Can MTG's Favorite Format Survive the Ban Controversy?

What in the Sol Ring is going on with Commander?

The Commander rules committee shocked the MTG community on Sept. 23 with a ban of Dockside Extortionist, Mana Crypt, Jeweled Lotus, and Nadu, Winged Wisdom. Confusion, frustrations, and misinformation flooded the interweb following the bans. Many players and collectors felt betrayed by WotC after cards banned were recently pushed to sell booster packs. 

Wizards hyped up 2023 sets like Commander Masters and The Lost Caverns of Ixalan with chase reprints of Jeweled Lotus and Mana Crypt while Nadu, the Winged Wisdom had its first (and likely last) printing in Modern Horizons 3 at the start of Summer 2024. 

Disappointment from the ban announcement didn't only come from players, but from Josh Lee Kwai. The CEO of the "The Command Zone podcast" resigned from the Commander Advisory Group shortly after the ban announcement, along with Kristen Gregory, head writer for Card Kingdom. 

Negative responses to the banned Commander cards were natural, but some took it too far. Many signed petitions after the ban announcement, while others went to the extreme with their opinions, harassing members of the Commander Rules Committee with "harmful and malicious" statements, according to WotC.

It's unfair that hundreds of thousands of players who own variations of those cards could potentially lose hundreds of dollars (myself included). But no one should have to live in fear of an individual harming them or their family because a cardboard card was banned. 

Following the petitions, resignations, and the threatening of Commander Rules Committee members, WotC, in conjunction with committee members, took over the responsibilities of the Commander Rules Committee and has assigned the game design team to spearhead it going forward.

"While ownership of the format may be changing, members of the Rules Committee and others in the community will continue to be involved, and the vision for a social format will not change," said WotC. 

Banned card prices

The ban of Dockside Extortionist, Mana Crypt, Jeweled Lotus, and Nadu, Winged Wisdom MTG cards had many believing card prices would plummet. As of Oct. 3, those card values are holding for the most part, according to MTGGoldfish. But listings on TCGPlayer are telling a different story.

• The Double Masters Mana Crypt regular version is still valued at over $180, with Commander 1v1 being the only format the Artifact is legal to play. It's also restricted within the Vintage format. Some listings on TCGPlayer are dropping quickly, though.

• Dockside Extortionist remains valued at around $80 for The List and Commander 2019 regular versions. But on TCGPlayer these versions are running between $40 and $45.

• The Commander Masters version of Jeweled Lotus is priced at around $80. A Commander Legends version, however, is priced at around $40 on TCGPlayer.

• Nadu, Winged Wisdom has fallen significantly since July after it was banned from the Modern format but only dropped 0.26 cents in the last week. The regular version of the Legendary Bird Wizard is only valued at around 0.58 cents.

Future Of MTG Commander Under Control of Wizards Of The Coast

WotC taking over the Commander Rules Committee may result in a re-evaluation of the recent ban announcement. But players may have to wait since "immediate changes to the list are not our priority," according to WotC. As for now, a new channel within the official MTG Discord has been added to work with the community going forward. 

The biggest and most divisive change pitched by WotC is an adjustment to how Commander cards and decks are rated, from the rule zero formula to one using four power brackets. The Commander deck "would be defined by its highest-bracket card or cards," according to WotC. An exact formula of how a deck is expected to get graded hasn't been released at time of writing. But we do know that cards like Armageddon are tier four, while Drannith Magistrate is tier three. 

What the future of Commander will look like was the focus during the WeeklyMTG stream on Oct. 1, featuring Gavin Verhey and Aaron Forsythe. Many of the main talking points were laid out by a Reddit user, which I highly recommend reading through if watching a VOD isn't your thing. 

Early thoughts on how the new bracket system will work were discussed, with Verhey stating a group of players and devs, much like what exists within the Pauper format, is being formed. The new group is expected to include rules committee and Commander advisory members. Once the group is formed, under the supervision of WotC, the new committee will be in charge of bans and the overall health of the format going forward.  

The best quote from the stream came from Forsythe when asked about how Hasbro could potentially change the Commander format forever, and not in a positive way. 

"Yes Hasbro wants things, and yes, my boss wants things, but those things are pretty fluid and intangible, and I have a lot of freedom to execute as I see fit for what I think is the best thing for Magic as a whole," said Forsythe.

The future of MTG Commander is imperative to the financial health of MTG, along with WotC and Hasbro. Standard sets gain sales traction through exclusive Commander cards and Precon decks while sets like Commander Masters contributed to the 18 percent growth in tabletop revenue during the third quarter of 2023, according to Hasbro. The Commander format even affects Secret Lair sales, as Universe Beyond cards are legal to play in Eternal formats, which include Commander. 

RIP Kelson

You may have noticed a new card sleeve in MTG Arena, featuring a handsome bearded bald man holding a sword and his wife. This is Kelson, who worked at WotC and sadly passed away earlier this week. The image is from Kelson's wedding day at a Renaissance festival, featuring him and his wife. A gofundme for Kelson is still active at time of writing. 

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The Duskmourn Play Booster box giveaway is still running and you as a subscriber can earn extra entries. Here's how. 

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