Magic: the Gathering is probably one of the most complex games you will ever come across both in a rules sense and the various ways we can play the game. One such format I want to spend some time on is Commander Format. In this article I want to express what Commander is and why it’s a format you may be interested in.
Before I go any further I want to eliminate any possible confusion that may arise when reading this article. You may notice through out the article that I use the terms Commander and EDH (Elder Dragon highlander) interchangeably and that’s because the two formats are basically the same with minor rules differences. Also, I write this article with the paper player in mind as well as the online player. I wanted this to be an article that applies to both groups of players. If you haven’t read my article with the
Godfather of EDH, Sheldon Menery, I suggest you go do that now.
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I started playing magic right around the time Ice Age was released in paper. At first I collected the cards for the art. I am an artist at heart and love to draw. Being a fantasy enthusiast as well really brought me to the cards. The odd thing is I had no desire to play the game. I grew up playing Dungeons and Dragons. In D&D there are no boundaries. The game is only limited to your imagination. Sure there are rules to D&D, but those rules are only meant to be a guide line on how the game should be played. I felt D&D was the ultimate strategy game based on the fact there were no boundaries. Then a friend of mine sat down with me one day and showed me some of the basics of Magic. He explained the seemingly endless ways the game could be played and the infinite ways the decks could be built. I was quite surprised at the amount of complexity the game could have. My mind would just Brainstorm about the possibilities. I knew at that point I was hooked and Magic would slowly become my passion.
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I built my first competitive deck, or a deck I considered to be competitive, about one hundred and fifty cards with three colors, and made my way to a local card shop in Daytona Florida where they advertised tournaments on Fridays. This was back before Wizards of The Coast had sanctioned tournaments. To my surprise I was quickly defeated by a player playing mono green aggro when he attacked with his 1/1 Scryb Sprite and then cast Giant Growth two times and then Berserk three times killing me with the 56/56 Scryb Sprite. I was flabbergasted! This guy just turned his little green fairy into the Incredible Hulk. I felt my deck had a good chance of winning. After all it was 150 cards which meant I had lots of threats. Others pointed out the size was too big. Forty cards (which was the legal deck construction size at the time) was the max, and having more then two colors would not work, that I should narrow my choices and stick with just two colors. |
Later on after the tournament I spoke with a few of the players for a bit and they invited me to stick around for some multiplayer games. I noticed the multiplayer games were more political and social then the one vs. one games and this drew my attention to the game further. There seemed to be more interaction. My large 150+ card deck actually had purpose and playing with a group of people seemed a lot more enjoyable then just one opponent.
Fast forward some thirteen years later. I have moved to the Metro Orlando Florida area. I have been playing in a Saturday play group that focuses on nothing but multiplayer games. One day one of the members tells me about this new format called Elder Dragon Highland. I say to him, “Highlander? I have played highlander decks before. You can only have 1 of each spell and each non basic land in the whole sixty card deck.” He goes on to say that it is true that you can only have one of each spell and non basic land, but the decks are exactly one hundred cards with a dedicated “General” that you can cast at anytime as long as you meet the mana requirements. Also, you have to build the deck with spells that fit the colors of you general. I remembered those earlier years of when I first started out playing magic, and that big 150 card I played. The fun I experienced learning the game. EDH would bring back that freshness of the early years and put me on a journey to rediscover Magic for the first time again.
I went home that night and built my first deck using Rhys the Redeemed as my general. I would learn that EDH is all about playing flashy spells, interacting with your opponents, and most importantly having a good time. The next week I showed up with my Rhys deck and the excitement began. There was a sense of anxiety and excitement when playing my highlander deck and not knowing what card was coming up next. There was also anticipation you have knowing there are 99 cards in the deck and hoping to draw that one card that will get you out of a tight situation. The game was all about casting large flashy spells and attacking with huge immense creatures. Then there were the crazy combos. I can remember one player having out a Prince of Thralls and then casting Smallpox. Then of course there was a great time of just socializing with each other. There were taunts, and displays of ego, and the occasional dare, with someone rising to the occasion. Needless to say it was a great time, and this is just a small example of what Commander and EDH can hold.
So if you are still reading, then you must have a desire to play Commander or EDH. The first thing you need to know is the rules. There are subtle differences in the rules of Commander and EDH. Let’s take a look at the rules, and unless otherwise noted, the rules will be the same for both formats.
