Truth

Crypt isn't a problem... low cost 2 card combo's that win the game are the problem...

The fun of combo is supposed to be the challenge in assembling it... 3 card Combo's like [[seasons past]] + [[time warp]] + Tutor that require 3 cards + >7/8 mana feel good when they're assembled, like you earned it...

[[demonic consultation]] + [[Thassa's Oracle]] is just cheese... you're not really playing magic at that point... The other fun with combo is racing the combat damage decks to your combo...

A lot of low cost combo's is the problem... The race between different arcchetypes and win-cons is where the fun is...

The sad truth is that blue farm DC Thoracle turbo is the best archetype in the format... everything else that isn't that has to be specifically set up to counter that, (this is where stax and midrange grind decks come in), A cEDH stax deck pairs horrible in highly tuned degenerate pods because they don't operate the same way the cEDH meta does... which doesn't actually make those decks highly competitive across formats.

Pre Thoracle and Partnered commanders I used to run [[Rafiq of the many]] that could beat combo decks in speed with damage whilst simultaneously running some mid game combo to try and close when Rafiq gets closed down... could have 2 players eliminated by turn 5 consistently... That's a fairly fast game of commander (IMO) yet by todays standards its too slow.

I've not been brewing in the format too long or participating but I'm already bored... every deck is exactly the same (representative of its colours) and is trying to do the same thing, hold up 0 mana interaction to stop turbo, play stax pieces, play 1 of a handful of game winning combo's.

There's some fringe decks that are viable and fun... [[etali, primal conqueror]] comes to mind, that's a very fun commander to resolve...

I digress...

Mana crypt isn't the problem... I've seen cEDH decks that don't even run it because 2 colourless on turn one doesn't help them play anything other than a turn one rhystic and often doesn't put them further ahead in turns 1-2... Any card that can facilitate a turn 1 W probably shouldn't be in the format... Fast mana isn't that big a problem if it doesn't accelerate you into a W on turn 1/2... so you get to play a few pieces earlier but at least other players have time to do stuff and potentially hold up interaction also, it can be played around... DC + Thoracle isn't creative or fun to play against... the whole game becomes warped around preventing that.

Just my personal... every-time I try to brew a deck with blue in It becomes impossible to not include Thoracle or fill it with interaction to prevent it.

eventually I start brewing something like GW stax and just hope nobody has a turn 1 W or somebody else is running the blue interaction for it...

IMO winning before turn 3 isn't actually a game of magic the gathering with other players... you're just playing solitaire at that point.

That being said I do love popping [[kinnan, bonder prodigy]] off on turn 1 followed by thrasios and basalt monolith on turn 2... again though... only effective because of thoracle...

I do not expect anyone to read this at all. I clearly had something to get off my chest LMAO I'm gonna hit the big comment button and call it a day on the topic.