You know when you wanna let your friend know you are glad to see them but you don’t really wanna bump foreheads? That’s why the side hug exists! It’s like the opposite of a bear hug. One arm around them a, little squeeze around the shoulders and everyone is happy. You got your point across without too much eye contact. Onward and awkward my friends!
So what if you don’t like bear hugs irl and you don’t like playing group hug in commander? Well then it’s weird that you are reading this but I’ll continue… Here are some cards that you might like! If your deck is built around these you will benefit way more than the table!

Magus of the Vineyard and Shizuko, Caller of Autumn are nice when you need ramp and you don’t mind giving it away to the table as well! I find when I use the green for even more ramp I can surge ahead of the table. Eladamri’s Vineyard is the best of this bunch if you are in an enchantment theme for obvious reasons! I have found that when playing Sythis, Harvest’s Hand, that just about any one mana enchantment is amazing and this one helps you storm off even more effectively the next turn!

Coveted Jewel is a super fun card that effectively adds a turbo charged Monarch mechanic to your games! But when you have evasive creatures that can get back the jewel or keep it, it’s even better than sharing! Let’s covet the jewel like it desreves! Horn of Greed in a landfall deck is very strong since you will no doubt be getting more triggers off of it than anyone else at the table! Let’s double up those Tatyova, Benthic Druid draw triggers!

Tangleroot is a very fun card in creature storm decks! Chulane, Teller of Tales can go nuts with a Tangleroot in play! Any deck that plays a lot of dorks can really take full advantage. Aluren is also bananas in Chulane… Chulane is just bananas is really what I’m saying I guess. You can give away all the things and Chulane can usually still win!

Sometimes having a scary commander is not the best starting point for political play in commander though! The Council of Four is an interesting card for group hug consideration that shouldn’t appear to be too scary but if you are giving things away it can give back a bit!

There are plenty of group hug staples that fit so well into non group hug decks that you should consider playing them. It’s the same concept as a full blown group hug deck but on a smaller scale. You are confident that you will benefit so much more than the table that you are willing to play a symmetrical effect. This can sway the tide of battle more often that you think as well! Many times players will leave you alone or at the very least they won’t attack into the Magus of the Vineyard because they want the free green mana on their turn! I also find that if they do blow up a group hug piece, they feel kinda bad about it and sometimes the rest of the table even turns on them!