My current play group is very casual. We like to have our fun, sometimes bordering on the rediculous. I'm finding, though, that my decks are becoming increasingly more competitive and that only a couple of guys at the table can keep up. When we play I stick to 2 or 3 of my decks with more fun interactions and fewer win cons, neglecting my Omnath, Locus of Rage and Animar decks, which win 9/10 times.
My question is have you guys heard of a competitive commander league in your area similar to FNM? If so, what is the play structure like?
Or is it somewhat unheard of since commander is largely casual?
There's definitely competitive groups out there. It's probably best talked about with your local LGS's, as they'll have more of an idea of who's building what. At least, that's where I'd go to find a group, my LGS guy is a decent guy who has a good idea of what people like and tries his best to cater for it.
I play at an LGS with fairly extreme variance, skewed toward >95% decks on one end and <50% on the other. It works a lot like undersea biology, with pressure and light symbolizing minimum card optimization threshold and stringency of play environment respectively. The deeper you go, the increasing pressure and scarcity of light limit the amount of viable competing individuals in a given strata. There's about a dozen firmly casual players comprising the "tide pools" of the meta, where abundance of light and lack of pressure allow all sorts of silly decks to pop up any time, i.e. crabs, minnows, and sand fleas. My preferred opponents and I are all around 75-80%, and considering there's about 7-10 of us, we're more like continental shelf. Sharks, some big fish, some weird fish, but fins, armor, or teeth are required.
And then there's the abyssal plain, about 5 players, all very experienced, no punches pulled. They allow proxies to render financial barriers moot, but there's really no competing even with a full stack of print-outs. Their regular play environment is so insular and unforgiving that very few outsiders can regularly sustain play with them. The ramp stage of the game is almost completely removed, so any hand without a card to play on turn 1, 2, AND 3 is very nearly unplayable. Bizarre creatures evolved to survive in bizarre, hostile places.
Never seen a league work out before, only collapse. From what I've seen, points systems are built to be farmed and no one digs LGS house-bans around these parts.
Some of the people at my playgroup (myself included) have pretty highly tuned decks - Tasigur, Rashmi, Animar, Tana&Tymna, Breya, Edric etc. However, we only really play those decks against each other, and we all also have more casual decks which we bring out when we're playing with those who don't like (or can't afford) competitive EDH, or simply when we want some variety - cEDH is great fun, but so is getting out my Xenagos deck and dropping some fatties. And overall, we find this works very well.
I'd suggest sitting down and having a chat with your playgroup and see how everyone feels - if there are people who want to keep pushing the power level, then propose that those who are interested in a higher powered format tune up one or two decks, but also everyone keeps at least one sillier "casual" deck for the times when you want to be playing that kind of match, and that you also agree to generally play each type of deck against it's compatriots.
And we don't do a league or anything like that - the prize for winning the competitive games is bragging rights down the pub after the gaming - and in general, I'd advise against it. Maybe the occasional tournament with the expectation that no-one pulls any punches (once there's prizes on the line, I'm playing my strongest deck and I'd fully expect everyone else to do), but keep the majority of your EDH games "for fun" (which does not mean casual, people play cEDH for fun every bit as much as people play crawwurm.dec for fun) rather than for some kind of prize or ranking.
In my city (Montreal, Canada), there are a lot of LGSs. Most of them cater to the casual commander crowd, even the ones with organized EDH events. However, one store does 1v1 (French) Commander FNM events, and some of the more competitive stores have cutthroat multiplayer EDH events.
There is also an interstore league called EDH Mafia that has a very cutthroat meta.
I think if you are looking to play competitively, to look at organized EDH events in your city/area. Any time prizes are on the line, it will be an event that will get more and more competitive as time goes by.
Side events and big events are also a good place to find competitive players. Find out where they usually play!
