Summary
I started playingMagic: The Gathering’s Commander mode this year for the very first time without ever actually having significant contact with the 30-year-old franchise, aside from owning a few older Myr cards, and I quickly learned a few brutal yet important lessons. Commander is a unique game format that was originally conceived as EDH (Elder Dragon Highlander). The mode was rebranded into Commander by Wizards of the Coast because the company had concerns about its IP conflicting with that of the movie franchise, which is set to return withHenry Cavill’sHighlanderreboot.
Commander is a format that consists of 100-card decks, as opposed to the regular 60-card decks in Standard. The idea Is that decks do not have repeated cards, aside from basic lands and cards that say otherwise. These decks also have a Commander, a Legendary creature that dictates the mana types available and the central gameplay mechanic for it. Commander is meant to be played in larger groups rather than against single opponents, making it unique. Even though I only recently got engaged with it, I quickly learned some important lessons that should be valuable to mostMTGplayers.
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Reading The Card Explains The Card In MTG
Classic Saying Isn’t Repeated On A Whim
One of the lessons I learned in my very first match is that “reading the card explains the card.” I later noticed that the saying, which I later on learned is a classic among players, is not repeated on a whim. Other than the effects certain mechanics have,most of a card’s functionality and intention are clearly stated in its description. If the card is to target multiple opponents, it will say exactly that, and if it is directed at enemy creatures rather than the players, theMTGcard will say that instead.
It is often best to read a card’s description three times than to stop the game to ask an opponent how that card would work. The first obvious downside is that the opponent would then know what card you have in your hand.The second is that giving up that information can be very risky and often unnecessary,since the answer lies within the card itself. If you don’t remember what Mantle or Trample are inMTG’s Commander format, you can always search, but how a card works is almost always clear.
You’ll Always Be Searching For MTG Rules, Despite Cards’ Clarity
The Minutiae Of Mechanics Can Heavily Impact A Session
While most cards clearly state what they do, how they do it and how one can react to them is not always evident.There are a lot of cases in which you will need to individually search how a card playsto better understand the minutiae of their mechanics. When a creature card’s activated ability tells you to choose a card from an opponent’s graveyard and put it onto your battlefield, for instance, that action cannot be countered, as the action itself is not a spell inMTG.
Alternatively, if you cast a card from your hand in an attempt to obtain the same results, that effect would be completely nulled by a Counterspell card. Sometimes a quick search can find you the answers you so desperately need and can avoid major discussions with other players on the table, all of which have different opinions on how a card can or can’t be played.You’ll be surprised by how many players already had the same questions you are havingwhen it comes to how that card works.
Discuss Commander House Rules With Other MTG Players As Much As You Can
Leave No Space For Exceptions
With Commander taking on more of a casual experience rather than a punitive and competitive one, it is quite common for there to be house rules applied. Some of them include not counting Commander damage (once a player suffers 21 points of damage from the same Commander card, they lose), while others allow for retconning plays.It is important to determine what these rules are before theMTGmatch starts. If a player’s deck relies heavily on Commander damage as opposed to other mechanics, then it should be established that Commander damage is active for the purposes of fairness.
Because my particular group is composed of starters, we allow ourselves one correction per turn. This can come in the form of going back on certain plays, for instance. In the last match, because some rules were not laid out clearly,I conceded to not using my correction, which would have greatly shifted the tides of the match. House rules can be complicated and there should not be too much space for exceptions, so make sure to debate them openly and clearly.
Be Clear About Your MTG Commander’s Deck Level
This Is Especially True In Casual Matches With Friends
WhileMTG’s Commander lacks meta deck compositions like those in Standard, which are often built to win in just a few rounds, the format does have its own grading system in the form of power levels. This is an unofficial thing and often widely discussed by the community, butpower levels dictate how strong a Commander deck is, and, based on that, it is better to find suitable opponents. Being clear about how strong your deck is is of the utmost importance, as this will determine how the match will go.
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The rule of thumb is to always be straightforward with everyone, but in matches with friends, it is vital to be honest. This can avoid a lot of headache and potential grievances on the table, and you really want to maintain friendships over the fleeting satisfaction of winning. If you have a Commander deck you feel is stronger than what the rest of the table plays, keep it in the box. This can even backfire once the rest of the table notices your deck is too strong and they all form an alliance to take you out first.
You’ll have plenty of opportunities to play that strong deck, either against other players or once your go-to group starts making upgrades.
