Earlier this week, the Commander Rules Committee updated the ban list for Magic: The Gathering's Commander format. It was a contentious change to the meta that enraged fans so much that Wizards of the Coast will take over the committee's duties.
The Future of Magic: The Gathering Commander Format
In an official blog post, WIzards of the Coast explained their plans for curating the Commander format for Magic: The Gathering. The post starts with commending the Commander Rules Committee, a small group of five passionate talented individuals. Individuals that contribute to the committee while working full-time jobs and raising families.
Critically, the post calls out bad actors that have been harrassing the CRC recently. Due to the escalating outrage of recent events, personal threats have been sent to committee members, Wizards of the Coast expressly states a zero tolerance policy on this front.
This is something we will not tolerate. No matter how you feel about something in Magic, it is never appropriate to threaten somebody. Everyone at Wizards of the Coast is united on this front—we will not hesitate to take action against individuals who threaten to harm community members or employees.
The CRC corroborated WIzards of the Coast's official statement. In a thread of social media posts on X (formerly known as Twitter), the CRC stated that they could no longer operate as an independent entity as a result of these threats. They are sad that this marks the end of an era, but WOTC has assured them that they do not wish to change the vision of Commander as a community-focused format.
To help with the increasing demands of Commander format and mitigate any future acts of bad faith, WOTC have announced that the CRC is giving management of Commander to the Magic: The Gathering game design team.
According to the post, both the CRC and the design team are still in preliminary conversations about the future of Commander. This includes a new approach to deck power level and more guidance for players looking for a format that suits their style of play.
