Commander Rules Committee Is No More - WOTC May Never Ban Another Card

MTG and Commander have been turned upside down by the recent banning of Jeweled Lotus and Mana Crypt, both of which were staples of the format and very expensive. That said, the player base did not see these bans coming, and many people were super upset, especially because WOTC has used these cards as promos for some recent sets.

A small group of people called the Commander Rules Committee (a third party separate from WOTC) handled bans for EDH with advice from the Commander Advisory Group (CAG). Some people, upset and lacking common sense, took to making death threats to members of the Rules Committee responsible for the bans. As a result, the Rules Committee has disbanded and given control of Commander to WOTC.

This is huge news for several reasons, which I'll cover below. We'll discuss why this is a big deal for MTG, what Wizards have said they have planned for the format, and what said changes mean for the future of Commander and Magic: The Gathering. So, without further ado, let's jump in.

Commander Rules Committee Steps Down

The RC and an advisory group known as the Commander Advisory Group (CAG) were separate entities from WOTC and handled bans and other EDH issues from a "what is best for the format" POV. This structure allowed the community to have a voice in shaping the format. However, it also presented challenges for WOTC, as powerful new cards could clash with the RC's vision of balance.

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The recent bannings, particularly those of Mana Crypt and Jeweled Lotus, were met with significant backlash. These cards were expensive staples in many decks, and their removal from the format fueled anger among some players, leading to threats directed at RC members. This untenable situation ultimately led to the RC's disbandment. Now, WOTC has complete control over what happens to the format. So, what happens now?

The Speculative Future of EDH

WOTC's takeover of Commander raises several issues. Notably, the fact that Hasbro, and therefore WOTC, is profit-driven and the RC was not is the biggest. The members of the RC did not work for WOTC and did not get paid at all - Anything they did, love it or hate it, they did because they thought it was what was best for the format. This will not be the case with Wizards running the show.

I'm curious if we will ever see another commander ban with the Rules Committee gone. In a recent article, On the Future of Commander, and a subsequent live stream, they propose a new four-tier system bracket system for judging deck power level. In a nutshell, here is the idea:

Decks are categorized into one of four brackets, ranging from baseline preconstructed deck power level (Bracket 1) to highly powerful decks (Bracket 4). The classification is determined by comparing the cards and combinations in a deck to predefined lists. For example, racket 1 includes cards that are generally versatile and can fit into various decks. WOTC mentions Swords to Plowshares, Grave Titan, and Cultivate.

While Bracket 4 includes cards that can significantly skew the game's balance. They mention Vampiric Tutor, Armageddon, and Grim Monolith as "cards that make games too much more consistent, lopsided, or fast than the average deck can engage with."

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So, your deck's overall power level would be determined by its highest-ranked card or cards. Your deck has five cards that are in bracket 3? It's a bracket 3 deck. However, exceptions for decks with a specific theme or focus may be made, such as a Tomb-themed deck.

My thought is that this system could potentially lead to WOTC never banning another card in EDH. They're already talking about adding a 5th bracket for the Cedh level decks. No matter how strong, anything they print could be relegated to a higher "competitive" tier and left for players to work out with rule 0.

That said, the tier system doesn't address the core issue of Rule 0. When players sit down with a new playgroup, they'll still have to work out for themselves if the table is somewhere they want to play and if their deck is a nice fit. Players still require clear communication for balanced games. Additionally, the prospect of unbanning remains.

While WOTC claims no immediate plans to unban the recently banned cards, their future financial incentive to do so will always be there. If I had to guess, I would say they'll unban some other things first and consider unbanning at least Jeweled Lotus and Mana Crypt in the future once the heat wears off.

The possibility of unbanning some cards has led to speculation and market fluctuations, with players investing in Reserved List cards like Fast Bond in hopes of potential unbanning and price increases. Only time will tell, overall, but make no mistake that things will be. I can't imagine a world where changes to Commander (or lack thereof) are more profit-driven than community-driven from now on.

What to Play Instead?

The banned cards were all powerful for different reasons. For an overview of the reasoning behind the banning, you can refer to the official announcement: Commander Banned and Restricted Announcement – September 23, 2024. Or read the entire explanation here: September 2024 Quarterly Update

With them gone, what are some good Crypt, Dockside, and Jeweled Lotus replacements? I'm glad you asked. Now, my suggestions won't fill in for Dockside if you're using him to combo off or get you ahead as fast as Crypt, but that's kinda the whole point behind the bans, right? So, let's look at some possible replacements.

Here are some cool substitutes to consider for the banned cards:

• Dockside Extortionist Replacements: Treasure Nabber, Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, Storm the Vault // Vault of Catlacan
• Mana Crypt / Jeweled Lotus Replacements: Generator Sevant, Ancient Tomb, Mana Vault, Lotus Petal, Nyx Lotus

Ultimately, the ability to adapt your deck and find alternative strategies is part of the fun of Commander. If your deck relies heavily on these banned cards to function, it might be a good time to explore new strategies and card combinations.

Conclusion

This whole ban situation has been pretty beaten to death at this point. The cards have been banned, and I assume they'll stay that way for the foreseeable future. Personally, I don't run Jeweled Lotus or Mana Crypt in my decks, so I wasn't too bothered. I did use Dockside Extortionist, but what can you do? I'm more worried about the RC going away than these specific cards. But now I want to hear from you - What do you think will happen to EDH, if anything, with Wizards of the Coast running the show? Let me know below.