The Commander Rules Committee banned four cards in one day leading to outrage from the community before handing the format over to WOTC. Here are my thoughts and what I will be doing moving forward.
This has been a roller coast of emotion following the banning of four cards by the commander rules committee. These four cards included two cards (Jeweled Lotus and Dockside Extortionist) that were printed specifically for commander, Mana Crypt which has been in existence since 1995, and one card in Nadu that I don't think anyone cared about. One of the reasons people have been upset is the way in which these bans occurred and the timing of how they occurred. Four bans happening all at once after years of nothing was very intense. Also, these were the first actions to take place following the death of Sheldon who had played a huge part in managing the commander format and making it as popular as it is today! Three of the four cards had prices over $100 each with Mana Crypt (depending on the version you had) ranging from $150-$1,000. These bans affected many people financially.
Following the bans, there was major backlash from the community including death threats to members of the commander rules committee, which is completely unacceptable. At the end of the day, this is a game and it's made up of tiny pieces of cardboard. Not to make light of the financial stresses these bans put on anyone, but it will never be okay to threaten peoples lives for any circumstances. As a result of this it was elected to hand the commander format, which had up until now been a community run format, to Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro.
These two changes are two of the biggest changes to ever happen in the commander format and they happened within 7 days of each other! These changes are both scary and exciting in my opinion. We have all grown to love this format and for the people who acted out, they did it partly because they too love this format and have been deeply invested in it. Magic has a way of becoming part of your identity as you get more involved with the game and is a large part of a lot of people's lives. Anytime you make a big change, it's scary to enter the unknown. This time is exciting though too as changes can be positive! Wizards has significantly more resources than the rules committee had and a lot of people who are extremely invested in the game making decisions. Following the rules committee handing over the keys to WOTC, a press conference was held on the Weekly MTG youtube channel. A couple of things were discussed, including the creation of a new 1-4 rating system that may help to streamline Rule 0 conversations as well as evaluation of the ban list. The press conference also seemed to indicate that the format will be somewhat community driven still which seems like a positive thing.
For me, and a lot of others judging from MTGStocks, this is an exciting time to speculate on cards being unbanned. I chose to focus my excitement on retro cards of course. Magic is a collectible card game and always will be. I took this as an opportunity to invest in some more reserved list cards that should be relatively safe purchases in Tolarian Academy, Recurring Nightmare, Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary, & Yawgmoth's Bargain. These are all cards I played with when I was a kid and I am so excited to potentially get to play with them. Below is the list of cards I've either had on hand or have picked up since the announcements.
Artifacts are considered to be pretty broken in the commander format. There are a number of 0 costed artifacts, including basic lands. For that reason, Tolarian Academy can lead to explosive turns. But, is it more broken than Serra's Sanctum or Gaea's Cradle? I guess it depends on how you build your decks. The way I tend to build, it really isn't and I think it would be fine to slot into my decks.
Flash was banned because of CEDH as most decks ended up playing this card to flash in a Protean Hulk and win shortly after the Protean Hulk would die. I already had a Flash in my collection but not a Protean Hulk. I could see if this card was legalized, Protean Hulk going up in value pretty quickly. This led me to purchase a new retro version of Protean Hulk. I probably would not use the card in combination with Flash but it's a fun card if you use it responsibly.
Tinker is absolutely insane. You can sacrifice something like a treasure token to put a Blightsteel Colossus into play for three mana. I'm going to try to put this card into some of my decks but the majority of the cards that you could sneak into play don't exist in retro frames so I think it should be fine. As a whole, I tend to avoid tutors so I can see me pulling this card pretty quickly.
Sundering Titan does not seem like a card I would enjoy playing and I could see it being oppressive in a blink deck. I probably would not play this card but I figured it would be good to pick up a copy.
I've always wanted to build a Weatherlight themed deck and now that we have access to Sissay in 5-color this Vorthos style deck can actually be built, even in old border! Coalition Victory would be such a fun way to win in this deck. This card had been banned because most "I win" cards are not enjoyed by a lot of people and apparently this one really wasn't! This wincon does get a little easier now that shock lands are printed in retro frames but at least the triomes are not. Because this card is so on theme, I will absolutely build a deck to slot this one into.
