MTG in 2022 - Year In Review | The Command Zone 506 | Magic: The Gathering Commander EDH

[@glennvr_4982]

I used to be "a magic guy": knowing all the cards, living and breathing Magic: The Gathering. I would spend most of my free time looking up cards, collecting cards, sorting cards, brewing decks, etc etc. (I've been playing for 20 years now) Since the major shift in 2018-2019, I've increasingly become a very casual magic player. I don't know half the cards that have come out this year and I play now and then. The more product that came out, the less I bought. Whereas I used to buy multiple boxes per set and all the commander sets. Now it's like 10 single cards at most each release.

[@ashleyprior6712]

I'm exactly the same. I used to buy at minimum a box every set. Then more started coming out that wasn't for me, then as I missed some I was less bothered about missing more. FOMO turned to apathy and now I buy less than I ever used to in a year.

[@aeichhor777]

I think this is becoming more and more true.

[@ChristopherSmithNYC]

Im the opposite.

[@BingeThinker1814]

Yup. Hasbro are pushing an existential crisis onto Magic players where maybe the majority of magic players feel like they're not even trying to keep up with things. They're straight up feeding cognitive dissonance onto players where they're questioning their social identities as magic players, because of the release schedule

[@as_tehtpyoking]

This is exactly me.

[@FilthyHamm]

If I could offer some good faith criticism of the "too many products" segment of the show, I'd say the whole Wizards-certified viewpoint of "engage with the products that excite you" is myopic towards the type of unseen damage product oversaturation does to the entire ecosystem. I would agree that the increase in the amount of products allows for much more experimentation in terms of targeting certain markets and niches (for example the Bearscape secret lair is a product that could never realistically see print in a standard set, but is something that I think is a net good to give certain Magic players representation in the game they love) and in design as well (see Unfinity). Having more products naturally enhances formats like Commander and other eternal formats like Pauper and Legacy (though there is debate about the prevalence of mechanics like the Initiative dominating Legacy, that's a different subject). However, the reason why the take is shortsighted is the effect it is having on the playerbase - many of the core, already invested players are experiencing burnout. These are the tentpole players that keep the Local game store afloat, that attend drafts and FNMs. If these players are being alienated at an inordinate rate, that could pose a problem. Especially as you celebrate in a later segment the renewed vitality of the in person Magic scene. That doesn't even begin to cover the effect on Local Game Stores on a financial level. This deluge of products has local game stores leveraging more and more capital on sets like Baldur's Gate that fail to sell adequate numbers. As such, LGSs are taking dives on many of these products, leaving them vulnerable to go belly-up. Of course, this problem and the rampant burnout of the playerbase are interconnected problems. At the end of day, I like you guys - you remain positive forces in the community, and have done wonders for the world and players of Magic alike. That said, I'm disappointed that given your platform, you opt to take the position that purports a cure-all, rather than advocating for the many Magic fans and players that are feeling the fatigue of the accelerating MTG landscape.

[@roberttalley636]

Couldn’t have said it better!

[@Freddy_da_fox]

Totally agree, I would have loved a more critical stand of few. There is sooooo much downside for the playerbase, Local game stores etc, and defending that much product felt way off for me personally. It just felt like one person in this video had to have a positive view and therefore not authentic at all. These are harsh times for MTG players and I would have loved it, when the command zone (a very big Plattform with a wide reach) are more critical with wizards fault over the year. In Honesty I am disappointed with the command zone people, it felt like they were searching for good stuff about the Milk the cow philosophy of wizards, because they have a relationship with them (sponsored videos and so on). They lost a lot of credits for me personally. Just my 2 cents

[@destinyhero]

Magic is growing and is bigger than ever, players only play the game for X many years on average, a metric Wizards themselves keeps track of. It is perfectly fine and normal for players to quit Magic or any other game as long as new players are there to replace them.

[@Darlnezz]

The problem with the take off "Engage with the product that engages you" is that Magic is constantly in a excitement phase so it's impossible for you to feel engaged when before even a product is released its time to excite and engage in the next coming product. Now do this for every product and no product feels like it is actually being engaged with since magic is constantly saying something new and exciting you want to engage with is just around the corner.

