How to Play Commander | The Command Zone 400 | Magic: The Gathering EDH
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- čas přidán 6. 06. 2021
- Show Notes:
Commander has grown to become the most popular way to play Magic: The Gathering. If you want to learn the ins and outs of the format, what the rules are, and why it's so awesome - this is the episode for you!
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Official Commander Rules and Ban List:
mtgcommander.net/
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Important Videos for Beginning Commander Players:
The New Commander Deckbuilding Template:
• The NEW Commander Deck...
The Importance of Mana Curve:
• The Importance of MANA...
How to Build a Mana Base:
(Part One) • Mana Bases (part 1/2) ...
(Part Two) • Mana Bases (part 2/2) ...
Commander Gameplay STATS Analysis:
(Part One) • Exactly How Good is So...
(Part Two) • Which Color is the Str...
Card Draw vs Card Advantage:
• Card Draw & Card Advan...
The Biggest Mistakes Commander Players Make:
• Top 10 Biggest Mistake...
• Biggest Gameplay Mista...
The Power of Priority (and The Stack):
• The Power of Priority ...
Episodes about Table Politics:
• Machiavellian Machinat...
• Commander Politics: De...
• Politics with The Prof...
• Poli-Tips & Poli-Trick...
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Support the show and become a Patron! Be a part of our community, receive awesome rewards, and more! / commandzone
The Command Zone is brought to you by Card Kingdom! Make sure to use our affiliate link when ordering Magic cards, accessories and more: www.cardkingdom.com/commandzone
Huge thanks to UltraPro ( / ultraprointl ) for sponsoring this episode and providing awesome prizes for our giveaways. Be sure to check out their new PRO GLOSS sleeves and MYTHIC COLLECTION deck boxes.
Find UltraPro:
Facebook: / ultraprointernational
Twitter: / ultraprointl
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Email us:
commandzonecast@gmail.com
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Commander Rules and Ban List:
mtgcommander.net/ - Hry
Rules of commander: If somebody attacks you for 1 damage on turn 2, you kill them first. It’s not about threat assessment, it’s about sending a message.
This! Truer words have never before been said.
Consequently if you have the option to attack someone for 1 damage on turn 2, do so for the exact same reason.
I just note it
This holds for 1 damage on turn 2 in the previous game as well.
Amen brother
0:03:00 What Makes Commander Awesome?
0:14:30 Key Format Characteristics
0:21:00 Rules of Commander: Singleton Format
0:25:43 Ad
0:28:18 Rules of the Format: Color vs Color Identity
0:41:20 Rules of the Format: Commander Damage
0:44:40 Rules of the Format: Multiplayer
0:56:00 The Social Aspect/Table Politics
0:58:36 The Competitive Spectrum: sub-optimal to optimized
1:02:12 Why We Play Commander?
1:04:20 Common Questions
thank you good sir
This should be a pinned comment.
I'm glad these guys are going back to their roots to help new players enter the format. Hope to see more of this.
it’s ironic because their other video a couple months ago came out right as I started playing. I’m happy The Command Zone AND Wizards acknowledges the fact there’s more new players now than ever, and actually does something about it. it’s nice to see a hobby community overall a healthy one. (came from sports cards)
@@WheelerHomestead no irony there. coincidence perhaps?
Yeah totally agree I've always wanted to play the game and has someone new to the game myself I can definitely tell you that the welcome mat does not come out too often or at least a lot of places don't make you feel welcomed like I understand that this is a process of weeding out passionate people that actually want to play and learn but it can really suck when all u wana do is find like minded face to face gamers and have great time playing MTG
Wow episode 400 finally i will learn commander
I grew up playing draft and casual standard magic. 100% want to build my first commander deck.
Go to Edhrec, they have a list of every single legendary creature (or even commander-agreed planeswalker) to help you choose your perfect fit
Welcome, Hope you enjoy the format!
Best way to start is buy a commander deck that sounds fun to you, get a feel for it, and look into cards to help upgrade it.
