Making the Case For & Against Every Gamechanger - Part 1: White, Blue & Black
Bolas's Citadel by Piotr Dura
It's here: the first major update from the Commander Format Panel! I am, seemingly as always, late to writing about this news because I've been sitting around and thinking about how I feel about it and my brain often moves like molasses.
The Game Changer list is an evolution of game design technology available for running Commander and making game finding easier; probably not a new concept, but it lets the Commander Format Panel add another layer of distinctiveness.
Something of a soft ban list for more casual pods is a cool concept... and it makes me hope that they'd entertain other options such as bringing back the Banned as Commander list. Where it will really take form, I think, is when they start to use it as a soft landing spot for previously banned cards, or can use it more explicitly as a sort of watchlist for to-be-banned cards.
In fact, I've been thinking about it so much that I've formulated both reasons for and against every card being on the Game Changer list and even some additional, more generalized thoughts about some more notable cards as well. At least, I've tried my best to do that, as some of the cards its VERY hard for me to make any argument one way or the other. It ended up going so long we've split it into two parts though, White, Blue and Black for Part 1 and Red, Green, Colorless, Multicolor, and Lands for part 2! Let's get into it!
White:
White is one of the historically most underappreciated and maligned colors in Commander; I get it, it has been bad at drawing cards in its time, and it often flexes its power most in the most miserable effects imaginable, like Stax and Land destruction. With one of those things effectively soft banned in all but cEDH (Bracket 5), what did they decide to put forth as Game Changers? High power value engines, Tutors, and my least favorite card in Commander.
Drannith Magistrate
For Inclusion:
Drannith Magistrate is, no joke, my least favorite card in the entire format. This is the one I get emotional about sometimes, as dumb as that is. A two-drop creature that ostensibly stops everyone (except for its controller) from casting their commander is personally and aesthetically offensive to me. The format is called "Commander"! Anyways, I do believe this is the very definition of a game-changing card: it massively disrupts opposing gameplans at little to no cost to its caster and also creates a poor gameplay experience.
Against Inclusion:
Really? We're putting a white two-drop hatebear on the game changer list? This thing dies to every form of removal better than a Shock
Enlightened Tutor
For: One-cost, instant-speed tutors are the very embodiment of undesirable in lower power Commander games. The 100-card singleton aspect of the format is to help create more variety in decks game to game and tutors fly directly in the face of that, giving you effectively two copies of your best card for minimal downside.
Against: Of all the tutors you could put on the list, Enlightened Tutor is at least restrictive, limiting you to artifacts and enchantments in a Bracket where almost every card "worth" tutoring for a power level reason is already on this list itself. So, you're already down a Game Changer slot playing Rhystic Study
Smothering Tithe
For: Not only is Smothering Tithe one of the most powerful four-drops you can slam in Commander, it also slows the game pace down to a crawl. It would be much less offensive, both logistically and power-level-wise, if it didn't trigger on the first card that an opponent drew in their draw step; relatively normal formatting for many similar Magic cards. Not this guy, though!
Against: If people don't want the Smothering Tithe player to run away with the game, they can simply pay their taxes. It costs four mana, that can be a lot... uh... How strong are Treasures really? Alright, I've actually got nothing here.
Trouble in Pairs
For: Trouble in Pairs is another four-mana enchantment that in theory will draw you a lot of cards. Drawing a lot of cards is something that can really flip a game on its head, especially since it relies on your opponents drawing cards and attacking to give you value. I also personally enjoy disincentivizing cards that stop people from wanting to attack players; there isn't enough combat in Commander to begin with, so you simply shouldn't draw a card for people attacking you. Sounds boring.
Against: I'll be honest, Trouble in Pairs is the first card here that I just don't Get®. Its cost is more restrictive than most other cards on the list while also being one of the weakest cards here. It draws rate at relatively poor rates, relying on others to be doing anything in the game for any value, and it just doesn't quite hit the bar for me.
Something to be discussed, at some point, is that there is realistically only so much room on a list like this; past a point, it becomes too onerous for people to upkeep and care about. Even though I think we have a ways to go before we hit that number of cards, Trouble in Pairs seems like a waste of a spot when push comes to shove compared to so many other cards out there. Not mad about less people playing the hyper plagiarized art card though!
Blue:
Beloved blue, the most obnoxious color, obviously has the most cards on the list, fueled not only by card draw ability but also above-rate interaction and even a LEGENDARY CREATURE! Blue is easily the best color at the highest power level tables, so it's not shocking to see so many things here. Let's look at 'em.
Cyclonic Rift
For: There are few, if any, cards in EDH with more obnoxious potential than Cyclonic Rift. An overloaded cast of this card sets us back many turns of progress while leaving its caster way ahead on board. Many people just cast the card without any plan afterwards, spending all their mana just to set the game back and then swinging in all of 10 combat damage total or something similar.
Most cast Cyclonic Rifts are majorly impacting the game and also effectively ending it... without TECHNICALLY ending it. These are the kind of cards that have historically ended up on the banlist, a place I wouldn't doubt if Rift can end up someday.
