Column Review and Preview

Over the last five weeks, this column has covered a series of modifications that folks might want to consider after they have played around with their preconstructed Commander decks. Writing the series was a blast, and I plan to continue future articles for some of the most-requested modification ideas. For example, many readers mentioned significant interest in rebuilding the Devour for Power deck using The Mimeoplasm as the Commander. I have already started construction and play-testing on this build. We should be sharing that article with you guys next Monday!

Other readers have noted interest in very competitive Commander builds. I tend to generate and play Commander decks for multiple reasons. I am an unrepentant Spike and love tournament play. However, I play a couple of casual games a week and participate in two weekly leagues. The social contract and general interest in promoting a positive, casual league atmosphere require players to avoid super-competitive builds. We still create outstanding game states, play (but don’t overplay) our infinite win conditions, and punch each other in the heads with great strategy, but our focus remains on interactivity and fun.

With that stated, I love to brew. Most of the deck ideas I craft start out as very complex decks with multiple roads to victory. Once in a proverbial blue moon, one or two of those roads turns out to be a degenerate superhighway. For league play and casual gaming, I tend to retire the busted stuff and pare down my win conditions to fulfill the social contract. If there is enough interest, I might demonstrate some of the newer broken strategies that can be employed in the format. They are interesting and can promote great deck-construction brainstorming, but I fear the worst. I tend to promote a certain style of play that deemphasizes the ability to break the world’s most abusable format in lieu of fun and social enjoyment.

My internal war rages on as I consider the implications of publishing broken combos, hated deck ideas, and degenerate interactions. Some folks will read the deck ideas and understand the maturity required to explore such ideas while ultimately reducing their power level or abandoning the most broken features in a journey to long-term enjoyment. However, I am fearful that some players will skip over the important deck-balancing process in exchange for very unbalanced deck features. I would be interested in hearing feedback in the forums. Should we write articles that outline the most broken and competitive strategies, or should we be spending our time working in other directions?

My articles aim to inform, entertain, and guide players by sharing stories from my personal Commander experiences. Many times, I see new tournament players struggle while making the transition into Commander. Spikes show up for league play with broken decks with lots of fantastic, powerful cards and synergies. Some aim to win quickly, while others are determined to execute their prison-style lockout with brutal efficiency. These players tend to share one of two fates. If they refuse to adapt to the social norms of casual play and the widely adopted “unwritten rules” of Commander, they find themselves alone. Players shun them in pickup games and gang up on the “broken” deck before it can get going. Other players make some adjustments, learn the unwritten rules, and continue a successful career piloting balanced decks over the course of league play.

The Unwritten Rules

In my local group, there seem to be two factions forming. Like the rivalry between Star Wars fanboys and Star Trek diehards, the Magic players have chosen sides. Some players choose a Commander and sling their hundred-card creations, while others rock the Cube. There are few instances in which Commander players construct and draft Cubes, and an almost exclusive club of Cube players who won’t touch the Highlander decks.

There are some popular Magic personalities who have chosen sides on this issue. One year ago, Evan Irwin and I attended a PTQ in Atlanta, and he mentioned his love for Cube drafting. I mentioned my affinity for Highlander, and he proceeded to explain some reasons that he disliked EDH. There were a couple of other high-profile Magic players on Twitter talking about Cube drafts, and some folks mentioned that they did not really like Commander. I began wondering why some players leaned one way rather than the other.

My hypotheses seemed reasonable. One format is Limited, and the other is Constructed. These are not mutually exclusive, but players generally have a preference one way or the other. Commander can appear to be more random and somewhat more casual, while Cube drafting might lean toward a more competitive direction with the possibility for more deck consistency. My final guess fell along financial and logistical lines. Players might simply not have the time and resources (both monetary and cardboard) to support both habits. Many players like to foil the cards in their Cubes when possible. Some Commander players also like to foil their Highlander decks. It is pretty hard to buy up two copies of all the greatest cards in Magic. That endeavor seems both time-consuming and expensive.

When the question was posed on Twitter, my Tweeps responded in a number of ways. Many players noted the obvious. It is not a true, forced choice, and many enjoy doing both. However, the single-faction folks critiqued various aspects of the other format. Commander players mentioned the difficulty assembling enough people to draft, the expense of a “pimped-out” Cube, and the occasional disdain for Limited play. Cube drafters noted a specific concern with the inconsistency and casual nature found at Commander tables, and a few players stated that they did not really understand the casual, social contracts that govern the Commander playgroups.

One astute Twitter responder indicated that he did not understand the “unwritten rules” of the format, the social contract, and generally thought there were too many players trying to play the role of “fun police.” I have mentioned in previous articles that Commander players can venture down the road to ruin by adopting a hypocritical attitude in which everything in my deck is “clever” and everything in your deck is “broken.” The fun police and politics associated in determining who is playing “fair” and who is breaking the social contract can be a real turn-off for a number of players.

Fun Police and Politics

While I had initially felt that card availability or other material resources might contribute to the segregation of Cube drafters and Commander playgroups, I quickly began to understand that a number of interested players fled the format due to the complex social politics and unwritten policies that drive many playgroups. In fact, politics and these unwritten rules have actually become a major barrier to entry for our favorite format.