Otherwise if you want to start from scratch, commander can be kind of weird to get used to. My go-to for a first time deck is whatever kind of creature tribal.
Don't be afraid to just jump in. Someone mentioned edhrec (original name of the commander format was EDH or Elder Dragon Highlander) that's a good resource, or if you already have an idea Wizards site at gatherer.wizards.com can let you search up cards with a large number of ways to filter information and find cards that fit a strategy you're going for. I personally have never started with a preconstructed Commander deck, but it is a viable option. I'm at 20 decks right now, I know people with twice as many. It's a fun and addictive format.
I would recommend building around a legendary creature you already own, if you have one. Aside from the altered rules, it's a relatively similar deck building process, and you have a far superior online database for recommendations, strategies and statistics. If you jive with none of the cards you find, there's also a robust custom commander community online where you can find unique commanders to fill roles that are totally unexpected. Just make sure your play group is okay with those first.
I have been playing magic since 2000 and Commander since like 2013. The best advice I can give is don't be afraid to do dumb things if it makes you happy. There are over 20,000 cards to choose from and finding some hidden gems are a great feeling.
2nd bit of advice: Don't be afraid to start cheap and grow from there. I just built a deck for $20. I plan on adding to it over time, but for now I'm having a blast with it.
The really good Commander decks cost $55 after taxes
Do you recommend playing Commander 1v1?
Nothing says "This is an easy to understand and welcoming game" like an hour and twenty minutes to explain the basic rules.
Um, it’s easy to first understand but then when stuff gets more complicated as it almost always does in commander then…that’s exactly why it’s so long. And also, it’s Jimmy and Josh, who cares if it’s that long, it’s amazing
@@CoastalWizard I think he was just making a joke, I dont think he meant that in a sarcastic way
Huh? This episode isn't explaining the rules...
It explains differences from main formats and the nuances of what the different commander rules make happen
@@buddatello Exactly. Good games have a lot of nuance to them, regardless of how welcoming and easy to understand they are.
Me who’s played edh for over 2 years: “interesting.”
10-year EDH vets: *hmm yes the commander is made of commander*
@@Complexxity_ yah sme 5 years
I love the profile picture
Going on 12 years in Commander. 25 years in Magic in General :)
I've been playing since origins
I started getting interested in magic a month ago when I watched my nephew play a commander game with his friends. This was exactly video I needed to gain confidence to enter their group. Now I just need to finish my decks.
Pro-tip: If someone asks if you would like to pay the one, always do it
as someone who plays a golos deck you should always pay the 1 if i ask 😂😂
Also, if someone asks you "Time or Money" always choose Money for fuck's sake!
@@HeirophantCarneus some of the people i play with always pick money as extra turns on golos dont go well for them usually
Unless you're Stephen Green he don't pay no taxes
Noooooo, shhhhh, keep your bad habits :P
Jimmy: "-when you draw your card of seven hands."
Me: *Having a stroke.*
Yup i think i broke my brain trying to work that out. lol
A makuta profile picture? I see you are a man of culture.
Jimmy also taps his creatures to play his lands, and draws from his graveyard.
@@RowanHeartwood You jest but this deck HAS to exist somewhere in the wild. There is no way it doesn't.
@@MakutaNazo I know. It's Magic, the craziest technical wackadoodle game ever designed, and Commander is the spiciest format.
Playing Commander for 2 years:
Ah, so that's how it works, noice
Just got my wife into playing so I have a play test buddy. Perfect timing
I'm trying to get mine to play but she gets mad everytime I hit her with a board wipe.....idk why.
Well done soldier
Thrilled about this video even after playing EDH for 3+ years
Same
Same here.
Same
This came at a perfect time because I was about to teach my friend tonight! I can just send him this video so he can get a head start!
Good luck!
Its almost like they new....
