There seems to be about 200 rules for casual EDH, give or take, depending on if you’re on Twitter or not. It can be really, really hard to keep up with how many of them you have to note. If you’re traveling to an event and don’t know what to bring, the best thing you could probably do is say to hell with the arbitrary rules (to an extent), and go to town with what you like.
If you’re looking to reform from the Twitter rules, or if you’re looking to stop giving a damn and be more open to more archetypes, here’s a short list of some to consider.
Land Destruction
Everyone hates land destruction. I wrote about how everyone hates land destruction and it apparently ruffled some feathers. Well, what if I told you that if you’re regularly dying to land destruction, then you probably have something wrong in the deckbuilding department? Sometimes, not being greedy with your lands is all you need to consistently beat land destruction. If you’re doing that already, then why are you worried about it?
Ramp
Ramp isn’t directly looked down upon, but a solid number of the payoffs seem to be the center of discussion every single week.
Enough with that.
Either none of the payoffs are a problem, or all of the payoffs are a problem, and if all of the payoffs are a problem, why are you playing EDH? Isn’t the whole goal for everyone to enjoy their thing? I’m sorry, but I’m much more interested in how creative people get with their decks, than stipulating what ramp decks can do. This is yet another strike against Primeval Titan being banned, and I genuinely believe that this ban is one of the instigators for this whole notion in the first place.
Let the ramp players go big!
Treasure Tokens
Okay, so. What happened here? Why are treasure tokens so hated?
Is it because they’re abundant now and we all of a sudden don’t like an easily accessible way to make our decks function efficiently? Why are the means to attain our EDH decks’ goal such a controversy? Treasure tokens being more abundant is one of the best things to happen to the format; It speeds up the format as a whole, keeping the excruciatingly long games to a minimum. You get to fix your mana at a usually good up front cost, and the answers to them are very abundant. If your EDH deck has red or green in it, you don’t get to complain about treasure tokens. If your deck has a bunch of treasure tokens, then you probably have a goal in mind that makes sense.
I am a major advocate of just jamming the deck you find fun, and doing it how you see fit. Not everyone has the time, resources, or availability to constantly worry about power level between groups, so these archetypes and resources are some which have gotten flak for a long time. I say no more! Let the fun be fun, and let people go about their deckbuilding without extra hurdles!
Anthony Lowry (they/he) is a seasoned TCG, MMORPG, and FPS veteran. They are extensively knowledgeable on the intricacies of many competitive outlets, and are always looking for a new challenge in the gaming sphere.