Commander’s Plate gives its carrier +3/+3 and protection from colors absent from your commander’s color identity. A mono-color commander can therefore gain protection from several opposing colors, while a five-color commander gains no color protection from this ability. The power increase still applies in either case.
The Equipment has a three-mana equip commander ability and a five-mana ordinary equip ability. Protection can make blocking and targeted removal difficult, but it does not stop untargeted sweepers or colorless interaction. It can also prevent your own spells of the protected colors from targeting the carrier. Build around the actual color identity and attack plan rather than assuming every commander receives the same protection package.
Combat payoffs need a dependable route to the defending player. Check flying blockers, available removal, and effects that prevent damage before committing every resource to one attacker. Haste can reduce the delay between deploying a threat and using it, while Equipment can make an existing creature more relevant without requiring a second expensive threat to survive an entire turn cycle.
A smaller color identity often makes the protection more extensive, which can be attractive for a focused commander-damage plan. Opposing artifact creatures remain possible blockers unless they have a protected color. Count casting and equip payments before planning the first attack, and remember that protection does not grant haste or trample.