And then you're like "what did you think of the video?" and they say "oh sorry I didn't start it yet" and then that turns into a month of back and forth. So you stop being friends with them and move on and cry a lil since nobody wants to play your kiddy game with you 😂😂😂😅😅😅😥😥😭😭😭😭
Congrats on seven years. Your channel really upped my deck building in EDH. I found out about the Command Zone around the time Game Knights 5 came out. Hard to believe it's been 4 years since then.
I started lately again with Commander and what opened my Eyes to the last rounds i played was your advice of sitting together and talk about what everyone expects and wants from that experience, since that would have changed some of the games probably :)
I will keep that in mind for the next time!
You guys are really awesome keep it up!
Not sure if you’ll see this guys but finally jumping back into magic after decades of being gone thank you for this video guys !
Good to see jlk and Jimmy back together. Love dj, but miss this duo
exactly
Agreed
i prefer jumbo jlk, different but not completely contradicting views. Both can kinda bounce off each other or debate, jimmy is often just josh's yesman and doesn't really add much
Finally back together...... AND THEY DIDN'T SING! 😭😭
Congrats on 400 episodes everyone. You knock it out of the park every week, and I always look forward to everything you make.
Oh wow! You guys just posted this! I just started playing magic and my coworker got in on it with me! Watching you guys play commander looks so fun. I can’t wait to lay down some wild combos and make my friends disown me!
Would love to se an episode wherein you heroes, and guests, come with upgraded versions of old decks that were a big hit. For instance The Enchantress deck of Melissa or that cool Eldrazi deck. Be interesting to see if these cool players have modified their decks with all the new releases.
I’ve been playing commander regularly either by myself or with friends because this channel popped up in my recommended. This even taught me things still today after a couple years of playing.
Ty for this episode! I’ve been having a hard time wrapping my head around the “Commander Damage” issue and how it works exactly! I thank you for that!
It means I need extra dice to keep tracking!
Congratulations on 400 guys. Josh, Jimmy and all the podcast crew...You Rock!!
I'm just getting back in to MTG after not playing since 03 or 04 and there seems to be quite a bit new to learn. I'm glad videos like this exist to make catching up easier and less frustrating.
Just...I LOVE your mid roll ads. They are straight up awesome in every video and I will admit that I look forward to them.
I got back into MTG (after 5 years) and play Commander thanks to The Command Zone. So much has changed (in a good way) and it feels like coming home.
Thank you for this video. I know there are other videos citing the rules, but you guys actually explain the ones that are difficult for some players to grasp.
Just started playing again for the first time in about 10 years. All my friends play commander. Seeing this episode pop up makes me feel like I started playing again at the perfect time.
I remember making a Jadzi deck and I had it at a power level 4 but I couldn’t perfectly put it all together and then I watched your strixhaven game nights episode about a week ago and really took Jimmy’s synergistic cards from the deck list to heart. I ended up adding Three Visits, Sea Gate Restoration, Lotus Cobra, Harrow, Noxious Revival, and others that really helped it out. I feel that taking others suggestions, especially those with experience really helps. Oh and then I also added some blue creatures that helped with some power on the board, thanks to my friend Luke who got me into magic. And I really just want to thank all of the people working at the Command Zone for making these types of videos possible because I was in a really low place until I found this and it put me in a better mood because I enjoyed content like this and it has really helped me out.
Spelltable actually added the ability to temporarily "block" a player. Makes playing those reveal cards easier to play so the other players can't see what is revealed.
@@Crunchatize_Me_Senpai exactly!
Showing this to my son on his 13th birthday before giving him his first Commander deck ❤️.
I hope you guys bring back The Prof, Mel Li, and the other older guests back soon for Game Knights and Extra Turns.
I want Kenji!!!!
Preach, u right, u right
Kenji and Melissa, pls *__*
The Prof + Kyle Hill! Terry Crews maybe? He plays D&D, might play magic...
100% agree. I couldn't care less about Post Malone and other "big names". I wanna see the creators I love -- Prof, DJ, Kyle Hill.... and Gavin Verhey.... but in an actual casual commander game with one of his personal decks, instead of in weird episodes like Unstable and Archenemy.
