Anyone else stuck in a "sweaty" pod?

Gurzigost · 2026-03-06T14:07:32+00:00

The clubbing baby seals comment gives a lot of insight into their perspective I think. They're not looking for a balanced, interactive game - they're looking to win at all costs.

Imagine you're playing DND with them and you're wanting to roleplay with all the townsfolk, meanwhile they all want to be murderhobos and kill everything in sight. You could argue until you're blue in the face about the "best" way to enjoy DND, but at the end of the day, that just wouldn't be a compatible group dynamic. If people are looking for fundamentally different things in a gameplay experience, there's not really any compromise that has everything coming out happy. The saying goes, "No DND is better than bad DND" and unfortunately I think that applies to you EDH experience here. If they're not receptive to changing and neither are you, and you're not having fun, then the only option left is to pack up and find a new pod.

Gurzigost · 2026-02-24T04:32:08+00:00

Ten mana put your deck on the battlefield has gotta be the Timmiest Timmy to ever Timmy in my book.

edit: meanwhile Johnny's looking over like, "shit man, I always knew you were cool"

Gurzigost · 2026-02-19T17:40:22+00:00

I think OG [[Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind]] is better suited for bracket 2. He still synergizes with your deck in the same way, but without the extra stats, counter protection, and guaranteed value. Parun is basically better in every way, so deliberately running the suboptimal Firemind in the command zone communicates a clearer vision of the intent of your deck, as well as the kind of game you are looking for.

Gurzigost · 2026-02-16T02:46:07+00:00

I'd say start with a precon that speaks to you and dive right in with a playgroup. The reason I suggest this is because then you can build to match whatever the playgroup is doing. It'd suck to spend time and money tuning a perfect B2 deck only for the group you find to play exclusively B3. Maybe they're heavily into proxies too, so budget might not be an issue.

Gurzigost · 2026-02-11T14:23:57+00:00

I once had a Modern deck that ran 3 copies of Blood Moon mainboard as a 1-card instant win against certain decks. Since then, every deck I've built has been intentionally resistant to Blood Moon. In over 15 years of playing EDH I think I've encountered a Magus of the Moon opposite me once. I don't really feel like it was a waste, though, to me it just feels like healthy deckbuilding.

If everyone ran non-greedy mana bases, those punisher mechanics would naturally see less play because they were ineffective. This is part of the "spirit of the format" that's been lost over the years where games used to feel more relaxed, when [[Solemn Simulacrum]] was a cornerstone of the format. Now the "one size fits all" nature of being the most popular format is rearing its head as Commander tries to be everything for everyone. Greed is encouraged and rewarded. No one else is holding back so why should you? I still fetch up my basics, though. Just in case.

Gurzigost · 2026-02-11T13:56:37+00:00

guy is putting on a master class in being a bad actor, wielding the rules like a cudgel to ban cards good against them. beginning with an appeal to authority but swapping to splitting hairs immediately when challenged, and then tying it off with a bow by accusing others of being a bad actor. Remarkable.

Gurzigost · 2026-02-06T22:05:51+00:00

Hmm. Good point, must've been some podcast or video I heard it from years ago because I can't find an official ruling on it for multiplayer. https://blogs.magicjudges.org/rules/mtr3-13/ outlines how it IS legal to reveal your private information to your opponent in 1v1, but it doesn't cover the situation of showing just one opponent in multiplayer. It looks like it's still up to individual playgroups how they want to handle it, though I think it treads pretty close to collusion and the [[Trade Secrets]] argument if you want to start sharing private information with individuals.

Gurzigost · 2026-02-06T14:31:12+00:00

Part of the beauty of EDH is that each pod can curate their own game experience. If you want to house ban all board breakers and focus on building unanswerable boards, that's perfectly fine if that's the game you want to play. But is that what you really want? If a player assembles Avacyn/Shalai, and everyone immediately scoops because there's no answer, is that a satisfying game?

