{"id":271,"date":"2019-12-27T05:07:24","date_gmt":"2019-12-27T05:07:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.mtgcommander.net\/?page_id=271"},"modified":"2019-12-27T05:07:50","modified_gmt":"2019-12-27T05:07:50","slug":"the-philosophy-of-commander","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/staging.mtgcommander.net\/index.php\/the-philosophy-of-commander\/","title":{"rendered":"The Philosophy of Commander"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Commander is for fun<\/strong>. It\u2019s a socially interactive, multiplayer Magic: the Gathering format full of wild interactions and epic plays, specifically designed as an alternative to tournament Magic. As is fitting for a format in which you choose an avatar to lead your forces into battle, Commander focuses on a resonant experience<\/strong>. Each game is a journey the players share, relying on a social contract<\/strong> in which each player is considerate of the experiences of everyone involved–this promotes player interaction, inter-game variance, a variety of play styles, and a positive communal atmosphere. At the end of an ideal Commander game, someone will have won, but all participants will have had the opportunity to express themselves through their deck building and game play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rules of Commander are designed to maximize these experiences within a game of Magic. The addition of a commander, larger life total, and deck building restrictions emphasize the format\u2019s flavor<\/strong>; they increase deck variance and add more opportunities for participation and expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal of the ban list is similar; it does not seek to regulate competitive play<\/strong> or power level, which are decisions best left to individual play groups. The ban list seeks to demonstrate which cards threaten the positive player experience at the core of the format or prevent players from reasonable self-expression. The primary focus of the list is on cards which are problematic because of their extreme consistency, ubiquity, and\/or ability to restrict others\u2019 opportunities<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No single rule can establish criteria for a ban; there are many mitigating or exacerbating factors. Some cards will represent an extreme on a single axis; others are a confluence of multiple smaller issues. The following list isn\u2019t exhaustive, nor is it a checklist, but it represents ways in which cards challenge the positive experiences players look for in commander games. It includes cards which easily or excessively<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Cause severe resource imbalances
\u2022 Allow players to win out of nowhere
\u2022 Prevent players from contributing to the game in a meaningful way.
\u2022 Cause other players to feel they must play certain cards, even though they are also problematic.
\u2022 Are very difficult for other players to interact with, especially if doing so requires dedicated, narrow responses when deck-building.
\u2022 Interact poorly with the multiplayer nature of the format or the specific rules of Commander.
\u2022 Lead to repetitive game play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cards which are banned likely meet a few of these criteria in a significant way; not all cards which meet some of the criteria need to banned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We prefer to be conservative<\/strong> with what goes on or comes off the ban list. Commander players often become emotionally attached to their decks through play and personalization, and we value that experience highly. We only want to disrupt that bond when necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commander is designed to be a malleable format. We encourage groups to use the rules and the ban list as a baseline <\/strong>to optimize their own experience. This is not license for an individual to force their vision onto a play group, but encouragement for players to discuss their goals<\/strong> and how the rules might be adjusted to suit those goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The format can be broken; we believe games are more fun if you don\u2019t<\/strong>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Commander is for fun. It\u2019s a socially interactive, multiplayer Magic: the Gathering format full of wild interactions and epic plays, specifically designed as an alternative to tournament Magic. As is fitting for a format in which you choose an avatar to lead your forces into battle, Commander focuses on a resonant experience. Each game is a … Continue reading The Philosophy of Commander<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.mtgcommander.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/271"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.mtgcommander.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.mtgcommander.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.mtgcommander.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.mtgcommander.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/staging.mtgcommander.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/271\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":273,"href":"https:\/\/staging.mtgcommander.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/271\/revisions\/273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.mtgcommander.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}