Competitive EDH

Boom/Bust Crack the Earth Raze Stoneshaker Shaman Impending Disaster Blood Moon Devestating Dreams

Sprinkle in some Sneak Attack, blue/white hate.

Thoughts?

There are a lot of ways to effectively play without a hand mind you. I can see Hazoret as working very well in a control shell. Indestructible creature with high power for CMC to end the game. Can be used with a lot of red “wraths” like Blasphemous Act and other ways to clean up the field. Especially things like:

Been really thinking about making a Ruric Thar deck. Been really liking Gruul lately.

A few months ago, some coworkers and I were talking about the days of the week and how they get their names from some of the Norse gods.

My coworkers asked my boss and I how we both knew so much about Norse gods. My boss said it was because he’s from Denmark, which is a Nordic country. I said it was because I’m a huge nerd who loves learning about mythology.

After the meeting ended, my boss said to me, “You know, those gods are a major part of my culture. My ancestors believed in them as much as you believe in your religion.”

Now you have to understand, my boss is a very even-tempered and nice guy. He doesn’t offend easily, and he didn’t say this with any anger in his voice. All the same, it was a very humbling and eye-opening moment for me.

I apologized for speaking insensitively, and he assured me that he was certain I meant no harm by it. I thanked him for the learning opportunity.

“Mythos” is the Greek word for story. “Mythology” is the study of stories. You used the term correctly. You studied stories. Whether they were true or not has nothing to do with this.

It is no secret that EDH is a very diverse format - probably the most diverse format out there. A deck builder can build almost any kind of deck imaginable - from the typical control, combo, aggro, and midrange decks; to decks like Stax, chaos, pillowfort, and anything in between. However, not all EDH decks are created equal - the possible disparity in power level between any two EDH decks is potentially as large as the difference between a bad draft deck and a tuned Vintage deck - and any sort of deck in between.

Most people tend to classify EDH decks as either “Casual” or “Competitve”, but the divide between the two is both subjective and blurry. However, a good way to classify EDH decks is needed in order to better communicate what kinds of decks you are playing to the rest of your pod or playgroup so everyone can have an enjoyable experience. It would also be good to have a metric for discussing certain cards or deck-archetypes. As such, I have decided to try creating my own classification system for EDH decks:

Type 1: Jank, Draft Chaff, and Gimmicks

Everyone was new to EDH at one time. Whether from inexperience or lack of funds, many players of EDH have decks that are barely functional - containing little more than draft chaff and starter-pack rares. Their curves are nonexistent, their decks are incoherent, and their cards are unsleeved. Some may  be monstrosities containing 65 random green creatures and 35 forests, or “troll decks” containing 5-drop removal spells and Divinations with literally zero win-con. Other decks of this type tend to be gimmicks or “theme decks”, created by a more enfranchised player as a form of self-expression. Decks like “Ladies Looking Left” or “Chair Tribal” or “Mono-Red Samurai” - full of a whole lot of flavor, but almost nothing else. Decks of this type are often composed entirely of cards most players would never give a second look at, and typically cannot stand up to anything much stronger than a precon, if that.

Type 2: Casual

As opposed to Type 1 decks, Type 2 decks tend to have some amount of selectivity in the cards they play. You probably aren’t going to see random French-Vanillas in a deck like this, and they typically tend to have some sort of strategy and coherence. This is actually where I would rate the precon decks that Wizards makes every year. I would also consider decks built with some sort of arbitrary restriction - EG “no rares” or “no cards over $2”, as well as builds of “grouphug” and “chaos” that just do not have a way to win to be in this category. These types of decks are typically not exactly “good”, still containing many suboptimal choices and often with abysmal mana-curves, but the decks still tend to have some bite to them. If there are any combos in these decks, they are horribly janky and inconsistent ones, requiring so many pieces to function that it feels fair.

