MTG boss MaRo hits back at claims new TCG releases are ‘designed around Commander’

Magic: The Gathering lead designer Mark Rosewater has today dismissed claims newer releases for the ever-popular card game are too heavily focused on catering for Commander.

Rosewater responded to a March 16 question on his Tumblr blog asking whether he or the MTG team felt the community’s concern new MTG sets and releases focused too heavily on the popular Commander format—at the expense of other formats—was warranted. Rosewater immediately moved to dispel the sentiment, saying his team focuses on more formats and pointed to the revival of Standard, before admitting Standard has even got extra attention.

“Standard play is significantly up and the feedback we’re getting from tournament players is they’re enjoying the current environment,” Rosewater said. While he didn’t outright deny his team spent time developing for the format, it’s hard to say he’s wrong. A big proponent of the return of Standard is likely due to how Wizards of the Coast changed its approach to set rotations.

Some Magic players have remained devoted to Commander and are unconvinced the recent changes to set rotation have left a lasting effect, but at the same time, we haven’t actually undergone the first rotation yet, and being able to play with cards a lot longer in Standard is part of why it is making a return to the tabletop.

Despite Standard’s resurgence and the ever-popular MTG Limited formats like Draft, Commander is by far and away the most-played format on paper and recent product releases certainly seem to reflect this, with every set—both in Standard rotation and those outside it like the Fallout collection—shipping out with several different Commander pre-cons.

But, with the continued development and high popularity of MTG’s digital versions like Arena and Online, which for the most part feature a heavier Standard player base, ensuring balance between the formats has never been more crucial.

We’re not expecting WotC to ever just give up on Commander and are eager to see what’s in store for the next releases this year, but many are waiting to see how MTG changes in September when we witness the first Standard rotation in well over a year.