New format - No maximum card limit Commander

Please select options that appeal to you

I would like to play a no maximum card limit Commander format
7
20%
I would not like to play a no maximum card limit Commander format
8
23%
Within this format I'd like exactly the same ban list as Commander
5
14%
Within this format I'd like a new ban list different from Commander
3
9%
Within this format I'd like ban list geared towards casual play
6
17%
Within this format I'd like ban list geared towards competitive play
0
No votes
Within this format I'd like ban list geared towards Magic multiverse only cards + casual play
6
17%
Within this format I'd like ban list geared towards Magic multiverse only cards + competitive play
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 35

User avatar
darrenhabib
Posts: 1812
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted

Post by darrenhabib » 3 years ago

With the latest outrage around TWD Secret Lair people are threatening taking a break from the game.

Mitch from the Commanders Quarters was pushing for a "new" format called Captain, which was basically just Commander but with the TWD cards banned, but then took down his video (by the looks of it) as there is just no way to get traction on this idea.
Trying to run a format that is exactly parallel to Commander in almost every way is of course never going to work, because it just doesn't have enough of an identity on its own.

Anyway the one thing that I have always wanted to do is play the singleton format of Commander (with a Commander still) but with no upper limit to the number of cards you can have in the deck, but still with a minimum of 100.
If you are like me, then often there are just tooooo many sweet cards you want to play in your deck, and game by game you are going to see waaaay more variation because of this. I think this also means it's easier for players to keep extending their decks and getting more mileage out of them, potentially saving themselves money rather than having to make a new Commander deck to get variation out of their game nights.

It would need Battle of Wits banned (I think) and so already this would be a slightly different ban list from Commander.

I'm merging two different subjects, one about a new format with no maximum card limit and one about it having it's own ban list.
Obviously this topic about Captain got me thinking, and the reason it would fail is because you are not introducing anything new for player to really bite into.
However if your are introducing a format that has some variation that is actually appealing to a lot of players then it at least has a chance to get some traction.

As far as what a ban list would look like, I have a lot of my own biases. In theory with the idea of having larger deck sizes banning powerful cards could be less needed because you are less likely to draw those cards game-by-game.
However of course you'll have the Spikes that just play the minimum 100 cards so this really isn't going to pan out.
Now any format needs leadership. so who would decide what the ban list is would need a lot of discussion..eventually. But don't let this be too much the focus of discussion, really this thread is just about seeing if people are interested in some ideas.
It might be that people just want the Commander ban list as it is, so it is just a no limit Commander, nothing else needed.

I wanted to bring up both of these topics of conversation because obviously the catalyst for anything new is about something that appeals to a broad player base.
So if there really is a format that bans new pop culture cards (like TWD and anything subsequently printed) and has enough variation in the way it plays then you have something that appeals to enough players that it actually might be viable.
It might also be that if you have a ban list that is geared towards casual play that it extends its appeal even more.
If you see what I'm getting at, if you have enough variation that covers a lot of what a number of players want then you have more of chance to build a community around it.

If you selected "I would like a new ban list from Commander" then there are 4 other poll options.
When I say "Ban list would be geared towards casual play" that would mean trying to cut down on the number of ways to have too fast a starts and also efficient win conditions. This would be an open debate for another time if this idea got any traction.
When I say "Ban list would be geared towards competitive play" I mean that there would be less bans in general, lets say basically the Commander ban list as it stands.
What I mean in the poll with "Magic multiverse" is cards that are within the original concepts of Magic and are not some obvious other Intellectual Property.
Even though TWD cards are technically canon within Magic lore now (ouch right?) you know what I mean.
Last edited by darrenhabib 3 years ago, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
RxPhantom
Fully Vaxxed, Baby!
Posts: 1513
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted
Location: Southern Maryland

Post by RxPhantom » 3 years ago

The first two options are the exact same thing.
Can you name all of the creature types with at least 20 cards? Try my Sporcle Quiz! Last Updated: 2/18/22 (Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty)

User avatar
Hawk
Slayer of Threads
Posts: 1166
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Salt Lake City, UT

Post by Hawk » 3 years ago

100-card piles are already a nightmare to shuffle, so I have no real interest in a larger deck size.

If one was to do it, BoW is the biggest concern and probably needs a ban. Yorion, Sky Nomad is similarly concerning as a Companion and may need the Lutri, the Spellchaser treatment.

User avatar
darrenhabib
Posts: 1812
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted

Post by darrenhabib » 3 years ago

RxPhantom wrote:
3 years ago
The first two options are the exact same thing.
whoops fixed

User avatar
darrenhabib
Posts: 1812
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted

Post by darrenhabib » 3 years ago

Hawk wrote:
3 years ago
100-card piles are already a nightmare to shuffle, so I have no real interest in a larger deck size.

If one was to do it, BoW is the biggest concern and probably needs a ban. Yorion, Sky Nomad is similarly concerning as a Companion and may need the Lutri, the Spellchaser treatment.
Yeah Yorion, Sky Nomad would need to be banned as a companion for sure.

I'm not a fan of shuffling either. We use fat sleeves (for better protection) so end up shuffling separate piles anyway as you cant really hold it all in your hand at once. So it wouldn't change all that much for me personally as it would be another one or two piles that I would have to manage into the final shuffle.
When we search our library for something, rather than do much of a shuffle after finishing another person just does a few cuts.

On a side note we've started looking into buying an automatic shuffle machine for Friday Night Magic.

