Commander "Staple" Redefined

Today Zoners, we're going to the classroom. I'm gonna try to imitate one of my favorite economists/news reporters/people, Mr. John Stossel, as I discuss one of the words that has itself become a "staple" piece of diction at the Commander table.

Quick Bio on Mr. Stossel:
He's the reason Tom Selleck grew a moustache.
He's Chuck Norris' life coach.
He's the reason "The Most Interesting Man In The
World" is more interesting than his contemporaries.
His name is John Stossel, and what he wants to tell you
is that everything you know about why
you make the decisions you make is wrong.

I know that play-on-words was confusing, so just so we're clear- we are talking about the word, "Staple."

A few years back, "staple" was a word I liked to use. It was a fairly appropriate way at that time. With the format still being relatively new, the search to find cards we could instantly slam into decks was alright. It was a way to navigate a large, mostly unknown, mostly unplayable card pool.

Since then, my opinion on this word has changed drastically-
And I swear it isn't because I'm an EDH Hipster. Cause I'll admit I kind of am.

THE WORD STAPLE SENDS THE WRONG MESSAGE


Saying this word doesn't mean you're always wrong about a choice you suggest for someone's deck. It's just a poor choice of words.

Truth is, most cards people consider as "Staples" help force and shape attitudes so much that it really undermines the idea of helping someone build a deck.

The problem here is not the "hindrance of creativity." Though I am a huge proponent of finding exciting cards, I think any of my newer lists will show you that I do play some of what people call "Staples."

My actual grievance against this style of deckbuilding is that the cards aren't being properly assessed and valued when people suggest staples. Chances are you don't have the full attention of the person who you're trying to get feedback from, and if they've just taken a quick peek, they are just scrambling off the top of their head to find a card that makes them sound good so they don't have to do too much more work.

In short, this word gives people the opportunity to short cut and give the illusion of helping someone without actually helping someone.

This phenomena, leads to something our famous pal Yoda once said:

Saying Staples Leads To Playing Staples.


Playing Staples Leads To GoodStuffs Decks.


GoodStuffs Decks Lead To Uninspired Games.


Uninspired Games Lead To Suffering.








THE REALITY OF STAPLES

In actuality, I'm not sure that there as many staples as people really think there are.

Based on what I see people perceive this word as, Staple is sort of defined as, "a Magic card that can be slotted into any Commander deck that sports its particular colors (or lack thereof, like artifacts and Eldrazi), regardless of what the deck does."

Going off of this definition, I can only really think of ONE card that is a true Commander Staple.

THIS IS IT.

Are there a lot of cards that are commonly used?
Absolutely.
Is it because they go in every deck?
Probably not.

HOW DO WE REDEFINE STAPLE?

1. Simple Change of Nomenclature

This is the easiest part. Just stop using this word. As a player and blogger, I get asked a lot of questions and help build a lot of decks.

Being able to communicate a sort of preference of card versus actual necessity is key in this instance, because it's where our word overcommits.

I've actually slacked quite a bit, but I used to watch a lot of Channel Fireball videos of Luis Scott-Vargas and Conley Woods doing various drafts. Study up on how they make deck choices. They say things like, "I think this card is good because..." or, "I don't think this is very good against X..." and they proceed to explain.


Personally, I use the phrase "pet card" for certain situations. Solemns, Tuskers, Looters, Empaths- all pretty good examples of things I like to play regularly.

Still, you can create different ways to say what you need to say by just being patient and elaborating with examples or experience.

2. Becoming Better Deckbuilders

Some of you probably aren't as interested or invested in the deckbuilding process like me, but it's my favorite part. Being a better deckbuilder means you know the structural designs and flaws, and with a little practice and tuning, you can obtain a competitive advantage against opponents who just put cards together, or play a bunch of different decks at a time.

This is obviously not as immediate of a change as our first part, but if you are interested in becoming better EDH deckbuilders, it will help you better help other players to build their decks.

3. Becoming Better Listeners

The independence that comes from trying to build better decks is great, but it's always good to get opinions of other people.

This article, I know, focuses mostly on how detrimental this influence can be to deckbuilding.

While this can be true, learning how to perceive feedback and give feedback will really help prevent the kind of misperception that happens at the table.

As always, I'm curious to know what you think. This is a topic I'm sure we all have relevant opinions on, so comment, if you will.

Until next time. Happy 4th. Don't shoot your eye out or blow your arm off.

-UL