Don’t Be Afraid To Make Alliances On The MTG Commander Table
Playing Politics Is Vital To The Commander Experience
At first, discussing joint strategies with other players – who are, technically, also your opponents – may seem strange and even counterintuitive. Nevertheless,making alliances is a vital part of the strategy in Commander. As a multiplayer format with a huge randomness factor based on the first few rounds, it is very common for oneMTGplayer to quickly become a huge threat to the rest of the table.
That’s when politics come into play. Forging alliances can help players strategize and either neutralize the main source of their threat or eliminate them altogether. Of course, this type of “I won’t attack you if you won’t attack me” alliance is usually very short-lived, butduring the one round that it is sustained, you’re able to usually get yourself on an equal playing fieldand right back into the game without a joint fear of being wiped out.
Don’t Remove Your Opponent’s Commander From The MTG Table Every Round
There Are Other Ways To Neutralize Their Presence Other Than Ruining Their Fun
From a tactical standpoint focused solely on winning, constantly removing an opponent’s Commander from the field seem logical.The Commander card is usually the backbone of a deck and the one who dictates the deck’s central mechanics, but that is precisely why removing it every turn is so bad. Doing so will often impede them from using their deck the way they built it to work and, in turn, prevent them from having fun – this is especially true for Commander cards with high mana costs.
Unless they represent the biggest threat on the table, there are other ways of neutralizing that player’s presence beyond removing their Commander. In Frodo and Sam’s Commander deck, for instance, a common upgrade is that of the Nuka-Cola Vending Machine card from theFalloutcards forMagic. Instead of dealing with the player’s Commanders,try and work your way around the other cards that enhance the Commanders’ powers. In fact, it may even be more beneficial, since Commanders can come back, whereas other cards are harder or even impossible to recover.
You Don’t Want The Strongest Decks In MTG: Commander
Look For Decks That Are Genuinely Fun To Play
While winning can be fun, using the strongest decks out there is not always entertaining. One of the best things I learned about Commander is how many different options of decks you may build andmost of them are not bound by the current meta and card rotations. When building a deck for EDH, you really want to find a deck that is fun to play, with interesting mechanics that tie in with one another. Synergy is fantastic when used inMTG’s Commander format.
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Surely, strong decks usually win games, but often at the cost of fun. There are several broken combos that are basically guaranteed wins on the table, such as mixing Sanguine Bond with Exquisite Blood. However,an infinite combo like this, which immediately knocks out an opponent, will only serve to upset playersand can even ruin a Commander session. This goes along with the idea of power levels, too.
MTG: Commander Isn’t Entirely About Winning
The Multiplayer Format Is Actually About Having Fun
As exemplified by not searching for meta decks and being compassionate to other players on the table, Commander isn’t entirely about winning matches. It is satisfactory to be the big winner among several other players, but the best part of these matches is the fun they provide.Commander decks feel extremely satisfying to play with, especially due to how every match feels differentbecause it’s so hard to pull the same cards over and over. There’s a layer of adaptive strategy in Commander that makes every match feel fresh.
Commander decks feel extremely satisfying to play with, especially due to how every match feels different because it’s so hard to pull the same cards over and over
Instead of running tutors to find your win-cons, you’re just playing what you have and trying to make the best of it every time. Each match is unpredictable, in a very good way since it applies to all players on the table. The fact that it is a multiplayer game also helps because, even if you don’t win yourself,you often find yourself rooting for another friend to win. The competitive aspect is there, but building bonds and sharing fun moments seems more in line with whatMTG’s Commander format wants to offer.
Everybody Hates Blue Decks In MTG Until They Play One
My first deck was a spellslinger with Kykar as the Commander. As a Jeskai deck, part of its cards are Blue, and I quickly learned that, for some reason, everyone loves hating that color. I saw arguments that the color was too focused on countering other players’ actions rather than actually playing to win, but what took me some time to realize was thateverybody loves sharing their hatred toward Blue until they are using that color themselves.
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I recently had another friend join my regular group and with them being a seasonedMTGplayer, they made wild claims that Blue is the worst color in the game. With them never having played Commander, I lent them my Kykar deck. For someone who seemingly hated Blue so much, there were a lot of Blue spell cards in their graveyard at the end of the match. There’s a lot I’m still learning aboutMagic: The Gatheringand Commander, from gameplay mechanics to the community’s hypocrisy, but I’m eager to play more, even if these lessons are occasionally brutal.
