Hello readers to what is going to be a place I can post thoughts, deck lists, random musings, and whatever else strikes my fancy. To kick off this blog, I thought I’d take a retrospective look at how I’ve seen the format evolve for the past four years I’ve been playing it, but first, a little about myself. I started playing in early 2011, just before the Commander 2011 sets came out. Like all new players, I wasn’t very good and didn’t have any cards, but what I did have was a good teacher and a competitive spirit. I quickly learned about Gatherer and the various internet forums. As time passed I moved from playgroup to playgroup for various reasons, so I got to experience different power levels, ranging from casual players who built from within their own collection and no aspirations of improving, to combo players with goodstuff decks. For the last year and a half I have been playing in a Commander league at my LGS. I am also one of the moderators on the Commander forums at MTGSalvation.
So with that out of the way, let’s talk Commander.
What has been going right with the format
Wizards of the Coast Support – First and foremost, this is now an official format which is recognized by Wizards. We have had three sets of preconstructed Commander releases, a slew of legendary creatures to use as generals, and each new set has cards which are designed with us in mind. Members of the design and development teams have people who enjoy the format and try to push new and interesting cards for us. Yes, occasionally something will slip out like Sylvan Primordial, but for the most part added attention from Wizards can only help the format.
The Ban List – The ban list is a source of contention among many people. There are some who think it is too short, and those who think it is too long. Rarely will you find multiple people who see eye to eye on it, let alone think it is working properly. But one thing that you cannot say about the list is that it is stagnant. It was not that long ago when boogeymen like Lions Eye Diamond or Worldgorger Dragon were banned for their combo potential while other two card combos remained legal. The Rules Committee has shown that they listened to the players and revisited the cards on the list rather than simply adding new ones, In the last couple of years we have seen Kokusho, Metalworker, and Staff of Domination removed from the list. And while Kokusho may not have been a surprise, Metalworker was a poster child for their ‘too much mana too fast’ ban criteria.
In Store Support – With the increase in popularity the format has spilled out beyond the kitchen table and into the local gaming stores. For some stores, this may just mean that you have a small group of players with whom you can get a pickup game. Other stores host weekly/monthly Commander leagues, and with the changes in Friday Night Magic, you could even see a Commander event there as well. While this may not interest you, what it does mean is increased visibility and word of mouth.
A Larger Online Footprint – With an increased popularity comes an increasing number of people talking about the format. There are a seemingly endless number of articles, forums, blogs, and podcasts about Commander. Again, you may not be interested in some of these forms of media, but they are out there and spreading.
What has been going wrong with the format
Wizards of the Coast Recognition – Wizards has adopted a format known as Elder Dragon Highlander and dubbed it Commander. They have released official products and decks. You can go to their site and get the rules and official ban list. You can play it on MtG Online or on Duels of the Planeswalkers. But you know what you can’t do? You can’t easily see who runs and manages the format. No, really. Grab that rulesbook that you probably threw aside as soon as you cracked open the C14 decks. Look for any mention of the Rules Committee or a link to the official site. If you found it, congratulations, you found that one line of fine print. Have you ever had this conversation in a game: “That card is banned.” “No it isn’t, it’s not listed on the web site.” “Yeah it is, see look here.” “No, I’m on Gatherer.” How about Mark Rosewater’s Tumblr? Do you read that? Have you lost count of the number of times he has to state that Wizards doesn’t run the format? Wizards of the Coast, we love you, but you need to do a better job at giving the Rules Committee the credit they deserve.
Negative Perceptions – Spike and Timmy; casual or competitive. Noobs and tryhards. Everywhere you look there are people throwing around insults and name calling, both directly and indirectly. It’s not just online either. It isn’t all that uncommon to hear players calling each other things like jerk or douche, or derogatory terms. If you’re at someone’s house this isn’t as much of a problem because you’re in a private environment and if your friends are all tolerant of this behavior then that’s fine. The issue is that when these same practices occur in an LGS, there are bystanders who may overhear and not get that these things are being said in jest (which hopefully they are).
New Year’s Resolutions
- To the players: Be an active participant in making this format even better. Wizards and the Rule Committee are constantly making great strides to improve the format, but it doesn’t end with them. Try to get more people playing Commander, and make it a fun format for other people to play.
- To Wizards of the Coast: This is two-fold. First, keep making awesome cards and products for us. If you can spend a little more time playtesting them to see how they will interact with the format that would be great, but I understand that time is limited. Second, give the RC their due respect. If you are going to continue to let them manage the format, it is your responsibility to give the players the proper resources and places to find up to date information about the format.
- Keep calm and play Commander. That’s it.
ninetyninemistakes 