About Us
Four players. One mission. Endless learning.
Our Story
The Clever Impersonators started the way most great things do: Commander Game Night at someone's home, a friends group plays around various tables around the house, shuffling up Commander, laughing too loud, and debating lines like it actually mattered—because for the four of us, it did.
And power creep is real. One upgrade becomes five. A “pet card” becomes a tuned package. Someone shows up faster, so the pod adapts. When competitiveness is in the group—when everyone wants to play better, build smarter, and win cleaner—cEDH isn’t a different game. It’s the natural result. It’s Commander pushed to its highest ceiling.
Competitive play doesn’t kill the vibe. It is the vibe. Our name comes from Clever Impersonator—a shapeshifter that copies the best target on the board. That’s us: we study what works, learn why it works, adapt it, and share it. We copy the best—and then we make it our own.
That’s where we landed: Phil, Ben, Jarrod and Greg—a crew from the Greater Houston Area here to play to win, to teach what we know, and to grow this format with everyone willing to learn alongside us.
Stay Clever and Keep Learning.
The Clever Impersonators playing cEDH in the new studio at Greg's! What's funnier than countering Phil's win attempts?
Meet the Clever Impersonators
The four players behind the content, the strategy, and the community.
Ben Aldrich
Durdle Around and Find Out
BEN
Ben is the crew’s steady hand: calm, thoughtful, and always focused on getting better. He started playing in 2015 after Jarrod pulled him in, and Phil’s nostalgia-fueled deep dive didn’t exactly help Ben stay casual. While he enjoys switching styles, Ben naturally gravitates toward midrange and control—the decks that reward patience, clean sequencing, and tight decision-making. His cEDH obsession fully clicked after MagicCon Vegas 2025 and now it’s one of his favorite ways to compete and improve. One of his proudest Magic moments goes back to Grand Prix Houston in 2016, grabbing a few wins with Dark Jeskai at his first huge event—small on paper, big in confidence. Ben also brings real value behind the camera: he taught himself video editing after graduating in 2020, even working with a mid-sized YouTuber, and now he’s a key piece of keeping TCI content sharp. He’s happiest when the team learns from mistakes, even if those mistakes were made by him. He will also be the first to groan at one-sided stax pieces.
Greg Piquer
The Turbo Terror
GREG
Greg is the showman-operator hybrid: turbo addict, idea machine, and the guy who can talk to anyone in the room—on camera or on a stage. He dove hard into Magic in 2015 during a season where his life was already “all cards,” balancing a professional blackjack career and startup businesses. Magic Origins lit the fuse, the prerelease sealed it, and GP Houston made it permanent. Greg and the crew caught the cEDH bug in Spring 2025, built decks for Vegas, and never looked back. His style is simple: Turbo, Turbo, Turbo (and yes, he also adores colorless decks). He’s proud of top-cutting cEDH events, but he’s equally proud of launching the YouTube channel with his best friends. What Greg brings to TCI is real-world polish: business experience, public speaking confidence, and nonstop content concepts—“never stale” is the goal. Off the table, he runs two real estate businesses, lives for cars and road racing, and is a devoted husband and dad. Greg is happiest in those “lightning in a bottle” moments—perfect lines, terrible misplays, or a table-wide laugh… and he’s saltiest when the table gangs up on him “just because” he’s trying to win on turn one.
Jarrod Head
Necro Ad Naus-tic
JARROD
Jarrod is the ignition switch for the whole project—he is the one who pushed to form the group just like he pushes early for the win! He started playing in 2015 while away at college, then brought Magic back to his friends and watched it snowball into Commander… then cEDH, thanks to years of proxy-fueled power creep and a memorable era of Winota “snowball stax.” These days he’s a self-declared Grixis guy, happiest when the game is fast, the table is sharp, and the lines are lethal. His favorites—RogSi, Winota, and even Gishath—say a lot about his love for pressure and big moments, and his pet cards (Zur’s Weirding, Elesh Norn, Necropotence) match the vibe. Jarrod’s proudest “achievement” isn’t a trophy—it’s the Gathering: friends together, stress paused, spells on the stack. Outside Magic, he’s an ICU nurse pursuing his doctorate, which explains the calm under pressure… and why he gets salty at any deck that wins with “just words.”
Philip Aldrich
Cleverly Philthy
PHIL
Phil is the group’s resident Tasigur pilot, systems-thinker, and the guy quietly making sure the tech side of The Clever Impersonators actually works. He learned Magic as a kid, stepped away for a while, then got pulled back in around 2015 when the crew started jamming games again—right as nostalgia turned into obsession. Phil doesn’t lock himself into one lane; he’ll play anything from grindy value to fast lines, because mastering all styles is the point. His proudest moment? Winning MagicCon: Las Vegas 2025's Last Commander Standing with his self-made list, Philthy Tasigur. Off-camera, Phil’s proudest role is being a husband and a dad to his four kids… and on-camera, he’s happiest when he’s trolling Jarrod and teasing Ben. Just don’t ask him to compliment Blood Moon.
The Clever Impersonators gather together to take a team photo after Phil takes home the win in the MagicCon: Las Vegas 2025 Last Commander Standing Event.
Our Mission
cEDH isn’t just a format — it’s a mindset. It’s the choice to stop playing small and start playing Commander at its most powerful, optimized, and strategic.
The Clever Impersonators exist to make that mindset accessible. We love Magic: The Gathering in every form, and it was only a matter of time before we found cEDH — where tuning lists, learning lines, owning misplays, and getting better every week is the expectation. That constant learning brings the same kind of joy as your first win.
We create content that educates, entertains, and brings people into the conversation — from seasoned cEDH grinders to curious Commander players taking their first step toward the deep end.
Our mission is simple: grow the cEDH community, produce content that genuinely helps players improve, and build a table where competition stays fun, learning stays the priority, and everyone feels welcome to level up.
We’re not just watching the game. We’re playing it — and we want you playing it too.
Stay Clever and Keep Learning.
Work With Us
Partner With The Clever Impersonators
We work with brands, tournament organizers, and companies that share our passion for Magic: The Gathering and the cEDH community. If you are interested in sponsorship, partnership, product reviews, or event collaboration, we want to hear from you.
Or reach us directly at [email protected]
Join the Community
Learn and Level Up With Us
Connect with fellow cEDH players, get deck advice, discuss strategy, and hang out with The Clever Impersonators team. Our Discord is the place to level up your game.
Join Our Discord