Magical: The Gathering'The Commander Rules Committee (CRC) recently announced the banning of four cards from the Commander format, sending a wave of controversy through the player base. Commander is a unique, casual game format where each player builds a deck of 100 cards. MTG commander. The Commander format (sometimes called Elder Dragon Highlander or EDH by its old name) encourages different creative playstyles, many of which border on powerful. Because Commander decks can be both pre-built and perfected over time, it has become a popular format among seasoned collectors and casual players alike.
As a casual, welcoming format, It is rare for a commander to expand on the ban list. It's even rarer that he bans four different cards at once, especially multiple cards that cause controversy. The resulting outrage led to a pair of petitions for bans; one is to repeal them, and the other is to fire the members of the Commander's Regulations Committee responsible for enforcing the bans. The CRC also alleges that its members have received threats of violence that no one deserves to be banned from the card game..
Every New Banned Card for MTG's Commander Format
And Why Were They Banned?
four Magical: The Gathering Cards banned from the Commander format on September 23, 2024 are:
- Dockside Extortionist
- Jeweled Lotus
- Mana Crypt
- Nadu, Winged Wisdom
Now this is worth mentioning A large portion of the player base has long been calling for Dockside Extortionist and Nadu to be banned.. Jeweled Lotus and Mana Crypt were unexpected and have been a major source of controversy ever since. An FAQ document published by the Commander Rules Committee on X (formerly Twitter) explains the rules for all four bans.
The port side in particular can generate multiple treasures easily and early, allowing the player controlling it to have an extremely strong mid-to-late game in the first few turns. Nadu, meanwhile, is cheap to play and incredibly powerful. The player controlling it can also take very long turns, during which other players have little chance to interact, which can make for boring, boring games. Although some are upset by these bans, They are intended to remove cards that allow players to become powerful too quickly or create unpleasant plays, and are therefore generally considered useful..
Mana Crypt and Jeweled Lotus were both banned because they can create a fast startallowing its players to accumulate tons of mana very quickly. This allows them to take advantage of powerful early game abilities, leading to steamroll wins. These cards have their downsides, but the CRC decided they didn't compensate enough for their strengths. For example, Mana Crypt reduces a player's life by an average of 1.5 points per turn, but since the Commander format only lasts a few turns and players start with a higher total life points (40 vs. Standard's 20), this was considered “not a significant obstacle.”
of course these prohibitions apply only to events with the official permission of the Commander; If a group of friends who accidentally got together to play commander want to continue using one or more of them, that's their right. Certain cards are also only banned in Commander – Dockside Extortionist, for example, is still allowed in other formats. Still, these bans have been hotly debated for several reasons.
Why Players Are Upset About MTG Commander's New Banned Cards
Sunk Cost, Similarity and “Incidental” Concerns
First of all, many players are upset with the bans because they can no longer use the cards they paid for. Magical cards are expensive, even more expensive when you buy individual cards, and even more expensive when you buy rare cards like this. It is also difficult to resell them without losing a significant amount of money. When a card is banned in any format, demand for it (and by extension, its price) tends to drop. Players may have spent hundreds of dollars on a Mana Crypt or Jeweled Lotus while they were still available for Commander, only to find out that they can no longer be used or sold.
New, rare versions of both Jeweled Lotus and Mana Crypt were also released last year.
Commander masters
and
Ixalan
determines accordingly.
Some players accused the CRC of somehow canceling their copies of the banned cards right before the ban. Magical: The Gathering twist on insider trading. CRC's FAQ rejects these chargesclaiming to be “a zero-tolerance policy for misuse of information about pending or potential changes.” Others accuse the CRC of banning these cards because of their special pricing, which it denies.
Part of the controversy also stems from a lack of advance noticeCRC admits it could have managed better. While previously using “watch list” In order to warn of proposed bans, he noted that this slows down the process of banning problematic cards, frustrates players when proposed changes are overturned, and makes it easier for casual players who don't understand its inner workings to exploit it. CRC takes these warnings into account to provide sufficient warning before future bans considering.
In a similar way, many players criticize the CRC for rolling out these bans too quickly. Banning one card at a time is more common and results in smaller losses for players who rely on these cards. However, the CRC admits that it decided to ban all four at once to send a strong message about the issues it wants to avoid in the Commander game.
Some have accused the CRC of catering to casual players with the recent bans. Although a casual format by design, there is a community around competitive Commander called cEDH, some of whose members feel alienated by the latest bans. To some extent this is true; its FAQ states that “high-powered play “leaking” into lower-powered teams is a recurring problem“It hopes to partially prevent these bans.
However, This is nothing new for Commander, which has always been designed to welcome new players. FAQ continues »We've always made it clear that we make changes based on helping casual players have the best gaming experience.”
Finally, some players also mentioned it The CRC has yet to ban other problematic cardsincluding those strikingly similar to the new bans. Cards like Thassa's Oracle and Gaea's Cradle can similarly lead to premature wins. Many have also discussed the similarities between allowed cards like Sol Ring and Mana Vault and the newly banned cards. These have similar functions and costs, so it is difficult to understand why some are banned and others are not.
What Are Appeals Against MTG Commander's Bans?
Removal of Bans and Dismissal of CRC
There is controversy over the commander's recent bans leading to two separate online petitionseach gathering thousands of signatures. The first, posted on Change.org on Banning Day, calls for the changes to be reversed. At the time of writing, the 5,000 goal has over 4,700 signatures. A second, also posted via Change.org on the same day, calls for the dismissal of the Command Rules Committee. At the time of writing, there are more than 1,100 of the 1,500 signature goals.
It is worth noting that Not part of the CRC MTG's publisher, Wizards of the Coast. Commander is a player-created format, and therefore its governing body consists of independent players rather than paid staff. Petitioners favor the Wizards of the Coast to officially capture the Commander, but it's unclear who will call the shots.
Eventually, for whatever reason, they get angry, that's for sure a large part of the community is not being heard by the Commander's Rules Committee. Still, the governing body has said it has no plans to roll back those changes. Magical: The Gathering's Commander format will eventually get over these changes, but some players will likely be bitter for a long time.
Source: Commander Rules Committee/X, Change.org (1, 2)