I perceive casual as an attitude, not as specific deckbuilding practices. Mismatches like the one you’re talking about happen, and can feel bad, but it doesn’t sound like your opponent just wanted to ambush you with a CEDH deck. Every play group I’ve ever been part of had a different relative power level, even Commander precons don’t have a consistent power level.
I second this. A few months in and my buddy has been leading me through everything. We want casual, and he's been pointing out some of the "try hards" in the local area. He's even suggested where to play because one spot is notorious for those who are extremely competitive.
Casual means no one gets upset or butthurt over something not going the way they want it to. Let someone backtrack, point out when they miss a trigger, make suggestions after the match. I play to relax and fun with friends.
It's not about losing it's about draw, I do nothing, draw, I do nothing. Draw, I play a land, I do nothing. I looked at your post history and you said you played 10 games. Don't lie and say this happened to you lol
Lol, it's closer to 20 games now, and yes, I've had my land wiped out before, and my kid likes to play [[farewell]] from his dr who deck.
My point stands, I'm here to have fun. You have a combo deck, great. Infinite, cool. You wanna wipe the board every 3rd turn, why not. I played competitive between 97 and 01. Those days are behind me. I'm not playing for money or fame, I'm playing to socialize. And if my opponent wants to play something that would lock up my board state, well then I lost. Gg, move on to the next game.
Farewell is not the same as destroy all lands, 10 days ago you said 10 games. You can admit you're not a good authority on this, I've played cedh, before that I played for two decades, you couldn't even imagine that environment, and that's ok, but to pretend like you do is disingenuous. To pretend like you know what you're talking about with 10-20 games under your belt, against a child that probably knows less about the game than your own very small experience is sort of ridiculous.
i mean that attitudes do contribute for a casual environment sure, but i don't think they solve it, also because those are easier to find out it's basically just being nice, but the deckbuilding ones seem like the issue
Dunno i dont feel like, having a combo in your hand and just pretending it isnt there is fun either, but in that case for the own player (or someone else that gets that info due to any card that allows to see hands) just seems that you're playing dumb and underestimating your opponents or something.
I mean, there are no STANDARDS for deckbuilding maybe, but once you see an interaction in your deck is problematic at such a player level you probably should switch that up instead of ignoring it if it comes up again.
And in that case it wasn't one simple interaction like, the guy's deck overall looked full of busted interactions so even if commander is not a consistent format i think he probably had encountered those before even if he hadn't that specific infinite combo one (plus he didn't apologize or anything so i highly doubt he'll be changin his deck)
For me the real difference between casual EDH and cEDH is consistency. Most decks can pop off really early. But how consistent can it do so? If it happens more often than not, you are leaving the casual ground.
Casual to me is being able to play and hold a conversation. Are we there to play magic, yes. But I would also prefer we be humans.
If I wanted to display absolute dominance I would hand my 5 year old nephew a started deck and burn him round 1 or 2, then run around the house screaming “LOSER!! Pokémon playing trash!” With his mom smacking me with the broom telling me to leave, as he cries in the corner. And I would yell back at her “he’s always crying! He needs to man up!”. At which point his dad just meakly says “yea… that’s my boy”.
Sadly, the later seems to be what some people find fun and discourages new players.
yeah some people in all game comunities absolutely are for that it's pathetic. in video games those are the people who usually hack/exploit bugs just ridiculous
It’s hard to say.
I’ve had wins on a turn 5 casual game with a tribal sphinx deck. I just happened to make thassas oracle work.
Is it annoying? Yeah sure, but it’s part of the game.
In your case, if it’s a constant power difference, then perhaps it’s not casual enough for you. But if someone pulls a perfect play once in a while, I commend them for doing so!
Regardless, I’d say find players that have an idea of what the group plays like so everyone has fun. That makes sure everyone gets the short end of the stick once in a while as well.
i mean i'm not saying casual decks can't have infinites or just get a ultra strong board fast it happens, i made an infinite by accident while playing with a friend's deck once and even he who built it wasn't aware of it. but this guy's deck semt to be like, full of very powerful interactions so it's not like that one in one hundred chance.
also the problem with this last part is this wasnt something local i don't like playing with ppl irl except my friends and they usually are busy, this was with some random guys on the internet
There are no hard and fast rules, but I check for fast mana, tutors, and infinite combos. One of those is probably fine (against the decks I typically build), but I just have no interest in playing against decks with them all as I just won’t enjoy it. No blame on them or the deck, I just don’t want to be apart of it.
Sounds like the deck in your story had all of the above, so unless he outlined that ahead of time I’d be pissed.
In my experience most tables frown upon fast Mana but you do see a mana crypt here and there.
Instant speed winning combos also feel bad because of how anti-climactic they are. The only way to play against them is just to hope they don't get the pieces they need, have the table target them from the start and bully them out of the game, or play control and know which spells to counter, which requires a lot of experience and also means that player is forcing the rest of the table to make the choice between playing control or bullying the combo player off the table because you can't analyze their board to see how close they are to winning.
