I used to think that since EDH is a casual format it's just easier to let people mulligan 3-4 times without having to go down cards, since I'd prefer a good game where everyone can play over a game where people just get stuck without lands. All in the spirit of the game and such. I know a lot of pods and even LGS' with casual commander nights let you mulligan like this so I thought there wasn't a problem with it.
Recently however I've been leaning more towards following the rules more closely, allowing 1 free mulligan and then having to go down to 6 and so on, and it's mostly because I've been seeing tons of people post deck lists with 32-34 lands and at most 6-7 sources of ramp. These decks are by most measures, horribly low on lands and ramp, and it makes me think that far too many pods allow unlimited free mulligans. It also gives an unfair advantage to the people skimping on lands since it allows them to run more actual cards without the fear of starting the game mana screwed.
What are your thoughts?
Edit: everyone so far has responded that they either do free mulligans just don't abuse it or something like 7 7 6 6 6. I'm curious how everyone's decks in their meta have shaped up based on this and if everyone has seen a noticeable drop on number of lands being run due to these mulligan rules. I would say the standard is 36-38 lands with 8-10 sources of ramp. Are people in your experience running about that or less than that?
Edit #2: I want to clarify I'm mostly talking about casual low to mid power decks. If you're running a combo centric high power deck with tons of tutors and an ultra low curve, 37 lands is obviously too many.
I'm also not trying to claim that many people are going lower in their land count specifically to abuse free mulligans. I do think that when playing in pods with free mulligans, it's very easy to fall into the trap of simply gold fishing for good hands during play testing which hides deck building deficiencies and makes low land decks seem better than they are. Ive fallen into this trap myself in the past. Of course EDH is a casual format, but trying to construct decks so you don't need to rely on free mulligans to get good hands is a great way to become a better deck builder and IMO having decks that rarely need to go past the 1st free or down to 6 mulligan is the sign of well constructed decks.
Every bloody time, it’s like I’m a ghost or something.
Edit: thank you for all the replies. It seems like peoples experiences are a mixed bag. Believe me I’ve tried talking to the mums, the most you really get is a polite hello. Hey ho, it’s their loss. I’m only Theke for my kid anyway and she has a great time, we play together with the cool toys or climbing frames
I'll preface by saying that my meta doesn't enjoy infinites, or even tutors. And yet, some Commanders can only get a realistic win by comboing off. Without them, it's hard to close out the game. I'll explain in two parts:
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Strategies that need a combo to win. In the past, I've played [[Aminatou]] blink/superfriends. I started out playing with her infinites, but swapped soon to more fair wincons with tokens/Walkers. However, fair wincons took ages to close out the game. Since then, I've come to the same conclusion every time I've brewed another blink deck. My friend's [[Brago]] blink has the same issue winning unless he's allowed to combo.
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Strategies that can only be built powerful. In recent years, I've dismantled [[Yennett]] and [[Orvar]] for being too weak. I built them casually without the backbreaking Eldrazi/Turns or combos. But I found that they're quite bad if you don't use the strong route. Orvar and Yennett require you to do busted things to function properly.
I'm currently trying to brew [[Yedora]], but I've found that he's extremely inconsistent if your wincons are fair. MonoG Landfall simply doesn't have enough threats, and Yedora's engine doesn't progress towards a wincon. He's another case of value isn't a wincon. I already know that if I want to use this engine, I need to include his combos to reliably close out the game.
How do you or your playgroup handle decks like these? Is there a way I can play them that doesn't upset the playgroup, but winning is still possible?
So, I have noticed that in my playgroup, the combo decks are the first ones who are targeted, so much so that they no longer seem capable of winning.
This is because I convinced the rest of my playgroup that the combo players are always the biggest threat on the board until removed. The reasoning goes that you always target the player who is most likely to kill you. If there is a Voltron player and a combo player, the combo player is the one who is most capable of pulling a win out of nowhere. You can’t even make a deal with a combo player, because if the combo player finds what he/she is looking for, there is nothing you can do—you lose. A Voltron player, at least, can have a deal made to redirect the massive damage.
