I feel like the Commander-centric half of this podcast was tiptoeing the most important aspect of “where do you find joy in the game:” It’s dependent on what you feel your purpose is. Do you want to play the game the most technical/effectively? Do you want to make others laugh the hardest? Do you want to just enjoy the camaraderie? Do you want to surprise people with innovative/uncommon strategies? What you feel like your *purpose* is will directly reflect what you enjoy most about the game, and what you dislike the most. Great video, Jimmy and Rachel!
Guys! Thank you SO MUCH for doing an episode like this. I always struggled with what I'm passionate about and hearing Rachel talk about how one of her zones of genius is solving puzzles made me realize that I love to do that too! Researching stuff, figuring out how stuff works, figuring out why something may not be working the way it should. I really enjoy all of those things and I think that's going to help me figure out what I want to do with my career going forward. So again, THANKS!
So there's a very interesting thing about Flow State/Thinking/Overthinking is a concept called "Subvocalization", which basically is your larynx forming the words you're reading/thinking out in your throat even if you aren't speaking them, which you can even feel if you feel your throat while reading this or think about other words, your larynx will form them in the same way as if you were to say them out loud. Sometimes while in Flow State, you're brain can actually autotranslate concepts/feelings/hunches past that subvocalization barrier, which skips a lot of the normal mental bandwidth that's required for the (comparatively) slow translation of "Word read at top speed that you can process it". That aspect of it is a less useful in a card game where you've got more time available to you compared to something more high impact like sports/more action oriented esports/etc, but still very cool. Still barely even grazed the surface on this video but this is such a cool video concept.
Rachel inspired me to get back into making collages in my journal! Also my “zone of genius” is building and tuning a deck, not even really playing it but combing through binders and boxes and min maxing the strategies in the decks really draws me into the game.
I love the act of playing the game. I goldfish a lot to learn the main lines and spend a bunch of time learning how cards interact. I do this because my zone of genius is teaching and explaining. I love teaching new players how to play the game and how the cards work and how one thing affects another.
As a relatively new player, I have been heavily intimidated by how many cards and strategies that exist. I have spent a fair few hours trying to decide what style of decks I want to own and if I should invest in completing a new deck. Watching this video and identifying where I find the most joy in a commander game was the exact perspective I needed. The ego in me feels guilty for using online lists as a baseline to start my deck building. Further, I thought that I needed to bring a deck to my game that no one has seen before so that they have fun discovering the work that I put into preparing. I have realized that I need to build a deck that I will find fun to play every time. Other people can help me create that deck with their ideas and knowledge and there is no shame in asking. Thank you very very much for this video!
I'm pretty new as well- something I have found to be helpful is going super deep with one particular commander before learning all of the things. There is so much in magic that it doesn't take long to become even more knowledgeable than many experienced players with how best to play one specific commander. Deep not wide, hope this helps!
I’m going to add to this. I’ve been playing for almost 2 years now and my mindset is I want don’t want be an easy win or I want to pop off and show what I can do. I have a BF who actually came back to the game because of me and he himself was winning tournaments so he would cream me practically every time. To the point where he flat out said I’m not playing with you because your being to hard and trying to get on my level and that won’t happen every night. He encouraged me to play more with others and he will help me every other way. So I have been I played with some friends last night I fact i played my clue focused deck and it did things I never thought it could I actually played with some friends last night and I was doing some shinanigens and I had a lot of fun and lots of laughs. So I took this video into mind and it helped me find the one thing I was missing. The fun aspect.
I play mtg since 1995, and the amount of cards and strategies is still intimidating. No shame in looking at deck lists i feel. Its a complex game, and its good to build your first few decks based on a list. You need to get a feel for things and get a bit of awareness of what exists out there. At some point deck lists turn into things where you see something you didnt know, and you take that into your own decks and games, without copying other peoples ideas. At some level, magic is like a language, and you need to start to learn the words, before you can make sentences with proper functional grammar.
I really enjoy commander centric episodes or deck tech videos Those old deck tech videos are still some of my favourites not because of the cool deck builds but the passion when they talk about cool combos and synergies always make me smile
The energy sucking section was very interesting to think about! I believe that is not something that I haven’t taken time to think about before and realize that I might be able to stop some of that energy draining- I know for a fact what the biggest thing is though that drains my energy in commander - when you are having fun, maybe going off, and someone at the table gets super salty or very upset at you. I love Storm decks, that’s how I like to play. However, I know some people don’t, but it’s not like I’m always winning or anything like that, but when I do go off and someone gets upset about it, I just don’t want to play that deck or those decks again even if it isn’t against the same person. Not sure there’s a great way to change my mindset on that energy suck.
Really like this episode, it talks about all the inner stuff going on during commander. I’ve helped form a group and knowing/thinking about all this helps foster a good group, thanks for making this!
great episode, I've really enjoyed how the command zone has started doing more thinking outside of the box episodes that have been happening lately. Bringing a different way of seeing the game into the conversation is very refreshing
I really really loved this episode, more than I've enjoyed the podcast in a long time. I specifically came here to TH-cam just to let you know: this was awesome!!!
I never thought I would consider all of the various layers that go into my hobbies from this pod. It's super interesting to reflect and find out things about myself and the things I enjoy. My zone of genius would probably be DMing Dungeons and Dragons. Curating stories and experiences along with improv and playing pretend is so fulfilling to me. I will never get tired when I'm DMing and most times forget basic needs like food while I'm deep in my zone.
