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Welcome, sports fans, to another article by MDV's resident alternate format junkie: Luthervamplord. “Wait Luther, why mention alternate formats in an article about the Casual game? Have you been drinking Mal’s blood again?” Why hello Timmy, nice to see you again. As for the blood: No, not recently at least – Streetz was complaining about Mal missing his deadlines. There is, however, reason to my madness young fellow. Casual, itself, should be classified as an alternate format. “Really! ….How?” Well, an alternate format is any format that follows rules and guidelines that differ from what is considered the base model. Since Magic is a contest driven game, we must assume that Standard, otherwise known as T2, is the base model. “I get it; because T2 uses banned lists and Casual doesn’t, that makes it an alternate format!” Not quite Timmy. You see, it all depends on what degree of Casual you're playing. “Degrees of Casual? I don’t know anything about that…” Don’t worry Timmy, that’s why I’m here. I’m going to give the readers, and you, a lesson on Casual and what is meant by Degrees of Casual. Are you ready? “I guess so…” That’s the spirit; let’s get this show on the road. What is Casual? Defining Casual is like trying to catch a fly; it can be done but it’s never going to happen the exact same way. What casual means to one person is not the same as it will mean to another. This isn’t to say that you cannot classify Casual; it only means that what I consider Casual will not be something all of you readers easily recognize as Casual. To me, Casual is a game with few strings attached, a lax sense of rules, and a feeling of ‘Purely for Kicks’. That’s not to say I don’t play a Casual game to win; and it also doesn’t mean that I’m suggesting people only play T2 because they want to win at something. It means that I don’t feel the same ‘pressure’ to win a Casual game because there’s little riding on it; when there's something riding on the outcome of the game, then it is no longer a Casual game to me and has moved towards a competitive game. The Degrees of Casual When we say ‘Degrees’, it’s just a fancy way of saying ‘Differences’ or ‘Variants’ of the primary concept, so Elder Dragon Highlander is a Degree of the Highlander/Singleton format. During my time playing this great game I have encountered and catalogued what I consider to be the three degrees, or archetypes, of the Casual format:
Each has its own set of rules, codes, and conducts. As such, each has a very different feel and style of play. The 1st Degree – Pure Casual This Degree is what you can consider the Casual format in its purest form; it encompasses the true essence of the format and allows you to experience a style of play you will never get from any other format. The Rules
As I said, this format is truly simple and does allow for decks and game play you truly won’t experience anywhere else. And yes, before I start receiving hundreds of emails saying “Wait; does that mean that I can use the P9 in my deck?” – Yes, it means exactly that; you can also use Tinker, Affinity, Counterspell and all the other bomb cards that Wizards have banned throughout the games life because this format simply doesn’t care. So dig out your four copies of the Lotus (Those who are lucky enough to have them), dust off your Necropotence deck and shuffle that Tinker-Affinity Deck back into your rotation because it’s all fair game. Etiquette As you can imagine, this format results in some very odd situations and you shouldn’t be surprised if your opponent pulls out a crazy, far out answer to your deck at just the right moment. As such; it is expected that both players declare their actions carefully and clearly, that each player be given time to consider their response, and that disputes on rules be solved by a third party. However unlike other formats, in a Pure Casual game the third party doesn’t need to be a DCI judge or even be an experienced player; it is only necessary that they have a working understanding of the games core mechanics. Whatever the ‘judge’ declares should be respected and followed so that play may continue. Yes, this could potentially mean that your combo might be overruled because the judge doesn’t understand the full effects and influences involved, but your opponent is running the exact same risk with their deck. Finally, it’s a game and nothing else; if one player wishes to pull out or simply has to go then that’s it – let them do so. The simple fact of the matter is that sometimes people will be annoyed by the tactic you employ and it’s far better that they walk away from the game and concede rather than sit there for another five minutes and become aggravated and annoyed.