Rofellos had been "Banned as a commander" for a period of time and that makes sense. Elf ball is a very popular strategy and it can get out of hand fast with the possibility of producing 6 mana on turn 3 without playing any other ramp pieces. But, if we are keeping ourselves to retro cards where we don't have the wincons like Craterhoof, is it as broken? For me, I just want to put it in a deck as mana ramp as elves are a lot more limited with retro frames. I think this card is a safe investment since it is on the reserved list and has been very stable in price (before the current events).
Primeval Titan (Prime Time) apparently warped the entire format when legal as each game would be about who had Prime Time or if you could get a copy of it. Prime Time is capable of putting into play a Cabal Coffers + Urborg or a Dark Depths + Thespian's Stage to help you get a 20/20 flying indestructible Marit Lage token. Even at it's worse, you can get three lands into play in a turn. As I write this, I'm realizing how good of a card this really is! I'm still going to try it out and try to use it responsibly. Assuming your opponents are playing removal, it's a 6-mana ramp spell of which there are cards that do that better now.
Biorhythm was banned because it could lead to a draw by playing it following a board wipe or kill players out of nowhere. It costs 8 mana and lots of other cards can do this. I think this card is very fair and would help to make a deck like elves more viable in retro frames. I don't really think it's much worse than Insurrection as they both require a specific board state to have an effect and both cost similar amounts of mana. I guess because it is in green which can notoriously ramp easier than other colors it is worse?
Recurring Nightmare is a great reanimation spell that is notoriously difficult to interact with. If Recurring Nightmare hit's the table without being countered, assuming you activate it immediately (as you have priority being the active player), your opponents cannot destroy it as part of the activation cost is to return it to your hand. With that said, it can be interacted with on the stack with counter magic. The "downside" of the activation cost requiring you to sacrifice a creature is rarely actually a downside when you are playing the type of deck that would want a Recurring Nightmare in it. With that said, it is not more difficult to interact with than Victimize or Reanimate. I am 100% in favor of this card being released from the ban list and will absolutely play it. They did recently release a watered down version of this card in Chthonian Nightmare which is available to us in retro frames if you are interested in this effect. I think this is a good card to pick up as it is on the reserved list and can at least hold it's value.
Yawgmoth's Bargain is probably the best repeatable draw spell in black. It's on rate with 1 life per card that you see in cards like Necropotence, Necrodominance, & Night's Whisper but allows you to do it one at a time to see what you're drawing and does not have the downside of exiling cards you discard. With that said, cards like Peer into the Abyss can have you draw 40+ cards easily for half of your life total (probably less than 20 life). I do hope this card gets unbanned but I can see why it wouldn't. I think there are plenty of cards that are almost as powerful such as tutors that get you the exact cards you want or Demonic Consultation & Tainted Pact that can flat out win games and have been in print for a very long time. The other thing to remember is that the power of a card like Yawgmoth's Bargain scales with how powerful your deck is to begin with. If you are playing a more casual, kitchen table type game and all decks are of similar power level I see no reason why you can't put this into your deck.
This last card that I want to talk about is Mana Crypt, a victim of the most recent bans. The rules committee has said they wanted to slow down games of commander, and fast mana can have a player jump ahead of opponents very quickly. However, I think if you are playing in an appropriate pod, there is no harm. One thing that I think people forget is that a game of commander does have to end. If the game ends fast, play another or kindly thank the table for the game and pack up to find a new pod. Remember, this is just a game. I'm hoping Mana Crypt comes off of the banned list as it is a card that has literally been in existence since 1995. It can be cost prohibitive but most pods are fine with proxying cards, also, removal is a thing that exists.
One thing I think I realized in the past couple of weeks is that I don't really care about bans in general. If you want to play a card, ask the pod that you are playing if they're okay with it. The ban list exists to help what was initially a kitchen table format. At the end of the day, this is not a competitive format and it is one that exists to allow people to play the cards they want to play. I think all cards can be played responsibly, even things like Armageddon, and all cards can be abused. It's up to you what kind of player you want to be. I am one that plays old cards that have been out classed because I enjoy the journey more so than the destination (winning/losing). Having a handfull of cards that are nostalgic brings me happiness. I want to play a card that has people saying "Wait, what?" or "That's so cool, I have never seen this card." The feeling I get when people start to put together that an entire deck is composed of old cards and getting the nod of appreciation from the other magic boomers at the table makes me feel good. Sitting down at a table of friends and listening to music and drinking adult beverages while you sling spells is how I like to enjoy this game. So, why not play those banned cards? And why not let others play their cards? Just be sure that everyone knows what you will be doing and is okay with it. Get the commander experience that makes you and the others around you happy.
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