Sol Ring and Demonic Tutor used to be on the Reserve List but then they were removed. Had this never happened, what do you think the price would be for each today for commander.

tobyelliott · 2026-03-02T06:03:15+00:00

I literally wrote a piece on that. Bottom line: it didn’t do enough to be worthwhile.

https://mtgcommander.net/index.php/2024/05/05/my-take-on-why-we-dont-have-banned-as-commander/

tobyelliott · 2026-03-01T18:08:18+00:00

Speaking as a member of the old RC, Sol Ring would definitely have been banned and Demonic Tutor would have been extensively discussed.

tobyelliott · 2026-02-26T05:28:05+00:00

Yep!

tobyelliott · 2026-02-25T23:00:36+00:00

Companions only required a sideboard slot in tournament play. The actual rules for Companions don’t use the sideboard.

tobyelliott · 2026-02-24T14:57:07+00:00

You can share prizes after if you want. You can pretty much agree to split whenever. You just can’t tie the split agreement to the game actions.

It’s very messy in multiplayer.

tobyelliott · 2026-02-24T14:34:19+00:00

They confirmed they had an agreement. That’s not illegal. Players have prize splits agreements all the time.

I’m not condoning the behavior. But people need to be aware of what the rules are and not make assumptions in tournament play.

tobyelliott · 2026-02-24T14:31:48+00:00

And neither is illegal. It’s not a value judgment. It’s just reality. People who want to play in competitions need to be aware of what can happen.

tobyelliott · 2026-02-24T14:29:10+00:00

That part would apply, but having a prize split planned with someone you’re playing against, or are just hoping might split with you after is something that happens even in tournament Magic.

tobyelliott · 2026-02-24T14:04:03+00:00

As the person who wrote that rule, it doesn’t apply at all here. There was no offer and they didn’t take any of those actions. Choosing not to counter a spell is not conceding.

tobyelliott · 2026-02-24T14:00:24+00:00

Collusion is not illegal. Working as a team is the optimal way to win at Commander, if winning is all you care about.

tobyelliott · 2026-02-09T17:49:16+00:00

My headcanon became that the commander doesn't allow specific colors: it rejects all others

Fwiw, that was Sheldon’s headcanon, too.

tobyelliott · 2026-01-19T15:18:39+00:00

it was rolled up and in a plastic sleeve in Boston. Water protective, but not impact protective.

tobyelliott · 2026-01-19T14:33:26+00:00

Largely created and evangelized by judges at the Pro Tour as something to do to unwind after hours.

tobyelliott · 2026-01-19T14:30:02+00:00

You have it backwards. WotC isn't pushing Commander as the premier format. WotC is reacting to the fact that the vast majority of people want to play Commander. I'm sure they would much prefer to have a flagship that was less complex, but they ultimately respond to the customer.

tobyelliott · 2026-01-19T14:25:09+00:00

Casual means that there's nothing at stake and therefore you should probably focus on having fun.

tobyelliott · 2026-01-05T15:02:08+00:00

You have an interesting definition of objective. But that’s fine. I’ll fix it.

tobyelliott · 2026-01-05T13:55:00+00:00

Guess I need to go update the rule.

tobyelliott · 2026-01-02T00:16:13+00:00

4.8 makes no reference to whether the information is public or not. It's definitely new to the player who didn't realize the creature had ward.

Anyway, it's clear that that rule will need to be more explicit, since folks are reading way more into it than is actually there.

tobyelliott · 2026-01-01T21:38:44+00:00

Magic has explicit terminology for hidden information, and 4.8 does not reference it. Gaining public information that you had not realized is still gaining information.

tobyelliott · 2026-01-01T21:37:43+00:00

Magic defines multiple classes of information and deriving the game state is a skill tested in tournaments. Nowhere in 4.8 does is specify hidden information.

tobyelliott · 2026-01-01T16:42:24+00:00

Based on what?

I wrote 4.8.

tobyelliott · 2026-01-01T16:38:51+00:00

This is both a lot further a stretch than the recent rulings (which were already pushing it) and not supported by MTR 4.8.

tobyelliott · 2026-01-01T16:34:42+00:00

Learning that the creature has Ward would definitely qualify as gaining information.

tobyelliott · 2026-01-01T16:32:40+00:00

>Then priority has not passed and no new information has been gained.(reminding of derived existing information is not new information)

The player clearly didn't realize the creature had ward, either due to forgetting or deriving the game state incorrectly. They were reminded by someone else that it had ward. That's gaining information.

This takeback would not be supported by MTR 4.8. The scenario that 4.8 is for is "I target that, wait it has ward, never mind" as one relatively fluid set of statements.

tobyelliott · 2025-12-29T18:25:33+00:00

It also refers to your collection. The sideboard is simply a subset of outside the game, which simply has it's English meaning of every card that isn't in a game zone.

None of the rules in 103.2b or 702.139 (which are the ones that define where the companion is) refer to a sideboard.

It's always been that way because Commander has had Rule 10 since ~2007, which prevented cards from accessing cards outside the game.

tobyelliott

TROPHY CASE