Two rules change suggestions to widen prEDH's popularity without ruining its identity.

General forum

Posted on Nov. 24, 2024, 8:09 p.m. by StopShot

[My EDH Background]

I used to be an avid EDH player until my old playgroup dissolved. It was only until recently that I built an EDH deck after more than half a decade and felt lost after two recent commander nights. I had dropped off after Hour of Devestation only to find the present-day meta feels like a completely different format than the one I had enjoyed. Seeing the prEDH format caught my attention but given I had gotten into EDH around Fate Reforged, the prEDH card restrictions seemed to dial things too far back for me, and I feel like a lot of players who got into EDH around the same time period as myself might feel the same way. As such, this format may feel just as alien to a good portion of left out players today, but I'd like to discuss if maybe that aspect could be improved upon.

[The New Phyrexia cut-off should not be extended]

I'd like to make two suggestions to adjust the scope of this format. One suggestion I will not ask though, is that the set cutoff point be extended past New Phyrexia. I agree with the rationale for excluding all of MTG that took place during and after the first commander preconstructed products were released. This is in place to make the format 100% organic and extending the cut-off to any other set would be highly arbitrary and subject to much disagreement.

[Issue #1 - OG Duals and Patchy Manabases]

But there are some issues that should be addressed and remedied regarding this format. One being at the time of New Phyrexia's release the monetary cost of OG dual lands were significantly cheaper then than as they are now. Given the best manabases for prEDH would use OG Duals, Fetchlands, and Shocklands, not having easy access to one (or more) of them puts non-legacy players in the rough spot of relying on prEDH's limited and patchy color-fixing options which can leave new decks performing at a more clunky pace than they otherwise would be if built back in New Phyrexia. Now I'm not against players using proxies but I think a format does a lot better at attracting a wider audience if they're not inclined to feel like they have to proxy reserve list cards to fully enjoy the format as intended.

[Rules Change Suggestion to Address Issue #1]

I believe that if there is a land or mana-rock cycle that started before New Phyrexia, but was completed sometime after New Phyrexia, then all cards of that cycle should be made legal in prEDH just so that all color identities have equal access to their colors, because prEDH has a surprising number of incomplete mana cycles. This change would make the following cards and their colorshifted counterparts legal in prEDH despite being printed after New Phyrexia: (Clifftop Retreat), (Inspiring Vantage), (Needle Spires), (Nomad Outpost), (Snow-Covered Wastes), (Stone Quarry), (Sunbaked Canyon), (Sunscorched Divide), (Talisman of Conviction), (Wastes), and (Wind-Scarred Crag). This rule would also still apply to any new cards that would complete any of the cycles that have yet to be completed as well such as if Wizards were to ever complete the cycles for (Crosis's Catacombs), (Grove of the Burnwillows), (Nimbus Maze), (Wildfield Borderpost), etc.

[Issue #2 - Lack of Color Identity Options]

One aspect that made EDH novel is its color restriction on deck-building. From its inception, you would pick any of 5 Elder Dragons to be your Highlander and you would be barred from utilizing whatever 2 colors were not part of that dragon's identity. As the game grew into commander you could pick any legendary creature to be your commander instead and the color restriction carried over to your commander's color identity. The issue is prEDH's list of legal commanders provides a very limited line-up of commanders for any multicolored identity. Some color identities only have 1 commander legal for that color identity, and a vast majority of legal commanders are mono-colored which imposes a much heavier restriction than EDH had first set out to be with its 3-color dragons. This can lead to an over-saturation of players picking the same commander from the limited multicolor roster and more players picking up 5-color commanders, because their favorite color combination is restricted to just Numot, the Devastator, or Oros, the Avenger, or Vorosh, the Hunter. This isn't to say there won't be players playing mono-colored or everyone will be playing Reaper King because their favorite color-combination is underrepresented, but that prEDH restricts cards not just by set, but also much more heavily with color as well which can result in a poorer deck diversity than modern day EDH; (an issue that was not present when Commander was a much smaller and niche format). It's to this end I feel color restrictions could be opened up a bit to counteract the set restriction as a trade-off and that by doing so with the EDH philosophy in mind won't warp or distort the power level or vibe of prEDH.

[Rules Change Suggestion to Address Issue #2]

In order to open up the commander color restriction, prEDH decks would have a land in the command zone in addition to the commander with this land serving as the "Commander's Domain." The color identity or basic land type of the Commander's Domain would set the color restriction on what cards can be included in the deck including the commander instead of it being the commander's color identity that restricts card inclusion. The lands that can be chosen to be your Commander's Domain consist only of: any of the 10 trilands such as Seaside Citadel, any of the 10 match-lands such as Glacial Fortress, or any basic land such as Plains or Wastes. The Commander's Domain would not be subject to the command tax and can be played as your land for turn by either exiling a basic land card from your hand or by exiling a basic land you own on the battlefield. One exception to this rule will be made for all 5-color legendary commanders. 5-color legendary creatures may be used as your commander regardless of your Commander's Domain and if your commander is 5-color you may run any basic land in your deck regardless of your Commander's Domain. Your Commander's Domain will still restrict what spells and non-basic lands you can include in your deck, however. This proposal seeks to expand deck diversity and creativity while still abiding to the original EDH tenant of limiting what colors may be included in your deck as well as provide an additional means of color fixing due to the greater lack of lands that are both decent and affordable in this format.

[Concluding Thoughts - The goal is not to make prEDH more like modern EDH]

The sake of these proposals isn't to make something new and flashy for the sake of making something new and flashy, but to make prEDH feel more like everyone's first EDH experience including for those who got into the format well after New Phyrexia but well before the current meta. That is not to say "make prEDH more like EDH" as that is the furthest thing from this thread's intention. This is more of a belief that a lot more can be gained while sacrificing very little and that much could benefit current prEDH players who would like to see more people play their format. It's possible my proposals may have missed this mark, but I would like to start a discussion on whether there are current shortcomings in this format and if it would be worth it to make changes to mitigate them or not to better the health and/or standing of this format.

Caerwyn says... #2

EDH took off as a game explicitly because of its limitations - as folks often say when talking about commander, “limitations increase creativity.” There were fewer options for building, greedy mana bases could be harder to build, and color identity restrictions were more defined before Wizards became a bit more liberal with bends and breaks explicitly to cater to the EDH community.

Both your suggestions fundamentally undermine the reason folks want to play prEDH. The first by creating an environment where building decks is easier due to more land options - explicitly something many prEDH players are trying to avoid. The second fundamentally alters the very core of the game - thus meaning you are no longer playing EDH, albeit with a different banlist, but a variant of what is already a variant.

Neither of these ideas seem like something the greater prEDH community is going to want.

November 25, 2024 10:42 a.m.