March 2020 AMA

[folding_music]

what's the coolest Commander variant you've heard of? How much do you indulge that sort of thing? thanks

[EvolvingWild]

Do you think the banlist philosophy appropriately serves LGS needs for Commander play?

Flash and Thassa's Oracle have ruined my Commander night at LGS, which was once a healthy meta of mixed competitiveness.

[blairwitchgreen]

Magic is such a deep game that it constantly surprises even old dogs like us! What is a card interaction you've discovered or witnessed recently that surprised and delighted you?

[Proteus]

Do you ever worry that WotC is using certain things (brawl, internet polls, etc) to try and get more direct control over the Commander format by swaying popular opinion or using products to raise questions about why EDH is the way it is?

[CTNC]

Is there any commander do you wish you could make a deck with but just doesn't work when you try?

What "bad" cards do you love because they work with one commander really well? (Like Nomad Stadium for Darien, King of Kjeldor or Shelter for Feather, the Redeemed)

If you didn't care about if stuff was broken and just wanted to win, what would you ban or unban to make your decks better? To add more chaos to this hypothetical world where you're the rule's evil overloard, let's include silver boarder cards as possible unbans.

If you could cast, have, or summon any Instant/Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact, or Creature in real life, what would you chose for each?

Is there any question you've wanted to be asked in the AMAs that no one ever does?

[EvtheMage]

So I have two questions one pertaining to your career writing mtg articles and 1 pertaining to the upcoming Unsets coming out.

First how did you first feel starting out writing articles? Were you nervous people wouldn't like them and when did you get to the point people started to acknowledge you as a content creator?

Next is seeing how a new unset is about to come out has the RC considered adding certain Silver border cards to the format? (For example X, Cyborg Angel, gruiselda)

[CurefortheCommonGame]

Hello Sheldon,
As you know I'm on a quest to build a commander deck using every legal legendary creature ever made, currently I'm sitting at 550 decks.
It's my belief that you (the entire R.C.) are doing wonderfully with this format, of late there has been a lot of talk about banning. So far I agree with every one made, but the calling of a Sol Ring ban frightens me. Is this a possibility at all.
Granted, all my decks don't have a copy, but I'd say a couple hundred do, just wondering about the future of this card.

[Hermes_]

I noticed you recently celebrated an anniversary, what do you feel is the one thing that has kept your marriage going for so long?

[schweinefett]

So the amount of cards being released for EDH has been really skyrocketing recently (as in commander, brawl decks, even stuff like mystery booster, modern horizons, so on). Any opinions on whether or not it is not enough still, a good amount, or too much?

Keep the good work up, and hope things are going well for ya.

[ghitu_spellbomb]

Do you believe that rule 0 can effectively apply to games of commander among strangers? I have been trying to branch out of my regular playgroup into my LGS and have found that games always default to the banlist/rules as written because players can't come to a consensus. Do you see this as a concern? Is there any advice you have for players who are playing commander without a playgroup?

[GreenKnight08]

Hi Sheldon,

Are you or the rules committee willing to reconsider your stance on banning Flash? The ability for FlashHulk to win on turn zero exists in cEHD (Gemstone Caverns + Elvish Spirit Guide/Simian Spirit Guide + Flash can all be played before anyone has a chance to play a single turn, the meta should not come down to Force or Will in the opening hand or lose the game; this combo has warped the meta). While I realize you call cEDH the minority, we are still a part of the EDH community and with you being the most vocal/visible member of the RC I implore you to reconsider your stance on Flash, please. We do not want a fractured community with house rules to ban it (yes rule zero exists, we are competitive and the rules allow for all unbanned cards to be played, so they are), the RC unbanned Protean Hulk out of the blue, it's a fun card we understand. Flash is not a fun card, please take action.

Thank you for supporting the game we all love,

Zach

[legendarycardboard]

When you consider all of the edh content that exists out there these days, can you think of any glaring holes in the creatorsphere? Maybe a topic you think isn't talked about enough, or a funny segment you've thought of but don't want to do yourself.

Thanks Sheldon!

[Segrus]

What do you normally use to carry cards to and fro? You travel a lot too, presumably by plane, so what measures do you take to protect your cards through airports?

[3drinks]

What is the justifications used that explains why Griselbrand is too strong while Razaketh, the Foulblooded is fair game given finding the exact card you need for two life is superior when compared to a random seven off the top?

You've stated before that Library of Alexandria is banned due to perceived barrier to entry (which is fine, I suppose, though library is hardly power past t3, but I digress), why then is Timetwister legal (please don't tell me it's because twister is colour locked, we all know U is by far the most popular colour) given it's price is ~3× that of library? If you're banning on cost to enter, it would seem to me that Twister has to go, or library could stay. Similar reactions to, say, Mishra's Workshop and The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale. Personally, I don't think cost should ever be a factour in this discussion but if it must, consistency would be welcoming to see.

