JUNE 2023 QUARTERLY UPDATE

[Hermes_]

TL,DR no changes

JUNE 2023 QUARTERLY UPDATE
2023-06-19 JIM LAPAGE
Cards
No changes

Rules
The ring tempts you – This is a mechanic that – on the surface – looks a lot like venturing into the dungeon. In the past we've had to make changes to Rule 10 (Cards from outside the game) to accommodate these mechanics. Unlike Dungeons, though, this mechanic is tracked on an emblem! The rules today already accommodate emblems, so no changes are necessary for this to function as it does in other formats.

General Commentary
We've been following the community's discussions and concerns surrounding Orcish Bowmasters, and – to a lesser extent – Mirkwood Bats. With the help of the Commander Advisory Group, we'll be observing how and if those discussions change over time as people play and play against these cards.

We've also seen a ton of excitement! The idea of a fully fleshed-out set with deep lore really closely aligns with our goals in managing the format. In this set, Wizards has delivered a ton of tools to players who want to tell stories through their deckbuilding and gameplay. A property as deep as Lord of the Rings has a ton of stories to tell.

We'll be back with our next update on August 28 in advance of Wilds of Eldraine!

[DirkGently]

Are people seriously concerned about mirkwood bats or orcish bowmasters as banworthy? I have a really hard time seeing it.

[Mookie]

Mirkwood Bats? Unlikely - and if it is problematic, that will probably be more due to Dockside Extortionist than anything else.

Orcish Bowmasters gives Hullbreacher / Leovold, Emissary of Trest vibes, so it may be slightly annoying... but black doesn't have access to wheels (other than Dark Deal), and it's generally less punishing otherwise. I'm not surprised that people are discussing it being a potentially problematic card, but I would be surprised if it were to actually be banned.

[Treamayne]

I'm so glad the RC is happy with the pervasive "If it is not cEDH then it is casual by definition" mindset in the wild. Why don't the CAG content creators actually start discussing how far the Commander environment has strayed from, even the first paragraph, of the Philosophy document. Last I checked, I haven't seen a game in the wild resemble this at all in years now:

Commander is for fun. It's 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 journey the players share, relying on a social contract 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.

PS: I learned tonight that Mogis MLD anti-creature stax is casual because it is not cEDH. . .
Sorry, my sarcasm is dripping

[DirkGently]

Mirkwood Bats? Unlikely - and if it is problematic, that will probably be more due to Dockside Extortionist than anything else.

Orcish Bowmasters gives Hullbreacher / Leovold, Emissary of Trest vibes, so it may be slightly annoying... but black doesn't have access to wheels (other than Dark Deal), and it's generally less punishing otherwise. I'm not surprised that people are discussing it being a potentially problematic card, but I would be surprised if it were to actually be banned.

I mean as long as Narset, Parter of Veils is legal, I know which combo I'd be more unhappy about.

[TheGildedGoose]

I'm more concerned about Tom Bombadil honestly. We still don't know much about him.

[DirkGently]

I'm more concerned about Tom Bombadil honestly. We still don't know much about him.

Sounds dangerous to me. He literally has the word "bomb" in his name. Coincidence? I bet he'd want you to think so!

[TheGildedGoose]

I'm more concerned about Tom Bombadil honestly. We still don't know much about him.

Sounds dangerous to me. He literally has the word "bomb" in his name. Coincidence? I bet he'd want you to think so!

And Tom? Tom? In a world of Galadriels and Aragorns and ... Sams, there's just some dude in the woods with otherworldly power named Tom? Sounds like a Mary Sue author-insert to me.

[ISBPathfinder]

I don't know how anything from this set seriously gets on any radar before being played. Not to say nothing can be problematic I just don't see anything that sets off the holy %$#% ohhh god get the brown pants out kind of thing from this set.

Still disappointed to not see some other set ban additions but I continue to accept that the RC doesn't focus on the type of gameplay to which I am subjected to on the regular.

[duducrash]

Mirkwood bats????????? Im convinced this was intended to generate conversation and make people stop complaining about other stuff.

There are some weird bans but mostly in the past. These write ups make me think the RC as a whole does not go ti a random LGS and play in non inbred meta

[RedCheese]

The Bats is the only card intended to get so thats funny

[Hawk]

Baffling stuff...

Orcish Bowmasters being on the radar when Narset, Parter of Veils is not is absurd, quite frankly. Bowmasters is clearly a strong hate card and a strong card with wheels, but I'm not sure how "sniping people for 7 and making an army" is banworthy when "mind-twisting the table on a much harder to remove permanent" is not. I get Flash and 2MV make a difference, but I can also tell you which of these cards I'd rather see across from me in a wheels deck especially since while Bowmasters can amass a 6/6 pretty fast, it is always ever just a 1/1 that dies to a stiff breeze.

Mirkwood Bats is even more nutty to me. Again, I get that the explosion of treasure meta has made cards like Disciple of the Vault and Reckless Fireweaver frustrating lethal and this is both rolled into one that hits all players instead of just one...but Bats is also 4MV, more than those two combined. And if you're worried about Bats exploding folks out of nowhere on 20+ treasures, maybe you should ban Dockside Extortionist (although I'll note I've never got more than 4 treasures from Docky) instead of a common 4MV limited staple.

Maybe this is just to say "we are hip to what the pearl-clutchers on Discord and Twitter are complaining about"??? But yeah, just totally ridiculous.

[Igzex]