oh, I didn't know that the cards are tagged like that. Nice! That answers my question, hopefully there's at least one swamp with angels in the art! appreciated, thanks!

this is definitely what I'm doing. I did get a UB precon once, but it was before they shifted to UB being half the sets. not going to get any more UB stuff, on principle

I don't even play standard, but I've seen it and this is amazing news

maybe mtggoldfish on yt with their brewer's kitchen and against the odds playlists

You do have to like the commander and what it does (and the singleton and multiplayer format), but it sounds like you don't have the time to find out what that is, since yours get removed often and quickly. Getting obliterated is never fun, even when you love the format and the commander

If they have only high power decks, yeah you're better off trying to find a new-ish commander and proxy a whole deck around that. Keep in mind that usually older precons are pretty underpowered compared to newer cards. Still, since you sound new to EDH they could at least make an effort once and either borrow a precon or build something low power with the spare cards they have, if possible.

Honestly just consider proxying the cards; after having spent a bit too much on colored paper I'm realizing that buying actual cards is nothing more than cosmetic (if you only play with friends). That way you can try out ALL the cards you feel like trying, without wasting money.

You can either print the full card with this site (https://mtgprint.net/) or an ever more ink-saving version with this one (https://playtestproxies.com/).

Of course always keep in mind the power level of the decks used in your group and ask them if they're okay with it.

Regarding your OP, it sounds like your pod is playing at a level higher than precon; when we play precons only we see maybe two single-target removals and maaaybe one boardwipe, which is normal since stock precons have very little removal. Ask them to bring precons next time

Oh, I hadn't considered the impact of tariffs, I guess I should wait and see how it evolves. Still, their prices are very good, so I'll keep MPC in mind and check out the other one you suggested. Thanks!

I checked out MPC and their prices look very, very good, especially if you're getting a lot of cards, like I am. Thanks for the suggestion!

I like this! I'll build a Pauper Commander deck around it

While the statement in the OP is true, have you considered Pauper? If I understand correctly, while I haven't built a Pauper deck yet, the limitations on card rarity should make it very possible to build a strong deck without spending too much. There's also proxies, which cost a fraction of real cards and shpuld be good enough to play with

MTG is our first TCG so it's definitely not that lol we like big boards and spells, we're actually few people so we don't really play super competitive, make many mistakes, and games take way too long (around twice as long compared to what WoTC say about Commander games' duration) lol

Yes, I guess that's what I meant! In my playgroup we're all new to MTG and I've noticed that everyone almost always taps out all mana (unless they have a removal/counterspell in hand), me included.

I should probably start avoiding going all-in like you do, to reduce both how I'm perceived by others and the resources I commit up until the boardwipe. I guess it can be a proper strategy, thanks!