Greetings all,
After an extended hiatus from involvement in the MTG community (twitter, podcasts, and this blog) so I could finish up my final semester and get my Bachelor’s degree, I am finally done with my Undergraduate studies and am once again free to continue writing about my favorite game!
I wanted to jump back in to writing about Magic: the Gathering by talking about one of my favorite ways to play Magic, and that is the chaotic, political playground that is EDH.
OG Elder Dragons of Dominaria
Elder Dragon Highlander (EDH), or Commander, as it is commonly called today, is a casual multiplayer format where a number of players do battle (usually in a Free-for-all format, though not always), each wielding a 100-card singleton deck, 99 of which form your deck based around your Commander. If you’re unfamiliar with EDH/Commander as a format, head to mtgcommander.net for the official rules of EDH, as well as deck-construction guidelines and restrictions, as well as their official philosophy of EDH according to the Rules Committee. For a great article on how the philosophy of EDH differs from most other forms of Magic, check out Jess Stirba’s first article, Social Rules to Play Commander Well in her Command of Etiquette series on Hipsters of the Coast.
Unlike other Magic formats, EDH was not designed to be competitive. It’s rules were created to encourage social games of Magic where anything can happen, and a plethora of styles can be experienced and embraced. Check out the Rules Committee’s Official Banned List and Format Philosophy Document for more on their ethos for EDH.
Since EDH is an eternal format (meaning any card from the history of Magic that is not on the banned list is legal), it is far too easy to “break” the game and create decks to crush your opponents consistently on turn 3, and in some rare instances by turn 1. This is why the EDH Rules Committee states that their goal for EDH is “to create variable, interactive, and epic multiplayer games where memories are made, to foster the social nature of the format, and to underscore that competition is not the format’s primary goal.” If your goal is to crush your opponents before they even get a chance to play their first card, maybe you should give Legacy/Vintage a go. If you’re looking to have a great time playing fun, interesting games of magic that create memorable experiences, then EDH may just be right for you.
Tarkhir Elder Dragons
One of the beauties of EDH is that you get to begin the game with access to your commander, which starts the game in the command zone and can be cast from there by paying the casting cost, plus a “commander tax” (equal to 2 generic mana for each time it has previously been cast). Anytime it would enter a zone other than the battlefield, you are given the option to move it back to the command zone, to be recast at a later time. This unique innovation to multiplayer Magic lets you build a deck around a plethora of plans, implementing nearly any strategy &/or style you want, and still have a viable chance of winning.
Another beauty of EDH is that you don’t have to play the “best” cards in the format to have fun, nor do you need to break your bank just to have a fighting chance at coming out on top. You can even find a number of podcasts & websites dedicated to building budget brews, such as the Commander’s Brew podcast, or Abe Sargent’s Budget Commander articles on gatheringmagic.com for just a couple examples.
Yet another excellent aspect of EDH is that it is usually played in multiplayer games with (generally) 3-5 players involved, which means that politics comes into play in a big way for Commander players. Often, when someone starts playing EDH for the first time after playing mostly constructed duel formats (especially those classified as spikes), they get frustrated by the fact that they can’t seem to win. They build the best, most efficient deck they can, and start crushing face, only to find that they get targeted by the entire table! Game after game, they discover the crosshairs are on them, and they are often the first player out. This usually because when a particular deck &/or player is dominating the table, the other players realize they have to take down that deck/player in order to enact their own strategies.
Art originated from http://art.alphacoders.com/arts/view/47964
In a multiplayer format like EDH, where politics plays a major role, the “best” strategy is actually trying to maintain a “second-best” position. You want to build your board up and enact your deck’s strategy, but you don’t want to be the biggest threat at the table. “The general premise of the philosophy is that having the most tuned deck at the table is actually an inherent disadvantage, since you set yourself up to be the prime enemy of everyone at the table; meanwhile the person in second place gets to lead the hunt, and then is left in the commanding position to clean up the mess” (quote from The Second Biggest Threat Philosophy).
I love EDH because it is the kind of format where anything can happen, and many an “Oh man, do you remember that time when…” stories are born out of your battles. One such story that is a favorite of mine comes from my early days in the format. I had just recently discovered EDH, and had built a powerfully forceful deck. I got an early start in a five player game with a turn one Sol Ring and came out of the gate swinging. I was beating down and disrupting other’s people’s plans so much that I thought I was invincible that game. I had pact of negation in hand, and at the first sign of aggression I fired it off. Little did I know, my friend TheGreenMage14 was sitting on a Sylvan Primordial, and on his turn untapped, cast it, and destroyed one of only two sources of blue mana that I had, effectively killing me because I couldn’t pay the 3UU upkeep cost.
GG, #Sad4Me. I got what I deserved, and to this day my friend still brings this story up (“Remember that time I killed you with…” “YEAH YEAH, I remember!”) and we all have an epic laugh about it. If you’re looking to craft your own epic tales of magical mastery and mayhem while doing battle with your buds, then EDH just might be right up your alley.
To check out more on EDH, see my list of recommended websites & podcasts below.
Commanderin’ mtg (also found on Twitter & Facebook)
The Command Zone (Also found on Twitter)
Commander’s Brew (Also found on Twitter & Facebook)
EDHREC (EDH card, commander, &/or deck recommendations)
(Note: There are plenty of other EDH resources out there, but these are the ones I prefer and and use regularly.)
Until next time.
Derek
Gathering4Magic 