A week ago, the Independent Rules Committee Magic: The Gathering: Commander’s GatheringThe most popular trading card game format in recent years has suddenly announced a ban on three of its most popular and expensive cards. Reactions from some fans were swift and loud, in some cases escalating into violent threats against those involved. Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes the game, has now responded with even more shocking news: the rules committee has voluntarily dissolved, and the future of the Commander format will now be decided internally.
Controversial credit card bans that sparked backlash on Sept. 23 include Pauline and Mana Crypttwo cards that can provide players with cheap, early mana to quickly bolster their game-winning arsenal, and dock blackmailer and Nadu, the Wings of Wisdomtwo creatures with powerful effects depending on when and how they are deployed. While Nadu is relatively cheap, the rest range in price from $50 to $150 per piece.
Most of them are banned in other countries MTG format, but some of them were created specifically for Commander, a variant ruleset where players have more health and no more than one copy of any given card can be in the deck. As the format has grown in popularity in recent years, with Wizards printing multiple sets of Commander-specific cards each year, the meta surrounding the most strategic cards has made them more sought-after than ever.
But the target of many fans’ anger was not the company itself, but the independent rules committee and its player advisory panel, which were blamed for the decision. Some members have tried to explain their logic online, while others have made their social media accounts private due to the volume of complaints and vitriol directed at them. In response to the escalating backlash, the Wizards announced on September 30 that they would be freed from the rules committee entirely and take control of the team’s future. magic commander.
“No one should feel unsafe supporting the games they love,” the company wrote. In a statement posted on its website. “Unfortunately, the task of managing Commander has grown far beyond the scope and safety of any five individuals. So, today, we are working with existing Rules Committee members to announce that the Rules Committee will hand over stewardship of the Commander format to The game design team at Wizards of the Coast.
Rather than immediately reverse course and unban these cards in the wake of the controversy, Wizards outlined a new way to rank players’ Commander decks based on the highest-rated cards in their decks. Our goal is to provide some sort of numbering system so players can play competitive games against each other instead of worrying about competing against people who have invested hundreds of dollars in Commander decks.
“We will also be evaluating the current banned card list with the Commander Rules Committee and the community,” Wizards wrote, adding that it will continue to seek player feedback on the banned list and its proposed level system on Discord and other forums. Feedback. “We will not be banning additional cards as part of this evaluation. While discussions on the ban list began here, immediately changing the list is not our top priority.
At least so far, the latest announcement Looks like it’s just as bad as the original card ban that initially sparked the storm. One of the advantages of the existing Rules Committee is that, in theory at least, it is uninfluenced by Wizards of the Coast and therefore independent of the profit motive that might drive its broader decisions. MTG rule. Some fans also feel that the level system is mostly unworkable and requires too much extra work and community input to submit, monitor, and rate deck lists. Then there was widespread frustration that the most combative fans who engaged in physical threats or harassment ended up grabbing more civil complaints and forcing the Rules Committee into hiding.
“The harasser gets what they want and the target of their harassment loses legitimacy,” one player wrote. On the MTG Reddit subreddit. “They effectively killed RC and I’m sure they’re happy.” Another wrote, “It sends the signal that creating drama, harassing people, and making threats is ‘valid’.” Honestly, I’m now Ashamed of being a magician, this will definitely happen again.
