

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 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 rules of Commander are designed to maximize these experiences within a game of Magic. 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 gameplay. 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. As is fitting for a format in which you choose an avatar to lead your forces into battle, Commander focuses on a resonant experience.
Dcommander ban list full#
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. The Philosophy of CommanderĬommander is for fun. Their presence continues to add great value to the format. Many thanks to the Commander Advisory Group for the input and insights into putting together this update. The card will provide deck builders with some additional paths to explore in expressing their creativity. We feel as though there are now more weird and fun uses for the card than there are dangerous ones. Painter's Servant is a card that's been discussed for a long time and it's time to take off the shackles. Iona, Shield of Emeria is also an exemplar as the type of card which creates an experience we wish to discourage, namely shutting players out of games. We had previously considered its high mana cost sufficient to keep it from getting played, but deeper investigation demonstrated many ways of getting it onto the battlefield without paying that cost. Iona, Shield of Emeria creates a negative experience for many players without the benefit of a positive application. While we don't ban cards which are only problematic if you build around them, Paradox Engine has clearly demonstrated that it doesn't need to be built around to be broken. Easily inserted into any deck, it combines with cards which players already have heavy incentives to play, generating a great deal of mana with virtually no deck-building cost. Not only does it provide easy wins seemingly out of nowhere, it has demonstrated the potential to unintentionally wreck games. Paradox Engine is a card that has proven to be intensely problematic. There might be some common threads among banned cards, but the primary reason cards get put on the list is that they challenge the positive experience we want to promote. We'd found that many folks misinterpreted them as hard criteria for banning as opposed the guidelines we always considered them. You'll notice that we've eliminated categories for banning cards.

Dcommander ban list update#
The Philosophy Document update coalesces the important elements of how we think about the format into a concise and easily digestible set of ideals, answering the question "What is Commander?" We haven't changed the underlying philosophy of Commander: it's specifically intended to be something other than a tournament format in which players consider each other's experiences alongside their own. That site is currently facing technical difficulties, so we're reposting the information here to ensure the information remains visible.

The following information w as originally posted by the Commander Rules Committee on the Commander format forums.
