Does EDH Need a New Limitation
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on Nov. 26, 2025, 4:54 p.m. by Niko9
Commander is a format built on fun, being able to pick your own mtg spirit animal, and limits, and I just wanted to post and see what everyone's thoughts are on the current limits and if they address the format anymore.
Mostly, I think the card pool and rate of new cards has made some of the old EDH rules not really function the same anymore. Decks are limited by colors available, but there are so many cards that will synergize with your theme, and it's not really the same exercise in making your deck work anymore. There will be good cards, they will fit your colors, and there will probably be too many of them. Tech picks are something I see less and less, and decks that I play against tend to just be all in on doing the thing rather than interacting because the entire deck can be cards that do the thing.
And on the note of choice leading to standardization, one thing I really struggle with is how one playstyle has been printed to the point where it is the clear most effective way to play casual commander. Ramp-Go has been the face of the format for a long time, but it's hard now, maybe from just my perspective but players tend to tune out for the first 1-4 turns completely and that kind of takes me out of it when people are like, hey let's have a game, oh but also I'm going to be on my phone.
I don't know, I guess I just wonder if EDH needs a new limit with where we are at now. Yugioh has created a new format with a point system, every card represents a point value and you can only have so many points in your deck, and it's a pretty neat way to play around with a giant card pool.
Or alternatively, what could spice up random games? EDH is all about community, and it's awesome to have a great playgroup where you can brew wild decks and play off your friends, but what might be one idea to make FNM games feel fresher?
FormOverFunction says... #3
I think the card pool is big enough that we’re not really going to rules our way out of the woods. In my experience, the phones come out when someone is taking an eleven minute (at least) turn. They’re ticking their planeswalkers up, searching for a card, shuffling, casting a thing, bringing something back from the graveyard… snore. That is generally when I start talking to people. I personally feel like I’m being rude, but I think it’s worth it to (a) give everyone something else to do, and (b) officially but not aggressively show to the player that they’re losing the table. It’s better, at least, than groaning and eye rolling and complaining that they’re taking too long. Generally it’s well received. Sometimes they’ll pause to make sure that we’re all paying attention to the cool thing they’re doing (which, in turn, is generally not well received). Almost all of the problems that need fixing, in my eyes, for commander are people-focused and have to be resolved with interpersonal action. The part that bugs me, or worries me, is that the person will get the message but be stuck with the decks that they brought. I’m always a little worried about that, because I don’t want to pin them in a position where the only thing they can do is clean up and leave. That’s the opposite of what I want. The challenge is to get your interpersonal stuff ironed out in a way that lets everyone end up in a fun and workable, non-combative, nobody is the bad guy scenario. It’s tough, but it is 1,000% worthwhile.
November 28, 2025 6:30 p.m.
legendofa Canadian Highlander seems like a good option, yeah kind of like that, but yeah maybe playing around with other formats is an option. I guess I'm just kind of in a weird space where I'm a casual player but I'm having less and less fun with the casual format, and I'm not really sure where I fit in when I go to FNM.
Maybe it's just a me thing? The barrier for a competitive 60 card deck is too high, and I struggle to sit through the first 5-7 turns of EDH where not much is happening and people are playing games on their phone, and at FNM these are the two groups.
It's all not a problem with my playgroup, we have great games : ) It's just when I try to play with other people. Like, magic used to feel like a language I shared with people, now it's like I don't speak it anymore.
December 3, 2025 3:29 p.m.
FormOverFunction Totally agree on your point on boardstate complexity. Even precons are just like "this triggers this, then this, then this" which I feel like isn't a bad thing, it's just rough when it happens every game. I love an insane board as much as anybody, and I can sit through those long turns every now and then, I just struggle with how it's every deck.
Maybe another solution would be, if wizards just made more precons that weren't a combo finish. Maybe more decks that had zero finish in mind, they just have a fun playstyle. It's just crazy to me that there is such a big card pool but battlecruiser is so pushed in commander sets that it's the only strategy in the wild.
I don't know, it is what it is. I still bring aggro to FNM, and I'm okay with never winning, but it's just this weird thing where ramping in to game ending combos is the thing, and it impacts the whole table so much. If even one player is doing it, then we are all doing it, either ganging up on one person or essentially doing nothing because the game will just end randomly. And if 3-4 players are doing it, then it's not a game, it's just a race.
I guess in the end, I just wish there was more effective interaction in casual EDH, but I don't see how that happens when the playstyle of ramp to combo is where it is.
December 3, 2025 4:13 p.m.
Pickup games can be tough. It's been a while since I just walked into a game store, plopped a deck down with whoever was free, and started a match. Maybe get a couple other people on board and suggest a Modern or Legacy casual brew night for your FNM spot--no tournament decks, no meta, no points, just play. Friday Evening Magic. But if the local Modern meta's super competitive and likes it that way, this probably won't work.
And on the EDH side, Stax and discard strategies love to see combo decks, if you want to force a little shake up. Or try something like a Goad deck. It's still basically high-interaction aggro, you're just making someone else do the dirty work. EDH can easily default to draw-ramp-go, but there's a counter for every strategy.
December 3, 2025 5:29 p.m.
Discard is a really good idea, I might try to make a discard deck and see how it plays, thanks!
legendofa says... #2
Canadian Highlander? I don't know all the details, but it's exactly that card point system.
Play your EDH decks in other formats, like Emperor or Star (if you can get five symmetrical color decks). Or Nihilist, where you make the worst deck you can, then switch decks and try to win with someone else's horrible deck.
EDH as a format plays to the strengths and minimizes the weaknesses of that draw-ramp-go play style, making combo, control, and big spells a lot easier than low fast aggro. You're not going to see much Battlecruiser in Modern, but it's an expected part of the game in EDH. So those quirks are pretty much baked into at least the casual meta, so my recommendation is to try out a few different formats that can use your Commander decks and see if anything catches on.
November 26, 2025 6:22 p.m.