"It's not like every time; I got it, I nailed it. But I can get it done in a couple tries." Ah yes, that is how one describes being 'very good' at something.
I just got into Magic a few weeks ago, and I work as a sport and performance psychology consultant! I am so happy to see a new hobby joined with the world of sport psychology, and flow state is such a powerful thing to incorporate into your everyday life. Also, I'm very impressed with Jimmy's pronunciation of "Cheek-sent-me-high"!
Love the content. Have you guys ever thought of inviting Gavin as a guest and having a conversation on how it is to design new cards and work within a company which created his favourite card game? Just an idea. I think it would be interesting to have some more insights on how Mtg is being cooked :)
Love the twist on the episode, I’ve been a fan for many years and one of this episodes completely changed my life, the episode where you talked about tactics inspired in Dan Carlin’s Blueprint for Armageddon Hardcore History Podcast introduced me to one of my favorite passions today. I simply love HCH and I owe it to you guys
Commander is what solidified my love for Magic the Gathering. I just love brewing decks. Collecting Cards, learning new combos, falling in love with new strategies and meeting new people. This channel is therapy for me. I always re-watch the episodes and I just enjoy watching the interaction and gameplay
Honestly love having a term for this. Recently I've seen myself do this at work, playing pool, or even playing a video game and wanted a term for it. That feeling of you can do anything and nothing can stop you because you are so focused is actually addicting.
There has always been a term for this most recently it has been called being fully immersed, in the 90's we called it being in the zone, in the 80's it was being in the flow, in the 70's it was being in the groove, in the 60's you were vibing, in the 50's you were cooking with gas. There is nothing new here in that this is just the updated term for a new generation. What is new is that someone figured out how to get people to spend money on a book telling them about something that has been around since the dawn of man.
This might be my favourite episode ever! Such an awesome topic, really well discussed. I hadn't heard about the "zones of function" framework before. Super interesting, I'll be taking notes and thinking about this for a while. Huge props to you for this one! I think my zone of genius is in the area of deckbuilding, specifically in finding commanders that are cool and unique, and coming up with interesting, creative ways to build them. My favourite decks are the ones that make people go "huh, that's cool, I've never seen that before".
Overall a great video to bring a scope onto the interest of why you play the game and what you enjoy. I will note flow is a term we use within recreation along with the idea of the Flow Theory. The flow theory is the challenge vs experience level. For example if the complexity or challenge is too high for someone at a beginner level it’s going to be overwhelming. Vice versa for an experienced person playing at a starting level. I wanted to share this concept because you may have decks or ideas at the table but it may affect the game play experience. For example level of deck or deck types even if someone is playing a mill vs a self mill deck or agro vs a hate barer deck. Not to say you can’t play variety of decks but based on match ups can affect the games. I mention these ideas as some food for though that when thinking of the game play and the challenge created it’s always good to talk about power, to share the interest of what you like, and last match ups for the table. Many of these steps can improve the experience you are looking forward to in your recreational time. Apologies for the lengthy message but thank you for this video of interest.
So my specialty is I create decks that challenge other people's strategies. Also people just have a lot of fun with my decks and love to play them. I love taking the commanders from sets that people kind of skip over and make them disrupt the more popular commanders. But overall I just want to see everyone smile and have fun. I chose Commander because I am a very social person. But I love seeing the creativity in people's decks and just the thought process through the game. Stay safe out there everybody. And enjoy magic as best you can!!!
My zone of genius IRL is poetry/writing. My zone of genius in MTG was a lot harder to figure out, but I have 3: 1. Deck building. 2. Assessing threats, but not being listened to. 3. Honesty, I am an honest player to a fault, but I love that about me.
This convo was absolutely not what I was expecting when I clicked on this video, but was exactly what I needed. Such a good talk. Also, as a former graphic designer just getting into Magic, really appreciate Rachel doing all the heavy self-awareness lifting for me. Everything she said is so spot on for me too. Love the problem solving. Love the weird cards. Love trying to build with what I have.
1:06:59 i didn't know that exists...well, you just said it because it came to your mind (or read the script) so you didn't actually tell me how big it is, but since i started making custom cards and after watching rhystic study last video about foils, i started to get interested on how to make extremly good "proxy" cards
Hot take: I came to learn about magic, but then I did! Less than 10mins in and you guys are stunning me. I have a BA in game design and we definitely learned about this, and it's so true! Something I've learned from this show previously though, that has already helped me in the past: when I get into flow sometimes I hit the gutter. Watch an episode of the command zone or, maybe, a third of the way through and your flows state again! I will be joining the patron soon!
The thing that I had to let go to make me happy was trying to completely brew a deck by myself and scryfall from the ground up. The only thing I’m good at is making the dream mana base, but the moment I have to start adding the game plan/ supporting cards I fall apart. Well, it’s more like I bring my fresh brew to game night and it falls flat three games in a row. And ik it shouldn’t bruise my ego, but like that deck and energy I put into it was meaningful, so it losing/ not performing feels bad and is meaningful as well. Now I just make copy’s of other peoples decks online, print them, play them, and tweak at most 5 cards a week. That’s preserved my sanity. As well as I don’t purchase a deck until it gives me joy to play, which I learned for me is when it does something, not even win, just gets to do its thing, or I find the combo etc and execute the plan. Idk, it’s been a journey.
