There seems to be a divide between the players that are working within the spirit of the Commander format and the players who are not. It's not a clear line, so there's always going to be some margin of error; but even if you aren't exactly sure where the line is, it's there.
In the grand scheme of things, I play 2-3 games of Commander each week all within the same block of time. There are anywhere from 10-25 people who show up to play Commander at my friendly local gaming store. Most have at least two decks. One deck is for "fun." The other deck is for the "tournament." Even if there isn't a bright, glowing "line," they know what's up.
The tournament is free to enter. The store clerks put the players into "pods" of three-to-four players. There are two rounds. If you win your first pod, you go to the final pod. Winners of the first pod receive $5 of store credit. The final winner receives another $5, for a total of $10.
Serious money is on the line.
Or, at least it seems like it given the way that the decks are built for the "tournament." Typical decks for the event are $500+ to build, often more. The winning decks use powerful combos, counter-magic, and are resilient to disruption. It's what you would expect from tournament play. And don't get me wrong: I don't begrudge the "tournament." Without it, I'm not sure as large or varied a group would show up for Commander.
Occasionally, someone new will show up to play Commander after picking up a pre-construct or maybe trying the format with friends. They may even feel confident with the deck they bring because it did so well at home. They get smashed. I never see them again. This can't be a good thing for the format, the store, or even for the other players.
Be the change you want to see.
Yeah right. Some people like to win. They do whatever it takes. I mean, $5 of store credit is on the line. That's justified, right? Last week, I lost to Niv-Mizzet / Curiosity. I tried to counter the Curiosity, he countered back. Boom. Game over. It was turn 5. His defense? "When in Rome...."
This week, I turned Esper Oloro into a horrible grief deck. Humility backed up by counter-magic? Sure. I got that. Slow, slow, slow Thopter / Sword beat down? I got that too. After 1.5 hours in the first round, I started using Jester's Cap to remove all of the ways my opponents could get rid of Humility. Three concessions later, I win. Wee!
Beating "creature" decks is easy. If you stick and protect Humility, many "fair" decks simply roll over. Dealing with Commanders is also easy. Terminus, Hallowed Burial, Condemn, Oblation, Unexpectedly Absent, and others spell game over to any deck with a strong focus on the Commander. Merciless Eviction, Final Judgment, and Tormod's Crypt / Academy Ruins make recursion decks grind to a halt. With enough counter-magic, you can even disrupt most of the combos out there. With enough time, you can cripple everyone at the table. Thanks to Oloro's steady life gain and the inability to be interacted with from the Command zone, time is on your side.
I don't feel good about winning. It's not winning in style. But, it is winning. I'm not even sure what I hoped to accomplish, except to maybe prove to myself that it can be done. My clever plan back-fired on me when at least one guy at the table said, "I'm putting Humility in my deck." Oh no!
At one point, all three players were trying to stop me. One guy had Rhystic Study out. The other two players were casting everything they could to let him draw cards. He must have drawn 20 cards, still no answers. Not that it would have mattered. I had a fist full of counter-magic. But still. Gang up all you want. You all lost 10 turns ago. You just don't know it yet.
So, if you really want to crush souls and win by getting concessions, think in terms of cards that are more than simply functional. Think of cards that absolutely cripple what your opponents are trying to do. Your removal spells shouldn't just destroy things. They should exile them. Your sweepers should tuck Commanders. (I caught all three Commanders at once with a Hallowed Burial a few weeks ago. Game over.) Your recursion should be game-breaking. Using Academy Ruins to put Oblivion Stone back on top of your library turn-after-turn will shut the table down. And there's almost nothing they can do about it. You can't fight inevitability.
Remember how I said that there is a line? The store where I play banned two different decks (so far). It's not entirely clear how these decks are banned, or how close you can come to building the decks before they won't let you play, though. I guess you know it when you see it. The first banned deck is Hermit Druid combo. The other is Ad Nausem combo. Both decks are absurd. I wonder how many weeks it would take for them to step in on what I'm doing? Maybe never. Lots of other decks are allowed, even if they win every week.
With a sufficiently large collection, it comes down to building a deck that reflects your chosen strategy for winning (or losing). You know what you are up against. You know what it takes to beat it. Speed? Disruption? Take your pick. Even in the most balanced meta-game where you play only with your closest friends and use house rules to ban whatever cards you don't like, even in those situations there are "best decks." And there are decks that disrupt those decks. It's like fitting a square peg into a round hole. You can keep at it, never quite fitting that peg. Or, you can change your peg.
