Magic The Gathering is one of the biggest if not the biggest TCG ever. Being that Magic is over 30 years old it’s only natural that some things might change over time. We have been introduced many different formats over the years, with the EDH or Commander format being the most popular these days. EDH (Elder Dragon Highlander) or Commander as it’s more normally referred to these days is the most popular format, the continues to draw in casual players and experienced players alike. Due to a controversial time after some bans last year, we saw the rules committee pass control of the format off to Wizards of the Coast. Wizards of the Coast mentioned a few things that I’ll give my quick thoughts about, one being the “New Commander Brackets” that’s currently a work in progress.
Why Hand the Format Over to Wizards of the Cost
Every so often in any TCG format, the card pool is evaluated based on certain things like power level, and homogenization, among some other factors. Last year was no different when the Commander Rules Committee made their September 23rd announcement banning four cards which you can see here. Now the one thing about this announcement that was different was the outcry of hate and so much more. Some members of the rule committee even received death threats because of this announcement. Many people can debate why this time it was different. Some will say they usually in previous announcements say we are watching this card to see if it needs to be hit in the future. Well, that didn’t happen for a couple of these cards.
Some might say the financial hit of the secondary market to local card shops and places like that. People might talk about the fact that two of the cards are only really played in the commander format, so they just have these cards they can’t use anywhere else. No matter the reason people had none of it warranted the death threats that the rules committee received. These people don’t even get paid to do this. It’s all voluntary for the love of Magic The Gathering and the format. I personally didn’t agree with all four cards being banned, but I didn’t get all crazy about it. So the rules committee passed the format off to Wizards of the Coast to take control and many people lamented the decision.
What Wizards of the Coast Decided
After this big fiasco last year, Gavin Verhey of Wizards of the Coast said a few things in regards to Wizards of the Coast taking over the format. Gaving promised that they would do their best to protect “the sanctity” of fun factors of the format. Gavin said they were going to institute a Commander Format Panel (CFP). Similar in a way to the Rules Committee and their Commander Advisory Group these people will all meet and talk to Gavin about different things regarding the Commander Format. Their mission as stated by Gavin is this:
This group will be working with our design teams and other teams at Wizards to help provide feedback and craft the Commander experience. We’re going to have an ongoing group Discord where we discuss the format throughout the week, every week.
You can read more about that here and who the members are. Gavin also mentioned they were going to re-evaluate the ban list and see if anything felt like it was ok to come off the list at a later time. Lastly, Gavin and the CFP would come up with a bracket-style system to kind of try and make it easier for “matchmaking” when at an LGS or with friends. Instead of asking people the power level of their deck and they say it’s a 5 or 6, but turns out to be a 7 or 8. These brackets are kind of to help with even matchups, especially with newer Magic The Gathering commander players.
What is the Commander Brackets System
The Magic The Gathering Commander Bracket System which you can see in the image above, is a system I mentioned to help determine the power levels of decks. It is currently in Beta form and might see more updates in the future. While it is ultimately up to the players to follow it, it is a tool that can help. As more and more new people get introduced and join the format it is good to have a tool to help them matchmake for a power level they are looking for.
The lower brackets like bracket 1 have things like no mass land destruction and no 2-card infinite combos. Then as the power level increases to around bracket 3. It’s a power level that allows extra turns (just not chained together), late game 2-card infinite combos, and 3 game changers. Then obviously the highest levels of play have no restrictions outside the ban list. Is it perfect? No, but it’s a start in a positive direction I believe. You can read more about the bracket system, what the “current” listed game changers are, and a roadmap here. I’m sure there will be some people that try to find ways to exploit the bracket system with different cards and such, but that isn’t the point of the system to limit. It’s a tool for people to use.
Re-Visiting the Commander Banlist
One of the last things Gaving mentioned was the re-visit of the Commander Ban List. In a lot if not all of TCGs over time power levels increase. This makes cards that used to seem scary or powerful less so. Some cards that used to not be ok. While Gavin didn’t say what would be unbanned he did say there would be no more bans in April when they made the next Commander announcement. So here are cards I think should come back or would be ok in a world of “the bracket system.” As long as they continue on this path forward with the bracket system.
- Balance
- Biorhythm
- Braids, Cabal Minion
- Coalition Victory
- Erayo, Soratami Ascendant
- Gifts Ungiven
- Golos, Tireless Pilgrim
- Hullbreacher
- Iona, Shield of Emeria
- Jeweled Lotus
- Leovold, Emissary of Trest
- Library of Alexandria
- Limited Resources
- Lutri, the Spellchaser
- Mana Crypt
- Panoptic Mirror
- Paradox Engine
- Primeval Titan
- Prophet of Kruphix
- Recurring Nightmare
- Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
- Sundering Titan
- Sway of the Stars
- Sylvan Primordial
- Tolarian Academy
- Upheaval
- Yawgmoth’s Bargain
I know some of these cards are powerful or unfun. With their goal of the bracket system, I think these could be fine. You can see all the banned commander cards here.
Final Thoughts
The Commander Bracket System is still in the so-called bata phase. So, it won’t be perfect and I’m sure there will be people that don’t use it. That’s the great thing is that it’s not required if you and your friends don’t want to use it. In my opinion, I do believe Gavin and the CFP are trying to put their best foot forward and keep the format as great as it can be. I’m 35 and as someone who has been playing Magic The Gathering since I was 16, EDH or Commander is one of my favorite formats.
The only thing I would have liked to see was one or two lesser-known people on the Commander Format Panel. Most are content creators or well-known people and that’s fine. Lesser-known people could really be used to go “undercover” at events, tournaments, LGSs, or wherever. Resulting in 100 percent genuine opinions on certain things within the format. I will say they have a bunch of amazing people on the Commander Format Panel. I trust them and Gavin with the format’s future! Let me know what you think!
