Got my Game of Thrones death squares (randomly assigned from 25 x 25 grid). Got a few nice picks (top 2), a decent sleeper (Theon kills Euron) and guaranteed payout if Night King and The Mountain battle 1v1:
Jaime kills Cersei
Jon Snow kills Jaime
Arya kills Bronn
Arya kills the Mountain
Brienne kills Bronn
Brienne kills Sam
Dany kills Podrick Payne
Davos kills Podrick
Euron kills Sam
Euron kills Sansa
Grey Worm kills Dany
Jorah kills Davos
Jorah kills Tormund
Melisandre kills Euron
Qyburn kills Jon Snow
Sam kills Theon
The Mountain kills The Night King
The Night King kills The Mountain
Theon kills Euron Greyjoy
Tormund kills Grey Worm
Maybe it's time that you realize that you and sheldon have very different out looks on commander?
1. Yes, it's okay for folks to have different outlooks on the format. There's plenty of room for all of us.
2. It seems right to sometimes look at cards that not everyone has thought of. Sure, there are obvious things, but part of the job of those of us who write about the format is to travel the road not taken.
3. Even without a full list, generating excitement over new cards is good for all of us. The month or so leading up to a new set is still my favorite time, even after all these years.
Question for those who voted yes in this poll: did you consider the second order effect that if all PWs were allowed as Commanders, knowing we'd ban some (which I'm pretty sure you figured out), you then wouldn't have the banned ones available as 1 of 99? If you thought of it, how did it factor into your decision?
I vaguely remember us dangling our toes in the water about Painter's Servant for a bit, not that it was definitely coming off, but we wanted to at least discuss it. Then Ugin came out and vomited all over that idea.
I'm not clear on how Mana Maze and Mother of Runes interact. As you point out, Mana Maze is a thing with Painter's Servant, but Mother of Runes only affects creatures, not spells.
The main baggage sideboards carry for me, at least personally, is that they are inseparable from competitive Magic, and that's not a weight we care to load Commander with. The association is enough to want to keep the streams from crossing.
Hrm...I'm pretty sure at least I (maybe not the rest of the RC) said that I knew Worldfire would be going at the first opportunity. It was a long time ago now and I don't specifically remember saying it, but I do recall the feeling that it's a poster child for interacting poorly with the format.
Thanks. As always, constructive feedback is encouraged.
Outside of maybe one person I can think of, was the concern of using their position for financial gain (or just the perception of it) in your minds with any of the potential CAG nominees? Obviously we don't need to mention names, but was that portion added more of a CYA rather than a necessity? A lot of the charter seems like it was things that "should go without saying but we're saying them anyways".
It was written into the draft before there were ever members selected, so the answer is definitely no. As I mention in the article, the integrity of the RC and everyone associated with us is extremely important, and we say some of the things that should go without saying not for the people on the CAG, but for the community. We also have to remember that you write philosophy documents for groups with the philosophy in mind, not for the people who will first serve in the group.
The main problem with Painter's Servant to me is that it can accidentally break games based not on the cards the person puts with PS in their deck, who may be interested in cool and fair interactions, but with the cards the other people play.
That was certainly our strong initial impression, and I'd like to think we collectively know a thing or two about Magic. Reasonably-experienced people can look at the card and realize how busted it is in the format. We were pretty sure it would go, then waited for the confirmation of seeing it live.
In a word, dumb. While there was no need to emergency ban him, it was clear from the get-go that he was getting axed at first opportunity.
This kind of explanation makes me wince a little. You make it sound like you had already made up your mind without giving him a chance to see how he is played. I don't contend how stupid strong he is and probably should have been banned ASAP (I say probably because I dont honestly remember if I ever saw a game with him before getting axed), but when almost every card on the list gets into heated debates based on actual experience, this feels like an odd exception. I would much rather the official explanation be that you anticipated how broken it would be and had discussed it as something to keep a watch on, and sure enough the feed back you got was instantaneously negative.
"From the get-go" means watching it in action over a few weeks at the LGS.
Meanwhile, Thieves Auction is a goofy fun time card, not a viable card for making the color better, and Sheldon's argument is that it only promises goofy fun time and delivers the magic equivalent of filing your taxes.
Jaime kills Cersei
Jon Snow kills Jaime
Arya kills Bronn
Arya kills the Mountain
Brienne kills Bronn
Brienne kills Sam
Dany kills Podrick Payne
Davos kills Podrick
Euron kills Sam
Euron kills Sansa
Grey Worm kills Dany
Jorah kills Davos
Jorah kills Tormund
Melisandre kills Euron
Qyburn kills Jon Snow
Sam kills Theon
The Mountain kills The Night King
The Night King kills The Mountain
Theon kills Euron Greyjoy
Tormund kills Grey Worm
1. Yes, it's okay for folks to have different outlooks on the format. There's plenty of room for all of us.
2. It seems right to sometimes look at cards that not everyone has thought of. Sure, there are obvious things, but part of the job of those of us who write about the format is to travel the road not taken.
3. Even without a full list, generating excitement over new cards is good for all of us. The month or so leading up to a new set is still my favorite time, even after all these years.
It was written into the draft before there were ever members selected, so the answer is definitely no. As I mention in the article, the integrity of the RC and everyone associated with us is extremely important, and we say some of the things that should go without saying not for the people on the CAG, but for the community. We also have to remember that you write philosophy documents for groups with the philosophy in mind, not for the people who will first serve in the group.
"From the get-go" means watching it in action over a few weeks at the LGS.
I think the only other options you have are Lightmine Field and Powerstone Minefield, but they obviously need attacks. So you just include Avatar of Slaughter.
Nicely and succinctly put.