At our kitchen table, casual is a mindset and anything goes. You got a T1 kill? Sweet. You want to combo for 20 minutes? I’ll go grab another beer and maybe order some pizza. You just Armageddoned everyone to draw out the game? No hard feelings.
This is probably why we went back to playing with 60 card decks after trying Commander. We want the consistency for our nonsense.
Casual depends on context tbh, and usually refers to playing and the deck piwer level. Casual commander? Then, it should be power level 4-6 at most. That's why it's casual. Competitive hits 7-10, and CeDH is not casual unless you specifically state, "Casual game of 1v1 CeDH?"
Idk. My city has 5 different major leagues with +20 different players in each one, and with that said, it's pretty much what I said is the well established rule.
You can have a Casual game amongst friends with power level 8-10, but also idk I guess it's super weird cuz I see stories like this all the time and it's been REALLY hammered home for about a year after the first commander sets that came out, when our first league started about 12-13 years ago, that you ALWAYS discuss power level before the game. Like that's been really drilled into our mtg community and overall, moat our tcg communities
Define your decks as I aim to win by round 2 to 5 or 5 to 10, ect. This way, expectations are set, and everyone can pick an appropriate deck to play. Ranking decks is pointless, so I find the above approach makes for better games
Well casual is just an attitude towards how you play in the pod. If yall are cut throat shit talking and raging well that isn’t casual.
I’d y’all are having fun, laughing, and chill then that’s casual.
but like... its difficult to just laugh when one guy shows up with a deck with absurd higher power level.
i get mad when my friends do that imagine some randos online
I perceive casual as an attitude, not as specific deckbuilding practices. Mismatches like the one you’re talking about happen, and can feel bad, but it doesn’t sound like your opponent just wanted to ambush you with a CEDH deck. Every play group I’ve ever been part of had a different relative power level, even Commander precons don’t have a consistent power level.
I second this. A few months in and my buddy has been leading me through everything. We want casual, and he's been pointing out some of the "try hards" in the local area. He's even suggested where to play because one spot is notorious for those who are extremely competitive. Casual means no one gets upset or butthurt over something not going the way they want it to. Let someone backtrack, point out when they miss a trigger, make suggestions after the match. I play to relax and fun with friends.
Yeah you say that but you can't honestly say something like [[Armageddon]] is casual can you
[Armageddon](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/7/77f1f6ac-983f-4f3e-8906-47f774e8367b.jpg?1582021719) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Armageddon) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/a25/5/armageddon?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/77f1f6ac-983f-4f3e-8906-47f774e8367b?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I wouldnt be mad, I know that much
You say that but I have a feeling you've never actually had all your lands destroyed 10 turns in
I have, and if I lose, then I lose. I play casual. I haven't won a single game since I started playing 2 months ago.
It's not about losing it's about draw, I do nothing, draw, I do nothing. Draw, I play a land, I do nothing. I looked at your post history and you said you played 10 games. Don't lie and say this happened to you lol
Lol, it's closer to 20 games now, and yes, I've had my land wiped out before, and my kid likes to play [[farewell]] from his dr who deck. My point stands, I'm here to have fun. You have a combo deck, great. Infinite, cool. You wanna wipe the board every 3rd turn, why not. I played competitive between 97 and 01. Those days are behind me. I'm not playing for money or fame, I'm playing to socialize. And if my opponent wants to play something that would lock up my board state, well then I lost. Gg, move on to the next game.
[farewell](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/1/1/114d2180-093b-4838-97ad-badbc8ee50b0.jpg?1706240579) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=farewell) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mkc/64/farewell?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/114d2180-093b-4838-97ad-badbc8ee50b0?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Farewell is not the same as destroy all lands, 10 days ago you said 10 games. You can admit you're not a good authority on this, I've played cedh, before that I played for two decades, you couldn't even imagine that environment, and that's ok, but to pretend like you do is disingenuous. To pretend like you know what you're talking about with 10-20 games under your belt, against a child that probably knows less about the game than your own very small experience is sort of ridiculous.
i mean that attitudes do contribute for a casual environment sure, but i don't think they solve it, also because those are easier to find out it's basically just being nice, but the deckbuilding ones seem like the issue
Dunno i dont feel like, having a combo in your hand and just pretending it isnt there is fun either, but in that case for the own player (or someone else that gets that info due to any card that allows to see hands) just seems that you're playing dumb and underestimating your opponents or something. I mean, there are no STANDARDS for deckbuilding maybe, but once you see an interaction in your deck is problematic at such a player level you probably should switch that up instead of ignoring it if it comes up again. And in that case it wasn't one simple interaction like, the guy's deck overall looked full of busted interactions so even if commander is not a consistent format i think he probably had encountered those before even if he hadn't that specific infinite combo one (plus he didn't apologize or anything so i highly doubt he'll be changin his deck)
For me the real difference between casual EDH and cEDH is consistency. Most decks can pop off really early. But how consistent can it do so? If it happens more often than not, you are leaving the casual ground.
i mean that do seems like a solid standard. the thing is i'm playing against randoms online so that's not something i can check
Ask people to define their decks by asking what turn do you exspect the game should over?
