Magic may be shooting itself in the foot with a big commander change

It would not be an exaggeration to say that Magic: The GatheringThe Commander format now is not the same as it was in September 2024, and the bans on four powerful commodities, as well as the general public’s reaction to them, are the main reasons for this. When bans were issued for Mana Crypt, Dockside Extortionist, Jeweled Lotus, and Nadu, some fans started petitions to remove the Commander Rules Committee or reverse the ban. mtg bans from commanders, while a smaller percentage of people sent death threats to CRC members. The CDN for Magic: The Gathering disbanded and WotC took over, and has so far begun to talk about some of his plans for the future of Commander.

One of the big weaknesses of Commander games is that Magic: The Gathering It doesn’t really have an official system for determining how powerful a given deck is, which eventually became a bit of a “every deck is a 7” meme. This is because the fan-made system before WotC took over the CRC simply ranked decks from 1 to 10 in terms of how powerful they were, but it’s not exactly easy to do that and have healthy conversations about Rule 0. Enter WotC’s proposal to create a power level system, which might have its advantages, but is far more likely to do more harm than good.

Magic: The Gathering’s Commander Support System Explained

Why Magic: The Gathering’s Commander bans led to a problematic support system

The current system, as explained by Wizards of the Coast, is that there will be tiers, currently ranging from Bracket 1 to Bracket 4 in terms of power, and they will all contain cards. These brackets will then be used for Rule 0 conversation in Commander games, adapting the power level of the deck to that of the highest group of cards it contains. For example, a mtg The Commander deck with 98 basic lands, an Ancient Tomb, and a preconservative commander would be a Support 4 deck.

This sets up a problematic system because while some group 4 cards have higher power compared to other groups, there may be exceptions and considerations to make. For example, players may have Vampiric Tutor in their deck because everything has a vampire theme in terms of card names, effects, artwork, etc. Wizards addresses this, but at the same time, the bracket system may end up as a tool for players to police what others can and cannot play, which doesn’t really solve the problem and instead creates a new one.

The Pros and Cons of Magic: The Gathering’s Commander Support System Explained

However, the support system is not all bad. This is because players who don’t know much about Commander could use it to learn more about the power level of their decks by having Rule 0 conversations where they explain what the best cards in their deck are and why. Likewise, it helps set expectations for the table, and since some players can only dedicate a limited amount of time to Magic: The Gathering As a TCG, it helps to be on the same page.

Still, the support system in its current version doesn’t address everything there is for Commander. For example, Oracle of Thassa, Demonic Consultation, and Tainted Pact would probably be group 2 or 3 cards on their own, if not group 4 anyway, but Oracle of Thassa with any of these wins the game assuming that there are no counterspells or other answers. This makes the Support System’s view limited overall, and more could be done to address the issues. Magic: The Gathering cards in Commander without complete bans.

Additionally, one could argue that these brackets would end up creating more ban lists. If players at a Commander table insist that every deck must be 2 or 3 cigars, any card in brackets above would automatically be banned, which is far from ideal and can lead to a lot of frustration. It remains to be seen what WotC will do, especially now that the game is about to enter a new era with mtg Foundations.

Magic The Gathering

Magic the Gathering is a board and digital collectible card game created by Richard Garfield and released in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Players take on the role of Planeswalker and use various cards to fight other players by casting spells, summoning creatures, or using artifacts. It features two main rules categories, constructed or limited, and can be played by two or more players at a time.

Franchise

Magic: The Gathering

Original release date

1993-00-00

Age recommendation

13+