I finally found someone who shares my stupid amount of knowledge of random magic cards thank you Rachel! In all seriousness I very much appreciate this episode, it’s helped me learn a lot about myself and I appreciate the new knowledge I gained from this episode, it’s helped me narrow down what I consider my zones of Genius and my zones of competence
I never thought that an episode of the Command Zone so removed from Commander, or from Magic really, could impress me so much and instantly become one of my favorites. Teaching people to understand and value themselves is so important. You're putting Good into the world. Thank you.
Awesome video. There were lots of very helpful tips 🙃 I loved the part where Jimmy talked about the game where he decided not to take someone out of the game. I don't usually win very often because of situations like this ( also my decks are probably not always that powerful lol.) I'm always told I am too nice, but I like to see everyone have fun and play their cards. I love just being able to play the game even when I don't win. When I am the "threat," I honestly find it a little stressful, lol.
Glad that condensing set review stuff is reopening time for these types of episodes. This gave me a new language for expressing familiar concepts and took me a little deeper. I'm a systems guy, i think the thing I gained from this episode is seeing that emotionally deck building is system creation for me and i enjoy gameplay when the game's system is operated properly and/or when a unique gap is the system is exploited in a novel manner to me.
I am definitely jealous of Jimmy's ability to GET ENERGY(???) from socialising and hosting. I love being with friends but it absolutely leaves me exhausted no matter how good of a time ive had. The only thing i can think of that gives me energy is actually sorting cards T___T very exciting
This was a surprisingly enlightening episode. I thought it was just gonna be like, "you aren't structuring your plays in the right order", or "you need to be building your decks like this", but instead it really made me think about myself inside and outside of magic. Thanks for the thoughts!
Rachel, Jimmy, this is graduate level magic thinking. I really enjoyed this episode - and as a CGU grad, I instantly recognized the background behind Mihaly and Jeanne. You guys are the best.
I've always thought that my zone of genius is when I can express my wacky ideas or crazy stories I come with in my head. I'm a cartoonist and comic book creator. I also make a lot of strange and weird yet funny looking artwork. It gives me great joy to see someone visualize the crazy thing in their head. In Magic: The Gathering, I find it hilarious when a horde of squirrels are stampeding over a giant beast or when Mechtitan Core turns into a giant robot or when someone plays Spelunking... I can't help but giggle.
I always knew that the thing I liked most about Commander was making a deck that had a very specific game plan and then pulling off that plan in a game (anyone who knows me knows I don't build good-stuff decks for that reason). But I find I get in a really bad mood when I can't get the plan to go off and it leads to an exceptionally bad time. Through this exercise though, I realized I just enjoy watching decks go off in a unique way, which is why I build my decks to do that. I think next time I get in a position where I can't really do anything I'm going to try looking for a way that I can help someone else do their thing, whether it be giving them advice or even just using a piece of removal to get something off the table that helps them go off. That way I can get some enjoyment from watching a deck go off. Thanks Command Zone, you definitely gave me something to think about for my games moving forward!
I love the "energy audit" section of this video. There are certain things about Commander that make it more tiring or tedious. Cards laying around is an example, what a headache.
Hey Rachel, regarding the mental map thing, how often do you walk around? I know it's a car infested hellscape a lot of places, but I've found I can't establish a mental map at driving speed. Even biking can be too fast. Something about walking seems to be synced with my brain though such that if I walk around an area and walk to specific destinations there a couple times, I can develop a mental map that functions just as well when I am in a car or on a bike moving faster. I think some people are just more adapted to map at high speed maybe?
"Throw away preconceived notions about WORDS" "These are all words our EGOIC MIND likes to attach meaning to" "There are INFINITE possibilities!" Stop trying to pry open my Third Eye, Jimmy.
I love this video, it reminds me of a lot of leadership videos I've been watching lately. Something I do after playing games is make notes What commanders were at the table? Who won and how? What went well? What could be improved? Especially with the last one it's great to see over a few games what themes pop up like which cards are underperforming, what would've helped me out in X scenario etc
My zones of excellence are cooking in a frying pan (I can handle many pots and pans at once, but I love using a stove), splitting wood, fabricating things, and building around jank. I'm a 'jack of all trades' sort, able to carve a nifty spoon or weld up an axe to split wood with. I think my genius stuff is general creativity, when I'm in a good mood I'm a creative enough that it just colours how I see everything... I love to think about which Commanders would like which songs I listen to for example, it's great when a song has a part that (or even all of it) just fits with a deck.
For magic it is deep diving and brewing. I started in New Capenna so I am relatively new and less familiar with much if Magic's history. I get a lot of satisfaction from the creative process of building decks, more than playing them even! Since I am so new, I have found great success in going deep, not wide, with my knowledge. Picking a commander and knowing it ad nauseum (not the card). For instance I pulled a divining top and spent maybe 2 hours digging into combos and best ways to use the card before trying to put it into a deck. I study and learn during every game, and I take pictures of any cards my opponents play that make me go "whoa what is THAT?"
What a great Podcast with a good dept and using theory in practice. I was thinking a lot about me and where I get energy from and what my circle of genius is. And everything suddenly fell in to place. I like working or playing with others. In small project groups or commander. I’m going to think about how I can use it in my work and free time. Pls more of this great content. Ty
This episode may not get a ton of interaction, but I did find it interesting. The habits mentioned are how I’ve approached the game already. I do like how the CZ team has encouraged mental health via sponsors and just straight talk about struggles. I’m glad to see Ladee Danger guest more often as she was very open about her struggles. As fans, we feel very connected to you as strangers. I’m certain you get some strange fan experiences. Thank you for sharing.
