allhailbolas:

The rules of commander are available here:

https://mtgcommander.net/index.php/rules/



You can find the philosophy document here:



https://mtgcommander.net/index.php/the-philosophy-of-commander/



Additional quotes are from a few of Sheldon’s articles:

http://www.starcitygames.com/articles/38858_The-Latest-Commander-Philosophy-And-Banned-List-Update.html



http://www.starcitygames.com/articles/38648_Thinking-About-Thinking-About-Commander.html



http://www.starcitygames.com/articles/37865_Commander-Cards-You-Shouldnt-Play.html





Rules

The format’s rules already give us a rough idea of its spirit. The life total is twice as high as in tournament formats, meaning it’s probably intended to have longer, more drawn-out games where more things happen and high-cost/less-efficient cards can still be played. Each deck has one(or more) commander(s), a special card in a different zone that restricts your deckbuilding, meaning it’s much easier to build around a theme and personalize your deck. Commander is singleton, therefore there will be higher variance and less consistency, which leads to many more unique boardstates and interesting plays. Repetitive gameplay is not intended. Commander is a multiplayer format as well and every single player will win fewer games on average than in a two-player format; you have to be ready to lose a lot of games. Having multiple players enables ‘politics’, for example, in-game deals, truces, and manipulation of other players to help win the game. Therefore, commander games can not be won via skill alone and social aspects can’t be ignored. I think we can conclude from this, that winning the game through magic skill and deckbuilding prowess can’t be the primary focus when playing commander in its intended way. If you’re looking for games where you can prove how good a player/deck builder you are, many commander games will not be for you, and you should clearly state that you’re looking for this kind of game before you sit down to play, or there will be players at the table who’ll be unhappy after the game.





With the rules’ guidance we can formulate statements on the spirit of the format:

1) Games will/should take some time

2) Themes in deckbuilding are encouraged

3) Winning is not the primary goal





Philosophy

Now, let’s examine what the official philosophy document says about the format’s goals and what the RC, mostly through Sheldon Menery’s articles, has added to that, so we can derive the intended experience, which the format wants to offer:





“Commander is for fun. It’s a socially interactive, multiplayer Magic: the Gathering format full of wild interactions and epic plays, specifically designed as an alternative to tournament Magic. […] Commander focuses on a resonant experience. Each game is a journey the players share, relying on a social contract in which each player is considerate of the experiences of everyone involved–this promotes player interaction, inter-game variance, a variety of play styles, and a positive communal atmosphere. At the end of an ideal Commander game, someone will have won, but all participants will have had the opportunity to express themselves through their deck building and game play.”





As an alternative to tournament magic and with a philosophy as a basic part of its rules, the commander format is a format but it’s more than that.





“Commander is also an ideal […] It’s a place where fun is encouraged, and not just fun for yourself, but everyone involved.”





It is a way to play and enjoy magic, where each game tries to be as memorable and fun as possible; optimally, every commander game will produce a unique, memorable story.





“Commander is created to create the best possible social experience”





Meaning, each player’s experience matters, and actively working together to make sure everyone has a great time is necessary.

Commander could be described as a social exercise where, in the framework of a game of magic, players have to figure out how to make sure that all of them have a great time, although they all have different expectations and goals. Solving this social puzzle will make your games much more enjoyable but it will also make you be a better person in life, as you need to develop empathy and mindfulness along with honest communication with others to succeed in this.





So far, I’d summarize as:

‘The spirit of the commander format is to foster a play environment where the chance of feeling that one participated in the game in a meaningful and satisfying way, regardless of the game’s outcome, is as high as possible for each player at the table’

This means each player got the experience they wanted and they had the time and resources available in the game to achieve this, while not disabling others from doing the same thing.





“The rules of Commander are designed to maximize these experiences within a game of Magic. The addition of a commander, larger life total, and deck building restrictions emphasize the format’s flavor; they increase deck variance and add more opportunities for participation and expression.“





As I stated when looking at the rules, themes are highly encouraged, and in contrary to competitive formats, are a viable way to build decks. Deck variance is another great thing, as it makes sure that games play out differently and gameplans aren’t too linear and repetitive, which is a style that seems to be discouraged.

Themed decks, social interaction and high variance in gameplay turn this into a format that is excellent for generating stories that everyone wants to remember and share and many players will focus on narrative equity, meaning taking actions that actively try to generate more and crazier stories.

So commander could as well be described as a place where amazing stories about games of magic are born, and it is comparable to tabletop RPGs where everyone works together to create a lasting memory. It is a journey that players go on and they have to cooperate to reach the desired destination.





“Commander is designed to be a malleable format. We encourage groups to use the rules and the ban list as a baseline to optimize their own experience. This is not a license for an individual to force their vision onto a play group, but encouragement for players to discuss their goals and how the rules might be adjusted to suit those goals. The format can be broken; we believe games are more fun if you don’t.”





As we concluded, commander is more a way of playing and enjoying magic than it is a format with hard rules and restrictions, and therefore it can be customized to fit players’ needs and wishes. The last line is one of the most important ones in the document. It says that you can act well within the rules while still breaking the format. There is a huge difference between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law and for commander specifically, this is a feature rather than a bug. Breaking the format here could mean two things:

Building the most broken and effective decks possible, which is what most would say is what cEDH is about, or breaking the social contract, ignoring its spirit and not caring about the other players.

cEDH is a viable way to play commander, but as stated in the philosophy document, not what most players are looking for. As long as everyone is on the same page, it is an enjoyable way to play, but it should not be played along non-cEDH decks and players, because both sides will have an experience which is unexpected and unwanted.

As for breaking the social contract, it should be obvious that this is problematic for the other players’ experience. This can come in many forms, for example:





- lying about your deck’s power level/gameplan/your intended experience

- unwillingness to communicate and cooperate with other players before the game

- unwillingness to try to evaluate one’s decks’ impact on others

- actively trying to make the game less fun for others

-preventing other players from meaningfully participating in the game





If you don’t break the social contract, everyone will have more fun, so please try not to.





The spirit of commander

In conclusion, an optimal game in the spirit of commander could be described as:



‘All players are actively working together to create a game in which each of them can meaningfully participate and everyone gets to experience what they were looking for so, in the end, each player had fun and can take away a lasting, enjoyable memory’

Just ask yourself after a game: 'Do I want to remember this game and do the other players as well?’ and if the answer is 'Yes, we all do’ then you have succeeded in playing a game which is fully in the spirit of the format.

Not every game can be like this, but every game should be approached with this in mind