[@TheHetNoonen]

Well said. As the words defending the oversaturation of product were leaving their mouths it was strange to feel like they were the ones out of touch with the community, since CZ live and breathe the lifestyle of being engaged directly with consumers. They go on to talk about the product whiffs later in the video, only to infer some of the trouble with the releases failing was in fact too much product being pushed out the door too fast (regarding the Innistrad: Double Feature opinions in particular). This is a bit contradictory, and I can't help but feel WoTC and CZs heads could be stuck in the sand regarding the long-term potential downsides and consumer apathy of persistently flooding the market with product.

[@normative]

Re: product glut, I think “just engage with the products that interest you” makes sense if you’re approaching cards purely as collectibles, but doesn’t work as well for a competitive game. Because whether I buy the given product or not, other players will, and those are new cards and new mechanics that I’m going to run into at Commander night. You’re always going to encounter a certain number of novel and unfamiliar cards, of course, but I think for a lot of players the specific pleasures of playing a strategy game are diminished when the proportion of new mechanics and cards-and the extra cognitive burden that necessarily imposes-exceeds a certain threshhold. At some point, as Josh said, you end up having to shrug and say “well, tell me if I’m dead.” And for me, at least, that takes away an important dimension of what I like about Magic.

[@tornadoaftermath]

It was almost the exact same line that was used by Blake in the wizard's pack-opening video. Was pretty weird.

[@normative]

@@josephdurham4950 I don’t know about out of touch; she sounded resigned. But I’m less convinced this is just a New Normal we have to accept. There are plenty of examples of companies deciding to focus on a narrower range of products they can promote more intensively, and it’s plausible to me WotC has passed the point of diminishing returns where they’re just cannibalizing their own sales.

[@magicthegatheringexplorations]

agree. seriously... I can't keep up. This is mental. LOL. Now I'm just buying cards for art. I went to the LOTR pre-release at 4 different stores, had some fun, got myself a headache, and an Orcish Bowmasters with alternate art (pre-release pull), and I didn't bother attending Wilds of Eldraine and if I'm being honest, it's because of the cognitive burden I felt it would impose. I'll collect art now. I think my playing days are over, unless casual games with friends or at home. This is just nuts.

[@joshperrin7963]

I'm late to this but I think the difference in my opinion is that it's driving down prices for a lot of competitive cards that I couldn't buy before. For competitve play I think it raises the entry level if you're trying to pull cards in a pack? If you buy singles I think it's not any worse possibly better because it's widening the competitive pool.

[@PSroka]

Profs tabernacle was from an actual Legends pack

[@floriangrader-beck7280]

Definitely an important nuance there lol

[@WilliamBumbre]

tabarnak big

[@AgentArcadia]

Rachel joining TCZ is in my top 5 MTG news for the whole year. I watch every CZ episode, and a lot of Sphere. Rachel's insights are thoughtful and charming, and she's one of the best additions to the team. You guys really do pick the best people to represent you.

[@papalung420]

sad no more commander sphere tho

[@antdiaz00]

I realize that this can't happen every episode because people are busy, but I hope we see more episodes with JLK, Jimmy and Rachel could be together on every episode. Their dynamic is so much fun to watch and they all work well together on camera.

[@dr00ness]

can't possibly agree more. they all have such a great rapport together.

[@NoGloveNoLove32]

Lol I respect Rachel's optimistic attitude towards the amount of product out right now but it's absolutely the result of Hasbro's greed when they have been quoted as saying "they want to increase revenue by 50%" and the way they do that is by printing more cards for their existing customer base to buy instead of figuring out ways to bring in new customers

[@andrewsigrist9981]

I dont think it's fair to say that they're not looking for ways to bring in new customers. Each and every Universes Beyond product is WotC spending actually quite a lot of money trying to bring in new players. The fact that we may not like how they're going about it is beside the point. That said, saying "this is the new normal let's figure out how to get used to it" is a bit like saying "ok I'm in an abusive relationship, how do I get used to it?"

[@JonPayne777]

You don’t increase revenue by 50% without growing your customer base. I’m here because of the 40k set, for example

[@jeffreylong1478]

Yeah, they’re not mutually exclusive

[@runerunesen7261]

I would like to add, that the optimic view/attitude doesnt really take into account the amount of ruletext per card also grows far more than the number of cards.

[@destinyhero]

Doing things like D&D, Warhammer, Lord of the Rings, and Dr. Who are ways of bringing in new customers, you pepperoni.

