Wizards of the Coast has announced it will manage ‘s Commander format from now on, taking the reins from the third-party Commander Rules Committee. In , the company has confirmed this news is related to recent which led to a major storm of opinions online, many of which were “harmful or malicious.” The Commander Rules Committee, which is a group of “five talented, caring individuals, all with other jobs and lives” which they had to “balance with managing the most popular format in “, was subjected to much abuse following the recent bans for Dockside Extortionist, Jeweled Lotus, Mana Crypt, and Nadu, Winged Wisdom.
Per Wizards of the Coast, conversations “escalated” over the past week, leading to “unacceptable personal threats to the safety of members of the Commander Rules Committee.” In the wake of this abuse, the company determined the task of managing Commander had “outgrown the scope and safety of being attached to any five people.” It’s worth noting that Commander was originally a more casual format of , and it’s within the last few years it has grown to become one of the most popular and approachable ways to play.
As its scale has grown, so has the responsibility for ensuring it remains fun and engaging for everyone – and so, Wizards of the Coast has chosen to step in. From now, management of the Commander format will be overseen by the game design team of Wizards of the Coast. While members of the Commander Rules Committee will be involv.
