Why EDH/Commander?

by Shawn Leonardo,  CommanDollar

Propaganda  artwork by Clint Cearley
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It’s Game Night, and your friends gather together for a night of chaos and entertainment; two games later, the night is over, everyone packs up and goes their separate ways. For those unaware of the format, only playing two games in one night sounds both grueling and boring. Why would people play a format that takes so long? If you have been skeptical or downright against playing EDH/Commander, I would recommend giving this a once-over.

The EDH/Commander format is, like all other Magic: the Gathering formats, an acquired taste. There certainly are aspects of the format’s culture that can attract or repel players, though it deserves explanation  before making a final judgement. 
I have been playing EDH/Commander since around fall of 2011. My first deck was hastily assembled with  Darigaaz, the Igniter  at the helm; I was also the first player removed in my first game, and that almost made me abandon the format. Obviously, I stuck with it and now enjoy a good match. But what draws a player who was at first scorned?

The Singleton Strategy

Unlike most formats, EDH/Commander is highlander specific-meaning that only one copy of a card aside from basic lands can be in the deck. While cards with similar effects can make their way into the 99, the sheer number of cards makes getting one specific card far more difficult-and statistically improbable-than hoping to draw one of a playset from a 60-card deck. The game becomes a longer strategic bout from that, as well as the increased life totals and pool of cards players can access. While there are staples and ban lists in all supported formats, including EDH/Commander, The  15,000+ cards  and  600+ legendary creatures  allow for a diverse combination to be seen at every table-and rest assured, games often do take up the whole table!

Multiplayer Glory
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The foundation of EDH/Commander was in a social multiplayer experience, and while the typical 1-versus-1 matches (commonly known as French Commander or Duel Commander) have interest, the roots of the game grow deep. The joy of multiplayer magic comes in both inclusiveness and politics, which soon brought me back to the table, eager for another shot. Even if someone claims to “ignore politics” within a game, that itself warps the other players’ play style in the match-up. In the end, who won, who betrayed who, the fatal plays-and misplays-create an experience worth repeating. Your deck may be the sloppiest 100 pieces of paper ever assembled, yet can have the capability to claim victory, thanks to the chaos of multiplayer magicking. Also, with the incredible amount of possibilities EDH/Commander can create, each match has the potential to be unique-in the haunting words of the Hunger Games, “May the odds be ever in your favor!”

Eternal Change​

The financial aspect that drew me back into playing EDH/Commander was the lack of rotation-something that instantly made me drop playing standard and swapping over to something more financially applicable. While decks can be worth anywhere from $20 to several thousand, you have the capability to upgrade them over time, learning strategy and deck tech along the way. Formats like standard may have decks worth slightly less, yet the rotation involved in the format makes everything add up in a shorter period of time. Trading/buying cards for EDH/Commander is often a purposeful investment, a slow but steady progression to building the deck you truly will be satisfied with-though that rarely happens. Decks are built, come apart and are rebuilt as often as a child builds with and destroys Lego sets.  If someone does set in stone a deck they enjoy however, that deck can remain unchanged for as long as they wish; the rare card being banned may occur, however as stated before, the sheer volume of cards to choose from as replacement make all the difference. ​

The Biggest Reason of All

EDH/Commander is great and amazing for all the aforementioned reasons, yet there is one final piece as to why the format is incredible, though only for a small portion of the crowd. Something special. Something like getting to say…

So play. To have fun, to include a massive amount of people, to have to change very little (or a lot), and to play that one card that you never could play anywhere else. Happy gaming, folks.

* This post was originally published at CommanDollar on Tumblr. 

Shawn Leonardo is a casual Magic: the Gathering blogger, and mainly discusses the EDH/Commander format as well as budget solutions. He resides in northern New Jersey, where he plots world domination.
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