1. Players must choose a legendary creature as the "General" (EDH) or “Commander” (Commander) for their deck.
2. The deck is constructed of exactly 100 including their commander/general.
3. The General's mana cost defines what color of mana symbols may appear on cards in the deck. This rules applies to both formats, except in Commander you can have a commander with an off color activation ability. This has to do with the programming for the game for MTGO.
4. Being a General is not a characteristic [MTG CR109.3], it is a property of the card. As such, "Generalness" cannot be copied or overwritten by continuous effects, and does not change with control of the card.
5. If a player has been dealt 21 points of combat damage by a particular General during the game, that player loses a game
6. While a General is in the command zone, it may be cast. As an additional cost to cast a General from the command zone, its owner must pay {2} for each time it was previously cast from the command zone.
7. If a General would be put into a graveyard or exile from anywhere, its owner may choose to move it to the command zone instead.
8. Generals are subject to the Legend rule; they will be put into the graveyard or command zone at the same time as any other Legendary creatures with the same name.
9. A deck may not generate mana outside its colors. If an effect would generate mana of an illegal color, it generates colorless mana instead.
10. With the exception of basic lands, no two cards in the deck may have the same English name.
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11. EDH is played with vintage legal cards, with two exceptions:
a. cards are legal as of their set's prerelease
b. Shahrazad is legal for play in EDH
Shahrazad only applying to EDH as it is not currently in MTGO.
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12. The banned and restricted list is as follows:
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The above list applies to EDH specifically. The only difference in this list is that Riftsweeper is still currently banned in Commander. Also added to the Commander banned list is Braids, Cabal Minion, who is only banned as a General for EDH. Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary is also banned in EDH as a general, where he isn’t banned for as a commander for Commander. Cards listed that are not in MTGO will probably be eventually added to the Commander banned list as they are released to MTGO.
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13. New: Abilities which refer to other cards owned outside the game (Wishes, Spawnsire, Research, Ring of Ma'ruf) do not function in EDH unless the optional sideboard rule is in use. If sideboards are used, wishes and similar cards may retrieve sideboard cards.
This rules applies specifically to EDH and not for Magic online since cards like this are restricted to access of your sideboard when playing timed games. I am not sure if wishes work for Commander outside of timed games, but adding them to your deck and checking the legality under the deck creator will tell you its legality.
14. Players begin the game with 40 life.
Other then the rules listed here, EDH and Commander are played with the standard rules of Free For All play.
“What makes Commander appealing?” Well first of all the card requirements are not as stringent. Having four of any specific card is not important. All you need is one copy or a particular spell. So opening that single Primeval Titan you got out of a few random packs you purchased, no longer seems like a lost cause. Before Commander, I would look at a single Primeval Titan and think two things. It’s a good bargaining piece that I could use it to get four of something I really needed, and, if I wanted to get a play set to play them in a decent deck, I would trade or pay out my butt to get the other three. Now my single Primeval Titan is not sitting in my binder collecting dust, assuming I haven’t traded it. It now has purpose and becomes an intricate piece in my one hundred card grand scheme of things. Opening packs has never been more exciting. No longer will you look at expensive single cards with the thought of pawning your Xbox 360. Purchasing just one Baneslayer Angel is all you will need. For that matter you don’t even need expensive staples. EDH has been dubbed the “dollar rare” format for a reason. Cards that have no place in the constructed tournament world now have purpose in EDH. Would you play a legacy legal deck with Phelddagrif? Would you play an extended deck with (Akroma’s Memorial)? How about a standard deck with Carnage Altar? Do you need a card that requires you to remove all the creatures you opponents’ control and you can’t afford Damnation? How about Plague Wind as a substitute? Now cards like Demystify and Syphon Mind have a place.
I literally own thousands of cards both online and in paper. A majority of those cards would go untouched for years until I was introduced to EDH.