For these reasons, combo decks are gradually being phased out of my playgroup. They just can’t seem to win because the playgroup ALWAYS targets them.
So now I am curious though: how does your playgroup treat combo decks?
Welcome to Moanday Mourning!
Please use this thread to discuss whatever playgroup related topics or issues you are currently having and/or would like advice on.
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My playgroup doesn't ban anything. We have rule 0 talks before games and attempt to make sure everyone's deck plays at a similar power level. There are still mishaps and sometimes a deck that's too high power level will come through, but we'll play every game out and talk about it afterwards.
I want to reach out to other playgroups here because I'm curious. What do you ban, if anything? How has it worked out so far?
Hey guys, looking for some input here. I play with a group of maybe 8 guys from my high school and college years. We all started about a year ago, and initially games were great and fairly balanced. Recently however a few players have started ramping up the power levels (and fiscal cost) of their decks, to the point that several of us feel out-gunned and ill-equiped to play at that level, myself included. We tried to fix this by evaluating our own decks as well as each others and assigning a power level based on a formula we found online. Issue is that a lot of people seem to under estimate the strengths of their decks, or refuse to play lower power decks to be closer to the other decks in the games. Do you.guys have idea how we could work to remedy this? I know I could build a better deck, but I kinda enjoy playing goofy low-power decks, and I have slightly more important financial problems than buying paper crack, as much as I would love to!
I'm specifically talking about one card win conditions where a condition needs to be met, and then you win. Good list of examples here:
https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Alternate-win_or_-loss_card
My group hates them, and I'm kind of indifferent. I think they have a place, but I do think they are a good candidate for 'tactically pulled punches' so that you're on an even playing field power wise with other players in your group.
Thoughts?
Me and my group of friends have been playing for a while. I helped introduce them to the game at first and now they're doing so well that the power of our decks make it so that we're playing less for fun and a bit more seriously.
I would like to bring something goofy to the table, not necessarily to win, but to create some funny situations with stupid mechanics or something like that. Do you guys have suggestions for a commander that could make for a good wacky deck?
Edit: we're mostly playing with home rules, so we're not very restrictive with cards
Re-edit: I did not expect to get so many replies, thank you all for the great ideas!
Before I ask, I want to make it known that I totally get that a turn in EDH could quite literally win the game so I am open to longer turns that set up win cons. But I am talking about 20min turns that simply are not productive and just stagnate. Are there ways to prevent this?
I've been thinking of curbing some of the more "high-end" decks in our playgroup, and I want to set a hard financial limit on the decks people can bring to the table. So I want to ask everyone here who has something similar in their groups on what budget has been set, how it's been received by players, and what cool stuff is still doable at your budget.
You're here because your group just started increasing the power levels of their decks. You're here because your playgroup doesn't like counters. You're here because your group thinks your decks are too powerful. You're here because your group doesn't like X or Y or you don't like X or Y.
Okay? Talk to them about it, they aren't our friends, we're not in your group. We aren't here to validate an opinion about what's fair and what's not, that's for our own playgroups to decide. I see constant discussions about this all the time. Take the time to really communicate with your group. Not just, "yeah play whatever you want." Then find out that, "wow cyclonic rift is too powerful for our group or stax/control is toxic." If you don't have 100% clear communication about what you want out of your games of commander, then why are you coming to r/EDH to ask about what to do in your playgroup? Stop, go and talk to them. If they think your decks are too strong, then ask them how to make them weaker.
I have a rule in my playgroup that got established because of something I did. I tutored for my infinite combo and won the game. So that seemed unfair to me at the moment, everyone can run tutors, counters, infinite combos. But playing against it I can see it not being too interactive or fun for everyone. So I freakin' asked like a normal human being, "hey guys what would make it more balanced to still run my deck?" So they said no infinite combos. Well that's how I win with the deck, so I compromised and said, "well that's my wincon, so how about no tutors if you're running infinite combos?" And you know what it all worked out. We also don't run counters either because everyone deserves to pop off at some point. And that's something we all talked about. So go out there and do that, it's really not hard. If they don't want to cooperate then you can start running some petty mono blue counter tribal. Or sometimes you don't want to play with them anymore and that's fine.