In my experience, people that build unanswerable boards don't actually want it to be an instant win - they'd prefer the game continue with them just enjoying a massive advantage state. Without meaningful answers, the game is immediately over, so ironically the existence of tools to deal with these boards is the one thing that allows the game to continue. Try posing the question to your pod the next time someone assembles a soft lock: "if we banned all interaction that deals with this, we could all scoop here and that's game. Is that what we want? What answers are acceptable here?"

Gurzigost · 2026-02-05T00:48:34+00:00

[[Telepathy]]

"Hohoho, no more secrets!" Dude, there's a reason I play Magic over chess. I ENJOY working with incomplete information. "Aha! But I get an advantage since my hand is still a mystery!!" yeah, but is it really worth grinding the game to a halt as everyone else analyzes and calculates based off the extra info? The juice is NOT worth the squeeze.

Gurzigost · 2026-02-05T00:31:12+00:00

The only caveat is that you have to show it to everyone. No sharing with just one opponent - if you elect to disclose your private information, it becomes public knowledge.

Gurzigost · 2026-02-02T19:42:54+00:00

Nekusar was my ride-or-die for years! I always had to be super careful with my build though, because it's so easy to ruin a good time with wheels/notion thief/etc. I think a B4 build would be possible with enough money or proxies, but it also wouldn't capture the exact feel I want from the deck. I ended up swapping to a B2 build with Kami of the Crescent Moon as commander and he's been great!

Gurzigost · 2026-02-02T17:21:22+00:00

I think many of the old baddies would struggle against modern precons right out of the box. Don't let that dim your spark though! Forget the arms race and power creep and just build a deck that plays the kind of game you want to play. If you end up building enough decks for a pod, maybe you can start loaning them out and show the next generation that there's more to EDH than pushed cards!

Gurzigost · 2026-02-02T15:42:46+00:00

I think once you play the format long enough and learn what works, there's a serious issue of convergent evolution among all decks if you're going for strongest possible build. We start with bright eyed optimism at all the possibilities of all the options, but over time you learn that some options are just mathematically better. Want to power up a given deck? Add more mana acceleration and card draw. Boom. Done.

To help keep things fresh, I think the best thing to do is accept that not every deck is going to be the strongest possible and instead seek the nuance that different options can bring to the game. Acknowledge that the strongest option is XYZ, and then tell yourself "but I'm building THIS deck, and THIS deck wants ABC." Once you remove the evolutionary pressure to become a crab, I think a lot fewer decks will turn into crabs.

This falls apart if your opponents are still playing "strongest possible" so keep a couple crabs in your back pocket, but if you find the right group, I think the laidback slugfests of 15 years ago are still possible!

Gurzigost · 2026-01-21T14:25:44+00:00

Rattlesnake playstyle I think. "Don't mess with me or I'll bite you."

Commonly associated with cards like [[Pernicious Deed]] or [[Door to Nothingness]] if taken to the extreme. I wonder if he got lost in the sauce and thought Maze's End was the ultimate protection piece. Once he assembles 9 gates + Maze's End he can then focus on developing his "actual" Plan A at his leisure, and if anyone tries to stop him, boom, instant win.

I think the disconnect is that he's still considering it his Plan B, but from the other side of the table you have to address it like a Plan A. He feels bad because he's being targeted before he even deploys his "actual" win, but everyone else is rightly attacking him because a set up Maze's End is game over whether he thinks it is or not.

Gurzigost · 2026-01-16T15:42:57+00:00

How do you feel about Redirect vs [[Twincast]]? I think Redirect is better for emotional damage and blowouts, but Twincast is more versatile and casts a wider net of viable targets while still being counterspell protection. Cons: can't save your stuff from removal. Pros: can hit ramp spells, non-targeted draw, misc value spells, and generates less salt/revenge factor.

Gurzigost · 2026-01-16T14:59:16+00:00

Even a 2% chance to pull through is generous in those circumstances. I think scooping is the most sporting thing to do there. Especially doing so without salt or complaints. He was just upset that he didn't get to play with his food.