Im surprised if this isnt common practice, at least in terms of playing magic. Just gotta be aware of your feelings and actions and know how to improve upon it. this is useful in everything in life.
I used to watch your guys games a while ago, then I watched yall play with Posty. I also love the idea of a Cryptid being a commander and with your guys recent episode with the four decks I got back into it. I got the mothman deck and now also have the lady liberty deck (that’s just what I call liberty prime) so thank yall for your well made videos.
This is the most based Commander Podcast Episode of all time! It's primary focus is learning how to maximize your potential OUTSIDE of the game, and how to apply that to everything you do, including your next game of Commander. Well done Command Zone!
Great podcast. I love how creative you have become with your ideas of looking at magic or commander in a different way. Funny thing is whenever I "get in the zone" my wife can't stand it because she thinks I am ignoring her. Never thought of it in a positive way. Thanks.
Common issue I see is when a player has the means to play their whole hand and do so, and Run out of gas, with out a way to draw more cards or use graveyard. conserve a couple cards to bluff and work on threat assessment so you don't waste one of the 99 cards.
I'd say I'm more of a Rachel in that I do love deckbuilding and helping others with decks. I try to be organize and I haven't built a group hug yet but I'm starting to think about it more after this video. I will say I'm not done searching myself cuz I see aspects of myself in what both of you said and things that you didn't say so I'm gonna take this chance to continue thinking about it and hopefully it will lead to so much more.
The first thing that came to my mind when I saw that Thumbnail was: "Get in the Command Zone Shinji!" And now I can't wait until we get a Evangelion Universes Beyond...
Having a good decision making process helps you turn out the noise. As for flow states Warowl did a few videos on flow states for competitive FPS games definitely worth a watch. Also chess players go into flow a lot.
Thank you for this episode, It gave me a new perspective on what i want from commander. I'm right there with you Rachel, It's no fun to win because the other players are getting mana-screwed or getting shutdown by the other players. I want to win because I was playing better or the deck did its thing. and if i didn't win its ok so long as my deck did what i built it to do.
I'm not a fan of ads in videos (i don't think anyone is), BUT that whole "isn't jimmy upstairs?" "yeah... but.. I'm downstairs" thing is freakin priceless! Never related to something so hard in my life. :)
I wish I saw this sooner in case CZ could see -I did a Master’s Degree in Play and they coveted Bartle's Taxonomy: Gamer Types! It’s too long to explain in one comment besides archetypes of Socializers, Explorers, Achievers and Killers. Also my studies heavily discussed Flow State so it was cool to see this episode including that topic. Keep up the great discussions like this!
I've heard this mentioned in many podcasts talking with NBA players that if they have to think during the game then they aren't going to do what they need to do fast enough. Being able to do what you need to be doing by feel without thought is part of being at the next level.
I feel like the Commander-centric half of this podcast was tiptoeing the most important aspect of “where do you find joy in the game:” It’s dependent on what you feel your purpose is. Do you want to play the game the most technical/effectively? Do you want to make others laugh the hardest? Do you want to just enjoy the camaraderie? Do you want to surprise people with innovative/uncommon strategies? What you feel like your *purpose* is will directly reflect what you enjoy most about the game, and what you dislike the most. Great video, Jimmy and Rachel!
Guys! Thank you SO MUCH for doing an episode like this. I always struggled with what I'm passionate about and hearing Rachel talk about how one of her zones of genius is solving puzzles made me realize that I love to do that too! Researching stuff, figuring out how stuff works, figuring out why something may not be working the way it should. I really enjoy all of those things and I think that's going to help me figure out what I want to do with my career going forward. So again, THANKS!
I absolutely loved Jimmy in Video Game High School. Such a great show.
So underrated
What? I had no idea he was in that. Now I have to go back and re-watch
@@brianpendleton2674 expert drift racer, father was a three time world champ in Guitar Hero
@@OofOuchOwie haha okay that is the character I was thinking he maybe played after those comments.
So there's a very interesting thing about Flow State/Thinking/Overthinking is a concept called "Subvocalization", which basically is your larynx forming the words you're reading/thinking out in your throat even if you aren't speaking them, which you can even feel if you feel your throat while reading this or think about other words, your larynx will form them in the same way as if you were to say them out loud. Sometimes while in Flow State, you're brain can actually autotranslate concepts/feelings/hunches past that subvocalization barrier, which skips a lot of the normal mental bandwidth that's required for the (comparatively) slow translation of "Word read at top speed that you can process it". That aspect of it is a less useful in a card game where you've got more time available to you compared to something more high impact like sports/more action oriented esports/etc, but still very cool. Still barely even grazed the surface on this video but this is such a cool video concept.
Rachel inspired me to get back into making collages in my journal! Also my “zone of genius” is building and tuning a deck, not even really playing it but combing through binders and boxes and min maxing the strategies in the decks really draws me into the game.
I love the act of playing the game. I goldfish a lot to learn the main lines and spend a bunch of time learning how cards interact. I do this because my zone of genius is teaching and explaining. I love teaching new players how to play the game and how the cards work and how one thing affects another.
The Thumbnail by itself made this worth the watch lol.
How to become a genius: don’t play the sol ring in your opening hand and you’ll never become the target 😅
Facts! Play those tap lands first so you don't stand out 😂
Unless you infect the entire table by turn 4/5.
