Intro

One of the reasons Commander has become the most popular way to play MTG is because of it's social nature, casualness. It's also one of the most complicated ways to play Magic. One of the complications that's not even necessary, but is also my favorite aspect, is politics.

Politics is half the fun of Commander, and can easily turn the odds to your favor if you do it right. Today we're going to break down how to weave smooth table talk into your games and deck building so everyone has fun regardless of who wins.

tldr; Build in cards that can let you help and haggle, open every game with a quick Rule 0 vibe check, keep deals short, sweet, and public. Deals don't always have to be positive, and you can use them to shift the focus away from you.

Before You Play

I really love brackets, but I still feel like they aren't enough. I personally don't feel comfortable just asking "What bracket would you like to play?" It's still incredibly easy to game the system and create a synergistic deck that's technically a Bracket 2/3 but can hold it's own against a Bracket 4 decks.

To be better at gauging expectations, I feel that I essentially have to re-ask the bracket specific questions.

1. Bracket Number - Agree on power level before shuffling.
2. Turn to Win - How soon can your deck be in a winning position? (Bracket 3 is usually after turn 7/8 at the earliest)
3. Combos/Tutors - Are there any combos or tutors in your deck? If so, how many?
4. How do you intend to win? - What's your game plan? (Combat, Aristocrats, mill, etc.)

These questions tend to be enough to get a good idea of what to set expectations for everyone. And based on the commanders chose, helps me to gauge how much politics will be involved.

Politic Methods

Disclaimer. Before we get into the methods. I feel like I need to specify that politics isn't about "being nice" to your opponents and handing them the win. It's about making deals, and shifting focus to either smite the bigger threat, or to help you win. It's about using the social aspect of the game to your advantage. You will never want to further help the player who is already winning, unless you have a plan to deal with them later.

Seed Goodwill Early

Offer the first high‑five - Cards like Loran of the Third Path or Secret Rendezvous can help an opponent that's getting some bad draws. They may be more inclined to help you later. (Or more importantly, not hurt you.)

Take a harmless hit - I personally hate the "roll dice to see who I swing at first" method. Take this as an opportunity to take a harmless hit from an opponent. They'll feel better about "not being the bad guy swinging" and you'll take a small hit. They will be less inclined to swing at you later when their board is more powered up.

Better yet, if an opponent can benefit from an attack due to a trigger, but isn't able to get through, offer to take the hit. This is another great way to build goodwill and get them to remember you later.

Make Micro‑Deals, Not Alliances

We're not playing Two-Headed Giant here and it can be especially unfun when two opponents team up against the rest of the table. The only alliance that should happen is when the players prevent the archenemy from winning, but once dealt with via wipe, the game should return to normal.

Don't swing at me - If you can, make a deal with an opponent that "if they don't swing at you this turn" then you won't blow up their permanent. This is a great way to buy time while essentially goading the opponent into swinging at someone else.

Let me keep this - If you have a strong permanent that an opponent wants to remove, you can make a deal to either not use it to affect them if it's a negative, or offer to use it to assist them. Wishclaw Talisman is a great example.

Threaten - One of the more direct deal that isn't a deal, is to threaten an opponent. "If you swing at me, I will blow up your creature." This is a great way to get them to swing at someone else, or not swing at all. This method isn't guaranteed to work, but can definitely work as "free removal" without actually casting anything. Your opponent will either not attack you, or will attack an opponent that they know you can deal with. Or they'll swing at you and you'll have to decide if you won't to follow through or not.

BTW, if you are the receiver of the threat, Always try to call their bluff. If you don't, they essentially get free removal. Most of the time it's just a bluff, or not worth their spell to actually follow through.

Redirect the Spotlight

Politics aren't just about deals. Use table talk to shift the attention away from you and onto other threats.

Yes I'm a threat, but... - Don't deny when your board state is obviously a threat. Simply redirect the attention to the other players. "I'm not saying I'm not a threat, I'm just saying that X player is the bigger threat right now." This is a great way to get the table to focus on either disrupting, or fully taking out an opponent who is ahead.

Group Slug with Cover - The Lord of Pain and Gisela, Blade of Goldnight are amazing pieces that direct your opponents against each other. Lord of the Pain especially is brutal if you want to tell your opponents "Look, I'll let you decide where you want to direct your damage" and then let them fight it out. Usually they'll look the other way at you being the problem, and focus on the other players. Duelist's Heritage is another great example that can help opponents hit each other harder, while you sit back and watch.

Selective Group-Hug

This is more of a Group-Hug style of politics that works with cards that can help multiple opponents. If you have cards that can continuously spread benefits like Ms. Bumbleflower, or Gluntch, the Bestower, think of them as more of resource denial. You can use their effects to help everyone but X player, essentially pushing them further behind while everyone else gets ahead.

Next Steps

Not sure how to include "political" cards in your deck? Here are some ideas to get you started:

target - Pick cards that can target any player's board, not just yours. You'd be surprised at the opportunities that arise when you have the potential to thwart an opponents game plan.

Options - I know these are already popular in commander, but cards that give you options are great for politics. Cards like Boros Charm can either save your board, or can help an opponent take out another player.

demonstrate - Cards that have demonstrate are great "optional" politic cards that give you the choice of letting an opponent copy it in exchange for you getting a second copy.

Force it - Try forcing yourself to get political by building a commander that requires you to make deals. Ms. Bumbleflower, Queen Marchesa, Breena, the Demagogue, and Zedruu the Greathearted are all great examples of commanders that require you to make deals to get the most out of them.

Outro

Remember, politics done right turns every game into a mini RPG session. It adds depth, strategy, and a lot of fun to the game. Try to incorporate these tips into your next game and see how it changes the dynamics at the table.

Personally, I tend to think of it as being the "Paladin" of the table. I try to steer the players attention to the problem players, while also trying to get players goodwill until I'm in a position to win.

Thanks for reading! If you liked this article, please share it or leave a comment with your thoughts. I’d love to hear how you add a political twist to your games!