[@chaceduma]

very sad about rachel leaving commander sphere but super excited to see more of her on this channel!

[@equos5060]

Is the command zone not in the commander sphere?

[@drsherifff]

@@equos5060 commander sphere is/was a Podcast Co hosted by rachel

[@equos5060]

@@drsherifff oooooooh, okay. My bad :)

[@chazzybrown54]

Best part of 2022, magic thinking the players can afford and want 4 packs of proxies for $999 when you can have them made for fractions of the price.

[@austin19950618]

With that money, I rather get my own printer and proxy any card I want…or maybe just buy a copy of real dual land?

[@meyeneetuks4680]

With that money i wouldnt be buying glorified cardboard. I might get clothes, put towards new car, a pc? Literally ANYTHING else

[@xantu4444]

I am an old school magic player, emphasis on the old. I have fond memories of knowing ALL the magic cards. We would actually sit around and play trivia where we would read the flavor text and then have the other people guess the card it came from. Imagine that in these crazy times. Older and simpler days. Days we will never get back to.

[@kijakakimf4039]

I did this exact thing 20 years ago!! One of my favorite side games from the old days. We would even use it as a sort of politics in 4 or 5 player games. If you can tell me who said "I may be small, but I can kick your butt" I won't attack you. Great times.

[@codyleach7134]

My favorite part of 2022 was starting to play Magic! The command zone was a big part of me learning to play and build my knowledge. It all started when i found out about the 40k decks and bought all of them on a whim. Then i decided it was time to learn to play. Happy new year guys🎉🎉🎉

[@Dr.Q_PHD]

I feel like your enjoyment of MTG this year was based on how much disposable income you have.

[@meyeneetuks4680]

Mtg is already expensive. Then they made $1000 non legal, fake cards. An actual slap in the face for magic players

[@2ndLastStarfighter]

@Meyene Etuks I actually felt the SLAP was in the fact it was supposed to be a "celebration" for all the fans of this game we've enjoyed for (some of us) 30 years! Instead we couldn't celebrate unless u wanted to drop 1k to even get into the party.

[@mrj3711]

Hp printer go burrrrrrrr

[@peterbrown7690]

I loved new copenna and the dnd sets this year. The cards were cool. But I’m exhausted this year of just the amount of product. 2021 I bought a ton of sealed products but this year I bought a few packs a couple of precons but that was it. They need to slow down just abit. Give us time to enjoy the sets. Explore the cards. Give us time to freaking build!!!

[@tornadoaftermath]

As much as I love this game, I can't help but feel like I'm in an abusive relationship with it now. I want to get more sets and support my LGS, but getting the middle finger from Wizards and Hasbro this many times in just one year really leaves a bad taste in my mouth....

[@ALTR_no_EGO]

Same here.

[@humanbeing7927]

And you’re not even in an abusive relationship with the game- you’re in an abusive relationship with fireside chatting shareholders baby!

[@tornadoaftermath]

@@humanbeing7927 that was a pretty big realization for me, listening to that little chat. The "investors/collectors" are the real priority; the players, fans, and overall game be damned.

[@seasnek7024]

So true

[@gibbysg8143]

@@humanbeing7927 very true. Greed is affecting the game though. Rate of releases and super pushed powerful design is all to sell, sell, sell! Cha-ching!!!!

[@adamdelves6876]

As a new magic player I appreciate new products being available. The variety of precon decks is really helping me try different mechanics and play styles. I haven’t found a favorite yet because I need to play more. This channel and others like it have really helped me.

[@jahmainehatten9404]

I also started this year and I agreed with this. Currently my favorite deck is the exiles deck I’ve updated from the baldurs gate precon and a spell slinger I built my self from the ground up using warhammer cascade commander

[@joshuacarr333]

I am so stoked to see Rachel so present 🥲

[@patrickaquilina4374]

Wow. Just Wow! The three of you together are really fantastic. Take this as a huge complement when I say the whole is greater than the parts.

[@ty_sylicus]

I appreciate having Josh and Jimmy together again. Rachel is a good addition.

[@ALTR_no_EGO]

I'm a bit sad that there was a lack of love for New Capenna. I wish we spent more time there. Like, instead of Double Feature, maybe we got a second set in NC or Neon Dynasty (since Jimmy and Josh are so high on Kamigawa).