Played sol ring turn one in my murfolk deck and turn 2 hakbol, turn 3 exploration, there was no stopping me I mowed the table down
Hakbal rules
Depends on the meta. Theres alot scarier stuff out there than two extra mana for turn 2. Ever go up against a land, elf or simic deck? Thats scary.
As a relatively new player, I have been heavily intimidated by how many cards and strategies that exist. I have spent a fair few hours trying to decide what style of decks I want to own and if I should invest in completing a new deck. Watching this video and identifying where I find the most joy in a commander game was the exact perspective I needed. The ego in me feels guilty for using online lists as a baseline to start my deck building. Further, I thought that I needed to bring a deck to my game that no one has seen before so that they have fun discovering the work that I put into preparing. I have realized that I need to build a deck that I will find fun to play every time. Other people can help me create that deck with their ideas and knowledge and there is no shame in asking. Thank you very very much for this video!
I'm pretty new as well- something I have found to be helpful is going super deep with one particular commander before learning all of the things. There is so much in magic that it doesn't take long to become even more knowledgeable than many experienced players with how best to play one specific commander.
Deep not wide, hope this helps!
@@brianpendleton2674 Great comment, thank you!
I’m going to add to this. I’ve been playing for almost 2 years now and my mindset is I want don’t want be an easy win or I want to pop off and show what I can do. I have a BF who actually came back to the game because of me and he himself was winning tournaments so he would cream me practically every time. To the point where he flat out said I’m not playing with you because your being to hard and trying to get on my level and that won’t happen every night.
He encouraged me to play more with others and he will help me every other way. So I have been I played with some friends last night I fact i played my clue focused deck and it did things I never thought it could
I actually played with some friends last night and I was doing some shinanigens and I had a lot of fun and lots of laughs.
So I took this video into mind and it helped me find the one thing I was missing.
The fun aspect.
I play mtg since 1995, and the amount of cards and strategies is still intimidating. No shame in looking at deck lists i feel. Its a complex game, and its good to build your first few decks based on a list. You need to get a feel for things and get a bit of awareness of what exists out there. At some point deck lists turn into things where you see something you didnt know, and you take that into your own decks and games, without copying other peoples ideas.
At some level, magic is like a language, and you need to start to learn the words, before you can make sentences with proper functional grammar.
Love this comment, thank you!@@ice9ify
I really enjoy commander centric episodes or deck tech videos
Those old deck tech videos are still some of my favourites not because of the cool deck builds but the passion when they talk about cool combos and synergies always make me smile
The energy sucking section was very interesting to think about! I believe that is not something that I haven’t taken time to think about before and realize that I might be able to stop some of that energy draining- I know for a fact what the biggest thing is though that drains my energy in commander - when you are having fun, maybe going off, and someone at the table gets super salty or very upset at you. I love Storm decks, that’s how I like to play. However, I know some people don’t, but it’s not like I’m always winning or anything like that, but when I do go off and someone gets upset about it, I just don’t want to play that deck or those decks again even if it isn’t against the same person. Not sure there’s a great way to change my mindset on that energy suck.
I love the feeling when you see your deck do its thing and I love creating themes for my decks.
Really like this episode, it talks about all the inner stuff going on during commander. I’ve helped form a group and knowing/thinking about all this helps foster a good group, thanks for making this!
This is such a deep philosophy in general, not just magic related. this was awesome to listen to, thank you for this
great episode, I've really enjoyed how the command zone has started doing more thinking outside of the box episodes that have been happening lately. Bringing a different way of seeing the game into the conversation is very refreshing
I really really loved this episode, more than I've enjoyed the podcast in a long time. I specifically came here to TH-cam just to let you know: this was awesome!!!
I never thought I would consider all of the various layers that go into my hobbies from this pod. It's super interesting to reflect and find out things about myself and the things I enjoy. My zone of genius would probably be DMing Dungeons and Dragons. Curating stories and experiences along with improv and playing pretend is so fulfilling to me. I will never get tired when I'm DMing and most times forget basic needs like food while I'm deep in my zone.
Rachel: I have really bad spatial reasoning.
Also Rachel: I am VERY good at parallel parking!
"It's not like every time; I got it, I nailed it. But I can get it done in a couple tries."
Ah yes, that is how one describes being 'very good' at something.
I just got into Magic a few weeks ago, and I work as a sport and performance psychology consultant! I am so happy to see a new hobby joined with the world of sport psychology, and flow state is such a powerful thing to incorporate into your everyday life. Also, I'm very impressed with Jimmy's pronunciation of "Cheek-sent-me-high"!
Love the content. Have you guys ever thought of inviting Gavin as a guest and having a conversation on how it is to design new cards and work within a company which created his favourite card game? Just an idea. I think it would be interesting to have some more insights on how Mtg is being cooked :)
This has easily become my favorite command zone episode (Followed by building a deck that you love, makes sense)
Love the twist on the episode, I’ve been a fan for many years and one of this episodes completely changed my life, the episode where you talked about tactics inspired in Dan Carlin’s Blueprint for Armageddon Hardcore History Podcast introduced me to one of my favorite passions today. I simply love HCH and I owe it to you guys
Commander is what solidified my love for Magic the Gathering. I just love brewing decks. Collecting Cards, learning new combos, falling in love with new strategies and meeting new people. This channel is therapy for me. I always re-watch the episodes and I just enjoy watching the interaction and gameplay
Honestly love having a term for this. Recently I've seen myself do this at work, playing pool, or even playing a video game and wanted a term for it. That feeling of you can do anything and nothing can stop you because you are so focused is actually addicting.
