Summary
Wizards of the Coast(WotC) today announced that its game design team would be taking over control of the popular Commander format with consent from the Commander Rules Committee, following death threats levelled against the latter following its banning of several cards from the format.
“In partnership with the members of the existing Rules Committee, we are announcing that the Rules Committee is giving management of the Commander format to the game design team of Wizards of the Coast,” the statement reads.
In a separate statement, the Rules Committee echoed the sentiment of Wizards of the Coast’s post. “As a result of the threats last week against RC members, it has become impossible for us to continue operating as an independent entity. Given that, we have asked WotC to assume responsibility for Commander and they will be making decisions and announcements going forward,” the Committee’s post reads.
According to the Committee, they have received assurances that Wizards of the Coast does not wish to change the “vision” of the format and its members have been invited to become independent advisors on the format.
The abhorrent death threats levelled against the Rules Committee were born out of dissatisfaction by some with therecently announced Commander card bans, which included the popular cards Dockside Extortionist, Jeweled Lotus and Mana Crypt, among others. The price of Dockside Extortionistplummeted in the wake of the announcement.
The Commander Rules Committee approached their role with passion and diligence, but the public nature of these five individuals has unfortunately opened them up to online abuse from enraged “fans.” The transfer of power to a faceless corporate entity will protect the safety of individuals, at the very least.
Wizards of the Coast has revealed some work-in-progress plans for Commander, including tier brackets to categorise the varying power of cards in the format. you may read the company’s full plans in its announcement posthere.