Congratulations on your well deserved longevity!! I really appreciate all your hard work. Here’s to another 400!!!
Great, great video guys! OG, played from 1994 through 1999ish, and looking to learn more about this new popular commander game. Ya'll are easy to listen to and were very well organized with this video...great stuff!!
Great episode! Just wanted to let you know guys: In Spelltable there is an option to block other players so they cannot see your hand (The audio and video becomes inaccessible for the blocked player) so there is a way to interact with the hands built in the platform. Keep the great work, huge fan here.
Started playing mtg around Dragons of Tarkir. Learned from a friends mono black (modern) vampire deck. Learned how to play commander through you guys. Now have 4 commander decks. My favorite deck being my mono black vampire (Drana) deck.
Fun fact, you can be dealt lethal Commander damage by your own Commander if stolen.
Not something I've ever allowed to happen.
But good to know.
Also if your Commander is turned face down it still counts as Commander Damage
I was just about to ask this. Thanks.
That moment when you put embercleave on your prossh, swiftly taking down your first mate just to have your second "friend" joink it with karthus to immediatly kill you on the crackback.
Fun Times indeed. x)
Thank you for the great explanation! Been playing modern, standard for a while and my buddies finally picked up magic and we wanted to play commander and this video helped me explain some rules!
I wish I could travel back in time and show Jimmy and Josh this video and watch their jaws drop.
I remember when no one played commander and we were the weirdo at the store.
Thanks for all these years of amazing content guys!
I actually started getting into the format not too long ago. Thanks for making this video! It was really helpful to me!
got back in to magic after 9 year and starde playing Commander thanks to you guys I'm picking up some awesome tips
I started playing magic back when it first released in august of 1993. my cousins got me into it, and the first thing i noticed was the art. i'm coming back after 27 years lol. thanks for the video.
What I like most about commander are situations where things like: "i play this, play that and... Wait I kill myself by accident"
I have done that to myself more than once.
Feels nice to have an episode that isn't a set review. And sometimes just nice to go back to the basics to remember what you may have forgotten from years of habits.
Awesome episode guys! I love the support for new players, this is why I love commander.
Got a commander deck for Christmas. Found this video. It’s my first one, congrats on 400.
What a great video. Thank you so much. I'm a Long time Magic player. Always avoided Commander. But I've decided to finally give it a chance. I'm getting set to make an Anje Falkenrath deck, because I Love Madness!
Thanks for another great show! I would love an episode on your process for making a deck plan!
I also like that there is a kind of social balancing in playgroups. Even if a deck is bit stronger than the rest of the decks on the table, it usually is being taken care of by the group ingame.
I really need to thank you guys, something that I didn't liked about commander was that sometimes you don't know all the cards and in game knights you take a lot of time to explain every card effect or every stack, now I loveeeeee commander since now I still don't know every card but I feel so much more confident!
I remember finding you guys by searching this when I first started and kinda learned along the way by watching you guys play and then going at it myself
I've been playing magic arena and I'm hooked to this game. I wanna play in person but I have no clue how to literally play. I've watched some of your commander gameplay and it looks so much fun. I hope to enter a game in person soon
I know this video is 2 years old but thank you for this! I've hesitated coming back to the game because limited was always too expensive and the game has evolved so much 14:39 but thanks to commander I can go back to my comfortable kamigawa ninjutsu block and be relevant!
Congratulations on 400 episodes!!
Seven years old...
Jimmy "Math is for blockers" Wong: So, we're in Middle School?
He sure isnt a blocker
Well. He isn't wrong....
@@lethalsandwhich Yes he is. 7 years old would be elementary school
Getting back into MTG after 13 years because we are taking a family trip and my nephew loves commander. Going to try and build a deck from my old casual play decks and see how badly I get smoked. Thanks for the info and help.
Trying commander for the first time this weekend and i'm so pumped to get into the format! I built decks around Locust God and Gishath
i just got into magic, starting with a Gishath commander deck
How are you doing with Commander now? I'm just getting into the format myself. Long time Magic player.
