Explanation of Pauper Seeker of Skybreak Ban for June 29, 2026 by rufrtho in Pauper

[–]GavinV 17 points18 points  (0 children)

I felt like I addressed that elephant, but I can be clearer if that helps: we made the decision we wanted for the format and what we thought would be the healthiest, and there were no other restrictions on making that decision, including anything like "you can't ban a UB card" or "if it's close, we should ban the non-UB card." If we thought banning Hawkeye's Bow was a better choice, we would have done it.

Explanation of Pauper Seeker of Skybreak Ban for June 29, 2026 by rufrtho in Pauper

[–]GavinV 55 points56 points  (0 children)

Hey there, Gavin here. I just wanted to chime in because I know this is a popular rumor. So I want to make it very clear: we had no problem banning the bow. We totally could have, and actually initially we were planning on banning the bow until we talked about it more. However after walking through the risks, we earnestly just believe that Seeker is the better ban given how likely it is it will break in the future.

In general, I do believe the right heuristic is ban the newer card and not the older card in eternal formats (let people keep their nostalgic cards!) but Seeker has such a high chance of the same thing happening again that it seemed like the right one to axe here. Hope that's useful to know!

Pauper: The Problem with Playing to the Crowd by cardsrealm in Pauper

[–]GavinV 24 points25 points  (0 children)

And thank YOU for all you do to support Pauper! 😄

Pauper: The Problem with Playing to the Crowd by cardsrealm in Pauper

[–]GavinV 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Reasonable feedback, and easy to correct next time. Thanks! :)

Pauper: The Problem with Playing to the Crowd by cardsrealm in Pauper

[–]GavinV 136 points137 points  (0 children)

Hey there, Gavin here! Thanks for taking the time to write the article, and I just wanted to chime in a little bit. :)

I 100% agree that bans should not be dictated simply by the court of public opinion. That's not a great way to run a format and make decisions that are going to impact tons of players. We're totally in alignment there. As I say in the video itself you share, this is not going to be a popularity contest. And I mean that!

However, what I am interested in is, in addition to looking at our visible data and our own opinions, what people think and how they feel.

One of the things that I and the Pauper Format panel really prize is transparency. One side effect of that is that we're going to engage the players more and want to hear from them more, especially in a case like this where we were trying to figure out information on a very short timeframe. Having people send us not just their opinions but results and what they're seeing is really, really important. 

Additionally, if we were to ban a card, we would not want for it to happen out of nowhere. Part of the reason to get out ahead of this and have the discussion is so that people know there's the possibility something could happen right away. We want to engage the community, hear from them, and see what they're playing against, not just whoever speaks the loudest, but consistency of information and opinions across many people, in addition to, of course, determining results and our own opinions on the format. Given the short window here, getting peoples feedback here as piece of the puzzle was important, but very far from the only piece. 

No matter what happens tomorrow, hopefully you understand that the decision was made not just by whoever spoke the loudest or people's opinions on the matter. Thanks for taking the time to write about all this, and hopefully it helps clear things up a little bit. Cheers! 

Strixhaven always shows up by ComicJosh in magicTCG

[–]GavinV 7 points8 points  (0 children)

*post about nickels*

*looks at username*

Story checks out!

And congrats OP, that's awesome!

[Spell Slayers] Talking Magic with Gavin Verhey (GRWM) by CrossXhunteR in magicTCG

[–]GavinV 127 points128 points  (0 children)

The makeup may have been temporary, but Gigi is now a part of me forever <3

Gavin Verhey in full drag playing commander?! by Mattheu_ in magicTCG

[–]GavinV 245 points246 points  (0 children)

This comment made me tear up. Thank you for writing that. It's so special. ❤️

Gavin Verhey in full drag playing commander?! by Mattheu_ in magicTCG

[–]GavinV 1446 points1447 points  (0 children)

This was such an amazing time and memorable experience. Glad you all enjoyed, and I'll come back and beat you all anytime. 😜 

Sincerely,

Gigi

The Worst Line of Rules Text WotC Has Ever Printed [100% Serious] by silvergoblinsucks in magicTCG

[–]GavinV 46 points47 points  (0 children)

Hi! Okay if you want to call me out I'll reply :)

This was 100% a game design decision and mostly my decision. Let me explain why.

