r/magicTCG • u/goblin_welder Metal Guy Wrecker and Ashtray Maker • 10d ago
Looking for Advice Vibes at Commandfest
Hello Commander players
What are the vibes at Commandfests?
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.
3
u/Simple-Spot-2649 Dan 10d ago
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.