can share sixty cards and be entirely different archetypes, and knowing which one you have built tells you what to cut, what to add, and which pods you are a good fit for.
These are the twenty archetypes TurnZero HQ classifies decks into. Most real decks are a blend of two or three: aristocrats decks go wide, lands decks ramp, and a combo lurks in the back of plenty of otherwise fair decks. Pick the one that describes the win, and treat the rest as support.
The twenty archetypes TurnZero HQ tracks are Spellslinger, Graveyard recursion, Mill, Voltron, Go wide, Aristocrats, Enchantress, Artifacts, Tribal, Stax, Combo, Control, Ramp, Aggro, Group hug, Superfriends, Lands matter, Counters, Blink, and Lifegain. Most real decks combine two or three of them.
Almost every deck is. Aristocrats decks are usually also go-wide, lands-matter decks are usually also ramp, and combo turns up as a backup plan inside decks built around something else entirely. The archetype is a description of the primary game plan, not an exclusive label.
Ask what the deck is doing on the turn it wins. A deck that draws twenty cards and then attacks with one enormous creature is Voltron, not card draw. The archetype is whatever the rest of the deck is in service of.
TurnZero HQ tags every deck you track with its archetype, so your record breaks down by strategy, not just by commander. Free to start.
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