This article is about how the concept of “qualia” applies to Commander. If you're unfamiliar with this concept, you gotta read the previous article (find that here).
“EDH is a flavour-driven format.” That's something you're likely to hear in a conversation about Commander. It definitely feels true, it feels different to play a game of EDH than Standard, even when the stakes are the same. What does that mean, though? What makes EDH a “flavour-driven format”? We're using all the same cards. The stories don't change when you switch formats. We're all still playing random hodge-podges of fluff, taken from separate storylines and settings. The Commander playerbase isn't any more reluctant to strap three swords and a battering ram to a single creature (which might not even have arms) than a Standard player is. Of course, there are the absurd tribal decks and the setting-based theme decks, built on concept and story over mechanical logic, and those decks are fun and awesome, but the same types of decks can be found in any 60 card format played at kitchen tables. So what gives?
“EDH is a flavour-driven format.” That's something you're likely to hear in a conversation about Commander. It definitely feels true, it feels different to play a game of EDH than Standard, even when the stakes are the same. What does that mean, though? What makes EDH a “flavour-driven format”? We're using all the same cards. The stories don't change when you switch formats. We're all still playing random hodge-podges of fluff, taken from separate storylines and settings. The Commander playerbase isn't any more reluctant to strap three swords and a battering ram to a single creature (which might not even have arms) than a Standard player is. Of course, there are the absurd tribal decks and the setting-based theme decks, built on concept and story over mechanical logic, and those decks are fun and awesome, but the same types of decks can be found in any 60 card format played at kitchen tables. So what gives?