Earlier this week, Wizards of the Coast announced new card changes coming to the Historic format. Following the dominance of Boros Energy decks, three cards were rebalanced with nerfs to stabilize the metagame. Considering the dominance of this archetype, there was little question that these changes needed to happen. Despite this, many MTG players are still upset.
Complaints following rebalances are nothing new at this point, especially since they don’t provide any form of compensation. This time, however, players are players are upset for a different reason. Aggrieved with the mere concept of rebalances in general, many MTG players are asking for a brand-new format. Specifically, MTG Arena players are hoping for a new Timeless Brawl Queue.
Timeless Appeal
Following the recent nerfs, Tibecti took to Reddit to simply state “Brawl should not be affected by Historic nerfs. We need Brawl Timeless.” This simple declaration in meme format was quick to pick up steam since this has long been an issue. Regardless of what format they’re designed to target, rebalances can have far-reaching and potentially format-warping impacts.
In Brawl, there’s no doubt that Energy decks are now worse off following the recent rebalancing. Even Cat-Typal decks running Ocelot Pride are feeling the hurt as this value engine suffered a huge nerf. Admittedly the trio of recent changes won’t completely ruin any Brawl decks, but they’re nonetheless disappointing.
Unsurprisingly, this disappointment had many players quickly agreeing with Tibecti’s post. Elhomerjas, for instance, commented, “Same here brawl should follow what timeless did with Historic.” PyreDynasty echoed this sentiment while also wishing for previously nerfed cards to return to normal. “I totally agree. Give me my Meathook and Bowmasters back.”
Expanding upon this point, MTG3K_on_Arena boldly stated “There’s absolutely no reason for Brawl to be pegged to Historic this way. What issues did any of these cards cause in Brawl?” Following the release of Timeless, this belief has, somewhat understandably, become more common.
Previously Historic used to be the only eternal-ish option, but now Timeless has taken up that mantle. Now that Brawl has ditched the Historic name once attached to it, there’s seemingly little reason for that connection to remain. That being said, while Wizards could fairly easily refocus the Brawl format, doing so may be a mistake.
Beneficial Balancing
As much as many MTG players have been complaining, there are benefits to cards being balanced in Brawl. Winota, Joiner of Forces, for instance, was an absolute menace in Brawl prior to their much-needed nerf. Technically, they could have been put into hell queue where they belong, however, even there they’re still a problem.
Admittedly, as problematic as they are, rebalancing every overpowered Commander is a very slippery slope. Many players want powerful decks using all the best cards, and rebalancing everything would limit that important self-expression Brawl facilitates. Even if things could be more balanced, doing that wouldn’t necessarily make the format more fun.
While nerfs may be detrimental to the fun of some decks, Wizards doesn’t exclusively nerf cards. Over the years, Wizards has given lackluster archetypes some important buffs that have bolstered their appeal in Brawl. Most recently, Domain and Powerstones both got sizable upgrades back in January of this year.
Through well-placed buffs, Wizards can ideally resurrect underserved archetypes without creating brand-new cards. Ideally, this provides more freedom of expression and more interesting games than the matchmaking system facilitates. The only trouble is that these buffs don’t happen nearly often enough since Arena’s development resources are stretched thin.
On top of buffs benefiting Brawl, the Alchemy-exclusive cards have a similar effect. As much as players may complain about Mythweaver Poq or Grenzo, Crooked Jailer, these cards nonetheless facilitate new interesting archetypes. So long as they’re properly ranked within the matchmaking system, there’s little reason these cards shouldn’t exist.
Separate Solutions
In an ideal world, Alchemy, Brawl, and Historic would all have their own individual rebalances that don’t affect one another. This would allow Wizards to apply appropriate rebalances where needed without causing unnecessary problems. Sadly, this solution would be a massive spike in complexity, as cards could have four subtly different variants.
Considering the complaints players have about remembering rebalanced cards already, amplifying this problem simply isn’t feasible. Sadly, there isn’t another perfect solution that keeps everyone happy. Doing that, however, may be an impossible task. Since the format’s inception, complaints about the existence of Alchemy haven’t stopped and they won’t anytime soon.
Ultimately, while rebalances are likely a net positive for Brawl, the future of the format is nebulous. In 2025, multiplayer is planned to arrive on MTG Arena, which will change the game entirely. Once this happens, Wizards may lean into creating Commander on MTG Arena which may mimic Timeless Brawl.
All this said it’s worth remembering that this post on Reddit is exactly that and nothing more. While the post’s commenters may know what they want, they hardly speak for every Arena player. After all, MTG Arena has a huge amount of casual players who aren’t kicking up a fuss right now. For better or worse, this likely means we won’t be getting Timeless Brawl on MTG Arena anytime soon.
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