Gavin Verhey and Aaron Forsythe on Commander's Future

With questions, concerns, and nerves rattling through Commander players with an eye to yesterday's massive announcement that the Commander Rules Committee (RC) is no more, representatives of Wizards of the Coast took to Twitch for a "highly anticipated" WeeklyMTG stream. 

In case you missed it, yesterday's announcement heralded the dissolving of the independent and volunteer RC, with its responsibility - namely the guidance of the Commander format, from card bans to rules changes and everything in between - now handled internally at Wizards of the Coast (WotC). The RC had existed for nearly 20 years, forming in 2006, and featured five members who will now serve in an advisory capacity to the WotC design team.

Moderated by Blake Rasmussen, the discussion panel featured longtime WotC stalwarts Principal Game Designer and Commander Design Group Leader Gavin Verhey and Vice-President of Game Design and Creative, Aaron Forsythe. The pair have a combined 36 years of experience with designing for Magic.

How Did We Get Here?

Rasmussen described the announcement as "big news" and he and other WotC employees have been doing "a lot of listening" to the community since the RC announcement was made roughly 24 hours ago. The panel addressed many of the questions fielded by those community members over the last day. And the first question was a big one: "how did we get here?"

Verhey said it started with the RC's banning of Dockside Extortionist, Jeweled Lotus, Mana Crypt, and Nadu, Winged Wisdom. "The discussion quickly became very heated and escalated immensely," he said. "It's been tough listening to how far it escalated." Verhey cited the physical threats of violence directed at the RC because of the bans, and the impact those threats were having on their lives, as the impetus of discussions related to the paradigm shift in Commander guidance. "Ultimately we all kind of reached the conclusion together was that the best way forward was for them to give us the format, which they were very much on board with doing," explained Verhey. "It was not an easy decision to reach and not what any of us intended going into these discussions."

Forsythe added that he has enjoyed throughout Commander's history that it was a community-created format, run by the community, and that they've "done an excellent job" while also working together with WotC designers. "But we got to a point now where we need to [take over], just based on the goings-on in the community, whether we want to or not," he said. "This falls on us now, and this is the best path forward."

The conversation shifted back to the threats well-documented as occurring throughout the past eight days, with Forsythe sharing that WotC has "protocols and teams" meant to address these issues.

And regarding those bans, Verhey said they're not cards that would be designed today, and aside from their power level, one of the dangers of cards like those banned are the push toward "ubiquity" in deckbuilding. He added that cards like Arcane Signet could also be considered in that tier. "But we can't unprint cards," said Forsythe. "And some of those mistakes might go on to be some of the most popular cards in the format."

What's Next?

So what comes next, now that WotC has the reins of Commander? Since the change is still very fresh, Verhey said that it's a work-in-progress without "firm, concrete answers." But he and his colleagues certainly have ideas. "Although we are managing the format, it remains a community format; that is critical, that is part of Commander's success, that is how we've gotten to where we are today, and that's something we really want to strive to do going forward."

Verhey said they're starting to "settle on" an organizational structure akin to the Pauper format, with "a group of folks who are all very dedicated to the format" advising Verhey, who acts as a WotC liaison. "I want to create something along those lines, to be able to work with the community on our decisions," he said. Exactly who might be on this panel, or how many members it would feature, are to be determined, but former members of the now-defunct RC and its own ancillary panel, the Commander Advisory Group (CAG), will likely be extended invites. 

Forsythe added that Commander as a community is "such a huge, disparate" group who enjoys different aspects of the game, which is exactly why they'll be seeking that community input moving forward.

Whether it will be known to the public or not who occupies spots on this panel is a decision not yet made, but Verhey said he doesn't want the community to get the impression that there's a "shadowy cabal" making decisions behind closed doors. Likely, whether or not to be public about their involvement in the panel is going to be up to the discretion of the individual, and Forsythe said he can see WotC "making allowances" for people on the panel who might not want to have their association known by the community at-large. 

Does WotC Have the Best Intentions?

Rasmussen breached the topic of the decisions regarding Commander now held by a corporate entity who makes a profit from people playing the game. Will that ulterior motive "seep into the decisions" of Verhey and the rest of the WotC designers assigned to Commander? "To a person, everyone on my team [is here for the love of the game]," said Forsythe. "Yes Hasbro wants things, and yes, my boss wants things, but those things are pretty fluid and intangible, and I have a lot of freedom to execute as I see fit for what I think is the best thing for Magic as a whole."