Just stop posting stupid group discussion nonsense unless it's about some juicy drama shit that happened. I'm here for decklists, crazy interactions, your favorite cards, combos, new set discussions, and occasionally EDH themed party ideas. Have a good day.
This cube is so much fun that it has taken over my playgroup as our default format. If you're looking for an exciting new way to play EDH, then definitely check this out. Feedback welcome! Read the deck description/primer for more info.
This isn’t about [[Counterspell]]ing their ramp; or [[Imprisoned in the Moon]]ing their commander. Nope, I want to know how you mess with your friends with MTG mechanics.
Example:
Start a storm counter on random turns in decks that would never utilize storm. [[Ayula, Queen Among Bears]]? Keep the storm count going and see how people react. Even better; announce storm count to them on their turn.
So I just need to vent a bit here. A longtime mtg player who is a friend of mine got me into magic and then in turn I got another friend of ours into it. Me and the other friend both started during Thrones of Eldraine with the rest of the playgroup starting 10+ years ago. Needless to say they have a lot more cards then me or my other friend who is newer to the magic scene. After spending $400+ in singles to build a couple decks to compete we both decided to ask of anyone cares if we proxy cards to be able to make more decks without spending all our extra cash. The playgroup said that is fine and they did not care. However whenever our decks pop off they get salty and say something along the lines of “well at least we didn’t get beat with real cards”. I generally try to keep my decks around a 6-8 power level and stay under $500. However because I can proxy cards from any of Magic’s history I can usually make a deck that has a lot of synergy. Last night I won a game with a newly made Ezuri Claw of Progress deck that I specifically did not put any creature tutors in to keep it a bit slower. After that game no one wanted to play anymore and I feel like it’s because I won with a deck that I don’t own about 50% of the cards in. The deck shows on moxfield as about $350 so nothing outrageous. I guess my question is do I just brew decks with cards I own and most likely lose every game or dump a bunch more money into mtg to compete with the pod with “real cards” because apparently even though they say they don’t care about proxies it isn’t fun to have any win feel illegitimate because of comments they make. I personally would rather play someone’s ability to brew and pilot a good deck then their wallet.
My playgroup has been playing commander together for about 4 years now and since our playgroup grew all the way to 7 players and we didn't want to have 3 player pods, we came up with a new method of playing to accommodate larger pods (5-7 players). If this game variant already exists, feel free to let me know.
All the normal rules of commander apply to this variant.
This new method involves secret roles that every player gets assigned via using sleeved basic lands
Here's the gist of the secret roles:
1 player gets the role of King (Usually a plains) (Their starting life total is 50 and they go first in the turn order) (If given this role, you must reveal the card to the table)
Everybody else's life total starts at 40
1 player gets the role of a Knight (Usually a forest)
2 players get the role of Bandits (Usually mountains)
1 player (if there's 5 players or 2 players if 6 or more people are playing) get the role of Assassin (Usually a swamp)
1 player gets the role of Usurper (if there's 7 people in the pod)
One other rule, you are not allowed to say what your role is until after the game and you cannot show your role card to anybody. There is are a few exceptions which I will explain later. Your actions speak louder than your words for the most part though.
Here's another rule that spices things up:
After roles are assigned, have everybody close their eyes and cover your eyes with your hands too (No peaking). Then have the bandits open their eyes and look at each other. This lets the bandits know who their teammate is.
If there is a usurper, the usurper also opens their eyes with the bandits (3 people have their eyes open, but now the bandits aren't quite sure who is on their side, which can make games extra funny when roles are revealed at the end)
Assassins, knights, and emperor keep their eyes shut.
