What (Not) to Bring to MagicCon | Magic: the Gathering | Commander

[@RhysticStudies]

appreciate all these tips, especially refillable water bottles and phone chargers (plus lip balm and lozenges for vegas in particular.) truly the most difficult part is leaving empty space in your luggage for goodies that you pick up at the con. no more overpacking!

[@lotrloreman]

Why you gotta come at Dana like this 😂😂😂

[@jacobtrahan1993]

I have to remind myself of this every Saturday night not just big events

[@MrMalorian]

Good point on the number of decks. When I went to my first 1-day event I brought 11 decks and played 9 games, and that was a lot.

[@ribbontoast]

As someone who lost her first ever commander deck at her first ever commandfest: YES AGREE WITH EVERYTHING.

[@Pokemaster-2255]

3:23 I did something similar with my duffel bag. Lifted the Chair slightly so I could throw the straps Under the Legs. If someone tried to take my bag, My chair was going down with me, and that'll draw attention

[@JanePlaysMagic]

Thank you for this timely reminder!!! Especially for an off the phone life counter to conserve battery, much needed

[@thousand1183]

Literally getting ready to pack for magic con RIGHT now. Super usegul

[@neightwards]

I took Dana’s advice on AirTags a while ago and started using them in my bags when traveling or in instrument cases when playing gigs. I HIGHLY recommend them!

[@omarnuneznavy]

I will be there! I had to convince myself to reduce my 14 decks down to 6 lol

[@fyclockworketernal1323]

This will be my first time at a Magiccon and major convention so this was extremely helpful. Can't wait to enjoy this weekend. Thank you for the tips!

[@EDHRECast]

Hope you have a blast!

[@kaemonisland9083]

Same! Just landed in Vegas last night!

[@sirinix1]

Hope to see you guys there!

[@TeaHauss]

The bridal mantra is genius! Considering a lot of my decks are blue anyway, i have a ton of options :P

[@EDHRECast]

Something blue, something blue, something blue, and something blue! Easy!

[@mistmoorex]

This is excellent advice Joey! I'm only bringing 7 or 8 decks total and only 4 with me each day. Just my quiver and a small bag to fit snacks and whatever other stuff I pick up throughout the day. Plus my water bottle. I would LOVE to catch a game with you to show you my signature deck. It's a mono white Reanimator deck with Kylie Minogue (Astrid Peth) as the commander! If a redhead with a big silly mustache says hi that's me!

[@chrismaxwell8004]

I bring the “deck box” from Home Depot (I’d add a picture but KZbin doesn’t allow that) it carries 9 edh decks dice, and tokens

[@travis_approved]

So we’re just making videos directly to Dana now are we 😂❤

[@calebbrown1068]

This is a good highlight as a player who still hasn’t really found their home in the format- I’ve been struggling to know what kinds of decks to chase after, to build a diverse collection that would be good to bring to a convention. Thanks, Joey.

[@IcyShyGuy]

Not going/not able to but I do one day hope to play against you as you're definitely one of my favourite MTG creators Also I hope you like Winter, I enjoy his versatility in what he can bring back

[@lightfut]

Yeah, my experience lines up with this. Your deck playing eyes are almost always bigger than your stomach

[@thadrin]

I had five decks in Amsterdam and that felt just right. I also now subscribe to Rachel's model, and consider myself lucky that my core 4 decks fill those slots except the "new" slot, which in Amsterdam was my Magda, Hoardmaster deck but is currently my stupid Asmoranimordicadaistinaculdacar Ratatouille deck.

[@rossdaigle1024]

Wish I saw this before the event 😅. Nonetheless, I had a great time, and actually did a lot of things you advised anyway, including my Milwaukee battery pack charger, which you commented on during our game (I was the Omo, Glacial Chasm player). I would have taken less decks, for sure, and will do that next time. I'll also be stocking up on drinks to take with me, so I'm not paying $6 for waters 😂.

[@Krunschy]

Couldn't be me. Whenever I leave a deck at home, I somehow end up wanting to play just that one.😅

[@lewish1248]

Arrived at four decks on my own because it’s just two Flip N Tray boxes from Ultimate Guard haha. The something new, something old, something aggro and something blue is fun rubric tho!😂

[@1notdeadfred]

7:10 Joey, that's my problem. Part of my goal with every brew is to have it be a deck that gives that kind of reaction! I want the decks to be memorable and I will almost always put that before the deck being good. Real talk: mediocre, subpar decks with silly themes are really entertaining to play both with and against.

