Show Notes
I have 17 Commander decks. And I'm taking them all apart. This isn't a video about hating Commander. I've had plenty of good experiences playing EDH, and if Commander is the way you enjoy Magic, you should absolutely keep playing it. But I've realized that I don't actually enjoy playing Commander very much anymore. So I'm breaking down why. I talk about how I first discovered Highlander, how I got back into Commander after returning to Magic in 2012, building my first artifact decks, playing Commander during the pandemic, and how my relationship with the format changed over time. The bigger issue is that I've realized what I actually enjoy about Magic: community-created formats, 60-card decks, deckbuilding, and playing with cards that I love. That's led me toward formats like Premodern, Classic Legacy, Peak Legacy, and my own Peak Modern battle box — formats where I can build decks, lock in a card pool, and play the game without constantly worrying about the next round of updates. I also show off the battle boxes I've been building, including: Classic Legacy Premodern Peak Modern Affinity Gifts Jund Lantern Control Birthing Pod Scapeshift Storm Splinter Twin Tron Blue-Eyed Red And that's really the point of the video. I'm not quitting Magic. I'm trying to spend my time playing the Magic I actually enjoy. I want to play more 60-card Magic with my friends. I want to build battle boxes. I want to explore old formats. I want to make weird cards playable again. And I want to spend less time maintaining 17 Commander decks that I barely touch. If you're playing Commander because you genuinely love it, keep playing it. But if you're only playing it because everyone else is, maybe it's worth asking yourself what kind of Magic you actually want to play. 00:00 — Why I'm Taking Apart 17 Commander Decks 02:26 — How I Got Into Commander 04:44 — The Social Rules of EDH 07:05 — Why Commander Stopped Being Fun for Me 09:26 — The Problem With Maintaining 17 Decks 12:24 — Building My Own Peak Modern 15:38 — My Peak Modern Battle Box 21:09 — The Classic Legacy Battle Box 23:28 — Why I'm Going Back to Community Formats 25:45 — Playing Magic the Way I Actually Want
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