<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student" href="#" target="_blank">Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/magali_villeneuve/?hl=en">Magali Villeneuve</a></em></p>
<p><em>Salutations et bienvenue</em>, my dear brewers, to a somewhat different piece than usual. Today, I'm not making a tight budget deck, nor am I building Power Rangers X Teletubbies (seriously, please don't ask for that).</p>
<p>No, today, I'd like to share my thoughts as a somewhat seasoned player with both American and French communities. While I believe any Commander player shares something with the rest of the base, there are some differences, significant enough that I feel like sharing some thoughts. And since most of you are probably more used to playing with people from the United States of the North of America That Stands Under Canada And Above Mexico On A World Map, I'm going to focus more on the French behaviour.</p>
<p>Please bear in mind these considerations are 100% empirical, and are not based on any scientific study or statistical analyses.</p>
<p>I only hope you'll take all of this with a grain of salt.</p>
<hr />
<h2>Difference #1 – Power Creep</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Apex of Power"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Overpowering Attack"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Power Matrix"></div></div>
<p>Let's start with what I believe is the most obvious trait. The one major, massive, humongous difference between American and French players is the latter's propensity to play powerful decks.</p>
<p>Now don't get me wrong. I've encountered several players here and there in the Anglosaxon world that enjoyed taking their super-duper cEDH-or-almost-there deck for a spin. But my general experience has been skewed towards Bracket 2 to mid-Bracket 3 decks, rather than going Bruce Almighty.</p>
<p>That's not quite the case with French people. Be it in local game stores or online, most of the players I've encountered have had a huge tendency to play powerful and oppressive strategies.</p>
<p>Allow me to share three anecdotes to illustrate this.</p>
<p>1) I used to play with a very nice guy. Let's call him Lionel. Lionel was what you may call <em>"un builder fou", </em>a mad brewer. He liked to try wild strategies and was skilled enough to turn them into real churning machines.</p>
<p>I distinctly remember him coming to my house one day with what he called a "<em>tame <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student" href="#" target="_blank">Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>". "Don't worry, I've built this with what I had lying around, it's not that good", </em>he said, as I was trying to play my <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Edric, Spymaster of Trest" href="#" target="_blank">Edric, Spymaster of Trest</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> very low-to-the-ground budget brew. Suffice it to say the game did not last more than six turns before he soft-locked us all.</p>
<p>2) Sacri is another such example. This hunk of meat is one of the kindest guys I know (not to mention a phenomenal medieval fencer, but I digress). He also likes to play with power. <em>"This deck? Nah, it only has six or seven combos, it's not that fast. Huh, what's a Bracket?" </em>I would love nothing more to tell you that all of this is pure invention. But my bottom still remembers the double-smacking it received when he proceeded to win two games in a row on turn 4. And that wasn't even his best.</p>
<p>3) How about random groups then? During summer holidays in Southern France – just left of the middle of nowhere – I heard about a group that played on Friday evenings.</p>
<p>Let's slide over the guy who insisted on playing Duel with his tuned deck against my B2 <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shirei, Shizo&#039;s Caretaker" href="#" target="_blank">Shirei</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, to focus on the one I'll call <em>Mr. Stax. </em>I was already nervous when I saw <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Oloro, Ageless Ascetic" href="#" target="_blank">Oloro, Ageless Ascetic</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in the command zone. Again, he told the table <em>"everything's fine". </em>Before casting <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Armageddon" href="#" target="_blank">Armageddon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and then <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Limited Resources" href="#" target="_blank">Limited Resources</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>When I pointed out that card was actually banned in commander, he almost started to sulk for not being able to play annoying cards. Again, true story.</p>
<p>I could go on with the local commander tournaments that focused on fun-plays-and-no-cEDH-because-no-way-but-please-vote-for-the-funniest-deck-oh-wait-why-are-you-comboing-off. Or that very nice guy who could not help but chuckle when someone played something sub-optimally.</p>