Gotta love that flow state 😊 Snow boarding, board games, and mtg all get me there.
you'd not heard of flow state previously? wow
There has always been a term for this most recently it has been called being fully immersed, in the 90's we called it being in the zone, in the 80's it was being in the flow, in the 70's it was being in the groove, in the 60's you were vibing, in the 50's you were cooking with gas. There is nothing new here in that this is just the updated term for a new generation. What is new is that someone figured out how to get people to spend money on a book telling them about something that has been around since the dawn of man.
i mean, they teach it in psych class in college. @@shadowfrost__
The command zone becomes a psychology podcast. I love it!
Really like these episodes where the hosts read a book and applies those concepts to mtg. Keep ‘em coming!!
This might be my favourite episode ever! Such an awesome topic, really well discussed. I hadn't heard about the "zones of function" framework before. Super interesting, I'll be taking notes and thinking about this for a while. Huge props to you for this one!
I think my zone of genius is in the area of deckbuilding, specifically in finding commanders that are cool and unique, and coming up with interesting, creative ways to build them. My favourite decks are the ones that make people go "huh, that's cool, I've never seen that before".
let's goooooo! Let's begin the Plainswalker Instrumentality Project!
Useful not just for kicking ass in MTG but in general life too! Thank you for the content, this was fun to listen to
Overall a great video to bring a scope onto the interest of why you play the game and what you enjoy. I will note flow is a term we use within recreation along with the idea of the Flow Theory. The flow theory is the challenge vs experience level. For example if the complexity or challenge is too high for someone at a beginner level it’s going to be overwhelming. Vice versa for an experienced person playing at a starting level. I wanted to share this concept because you may have decks or ideas at the table but it may affect the game play experience. For example level of deck or deck types even if someone is playing a mill vs a self mill deck or agro vs a hate barer deck. Not to say you can’t play variety of decks but based on match ups can affect the games. I mention these ideas as some food for though that when thinking of the game play and the challenge created it’s always good to talk about power, to share the interest of what you like, and last match ups for the table. Many of these steps can improve the experience you are looking forward to in your recreational time. Apologies for the lengthy message but thank you for this video of interest.
So my specialty is I create decks that challenge other people's strategies. Also people just have a lot of fun with my decks and love to play them. I love taking the commanders from sets that people kind of skip over and make them disrupt the more popular commanders. But overall I just want to see everyone smile and have fun. I chose Commander because I am a very social person. But I love seeing the creativity in people's decks and just the thought process through the game. Stay safe out there everybody. And enjoy magic as best you can!!!
I Love these episodes. I know they are really deep and demand a lot of research. Keep them coming
My zone of genius IRL is poetry/writing. My zone of genius in MTG was a lot harder to figure out, but I have 3: 1. Deck building. 2. Assessing threats, but not being listened to. 3. Honesty, I am an honest player to a fault, but I love that about me.
Number 2 is a good one. It can be frustrating when you're right and people still don't listen.
This convo was absolutely not what I was expecting when I clicked on this video, but was exactly what I needed. Such a good talk. Also, as a former graphic designer just getting into Magic, really appreciate Rachel doing all the heavy self-awareness lifting for me. Everything she said is so spot on for me too. Love the problem solving. Love the weird cards. Love trying to build with what I have.
1:06:59 i didn't know that exists...well, you just said it because it came to your mind (or read the script) so you didn't actually tell me how big it is, but since i started making custom cards and after watching rhystic study last video about foils, i started to get interested on how to make extremly good "proxy" cards
Hot take: I came to learn about magic, but then I did! Less than 10mins in and you guys are stunning me.
I have a BA in game design and we definitely learned about this, and it's so true!
Something I've learned from this show previously though, that has already helped me in the past: when I get into flow sometimes I hit the gutter. Watch an episode of the command zone or, maybe, a third of the way through and your flows state again! I will be joining the patron soon!
Wow, what a great new format. Including excercises and invite us to think about ourself 💗💗💗
The thing that I had to let go to make me happy was trying to completely brew a deck by myself and scryfall from the ground up. The only thing I’m good at is making the dream mana base, but the moment I have to start adding the game plan/ supporting cards I fall apart. Well, it’s more like I bring my fresh brew to game night and it falls flat three games in a row. And ik it shouldn’t bruise my ego, but like that deck and energy I put into it was meaningful, so it losing/ not performing feels bad and is meaningful as well. Now I just make copy’s of other peoples decks online, print them, play them, and tweak at most 5 cards a week. That’s preserved my sanity. As well as I don’t purchase a deck until it gives me joy to play, which I learned for me is when it does something, not even win, just gets to do its thing, or I find the combo etc and execute the plan. Idk, it’s been a journey.
I finally found someone who shares my stupid amount of knowledge of random magic cards thank you Rachel!
In all seriousness I very much appreciate this episode, it’s helped me learn a lot about myself and I appreciate the new knowledge I gained from this episode, it’s helped me narrow down what I consider my zones of Genius and my zones of competence
I never thought that an episode of the Command Zone so removed from Commander, or from Magic really, could impress me so much and instantly become one of my favorites. Teaching people to understand and value themselves is so important. You're putting Good into the world. Thank you.