[@xMr.Agenda]

New cap was amazing so many underrated cards. Definitely second best set this year. Arguably number 1

[@Darlnezz]

Honestly at my LGS the amount of New Capenna cards I see outnumber Kamigawa and every other set except Baldur's Gate. That is close to match the same amount as New Capenna.

[@mikejarmulak6555]

I absolutely love that Rachel is part of the team. Best hire in years.

[@gypsieking3280]

383 is too many legendaries. Good lord.

[@dab022]

Great video as usual. I’m loving the chemistry between the three of you. Lots of funny moments and good info. Glad to see Commande Zone in such a good place. Keep it up and here’s to 2023.

[@RedCometNurse]

I love the energy Rachel brings to the podcast. I am so happy to see her here (though I am sad the Commander Sphere lost her).

[@zephyrkhambatta]

Thanks for that guys! We're almost done with 2023, and I just kept this video playing on my 2nd screen for the last 3 days as I did some of my KZbin work. So peaceful to hear you guys talk about one of my hobbies. Thanks!

[@jheu781]

Rachel is doing a great job with keeping the dialogue flowing. The three of you have great chemestry.

[@ty_sylicus]

Will admit, this episode made me appreciate Rachel.

[@gottalottabones]

Thanks to the entire Command Zone crew; your guys' hard work shows through in everything you do. I can't believe Josh and Jimmy's baby podcast from 2015 has grown up to become what it is.

[@davidsmall9547]

@rachel & Josh I loved it when you were talking about how you can find joy in the cards by not knowing what every card was that is out. When you said that it reminded me when I started playing in the 90s (before internet was everywhere) how I went to my local game store, and I played a guy and he kicked my teeth in with a mini horde deck. He kept playing balance and all these other cards I’ve never seen before and it just blew my mind. I went home and built the exact same deck. Loved it!!

[@jaydub5515]

I love seeing Rachel more on the channel nowadays. She's super smart, and honestly, so damn funny. If you haven't seen her stand up bits on youtube, I would highly recommend it

[@atlasrises4]

I absolutely adore this set up because it feels more natural for conversation between those involved. I love the multiple angles which also helps focus. Definitely a big step up in my honest opinion.

[@ryanbain3438]

My favorite magic memory of 2022 was being able to meet and play against Rachel Weeks in Baulder's Gate limited at Command fest Indy. Such a lovely and friendly person and a great addition to the Command Zone. I was the one who got to Irenicus's vile duplication a Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm. 😊

[@BillyTheFridge]

Yall getting saucy with that thumbnail! Excited to watch this one, this year was a lot of fun.

[@Cal-fr9mw]

Love there being a third host and it’s Rachel. Y’all are going to kill it for next year

[@Xmr2024]

Lol 😆🤣

[@erabvgeabgt8081]

Baldurs gate felt like a dnd set, not a commander set. Reprints that should have been in the "commander" set, got put into double masters. Dockside, imperial seal, mana drain, etc. It felt like they just tagged on Commander Legends to get a quick cash grab from Commander players instead of just making its its own dnd set

[@jahmainehatten9404]

I bought the precons for baldurs gate as my first decks as I got into magic at the end of kami…. I really enjoyed all 4 of the decks and I actually still have the horror tribal and the exile deck still intact and upgraded. As I’ve played commander more now I’ve also seen that baldurs gate pre-cons had many great cards and concepts but I will admit that when I opened the set boosters packs for that release they were underwhelming compared to the ones I’ve opened recently like brothers war for example.

[@austin19950618]

Can’t agree more with you, CLB is a totally failure as a commander set . In Taiwan where I live, most of the LGS still got tones of CLB boxes can’t sell…

[@Hemlocker]

Yeah, I think if you just removed the name "Commander Legends" from the set people would rate it much higher, because I agree with Rachel that it was a fantastic draft experience. But it just didn't live up to the Commander Legends name at all.

[@okgut2033]

They also changed alot of meanings in words of theyr set this year, its just being bullies to the players ...

[@drewp9819]

I really enjoyed this video because so much effort was put into discussing the complicated nuances of many aspects of the game, nuances that are just not going to make it in a 20 minute video.