After a good 20-30 seconds, have the bandits and usurper close their eyes and then have everybody open their eyes (This prevents people from not knowing who the bandits or usurper are since everybody is opening their eyes at the same time and not seeing somebody with their eyes already wide open)
Here's how each role wins:
King wins by eliminating all other players (aka being the last one standing)
Knight wins if the King wins (even if the King kills the knight, if the king wins, the knight wins too) (If the King and knight are the last 2 people standing, the knight can reveal their role card to end the game their as a win for the King a
... keep reading on reddit ➡Even though he goes to daycare 3 times a week and has some buddies there, Seamus and I are concerned that Sawyer needs some actual friends. See, this past week he’s been talking to an imaginary friend at night, and we both realized that the only people he really has to play with when he’s not at daycare are me, his dad, the cat, and the pet rock David and Ayla gave him.
It’s tough on my schedule to do different play dates with different kids on different days of the week multiple times, but I don’t want to be the reason why he’s so lonely. There are already some neighborhood kids he sees semi-regularly, but I think it could be nice to get a little group together to meet once a week. 😊
Would anyone be interested? Or does anyone know someone who would that I could get in contact with?
Sometimes you find yourself not being able to pull up to a thumb war with a nuclear weapon attached to a stealth bomber. Sometimes you can't bring a sockem' bopper to take on the death star. What decks have you built to increase or decrease power to play against a playgroup on an even level? What limitations did you give yourself or what unlimited combos did you add to keep up?
Commanders, strategies, cards in specific?
I’ve been playing with a few people for a couple of weeks now at my LGS and I’m wondering if anyone else has this fear in the back of their mind? I played a colossal dreadmaw and some of the guys I play with are a bit bigger than me so it’s been running through my mind. is this a common occurrence at LGSs?
Any bolt action playgroups in bay area, California?
Edit: there seems to be isolated groups of people planning but no official groups
Title basically explains my concern:
Friend and I are looking to expand our playgroup for Magic The Gathering. Anyone (!) is welcome, we definitley arent elitist neckbeards. Usually we play once a week.
We mostly play for fun, with somewhat homebrew decks. So no need to worry about the powerlevel. Also we got a variety of decks available you can try out.
If you are interested, hit me up with a pm. Usually I host in Friedrichshain with yummy food and other amenities ;)
So, i have been running a campaign for a group of good friends for about a year now. I really enjoy the campaign, and do my best to enhance and polish the game for them, which they appreciate. However, after a while, that can get a bit expensive, paying for new books, programs etc. Would it be rude to ask them to sometimes support the group with a bit of money to fund such things? If its just something like 5 bucks per month.
Do you feel its unreasonable to ask this from a group at this point, or would you say its fine? Also, what would be the best way to address something like that?
Good morning all! I would love to get some feedback on this Zombie Horde Deck recently built as our playgroup explores this cooperative variant to commander.
The playgroup has asked for oppressive, so do your worst!
Deck list here: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/zombie-horde-deck-co-op-mtg-variant-1/
I need some Old School people to play with. Anyone want to start a playgroup?If you're interested send me a message. I can get a Discord server setup.You may have seen me post here under my other username, VexxtheKeyforged.
My general question is how do I upgrade a precon without just following one of the dozens of guides online that tells you exactly what changes you need to make? How do I see what holes need fixing without play testing? How do I tailor it to my playgroup?
The details are that I’m a new player, but unable to actually play with my playgroup for a couple weeks due to being away. In my absence my friends have already started to upgrade their precons and I feel that I need to upgrade mine to be able to keep up, but I really don’t want to just follow a guide online. They’re doing their upgrades by just reading through singles at our LGS or that our more experienced friends already own. I would like to do something as close to that as possible online to keep my deck’s power level even with theirs.
The specifics: I have an Arcane Maelstrom precon ([[Kalamax, the Stormsire]]). I know some of the conventional ways to upgrade this deck involve creating infinite combos, but that’s too powerful for my battlecruiser playgroup. I watch their games and I’ve noticed that our Reap the Tides ([[Aesi, Tyrant of the Grye Strait]]) player tends to easily go off. The other players don’t play a lot of counters and she often has an answer to removal due to her insane card draw. Besides this, the decks are pretty balanced and I want my upgrades to fill that gap. I still want to do the work myself, but wouldn’t mind being pointed in the right direction when it comes to what to search on scryfall.