<p>I'm not trying here to compete for the Bolas among Bolases. My point with all this is rather simple : most French players love their power plays. So if you ever happen to play with random people in a French LGS, make sure you do a thorough Rule 0 talk before starting, or you may be in for a nasty surprise.</p>
<hr />
<h2>Difference #2 – Language and manners</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Saltblast"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Brash Taunter"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rowdy Crew"></div></div>
<p>This one may come (or not) as a surprise. French people are known for being rowdy. I've met Americans that consider us downright offensive and rude. To whom I'll respond that we simply don't beat around the bush, but I digress (again).</p>
<p>Well, Commander is no different. We call ourselves names <em>–Ah mais t'es un gros enculé en fait ; Ah le bâtaaaard !!!* – </em>and trash talk is rather commonplace, much more so than with Americans.</p>
<p>I have a hypothesis that can partly explain this. In French, we distinguish the "tu" and "vous". The first is colloquial, for close friends, and the "vous" is more formal, when there's a distance between the speakers.</p>
<p>In English however, there's only the "you", used for all situations. Since <em>Magic</em> is a social game, players always use the "tu" around the table. This leads to more relaxed social interactions, and possibly extended banter and name-calling. That's just an idea, and I'm no scholar, so feel free to prove me wrong if you have more knowledge on this!</p>
<p>Now, I'm not saying that's never the case elsewhere. But in almost all my games online on American servers, be it with newcomers or old chums, I've never ever heard that kind of language (barring a couple of bad experiences).</p>
<p>To a foreigner, this might seem weird, appalling even. I can't blame you. Nevertheless, in most cases what happens at the table stays at the table. I may occasionally call someone a haemorrhoidal asshole, that won't stop us from sharing a beer afterwards.</p>
<p>Don't take everything that French people say too seriously, and most of all don't expect us to sugar-coat anything.</p>
<p>*No, I won't translate this, not here. If you're that curious, Gtranslate it.</p>
<hr />
<h2>Difference #3 – Duel Commander</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Keen Duelist"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dueling Grounds"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Trueheart Duelist"></div></div>
<p>It's no coincidence that Duel Commander is also colloquially called French Commander, and is played basically only in France, aside from a few other exotic locations.</p>
<p>I was there when the format began, and while I haven't played in a while, I've battled against a few decks, enough to make up my own mind.</p>
<p>What first started as a 30-life duel quickly went down to 20, with some of the most brutally oppressive strategies I've seen in this game. It's also a format that openly bans some cards as commander only, but not in the 99.</p>
<p>I won't delve too deeply on this topic, as I've lost interest rather quickly. I'm also not going down the rabbit hole of the endless controversies it has suffered, especially the various shitstorms against the rules committee. Like all formats, it has its ups and its downs.</p>
<p>What I find most interesting is how closely it ties in with the first point. Duel Commander is an extremely competitive format, eager to beat down on whatever stands in its way.</p>
<p>Somehow, I find it not too dissimilar to what Legacy has become, only with singleton 100-card decks rather than the usual 60. This is rather fitting with what I was illustrating above, with the French propensity to lean towards high power.</p>
<hr />
<h2>Conclusion – <em>Cordialement de va te faire cuire un oeuf</em></h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Taunting Elf"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jabs, Mistress of Mockery"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Impractical Joke"></div></div>
<p>I hope you enjoyed this somewhat tumultuous journey in the French meta.</p>
<p>Again, I insist that you should take all of this with a grain (or a teaspoon) of salt. These few comments are based solely on my experience in the 30 years or so I've been playing this game.</p>
<p>I'm positive there are a bajillion counter-examples to everything I've said. And I'm not saying that each and every French player answers to those criteria.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, I'm rather positive on the general trend.</p>
<p>How about you? Have you had similar experiences with the <em>Gaulois</em>? Have you played with the most charming and exquisite persons?</p>
<p>Let me know in the comments below, and I'll see you next week!</p>


france

The Sodium Content Difference Between USA and France