[@PhoenixLaw92]

Cannot stress this enough...BRING DEODORANT!!!

[@ericupchurch9778]

Applying it is more effective than just bringing it.

[@pawelarwa6000]

I like the idea of bringing something tested and enjoyable to play and something new what I would like to stress test in new environment. You play the new stuff until you feel it’s tested and you’ve gathered enough inputs and then switch to something purely entertaining

[@stephan5574]

Yeah I had to learn the decks problem the hard way. You usually (and should) do so much other stuff and special events, like drafts etc. Last MagicCon I played 1 EDH game at the free play area.

[@CP-qh7om]

Bag has medicine for my mates, first aid kit, phone charger, 4 decks.

[@jeffreybono4610]

I would be really interested in a video about how you modulate power level in the graveyard archetype. As a fellow graveyard enjoyer I find it hard sometimes to determine the best way to "power down" or level off the power of a deck.

[@Dchasehofer]

Super helpful!

[@mightyone3737]

If I can't fit my decks in my flight bag (the one that has to fit under my seat) and that I keep on my person the whole time it's not coming with me at this point, the bag can hold a good number of decks, 6-8 decks is probably a pretty good start. My issue of course is that I build a lot of niche decks that aren't necessarily suited to play vs overly Casual groups, but I did put some effort into a special deck designed to be playable vs almost any pod, it's the kind of deck you'd bring if you can only bring 2 decks, your favorite and one that can play vs almost anything. I feel like I'd end up bring Sisay, Pavel, A+C, Rubinia and Boris, and Kresh for sure, but I'm not sure what else I'd bring: I'd bring Sisay because it's the 'anything' deck, Pavel because it's hilarious, A+C because it's one of my favorite decks, Rubina and Boris because it's so batshit, and Kresh because it's a glorious high power stompy/combo deck that can win on the spot quite early, even if the opponent isn't giving me much to work with I can generate enough fodder to feed Kresh and win (I love how new players have no clue what Kresh is capable of, it's like every action movie ever where a fairly nondescript human rips apart whole armies). I have lots of other decks, but I'm not sure how many I can fit in that bag, so who knows how many others would make it! I'd also bring a few Legacy decks, probably Rack, Burn, and Elves, but again, who knows?

[@ethanhughes3515]

I hope I get an opportunity for a convention some day.

[@cedarbobedar7223]

I don't do cons yet but I have to say, switching to only carrying water, phone, 3-4 decks, a small pack of dice, a pen, and a pad of sticky notes to play magic has been doing wonders for my back. I can get away with a small camera bag and the tripod straps hold my playmat. The hardest part is choosing what decks to leave behind but it's not that different from cutting cards - can only have 100 cards in a deck, and I can only fit 3-4 decks in my camera bag.

[@stephan5574]

Also if you brought "too few" decks or don't have the level for a pod, you can borrow decks from others.

[@talbotcd1]

I like this, I.m a photographer and there is a type of photographer who brings every lens they own to a shoot, just in case, and only using one or two lens.

[@Justnothankyou132]

Spending thousands of dollars to take mediocre photos that an iPhone could easily beat. What an interesting hobby

[@ajaydassani9931]

Hope we can jam a game in the near future

[@spearhead2054]

Amsterdam was my first Con and I brought 6 decks, which I thought was two too much. Also I forgot all my tokens. 😂

[@Maraud3rShields]

I‘m bringing 10-12 Decks to my weekly gamenight at my LGS of choice and sometimes I didn’t pack the one deck appropriate for the pod. Pretty sure at M-Con those wouldn’t cut it for me

[@supertux2998]

For me personally, I bring 1 bag that holds 1 playmat, 1 container of dice, a handful of dry erase tokens, a dry erase marker, and whatever decks I have. That's for nights at the LGS, cons, etc. you can scale how many decks you bring based on how many games you think you'll get in, but overall I only consistently play about 3-4 a day

[@LightPink]

Also bring a few extra cards that you can switch in to alter the bracket level of your deck

[@failfurby]

Am I weird for a Commander player? I only just picked up my 6th deck, and 2 of them are still in a very incomplete state. Mostly because I kinda have the same mentality for my entire collection, I don't want to have a bunch of cards I almost never use just sitting around doing nothing.

[@mfsoab]

I always bring one of my old phones as dedicated life counter. Doesn:t matter how shitty, and smashed up it is, as long as the battery is good and the screen readable. Also not a great loss it someone decides to steal it or whatever. Lowering screen brightness as much as possible for the environment herlps to keep it alive much longer.

