The "Unwritten Rules"

[@andrueurbane7361]

Make the game memorable. Play to win, but be ok with losing. Be the player that others will invite back again and again. Funny Tergrid story - in a recent Rule 0 conversation, one player piped up that he didn't mind what anyone else played, but that he would scoop to Tergrid. I don't have a Tergrid deck, but I do have a Magar rakdos deck that cares about unblockable. Tergrid isn't in the 99, but... We hit turn 11 with anti-Tergrid player on top on board, he knocks out two other players but can't quite get there with me. He passes. I top deck Psychic Paper, play and attach it to one of my Magar spell-creatures which had not yet been revealed, naming Tergrid and God. True to his word, he cursed and conceded. Everyone laughed and couldn't stop talking about the game all night as we switched pods.

[@bettercommander]

I like that story dude.

[@christianmacintyre5453]

Swords to plowshares? Lol

[@steam_gorilla]

Congrats on the 10k! Consistently one of my favorite MTG channels. Genuinely informative, lowkey, and has brought me to tears laughing on numerous occasions. Congrats and hoping on 10k more brother

[@bettercommander]

Slow but sure brother!

[@benjaminkaye5119]

Congratulations brother !! You deserve all the accolades! Keep up the great content, but better yet , keep up the great humor, because that’s better commander , brother !!!!

[@bettercommander]

Thanks for being a bro. You have been here a while. Thanks for checking it out

[@benjaminkaye5119]

@@bettercommander glad I found ya. Other content was starting to conglomerate and regurgitate the same stuff with a different gimmick lol. You keep it quick , to the point , and funny… the humor keeps me coming back and sometimes rehearing the joke ! One of the og subs , and the content keeps slapping ! Always look forward to a new video from nicki g and better commander , brother !!!

[@brycewood8978]

I love the energy and outlook you have towards playing the game as a whole, at the end of the day it's all about having fun cause that's better commander brother.

[@jackquinlan2621]

This view of house bans is perfect, and more people need to hear this. The amount of times I've been denied from playing in a pod bc they didn't like my commander or a combo I was running is unreal, and it needs to stop. Healthy rule zero discussions are fair, and help people have better quality games, denying play literally does the opposite.

[@Zeyga]

Nicky G about to invent a whole new format: Little Dinky Doodoo Commander Congratulations on the channel getting the hype it deserves brother. Wouldn't be surprised if the growth is exponential from here. Honored to have been on the ground floor with ya.

[@bettercommander]

Yeah, I appreciate you man. You have been a stalwart. When I take over the presidency, you'll get a pardon for all the war crimes you've committed to get me to the top.

[@Zeyga]

"...he dropped a turn 1 mana crypt mana vault Jeweled Lotus Skytherix....on younglings!"

[@alexabney7913]

If you can’t take over and win by turn 8-9 I’m going to combo off and you’re not allowed to be salty bc I’ve been making it clear it was going to happen for like at least an hour

[@bettercommander]

Yes, I've had people say "that combo came out of nowhere, not fun to play against, no way to interact" Brother, I've been doing stuff for 5 turns.

[@mbeining11]

Gravy boats make the...days float, brother! This convo is what goes through my mind when I build a deck and don't wanna be "that guy"; but, then, as long as we're all taking showers first, maybe we're all that guy/girl who wants to win or have fun anywayz. Don't sweat it

[@SwedeRacerDC]

Great video as always! Fun should be key. I will play with anybody once, but if the pod is about to play precons and you show up with a "slightly" modded precon all sweaty, you can get I ain't playing with you again. Give new people a chance but if you are that new person, do your best to match the pod. I still do think that rule 0 is an important part of casual play, but I think it's often done wrong. But with hyenas, you almost never need that Convo. My usual group is fun to play with and keeps it interesting and that's better commander!

[@mr.mammuthusafricanavus8299]

75% deck or High powered Casual I like to think I fall in this 75%/high power casual decks: - Typically has really good synergized cards - Does not usually have any Mana crypts, vaults, cards over 100$, etc... - 1 tutor which 95% of the time will not search for the end game combo - Every deck has 3 ways to win from simple commander damage to a single 3 card combo - Tries not to have staples, because it can be boring seeing the same cards I constantly try new decks and styles. I think my favorite part about making and trying new decks is the mistakes and the things we learn from them along the way, last FNM mistakes: - State based actions concerning cloning commanders, Hidetsugu and Kairi. LOL I tried to do the ETB on the clone before deciding on which one dies. - Looping Abdel's combo, I had the combo but forgot that I could get the Restoration Angels ETB on the stack to blink Abdel after he has put the Angel somewhere in his body or pocket... I just want to have fun winning is a fringe benefit, the best games are the games that allow everyone a chance to see their deck do something ;p

[@bettercommander]

I agree. Most people just want to see things happen, and then winning is secondary.

[@monomanamaniac]

I always tell everyone to just be responsible for your own happiness and if we're all doing that then we'll all have a good time. All things even you only have a 25% chance of winning, so you need to try to have fun the other 75% of the time

[@bettercommander]

That's good advice, you really need to control your own responses

[@monomanamaniac]

@@bettercommander I've played two games this year, I won one, lost one. If I got salty about losing, I'd be disappointed with half the games I've played this year lol. I always tell everyone to just look at your own gameplay and see what you could do to improve for the future. Use every loss as a learning experience

[@martaneon5310]

Another rule: When deckbuilding, lead by example. For example, I don't think fast mana belongs in casual, so I don't run fast mana (not even a Sol Ring). I don't dunk on fast mana but run it anyway because "I'm at a huge disadvantage if I don't." Besides, restricting yourself can breed creativity.

[@bettercommander]

Yeah, I've never even had access to Mana Crypt or Commander Lotus. Those types of cards belong in super sweaty decks.