Thanks for any help!
Is there any play groups/mommy and me going on in the eureka/arcata area? Hoping to get some more socialization for my almost 2 year old. And possibly some parent friends, too!
What music do you guys listen to while you tap lands? And what is your go-to snack and drink while you cast spells? List your favorite deck as well!
We listen to 2000s rock and Coheed and Cambria, and I enjoy an IPA with some pretzels and beer cheese. Grenzo is the best!
Hello all! Our playgroup is interested in exploring the horde variant to commander, and I've put together the deck list below. Curious to get feedback on the list, but also hear other experiences with the variant.
Our group has successfully fumbled through the rule zero/power level chaos that a game of commander has turned into of late. But we were intrigued by the idea of a variant that put us against a collective evil that we work together to take down with decks we've already constructed. We are still in deck building stages - this list has been pieced together and ordered at this point, but always interested in feedback and making changes.
Thanks in advance!
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/zombie-horde-deck-co-op-mtg-variant-1/
So my siblings love MTG, but I am the only one with commander experience! I’ve told them about it and they love the idea! So I want to buy 6 decks that play well together. I’ve researched a lot about making a good playgroup, but most of the articles I find are about the commander talk and how to adjust your own power level.
Does anyone have advice on how to create a playgroup with compelling and repeatable gameplay? Since we probably won’t be able to upgrade or change decks very much, does anyone have experience playing the same decks with their playgroup and what made that fun?
Thanks so much :)
The four of us used to play Commander together fairly often back in college, but due to life circumstances over time, we'd drifted to further areas, but remained in touch and talking. These are people that, for years, I spent time with playing EDH, going out to grab drinks with, shared personal moments and connections with, etc. It had been a while since I'd played EDH in person. Some friends wanted to play last Saturday and initially, I was unsure about the long drive to my friend's place. Not that I didn't want to go, just a long drive.
I pulled through, get there and sure enough, we had a blast like old times. We had a few long games and were high energy and joking around the entire time. I won a game with my '[[Sefris of the Hidden Ways]] Exotic Imports' deck (I call it this, because there's no way that smuggling creatures into play through dungeons is not illegal) and I then lost with my '[[Old Rutstein]] Waste Management' deck. It was awesome and has helped me reignite the spark of appreciating EDH again, as well as the time spent with my friends.
I’m new to the city and looking for some card-loving companions. Fully vaxxed, so happy to play in-person, but more than willing to stay virtual via Spelltable. Let me know if you have any favorite local shops in the area as well!
One of my resolutions was to get back into MTG (specifically EDH). Anyone interested in meeting up to get some games in?
Also, if there’s any welcoming EDH scenes I should know about, please let me know. I have never truly walked into a random LCS to get games in and was a bit intimidated by it. But If they’re welcoming to new folks who are a bit rust I’d be happy to!
I’m a mid 20’s working professional, enjoy memes, music, and movies. Thanks in advance and feel free to PM!
Welcome to Moanday Mourning!
Please use this thread to discuss whatever playgroup related topics or issues you are currently having and/or would like advice on.
Consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts.
Welcome to Moanday Mourning!
Please use this thread to discuss whatever playgroup related topics or issues you are currently having and/or would like advice on.
Consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts.
Welcome to Moanday Mourning!
Please use this thread to discuss whatever playgroup related topics or issues you are currently having and/or would like advice on.
Consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts.
Welcome to Moanday Mourning!
Please use this thread to discuss whatever playgroup related topics or issues you are currently having and/or would like advice on.
Consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts.
Welcome to Moanday Mourning!
Please use this thread to discuss whatever playgroup related topics or issues you are currently having and/or would like advice on.
Consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts.
Welcome to Moanday Mourning!
Please use this thread to discuss whatever playgroup related topics or issues you are currently having and/or would like advice on.
Consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts.
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