[@ajaydassani9931]

Thank you.. def portable phone chargers and better shoes

[@FernandoGonzalez-hu3id]

A couple of years ago i adopted a modular aproach By making my decks share mana bases and staples I can carry more decks in the same number of cards The downside is that you need 5 minutes before each game do assamble the deck

[@natehaack4999]

I like the word "pique." Good word-choice Joey

[@DakingofAP]

Where was this yesterday?? Just landed in Vegas 😅 Edit: How are feelings about proxies at these events?

[@ticklemeozmo]

Encouraged. Asterisk. Do you want to bring your Beta duals? Probably not. Don't need to impress random strangers, don't need to lose it. Just proxy it. BUT, here's where the asterisk comes in. Don't be "that person" who brings the anime nsfw proxies. Sharpied Forests are not great because part of the issue is forgetting which cards you or your opponents have at a glance, and then saying "you forgot I had this proxied The One Ring, no lethal for me." Nobody is bringing out the loupe and light to test your card you just played.

[@Henselster1]

I have one deck that I built and ordered and the cards didn't show up on time. So last night I printed a bunch of proxies and glued them to lands. In sleeves you can barely tell

[@1notdeadfred]

1:45 quick tip- be sure to consistently close as many of the apps on your phone as you can because you will drain the battery much slower. I charge my phone every night, but if I didn't, that habit has me in position for it to last 2-3 days.

[@MikhailHudon_ZerithFarron]

I bring my Gamegenic Dungeon with 4 Decks, 40 infinitokens, 2 bags of dice, a playmat, a phone battery and a whiteboard marker. The Decks I bring are my strongest, my newest, and two flavour picks.

[@thiccboicory9964]

Just bring 2 commander decks 2 60 card decks whatever format you like. And I always put in a yugioh deck because me and my buddy play when we get back to the hotel. Dice and infinity tokens in a small token box and playmat snacks drinks and I dont normally bring my binders but every now and then I do

[@prometheuslucas]

I went to MagicCon Amsterdam but 12 decks in anticipation, played 4 Commander games and only two of the decks. So most definitely don't bring that many.

[@MentalMisplay]

Lol, you are putting up massive numbers for games played at cons 😂😂😂. 3 games a day feels like I'm killing it.

[@EDHRECast]

Lolol those were the two biggest examples by far 😅 the average at most cons tends to be 3 or fewer. So even with the biggest examples we don't need to bring a whole bunch along

[@SchemingGuide]

My yidris deck is NOT going with me to conventions 😭🙏🏻💀

[@jbell2288]

Call me crazy, but I don't think you even need to have more than 3-5 custom deck in total, at home or at a con. Any more than that then you are likely wasting money on cards, boxes, and sleeves that collect dust. Better off just keeping money in your pocket, since most non-reserve list cards lose value over time due to reprints.

[@MarioRodriguez-sf7ig]

Oh don't worry, I won't bring anything, there's no MagicCons in Latin America. Can't bring stuff to events you don't have!

[@FernandoGonzalez-hu3id]

I know that feel bro

[@AtlRopeGuy]

Comfortable shoes!! Especially to the ladies!

[@kamakazi339]

No way I'm lugging 107 decks to an event. My back hurts thinking about it. Also anytime you have a bag put a foot/leg through a strap so it is mechanically tethered to you.

[@jandrem]

I have 108 decks. I’m bringing at LEAST 10 decks.

[@caseywilliams4145]

Never been to a magic con got to worry about anything

[@sarahbuck2506]

I know too many people who lost huge collections at big events. You watch your stuff like a woman at a bar watches her drink. You bring only what you can comfortably carry, and you don't rely on anyone else to watch it for you.

[@RazgrizAce67]

DEODERANT!!! (don't be that guy, you know what i mean?)

[@Thoughtmage100]

I wish I could just go to a MagicCon at all. Financial reality sucks.

[@hazeyMTG]

People that don't bring dice or tokens to a Con are super inconsiderate. Friend, I'd like to understand your board state please.

[@elkinvargas6481]

Deodorant people!

[@C._Bradford]

It's cute that you think anyone can actually afford to go to these.

[@JuQmadrid]

I think 10 is a conservative number of decks to carry around.

[@willkarantonis1482]

First

[@Zookmottin]

Also you should proxy, I would never bring my real cards to an event.

[@FlosBlog]

Honey, loose the haircut

[@EDHRECast]

Honey, get your vision checked.

[@kiritokaguya9180]

Wasnt at any con, europe didnt get so many and Amsterdam was at a bad time for me. 🫥

[@TreRagsdale]

First