If on the other hand, Library of Alexandria is really banned because of it's strength in the opening game (a fair point, but this IS a Vintage format after all, where mana is king, not card advantage), why then do we still have the Serra Ascendant debacle?

Thanks for all your hard work. I hope my questions are challenging in a philosophical bend, and don't come off combatitive. All the best!

[braden]

Have you read Moneyball? It's my favorite book about baseball.

[BounceBurnBuff]

Greetings Sheldon!

After looking a bit more into what some others have asked you about "power creep" in the commanders being printed, I noticed a pattern I would like to hear your thoughts on if you don't mind?

We've moved from combat-based conditions such as Narset/Kaalia/Brago/Derevi into static abilities that require nothing outside of your spell or ability resolving to accumulate value. Commanders like Korvold, Yarok and Muldrotha very much seem to be the new norm when it comes to power and payoff, even surpassing what can even be seen as the link between these designs in experience counter commanders (who had static effects that required work to achieve). Obviously I've picked 3 of the more popular and recent examples, but others would include the likes of Chulane, Tatyova, Teysa Karlov and K'rrik.

Given that you cannot divulge anything about your time spent with Wizards last year, I won't ask about any specifics, but do you see this as a design trend that going forward could risk homogenising the format and rendering combat increasingly less relevant?

Thanks for your time.

[tarotplz]

I have two questions.

The first one is regarding the argument I often see people make about how if Flash were to be banned, it would inevitabley unleash a chain of other cEDH bans as "there is always a best deck". Usually people who say this will point to Demonic Consultation & Tainted Pact as the ones taking over. However, given the numbers form the cEDH Metagame Project (which analyzes cEDH matchup data & winrates) pure Consultation decks (without Flash & Hulk) can only put up a 23,4% win rate in the current meta. Mind you Consult is considered to be a good strategy vs Flash. After a Flash ban things like stax & other techs against Consult would return to the meta and this number would likely drop even lower.
Considering this number, do you think Consultation decks would take over in a post-Flash meta? If so, why?

My second question is about the philosophy of the ban list. When discussing the banlist with other people they often tell me that the RC can't possibly ban based on powerlevel, because they ban solely based around cards that create unfun play patterns in casual games.
My question here is why those two would be considered to be mutually exclusive?
The number of cards that would have to be banned for a balanced cEDH is miniscule, definitely significantly smaller than what is currently on the banlist. The vast majority of these cards are considered to be unfun by casuals anyways.
Wouldn't banning those cards and then in addition banning all the cards that need to go because they are solely unfun in casual but not too powerful result in a banlist that makes both sides happy?
One of the answers I'd anticipate here is that the RC doesn't want to/doesn't feel capable of taking competitive balance into its own hands. In that case, why not create a sub-committee in the CAG consisting of big cEDH names that could weigh in on problems regarding balance?

[Shabbaman]

Would your new computer be better or worse if it had more led lights?

[Eyecut]

Any book recommendations? Ie nonfiction or fiction?

[Toffmcsoft]

When will Flash be banned? The cEDH community has been asking for this ban and it's pretty much an outcry yet the RC hasn't done anything about it. Honestly PE should be unbanned and flash should be banned.

Why did the RC ban PE? PE was a great card and required major setup to get going. Not to mention a 5 drop...

Does the RC take cEDH into consideration?

[Inkeyes22]

Of course, start it of with I hope things are going well, I know from social media things have been generally positive so hope that continues!

How frequently are you at Johnnie Bs these days? I keep meaning to drive down again but forget to ask if you will be there before I commit to the drive.

It has been about a 2 year turn around from when you start working on something until it gets printed in Magic iirc, but I think you mentioned while you were in Seattle you worked on several projects, so when is the closest thing you worked on that we will see?

How much pressure have you been putting on WotC for Avacyn's 4th sister (b/w)?

If you could design a Secret Lair: EDH what 3-5 cards would you put in it?

[AliceShiki]

I'd like to first start by asking you to please try answering only (or mainly) the relevant questions that people make.

Like... Since you don't answer all AMA questions, at least try answering all commander-related ones instead of some pointless stuff like "what's your favorite movie?"

As for my question... Why isn't flash banned yet!? >.<

[rujasu]

Hey Sheldon, what's your favorite movie?

[darrenhabib]

Do you think that its important for Wizards of the Coast to have an experienced team of players and deck builders at the highest level of Magic behind the banned list for formats like Vintage, Legacy, Modern, Standard, Pioneer, Historic?
If yes why?
If no why?

Do you consider yourself an experienced player and deck builder at the highest level of commander?

[Segrus]

Hey Sheldon, what's your favorite movie?

Yeah, Sheldon, this is a good question. I thought I remembered it being the Godfather for some reason, but I could be imagine things.