Opponent wants to use a Modern legal deck in place of a Commander deck - pros and cons?
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on March 18, 2022, 4:24 a.m. by TypicalTimmy
This has come up before on several occasions. I've never really given it much thought until I heard of it again recently.
I'm sure this is a highly uncommon circumstance and I'm willing to bet probably 99% of users on this site have never even heard of this, but here it is.
On occasion, someone in my life (coworker, friend, users on this site, etc) will express that they wish they could use a 60 card Modern deck in place of their 100 card EDH deck. That the Modern deck would still be constructed to Modern specifications (Modern ban list, non-singleton format, 60 card minimum, 8th Edition and forward, only cards from rotating Standard format allowed + Modern Horizons, etc).
The idea is they want to know if their honed Modern deck can handle an EDH opponent, and if so how well or how horribly.
Often times, people even say they are willing to forgo a Commander - which admittedly comes with its own issues such as nothing to reign in the color identity of the deck.
So the idea is quite literally one or more opponents have their regular EDH decks, but one person plays with their Modern deck.
Has anyone here heard of this being a thing? I've had now two different coworkers from two different jobs mention this, as well as a friend from this site mention it to me. So now I sort of feel like I need to ask about it and if it is becoming a thing?
PROS:
- No color restriction
- Smaller deck = less likely to sputter out
- Non-singleton = higher percentage of nailing combo pieces and wincons
- Far more consistency
- Easier to bounce back from a failed wincon because you have copies of the same cards available to you
CONS:
- 2/3rds starting deck size makes you prone to milling out
- No Commander to utilize
- Dramatically smaller card pool to work with
- Can't use some of the "Power Nine" of EDH such as Sol Ring
- Modern isn't designed for a 4-player session, so it likely won't translate well
The only time I've heard of a deck from a "different format" being used is when the Survivors in Archenemy use Standard / Modern decks but the Archenemy uses an EDH deck. But, that's more thematic and appropriate for the elements of the game as it is, anyway. In my personal opinion, that's how Archenemy should be played. Given that we've only had what... two Archenemy printings? Xenagos and Bolas? I think it's fair to assume the format is still in its infancy, despite being 9 years old (Theros Archenemy was released 2013).
So that comparison isn't quite fair, but it is one to take into consideration.
griffstick says... #3
Does the modern player also have 20 starting life and does the modern player have to deal only 20 damage to his opponents each?
March 18, 2022 8:43 a.m.
Grubbernaut says... #4
They'd get toasted at high level but steamroll mid/low.
March 18, 2022 10:44 a.m.
If you look at it like an exhibition match rather than a "real" competition it could be fun. I mean, just messing around my friend has tested their legacy D&T deck against some of my Modern lists. But I think a Modern deck will probably beat a Commander deck in 1v1 play but suffer in multiplayer play unless it's a specific archetype.
March 18, 2022 11:47 a.m.
FormOverFunction says... #6
Niko9 nailed it, in my mind. In a world where it’s hard to find people who OWN magic cards, you play with whoever shows up. While it’s not as hard to do so now as it was then, the notion is the same. One aspect of magic that I hope comes back a little more (if it ever left) was all of the unofficial house rules and game modes that people put together. Things have gotten very formal and official in the past decade and it can box people in. Go nuts and tell everyone you’re going to play a Four Season’s game, where turns cycle through effects like winter orb and mana flare. Pitting modern/standard/vintage/edh decks against each other has lots of potential. I’ve played my commander decks against modern/standard decks in the past (goofing around waiting for FNM to end and my standard-playing friends to wrap up). I never won a single game, but my 1997 brain was pretty excited to play some magic...
March 18, 2022 7:38 p.m.
Unless the commander decks involved were highly tuned, a modern 60 would probably blow out the commander decks in short order. Maybe not if the modern deck was not built to play against commander decks but pretty sure the math alone of getting your win condition in your opening hand favors the 60 card non-singleton deck. Especially in a format without an opposing control/permission deck.
There are a few turn 1 and turn 2 decks available in the Modern card pool. And there may not be a lot of turn 1 and turn 2 decks in Commander amongst your playgroup.
I think a better route would be helping your friend/coworker/relative/LGS casual create a commander version of their 60 card deck. I do it periodically for myself and friends.
That way they get the fun of a favorite and familiar deck while being able to play commander with everyone else.
Though competitive Modern decks would probably suffer more than casual modern legal decks versus commander decks.
Niko9 says... #2
We do this at home from time to time, and it's always kinda fun. I especially like to test my 60 card aggro decks this way because at 40 life you can really see if they can keep on the pressure or fizzle out in a long game.
Maybe in my mind it's still like 1997 and formats are whatevs : )
But yeah, when I really want to test a new deck, it's fun to get someone to throw everything and anything at them.
March 18, 2022 8:02 a.m.