I actually have a slightly related question. A few guys in my group actually have finely tuned "competitive" commander decks i.e. Food Chain Prosh, etc. I would like to build something that could stand up to that so they don't have to keep those decks boxed to be "fair". While I appreciate that, I would enjoy playing against those decks, if I have a chance. Which brings me to my issue. I do not have a large budget. Are there any ACTUALLY COMPETITIVE commander decks that can be built on a budget? I have been searching high and low, and I can't find anything that's really competitive that I'm not having to buy swords or Cryptic, or whatever for...I'd like to think something non blue mono-colored could work. But, what??? I'm not trying to hijack the thread. I just don't know where else to ask the question.
sad thing is if your going competitve if your in two plus colors you'll be playing shocks fetches and duals. even most 75% decks still play shocks and fetches.
krenko mob boss could possibly made cheap and catch someone off balance but purphoros isn't cheap either.
there is a guy we play who claims to be casual, but still wins 9/10 times when he is getting focused. I think he does not understand what the difference between "spreading the love" (attacking everyone equally) and "Competative" is. He claims his derevi deck is nice and group hug (Which it is not. While Awakening may be a group hug card, it is not good when he can abuse it such as creating 20+ tokens before his next turn.
Are there any ACTUALLY COMPETITIVE commander decks that can be built on a budget?
Depends on how competitive you need it to be. If you need a deck so competitive that it needs Duals and/or Mana Crypt, then, well, you're pretty much out of luck.
If you are okay with cutting some of the most expensive stuff and losing a bit of power/consistency, however, you can build many combo decks that will smash most metas fairly reliably without needing to mortgage the house. Arcum Dagsson, for example, can probably be built on a budget lower than your average competitive Standard deck and is still explosively strong, since all you really need is Arcum, protection, and a couple of infinite combos. Even if you can't afford a Mana Drain, you can probably afford a Negate, which will protect Arcum just as well 99% of the time.
Yisan, Wanderer Bard can be built decently on a budget. Most of the expensive cards a pretty much staples in green decks, so you can pick them up slowly and still have them be useful for other decks.
My go-to recommendation for a budget friendly EDH deck is The Gitrog Monster. It doesn't have blue, it plays some really obscure cards, and it doesn't really care about playing against counterspells. The expensive cards do make the deck better, but only marginally, and you can just play more removal spells instead.
The other more budget way to play CEDH is to slow down the table to your speed, not try to keep up with them. Cards like Cursed Totem, Rest in Peace, and the new Damping Sphere can really put the hurt on alot of CEDH decks. I've had some really memorable moments playing Kaalia Geddon against decks that were technically much better.
The other thing you can do is ask your playgroup if you can proxy some of the more expensive cards. It would be good to just test the cards out to see if you even like them before you invest in them anyways. Encourage your group to do the same. Honestly, I find it more fun to play with the cards you want to play anyways, instead of the cards you can afford, even for casual metas. Even something as simple as improving your manabase can lead to more memorable games.
if you are building a 75% deck is it really cEDH? edric uses cradle and craterhoof. you can make a decent 75% list but you could say the same for all mono blue decks. juyst drop command mana drain and replace with other counters and you could do arcum really cheap. even with a cheap mana base you could do zur on ther cheap but again without three mana base I don't think many would consider that cEDH
Azami, Lady of Scrolls as Wizard tribal can be built for under $100. Obviously no Mana Drain, Force of Will, or Snapcaster Mage, but a simple cheap card like Intruder Alarm does incredible work, along with High Tide. Maybe spend a little extra and grab a Mind over Matter ($18) or a Palinchron ($15).
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You don't call "dying to removal" if the removal is more expensive in resources than the creature. If you have to spend BG (Abrupt Decay), or W + basic land (PtE) to remove a 1G, that is not "dying to removal". Strictly speaking Goyf dies to removal, but actually your removal is dying to Goyf.
Thank you Teysa_Karlov, and the rest of you. While I'm not super excited to play blue, Azami is pretty insane...and, the nice thing is that blue does two things, really...permission, and draw. And, as long as you can meet certain conditions, less expensive options exist for the more expensive options (i.e. Foilor Thwart for Force of Will, Gush for Ancestral Visions, etc.) I love green. But, not having access to a "real" Gaea's Cradle makes things waaaaayyyy harder. With that being said, I guess it's off to the drawing board...lol.
I love green. But, not having access to a "real" Gaea's Cradle makes things waaaaayyyy harder. With that being said, I guess it's off to the drawing board...lol.
Growing Rites of Itlimoc says hi. It's not perfect, but in mono green, it's so easy to flip its laughable.
My question is have you guys heard of a competitive commander league in your area similar to FNM? If so, what is the play structure like?
Or is it somewhat unheard of since commander is largely casual?