[@martaneon5310]

@@bettercommander there's a lot of sweaty players at the store I play at.

[@inkedteddy4627]

My first experience playing edh at a lgs there was a kid playing Tergrid. Than that kid became the salty one because everyone was targeting him lol.

[@bettercommander]

That is an unwritten rule I can get behind.

[@benjaminkaye5119]

Playin dinky doo commander , great stuff. Just joined the discord.

[@bettercommander]

Aw yeah!

[@ashemabahumat4173]

If its unwritten, then do it until they write it down

[@bettercommander]

Amen brother

[@DUxMORTEM]

I came i to commander to play casually. But after all of the unwritten rules and people bitching about cards they don't like i went to high power or CEDH and never looked back. When they abolish rule 0 so people stop referring to it when telling me what i can and can't play I'll come back.

[@tylertesla3678]

I just find it funny that infitites and instant wins are allowed but certain cards aren't. Why is Grislebrand not allowed but infinite mana is allowed?

[@bettercommander]

I really don't know, there really is no reason to ban anything. In the olden days, it was the Commander Council or whatever the heck it was called getting all upset about Sylvan Primordial or whatever. All that pales in comparison to today's degeneracy. Just free everything.

[@tylertesla3678]

@@bettercommander may as well!

[@bettercommander]

Free Tolarian Academy (I have 3)

[@Zeyga]

As another Tyler I agree with this

[@__-nd5qi]

Honestly jund sacrifice is a solid choice

[@bettercommander]

I had Prossh, then Korvold, now Xira the Golden Sting

[@__-nd5qi]

@@bettercommander ima look up xira never heard of her

[@__-nd5qi]

@@bettercommander lmao it’s a bug queen

[@rustyshackleford5824]

Some buddies and I have our own format of commander strictly to find alternatives to staple cards and bring janky garbage to the table to let some old bad cards shine. Outside of that it's fair game.

[@bettercommander]

Dinky-doo-doo commander?

[@sayntfuu]

Uhh we went through 2 years of working from home not showering every day. Blame covid...

[@tangent_mechanic]

I thought everyone forgot about the 75% rule.

[@bettercommander]

I've got the memory of an elephant, and the sphincter of a bull. ears of the rabbit, and feet of the shoebill.

[@tangent_mechanic]

Heck. I think the Command Zone mentioned on their podcast in like 2013.. 😂

[@tangent_mechanic]

@@bettercommander for that.. subscribed...

[@Mac-eo4bc]

Bro, I get so much salt by running removal. I play to win, but having a good time is part of the prerogative

[@peyop7634]

No there is not a ban on Tergrid, but literally every Tergrid deck I've played against makes me discard my hand turn 3 or 4 and the game becomes unrecoverable, I don't play against Tergrid for the same reason I don't play CEDH. If I wanted an oppressive and short ass game I'd go play yugioh.

[@bettercommander]

I tend to agree. I do loathe those games, and can see why people wouldn't want to play like that. The community can police that kind of stuff. It is miserable.

[@phaeryen]

First comment! Yeah brother! Great vidya right here - have a selection of different kinds of decks of differing power levels ready to play and you'll be alright! sometimes you end up at a table with bros who really only want to play the high power shit because thats their jam, have something that goes well there, other times it's time to break out the sleeved precon! it's all good! actually one of my fav decks right now is the sleeved up dogmeat precon deck, it's such a nostress experience to play because if I end up not doing good I can blame the original designers of the deck so it's all plus side for me! anyway hope you have a nice day, go have some pizza and enjoy your magic and your life dude.

[@jeffreylong1478]

So you’re the guy that was in the shower with my mom 😮

[@bettercommander]

Well not right now

[@jeffreylong1478]

@@bettercommander Must be someone else than lol

[@DragonPriem]

My issue is the "let's play casual" then they pull out slivers or some shit. Like what power level do you play at that that's "casual"

[@bettercommander]

That's kind of the issue. People have no real definition of a casual vs. high power pod, because there are 25,000 distinct game pieces. It's what makes commander fun, but also frustrating if you approach from that angle. Just let everybody play what they want. Have empathy, maybe switch decks once in a while.

[@natehiggins6441]

@@bettercommander and don't bitch when I keep 2 removal cards for your Krenko in my opening hand the 46th time you are playing that deck.

[@chrismuro1364]

The people that I find myself wanting to play games with are the ones with interesting decks. Graaz juggernauts. Ghalta vehicles. Mr House. The more fun you're having, the more fun I'm having.

[@bettercommander]

I feel that.

[@im7254]

If it discards others cards or counters everything they do, it's no different from being a terrorist

[@bettercommander]

Lol. I think that's a little hyperbolic, but I can see why you feel that way.

[@ialwaysbluff]

I don’t care what a person plays as long as they BS about it before the game. A guy said his deck was low powered and I asked if he runs any fast mana and he said ya. I asked how many and he said all of em.

[@bettercommander]

Yeah, I've seen that. $10,000 decks that they sandbag about. It's very weird and sad.

[@Cybertech134]

"This format has rules. It has a banlist." This sentiment is completely disingenuous when the rules committee doesn't update that list anywhere near the rate it should compared to the rate cards are released.

[@bettercommander]

Dude, I agree. I think we should unban everything that doesn't break the game (ante cards). It's a broken format. Free Sylvan Primordial! That said, "This format has rules. It has a banlist." It is what it is. It's not disingenuous, but it is unfortunate.

[@Cybertech134]

@@bettercommander "It's a broken format" doesn't mean break it more. That's dumb. And your comments following "It has a banlist." weren't "it is what it is" and more you're a "pee pee little baby" for expecting an eternal format to have more active balancing. Hell, even Yugioh understands this.