Posted by William & Calvin
Show notes here that I will add later….like right now.
We’re here at the season finale! The show’s have been going great, and Gift’s Given 2013 is over. You had your chance to donate, and now someone who isn’t you has a chance to win some serious merch. Unless you DID donate, in which case we congratulate you and hopefully you’ll be receiving some sweet merch soon!
Until then, you’ve got one last episode of Commandercast, and this one’s a doozy! We’ve got a very special guest with us today, and he’s one of the best known characters in the EDH/MTG community: Sheldon Menery.
Sheldon is the man who is single handily responsible for the planting and budding of EDH as a format, having played and demoed it across the country at various high profile tournaments. He’s also a member of the Commander Rules Committee, that not-so-mysterious group of ascetics who drop the ban hammer every three months or so when something starts to seriously warp the format.
We’ll grill him on the ins and outs of certain bannings with questions straight from you listeners!
Oh and in case you didn’t notice, Calvin’s “ramped up” the transitions for this particular show. Let us know what you think!
(Improved) show notes after the Ib!
Shownotes after the Ib
Commandercast season 11 Episode 13
Recording Nov 20, 2013
Guest:Sheldon Menery
Favorite Commander: Animar, Soul of Elements
Interview with TopandGoProductions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8HnUPWM_VY
Deck Tech with CMDRdecks: Ruhan “You did this to yourself”
Article about philosophy of EDH
Community: The Douche Scoop
Scooping in response to a lethal attack might seem like a good way to get back at the person who’s killing you while helping everyone else out, but it’s actually pretty frustrating for the person making the swing. The “Douche Scoop” is something that I’ve been personally trying to cut down on since it punishes people for what they should be doing more often: swinging at people and bringing down life totals.
If this annoys you when you’re on the receiving end of a failed attack, it’s probably a good idea to go ahead and make sure that everyone’s going to agree not to do this before drawing and playing, or at least let someone keep their triggers if someone insists on scooping.
Strategy: (Not So) Good Stuff Decks
Good stuff decks used to draw my ire until Sheldon convinced me otherwise. Building one is easy enough, just grab all of your favorite and top tier cards! Beating them though? Well, if you see a general that usually has an archetype (say, Zur), then chances are that you can guess what their game plan is/what cards they usually run. Figure out their weak point and go for it!
Technology: Forbidden Tech
We take our time to ask Sheldon about the various cards that our listeners (hey, that’s you guys!) want to know about regarding why they are or aren’t banned. Instead of listing the cards (I’m sure you can figure out which ones we discuss) I’ll list out some qualifications of why cards get banned.
1) It warps the format to the point of everyone trying to get a particular card’s value rather than actually playing the game.
2) It promotes anti-social behavior in the form of not actually playing the game (for example, collusion). This does not mean strategies that might irk your playgroup, such as land destruction or group slug.
3) NOT power level. Simply being powerful isn’t enough for most cards to banned. Big mana spells that end the game SHOULD end the game according the Sheldon.
Outtro/Contacts:
William – Email: Commandercast(at)gmail(dot)com // twitter: (at)Commandercast
Calvin – Email: captainredzone(at)gmail(dot)com // twitter: (at)captainredzone
Sheldon – Email: sheldonmenery(at)gmail(dot)com // twitter: (at)sheldonmenery
Thanks for listening!