Rule 0 and the Pregame Discussion

Improve your game experience through open discussions of your gameplay expectations and deck strategy

What is Rule 0?

Rule 0 initially referred to a discussion around adding cards that modified the game or rule set primarily in Commander. This was often due to the inclusion of cards that weren’t legal in the format: Gold-border cards, EDH Rules Committee banned cards and Silver-border or Un-Set cards. 

What are the Pregame talking points? 

I would like to argue that the above concept of Rule 0 has evolved to mean something more akin to a pregame discussion for players to have about their expected game outcomes. This may sound very flowery but it has some merit in a format that contains thousands of cards to choose from, many with connotations attached! 

In general we could take this concept a lot further to ensure that we enjoy this social format, though. To start, Rule 0 often happens as a group has sat down to play their first game of the day but in general, it should happen whenever a deck is changed in the pod. So if it starts at the beginning of each pod forming, why not start the Rule 0 conversation by introducing yourself and asking for other players' names? This way you now know how to interact with the players at your table and in general can form solid discussions during and after the game. 

This tactic of introducing yourself and your play style also breaks the ice which can be especially crucial if you are playing at a new store or with people you don't know. Doing this even outside the game discussion could secure you a spot in a pod and help you get to a game far quicker!

Next off, I would recommend introducing your Commander and what exactly its function is as your Commander. Does this lean into your deck's strategy, do you have a specific connection to the Card, does it enable a facet of your deck or is it just a means to acquire the colours for your deck? While you talk Commander strategy it might also be helpful to elaborate on the deck's overall strategy or themes as well as the reason you built the deck. 

Oftentimes players will build a deck to achieve a board state or a specific, goal and then to win- like draw 30 cards in a turn or have card A out to show off a cool interaction with card B. A cool tidbit I heard from the Command Zone years ago was that players will often get satisfaction from a game despite losing if their game plan or strategy comes to fruition during the game. As such it’s good for the players to know what kind of satisfaction you want from the game if winning isn’t everything. Then why not let your opponent do “the Thing”?

Finally, I would recommend discussing the trends that your deck has. Does it play cards very efficiently each turn spending all its mana, and does it take time to build to a critical mass? How does your deck expect to win and on which turn? These metrics are great for identifying the speed at which other players have to play and in theory how many turns they have to achieve their own goals. This discussion or lack thereof is often the leading cause of game disparity and loss of game satisfaction. Everyone wants to play a tight game that does not see one player playing the game while others watch. Working for a win or having the time to do “the Thing” is far better when everyone at the table is enjoying the game. 

You should also include some other card-specific talking points:

How fast is your deck and does it take full advantage of the mana available per turn cycle? This naturally leads to the discussion of free mana in the form of mana rocks or spells that can be cast without paying mana for them. 

How consistent is your deck, does it utilize tutors or can it manipulate the amount of cards you see in a game through card selection such as scrying or drawing a ton of cards throughout a game? Having a consistent deck does not necessarily mean that your deck is good, just that it will have the same plays or play patterns across multiple games. In general, it’s a good idea to let the other players at your table know what kind of card selection you have and if it's super fast or is reccurable like the Vampiric tutor cycle or cards like Wishclaw talisman.

Does the deck have a power spike variance? This isn’t as obvious and may be hard to know if you are playing the deck for the first couple of times. This could be turns that go: land> sol ring> arcane signet> etc. It doesn’t happen all the time but there is potential for something like this in your deck and your opponents should be made aware that the game's speed can change if something like this happens to occur.

Next, ask for approval for any cards that go beyond the Commander RC rules. This only really applies if you are playing cards mentioned above in the original meaning of Rule 0. It is crucial to let players know and get their approval as you would be playing outside of the conventional rules of the format and could lead to some nasty accusations.

Lastly, mention any mean interactions that the deck could have. For the most part mention if you run counter spells (and how many if you are comfortable giving that information out), mass land destruction, stax or game state locks. Some strategies are widely considered taboo and as such, if you intend to employ these kinds of strategies, making your opponents aware of them to gauge their enthusiasm for it beforehand is certainly better than blindsiding them or annoying a playgroup.

The Power Scale

Most Commander veterans will know about the Power Scale. Some of you might wonder why I neglected to mention it as part of the Rule 0 pregame discussion. There are a few reasons for that but first a quick introduction.

The Power Scale is a numeric guide to how powerful a deck is. Generally, it ranks a deck from 1-10 with 1 being an incoherent pile of Magic: the Gathering cards (maybe) to 10 which represents the tippy top super fast decks which aim at winning by any means possible. Recently there have been attempts at making the scale 3 dimensional in hopes to combat the Center Stage Effect in which people tend to choose the middle of a range so as not to stand out (this often means that every deck is a 7).

