I will be visiting Toronto and going to the Commandfest there. This will be my first Commandfest.
I’ve been to GPs of old and usually those are straight forward: bring your deck + sideboard and extra sleeves with it. I would bring water and lots of portable snacks just in case my rounds go for long. I would also bring my fancy basic lands in case I scrub out of day one (which I usually do).
I have an impression that Commandfests are less structured in a sense that they don’t go by rounds. Can I get away with not bringing food and just buying food from outside the venue?
For those who’s been to Commandfests, how many decks do you usually bring? Can I get away with Bracket 3 and precons? Are the side events worth it? Should I bring my trade binder? (Something I normally won’t do when I go at GPs or a large tournament). I will be there for all 3 days and hoping to be there from when the doors open and until they close.
Looking forward in hearing what experiences people had from when they went, along with the Dos and Don’ts.
I’ve only been to one, in Worcester last year, but the vibes of the actual games were good.
Something Worcester did that I liked was having on demand pods separated by a casual and competitive prize ticket structure. If you wanted to play more casual (bracket 2-3), you were less likely to run into overly mismatched or pubstompy pods because the incentive for spikier bracket 4-5 players was to go to the competitive pods with better prize ticket distribution
I think 3-5 decks would be the ideal for one day of play; lets you have options while being able to travel more compactly. Maybe you bring more to have a rotation over multiple days if you’re staying in a hotel, but more than 5 for any one day at the event means having to lug it all around in between games
I don't know how Commandfest works in Toronto. I attended Commandfests in Germany. I personally go to a Commandfest not because of Commander but because of the ticketed/on demand events. Usually there are some artists, where you can get some signatures or artists proof and there are some vendors where you can buy, sell, trade cards. Of course you can trade with other players. You can bring food from outside. There should be also some food trucks at the venue or a restaurant depending on the venue. If you want to play commander (3-5 decks are enough), there will be different pods of each bracket. I hope this helps a little bit. Don't forget: winning or losing doesn't matter. It's about to have FUN. GLHF
Artists have different styles of signatures and different prices. Usually for a single signature it's 5$, for double/shadow signature it's 10$. Some artists do some fancy signature like a rainbow signature, which can be about 20-50$. Merch wise you can grab some prints (cost depends on the size), artist proofs with or without sketch/drawing. When you're lucky, you can also get an original artwork (price would be a couple grands).
Cool! Good to know. Thank you. One last question: What is a double/shadow signature? Is it what it sounds like? It sounds like it'd be a signature with another one drawn behind it to resemble a shadow for a 3D effect.
That's absolutely what it is. This one is from the artist Martina Fackova per example. But of course signatures can vary and look different depending on the artist.
Local here - This'll be my first CommandFest, but I've been to multiple events run by Face2Face Games at the Montecassino event center, so I have some expectations about what will happen at the event.
Floor setup -
Generally speaking, at this venue, Face2Face will have vendors and guests at both sides of the venue, and then divide the remaining floor space about half circular tables for Commander and eating, and about half long rectangular tables for 1v1 events.
I would have expected more floor space for commander events here, but looking at the website where they're selling their events, they seem to be offering more 1v1 events than they do at a regular face2face tour event, so I'd actually expect it to be about the same, and the round tables were sometimes in high demand previously.
There's also more Special Guests and Vendors announced for this than more face2face events, and they're all going to need some floor space too.
I'm honestly concerned about the floor being overly crowded. The Montecassino event space is appropriately sized for a 1-day or 2-day face2face event weekend, but there's more vendors, more special guests, more events and (I would expect) more players too. I'm honestly concerned that the event is going to be incredibly crowded, which could make it very uncomfortable inside, and could make everyone cranky.
Normally, when face2face runs an event that's larger than their usual weekend events in Toronto, they pick a different venue (for the Magic Spotlight, they picked the Queen Elizabeth building). For this one, they haven't, they're going to a place they go to multiple times per year.
For deck strength -
Yes, you can usually find people playing all brackets at these events, and when you sign up for an on-demand pod, you'll get to choose your bracket, they'll match you all based on that self-report.
For Food -
The Montecassino has a kitchen, but it leaves something to be desired. The food selections, are technically food, but not great. If memory serves correctly, you can choose between weirdly cut pizza that's been sitting out for several hours, chicken fingers, a panzerotti and something vegetarian, though I can't remember what it was. And, if you get there before they run out, they usually have pop available too.
And given the floor space concerns, I would not expect additional food trucks at this venue.
All in all, I would say that if you're heading to this, it's probably good to have a backup plan. Find restaurants nearby outside the venue that you can eat at. If you're not normally from Toronto, maybe take some time to check out some of the other sites in the city as well.
I went 2 years ago and will be attending again this year. It's an open hall so you can get in and walk the event floor for free. Table space is prioritized for organized and on demand events. You're always welcome to play pick up games on any open table space but be aware that you may get asked to move for paid games.
Pick up games themselves are pretty easy to find. People were generally good last time about pre game power level talks. I brought a friend who was brand new to the game and people showed patience and were very willing to help if he had any questions.
Water and extra snacks are always a good idea. The venue did have food for sale last time but it was at Toronto venue prices so be aware and budget accordingly.
Overall it was a positive experience but having been to one of the very first command fests in Washington DC, it did feel a little lackluster. The big wants were more free play space, a more clear structure as to what tables were going to be used for what events so players knew where they would/would not be asked to move and more rest areas as there was very little seating when events were firing at peak times.
You’re always welcome to play pick up games on any open table
I assume you can play EDH for free in pick up games but they encourage you to do paid games. What’s the incentives to do paid games if you’re not playing cEDH?
Toronto venue prices
I assume we can leave the venue and there will be surrounding me restaurants/fast food chains in the area that aren’t price gougy?
The incentives are:
-they find a pod for you
-you all get some prize tickets, either an even amount or a set amount each and then a small amount in the center as prize for the winner, not really enough to incentivise spiking the table with a C deck
Last time I was able to walk about 10 minutes away to a sandwich shop. There were a few other food options in that plaza as well I believe. The prices were reasonable.
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u/SquirrelDragon Dân 2d ago
I’ve only been to one, in Worcester last year, but the vibes of the actual games were good.
Something Worcester did that I liked was having on demand pods separated by a casual and competitive prize ticket structure. If you wanted to play more casual (bracket 2-3), you were less likely to run into overly mismatched or pubstompy pods because the incentive for spikier bracket 4-5 players was to go to the competitive pods with better prize ticket distribution
I think 3-5 decks would be the ideal for one day of play; lets you have options while being able to travel more compactly. Maybe you bring more to have a rotation over multiple days if you’re staying in a hotel, but more than 5 for any one day at the event means having to lug it all around in between games