Commanderruminations

Commander Leagues: League Points

Commander Leagues have always had ways to award points to players both for winning games and for doing crazy stuff in the course of play. In a multiplayer format it provides a way to provide all the players with the feeling of having accomplished something even if they didn't manage to win any of their games.

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A good point system is simple enough for a new player to understand and not so complex that players will constantly be missing things that they should have checked off. All points should be clearly explained on the scoresheet and when in doubt you should defer to the exact wording you used, even if you realize it's something you need to change later on.

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Our League has been set up two separate categories of points - "Gen" points and "My" points.

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Gen Points

Our league has a category of points called "Gen" points which are awarded to your opponents at the end of each round. Originally we had each player award a number of points equal to the number of players at the table (including themselves) but we eventually changed it to 5 points as that seemed easier to explain to new players. This means each player has to write down the names of everyone at their table. Magic players aren't always the best at the social side of the game so forcing players to write down their opponents' names, while necessary for totalling up Gen Points, is also a way to help folks get to know one another.

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The official description on the scoresheet for Gen Points is as follows:

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If you do nothing else for points, please do this. Give FIVE (5) Generosity, or “Gen” points to your opponents in any way you choose. They can be for sportsmanship, good attitude, fun deck theme, an especially clever play, or any other reason. They must go to at least two opponents. Refusing or forgetting to post Gen Points will result in your opponents each being given 1 Gen Point for that round. Please try to use them to reward players who make this a more enjoyable league. Please do not use them to try to skew league results.

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Gen Points have a purpose that isn't obvious. Many of us have lost games in which we felt like the winner didn't deserve their victory, won in a way that was incredibly obnoxious, or played in a manner that we just found really abhorrent. In most leagues, the winner can be a colossal jerk and suffer no negative reprecussions. The other players are all completely powerless to do anything about the result. They just have to sit there and take it.

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With Gen Points everyone has some small amount of power.

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Gen points aren't enough by itself to let weak players overcome strong players. They are, however, enough to help a player who is respectful, fun and kind, come out ahead of a slightly stronger player who is incredibly rude and disrespectful to opponents.

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To quote Melville, "To the last, I grapple with thee; From Hell's heart, I stab at thee; For hate's sake, I spit my Last Breath at thee." Now we can add "... and I'm not gonna give you a single Gen Point, ya big jerk" to that bitter sentiment.

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Does it help folks deal with bad losses and worse opponents?

 

I think so, and that's why I have made Gen Points the one thing that is non-negotiable in our league's rules. Almost anything else can be brought up for a vote, but not Gen Points.

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As the league organizer I gather the sheets at the end of the second round and make sure everyone has assigned 5 Gen Points to at least two of their opponents. Later on that night when I put the totals into our league's Google Spreadsheet, I go through all the sheets and total up how many Gen Points each player was given. Gen Points make everything more complicated for me. It's not quick or easy to total up all these points, but it is well worth the effort.

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My Points

There are countless leagues with countless weird and goofy point categories. I have seen scoresheets where my eyes just got lost in all the options available to earn points and all I could think was that I would be guaranteed to miss points every single week if it was that complicated. Of course, you also want enough categories that players have different things to try to achieve, and you don't want to add so many weird categories that winning loses all of its value and players just try to find ways to farm points.

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Our point scheme has been revised many times over the past year. When we add new point categories I try to remove ones that have not seen much use. Generally I try to put everything up for a vote, but as the organizer I do reserve the right to act unilaterally if I feel it is in the best interest of the league.

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The categories listed below are ones that we are actively using as of this writing:

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Tubthumping: We allow players to earn 1 point each time they cast their commander from the command zone, up to a maximum of 3 points. The cap is in place so that decks designed to sac and recast their commander can't farm points. If "Tubthumping" doesn't ring a bell for you, click here. You're welcome.

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First Blood: Players can earn 1 point for inflicting the first combat damage and the first noncombat damage in each round.

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Redshirt: The first player eliminated gets a point for being the "redshirt". If multiple players are eliminated in the same turn, they all can get the redshirt point AND they get an extra point for each player eliminated along with them. This is to give some small incentive for players to not just combo out and kill a whole table at once. If you don't know what a "redshirt" is, click here and be enlightened.

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Knockouts: We used to give 1 point for each player you eliminated but we have increased it to 2 points.

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Avenger: If on your next turn after an opponent eliminates another opponent, you avenge the player who was eliminated by eliminating the player who had done the previous eliminating, you get a point. In short - if you avenge them you get a point.

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Bodyguard: If you use a spell or ability to prevent a player from being eliminated when without your intervention they would have been eliminated (there's that word again) from the game, you earn a point.

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Eye of the Tiger: You earn a point for each opponent you outlive. This means being alive at the end of a turn in which they were eliminated from the game. If you don't understand this reference, click here. I'm sorry.

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Spice of Life: You get a point for each alternative win or elimination method. Infect and Mill count as alternative methods but Commander damage in a game o Commander does not. Felidar Sovereign, Door to Nothingness, Azor's Elocoturs or any card that says "you win the game" or "opponent loses the game" will also count.

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Size Matters: We have a number of categories for which you can also earn points. Having the largest creature (by power), the highest life total, the most creatures, lands, artifacts, enchantments, and planeswalkers is each worth a point. This is a "high water mark". This means that if you qualify for one of these, are eliminated, and someone eclipses your total - you still earn the point because you had that high mark for when you were in the game. Someone else can ALSO earn it if they get a higher number later on, for the time that they were in the game. If you think humor doesn't make things like league scoresheets better, click here. Sorry, not sorry.

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Penalties

Most every league has penalties to try to guide players towards playing the game in a certain way. Our league is no exception. Some of our penalties date back to the founding of the league, were carry-overs from the previous iteration of the league and have never been voted out.

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Major Penalties: We impose a -10 point penalty for scooping and for not turning in your sheet. Scooping is defined as conceding the game without the consent of the other players at the table. Scooping is highly discouraged and considered unsportsmanlike.

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Minor Penalties: We have penalties of -1 pt for using sol ring before turn 3. -1 pt for eliminating a player before turn 5. -1 pt for taking three (3) or more turns in a row. -1 pt for a “take-back” (see below). -1 pt for “going on the clock” for 10 minutes.

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To incur the penalty for hitting the 10 minute mark on your turn, a player's opponents must “put themn on the clock”. They have 10 minutes from that point on until they must pass to the next player (including any extra turns). If a player hits the 10 minute mark they incur a minor penalty (1pt) and play passes to the next player immediately. They may call a judge or league organizer if they feel opponents were slow-playing during their turn to force them to hit the time limit and the judge may choose to grant additional time.

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The Scoresheet

One of the most essential tools for keeping everything organized in an EDH League is the scoresheet the league uses. It should be well-organized, easy to navigate and uncluttered. Ideally it will provide a player with every rule and explanation they will need during the course of play in your league. Any new player will still probably need to lean on more experienced members of the league to properly and completely fill out their sheet, but you should do your best to give them everything they will need on paper.