I’ve often dreamed of an EDH Invitational. Maybe someday, we will even make it a reality. Until then, we’ll play it out in our heads.
As you’re reading this, I’ll be just winging my way back from Pro Tour: San Juan. I’m sure something happened there that you’ll be talking about, and if I can, I’ll talk about it next week.
For an EDH Invitational, I would invite 16 players, and play in four pods of four, probably in some kind of round-robin fashion, giving everyone the opportunity to play with as many others as possible. I would definitely use some variant on the Armada Games EDH points award system, which I’d send to everyone in advance. Using the points system can be a little distracting, so I’d station a judge at every table to keep score. The folks I would invite wouldn’t likely need rules/rulings help, but they might need an extra set of eyes keeping straight all the crazy things that happen in an EDH game.
I’d also institute some kind of dibs rules for Generals so there were no two of the same. Perhaps some kind of auction (for charity), or the way they did it for the old Magic Invitational. Maybe we’d simply do a lottery to choose first.
Of course, my ideal place to do this would be poolside here at The Estate, but quite honestly, there’s not enough space here to comfortably room fifteen extra people, and there’s not enough shaded play space. Guess I’ll have to think about that for the next house we build.
The most reasonable thing to do would be to attach it to a Pro Tour, GP, or other large event for which the players were already coming anyway. That is, unless I suddenly get really wealthy. Then I’d just build the house big enough to do it here. Building houses is time-consuming, so I have an alternate plan for the first one (this is, again, assuming the ridiculous wealth that may or may not be coming). I’d rent out one of the smaller dining rooms at Bern’s Steak House. That way, we could eat great meals and enjoy literally the world’s largest operating wine cellar while we’re playing.
Back to reality, if it ever happens, I’d be willing to bet StarCityGames.com will be involved somehow.
Like Magic Invitationals, the winner of this event would get to design a card, and it would be a General. I’m going to make my submission now:
Tyrant of the Red Zone
6BRG
Legendary Creature — Juggernaut
7/7
Whenever a player casts a blue Instant or Sorcery, counter it unless its controller pays 3.
Creatures have Haste and Trample
Creatures must attack each turn if able
Creatures must block if able
Whenever Tyrant of the Red Zone attacks, put a token copy of each other attacking creature onto the battlefield tapped and attacking a different player. Exile the tokens at the beginning of the next end step.
Okay, there is some Blue I dislike. So sue me. I was trying to work in “If an ability controlled by an opponent would cause you to skip your untap step, that player loses the game instead,” but that’s kind of wonky.
I’d also think about, in the spirit of embracing the chaos, doing half the invitations randomly from amongst the EDH-playing masses. I certainly don’t want this list to just be a Who’s Who, but folks that I’d enjoy watching play the format/enjoying playing the format with. Apologies to anyone who gets miffed by not being on this list.
Here are the 16 people (who actually play the game—otherwise, Mary McCormack would be shuffling the 100 card decks with me, if you know what I mean) that I’d invite:
Me
I’m the only person who’s not in alphabetical order on the list, because in the words of Denny Crane, “my name’s on the door.” And it must be said, despite all the foul-ups, flubs, misplays, and not-payings-of-attention, I thoroughly enjoy watching myself play EDH—since I’m, you know, playing EDH.
Jeremy Blair
Jeremy picked up the format shortly before (or maybe shortly after) my arrival in Tampa three and half years ago, and now (along with his wife Molly) has the most popular EDH channel on YouTube. One of the reasons I’d love to have Jeremy play is so that everyone else can watch his evil unfold. Jeremy has the remarkable gift of telling in-game lies that include enough of a shred of truth that people somehow believe him. I’m talking “religious leader good” here. They’re changing the art on the Brainwash card to his picture. Jeremy once convinced people that he was the good guy despite playing Hive Mind and Pacts in the same deck. Really: religious leader good.
Gavin Duggan
There is no one else who has done more to promote the format (and I might be including myself in that comparison) than Gavin. I was pretty happy just kind of rolling along with the format being popular with the PT judges when Gavin suggested formalizing the rules, and official website, a rules committee—all the stuff that I knew we needed but didn’t want to go out of my way to do. Gavin helped spread the gospel of EDH throughout the Pro Tour judges, and then the world. Another member of the Rules Committee, we don’t always see eye to eye on the philosophy of EDH (which, I’ll add, is a great deal more complex than ‘this is a problem card’), but no one can ever doubt Gavin’s commitment to making EDH the best format ever.
Fellow L5 Toby is the Timmiest of Timmies when it comes to EDH. Although you’ve heard me repeatedly talk about how he schooled us on the brokenness of Vicious Shadows, for the most part, Toby is all about the wild and wacky, about paying lots of mana to do lots of stuff, especially if there are big monsters at the end. Toby has threatened to build a Sneak Attack deck since Rise of the Eldrazi came out, but hasn’t yet found one that’s amusing enough to him. And it was Toby who coined the phrase “Embrace the Chaos.”
I’m going to be the first person you hear say this: Brian David-Marshall belongs in the Magic Hall of Fame. I understand he doesn’t have the requisite number of Pro points, but there are few more influential and iconic figures in the history of Magic. He is truly the voice of the high-quality Magic player, and he’s never lost touch with the popular base. There should be a special election or something.
Add to that that, BDM and I are funnier together than Martin and Lewis ever dreamed of. If you see us quitting the game at the same time, it’s because we’re taking the show on the road.
It must be said that Brian and I have different play styles, mine being “fun living in the red zone” and his being “ruining the fun for everyone else,” but I hardly consider that a character flaw. Actually I do, but I’m willing to look past it, because he’s the only person I’ve ever heard say “I need to Tweet more from strip clubs,” and he has a similar appreciation for the awesomeness of Earl Weaver’s tomatoes.
