Magic: The Gathering recently made some more changes to the Commander format, and the continued tweaks are starting to make the format feel a lot less casual. This is a shame, because part of the reason Commander was appealing in the first place was that it was a casual eternal format where you could mostly play whatever you wanted. While I won’t argue that all Commander players were dedicated to keeping the format casual, it was still at least an easier format to get into than something like Modern or even Standard.
Although there were always Commander players devoted to winning, it was also a great format just to experiment with cards that didn’t fit into most competitive formats. Part of the charm of Commander was being able to build a deck around cards you personally like, even if they aren’t very good. However, now that Wizards of the Coast has stepped in and taken more control of the format, Commander is becoming much more formal, and there are a lot more limitations that players need to know about.
Commander Recently Received Unbans And New Game Changers
Wizards Of The Coast Is Making Changes To Try And Balance Commander
Two days ago, Magic: The Gathering‘s website shared an update on some cards that were recently unbanned from Commander. Although more cards being legal in the format initially sounds like good news for casual players, it was somewhat ruined by another announcement the same day. Also from Magic’s official website, we got an update on Commander Brackets, including a list of new cards that were added to, and taken off of, the Game Changers list.
Related
Universes Within Is Back In Magic: The Gathering, And I Just Realized The Problems It Causes
Magic: The Gathering recently announced that Universes Within would be coming back in a big way, but it may cause some unintended problems.
The Game Changers list is a series of cards that, while legal in Commander, affect where your deck falls within the format’s new power ranking system. These Commander Brackets are designed to give players a formal framework that can be used to evaluate the relative power of their deck. I’ve expressed some concerns about the Commander Bracket system as a whole, and although it’s hard to judge completely because it’s still a work in progress, these recent changes aren’t making the concept sit any better with me.
Commander’s Growing Game Changers List Makes Deck-Building A Chore
Forcing Players To Learn And Follow More Rules Is Making Deck-Building For Commander More Involved
Although there was already a ban list in Commander, it wasn’t that long, and it didn’t get messed with too often. This meant you could simply set those cards aside when making a new deck, and not think about them that often. The Game Changers list, on the other hand, is a different beast. These aren’t cards you’re not allowed to use; they’re ones you can only use a certain number of to stay within a given Power Bracket. This means you have to be aware of what cards are on the list, and how many you’re using.
Related
Magic: The Gathering is previewing the upcoming Final Fantasy set at PAX East, and I have a good idea of at least one character we’ll see spoiled.
This creates a lot more decisions when building a Commander deck. You’re weighing Game Changers against one another, and deciding which should go in your deck. You’re also forced to decide what Bracket you want your deck to belong in. On top of this is the fact that the Game Changers list is apparently able to change pretty quickly, and suddenly deck-building is becoming a headache.
Let’s say you saw the initial Game Changers list, and started retooling your deck accordingly. Maybe you had to dig through your collection, or maybe you even bought some new singles to replace Game Changers so you could stay within the appropriate Bracket. When those cards get taken off the Game Changers list, you’ve now wasted time and potentially money replacing cards that are suddenly okay again. However, you may also have to repeat the process to replace cards that just got added to the list, or just decide to ignore Commander Brackets as a whole.
Related
Magic: The Gathering’s Lands Didn’t Bother Me For 10 Years, But One TCG Changed That
A lot of players have problems with Magic: The Gathering’s land system. It never bothered me much until I played a newer TCG with a creative angle.
Because Commander Brackets are a work in progress, they may eventually be less unstable. For now, I would advise that you don’t take Commander Brackets too seriously, or at least don’t spend money on cards just to conform to their standards. That said, it’s hard to imagine they won’t continue to need constant tweaking as new sets are released, potentially introducing new broken combos to the format. This need for constant updating is a major reason the Bracket system is starting to make Commander feel less casual.
Wizards of the Coast’s Takeover Of The Format Is Making Commander Less Casual
The Imperfect Bracket System Hurts Some Creative Casual Builds
I understand the initial reason why Wizards of the Coast stepped in to formally manage the Commander format, and I agree with the move in principle. As reported by The Verge, the original Rules Committee became the targets of online harassment after some unpopular bans. Nobody should have to be the target of harassment over a card game, especially not unpaid volunteers dedicating their time to improving playing conditions. Although Wizards was right to step in and take responsibility for the format in hopes of avoiding similar incidents in the future, it has had unintended consequences.
The more rules and restrictions that Wizards of the Coast attempts to impose on Commander, the further the format gets from its original appeal. I was sold on the Commander format when a player at my local game store described their build for a Phelddagrif group hug deck with the solitary goal of flooding the board with as many Hippo tokens as possible. However, although this deck was built to help other players more than its controller, it would fall into one of the higher Brackets due to the inclusion of Game Changers like Gaea’s Cradle.
Related
Magic: The Gathering’s New Deadpool Secret Lair Is Appropriately Meta
Magic: The Gathering just announced a new Deadpool Secret Lair, and it perfectly captures Marvel’s Merc with a Mouth and his meta sense of humor.
Conversely, there are some powerful interactions that aren’t addressed by the Game Changers list. Players could theoretically be playing a competitive deck using those interactions that the Bracket system considers less powerful than something like a group hug deck that happens to run some good cards. This will only lead to more cards needing to get added to the Game Changers list, meaning more restrictions on deck-building. The system almost feels like it’s discouraging creative casual builds by taking away resources they need to create something goofy and fun.
From my experience, what makes a Magic: The Gathering player competitive or casual isn’t the cards in their deck, but how they approach the game. By adding more restrictions to the types of decks players can build, Wizards of the Coast is doing more to stifle creativity than they are to keep Commander casual and fun. This is probably why a lot of stores in my area are ignoring the Commander Bracket system and just sorting games by competitive and casual. It may be imperfect, but it at least takes fewer steps to be imperfect than the Commander Bracket system.
Source: Magic: The Gathering [1] [2], The Verge
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