Unfortunately, Commander decks can have such high variance that putting a number to your power level is very inconsistent and so far seemingly impossible to get right. The problems get exacerbated when traveling between stores as the power level of a deck is generally ranked off its peers, generally at the local game store. 

There are other factors with giving a simple number to the deck's strategy and power: Players often want to win! This is a big problem as even inadvertently there is merit to hiding your decks potential. You most certainly won’t be the main target of everyone ire if you are behind on resources especially in a format where it's easy to single out one player. It isn’t uncommon to see 1v1 players concede in response to their opponent seeing their whole deck or identifying their strategy in competitive tournaments. 

As such I believe that including the Power Scale in the pregame discussion is just too inconsistent and even at times detrimental to the group's fun.

When and Why use Rule 0 

Rule 0 is really meant as a means of letting your opponents and shared hobby enthusiast’s know what to expect from the game. As such it shines best in games where winning isn’t the primary goal of everyone at the table. Aside from casual commander it can and should be used for things like Kitchen table magic, learning opportunities and perhaps even in formats where the cardpool is so large that the optimal deck doesn’t exist or hasn’t been found yet.

In general it’s best to go through the checklist outlined below before the game as after the game your opponents should know a bit if not most of your deck and its strategy. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a post game discussion as well. 

This is a great way of getting feedback about your deck and pregame discussion as you can check if you described the deck aptly or if you could change your pregame in any way. Were there unnecessary interactions that left players wanting more or something else? Could you identify a play that maybe cost someone their win or a neat trick that would have gotten more out of a card interaction? All of these things help players grow and sharing these experiences build a far stronger community.

Ultimately you are here to have fun and enjoy your free time. Why not make sure everyone else does as well. 

In general any discussion pre or post has a massive impact on sportsmanship and general etiquette and gives you a point of reference for any critique on unsportsmanlike behavior. It should also be noted that you can set the code of conduct with a Pregame discussion either by bringing up past experiences where you felt someone outside of your current pod did something unsportsmanlike. 

I would even go so far as to say you could use the Pregame discussion at the start of any pod that forms, regardless of if you have all played the same deck with each other. The discussion allows you to anticipate any play patterns that may arise and prepare you for them mentally while the Postgame discussion is a means of providing feedback to your pod and receive feedback on your deck or plays you made. It's outrageous to avoid a social interaction in the most social format Magic has to offer! 

The Pregame Discussion outside of Casual 

Rule 0 or the pregame discussion isn’t just applicable to Casual and is so useful for cEDH as well. Outside of tournaments, discussing your general game plan and speed helps your opponents get a better understanding of your deck and its play patterns. For practice purposes, having players know how your deck plays means that you will be going against better opponents and as such allow you to practice as if you were in a tournament or against the most skilled players in the format.

As such I would recommend letting the table know key pieces of info like if your deck uses your life total (“ Hey just so you know I run ad naus/ necropotence”), or is super combo reliant. Are you playing a variant of this commander that has a unique strategy from the standard build? Let your opponents know.

At the end of the day if you are practicing, winning should come second to learning. Just don't sacrifice your enjoyment only for the sake of learning or teaching something!

cEDH actually has the perfect time for you to have a Pregame discussion. 

Pregame Rule 0 Cheat Sheet

Remember that a pregame discussion doesn’t have to take forever. Try say one or 2 things on each point and where necessary give examples but don’t give us your primer and sideboard guide!

• Your name (and preferred pronouns if applicable)

• Your Commander and its function in the deck

• Deck strategy and goals 

• Does your deck play fast mana

• Does your deck play free spells

• How many tutors do you run are they efficient

• Does your deck see a lot of cards at an efficient rate

• Can your deck have super fast games

• Does your deck have mean interactions

If you are more familiar with your deck you could also add:

• What turn does your deck often win on

• Are there strategies in your deck that are Commander taboo

• Is it similar to decks in other formats

Postgame cheat sheet

• Was my description of the deck correct

• What did you think of my deck

• Do I have thoughts about other people's deck

• Were there plays I did not understand

• Was there anything I would add to anyone’s pregame discussion

• Thank your opponents for playing the game with you

• Segway to the next game and it’s pregame if decks change

Conclusion

I believe that with these tools we as the Commander community can really reflect on our intentions and what we want to get out of the game. This should be a tool used to maximize the enjoyment of our hobby. Just like the Rule 0 discussion evolved from a means to address the inclusion of banned or illegal cards in casual play, we can evolve and adapt our social interactions to guide our deck building decisions and gain insight on what makes this format so special.

All we need to do is initiate open conversation about what we as players expect from our actions be it deck strategy, game goals, the speed at which we want to play and possible taboos we try to break or stretch, we can ensure a far more balanced, fun and exciting gaming experience.