Awesome video. There were lots of very helpful tips 🙃 I loved the part where Jimmy talked about the game where he decided not to take someone out of the game. I don't usually win very often because of situations like this ( also my decks are probably not always that powerful lol.) I'm always told I am too nice, but I like to see everyone have fun and play their cards. I love just being able to play the game even when I don't win. When I am the "threat," I honestly find it a little stressful, lol.
Glad that condensing set review stuff is reopening time for these types of episodes.
This gave me a new language for expressing familiar concepts and took me a little deeper. I'm a systems guy, i think the thing I gained from this episode is seeing that emotionally deck building is system creation for me and i enjoy gameplay when the game's system is operated properly and/or when a unique gap is the system is exploited in a novel manner to me.
Fun, I wrote a paper in college on flow state! (Fun fact, most folks experience it on a day-to-day just while driving.)
We need CZ live where Rachel leads them all through an escape room!
I am definitely jealous of Jimmy's ability to GET ENERGY(???) from socialising and hosting. I love being with friends but it absolutely leaves me exhausted no matter how good of a time ive had. The only thing i can think of that gives me energy is actually sorting cards T___T very exciting
The introvert struggle. Many people feel you here, myself included ;)
This was a surprisingly enlightening episode. I thought it was just gonna be like, "you aren't structuring your plays in the right order", or "you need to be building your decks like this", but instead it really made me think about myself inside and outside of magic. Thanks for the thoughts!
6:00 this is why I play video games. It gets me into this flow state that y’all are talking about.
Rachel, Jimmy, this is graduate level magic thinking. I really enjoyed this episode - and as a CGU grad, I instantly recognized the background behind Mihaly and Jeanne. You guys are the best.
This has been a very helpful video with understanding how I enjoy other hobbies as well thank you :D
I've always thought that my zone of genius is when I can express my wacky ideas or crazy stories I come with in my head. I'm a cartoonist and comic book creator. I also make a lot of strange and weird yet funny looking artwork. It gives me great joy to see someone visualize the crazy thing in their head. In Magic: The Gathering, I find it hilarious when a horde of squirrels are stampeding over a giant beast or when Mechtitan Core turns into a giant robot or when someone plays Spelunking... I can't help but giggle.
I always knew that the thing I liked most about Commander was making a deck that had a very specific game plan and then pulling off that plan in a game (anyone who knows me knows I don't build good-stuff decks for that reason). But I find I get in a really bad mood when I can't get the plan to go off and it leads to an exceptionally bad time.
Through this exercise though, I realized I just enjoy watching decks go off in a unique way, which is why I build my decks to do that. I think next time I get in a position where I can't really do anything I'm going to try looking for a way that I can help someone else do their thing, whether it be giving them advice or even just using a piece of removal to get something off the table that helps them go off. That way I can get some enjoyment from watching a deck go off.
Thanks Command Zone, you definitely gave me something to think about for my games moving forward!
I love the "energy audit" section of this video. There are certain things about Commander that make it more tiring or tedious. Cards laying around is an example, what a headache.
@jimmy
If you are wondering, his name is pronounced something like "Me"+"hi!" = Mihály, and "Cheek" + "Sent" + "Me" + "Hi!" + "E" = Csíkszentmihályi
I like feeling creative! And MTG Commander let's me do this. I can create the most infamous decks and there will be space for it.
Hey Rachel, regarding the mental map thing, how often do you walk around? I know it's a car infested hellscape a lot of places, but I've found I can't establish a mental map at driving speed. Even biking can be too fast. Something about walking seems to be synced with my brain though such that if I walk around an area and walk to specific destinations there a couple times, I can develop a mental map that functions just as well when I am in a car or on a bike moving faster. I think some people are just more adapted to map at high speed maybe?
"Throw away preconceived notions about WORDS"
"These are all words our EGOIC MIND likes to attach meaning to"
"There are INFINITE possibilities!"
Stop trying to pry open my Third Eye, Jimmy.
Came to watch a talk about Magic and ended up enjoing a talk about life, very good Jimi and Rachel!
I love this video, it reminds me of a lot of leadership videos I've been watching lately.
Something I do after playing games is make notes
What commanders were at the table?
Who won and how?
What went well?
What could be improved?
Especially with the last one it's great to see over a few games what themes pop up like which cards are underperforming, what would've helped me out in X scenario etc
As a paleontology student, I enter flow state whenever I deal combat damage with Gishath 😎
I am here just to say: BEST THUMBNAIL EVER
Enjoyed every minute of this video, but it also made me realize that ALL my hobbies and even my job are essentially flow state activities \o/
My zones of excellence are cooking in a frying pan (I can handle many pots and pans at once, but I love using a stove), splitting wood, fabricating things, and building around jank. I'm a 'jack of all trades' sort, able to carve a nifty spoon or weld up an axe to split wood with. I think my genius stuff is general creativity, when I'm in a good mood I'm a creative enough that it just colours how I see everything... I love to think about which Commanders would like which songs I listen to for example, it's great when a song has a part that (or even all of it) just fits with a deck.
I saw Jimmy in the preview with the glasses and just cause his curse the first thing I thought reading it was “Never play lands”
For magic it is deep diving and brewing. I started in New Capenna so I am relatively new and less familiar with much if Magic's history.
I get a lot of satisfaction from the creative process of building decks, more than playing them even!
Since I am so new, I have found great success in going deep, not wide, with my knowledge. Picking a commander and knowing it ad nauseum (not the card).
For instance I pulled a divining top and spent maybe 2 hours digging into combos and best ways to use the card before trying to put it into a deck. I study and learn during every game, and I take pictures of any cards my opponents play that make me go "whoa what is THAT?"