The 2nd Degree – Gentleman's Casual This degree is the newest, and the degree to which most of the games I play adhere to. Essentially this format follows many of the same rules as the first degree, but with one major exception and a small alteration. The Rules
Now, whilst this is a considerably small alteration to the rules it does make a vast difference on the feel and style of the game play. Most of the turn 0 deck lists will no longer function and the average speed of a game will drop by a turn or three dependent upon the gaming group. Because of this, there is more emphasis on ensuring that fair play is followed. However, this still allows Affinity and Necropotence to run rampant with the Metagame. Etiquette Because the ‘seriousness’ of the format has gone up a degree, it follows that people are not quite so happy to leave the fate of their complicated combo to the hands of a guy who’s only been playing the game for a few months; they want the chance to argue the call and they want the right to check up on something. This isn’t to say that everyone becomes a rules Nazi – sure some do; but we can’t all be, or else the game would never move along. To avoid such issues, just like in Pure Casual, players must declare their actions and targets clearly whilst ensuring their opponent has suitable time to respond. When it comes to questions concerning rules, both players are involved in the decision process – if both players can agree on the outcome, then play continues and the chosen result stands. If however there is a dispute that the players can’t answer themselves, then it falls to every player’s friend and ally – The Gatherer! Okay, so it doesn’t have all the answers but it’s more concise than most players are and will have the more common questions already there. If all else fails, it’s time to open up the rulebook and actually read – I know, I know: you didn’t get into a collectible card game so you would have to read a rulebook, but it’s like the latest computer game – sometimes the cheats and useful hints really are written in there if you just look for them. As a last and slight change from Pure, it’s considered fairly poor manners to just ditch a gentleman's game; hence the name. Should you wish to concede the match this is fine but state that you’re doing so – there is nothing more annoying (or rude) than someone who scoops and leaves. Example Deck
The 3rd Degree – Constructed Casual Arguably the most played of the three degree’s, it is also the one which varies the greatest from play group to play group as it is a format based upon hatred’s and over-use. The Rules
I know what you’re thinking – this is essentially “construct your own standard” (otherwise known as CT2) under a different name. I can see why you would come to this conclusion but there is a big difference between the two formats: the banned list. In CT2, you would normally choose three to four expansion sets and would apply the relevant banned list from those sets to the overall list. So for example, were Mirrodin to be one of your sets, then the Affinity banned list would come into effect. In Constructed Casual, however, you ban cards that the group as a whole agrees ruins the overall enjoyment of the game, and you can play with anything else. Etiquette In a format as fast moving and versatile as this you can imagine the number of deck-building mistakes and errors that can occur. As such, all players involved must be issued with a revised banned list on the day that any changes are made. Further to this, changes to the banned list must be agreed upon as a majority vote which would generally occur once a day/gaming session. It would be incredibly ill-mannered to ban certain cards contained within a deck being played at your gaming evening mid-way through proceedings. As stated earlier, only official rulings will count in this format – no player can be forced to accept the ruling of another player unless those persons can prove/back-up their ruling. This isn’t to say that a player can argue every call, but it does mean a player can call judge if he feels some or part of your action is illegal or performed incorrectly. Turns have become critical in this degree and as such, players are expected to state when they move from phase to phase. By this I mean Upkeep, Main Phase 1, Combat Phase, etc, etc and not every literal step along the way (Beginning of Upkeep, upkeep, end of upkeep, start of main phase, main phase, end of main phase, etc, etc). Finally, there is the matter of ending a game – unless you genuinely have to leave at that moment you stay with it till it’s over; even if that means twenty turns of “draw and go”. Having said that, this does not give you license to deliberately hold someone for twenty turns for no other reason than you can; it is considered good manners (and kinder) to kill an opponent as soon as you are able to. Example Deck
Luther’s Group
The Jitte was an auto in my group; we’d all seen what hell it unleashed on T2 and we wanted none of it at our table. Mind Over Matter was simply something that arose from a dispute over a ruling that at the time none of us could answer with any clarity so we agreed to ban the card on principle. Dragonstorm and Strip Mine are there because, and I quote, “Luther broke these cards and left my deck bleeding” – I joke you not. Finally, Necroptence and Brain Freeze are there after one of our players won fifty consecutive matches with a Necro-Madness deck which actually lead to one of our players taking a leave of absence. If I’d have had my way, Psychatog would have been on this list too but I was shot down in the voting stage – I plan to educate my group with a Dredge-a-tog variant the next time we all get together. Hamsandwich’s Group
So there you have it Timmy: The Three Degree’s of Casual – Now wasn’t that worth sticking around for? “Yes it was! I can’t wait to get back to my gaming group and start our own constructed banned list!” Well sadly Timmy, that isn’t going to happen…. “Why is that? Do you think my gaming group’s more of a “Gentleman's Group”?” Possibly; but not what I was thinking of. Actually, I was just thinking how all this explaining has made me rather thirsty…. “Luther; let’s not do anything we’ll regret now.” Okay then, I won’t let a good meal walk out my front door – That I really would regret! “But, but: You let Tynion walk in and out of here all the time and….” Bah, far too bitter – all that ranting seeps into the blood don’t you know. No, what I need is the blood of a steady aggro player. Now hold still Timmy…. Note: No actual Aggro Players were hurt in the making of this article – Ryu performed a head-count and they are all accounted for; all 168 of them (+/- a few)
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In
truth, the “rules” of this format are very, very simple.
Pure
Casual. 
Creating
an example deck for this format is a little bit of a “hit and miss” affair as
anything I do create will have little or no bearing on what you will produce, so
instead I’m going to show you a few examples of banned lists I’ve come across in
this format for different gaming groups.
My
playgroup has no real "banned" list. We are all low budget collectors
and often play what we pull out of the few boosters we can afford. We do
play a few House Rules, however. Host determines the format in all
cases, and has final say in any judgment calls. That being said, there
is one house at which I play where the card, Book Burning has been
forever banned. Though it probably seems to most to be a silly card to
ban, the dispute(and subsequent profanity laden beer fueled
confrontation) began as a simple misunderstanding with the wording of
the card. Out of four people at the table, no two could agree on how the
wording was to be interpreted.