Earlier this week, Wizards of the Coast made a deeply unpopular decision. In the wake of templating changes for the main phases of each turn, it was announced that several older cards that dealt with the ‘Postcombat Main Phase’ would no longer work as they did before. Most notable among the cards affected by this rule change was Neheb, the Eternal, a fan-favorite MTG Commander.
Now, it seems, WotC has seen the error of its ways. While the templating changes are still going ahead, special exemptions are being made for the cards affected. Neheb fans, and fans of multi-combat shenanigans in general, can breathe a sigh of relief.
The MTG Neheb Rule Change Reversion
This reversion was announced by WotC’s Principal Magic Editor Matt Tabak on Twitter. Tabak has been the primary source for the entire MTG Neheb rule change drama, in fact. In lieu of an official article explaining the changes, his Tweets have kept the community up to date as things have developed.
In case you’re out of the loop, this began back on Monday, when Tabak referenced the templating changes coming with Bloomburrow. See Muerra, Trash Technician and Fireglass Mentor for examples of these. His original Tweet was a PSA reassuring players that Chancellor of the Tangle wouldn’t become a once-a-turn mana machine once the change hit. Later on in the thread, however, the issues began. Tabak confirmed that cards referring to the Postcombat main phase, such as Neheb, would only trigger their abilities in the first Postcombat main phase of a turn, now called the second main phase.
This change totally crushed the viability of Neheb as a Commander, and players were not happy. For an entire deck to become obsolete for the sake of such a minor change left a bad taste in the community’s mouth. Many complained, especially those who had invested a lot into a Neheb deck. As a result of this outcry, Tabak made another Tweet yesterday, addressing the issue.
He noted that, instead of being functionally changed, Neheb and the other cards that reference the Postcombat main phase will continue to do so. With minor wording errata so that they work as intended with the new templating. Those devastating Neheb/Aggravated Assault infinite combos will still be an option for your Commander pods, after all.
A Victory For The People?
For many involved, this announcement was a huge positive. It was an example of WotC listening to the community, and being willing to change course for their benefit. The comments on Tabak’s reversion announcement were largely filled with praise, from those who play Neheb and those who don’t.
The response wasn’t wholly positive, however. Many viewed the reversion as another example of the unequal way in which different MTG formats are treated, and how Commander is often prioritized above everything else. This is evident in the way sets are designed these days, but also, according to some, in decisions like this.
“Imagine if ‘every Modern player on earth’ had as much power to influence WotC’s decisions as ‘three Neheb EDH players.'” Jibed Ari Zax, in a quote-tweet of Tabak’s post. A reference to WotC’s recent inaction with regards to banning Nadu, Winged Wisdom from Modern. They weren’t alone in this thought, either. Many competitive players bemoaned the fact that constant community complaints hadn’t resulted in bans for competitive formats, but had caused a reversion on a rule change primarily affecting Commander.
Is there any substance to these complaints? I’d say not really. The timing is certainly unfortunate. On the surface, it looks like WotC responding to one section of the community and not the other. But the fact is that minor errata and bans are two totally different things. It’s much easier to slightly tweak the wording on some old cards than it is to fully ban a card.
Whatever your stance on the Nadu situation, I think most will agree that the Neheb reversion is a good thing. In this case, the upsides far, far outweigh the downsides.
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