Other appealing aspects of Commander are play style and commander selection. In this format there is no need to know which deck is the most dominant. No metagame to learn. You aren’t forced into a particular strategy. You have choices. You choose your commander and build your decks around the style of player you like to be. Are you an aggro player? Then maybe you will build a deck that utilizes the speed of green and the power of Kamahl, Fist of Krosa. Are you a control player? Maybe you would be better suited for blue utilizing the control power of Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir. I know. You want a tool box deck, something that can get you out of any jam. Then you may want to build a five color deck around Horde of Notions. Your deck defines you. It’s an extension of your personality. One thing I want to point out, and that is choosing the right commander for you is important, but it is also important to choose the right commander for your play group and I will get more into that in following articles.
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The final aspect of Commander, and the cornerstone on which the format was built, is social interaction. EDH was meant to be a way for a group of people with similar interest to get together and have a good time. Whether you win or loose, it’s all about interacting with your opponents and this is eminent as rule number one under the social rules on the EDH website.
“EDH is designed to promote social interaction.
It is founded (and dependent) on a social contract, otherwise known as a gentleman's agreement. Unsporting conduct (whether extreme or simply "being a jerk") should not be tolerated by players. Refusing to play with antisocial persons is the fastest way to better EDH community. “
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So to sum it up, Commander and EDH are pretty much the same format with slightly different rules. Cost effectiveness of the formats is much friendlier on your pocket then most formats. Both formats have a lot of creative room when it comes to deck building. Most important, EDH and Commander are social formats meant to promote interacting with the other players of the game.
Join me in my next article as I go over Commander Deck building suggestions and strategies. Until Next time, Be kind to your fellow players, and remember to have fun.
12 Comments
I just played a real commander game for the first time last night! With Elspeth banned I couldn't play in my Standard DE, so I dropped a couple tix on some wizards for an Azami EDH deck. It was pretty fun, though I managed to damn near deck myself. I did feel a little awkward playing counterspells though, like I was ruining a "fun" format XD
There are people who try to play a counterspell deck. the thing is once the rest of the group realizes it, they all tend to gang up on you. I ussually only counter game changing spells that negativly effect me. Such as a Wrath of God when I have a ton of creatures out.
If you are worried about decking, run quest for ancient secrets or the new artifact from M11 that lets you recycle the graveyard back into the library and gain 5 life.
Making a new comment as I forgot to rate XD Anyway I wasn't so much worried as I was suprised that I had dug so deep so quickly. I wasn't really interested in playing control, and was only running Deprive, Cancel and Counterspell "just in case", but I guess it's all the same to everyone else :P
Counters do take some of the fun out of the game as playing vs them changes the dynamics quite a bit. However I find that most counter decks do not fare all that well in the format and they tend to not be as unfun as you would assume at first thought. I haven't played in ages, mostly because I have no desire to see Emrakul across the board. (Yes it is easily dealt with but it is a card that imho DOES make magic less fun.) Yesterday I played a casual tribal game with a conscription deck and felt guilty afterward. Annihilator is just so dirty.
Good stuff. Counters definitely have a place in the game and are very useful. The only problem is if you play too many. Then people will get annoyed or hang up on you. But many times people can be happy when counters come out, like if you get rid of blatant thievery. One unhappy opponent but two happy ones.
"8. Generals are subject to the Legend rule; they will be put into the graveyard or command zone at the same time as any other Legendary creatures with the same name."
This is not 100% correct!
For example, say my General happens to be Progenitus, and I cast him. If another players casts Progenitus, and it is NOT that player's General, HIS Progenitus goes to the graveyard while mine remains alive! Also, if 2 players happen to be playing the same general, they can BOTH be on the table simultaneously. So in this case, the Legend rule does NOT apply!!
Great Article btw, good job! :-)
depends on your playgroup.
AFAIK, the "Official" rules subject generals to the legendary rule just like other legendary cards.
edit:
just found it:
http://www.dragonhighlander.net/EDH_Root/changelog.php
September 9th, 2009:
Major changes:
* Generals are not immune to the legend(rule).
Yeah, this is true online. Your commander is immune to the legend rule. I don't know if they are going to ever fix it either.
So for Magic Online, the General will not die to a legend of the same named creature if it's not a genreal itself?
Here's an example for online.
Say your general is Mirri the Cursed if you play her and some one else plays a version from their deck there's dies and yours dosen't.
If you play Mirri the Cursed as your commander and some one else also plays Mirri the Cursed which is also their commander then nothing happens and they both stay in play.
Interesting. I did not know that. I was afraid to play my commander one night because someone else had the same one.