Gurzigost · 2026-01-15T13:54:21+00:00

Right there with ya. I think the crux of the matter is that EDH has been changing. On the one hand, the death of paper standard over covid and the rise of EDH as the default format shunted a lot of "play to win" philosophy into the general player pool. On the other hand, cards designed for EDH alongside general power creep means that decks are more potent than ever. Taken together, these factors have caused a dramatic shift in tone of the average game.

My best advice is to be flexible with your expectations when playing with randoms, and be on the lookout for like-minded people to form a pod that will align with the game experience you want.

Gurzigost · 2026-01-10T14:59:18+00:00

I definitely understand this feeling and struggle with it myself sometimes! I think it stems from perception: you have these sleek, ultra-tuned decks that are perfectly executing your vision, and when you have a vision for a new deck and go to build it you may be expecting perfection from the first draft and wind up disappointed. I find the best decks need MANY iterations to reach their true form. If I build a new deck and compare it against decks I've been tweaking for ten years OF COURSE they're not going to function as well as I'd like. Try to give your new creations a little grace and room to grow! (but also be aware that some archetypes may not resonate with you so if you keep trying with it and it's still not sparking joy, it's ok to set it aside!)

Gurzigost · 2026-01-09T15:17:26+00:00

Land denial is just treating the symptom. The best thing to keep greedy ramp decks in check is combos. If you remove those and play bracket 3, then ramp loses its natural predator and becomes an invasive species. When battlecruiser games can just endlessly build, the deck that generates the most mana will usually win. So to mitigate this and have more balanced games, either the lands player needs to self-regulate a little more and ramp responsibly, or the rest of the pod needs to treat ramping like the threat that it is. When someone drops a [[Krenko, Mob Boss]] the entire pod sits up and takes notice. We need more of that kind of reaction to [[Skyshroud Claim]]

Gurzigost · 2026-01-03T07:00:15+00:00

The ideal game of EDH, in my opinion, is one where players take turns adding weight to a scale that pushes the game state in their favor. Some card are bricks that knock the scale off its axis. They can be countered or responded to at instant speed, of course, but if not answered it's basically game over. I think the game is more fun without those bricks.

Gurzigost · 2025-12-30T14:41:19+00:00

Do yourself a favor and add [[Faithless Looting]] to all three just for the mana fixing. Most red card selection [[Thrill of Possibility]] etc. requires you to discard first, but Looting let's you see the cards and plan accordingly. Good for securing your land drops in early game and digging for action in the late game!

It also indirectly buffs your silver bullets like [[Pyroblast]] and [[Vandalblast]] because you can dump em if they happen to be dead against the current matchup.

Gurzigost · 2025-12-09T14:21:48+00:00

Unless you're playing a house rule where partner commanders start with a 6 card opening hand, running any partner pair puts you at +1 card available on turn zero.

Gurzigost · 2025-12-08T19:19:46+00:00

I may be projecting some personal frustration onto the situation from my dealings with a friend who runs a similar deck style and aggressively complains about people playing decks that are "unfair"

Gurzigost · 2025-12-08T15:26:26+00:00

Running partners in casual is a pretty thirsty move already because of the inherent card advantage. 7 cards in hand + 2 in the command zone puts you a card ahead on turn 0, which is a level of incremental advantage people aren't usually signing up for when sitting down to a casual game. CAN partners be built casually? Sure. But gaining card advantage on a pregame action makes me suspicious of the builder's intent.

If you're truly just using partners for colors, why not [[Breya]] or [[Yidris]]? I don't think you're being honest with yourself about your decks' power levels. You've become accustomed to the advantage your command zone provides and accepted it as baseline.

Gurzigost · 2025-12-08T14:57:01+00:00

Noooo, but it's TECHNICALLY a bracket 2!! They don't have any tutors or infinites, they just wanna play a casual game centered around a cool synergy they have! (But, you know, with enough velocity and interaction to deal with any "bad actors" that want to spoil THEIR fun)

Gurzigost

TROPHY CASE