@@pmaac1564 How are you doing with Commander now? I'm just getting into the format myself. Long time Magic player.
@@draftmagicagain1000 Doing well, been playing a lot with the warhammer precons lately, also having loads of with Zaxara running hydra x-cost tribal
I've been following Dan Sheehan for a long long time, I just recently bought Not a Wolf! That's really awesome to find out he works with you guys now
Not an episode for me as a veteran commander player, But a fantastic episode to have out there at this production level! Good job guys!
Best part of the Monday and congrats on the 400!
Happy 400 CZ family you guys rock love this episode share with a good friend who wanted to get back in to magic
400 episodes! So exited I love you guys and hope to see a 1000!
FINALLY after six years of watching your show, I now know how to play the game!!
Everythingmakessomuchsensenow
Thought this was the new game knights. After an hour i was wandering when the decks would come out. 😉Great show. Sent it to a couple of friends who want to learn
Play an island, tap, sol ring, tap, dimir signet, pass turn.
Best opening I ever had was T1 Plains - Sol Ring - Rakdos Signet, T2, Mountain - Kaalia
My best first turn ever was swamp, Dark Ritual, Tiny Bones, Sol Ring, Anvil of Bogardan.
I once got a turn 1 plains into colossus hammer, then turn 2 plains into kor outfitter for a turn 2 12/12.
This triggers me so bad 🤣
Shock in a Steam Vents, Mana Crypt, Lotus Petal, Hullbreacher, Winds of Change.
Good to see u back with a regular episode! Really enjoyed this.
I would love to see a video on complicated attacks/blocks, complicated & unique stack interactions, and general situations that are slightly more difficult to understand than normal gameplay please!
Just played 3 games at my LGS unperson for the first time. It was a lot of fun!
I've never found being treated like an unperson to be fun at all. 😁
i found this channel from the post malone video. now after watching several of your videos im now building my first deck.
I've been playing commander for years but I still watched the entire video because why not?
Love the show - especially love that Jimmy was in a Liverpool shirt (my team) in a explanation of Magic. Keep up the good work guys. Ps missing Jumbo he fits in so well here on this channel. 👍🏻👍🏻
My first commander deck is nearly finished. Can't wait to try it out :D
Rachel Weeks recently mentioned a commander idea on Twitter, where each player shows their "dream starting hand" before a game begins. That will give everyone a bit of an idea of what to expect and give everyone more info about deck power levels. I think that seems like a pretty smart idea when playing with new peeps.
Girlfriend and I just got into Commander and it’s such a fun way to play Magic. Games are interesting and longer and can do so much crazy stuff it’s insane. Just built a Gargos Hydra deck and it’s so much fun to play. She wants to build a blue control deck. So many possibilities in this format, we just love it and this channel :)
Amazing episode, but by the way, as a suggestion, I think it would have been nice to include also the different mulligan rules and turn 1 rules that come with multi-player and commander magic variants. As in that you can get 1 free mulligan and that the first player also draws on turn 1. Other than that great episode and congrats for the milestone!
My playgroup goes old school. You can only Mulligan if you reveal All land or no lands. It's the only way to fly.
In the color identity portion, one thing you missed was a brief example of extort. I have had many new players not know that the B/W hybrid is not part of the color identity. Overall this is a well made video for newer players and also for players that might have learned at the "kitchen table" and thus might not be super solid on the regular rules of magic. Thanks guys keep up the good work, plus Ashlen killed it as Avacyn :)
More generally they skipped over the reminder text issue right? Though I don't know if it's common to have reminder text with mana symbols outside of extort.
@@Bob-nc5hz Well, they did say "rules text." People who have played MtG before (this video's target audience) know the difference between rules and reminder text.
Hey, been watching this podcast for years and recently started trying commander on spellbook. Looking for more cool folks to have fun edh time with!
Congratulations on 400 guys !
