I think that's a perfectly viable suggestion. I can't think of any wishes that I'd be sad to see outright banned in such a move. Baby Karn is probably the only one that is relevant, and I'm not even sure he'd actually need a ban (the biggest hate cards he can search up do what he already does by being in play). Same for the cards that grab Eldrazi from outside the game. And it does so elegantly.DirkGently wrote: ↑3 years agoI don't think wishes quite fall into this category because they're getting cards from outside the game, and generally exclusively for themselves. It can't increase your chances to put together X combo if the combo is in your deck. I guess it could fetch an alternative piece of the combo if it's a flexible combo, but then that piece could just be in the deck. I'm assuming you wouldn't consider a modal spell "adding more consistency to the format" (obviously it kind of does, but one that I think everyone accepts).
Tutors trade efficiency for flexible - with a limited selection of options from the wishboard, I'd say it limits the flexibility pretty significantly to where it's a reasonable tradeoff and not an easy inclusion, in the way dtutor is.
I think changes like this are really hard to test because it's almost totally dependent on how people are going into it. If you want to show that people won't use narrow hate cards, you just...don't. And vice versa.
That said, I think it's probably inevitable that, with 15 slots, none of which are competing for traditional sideboard space, you're going to end up putting in some narrow hate cards just because what else are you going to do? You've got a couple wincons, a couple value cards, some ramp, some removal...once you've covered your general-purpose bases so that the card is always at least decent, the best option to noticeably improve the value of your wish are narrow but high impact cards.
15 cards makes sense for 60-card formats because the goal is to put in enough cards to your deck to consistently effect the matchup (and those cards have to be divvied across the various popular archetypes), so it's sort of people's default assumption on wishboard size. But in a format like commander where you're designing the wishboard from the ground up with totally different goals, 15 is an ABSURD number imo. I think anyone who puts thought into it will probably come down somewhere between 3 and 8 being ideal.
I think the bigger reason for me is the presumable increase of these sorts of cards as time goes on. Lessons to me are a really good example of when the format SHOULD allow sideboards - they don't have any of the problems that traditional wishes bring to the table and most everyone agrees they look basically harmless - but we can't because we're tied to rule 13. If wishes really are a problem, I'd much much rather just ban every single wish so that new cool mechanics like lessons - and whatever the future may hold - can work as intended.He's also actually articulated what the format would gain, allowing wishes to operate as cool modal spells.
I still prefer your 3 wishes suggestion (potentially up to 5), as it has the benefit of making the wishes into cool modal spells that actually do something, and enables what they bring to the table without it getting out of control or falling into the problem of accessing 10 different narrow hate cards. Being able to have access to a narrow hate card that deals with a meta boogeyman as well as a broad answer and a threat is a perfectly reasonable and healthy thing for the format IMO. I also still favor using the CZ for things like lessons and companions in such a case, to allow for running more than the limited wishboard can fit and to allow running both wishes and lessons (really, a deck doing that isn't going to be oppressive). I know that right now lessons mostly suck and there's little reason to run very many, but that could change in the future if the mechanic is well received (I don't think it will be, but I'm hardly Carnac the Magnificent). It also allows for running multiple such mechanics, like lessons, and companion, and whatever the next such mechanic wizards poops out will be.
I checked the comprehensive rules and there's nothing that prevents the CZ from being a place where you can store cards like these, and there's nothing in print that can pull non commander spells from there. Allowing these mechanics to function from the CZ is as simple as the change the RC made to companions. From a design standpoint, it makes more sense than using sideboards, as the CZ exists in every game whether or not its being utilized. Lessons are designed in a way that you can rifle through your binder for them in a kitchen table casual game, so I cut them more slack, but companions have to meet specific deck requirements and be announced before the game starts, so there was no excuse there, using the CZ should have been obvious. The CZ is supposed to be a zone that cannot be interacted with, but game mechanics by their nature override basic rules, and they already print cards that interact with commanders in the CZ. I think this precedent, cards that can interact with the CZ but only for a very narrow subset of cards with a specific characteristic (a commander, lessons, etc) designed to be used in the CZ makes sense. From a flavor perspective its hilarious, as I can imagine a couple of partner commanders hanging out in the CZ to be cast along with 12 lessons (notes? textbooks? some dollar store not-Hogwarts professor writing on a chalkboard?), handful of emblems, and a giant kraken that insists he's someone's pet.