What a great Podcast with a good dept and using theory in practice. I was thinking a lot about me and where I get energy from and what my circle of genius is. And everything suddenly fell in to place. I like working or playing with others. In small project groups or commander. I’m going to think about how I can use it in my work and free time. Pls more of this great content. Ty
Love that this episode references Mihaly and Jeanne’s work!
Also, I’ve heard his name pronounced me-high chick-sent-me-high for what it’s worth.
This episode may not get a ton of interaction, but I did find it interesting. The habits mentioned are how I’ve approached the game already. I do like how the CZ team has encouraged mental health via sponsors and just straight talk about struggles. I’m glad to see Ladee Danger guest more often as she was very open about her struggles. As fans, we feel very connected to you as strangers. I’m certain you get some strange fan experiences. Thank you for sharing.
The flow state is studied a lot in psychology, and its a very fascinating subject
Dropping a podcast right before magicon Chicago is wild😂😭 love you guys!!!!
These guys are dedicated! They never stop!
These guys are dedicated! They never stop!
Did this person just say the same thing 5 times in a row😅
@@ertai222 yes😂😭 either his connection was bad and he accidentally did it. Or more than likely he was feeling as dedicated as they are!!
I'm in the proxy artist camp. Being an illustrator, it's very fun to make custom art for a card.
Thanks for the pep talk guys. I’ve seen a lot of burnout among mtg players lately, and this is a great way to refresh 👍
Im surprised if this isnt common practice, at least in terms of playing magic. Just gotta be aware of your feelings and actions and know how to improve upon it. this is useful in everything in life.
I used to watch your guys games a while ago, then I watched yall play with Posty. I also love the idea of a Cryptid being a commander and with your guys recent episode with the four decks I got back into it. I got the mothman deck and now also have the lady liberty deck (that’s just what I call liberty prime) so thank yall for your well made videos.
This was a wonderfully insightful and fascinating study in a strategy for improving your life, disguised as s Magic the Gathering podcast. Well done!
This is the most based Commander Podcast Episode of all time!
It's primary focus is learning how to maximize your potential OUTSIDE of the game, and how to apply that to everything you do, including your next game of Commander.
Well done Command Zone!
Great podcast. I love how creative you have become with your ideas of looking at magic or commander in a different way. Funny thing is whenever I "get in the zone" my wife can't stand it because she thinks I am ignoring her. Never thought of it in a positive way. Thanks.
Love episodes like this. Reminds me of the old Art of War episode
sorting cards, updating decks and resleeving is the most fun part of magic XD
Common issue I see is when a player has the means to play their whole hand and do so, and Run out of gas, with out a way to draw more cards or use graveyard. conserve a couple cards to bluff and work on threat assessment so you don't waste one of the 99 cards.
I'd say I'm more of a Rachel in that I do love deckbuilding and helping others with decks. I try to be organize and I haven't built a group hug yet but I'm starting to think about it more after this video. I will say I'm not done searching myself cuz I see aspects of myself in what both of you said and things that you didn't say so I'm gonna take this chance to continue thinking about it and hopefully it will lead to so much more.
This is the content I'm subbed for 😊
The first thing that came to my mind when I saw that Thumbnail was: "Get in the Command Zone Shinji!"
And now I can't wait until we get a Evangelion Universes Beyond...
Having a good decision making process helps you turn out the noise.
As for flow states Warowl did a few videos on flow states for competitive FPS games definitely worth a watch.
Also chess players go into flow a lot.
Incompetence; Pet training (one of 100,000 in this category)
Competence; Cooking/baking
Excellence; Fitness
Genius; I have no idea
Thank you for this episode, It gave me a new perspective on what i want from commander.
I'm right there with you Rachel, It's no fun to win because the other players are getting mana-screwed or getting shutdown by the other players. I want to win because I was playing better or the deck did its thing. and if i didn't win its ok so long as my deck did what i built it to do.
The Queens Gambit was a great show! ❤❤❤
They're making a second season. I think it's coming out pretty soon.
These are the kinda of episodes I ❤
"look at this stuff, isn't it neat? Wouldn't you think my collection's complete"
I'm not a fan of ads in videos (i don't think anyone is), BUT that whole "isn't jimmy upstairs?" "yeah... but.. I'm downstairs" thing is freakin priceless! Never related to something so hard in my life. :)
I didn't except a lesson about flow state but i'm hooked now
This is p cool, you guys touch on a lot of cool stoic fundamentals. Cool crossover :)
This was incredibly wholesome
Rachel! What is the best way to reach you when it comes to seeking help? 59:10
Haven’t listened to the whole thing yet but Card Advantage Theory is a great help!
Introspection. Interesting episode
Jimmy's hair looks great today!
I wish I saw this sooner in case CZ could see -I did a Master’s Degree in Play and they coveted Bartle's Taxonomy: Gamer Types! It’s too long to explain in one comment besides archetypes of Socializers, Explorers, Achievers and Killers. Also my studies heavily discussed Flow State so it was cool to see this episode including that topic. Keep up the great discussions like this!
What drains me of energy is going to work. I'm gonna stop. What gives me energy is sleeping. I'm gonna lean into that.
Seriously, yous guys are the bests 1:23:24
I've heard this mentioned in many podcasts talking with NBA players that if they have to think during the game then they aren't going to do what they need to do fast enough. Being able to do what you need to be doing by feel without thought is part of being at the next level.