Forsythe said the goal is to grow Magic, and by extension Commander, with various new and continued products, but it's also to make sure it "lasts forever." That means, he explained, that decisions that lead people to want to "quit or leave" Magic just aren't wise. "Keeping the game as fun as possible for as many people as possible is the way we're going to make our money."

Will WotC Continue Banning Cards?

Verhey said one of the first things he and his team plan to address is the current ban list for Commander, to "evaluate" the list to see if there are any changes to be made. No additional cards will be banned as a part of that evaluation, but whether cards get unbanned, he said, is "unclear." No concrete changes either way will happen until Verhey is able to assemble his panel of community members in order to allow for feedback from outside WotC. 

Commander is a format that "moves slowly," said Verhey, which means that changes to rules or ban lists aren't things they'll be seeking to do very frequently. "Stability is a key part of what makes Commander 'Commander.'" He added that announcements of changes to the format will not align with the regularly scheduled Banned/Restricted updates seen by other formats. "I could imagine a world where we go to quarterly updates, something the Rules Committee had done, but all that is still 'TBD.'"

What is the "Bracket System," Anyway?

Verhey said one of the biggest difficulties with Commander, especially for those who play at events or at their local game stores, is finding people with decks of a similar power level as their own. It's not a new issue, with the RC themselves frequently addressing ways to broach that power level conversation. 

But with WotC in charge, one of the first things to be implemented is the "bracket system." It consists of categorizing cards into four power level brackets with Bracket One being cards that any deck could conceivably play; in other words, "staple-y" cards, with Swords to Plowshares being a prime example. The highest power level, Bracket Four, consist of the strongest cards people can play, or cards that people might not want in their games: tutors and Armageddon, for example. 

A deck is defined by the highest bracket card in that deck. "This system is not perfect, and nothing is going to be better than sitting down with your table and having a conversation," said Verhey. The bracket system, however, can give players a quick shorthand to determine their deck's power level in order to find games of a similar power. By using individual cards as a benchmark, it makes that conversation much more objective, said Verhey. 

And the higher power level brackets can also be thought of as not so much about raw power, but "are these cards something I want to 'opt into'?" said Verhey. "It's a way of knowing what you're getting yourself into."

It's all about the "spirit" of Commander, said Forsythe, and does not replace Rule Zero but functions in addition to it. And the Bracket Four cards are probably less likely to see precon reprints, he added. 

Verhey said that some work regarding placing cards in specific power level brackets has been done by the design team, but it's another topic he's planning to invite community opinion on via the to-be-developed panel as well as general opinion via social media and Discord.

Regarding combos, players would assess the individual cards that make a combo as a single unit: Thassa's Oracle and Demonic Consultation would be Bracket Four when together in the 99 of a deck, while individually they might not be. And more efficient combos would be rated at a higher bracket than less efficient ones, in terms of mana cost, number of cards, or other obstacles in combo assembly.

As for a timeline for the bracket system ready to be implemented at a wide scale, Verhey said the goal is to have it set by MagicCon Vegas (Oct. 25-27) - but no promises, he added.

Lastly, Rasmussen said that digital tools made available to players to assess decks in terms of the bracket system have been discussed and are "in the works."

How Does this Affect cEDH?

Verhey said he plans to ensure there's at least one advocate for cEDH on the future panel, and the question of whether there will ever be two separate ban lists was addressed bluntly with a "no." The bracket system, said Forsythe, "will need to do all that work."

The bulk of decision-making regarding the format, and the bracket system, will be directed toward the "lower-stakes, 'we're just here to have a good time'" contingent of players, Forsythe said. 

The Question of Sol Ring

"Sol Ring is not going anywhere," said Verhey. "It's such a foundational thing that everyone knows and loves." He described it in terms of the bracket system as a hypothetical "Bracket Zero" card.

Forsythe joked that he "made peace with Sol Ring years ago," and acknowledged that everyone's likely to be playing it, thanks in part to its ubiquity in preconstructed decks released by WotC. 

What About a Points System?

Individual cards in formats like Canadian Highlander are rated on a points system, with more objectively powerful cards assigned a higher point value. A deck can spend a finite number of points in order to include a selection of those cards in it. Verhey said a points system for Commander was discussed, but with Commander being more about the game "experience," some of that essence would be lost to "min-maxing."