[@jyomi7506]

I think the best part of having so many legends is that I'm pretty new to paper magic (less than 6 months) so every, single new legend that I pull is a potential new deck. I don't have to look up what the best commander for a deck is, I have a bunch of options already. They may not be optimal, even quite weak sometimes, but it's almost guaranteed that it'll be something that people haven't seen before. Let's me feel clever if nothing else XD

[@Aldersandfirs]

I am very pleasantly surprised by all the support in the comments for Rachel, I think she’s a great host and I’m excited to see what y’all do in the future!

[@BrunoTiburcio84]

I can't believe Rachel defended the one thing the entire community is mad about. Guys, I truly respect all of you and understand the positive tone of the channel, but this is absolutely outrageous.

[@brandontoler2382]

I'm very new to magic. I've only been collecting since late September and I've only played maybe 10-12 commander games. But apparently it's a strange time in the community. But that being said all the ppl at my l.g.s. have been very kind and welcoming and have helped me to learn the game and I am super grateful for that. So no matter what Hasbro and wotc do , I'm here here for the friends and the fun. I wish I could buy a box of every set that comes out but that's just not feasible for Mt income level. Thank you command zone and the professor and posty for helping Me jump into the ocean that is magic the gathering. Ramble over.

[@jeremiahchamberlain4179]

Commander legends baldur's gate should not have been called commander legends, it was more a sequel to AFR than to commander legends, they should have included jewelled lotus and the cycle of 5 free spells from the ikoria commander decks, fierce guardianship, deadly rollic and such, and i think just those 6 reprints would have bumped up the reprint equity enough to make the set just about perfect. The set itself is actually great and very under appreciated.

[@PraetorGix]

1:02:14 No, Rachel, it absolutely means Wizards is greedy and you know it. Of course you cannot say it in this channel, but there wasn't a need either to jump to the other extreme and defend them saying they "wanna make more toys for us, bless their big big hearts" -_-

[@artdogs500]

I recently bought all 5 of the starter commander decks so I can play/teach my cousin's to play magic. I ended up giving them the decks they used as a christmas gift. All of them were hella excited.

[@german3652]

I definitely wouldn't be able to play the new Mishra as a new player, if it weren't for the massive amount of Game Knights I've been watching! As controversial of a year as it sounds like it was, I have been really loving the game as a new player. Here's to a great 2023!

[@moreparmesan5261]

2:21:30 magic 30th talk

[@dbotsis]

This was an excellent episode. At first I thought an almost 3hr episode was crazy but the dynamic between Rachel, Josh and Jimmy is pure synergy. Also, the mature approach to controversies, whiffs and product overload was refreshing. Well done. Loved to watch it.

[@tonyrosetti2738]

Displacer Kitten is fine. It’s a 4 man 2/2 that does nothing on its own. Everyone knows it is a big combo engine, so they save all their interaction for it. Which means you can’t just put it down and count on being able to untap with it - you have to win with it on the turn you play it. That means it is sitting in a lot of hands until turn 4, 5, or 6. That’s why you don’t see it very often. It’s there, gumming up people’s hands :)

[@goodtaste2185]

New Capenna is a hit, flavor wise. We just need more sets to expand out the characters and allow more to sneak in. It really is a plane that needs more than one visit. I'm fine retiring Dominaria for a bit.

[@leveloct882]

oh my! command zone continues to be an unending fountain of support for a proven avarice in form of a company. I unsubbed after this three hours wasted(technically less that two as I went to two times speed when I got the general feeling). Stop making excuses and being a shill of a show and I will return, not that I will be missed or care to be from this team. I still love you all and hope you get continued support, but really watch the other creators who have shorter, and much more appropriate criticism and support for WOTC.

[@starmanda88]

I don’t know what y’all expect. They’re literally sponsored by wizards.

[@leveloct882]

@@starmanda88 I expect them to be more like they were at the origin of the channel(by that I mean authentic). I have been following them since kitchen table fables and they used to care about a lot of things that mattered in commander. Also I thought the only sponsored program was game knights, but I could be wrong. Either way I expected better, for them to make the claims they do I expected honesty, skepticism, hope, and entertainment, but that’s just me and my opinion which I have no problem acknowledging. I left the comment in hopes my words don’t fall on deaf ears, but I don’t expect any changes as I stated earlier. I get where you are coming from for sure, and agree, as well as am tired of seeing just how far that WOTC cash goes with them.

