Great article but I would argue that EDH is a casual format. Casual in no way means that the players or the decks are not good. It just means that the objective of the game is different than the objective of a competitive game. Competitive games are played for competition (go figure) and casual games are played to have a good time.

@Gidgetimer: Didn't I say exactly that EDH wasn't a casual format? Didn't I write a whole lot on how Dominus - Dreamcrusher Edition isn't going to be played in a casual game? EDH is a social format.

@Matsi883: You did, I as stated in my post disagree. I didn't look at Dominus - Dreamcrusher Edition and still haven't. I may go look after posting this. Again I feel that casual doesn't imply decks that are in any way weaker than the absolute highest power they can be. The motives of the game, and the environment are key.

If I go over to my buddy's house and we play Painter V. Legacy Reanimator is it automatically not a casual game since we are using good decks? The power level of the decks isn't what determines if something is casual. We are casually socializing so it is casual. I feel like there is stigma attached to the term "casual" that shouldn't be. Casual magic isn't bad players playing bad decks, it is people sharing a hobby and having a good time. EDH is about people getting together sharing a hobby and having a good time. So I disagree with you. I feel it is a casual format, and no distinction should try to be made where there is none between casual and social.

I think that competitive games are different than competitive decks, but I think that casual games imply that there are casual decks and competitive games have competitive decks.

So I guess my question is: What type of game is it when you play a competitive deck in a noncompetitive game?

A social game means you are playing with friends that you know and like, and are friendly chatting and things like that. A nonsocial game is against someone you don't know.

I would argue that there is competitive EDH and casual EDH. Many large tournaments have EDH side events, where something like Dominus would be played. I think the defining characteristic between casual and competitive is this: in competitive, you play to win, in casual, you play to have fun. You can play competitive with bad decks, and you can play casual with good decks. It's more about the mindset than the deck.

oh, also, you may want to include cube, block battles, and Vanguard. I'm sure some are still missing, as there are a ton of formats, especially when we get into casual/unofficial ones, but I feel like these ones should be included.

From that statement I am going to assume that you consider kitchen table games using competitively powered decks to be "social games" rather than "casual games". If I am wrong please correct me. I am not trying to argue semantics or muddle the issue. I am trying to clarify so that we can be on the same page.

It seems that what you call a social game I call a casual game. By your terminology the only casual games I have played are with my wife when I was trying to teach her. So I guess that's cool and I need to start referring to myself as a social Magic player rather than a casual.

Hmm, interesting reads. My friends and I play what I call competitively casual. We all want to win and are pretty competitive about it, but we also are socializing the whole time about MTG and life in general.

Just one note: Pauper doesn't have Daily Events anymore, only 8-mans and Premier.

@smash10101: The first two are added, but I don't think anybody plays Vanguard anymore. Right?

@Gidgetimer: I think that casual/competitive implies the power of the decks, but social/nonsocial implies who you play with. I don't think you are a social player, because players can't be social or nonsocial. What can be is the games. I'm confusing myself...

@cakrause86: I do the same thing, and I guess Gidgetimer does too.

@grindcardoso4: I don't play MTGO, so I wouldn't know.

I also consider EDH to be a casual format. While there are certainly ways to build a powerful EDH deck, the fact that your deck has to be at lest 100 cards and no duplicates means that it is very difficult to make a consistent deck, and consistency is highly valued in competitive formats. Also, EDH games are a much slower pace than almost any other Constructed format, allowing players to use strategies and cards that are way too high cost for other formats, which is probably why it lends itself to being a more social format since costly cards have a bigger impact in games with more than 2 players. By contrast, a Standard aggro deck would be horrible in a game with more than 2 players.

I'm just reiterating what Epochalyptik said.

ChrisHansonBiomancin, then how come Godspeed You! Black Emperor has T3 wins? It isn't a casual format, it is a social format.

Announcement: As of today, my next article will not contain Group Game Draft, which will be left for installment 6. That is so an equal amount of formats are in each article. The only way that will change is if two more casual decks are suggested.

@ChrisHansonBiomancin: Actually, consistency is easy to integrate into an EDH deck if you build right. Although the 100-card singleton nature does make consistency more difficult to conceptualize, it's still a vital part of the format.

It's also not (strictly) true that EDH games are slower. At the competitive level, there are common turn two and turn three wins, same as Legacy. Less tuned decks tend to lead to longer games.

To add my own thoughts to the discussion:
EDH is not a casual format, nor is it a competitive format. It is, as Matsi883 said, a social format. Players make of it what they will. This is different from Standard, Modern, and Legacy, where the tournament structures that govern the formats lead those formats to be inherently competitive.

That said, you can play casually and competitively. The difference between them is not deck quality or player quality, which some people tend to associate with those words. Rather, it is the reason for playing. Competitive players want to win, and other experiences tend to be secondary (that doesn't mean they're unimportant). Casual players want to have a fun experience. While fun and winning are not mutually exclusive experiences, they are different priorities for different players.

I'll admit that my experience with the format has been strictly casual, but that just seems to be the consensus among people at my shop and friends. EDH is the game we play if we're all just drinking beers and hanging out. Out of curiosity, what are some examples of decks that win on turn 3 on a consistent basis? I'm sure many are capable with the God hand.

Animar, Soul of Elements can go off pretty fast, as can Scion of the Ur-Dragon (because the latter uses the Hermit Druid combo).

Not too many people play vanguard anymore, mostly because it's really expensive. I would include it just because it is a part of MTG history rather than because it's something people could run into. Plus, from what little I understand, I think Momir Basic is based off it maybe?

To add to the quick decks Arcum Dagsson is capable of a hard lock on the entire table consistently T4, T3 with a good hand.

@smash10101: Momir Basic is based off the Momir avatar.

OK. Vanguard in.

momir avatar is a vanguard card. But anyways, I don't think it needs much, just a paragraph or two.

Pauper is all Delver or Cloudpost.

Just pointing that out.

Scratch my last comment. Didn't realize that they finally banned Cloudpost.