Great learning tool. I would have mentioned extort as the one exception to the role of color identity and deck inclusion since it's a rare oddity like the fetchlands
Love the breakdown I’ve been wanting to learn commander for a while just got me a starter deck to play
I haven't played since the stronghold prerelease, booster drafts were always my favorite games to play. I've got some friends that are recently getting excited about commander, so I'm excited to pull out my old cards and see what's up!
In regards to color identity, I think an uncommon but important mechanic to mention is "extort". I've known many new players who are confused as to why you can put a Blind Obience in a mono white deck when it has a hybrid white/black symbol on the card. (It's because the hybrid symbol is in the reminder text, which isn't actually on the card and doesn't affect color identity.)
I just got into magic, and participated in my first prerelease for kamigawa
I pulled a borderless Tamiyo and Borderless Bosjiu and was instantly hooked. I have a mono green deck and a tribal shrine/saga deck that slaps about 70% of the time lol
Happy 400 command zone!
I started in commander in ikoria with otrimi as my first precon and the casual aspect is the best thing about it. Our friend group is literally 90% just talking/ catching up and 10% magic.
Congratulations on your chapter 400, I wish you were a million more. I am a fan of Guatemala, I really enjoy their videos a lot and above all it shows that they have a great time and that they enjoy playing commander. Query, where can I check the lists of the decks they use?
In the meantime they implemented a "block player" feature into Spelltable so you can block people in your pod temporarily so they can't see your board until you unblock them again. Its a nice way to show your hand or something to specific players when they play the probe or something like that. :)
I loved the voice acting in the molekule ad SO adorable
Im sure this has been said, but the production value of these videos is second to none
I’m a HUGE fan of you guys! I really enjoy commander and my friend (now boyfriend) taught me how to play with a Zaxsara hydra tribal deck, and I still have it. Advice for new people getting into commander please please please ask questions (ie what does that card do? How does a keyword work?) and we’ll be more than willing to answer because we want you to understand and have fun!
I took a long break from MTG after about 7th edition, recently got back into it a few months ago. I've never had more fun in MTG than in commander games.
I went to a gaming cafe with my son and we played commander. He’s been playing MtG for a while now, since he’s getting older now the opportunities to hang out father/son are less frequent. We had a great night and I bought the arm for battle Wyleth deck for next time.
I’d really like to build my own commander deck - the holiest of holy decks angels, knights, clerics and the like 😂 (appropriate for me).
Anyway it’s a bit of a learning curve, all this “first strike” and “trample” lark. The card abilities I guess they are - can be quite confusing
Showing off Abundance when showcasing old cards: you editors are my kind of people.
this format came to me thanks to this channel .. you guys are great!
That molekule ad was really entertaining. Has me over here dying xD
Nice to see full explanation
I don't think you guys mentioned Extort during color identity. Correct me if I'm wrong, but even though Extort MENTIONS hybrid white/black in it's reminder text, because its not rules text, it doesn't count as color identity.
You're absolutely right. I bet the reason they didn't mention it is because it's a confusing corner case. It makes color identity harder to understand when it's introduced this early
I've heard multiple channels talk about how Commander is a great place to start however, my wife and I are fairly novice to magic and have only really played standard, constructed. We played our very first game of Commander together with 2 of the Lord of The Rings pre-cons last night, and I have to say we found it to be much more complicated and overwhelming than a normal standard game has been. Cards within those pre-cons seemed to have much more complicated text and abilities than our pre-constructed (Lord of The Rings) decks seemed to have, which we built from set boosters. 2 hours into our first game, we barely even got into the match as we spent so much time looking up and resolving complicated interactions and trying to keep track of which creature has what with counters and abilities. At the end of the 2 hours we found ourselves exhausted and having to step away. We couldn't imagine having to keep track of an additional 2 players on top of what we have to deal with between just the 2 of us. I feel like, from our experience as relatively new players, that Standard play is the way to go when starting out. It's easier to learn the mechanics, build a deck and have more than .5 of a match on a work night.