[@Bostyn333]

They're allowed to formulate their own opinions about what wotc is doing. If they gave these negative opinions a platform then it will only contribute to a toxic mindset that will ultimately kill the game. Even though wotc has made some bad choices, they also made some amazing choices this year that prove that they care about the players and their game. This is something that The command zone stays honest about and to me that's how they feel about the game. Magic is an amazing game; everyone, including you, is here because they love and care about magic. Having a negative mindset about a company won't get them to listen however supporting wotc and praising them for their good choices is how you get them to continue making those great choices.

[@KingRarecrazy]

As much as I hate magic right now to the point where right before brothers war release I started playing F&B, refusing to touch magic until there was either an apology or a disaster so bad they had to properly course correct… I don’t think their opinions are really wrong? Don’t get me wrong I didn’t fully agree with every single point and thought they could’ve stressed some things more harshly but I don’t mind it, for most things they based and explained their opinion weather it was a brief explanation or not. Three things really come to mind as to why I don’t have problems with it. One, this is still a hobby at the end of the day, hobbies for a chunk are escapism. You aren’t supposed to panic and freak out over it because then what are you escaping from? Two, why should they care so much? Jimmy had a great point later in the video that was something along the lines of “I just had a child, I don’t care.” People have lives, there’s things that are far more important than a card game. I get it, that for me is a really hard thing to say when magic has helped me out of tough spots in life, but to some people it is just a card game that does do a lot, but there are other things that may give people a purpose. Third, it’s their job. A good concept I had a friend explain to me is that they need to believe that magic will be there day after day just like, for example, the postal service. People need to support it, even through the bad times where they make big mistakes or big bad choices because without that system a lot of jobs are lost and a lot of things suffer as a result. So at the end of the day we need to just believe it’ll be there. Ok well that’s my response, also I have no idea how you are listed as the top comment but you are. I found that funny.

[@leveloct882]

@@KingRarecrazy I as well have no idea how Im a top comment. That is flattering and hopeful in a way. Your response was measured and well thought out, and while I disagree, mostly do to game knights importance in the online community and branding , I fully hear you and respect your opinion. I don’t think their opinions are wrong either, but I believe there is a duty to the community to flesh out the issues as much as with channels like goldfish or tcc. It is just a hobby, but it is an extremely expensive and profitable one so realism towards bad situations from reputable sources matters a lot to me personally. I think they should care because that is their job, I understand the constraints of the real world(family, exercise, other work), but to me if your job is reporting on the game, and you have the resources to fully explore a subject in that realm, a measure of awareness and exposure should be applied. They did speak on it, but it was less than five minutes out of an almost 3 hour program, which I find very insufficient, even without comparison to other channels that are minuscule in comparison. To your third point it is their job, but that doesn’t mean to only focus on the positive, I wrote on another comment why it’s very unlikely for magic to die, but even if it did their is enough material in the game, room for expansion of game types, and room for strategic improvement for game knights to have years of programming if not an infinite supply so “their job” as it was when they started is relative to how they want to perceive it. I think game knights was an amazing idea, and with the right amount of purpose becomes the most important channel. It’s attractive and expensive and I know the WOTC money helps but I can’t be a patron or a viewer as I just don’t feel the connection to them I used to, and have steadily lost respect over the years for their overuse of certain cards, certainly dual lands, their increasing ideas of “budget”, and their lack of attention in several videos. I still love the team and hope everything goes well for them, I recognize that my opinion is not the only one, but I wanted them to know I was unsurprised and a bit hurt by this one. I think what it is most, and again this is my fault, this video made me not want to shuffle up with them anymore. I still hope the best for them and you though.

Finally some command zone episodes that aren't set analysis/spoilers/precon upgrades. There has been so many releases this year that episodes with discussions have become very rare.

[@HeyApples]

I want to believe Rachel's sunny optimistic upside about more products. But it's hard to take that view seriously when their own actions contradict years, even decades, of articles and dogma on healthy game design practices. And telling your enfranchised customers to engage less, care less about their hobby is a profoundly shitty and self-defeating message.

[@VexylObby]

This ^

[@randommindz6782]

I LOVED Balder's Gate! The Metallic Dragons, Ganax, and Miirym are dragons I would've wanted back in Dragons of Tarkir!