Against: Spending seven mana on something should get you a huge effect that enables you to win the game; Cyclonic Rift is just one of many cards that fit that description. People opting to not take advantage of it to win the game isn't my problem. This does kinda sound like a joke, which some of the arguments on here kinda have to be, but I have always not understood the salt about Cyclonic Rift as much as the other super-high-mv-cards on the list.
Expropriate
For: It's Expropriate. Everyone hates this card. Nobody likes to see it cast. It wins when it's cast without technically ending the game. Get it outta here.
Against: Expropriate is something out of 2016 EDH games: who even cares about this card anymore? Honestly? Kidding. This is another one that makes perfect sense to me, and I don't have any meaningful argument against, save that it is so expensive that those who cast it have earned it, no matter the power level. It is also interesting to see a big extra turns card here when this card is realistically already soft banned from all Below Bracket 4 decklists courtesy of the No Extra Turns and No Chaining Extra Turns directives.
Fierce Guardianship
For: It's free interaction with the only downside being that you need to control your commander. Since that's something we're all aiming to do regardless, it's barely a downside and leaves us with something that is simply an extremely powerful card.
Against: A free Negate effect doesn't actually seem like something I personally would want to gate from games; I get that the "free" part makes this card very objectively power at base, as I said above, but when things like Deflecting Swat and Deadly Rollick (especially Deadly Rollick) are missing from this list, this feels like a bit of an overinclusion.
Force of Will
For: The best counterspell of all time. That's a Game Changer right here.
Against: Again, I think I struggle to purposefully remove powerful interaction, especially a card that has such a large card disadvantage built in, from the larger EDH cardpool. Seriously, you're putting yourself two cards behind all three of your opponents to attempt to counter one spell. Being able to interact sometimes is good, and Force is another card that feels like a reach to me when we end up bulking up the size of this list.
Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur
For: Jin-Gitaxias is, full stop, one of the most toxic cards imaginable in EDH. You get all the cards in the world, and your opponents don't! Talk about bringing a game to a halt. While it does have a huge, restrictive cost, it's easily cheatable with the help of reanimation spells and similar effects.
Against: In the realm of annoying, game-ending/impacting creatures, Jin-Gitaxias still seems to fall short to some that are absent from this list. I think he (and by extension Vorinclex later in the list) are riding off a reputation gained long, long ago in a Commander world that is far, far away.
Mystical Tutor
For: Another one-mana, instant-speed tutor that can grab very powerful cards, Mystical Tutor is something that flies in the face of the 100-card-singleton, and it's good for people to have less of these in their decks, especially if it's grabbing more incredibly powerful things.
Against: Much like Enlightened Tutor, Mystical Tutor has the downside of being restricted to instants and sorceries, while also only putting something on top of your library rather than into your hand. Is that really so bad when, again, your most powerful options are already on this here list?
Rhystic Study
I have to say, up front, I don't really have a solid argument for NOT including Rhystic Study on this list. I was honestly gobsmacked when I heard people arguing against its position. I'll try my best to represent what they were saying here though.
For: Rhystic Study is the most powerful card advantage engine in the format. Your opponents attempt to play the game and then have to determine if they want to pay a tax or let you draw a card. It has more impact on an EDH game than any other card I've personally seen. I can't imagine any card I would want on the list more. Three mana is so cheap. It's a better rate than Divination
Against: Rhystic Study is just Sphere of Resistance if your opponents play the game correctly. Personally, I always pay my taxes because I'm a responsible player. I'm not the problem and neither is Rhystic Study. It's fine for me to have Rhystic Study. It isn't that bad. Please let me play Rhystic Study so I can keep winning games. Please.
Thassa's Oracle
For: There is no more efficient wincon than Thassa's Oracle plus Demonic Consultation or Tainted Pact, letting you win the game with a clean three or four mana, combined with no counterplay short of counterspells... in fact, some of the best answers to Thassa's Oracle combo wins are already on the Game Changer list. Especially if you're aiming to tamp down on combo wins, there's no more obvious choice than Thassa's Oracle.
Against: Interestingly enough, Thassa's Oracle is NOT the card I'm not most interested in adding to the Game Changer list from the classic combos; I would rather see both Demonic Consultation and Tainted Pact added instead. Let me explain: they're powerful, albeit dangerous, tutors that, in basically no situation, are being used fairly. Putting them both on the list and leaving Thoracle off gives you two points if you want to play them both - which I think is honestly fair - and leaves Thoracle for the true Blue Devotion enjoyers. I wanna "scry" 20 off this thing.
Urza, Lord High Artificer
For: Urza is a very powerful commander, practically a Tolarian Academy of sorts in the command zone. That isn't 100% accurate: he's better and worse in some ways. You have more flexibility with how you use the mana, since you can choose to make it one at a time rather than creating a lump sum; this also lets you use mana from other artifacts to cast more artifacts. You do miss out on the activated abilities of your artifacts though. Sad! Anyways, Tolarian Academy is banned and this guy also gives you a place to spend the mana in a free casting scenario. Brutal.
