by It’s been a wild few days for Magic: The Gathering fans. Last week, the Commander Rules Committee announced it was banning several major cards, throwing Magic’s most popular format into disarray. Now Wizards of the Coast is intervening.
Wizards of the Coast acknowledged in an official statement that it has been a “tumulous” week for Commander fans and said it plans to run the format internally in the future, after previously leaving it to part-time volunteers. It’s a huge shakeup, one that will have far-reaching consequences for the future of the game.
“This week also demonstrated the truly monumental task facing the Commander Rules Committee. The Commander RC consists of five talented, caring individuals, all with different jobs and lives that they must balance while managing the most popular format in Magic,” Wizards of the Coast said. “It results in incredible amounts of work, time spent in deliberation and exposure to the public. No one deserves to feel unsafe supporting the game they love. Unfortunately, the task of managing Commander has far outgrown the scope and security of being attached to any game. five people.”
The decision was read in some corners as a rebuke of the rules committee in the wake of the ban decision, which has had a very mixed reception since it was first announced. But a statement from committee member Jim Lapage shows that the committee initiated the change.
“What has become clear to me is that fulfilling my promise requires a level of global connectedness, proactive and reactive communication, research and skills beyond what I can provide. I don’t think this is possible for a group of part-time volunteers to take on this task,” Lapage wrote on X/Twitter.
Lapage said he contacted Wizards of the Coast last week and the committee will hand over all management responsibilities, including the road map, contacts and documentation.
“It is extremely important to me that the new leadership of the format remains loyal [format godfather Sheldon Menery’s] vision of a vibrant global community with a strong focus on the people who play it,” says Lapage.
https://t.co/8dko6fzn0t pic.twitter.com/YcgkP0SQoH
— Jim Lapage (@JimTSF) September 30, 2024
Wizards of the Coast, for its part, says the rules committee “will remain involved” and that preliminary discussions have been held about the way forward. They include a “more objective approach to deck power level” and “additional guidance and shared language for players to find games that fit the type of game they are trying to play.”
Wizards of the Coast then outlined a possible vision for what this could look like, suggesting that there may be power brackets in the future to better define play within the format.
In some ways, the changes represent a significant milestone in the history of Commander, which originally started as a community-driven format and has grown into perhaps the largest and most influential way to play Wizards of the Coast’s card game . It differs from typical formats in that players can choose a creature as their “Commander”, with decks consisting of 100 unique cards. Instead of one-on-one, Commander becomes a free-for-all game usually played with four players.
As Commander has grown, Wizards of the Coast has embraced the format and even introduced cards specifically tailored to its rules. However, until now it has been governed by the community. Last week, the rules committee banned four popular cards: Dockside Extortionist, Jeweled Lotus, Mana Crypt and Nadu, Winged Wisdom. The ban, the first in three years, sparked a huge backlash among fans. Now it looks like they’ve changed the course of Commander and Magic: The Gathering history.
Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director and co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Do you have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