And then there's the abyssal plain, about 5 players, all very experienced, no punches pulled. They allow proxies to render financial barriers moot, but there's really no competing even with a full stack of print-outs. Their regular play environment is so insular and unforgiving that very few outsiders can regularly sustain play with them. The ramp stage of the game is almost completely removed, so any hand without a card to play on turn 1, 2, AND 3 is very nearly unplayable. Bizarre creatures evolved to survive in bizarre, hostile places.
Never seen a league work out before, only collapse. From what I've seen, points systems are built to be farmed and no one digs LGS house-bans around these parts.
I'd suggest sitting down and having a chat with your playgroup and see how everyone feels - if there are people who want to keep pushing the power level, then propose that those who are interested in a higher powered format tune up one or two decks, but also everyone keeps at least one sillier "casual" deck for the times when you want to be playing that kind of match, and that you also agree to generally play each type of deck against it's compatriots.
And we don't do a league or anything like that - the prize for winning the competitive games is bragging rights down the pub after the gaming - and in general, I'd advise against it. Maybe the occasional tournament with the expectation that no-one pulls any punches (once there's prizes on the line, I'm playing my strongest deck and I'd fully expect everyone else to do), but keep the majority of your EDH games "for fun" (which does not mean casual, people play cEDH for fun every bit as much as people play crawwurm.dec for fun) rather than for some kind of prize or ranking.
There is also an interstore league called EDH Mafia that has a very cutthroat meta.
I think if you are looking to play competitively, to look at organized EDH events in your city/area. Any time prizes are on the line, it will be an event that will get more and more competitive as time goes by.
Side events and big events are also a good place to find competitive players. Find out where they usually play!
8.RG Green Devotion Ramp/Combo 9.UR Draw Triggers 10.WUR Group stalling 11.WUR Voltron Spellslinger 12.WB Sacrificial Shenanigans
13.BR Creatureless Panharmonicon 14.BR Pingers and Eldrazi 15.URG Untapped Cascading
16.Reyhan, last of the Abzan's WUBG +1/+1 Counter Craziness 17.WUBRG Dragons aka Why did I make this?
Building: The Gitrog Monster lands, Glissa the Traitor stax, Muldrotha, the Gravetide Planeswalker Combo, Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix + Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa Clues, and Tribal Scarecrow Planeswalkers
krenko mob boss could possibly made cheap and catch someone off balance but purphoros isn't cheap either.
UB Vela the Night-Clad BUDecklist
WBG Ghave, Guru of Spores GBW
WUBRGThe Ur-DragonWUBRGDecklist
Depends on how competitive you need it to be. If you need a deck so competitive that it needs Duals and/or Mana Crypt, then, well, you're pretty much out of luck.
If you are okay with cutting some of the most expensive stuff and losing a bit of power/consistency, however, you can build many combo decks that will smash most metas fairly reliably without needing to mortgage the house. Arcum Dagsson, for example, can probably be built on a budget lower than your average competitive Standard deck and is still explosively strong, since all you really need is Arcum, protection, and a couple of infinite combos. Even if you can't afford a Mana Drain, you can probably afford a Negate, which will protect Arcum just as well 99% of the time.
My go-to recommendation for a budget friendly EDH deck is The Gitrog Monster. It doesn't have blue, it plays some really obscure cards, and it doesn't really care about playing against counterspells. The expensive cards do make the deck better, but only marginally, and you can just play more removal spells instead.
The other more budget way to play CEDH is to slow down the table to your speed, not try to keep up with them. Cards like Cursed Totem, Rest in Peace, and the new Damping Sphere can really put the hurt on alot of CEDH decks. I've had some really memorable moments playing Kaalia Geddon against decks that were technically much better.
The other thing you can do is ask your playgroup if you can proxy some of the more expensive cards. It would be good to just test the cards out to see if you even like them before you invest in them anyways. Encourage your group to do the same. Honestly, I find it more fun to play with the cards you want to play anyways, instead of the cards you can afford, even for casual metas. Even something as simple as improving your manabase can lead to more memorable games.
"I hope to have such a death... lying in triumph atop the broken bodies of those who slew me..."
Growing Rites of Itlimoc says hi. It's not perfect, but in mono green, it's so easy to flip its laughable.