Many players noted that they did not understand the widely held social contract that governs Commander players. Robby Rothe wrote an interesting article last week noting the tolerance and exposure that various playgroups have to certain strategies. I have met players and playgroups that span the casual/competitive continuum. There are groups that don’t tolerate any infinite combos; they hate land destruction, and the players complain about discard and milling, and ultimately constrict the types of win conditions available in their playgroup. In contrast, I play in a second league where nearly anything goes. Players find a great deal of joy in poisoning an opposing player to death on turn four, blowing up all the permanents, and going infinite with little remorse. Both groups tend to function just fine. The importance is the adherence to the social contract.

Some playgroups ban the terror Robby mentioned, Vicious Shadows. Others don’t blink when it wipes out the table. Some groups abhor combos, and other groups play almost exclusively combo decks. How is a new player going to negotiate a format where the variance between socially acceptable play is so varied? This is a real concern.

Play Like This, Don’t Do That

There are multiple roads to joining a local playgroup, tournament scene, or league. Many players make the transition from FNM. They see a bunch of players they know from FNM with giant hundred-card decks playing a crazy form of multiplayer Magic, get the invite, and start brewing. We will call these players Converts. There are a few players who join a playgroup because they have played in another store or another town. These players are the Transplants. Finally, there are an increasing number of players who start playing Commander as their first format. This used to be very rare, but some players’ first exposure to paper Magic is Commander. This is a mind-blowing fact for seasoned MtG veterans, but might become more and more common as the format grows.

As a champion for your format, you might choose to deal with these players in various ways. You can try to foster the keepers, drive away the competitive Spikes, and protect the hive from evil. When a player shows up to your playgroup with a very weak deck, opens a preconstructed deck, or breaks out the unsleeved hundred-card pile, you might tend to lend him or her a helping hand. Some players provide mentorship. They offer play guides, web references, and helpful card-selection tips. It is easy to build up “nonthreatening” players who are eager to join in the fun.

However, the hardest thing that you might do as a Commander ambassador is invite a very competitive player to stick around in hopes of adjusting to your rules. I have noticed that larger, established groups tend to socially punish and isolate really competitive players. At times, this might be justified, but the early steps of fostering adjustment should be cooperation rather than competition. Rather than pushing a player away from the group, it might be useful to invite him or her into a dialogue about the league’s social norms. The unwritten rules are hard to understand for players who are used to competitive play. The politics in any group can be brutal, and many Magic players have less than perfect social skills. It can be a sort of “double jeopardy” to challenge these players to learn unwritten social rules while punishing them for trying.

Every group has run into a player who simply does not want to abide by any social contract. However, most groups generate a social barrier to entry but provide little in the way of positive mentorship to overcome the barrier.

Breaking Down the Barrier

To conclude, we will cover some strategies that have been helpful in keeping players engaged in league play. Not only do you want to retain membership of Commander players, but also you have the unique opportunity to grow as a playgroup and incorporate more and more play styles and opinions into a group that is not simply closed off to changes or challenging new members.

Make an Ideal Commander Deck

Take some time, pool your playgroup’s resources, and have some fun. Generate the “perfect” starter Commander deck that might be loaned to players interested in exploring the format and playing in your league. Not only will this allow your group to discuss its social norms and desired outcomes, but also it can be a good resource for players investigating what the format is all about. Maybe a Spike shows up at your tournament and kills everyone at the table with his mill/Leyline of the Void deck. Rather than casting the player into social isolation, consider engaging that player and loaning him a deck designed to meet your group’s expectations.

You can introduce players to new cards, share strategies, and provide play opportunities to players who have not yet built a deck. You might also be able to show folks with a “broken deck” which strategies are desired (and undesired) in your playgroup.

Publish the Unwritten Rules

Here is a wild idea: If you have group norms and league rules, publish them and make them available to new players! If your group bans additional cards or hates land destruction, create a guide that outlines your playgroup’s banned list and desired interactions. Make the unwritten rules written.

Reinforce the Play You Want

If you want to promote social play, reward social behavior rather than simply winning or killing opposing players. Many Commander leagues make an early misstep. They outline a bunch of social interactions, claim a casual orientation, and “encourage” political play, but provide tournament prizes for competitive play. Instead, consider rewarding participation and sportsmanship, and following your published social contract. Reinforce the behavior that you would like to encourage; don’t say one thing but reinforce another.

Provide New-Player Mentors

Imagine being a Transplant or a Convert. There is a great deal of information that you need to negotiate. There are players whom you have never met; maybe you’re building your first deck, and maybe you don’t know all the rules. It might be helpful to have a few players who could be assigned to guide new players through the beginning steps of the format, share the group’s norms, provide some play with the “ideal deck,” and answer questions. If a new player has the motivation and desire to build a Commander deck, he or she will need some advice and mentoring. I know it can be easy to build a net deck that is too strong or too weak. It can also be a problem if folks are spending money on cards that will make them social pariahs. Maybe a mentor could smooth the transition.

I am interested to hear about your own league or playgroup’s experience with new and transplanted players who don’t seem to understand the unwritten rules. Do you have players who try to join in but don’t get it? Have you encountered the super-competitive Spike? Did your group hate him out, drive him away, or help him make some adjustments? Commander politics and social norms can be a huge barrier. Maybe this article can spark some conversation that will help playgroups recruit new players and aid transplanted players in overcoming these concerns.