Next week, on Tuesday, April 22, Gavin Verhey is going to go on a stream and talk about the unbannings that Wizards has in mind for Commander. That’s going to set off some epic buying and selling, and if you have forgotten, here’s my list for what you can spec on or not spec on. Those picks are based off of my experience as a Commander player, nothing else.
I think what we’re also going to get is a set of changes for how Commander decks are categorized, and that carries some interesting implications as well. So let’s talk about changes that could be made to the Commander format, deckbuilding, and the Tiers system, in order to maximize the Commander experience.
The problem Wizards faces is that it’s trying to apply a layer of standardization to an intensely personal experience. We all have fun in different ways. Commander is a game where you can have hours of fun and yet not win. I have played two-hour games that went by in a flash of enjoyment and I’ve played 30-minute games that dragged on for what felt like days.
I don’t play cEDH and I don’t pretend to have an indepth knowledge of the format. It’s a serious format, with an interlocking puzzle of interactions and combos that I couldn’t begin to unpack quickly.
What I can do is estimate what happens to the format next. Let’s go through some scenarios:
Scenario #1: No big changes, aside from unbans.
This is the most likely to happen on the 22nd, since the unbans will be a big deal but they won’t break the game open. Some combination of the stuff that was banned and caused the RC to resign (Dockside, Jeweled Lotus, Mana Crypt) and low-hanging fruit (biorhythm and Coalition Victory are the current front-runners) is likely on the agenda.
I think Wizards wants these cards unbanned because they are major selling points for any set they appear in. They have been high-value reprints for more than one set, and they have a vested financial interest in making these cards legal again. When the unbans happen, of the fast mana or other things from the list, we’ll see mega-spikes in all of those cards. I don’t think they will all get unbanned at once, but they will eventually be freed from their jail and the prices will go wild. (Disclosure: When this date was first mentioned, I went out and bought a playset of foil borderless Jeweled Lotus, so I’ve got an interest in that one.)
I agree with the concept that unbanning these cards in response to the outcry from some of the worst people online, the ones making threats and making the RC feel unsafe, is a bad idea. It’s also true that Wizards stands to benefit financially from such unbans and the eventual reprints. This leads directly to the second potential part of next week’s announcements.
Scenario #2: Changes to game-changers (possibly tier rebalance too)
I think there’s going to be some cards added to this list, and some clear statements about how many of each can be on the different tiers. Such a list of cards will never be complete, and many cards are only a problem depending on the cards around them. (Example: Tooth and Nail for Mike and Trike is GG for the table at instant speed, but T/N for Avenger and Hoof on an empty board only kills one person)
This is a useful thing to talk about before a game, and really, that’s the goal of these tiers and this entire process. Commander is godawful when the decks are on uneven power levels. One deck will wipe the floor with the other three. Hopefully that happens fast, but some powerful decks like to durdle and board wipe a few times first, which no one enjoys.
I don’t think there will be a huge gain from being added to the game-changer list, nor a penalty to the card’s price, but we’ll have to see what the eventual announcement says and what the market does.
It’s difficult to work out power level with strangers, so having a bigger list of the most powerful/problematic cards and then being able to say that three of them is level X, six is level Y, and so on, gives people a way to say, quickly and cleanly, how tuned and powerful their deck is. Remember that the core philosophy of this is to make it easy at big events (or, god forbid, tournaments) for strangers to know how well built a deck is.
I think this is going to happen eventually, I’m not sure if it starts next Tuesday.
Scenario #3: cEDH is its own format, own banlist, etc.
This is the other shoe that will eventually drop. Competitive EDH is its own format, an outgrowth of Commander, and deserves its own area to shine. Free spells aplenty, maximal interaction and if you give it a moment to combo off, it will. That mentality shouldn’t be asked to share a space with decks based on the Wizard of Oz, or only using art where everyone looks like they are using performance-enhancing drugs.
I think that long-term, cEDH has to be a separate format. Pauper does it, as an example of a fan format that Wizards helps to curate. When cEDH is its own thing, there will also be more organized tournaments and other events. Eventually, there might even be a set of cards designed and sold just for cEDH enthusiasts. There are a few cards that are expensive and are cEDH staples, but they are just very good cards and should not see much of a bump.
If cEDH becomes its own format with its own banlist, I think everything that’s banned in regular but allowed in cEDH will have quite a spike, but should settle down eventually, albeit at a higher price than when it started. The demand will jump, but the proportion of players is much smaller and probably won’t be able to keep the price high on their own.
Wizards’ goal is not just to make a great game–it’s to expand the game and make money from the game. Adding the new format will do exactly that. It’ll be necessary and painful, awkward as people seek to bend rules and the politics will make for very awkward tournaments. There will also have to be a reckoning when it comes to proxies, much like local Legacy events that allow for players to have fake cards in their decks. It’s already treated as a separate format by casuals, might as well make it official.
Cliff (@WordOfCommander at Twitter and BlueSky) has been writing for MTGPrice since 2013, and is an eager Commander player, Draft enthusiast, and Cube fanatic. A high school science teacher by day, he’s also the co-host of the MTG Fast Finance podcast. If you’re ever at a GP and you see a giant flashing ‘CUBE DRAFT’ sign, go over, say hi, and be ready to draft.
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