B&R and The Official Commander Philosophy Document

[Soren841]

Modern- Bridge from Below ban.. no surprises here

EDH- Painter's Servant is unbanned, Iona, Shield of Emeria and Paradox Engine are banned..

What the fuck is Sheldon doing

[Judaspriester]

I can, somehow, understand the bans.. but not the  Painter's Servant unban. 

Do you have the link for the changes?

[Soren841]

The site crashed so https://twitter.com/SheldonMenery/status/1148246541221736448?s=20

[Morganator 2.0]

*Internal Screaming*

[WWolfe]

Looks like Painter's Servant will be going into my Animar...

[Soren841]

From a competitive standpoint, the bans could not have been and stupider. If Hulk's reign hadn't begun before, it certainly has now.

[WWolfe]

Painter's Servant has already doubled in price on Cardkingdom and SCG since the announcment.

[Morganator 2.0]

From a competitive standpoint, the bans could not have been and stupider. If Hulk's reign hadn't begun before, it certainly has now.

Oh damn, I hadn't even considered that. Captain Sisay was one of the few decks that could stand up to Flash Hulk and keep it (relatively) in check. I think she will still be able to hold off Hulk, but winning the game herself will be harder.

[Soren841]

And Paradox Scepter decks don't work anymore

[WWolfe]

To be fair, if they were determined to unban Painter's Servant, Iona had to be banned or that would have been just broken.

[Soren841]

I'm more worried about the Paradox Engine ban.. it should've been Flash that got banned but instead they took away it's only major competitor

[Morganator 2.0]

The argument for Iona makes sense. She was a powerful card that on her own can stop people from playing the game, which goes against the philosophy of commander.

But Paradox Engine? I want to hear the justification for this one. It's a good card, but required a lot of setup for all but two decks (Captain Sisay and Arcum Dagsson), making it impractical in most cases.

[WWolfe]

They really need to update the RC website. I mean, get with the times, get a Discord. Upgrade your hosting capabilites so the site doesn't crash every update. Etc., Etc., Etc..

I can get as far as the forum then the site crashes when you try to click on the announcement thread.

[WWolfe]

Finally got the site to come up for this (not the B&R announcement yet though)...

http://mtgcommander.net/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=19170

The Philosophy of Commander

Commander is for fun. It’s a socially interactive, multiplayer Magic: the Gathering format full of wild interactions and epic plays, specifically designed as an alternative to tournament Magic. As is fitting for a format in which you choose an avatar to lead your forces into battle, Commander focuses on a resonant experience. Each game is a journey the players share, relying on a social contract in which each player is considerate of the experiences of everyone involved--this promotes player interaction, inter-game variance, a variety of play styles, and a positive communal atmosphere. At the end of an ideal Commander game, someone will have won, but all participants will have had the opportunity to express themselves through their deck building and game play.

The rules of Commander are designed to maximize these experiences within a game of Magic. The addition of a commander, larger life total, and deck building restrictions emphasize the format’s flavor; they increase deck variance and add more opportunities for participation and expression.

The goal of the ban list is similar; it does not seek to regulate competitive play or power level, which are decisions best left to individual play groups. The ban list seeks to demonstrate which cards threaten the positive player experience at the core of the format or prevent players from reasonable self-expression. The primary focus of the list is on cards which are problematic because of their extreme consistency, ubiquity, and/or ability to restrict others’ opportunities.

No single rule can establish criteria for a ban; there are many mitigating or exacerbating factors. Some cards will represent an extreme on a single axis; others are a confluence of multiple smaller issues. The following list isn’t exhaustive, nor is it a checklist, but it represents ways in which cards challenge the positive experiences players look for in commander games. It includes cards which easily or excessively

•   Cause severe resource imbalances
•   Allow players to win out of nowhere
•   Prevent players from contributing to the game in a meaningful way.
•   Cause other players to feel they must play certain cards, even though they are also problematic.
•   Are very difficult for other players to interact with, especially if doing so requires dedicated, narrow responses when deck-building.
•   Interact poorly with the multiplayer nature of the format or the specific rules of Commander.
•   Lead to repetitive game play.

Cards which are banned likely meet a few of these criteria in a significant way; not all cards which meet some of the criteria need to banned.

We prefer to be conservative with what goes on or comes off the ban list. Commander players often become emotionally attached to their decks through play and personalization, and we value that experience highly. We only want to disrupt that bond when necessary.

Commander is designed to be a malleable format. We encourage groups to use the rules and the ban list as a baseline to optimize their own experience. This is not license for an individual to force their vision onto a play group, but encouragement for players to discuss their goals and how the rules might be adjusted to suit those goals. The format can be broken; we believe games are more fun if you don’t.

eta- link (good luck getting it to pull up atm)

[Soren841]

Can we get a Fuck Sheldon in chat