I weirdly realized exactly why I can't watch current Command Zone conent
The Blind Eternities forum
Posted on Aug. 14, 2024, 4:55 p.m. by Niko9
Really, I haven't watched Command Zone in years. Every now and then I might try an episode but I always lose interest so fast, and I never really thought about it too much, I figured it was just something that I used to like and don't now. But...
Yesterday when I was watching a Nitpicking Nerds episode, and I mean, I really like them. It is a very well presented show, not too crazy, but the hosts are really fun and they are always super into magic, and I really appreciate that they approach magic from a perspective of just having fun.
In the nerd's episode though, they casually mentioned that when they were invited to be on Command Zone, the producers of the show gave them decks that they had to use, and I don't know, I guess I didn't realize that at all because I thought, oh this might be exactly why I don't like Command Zone anymore. The Nitpicking Nerds were in no way talking about it as a negative, it was a very casual mention, but it just reminded me that all my favorite Command Zone episodes were the old ones where players brought their pet decks. I remember a fun one with Feather, or Prof playing Merfolk, Jimmy bringing back a deck that he got mana screwed on the last time, bears, vampires, eldrazi tribal, I mean, real game/playgroup stuff.
Maybe it's just me, and maybe it's old news too : ) I guess I just wondered for a while why everyone on Command Zone feels so samey sometimes, and now I'm feeling like, wait it wasn't just me? I mean, why are they flying in guests just to play a deck the showrunners made? It's like saying, we really like what you do, but eh, if you're on our show we'd rather you didn't.
I do think there are other flaws at play, from overproduction of episodes, the ads...the ads... the way they build overly generalized decks (ramp-draw-boardwipe-somebody combos and wins), and honestly, I have a hard time with the show having a general lack of fun, just people having fun, but you know, a big gripe for me might just be that guests at times don't feel very special anymore, and I never really thought about it before.
I know the show has a lot of fans, and I don't mean anything mean to anyone involved, they are the only people that do what they do after all. Maybe I just wanted to see if anyone knew more info on this, or when it started or something, because it seems like whenever it did it was such a stark change to just slip in there.
I mean, that sounds completely reasonable, but maybe it's changed since then? The Nitpicking Nerds were on an episode of Extra Turns and they said something like "The command zone producers gave us our decks for the episode so that we'd all be on the same power level"
And it seemed kind of crazy to me, one because Extra Turns is supposed to be the show where people get to play more for fun, and two because it's guests who have tons of commander decks and could absolutely find fun pet decks to play together with.
Maybe my overarching problem is that they seem to have a much bigger time crunch than they used to. They absolutely could have sat down with their guests and said, bring a few decks and we'll talk it, but they didn't.
August 14, 2024 7 p.m.
You explained why they were given decks by how you quoted them: "The command zone producers gave us our decks for the episode so that we'd all be on the same power level."
From a game-play standpoint having evenly matched decks is pretty important since they are going to get hundreds of thousands of views on that video probably. Honestly I think you're making a bit of a mountain out of a molehill here.
August 14, 2024 7:52 p.m.
Abaques Probably : ) I just like both mountains and molehills maybe.
August 14, 2024 8:14 p.m.
Crow_Umbra says... #7
I used to watch the Command Zone more frequently, but generally fluctuate on MtG/EDH content in general. Maybe it's that they are more closely affiliated with WotC compared to other content creators, but their interview cuts during gameplay seems more like a teaching tool for newer players. If intended as an entry point for newer players, it also makes sense they'd want the decks to be fairly even.
These days, I tend to watch MTG Muddstah and the Spike Feeders the most. I'd rather watch more dedicated gameplay of newer cards than listen to too much hypotheticals and analysis of new stuff.
August 14, 2024 9:06 p.m.
I used to watch quite a lot of Magic content on Youtube, but in the past couple of years I've dialed down what I watch quite a bit. I personally do not like universes beyond stuff so I just ignore any content regarding that. For gameplay I will watch the command zone because the production quality is high, which I've gotten to appreciate more. Commander Vs. I will still watch, but I often abandon ship if the game doesn't look like it'll be good. How much I watch really depends on the current set. I've watched quite a bit more lately just because I love Bloomburrow. I'm probably not gonna watch much of any of the Duskmourn content.
August 15, 2024 1:18 a.m.
Abaques I hear you on universes beyond, but for me it's more in decklists than anything else. It's alright to skip an episode when the title says "Fallout commanders" or something, it's just, I have a really hard time when someone is doing deck breakdowns from a tourney or something and I can't recognize most of the cards.
August 15, 2024 11:49 a.m.
FormOverFunction says... #10
“someone is doing deck breakdowns from a tourney or something and I can't recognize most of the cards.” Niko9 I worry that you’re approaching the point I’ve been at, where I don’t even try reading the cards my opponents play. Only after playing against a card two or three times will I start to recognize the art and connect that to what (I’ve been told) it does. The good news is that this allows me to fully enjoy interacting with the players and generally having fun. The bad news is that when someone mentions something like “And then my opponent ‘dastardly chopped’ my ‘hopeful’ and at that point I should have scooped” I just nod and hope that no one asks for my help in continuing the conversation. It’s rough for me watching those videos because I also have trouble with the card (though they usually show a closeup) but I’m also way more interested in those people. The decks all seem mostly generic.
DarkKiridon says... #2
I'm pretty sure I remember an episode of the podcast where Josh was talking about, for Game Knights referring to their set release episodes, that the guest picks a legendary creature from a pool available from that set and they can build the deck themselves (omitting certain cards) or have a producer/employee or someone build it for them if they don't have the time to.
I could be wrong but oh well. I personally still enjoy Game Knights honestly.
I do however, highly recommend Commander At Home with Brian and Olivia. Those games are fun to watch.
August 14, 2024 6:46 p.m.