EDH thoughts...

I started playing EDH quite a long time ago. We followed the now official rules. But when I started to play Magic online via Cockatrice I realized that many people either play multiplayer games or 1 vs. 1 using the French banlist and rules. In Slovakia the players either play EDH multiplayer or german highlander and we got into disputes quite often about the banlist and non-campatibility of the decks.

This year I joined a german highlander league and build a 4 color (5cc) let's say control. This 4cc is quite fast, versatile and can beat the crap out of almost everything (except mono red with resolved blood moon - and I'm talking about the deck not me as the pilot^^). For quite some time I played only highlander and than suddenly I was asked to play EDH. I was like WTH? My deck was somewhere far away in a box. Anyway I played 1-on-1 games with my highlander adding Horde of Notions as a general. It seemed as a good choice. Good body, Vigilance, Trample, Haste and it occasionally plays Mulldrifter or Shriekmaw from the graveyard (and Lark and such). So far for 1-on-1 games it was ok. I only missed few cards one of the cards being Karn Liberated.

But then in a different store I joined a multiplayer game and this deck was incompatible. It was a really bad experience. So I decided that it is time to take Mimeoplasm out of the box and play with it.

I played with it even online and noted that I don't have it build using the French banlist. I played both multiplayer games and 1-on-1 games. In both cases the deck was doing relatively good. But I had to change my plan - I needed to be more of a combo otherwise I would soon lose. My deck was the one not having tempo but having responses to everything. But that gets frustrating (my deck is not entirely a control deck, see). Anyway I pulled off wins each time.

When I switched decks and played with my 5cc the games started to be more balanced and the lack of vampiric tutor, sol ring, strip mine and such also helped it a lot. I wasn't being called an idiot playing these cards or being kicked out of the room^^. I went through this in IRL and it wasn't nice.

After more games with the French banlist I found out that the decks are quite fast and can be pretty mean. I got killed by turn 5 in several cases. The games reminded me of german highlander but with one card that you can recursively play. My general is more like, play it once and win the game with it. That's what I had to do. Always tutored Buried Alive into Grave Titan, Skithiryx and some card that would be my second target if the first wouldn't win me the game. This was my only option if I wanted to win, my deck is too slow for 1-on-1 play in the French banlist meta.

You have some experience with these formats? What do you think about it?
I truly think that the French EDH is on a good way of being 'officialized' and I actually like it. But on the other hand it loses the charm with which EDH charmed me to begin with. But well it comes down to... a player plays a game to win it.