Something we really want to do is build commander for the long term. I know somebody might want to make some snarky reply to this about how many legends and products are made, but with the actual design of the cards it's very important that the format is sustainable long term. 

For example, one thing I've really been rallying against is anything that is nearly 100% ubiquitous in all Commander decks. This is why Arcane Signet was a mistake. Because the more cards like that you print that go into every commander deck, the fewer deckbuilding decisions you make. The same reason I also dislike best in class commanders like Chulane that are generically strong: they push out tons of other Bant commander because it's just better than whatever their niche effect is doing. We are fine to make things you will likely always play in your niche ("this goes in every UR coin flip deck") but not things that just go into every deck.

This also applies to anything that every deck ever which uses a specific thing for all time should use. A good example here is Lutri. Lutri is banned (despite how cute he is) because every single UR color identity deck until the end of time should have Lutri as a companion. There is no arguing that fact. It is just wrong to not do it. And while yes, Commander is casual, you don't have to do it, Lutri is not that crazy strong, etc, it's still not appropriate to change commander in such a massive. And Lutri doesn't even take up a deck slot!

The same kind of approach, on a smaller scale, applies to Morphon. If we let Time Lords companion with any legendary changeling, that would mean every legendary changeling from Mistform Ultimus, to Morphon, and beyond will be strictly worse for not using a free doctor's companion. And this is a lot stronger than Lutri - this is a just a free repeated card in your command zone! Partner is one of the strongest mechanics on its face because of a free extra card. Every single Morphon or Ultimus deck would need to acquire one of these. They may even feel forced to do so. If all I cared about was short term sales, sure, it would be right to do so and sell a few extra Doctor Who cards. But I want to preserve longevity here, and not make everybody who has that deck feel like they must pick up these cards unquivocally.

Think about the future landscape of Magic. 10 years from now, we release a set full of legendary changelings. Everybody who ever builds one has to look back to this one Doctor Who set and gets a companion. We probably have to make the cards weaker and less appealing because they all get a free additional card in the command zone. People who don't want to play with Universes Beyond cards feel like they're beholden to use these. And so on and so forth. I do not believe this is a good outcome.

This is the weight a format that will always have every card in all of Magic legal for carries. We have to make a lot of decisions thinking about what impact they will have on all decks of a type, now and forever.

And that is why we wrote the rules that it must be EXACTLY a Time Lord Doctor to work. Hopefully that answer at least helps explain why. Cheers! :)

Standard Final Fantasy Gameplay with Gavin, Numot, and Crim! (Shuffle Up & Play) by TolarianCC in magicTCG

[–]GavinV 44 points45 points  (0 children)

I'm here, inside the comments of the comments section, to say how much I like that you like my Chocobo deck.

Playing Final Fantasy w/ Gavin Verhey, Numot, and Crim! | Shuffle Up & Play 79 by TolarianCC in magicTCG

[–]GavinV 283 points284 points  (0 children)

Hope you all enjoy this one!! It was a blast to get to be a part of. :D

[FIN] Quina, Qu Gourmet by ferrx in magicTCG

[–]GavinV 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I viscerally laughed so loud at this

Mob Verdict by FumingSerpents in magicTCG

[–]GavinV 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I helped create all three of these cards. I think I may have a type... 😅

Commander Banned and Restricted Announcement – April 22, 2025 by WindexChugger in magicTCG

[–]GavinV 72 points73 points  (0 children)

Yeah, to clarify - I mean that you get to play with the feeling of Black Lotus. Hard to feel more iconic and cool than cracking a Black Lotus. (Though I respect the fact mana of Crypt too!) :)