User avatar
DirkGently
My wins are unconditional
Posts: 4540
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by DirkGently » 3 years ago

I'm dubious that BoW would need a ban. Felidar Sovereign is nowhere near bannable, and it doesn't force you to trash your deck to make it work. Yorion seems like a bigger problem since 20 cards is a way smaller commitment and you don't need to tutor it.
Perm Decks
Phelddagrif - Kaervek - Golos - Zirilan

Flux Decks
Gollum - Lobelia - Minthara - Plargg2 - Solphim - Otharri - Graaz - Ratchet - Soundwave - Slicer - Gale - Rootha - Kagemaro - Blorpityblorpboop - Kayla - SliverQueen - Ivy - Falco - Gluntch - Charlatan/Wilson - Garth - Kros - Anthousa - Shigeki - Light-Paws - Lukka - Sefris - Ebondeath - Rokiric - Garth - Nixilis - Grist - Mavinda - Kumano - Nezahal - Mavinda - Plargg - Plargg - Extus - Plargg - Oracle - Kardur - Halvar - Tergrid - Egon - Cosima - Halana+Livio - Jeska+Falthis+Obosh - Yeva - Akiri+Zirda - Lady Sun - Nahiri - Korlash - Overlord+Zirda - Chisei - Athreos2 - Akim - Cazur+Ukkima - Otrimi - Otrimi - Kalamax - Ayli+Lurrus - Clamilton - Gonti - Heliod2 - Ayula - Thassa2 - Gallia - Purphoros2 - Rankle - Uro - Rayami - Gargos - Thrasios+Bruse - Pang - Sasaya - Wydwen - Feather - Rona - Toshiro - Sylvia+Khorvath - Geth - QMarchesa - Firesong - Athreos - Arixmethes - Isperia - Etali - Silas+Sidar - Saskia - Virtus+Gorm - Kynaios - Naban - Aryel - Mizzix - Kazuul - Tymna+Kraum - Sidar+Tymna - Ayli - Gwendlyn - Phelddagrif - Liliana - Kaervek - Phelddagrif - Mairsil - Scarab - Child - Phenax - Shirei - Thada - Depala - Circu - Kytheon - GrenzoHR - Phelddagrif - Reyhan+Kraum - Toshiro - Varolz - Nin - Ojutai - Tasigur - Zedruu - Uril - Edric - Wort - Zurgo - Nahiri - Grenzo - Kozilek - Yisan - Ink-Treader - Yisan - Brago - Sidisi - Toshiro - Alexi - Sygg - Brimaz - Sek'Kuar - Marchesa - Vish Kal - Iroas - Phelddagrif - Ephara - Derevi - Glissa - Wanderer - Saffi - Melek - Xiahou Dun - Lazav - Lin Sivvi - Zirilan - Glissa - Ashling1 - Angus - Arcum - Talrand - Chainer - Higure - Kumano - Scion - Teferi1 - Uyo - Sisters
PDH - Drake - Graverobber - Izzet GM - Tallowisp - Symbiote
Brawl - Feather - Ugin - Jace - Scarab - Angrath - Vraska - Kumena
Oathbreaker - Wrenn&6

User avatar
Rumpy5897
Tuner of Jank
Posts: 1854
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by Rumpy5897 » 3 years ago

Pretty much the only reason to play this, from a novel deck perspective, would be BoW/Yorion. Keeping them unbanned would be preferable. Given the construction of this as "EDH with no max deck size", there's nothing stopping you just treating this as an add-on to regular EDH and just leaving the ban list as is. And just like Yorion is not exactly omnipresent in eternal, I doubt he'd be omnipresent in "EDH with no max deck size". You may want a leaner 100 for consistency, even in matching colours.
 
EDH Primers (click me!)
Deck is Kill Club
Show
Hide

Sharpened
Posts: 193
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by Sharpened » 3 years ago

My honest thought process is this is basically a Rule 0 situation. And Battle of Wits and Yorion are the only 2 cards that give me pause.

I like the deck limit maximum in the format even if it irks me from time to time. But with regards to playing the game, there's rarely a meaningful difference if my opponents deck is exactly 100, or 120 or even 200. I don't think it would feel like you are playing a different format.

I doubt I'd object if someone wanted to sit down to a casual game with a bigger deck. I'd probably ask about Battle and Yorion, but I'm not sure either would be deal breakers. As someone with experience playing Battle in legacy, it's not particularly fun, so I'd rather not see it, although I don't know that it needs to be banned. Yorion would be interesting, and might get old fast, but like I said, probably not a deal breaker.

User avatar
Dunadain
I like turtles
Posts: 1327
Joined: 3 years ago
Answers: 2
Pronoun: Unlisted
Location: 'Murica

Post by Dunadain » 2 years ago

Why would battle of wits need a ban? That's literally the only reason I'd want to play this "format" (also that one companion I guess)?

Is that card secretly broken? Because I'm pretty sure it's pretty bad, lol.

Also, others mentioned it but it be much better to change the rules of edh rather than make a new format that offers nothing particularly unique (or, you know, just rule 0 it).
All cards are bad if you try hard enough.

Important decks: Ebondeath, Dracolich, Emiel, The Blessed, Phelddagriff
Other: Ruhan, Zask, Kellan, Liesa, Galadriel, Orca, Sauron, Thantis, Rukarumel, Sisay, Stickfingers, Safana, Thantis, Dihada

Help me complete my JumpStart Cube!

Post Reply Previous topicNext topic

Return to “Variant Commander”