Type 3: “75%”

The name of this type is based off the “75%” deckbuilding philosophy, that states that the way to build an EDH deck that can handle the most competitive of players while not being unfun for the most casual is to make one at 75% power. While such a deck is actually impossible to build (anything that wants to even attempt to have a chance at so much as participating in a game with the most competitive of decks has to run the sorts of cards that more casual players shun entirely), decks of this type can pretty happily sit at a table with anything from a “type-2” deck to a “type-4” deck. While not all 75% decks out there are of this type, and not all decks of this type are 75% decks, the types of decks that philosophy builds are exemplars of this power-level. These are probably the most common types of EDH decks out there, and if you are going into a new group or store blindly, your best bet is probably with one of these.

Type 4: Pubstomp

Y’know that guy who claims he is so amazing at EDH and that his deck is unbeatable? That guy that plays Kaalia or Jhoira or Rafiq, that you just can’t beat? Well, this is probably the kind of deck he plays. Type 4 is where the gloves come off and anything goes - MLD, combos, Stax, Infect, Extra Turns, and everything else under the sun. These decks are mean, and tend to crush more casual decks out there. If you asked the average player what the best decks in EDH are, they would probably list off decks of this type. And they would be dead wrong.

Type 5: CEDH

So not too long ago some people on Tumblr started talking about a potential Civil War story line for the Gatewatch, and I mentioned that I thought it was Jace and Gideon who would be the two to perpetuate said hypothetical storyline due to some foreshadowing that occurred when the Gatewatch was founded back in Oath of The Gatewatch. That foreshadowing first occurs in the story “Brink of Extinction” where Jace realizes he needs to keep something in mind about Gideon. 

“You gave your word?” said Gideon. Breaking a promise didn’t seem to sit well with him, a fact Jace would have to keep in mind.

Now I know it’s subtle, but when I first read this story this line stood out to me, because it seemed to be hinting at something, at least to me. Then later on in “Zendikar Resurgent” other things from Jace’s point of view stood out to me.

“Jace ought to be able to replicate the effect with telepathy, to work from people’s thoughts the right thing to say or do to give them solace and comfort. To make people trust him. But Gideon wasn’t a telepath, and everyone knew that. Gideon just knew what to say/ Maybe that was why it worked. Maybe Jace should leave charisma to the charismatic and focus on arming Gideon with the best possible information to make those honest, forthright decisions of his. Jace felt a pang of guilt, already making plans to win Gideon over in some imaginary future argument to bring others around. But then, that’s what Jace was always doing. Making plans.”

Now this is where I really saw the potential for a break within the Gatewatch, new as it may have been at this time. Jace may always be making plans, but it seemed plausible and likely that something would cause this scenario to happen, and Jace was already thinking of ways to convince, or manipulate Gideon to win him over.

Later on in the same story this appears, also foreshadowing a potential conflict within the group:

‘“Those oaths we took,” said Gideon. “They’re not all alike, because we’re not all alike.” That fact hadn’t escaped Jace. It was a way for one oath to bind four very different people-until “Justice and peace” and “the sake of the multiverse” didn’t line up. But they could deal with that when it came.”

Also throughout the Kaladesh storyline there have been references to Jace and Gideon overstepping each other on the leadership of the Gatewatch, as mentioned by Dovin Baan, and it shows weakness within the group. Either way, unintentionally, Gideon and Jace both think they are the one in charge of the Gatewatch.

I actually think the Gatewatch Civil War will come fairly soon. Not in Amonkhet, and probably not the block after, but then it will be about time.

So not too long ago some people on Tumblr started talking about a potential Civil War story line for the Gatewatch, and I mentioned that I thought it was Jace and Gideon who would be the two to perpetuate said hypothetical storyline due to some foreshadowing that occurred when the Gatewatch was founded back in Oath of The Gatewatch. That foreshadowing first occurs in the story “Brink of Extinction” where Jace realizes he needs to keep something in mind about Gideon. 