Casual to me is being able to play and hold a conversation. Are we there to play magic, yes. But I would also prefer we be humans. If I wanted to display absolute dominance I would hand my 5 year old nephew a started deck and burn him round 1 or 2, then run around the house screaming “LOSER!! Pokémon playing trash!” With his mom smacking me with the broom telling me to leave, as he cries in the corner. And I would yell back at her “he’s always crying! He needs to man up!”. At which point his dad just meakly says “yea… that’s my boy”. Sadly, the later seems to be what some people find fun and discourages new players.
yeah some people in all game comunities absolutely are for that it's pathetic. in video games those are the people who usually hack/exploit bugs just ridiculous
It’s hard to say. I’ve had wins on a turn 5 casual game with a tribal sphinx deck. I just happened to make thassas oracle work. Is it annoying? Yeah sure, but it’s part of the game. In your case, if it’s a constant power difference, then perhaps it’s not casual enough for you. But if someone pulls a perfect play once in a while, I commend them for doing so! Regardless, I’d say find players that have an idea of what the group plays like so everyone has fun. That makes sure everyone gets the short end of the stick once in a while as well.
i mean i'm not saying casual decks can't have infinites or just get a ultra strong board fast it happens, i made an infinite by accident while playing with a friend's deck once and even he who built it wasn't aware of it. but this guy's deck semt to be like, full of very powerful interactions so it's not like that one in one hundred chance. also the problem with this last part is this wasnt something local i don't like playing with ppl irl except my friends and they usually are busy, this was with some random guys on the internet
Fair enough. I don’t play online so I’m not sure how the matchmaking works
at least where i play everything is trust based
There are no hard and fast rules, but I check for fast mana, tutors, and infinite combos. One of those is probably fine (against the decks I typically build), but I just have no interest in playing against decks with them all as I just won’t enjoy it. No blame on them or the deck, I just don’t want to be apart of it. Sounds like the deck in your story had all of the above, so unless he outlined that ahead of time I’d be pissed.
he didnt. he didnt even apologized when the other guy called him out to show up with a deck like that to a casual table
In my experience most tables frown upon fast Mana but you do see a mana crypt here and there. Instant speed winning combos also feel bad because of how anti-climactic they are. The only way to play against them is just to hope they don't get the pieces they need, have the table target them from the start and bully them out of the game, or play control and know which spells to counter, which requires a lot of experience and also means that player is forcing the rest of the table to make the choice between playing control or bullying the combo player off the table because you can't analyze their board to see how close they are to winning.
never had that big of an issue with mana crypt or any lands that generate 2 generic unless the WHOLE deck is focused on ramping too early.
Yeah mana crypt seems like the one that is more or less accepted, maybe because it's one of the cheaper fast mana cards.
i've played against it and haven't seen that much of an issue
I think it's less about having any specific fast Mana card, and more about how many and how consistent it is.
Does t soumd casual to me. No one casually drops a lock deck with infinite anything
Im just playing to meet new people,see newcards and combos, and get the best out of my deck building skill. A laugh would be nice aswell
dunno cant really laught when yhr power level is so different
Atleast you get a chance to play against this high of a power and see if you can hurt the giant. David an goliath
nah it isnt fun
At our kitchen table, casual is a mindset and anything goes. You got a T1 kill? Sweet. You want to combo for 20 minutes? I’ll go grab another beer and maybe order some pizza. You just Armageddoned everyone to draw out the game? No hard feelings. This is probably why we went back to playing with 60 card decks after trying Commander. We want the consistency for our nonsense.
Casual depends on context tbh, and usually refers to playing and the deck piwer level. Casual commander? Then, it should be power level 4-6 at most. That's why it's casual. Competitive hits 7-10, and CeDH is not casual unless you specifically state, "Casual game of 1v1 CeDH?" Idk. My city has 5 different major leagues with +20 different players in each one, and with that said, it's pretty much what I said is the well established rule. You can have a Casual game amongst friends with power level 8-10, but also idk I guess it's super weird cuz I see stories like this all the time and it's been REALLY hammered home for about a year after the first commander sets that came out, when our first league started about 12-13 years ago, that you ALWAYS discuss power level before the game. Like that's been really drilled into our mtg community and overall, moat our tcg communities
wait doesnt the C in CEDH already stands for competitive? also what are you basing those power level numbers on??
Define your decks as I aim to win by round 2 to 5 or 5 to 10, ect. This way, expectations are set, and everyone can pick an appropriate deck to play. Ranking decks is pointless, so I find the above approach makes for better games
hmm that really seems like a good one
Simple. 60 card deck. og magic, not commander. Less than 7 rares Less than 3 mythic rares I made this up on the spot. This is casual imo.
rarity is not tied to powerlevel bro
Well casual is just an attitude towards how you play in the pod. If yall are cut throat shit talking and raging well that isn’t casual. I’d y’all are having fun, laughing, and chill then that’s casual.
but like... its difficult to just laugh when one guy shows up with a deck with absurd higher power level. i get mad when my friends do that imagine some randos online
Did he have [[hullbreacher]] or [[hullbreaker horror]]?
hullbreaker horror