Etali, Primal ConquerorEtali, Primal Conqueror | Art by Ryan Pancoast

We've all had to take a hard look at cEDH, and think about if it's effective as a competitive format. After the 11-hour cEDH finals, players have taken a skeptical look at whether the format.

A little group in Barquisimeto, Venezuela might have solved this problem, or really all the problems in cEDH. At least, that is the claim. They believe they've created a diverse competitive format called Coliseum.

Collusion

Limitation in cEDH

One of the main concerns I've heard for the reason cEDH can't be a strong competitive format is the implicit collusion. There's no way to play a multiplayer format without, unintentionally or intentionally, providing some information or assistance to other players in the pod.

When one player uses removal, it benefits the whole rest of the table without them needing to use their resources. Politics and turn order play a role in when players might use their removal in return for assistance later. Give and take.

A player might show a piece of removal and suggest that they be given a slight reprieve if they handle a pesky board piece, using their voice as a resource. This is not the kind of collusion we see in 1v1 formats, and it's not necessarily so in all games of cEDH, but it's enough that players might worry about it in the competitive arena.

In a less intentional sense, turn order might encourage players to use all of their removal to stop another player from winning, forcing them into a situation where they don't have enough to protect their own win, forcing them into a losing position based on the turn order, smoothing it over for another player with less removal and fewer concerns.

One player's removal unintentionally helps another player win.

Solution

In Coliseum, any sort of verbal agreements between players to attack or target another player with spells or abilities to hinder their progress is forbidden. Helping another player to win the game in any way is forbidden. This is only determined under previous investigation of any players taking part in this kind of behavior.

Revealing unsolicited information, such as possession of removal in hand or the contents of any zone that is not public or known is forbidden, as is providing information to help another player.

Using spells or abilities to affect another player's board state right before losing the game is also forbidden. This only applies if you're not trying to save yourself or minimize risk to you.

Considerations

I love the idea of a built-in way to avoid king-making, but I'm not sure making every game of Commander a judged format makes this format accessible. Additionally, it begs the question why even play a multiplayer format in the first place. 1v1 might solve a lot of the concerns it brings.

There's something inherent in a multiplayer format that makes it tough to judge interactions and advantage. Additionally, it makes the game less accessible for those trying to get into the meta, not to be able to be told what interaction kills them. I'm not sure if accessibility is a concern, but I thought I'd mention it.

Tie Breakers

Limitation in cEDH

When you play a multiplayer format there are always more loser than winners; this makes the win rate much lower in this kind of format. It's hard to determine, in a timed game, who the winner ought to be when time runs out and all but one player haven't been eliminated. There have been many attempts to determine who would be the closest to winning based on board state and cards in hand in previous cEDH competitions. There are even voting processes for timed competitions, though they don't really feel fair and aren't particularly liked.

Solution

In Coliseum, a player receive points for a round for various accomplishments, and they're added up to determine placement over the course of a season. Killing a player awards you a point. Winning the game awards you two points. Over the course of their Season, which is eight single-day tournaments with daily placements, players know where they stand.

Considerations

Honestly, a point system to determine wins in Commander seems like a lovely way to rewards different play styles. I often found myself killing two players and losing to some random top deck in the last turn. Being able to factor in the win and the elimination of threats is definitely strong. I'm a fan of this; it allows players who are Aggro to still win points, even if they lose to the combo player in the end.

Meta Established

Limitation

The top of the meta in cEDH is pretty established, and unchanging. Rog-Si and Tymna/Thrasios aren't going to be pushed off the top of the meta any time soon. Some cards might make it in, but maybe 20 total over the course of the year. This means that combo-win game strategies are all that thrive in this kind of environment.

Solution

The ban list in Coliseum is very strict, and diverse. The goal is to make more strategies aside from combo viable. Bans aren't decided by an individual, rather by a committee elected by the community at the start of every season. They used the Commander ban list as well as Duel Commander and Leviathan as reference.

The committee sometimes unbans cards for a period of time to see how they perform, before unbanning them permanently. Some of the things they tend to ban are:

• Mana positive rocks or spells like Sol RingSol Ring and High TideHigh Tide
• Individual cards that consistently allow players to win before turn four: Kinnan, Bonder ProdigyKinnan, Bonder Prodigy or partner commanders
• Win-the-game cards like Thassa's OracleThassa's Oracle
• Individual cards that provide great advantage and require multiple pieces of interaction to remove without disadvantage to the controller, like Sensei's Divining TopSensei's Divining Top
• Commanders that efficiently and consistently skip over commander tax without restriction, like Derevi, Empyrial TacticianDerevi, Empyrial Tactician
• Cards that create very time consuming interactions that may be used to force ties due to the time constraints, like Comet, Stellar PupComet, Stellar Pup

Consideration

There's a lot of sensitivity with players who find that the format they play in might be temperamental enough to change rapidly with bans. In Magic's history there haven't been very many bans, which fans of the games turn to as an indicator of how consistently the game is designed, and how comfortable they can feel about their format. I'm not sure more bans actually help the format as much as they might think.

Players who are looking for a more managed game state will likely turn to 60-card formats, as their ban list is less managed than what's being provided here. It solves a problem for sure, but it presents another one for its players: How will they keep track of the ban list?

The Price

Limitation

A lot of players feel they have to proxy to play cEDH because of the cost of the cards. Most competitions that are for prize money for cEDH aren't proxy friendly. A lot of players will say they want to play competitively against the player, not their wallets.

cEDH plays some of the best cards in the game and that makes them pricey. It makes it a very financially exclusive game.

Solution

Due to the extensive ban list in Coliseum, and a push for a more diverse sort of game play, the cards that are playable aren't that expensive. Some of the decks that did well in the format are Jhoira, Ageless InnovatorJhoira, Ageless Innovator Aggro Artifacts in August of 2024 and Emmara, Soul of the AccordEmmara, Soul of the Accord Aggro Tokens in October of the same year. Minsc & Boo, Timeless HeroesMinsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes Midrange Battlecruiser was the top deck in March of 2025.

Consideration

I really like how interesting and different the meta is, but isn't that what casual commander is for? cEDH is more of a pinnacle of how powerful the format can be, right? This doesn't solve a real problem in cEDH but creates an alternate route for Bracket 4 decks.

I know the pricing for the decks in cEDH is astronomical, but that's because people are playing the best cards in Magic history since its inception. Making these spaces more proxy friendly might solve the problem more easily. Players want to play the most powerful things in the format in cEDH, not the second best.

Overall Thoughts

cEDH has a problem with being a competitive format mainly because of the nature of it being multiplayer. When talking to a representative of the format, a friend of mine, I asked why not play 1v1? It would solve so many of their problems. He said because people like the multiplayer nature of the game. He said, "We all like playing Commander."

I don't know if this Coliseum format solves the problems of cEDH, but it does create a new format of its own. A viable format for people looking for a break from the problems of cEDH brought up in the article.

If you're interested feel free to look at the information provided here! It's in Spanish, but Google translate is a hell of a thing.

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