Is it inappropriate to lurk at EDH events?
I mostly play magic online so I don't have paper decks. I'm down to get some of my favorites in paper so I can play with everyone, but these events are quite foreign to me. Would it be uncool if I were to take up space at one of the Friday events without playing? I wouldn't sit down I would just stand still and pretend like nobody could see me. I just want to assess the vibe and the power level we're playing at.
Some of the questions I would like to answer through lurking are:
On a scale from 1-10, how silly are we getting in these decks?
What's the socially acceptable pace of an aggro deck? (In all my magic years I have tried and failed to resist the call of aggression in my play style)
What colors are we rocking? (I will be judging the group as a whole based on this answer also that was a joke)
aaaaand some other logistical questions. This would all be just to pick which deck I should make in paper to make sure it fits in well with the vibes.
So let me know if lurking is uncool, in which case I'll let the dice decide which deck I bring 🫡
Hey there, these are some very good questions. For Friday night commander the store owners make sure everything is fair, so the first question they ask you is what power level your deck is. Try being as honest as possible because they try their hardest to make sure the pods are equal power level so no one player has a giant advantage over the others. There are house rules that players have to follow for Friday night commander, which I don't know off the top of my head besides the one where players aren't allowed to have infinites or extra turns until all players have completed their sixth turn. Arguably you can be as aggressive as you want, as this is a tournament in the sense that you can win prizes for winning or getting bounty. The color identities are revealed when you join in a pod and everyone states what deck they're playing, so that no one can change decks to get an advantage over others. Lurking is fine as long as you ask politely and people agree to it. Overall though, the people who go to this store are all pretty cool and chill, and are very welcoming. And any other questions you might have when joining games can always be resolved during turn zero!