We wrote a while ago about we think that Brawl should let us use 100 cards in MTG Arena because we just want to feel alive. During that piece, we briefly touched on the idea of Historic Commander, basically as a way to get what we want there.
Well, having thought on it for a few weeks now, we’ve decided that we actually just want formats within Commander to match the other eternal formats, because, frankly, we think it would be a lot of fun. It might sound a little bit odd, but stick with us and we think you’ll see things our way.
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We want Commander sub-formats
Now, it’s important to note that we’re fine with Brawl being Brawl; you can keep that; we don’t to try and build a 100 card deck from the Standard pool of cards anyway; it wouldn’t be that much fun. It’s also important to note that we like Commander as it is, and this isn’t us wanting it to change; it’s just that we want more options that fit within the format.
So, what we’re after here, basically, is Pioneer Commander, Modern Commander, Legacy Commander, and Vintage Commander. Each of these would share a ban list with the corresponding format, and each of them would allow the same cards, but with normal Commander rules.
It might seem like overkill, and it might seem like complete nonsense to you, but we’ve got our reasons for thinking this is a good idea, and each one of these will appeal to a different group of people, so we’re confident you’ll leave this article agreeing with us.
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Why should this come in?
The first reason is pretty simple. It would help manage power levels quite a bit. We’ve all gone to sit down in a Commander match, only to find out that our version of a 7 power deck is not the same as the rest of the table, and suddenly everyone hates you, you’re ostracised from your community, and you’re selling deckbuilding tips to strangers just to feel warm inside again.
The second reason is that it might help new players into Commander in general. A lot of us are more than happy to stare into the unending abyss that is the Commander selection of cards and then come back out wiser, stronger, and more attractive, but some people find it all a bit overwhelming. Being able to ease yourself into the format by going up the ladder, or even just using the format you’re most familiar with, could help a lot of people out.
Finally, restrictions breed creativity, and Commander players thrive when there are weird rules to follow; just look at how much fun building a Colorless deck can be, or how sticking to one theme in a deck helps you evolve your own deckbuilding. Adding in even more restrictions will make you a better deckbuilder, and it’s fun to have those kinds of challenges when things get a little stale with your normal Commander group.
The best part about all of this is that you could simply ignore the format if you want that classic Commander experience because we’re not suggesting that ever gets taken away. See, we basically thought of everyone when putting this together.
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