I need to talk about something that I've felt and believed in regards to EDH for a while. This is something I've held true for many years, even before the recent news regarding EDH and the RC.
I won't go into depth about power brackets or power levels or bans or whatever because that's a discussion done to death, and I think the details don't really matter for what I'm going to talk about. Rather, let's take a top down approach.
Ok so, I been playing EDH for several years now. Not as long as most others, but long enough to remember when EDH products were relatively new (what got me into it in the first place, Saskia was my first deck). So, I've seen it all. Pubstompers, timmies, cedh, 2 hour games, 2 minute games, rule zero, good games, bad games, product fatigue, you name it.
I'm new enough to EDH that I don't remember a time before WotC was making products for EDH - when you had to make decks from cards meant for other formats only. But what attracted me to EDH wasn't because of some shiny new EDH product off the shelf - the product push wasn't that heavy yet - but rather because my Standard collection was about to rotate out, and being unable to use those cards ever again didn't sit right with me. I wanted to keep playing with my favorite cards. So when someone told me "try EDH, it's eternal, you can use almost any card you like!" yea, that got me hooked.
Anyways, the one thing that has never sat right with me in regards to EDH all this time is how the format does not respect everyone's playstyle. You see 60 card formats and there's something for everyone. On a budget? Pauper or penny. Want something faster? Legacy, modern. Like trying new sets in a slightly slower format? Standard.
But when it comes to EDH, it seems like you're just at the mercy of the RC's "intent" plus whatever your pod desires. And yea, like, pods tend to try to adjust around each other, but ultimately most people will tend to play to "the spirit of EDH" whatever the fuck that means (it means slow casual games and nothing else)
See, EDH is an eternal format. We know what that means. You can use any card you want (so long as it's not banned of course). And one of the biggest aspects of EDH is this focus on creating decks around themes. Tokens, pirates, grixis, control, whatever you want. Combine that with the "casual" emphasis (meaning, we play for fun, no prizes or ranks at stake. Play it like you would a board game with friends, rather than a tournament with strangers), and you got a recipe for fun, creativity, and allowing pretty much any playstyle at the table.
Or so you would think. You see, within the broader spectrum that is Magic the Gathering, play styles isn't just things like "a token deck" or "mono-green" or "pirates". It's also stax, control, playing at certain paces, expecting certains things to happen by X turn. This goes BOTH WAYS. Some people enjoy slower paced games where they spend 5 turns setting up and another 5 turns taking casual pot shots at opponents then slamming down a giant 12 mana timmy card. That's fine! But if that type of play bores me out of my fucking skull, and I'd rather see threats hit the table at turn 3 and move into mid-game by turn 4, then by gosh let me have my play preference, too. Certainly, WotC printed the cards to support all sorts of playstyles, so why is it taboo when I play a stax piece but perfectly acceptable when someone wants to ask the table to play their version of stax - turn 7 big dragon battlecruiser?
And yea, I know, we're getting power brackets and soon this will resolve itself. But by goly why did it take THIS LONG for the RC to get here? No. Why did it take WotC taking over the RC for us to get this, and as a response to the RC further disrespecting faster play preferences with the bans to fast mana?
You see, EDH is a casual format. And I totally accept and love that. But I think what my definition of casual is, might be different than most others' definition. A lot of folks seem to think slow = casual. But to me, casual means no stakes, no prizes, no competition.
It's like playing volleyball with your friends. Maybe you're older and more athletic than your younger brother, and you ask him to sit this one out so you can play against your older, more athletic friends. Because you enjoy the thrill of the challenge. There's no prizes, no stakes. But playing with a lighter touch and having a 'no spiking the ball' rule because the youngin wants to play just isn't y'all's definition of fun.
And yet, most of the EDH community looks at that and goes "well that's COMPETITIVE VOLLEYBALL because you didn't cater to little timmy." And so the RC steps in and bans this more athletic, challenging play preference because oops, we excluded someone who wasn't gonna be able to keep up.
The bans to fast mana. The removal of banned-as-commander. The fact Lutris is STILL banned to this day, even AFTER WotC nerfed it. The constant telling folks to "just rule zero faster paced games/banned cards" It sucks. It honestly does. And I'm not defending the folks who launched harassment at the RC after the recent bannings, but wow I'm glad we're FINALLY getting power brackets. I just wish it happened sooner, under better circumstances. Because maybe now EDH can be respectful to a wider variety of playstyles and preferences without acting like faster games with more powerful cards is somehow against "the casual spirit of EDH"
In summary, EDH should be for all. And it is. The format has attracted a LOT of players. But historically it has tried to shoehorn players into lower-level play. EDH is simply too big - ESPECIALLY with the constant downpour of products (I honestly blame WotC for putting so much pressure on the RC to keep up, and it's unsurprising they failed to do so) - to tell everyone to "play slower and more casually and avoid these problematic cards" because hey, some folks like faster games, more powerful games, "problematic" cards (I have zero shame slamming down a Drannith Magistrate sue me), competition, 10 minute games, and so on. And it's about time the format's rules and expecatations opened up to accomodate the wide player base it promised.
