CAG Member Resigns Amid Recent Commander Bans

Commander Advisory Group (CAG) member Josh Lee Kwai announced via social media his resignation from the CAG effective immediately.

In a statement released the evening of Sept. 25, Kwai said he "hoped he was able to help in some small way to cultivate and guide Commander through the difficult challenges it has faced during this period of rapid growth and popularity."

The resignation comes on the heels of a suprise banning by the Commander Rules Committee (RC) of four popular Commander cards: Dockside Extortionist, Jeweled Lotus, Mana Crypt and Nadu, Winged Wisdom.

Those bans were announced on Sept. 23 via the RC's website and shared by Wizards of the Coast's official site.

The RC's reasoning for the bans can be found here, with the group's next quarterly update announcement scheduled for Nov. 18.

Kwai is best known as the CEO of The Command Zone on YouTube as well as the creator and director of the web series Game Knights.

The day of the RC announcement, Kwai said via social media that he "doesn't like" the bans. "I think it's a bad call," he wrote. "If you've watched our content over the years then I'm sure that doesn't surprise you."

He also hosted a poll on social media asking followers whether they thought the bans were "good" or "bad." With 18,934 votes, "good" won out by a hair, earning 50.3% of the vote.

To say the bans were contentious among fans of the format is an understatement, and it's led to a torrent of emotionally charged opinions on social media, with CAG and RC members finding themselves serving as the conduit for both vitriol and support.

Many complaints on social media from players have arisen from the sudden loss of card value due to the bannings (according to unofficial reports from members in the finance sector, to the tune of $100 million), as well as the seemingly "surprise" nature of the bans for cards like Jeweled Lotus, which has now become unplayable in the format due to its ban.

Some members of the RC, including Olivia Gobert-Hicks, have reported death threats and doxxing levied in their direction in the hours and days following the bans.

Gobert-Hicks is cited as the lone dissenting vote among RC members in opposition to the bans.

Following the aggressively negative reaction of some format fans, Kwai said that the CAG "had nothing to do" with the bans.

"Like, we weren't involved in the decision and were just as blindsided," he wrote. "(The RC) sent out a survey form a little while back that asked generic questions like 'Are there any cards you would advocate banning and why?' (and) 'Are there any card you think should be unbanned and why?' But nothing with specifics. No mention of the words 'fast mana' that I recall."

Commander influencers not directly involved in the RC or CAG have stepped forward to denounce the alleged threats in the days following the bans.

Tolarian Community College tweeted that Gobert-Hicks's YouTube channel, Commander At Home, had been "bombarded with nasty messages and threats" which was "particularly heartbreaking," as "Olivia pours herself into this game, creating fun videos for you to enjoy and sharing the love of EDH with everyone. In this case, she was our voice in the room. She does not deserve what is being done to her."

Via the Command Zone YouTube channel, Kwai and CAG member Rachel Weeks addressed the bans, and the fallout that followed:

The fallout from the banning announcement even led to the members of the RC releasing an "FAQ" going into more detail not only regarding the bans, but also addressing some accusations from the community of impropriety among the RC. That Google document can be found in its entirety here.

The FAQ opens with a mention of the threats endured by RC members: "Before we start with the questions, we need to make one thing perfectly clear. While disagreement and good-faith discussion is welcome, threats of violence -- including people supporting those threats -- is beyond the pale. They have no place in Commander."

The RC has five members and operates independently of Wizards of the Coast to maintain the health of the Commander format.

The RC predates WotC's official 2011 endorsement of the format, with the formation of the first iteration of the RC, by Pro Tour Judges Sheldon Menery, Gavin Duggan and Duncan McGregor, occurring in 2006.

In 2017, Mark Rosewater via his Tumblr cited the RC as tangentially involved: "We consult them with Commander designs and their input has an impact on the product, but we do the original design work in house," wrote Rosewater.

For more information on the RC, visit their website.

The CAG is an invite-only collection of format community leaders who serve to provide their perspective on Commander to the Rules Committee.

While the RC takes CAG members' thoughts on format actions into account, it's the RC who determines rule alterations, including the banning of cards. Following Josh Lee Kwai's resignation, the CAG currently features 11 members.

In the interest of disclosure, Archidekt is a sponsor of The Command Zone, a property alongside Commander's Herald that is under the ownership of Space Cow Media. We would like to take the opportunity to remind our readers that harassment, abuse, and threats will not be tolerated regardless of your position on the ban.