Against: As far as offensive Legendary Creatures go, Urza, Lord High Artificer is... fine. I would rather keep brain space and game changer space free for other legendary creatures - perhaps on their own separate Commander-specific Game Changer list - but all in all this guy just makes a ton of mana and gives you a restrictive outlet for you - he's not even the most offensive mana-related Commander on the Gamechanger list.
Black:
If blue is the strongest color in higher power Commander, then black is second, or perhaps tied. It's not surprising to then see it have seven cards on this list, and they're almost all the cards that I had the hardest time coming up with "Against" arguments for, as you'll soon see.
Ad Nauseam
For: Ad Naus is an incredibly powerful draw engine, letting you take advantage of the formats 40 life while putting loads of cards in your hand, even at instant speed if you wish. It's a premier cEDH wincon. That's a game changer.
Against: So the kicker with Ad Nauseam is that... its inclusion in your deck requires fairly specific deckbuilding (so you can draw a decent amount of cards without dying) while also only being as good as the cards that it puts into your hand. Sure, drawing cards always is good, but if you're paying mana and a ton of life for the honor of drawing those cards, you need them to be extremely powerful... and most of the cards you'd be hoping to put into your hand off of this one are also restricted by this list. In the eternal battle of banning enabler vs. payoff, I have historically been on the side of enabler, but this enabler is perhaps restrictive enough on its own.
Bolas's Citadel
For: Bolas's Citadel is something like a Ad Nauseum on steroids, letting you exchange your life for greatness, but in this case you get to exchange your life for CASTING the card involved. Citadel can get clogged up on the likes of lands, but the things you need to play to help solve that problem are not held up by the Game Changer list at all, Sensei's Divining Top being chief among them (a card I probably would add). Add in being able to get it into play easily via several graveyard strategies and Citadel is an easy inclusion.
Against: Citadel is expensive, easy to disrupt, and often stumbles against the top of its deck. While you can get around that problem, it's still by no means a certain aspect... who am I kidding. I can't make a meaningful argument here. Maybe we can just hope Naturalize is good enough.
Demonic Tutor
For: The tutor in the game as far as I'm concerned; I won't repeat my stance on tutors for the third time in this article, but get 'em outta here. Getting any card out of your deck for the low, low price of two mana - especially since it goes directly to your hand - is way, way too good.
Against: How good any tutor is depends on how good of a card its getting: in this new Game Changer environment, we're heavily limited on options available to us. Sure, Demonic Tutor could get me an Underworld Breach... or it could get me something cool and synergistic. Who cares? It's making my deck work well for me! That's not your problem.
Imperial Seal
For: See all For arguments for all previous one-mana value tutors, but it's unconditional as to what it gets. Come ONNNNNNN.
Against: Of all of the tutors that have made their way onto the Game Changer list, Imperial Seal is perhaps the most fair. It's just Vampiric Tutor, which we'll talk about momentarily, but objectively worse thanks to its sorcery typing. Losing two life is no meaningful downside in this format, but tutoring something to the top of your deck and then having to figure out how to get it without the help of your draw step is some kind of mitigating downside at least. Take it off the list!!! ... ha.
Opposition Agent
For: A most miserable card among men. Looking at people's mana, trying to see if they have two a black open before cracking your fetch or casting a Cultivate is not fun. Opposition agent is just like its cousin, the banned Hullbreaker. It slows games down to an absolute crawl on average and usually only matters when someone forgets that it's in play and is blown out by it. The pointage is enough in my book to keep it out of my dang games. I don't even care about the power level, just stay away from me.
Against: Searching the library is something to be actively discouraged in our format; even if people are trying to go and cheat lands into play, we're here for a good, fair time. Opposition Agent has a "gotcha" element which can be frustrating but otherwise is just a fair creature that is easily removed, helping everyone play fair along the way. It may impact the board in that it turns off all the tutors, but that's a fine impact to have on the game in the grand scheme of things.
Tergrid, God of Fright
For: Literally the poster child for commanders that people don't want to play against. Fine by me to simply litigate it out of lower power pods.
Against: Error 404: Not Found
Vampiric Tutor
For: Unfortunately, I have to keep making the same arguments over and over because these are basically the same card. Maybe I should have batched them. Tutor bad. Vampiric Tutor best one-mana tutor because it's any card and two life is a non-meaningful downside. Go next.
Against: Again man, there's just nothing to say. This concept is falling apart on the tutors because tutoring for cards STIIIIIIIINKS. At least this one isn't direct to hand!
Three Down, Four to Go!
So far, this has been a fascinating exercise. Trying to stretch my brain to think about the pros and cons of every card on the list and what they represent has been a great time, and it also gives me a look into the minds of the Commander Format Panel. I do especially love the inclusion of legendary creatures on the list, creating a soft banned-as-Commander aspect, but I'll delve into that more in the Multicolor section in the next article. I would love to hear your thoughts about each card and also about my own thoughts! Thanks so much for reading!
