Cal on Call - Finding cEDH Games & Meta Blues

Welcome to Cal on Call, my new cEDH mailbag article series here on Commander's Herald! I'll be answering your hard, easy, interesting, boring, and important questions about all things Competitive Commander. I've already gotten a lot of questions to work my way through and won't be able to answer everyone, but I'm always accepting more in my Twitter DMs or at my email: cal@caljones.com. I hope you enjoy it!

Cal,

My question for you is this: how do I find a cEDH playgroup? I live in NE Ohio, and my LGS doesn't have any cEDH players. What would be the best way for me to find games? Join big Discord servers? Find smaller servers or those run through Patreon?

Thanks for your time!

- Ian

Hey, Gameless in Ohio! This is the most common problem I see players having when trying to get into the cEDH format, so I wanted to address it right out of the gate. Competitive EDH, while an ever increasingly popular way to play Magic, is still much less common to find players for than draft, lower powered EDH, or Modern. If you're in an area where you currently don't have people to play with, I think there are a few major solutions. 

The first option I would suggest you've already nailed. Finding an online community that works for you is by far the easiest way to get in games. Now, where that group of people can be found for you in specific is the hard part. The only way you can really know what would be best for your preferences is by trying! Hop into a creator Discord and see if other active players match up with your schedules and preferred vibes. Check out larger servers, like the r/CEDH gameplay server or similar, to see if consistently playing with whoever is available at the time (there's always somebody!). You'll only be able to figure out if you enjoy it (especially playing over webcam) by trying! I'm fully convinced there's a cEDH community out there for everyone online, the issue is just finding it. 

For a more structured option, I'd recommend the likes of monthly webcam tournaments! Whether it be Ka0s, Mox Masters, or otherwise, they'll provide a day full of cEDH games for you, in return for an entry fee and  a less-comfortable-than-normal play experience due to anti-cheating measures. In this same vein, Playing with Power does offer a monthly webcam League in their Patreon server, offering incentives for people to consistently play games rather than relying entirely on LFGs. 

Finally, the hardest option but possibly the one with the best result. It's worked for me in the past but it won't work for everyone. Proxy up several relatively easy cEDH decks (common choices are Kinnan, Winota, Malcolm/Tana, etc.), take them to your LGS... and see if people are willing to try it out with you! You might be able to make some converts and then have your very own local play group.

Thanks for the question Ian, I hope my answer helps!

Cal,

It feels like every top-tier cEDH deck has been four- to five-color midrange piles for the most part. Is the meta likely to be in this grindy, midrange mindset for a while, or is this simply the current season cEDH is in?

- Ben

Hey, Ben! 

For those less familiar with the cEDH meta, I'll give a quick expansion on what Ben is asking here. The decks that often dominate tournaments (and also many chill cEDH tables) are high-color midrange decks, focused on having access to a lot of card draw, infinite combos, and plenty of interaction. Examples of this are Najeela, the Blade-Blossom and Tymna the Weaver partnered with Kraum, Ludevic's Opus. Najeela is a five-color commander that's a part of several combos, allows you to play all the best cards, and also is a solid beat stick all on its own. Tymna and Kraum give you what are considered to be the four most powerful colors in cEDH, missing out only on green, while also bringing a lot of card draw in the Command Zone. 

Unfortunately, Ben, I think these types of decks have been successful in the tournament scene because they're basically the best things that you can be doing, at least that we're aware of. While I always love to see new directions of decks and archetypes explored in the cEDH meta, the reality is that being able to register Rhystic Study, Underworld Breach, and Silence while also always having defined action in the command zone (i.e., your hand) is just going to be better and win more consistently than other options. It's not even like this is a meta of decks that can be effectively attacked with sideboards not existing and hate cards being not broadly applicable (and there's nothing worse than drawing an entirely dead reactionary card in the middle of a game), so to fully answer the question, I think this is just where the cEDH tournament meta currently is... by necessity and here it will stay for some time. I don't foresee many Control Winters, Turbo Summers, or Stax Springs in our collective future.

That's all for the very first edition of Cal on Call! I'll be back soon with more questions, more answers, and maybe even a few jokes. Again, don't hesitate to send me your queries, whether it be through Twitter, email, or carrier pigeon!