WoTC forced to take over popular Magic: The Gathering competitive format after community tantrum over card bans involves 'credible threats of physical assault'

The Magic: The Gathering community's been in turmoil lately, but first, some much-needed context for the uninitiated among you: The Commander Rules committee is a volunteer group of MTG players who, in conjunction with Wizards of the Coast, preside over the Commander format of competitive play. It's one of the most popular rulesets and, crucially, happens to have a list of banned cards.

As somewhat of an outsider to the hobby, it's genuinely interesting to flick through that list and look at the reasons for said bans. They range from the obvious 'this thing's broken' justifications to lowering the barrier to entry. Take Time Walk, for example: "removing it from the card pool was intended to combat the notion that Commander is a prohibitively expensive and inaccessible format."

The controversial bans in question are the first in the format since 2021—and, notably, also some of the first major rules decisions made after Sheldon Menery, considered the godfather of the Commander Rules committee, died September 7 2023 from throat cancer.

The forbidden cards were Dockside, Jeweled Lotus, Mana Crypt, and Nadu, Winged Wisdom. Some players were, it seems, very unhappy with this news. An FAQ posted in the aftermath of the bans gives some insight into the complaints, based on what the committee was keen to address.

The main anger seems to be directed at the cards' perceived reduction in value—a dent in the wallet of people who try to make money off these things, yet expect to never eat a loss—as well as frustrations towards a lack of proper notice: "We used to have a watchlist," the FAQ states, "but it caused noticeable grief when things weren’t acted upon, slowed down our ability to react when we saw a problem, and shifted the losses to the less enfranchised players who were less aware. So we got rid of it."

As is often upsettingly the case with these sorts of things, a contingent of the community took it way too far. As stated on the Discord by community admin Logan/Seraph Six in an announcement:

"Over the last several days we have seen some of the most vitriolic and reprehensible behaviour from people coming into this community seeking to do harm. Never before have I seen such a disgraceful example of the worst kinds of humanity in the Commander community. Anyone participating in the instigation of this behaviour should be ashamed of what they have done."

The threats, according to Logan, included "credible threats of physical assault at conventions, dissemination of personal information, wishes for death, and blatant toxicity."

This statement coincided with a similar post by Jim Lapage, a member of the committee, on Twitter. Lapage writes: "Last week I reached out to Wizards of the Coast for help, and we collectively began work on transitioning all management responsibilities of the format. I'll be providing them with my roadmap, contacts, and documentation to ensure that the transition is smooth."

Lapage continues: "I am truly devastated. This is not the outcome I wanted, but it is the only option that provides both appropriate care and attention to the community, and the safety that the format's leaders deserve as human beings."

In other words, Wizards of the Coast is now handling the format instead of a group of passionate community experts, not because of corporate meddling, but because people who were upset over a trading card game couldn't resist threatening real human beings over their cardboard depreciating in value.

As someone who has received similar ire from the gaming public over writing words for this website, the whole thing boils my blood, but it completely doesn't surprise me—anonymity and bitterness is a toxic cocktail that makes certain people act terribly. It is, invariably, why we can't have nice things.

Logan puts it well: "While there are many employees at Wizards of the Coast that are wonderful, passionate people, some who I know and appreciate immensely, the company is ultimately a for-profit piece of a larger for-profit company."

"You will never again get the privilege of one-on-one communication with a decision maker of the format. There’s no doubt that the people who will be taking over managing Commander will be kept mostly anonymous for their own safety, given what just happened to the Rules Committee. This is all thanks to the most toxic and terrible kinds of people that should have no place among us."

Wizards of the Coast's statement puts out some clarifications as to how this thing's going to go from now on:

"While ownership of the format may be changing, members of the Rules Committee and others in the community will continue to be involved, and the vision for a social format will not change. We've had some preliminary conversations already about what we would like to accomplish and have some ideas we will be rolling out together in the months to come.

"For now, the safety and well-being of the Rules Committee is the priority. What has happened this past week is entirely unacceptable. By working together as a team, we can shoulder the responsibility of this format and everything that comes along with it."