“You gave your word?” said Gideon. Breaking a promise didn’t seem to sit well with him, a fact Jace would have to keep in mind.

Now I know it’s subtle, but when I first read this story this line stood out to me, because it seemed to be hinting at something, at least to me. Then later on in “Zendikar Resurgent” other things from Jace’s point of view stood out to me.

“Jace ought to be able to replicate the effect with telepathy, to work from people’s thoughts the right thing to say or do to give them solace and comfort. To make people trust him. But Gideon wasn’t a telepath, and everyone knew that. Gideon just knew what to say/ Maybe that was why it worked. Maybe Jace should leave charisma to the charismatic and focus on arming Gideon with the best possible information to make those honest, forthright decisions of his. Jace felt a pang of guilt, already making plans to win Gideon over in some imaginary future argument to bring others around. But then, that’s what Jace was always doing. Making plans.”

Now this is where I really saw the potential for a break within the Gatewatch, new as it may have been at this time. Jace may always be making plans, but it seemed plausible and likely that something would cause this scenario to happen, and Jace was already thinking of ways to convince, or manipulate Gideon to win him over.

Later on in the same story this appears, also foreshadowing a potential conflict within the group:

‘“Those oaths we took,” said Gideon. “They’re not all alike, because we’re not all alike.” That fact hadn’t escaped Jace. It was a way for one oath to bind four very different people-until “Justice and peace” and “the sake of the multiverse” didn’t line up. But they could deal with that when it came.”

Also throughout the Kaladesh storyline there have been references to Jace and Gideon overstepping each other on the leadership of the Gatewatch, as mentioned by Dovin Baan, and it shows weakness within the group. Either way, unintentionally, Gideon and Jace both think they are the one in charge of the Gatewatch.

So not too long ago some people on Tumblr started talking about a potential Civil War story line for the Gatewatch, and I mentioned that I thought it was Jace and Gideon who would be the two to perpetuate said hypothetical storyline due to some foreshadowing that occurred when the Gatewatch was founded back in Oath of The Gatewatch. That foreshadowing first occurs in the story “Brink of Extinction” where Jace realizes he needs to keep something in mind about Gideon. 

“You gave your word?” said Gideon. Breaking a promise didn’t seem to sit well with him, a fact Jace would have to keep in mind.

Now I know it’s subtle, but when I first read this story this line stood out to me, because it seemed to be hinting at something, at least to me. Then later on in “Zendikar Resurgent” other things from Jace’s point of view stood out to me.

“Jace ought to be able to replicate the effect with telepathy, to work from people’s thoughts the right thing to say or do to give them solace and comfort. To make people trust him. But Gideon wasn’t a telepath, and everyone knew that. Gideon just knew what to say/ Maybe that was why it worked. Maybe Jace should leave charisma to the charismatic and focus on arming Gideon with the best possible information to make those honest, forthright decisions of his. Jace felt a pang of guilt, already making plans to win Gideon over in some imaginary future argument to bring others around. But then, that’s what Jace was always doing. Making plans.”

Now this is where I really saw the potential for a break within the Gatewatch, new as it may have been at this time. Jace may always be making plans, but it seemed plausible and likely that something would cause this scenario to happen, and Jace was already thinking of ways to convince, or manipulate Gideon to win him over.

Later on in the same story this appears, also foreshadowing a potential conflict within the group:

‘“Those oaths we took,” said Gideon. “They’re not all alike, because we’re not all alike.” That fact hadn’t escaped Jace. It was a way for one oath to bind four very different people-until “Justice and peace” and “the sake of the multiverse” didn’t line up. But they could deal with that when it came.”

Also throughout the Kaladesh storyline there have been references to Jace and Gideon overstepping each other on the leadership of the Gatewatch, as mentioned by Dovin Baan, and it shows weakness within the group. Either way, unintentionally, Gideon and Jace both think they are the one in charge of the Gatewatch.