A long-time champion of the format at WotC, the thing I like most about Aaron is that he understands creating the balance in deck building in this completely broken format. At first, I rode him mercilessly about his Braids deck, which made a lot of casual players want to quit, and probably led to its banning as a General. After he dropped that, he showed how to make decks good enough to be competitive and interesting without being silly. I really like his Endrek Sahr deck. A funny and interesting conversationalist, stop by and chat with him if you see him gunslinging at an event. Or just randomly write him emails that include the words “Four-Color Generals!” or “Make the Nephilim Legendary.” I’ll tell you everything you need to know about Aaron Forsythe: He has a Ramses Overdark deck.
Gis Hoogendijk
The current Judge Emeritus, European Organized Play manager, and former L5 partner-in-crime once had the idea to have a deck for each of the 27 existing Legendary Creature color combinations. I’m not sure how far he’s gotten. He was also the first person I ever saw make a Karn deck. He unveiled it at Pro Tour: London. We happened to be sitting next to each other, and he showed me his nuts opening hand, which included some acceleration that implied the ability to hardcast Darksteel Colossus (more impressive then than now) on turn 5 or so. I showed him mine, which included Rebuild. I think that was the same game that Gis and I both had Mind’s Eye in play and were chaining ridiculous draws off of each other.
Poolside here in Tampa, Gis once got targeted by someone else’s Time Stretch (on purpose!) and still didn’t win the game.
Ted hasn’t played that much EDH, but he understands the format well. He told me he likes the fact that the format is designed to “exploit and invert the danger of cool things,” and that it forces you out of the mindset you normally have as a competitive player. After knowing Ted online for a couple of years, I’ll never forget what he said to me when we first met in person: “I thought you’d be bigger.”
Scott Larabee
My very close friend Scott was basically the person who introduced the format to the folks at Wizards of the Coast, and is responsible for it infecting a good portion of the Organized Play department (and beyond). He is also a deck builder who understands how to push the envelope without breaking it. He loves the multiplayer game, having been in on the design of both Planechase and Archenemy. Most of all, Scott loves bringing stuff out of the graveyard as much as I do—maybe even more.
Rashad Miller
You know Rashad from GGSLive, and you may know him as a former L3 Judge. What you might not know is that the Second Rule of EDH (after Don’t Be a D-Bag) is “Kill Rashad First.” Rashad, will of course, wear an amusing hat and protest his innocence. He will most likely sit there and not do much, playing cards that make you shrug and go “that’s not a threat,” and then suddenly, without any kind of warning, Rashad has won the game. The insidiousness of it is that no one can actually remember how he did it. “I don’t know. He was just sitting there, not doing much, wearing one of those hats of his, and the next thing I knew, we were shuffling up for the next game.”
Ken Nagle
While I might hesitate (we’re talking appreciable pauses here) to call myself a Ken Nagle fan, I appreciate a great deal how much he loves EDH and likes designing cards for the format. If he lived in Tampa, Ken would definitely be a member of Team Lives in the Red Zone. And anyone who Tweets about me as much as Ken does can’t be all bad.
Lee, a constant presence in the #mtgjudge channel, actually programmed the Commander format on MTGO (we’re talking about actually writing the code), and it was a labor of love. When I asked Lee about what he loves most about the format, he said “I like the ‘theme.’ Having a general I can almost always cast and the color-based deck building restriction is flavorful and fun. I like the splashier stuff which is a fun alternative to how Magic is normally played (RoE notwithstanding). And, of course, people who play it tend to be a fun group of people, as long as you glare at the guy who likes to bring infinite combos.” Can’t say it much better myself.
Bennie and I have been writing about Magic for roughly the same amount of time. We came up on StarCityGames.com together. We’ve even collaborated. At least, I think we’ve collaborated. Bennie is a very good player, and an avid supporter of the game and the format. Besides me, he’s the only other guy actually writing about it to my knowledge, at least with any regularity.
One thing that worries me about Bennie is that little moustache. It’s got that 70’s porn star vibe. And the first hit you get when you Google him is a Dover, Delaware funeral/cremation service, so there’s that to think about too.
Matt Tabak
Former L3 judge, WotC customer service rep, and current R&D guy Matt Tabak is a giant in Magic, and it has nothing to do with the fact that he’s 6’8″. Matt embodies the spirit of fun-loving, and there’s no group that’s not better for including one Matt Tabak. Once, while in Vegas, Matt and I decided we had had enough of the blackjack and pai gow tables despite the fact that we were in positive territory, and went to the arcade at the Luxor and played pinball (“The Cyclone,” if you must know) for something like 6 hours. There may have been drinks.
David Williams
I have actually seen fewer people more excited about the format than Dave. Last year I wrote about him me, Scott, and BDM at GenCon to sling the 100 card decks, and I swear he was like a kid at Christmas. At a candy store. With Christmas stuff in it. The first time he played, he played with a borrowed deck and instead of looking through it to see how it worked, he announced that he was just going to discover it as he went along. Every time he drew a card, he’d get that big, infectious Dave Williams grin on his face. This is the spirit of EDH.
Worth Wollpert
The Sr. Business Manager for Magic Online is a most excellent player and has a great sense of humor. If we lived near each other, I imagine that we’d hang with each other a fair amount because we have a number of similar tastes, although we’d argue about music all the time (since the stuff he likes sucks). I feel a little bad for him because of his favorite sports teams, but then I remember I’m an Orioles fan. And should Facebook is to be believed, he’s kind of a big deal and people know him.
There are certainly other names I could put on a list of “deserving” to go to an EDH Invitational, but these are the folks I’d love to gather together to collectively Embrace the Chaos. Here’s hoping that someday we can make this dream a reality.