[@TempRawr]

I love the point of playing the game with wonder and mystery. As someone who plays Yu-Gi-Oh for so long and now moving to MTG commander. It's such a joy to join friends now and just be amazed at the cards people choose to put in. Every game is just a mystery and I'm not playing to perfectly counter or prepare for someone's deck. I'm just playing to play Also just insane to keep hearing people say just because you don't know everything you can't be that dedicate fan. Like that just bonkers..... How unhealthy of a mentality and fragile it is to feel less of your efforts and passion because you miss a part of this large world. Like no Oh but a real complaint after joining locals is just how much Wizards is screwing over locals stores. Dear god it so bad. They really need to fix that next year.

[@EXFrost]

coming from yugioh to commander made me appreciate how much fun and strategy cardgames can have. Yugioh is basically can i win first turn? if not i lose. getting to turn 4 in yugioh is actually a rarity while by turn 4 in commander youre only just started. im finding it much more fun, its harder to get games though considering there arent really any free sims like edopro, ik u can play on untap but idk

[@EXFrost]

i very much agree with your statements tho :). diving into a new game youve never played before pretty much blind is super fun

[@TempRawr]

@@EXFrost I mean playing old school yugioh with random ass dumb decks is fun to. Seeing ludwig yugioh tournament was a reminder that me and friend should just play dumb decks that take forever to win. It just more fun for traps and monsters to have that mystery and power. TBH ignoring meta Konami printing so much support for otther archetypes is ablast and I think I wanna get otehrs to ignore meta and just build pure silly archetype decks from things they like especially if they suck says meta.

[@EXFrost]

@@TempRawr ye dumb deck duels are very fun

[@LadyLunarSatine]

Welcome to the game. I dabbled with YGO for a bit (bought the OG Kaiba starter deck and like a dozen packs of Legend of the Blue Eyes White Dragon; wound up flipping a Tri-Horned Dragon I pulled for $25), grew tired having no one to play, moved to HeroClix and then eventually came back to Magic around the end of Scars block. Do you prefer constructed, sealed or draft?

[@fishpastethe4th340]

Who did the art for this episodes thumbnail? It looks really good!

[@LadyLunarSatine]

Honestly? Their depiction of Jimmy reminded me of Komiya from Aggretsuko (not a good thing).

[@andrewwaring3643]

By friends and I would go to our LGS when a new set came out every few months and we would have a blast. Cracking packs, drafting, trading…..unfortunately with so much product there’s no real excitement anymore. Product fatigue is real and I don’t want it to hurt the game in the long run.

[@luizobom123456]

That was the best episode of the whole 2022 year! We need more of this content type! Cheers and happy new year

[@TubbyBubbleLove42]

What a weird opinion.

[@voltagetoe]

The WotC criticism put into between lines makes this the best episode, yeah.

[@quelanathecrow]

Thanks for the awesome year of videos!! I'm a new magic player, started around midnight hunt, and I've had a really fun time following the releases this year! The build I spent the most time on was Vhal / Passionate Archeologist from baldur's gate, and I also bought a 40k precon. I've definitely ignored a lot of products, but I like the idea that I'll never know every card-- to me, it feels like one of the things that makes Magic unique!

[@aalagerwaard]

this type of an episode really needs timed sections for the consumer's benefit

[@Dryblack1]

When the "most watched parts" on the seekbar is disabled, it's always an intentional decision to get you to watch parts you're not interested in. You are always being exploited.

[@fleamarketkeanu]

Great episode, having all 3 of you hosting made for a fun time! Out of everything I'm still miffed about not being able to get the advent calendar, they 100% should've done what Rachel recommended.

[@shadowrealm8032]

46:52 the in sync paper adjusting is gold

[@bobbiechristine]

"Rules Committee should be representative of the player base". Thank you guys

[@ty_sylicus]

2:32:38 Jimmy Haha. OMG Jimmy! High fives from fathers everywhere man. I love this attitude!

[@jonathancarlisle7898]

Love to see Rachel Weeks on with Josh and Jimmy and hear their comments on the state of Commander after this past year

[@christina.morris]

I agree so much about the Countdown Secret Lair, I was so close to buying one, but I had no time to really convince myself I should once it was available. I'd almost certainly have ended up picking it up if there had been a print-to-demand window

[@Ryusuta]

The best part of 2022 was something The Professor pointed out: the fact that the 30th Anniversary fiasco effectively had Wizards endorsing the use of proxy cards. It was an unintended side-effect, but there we go. Honestly, I'd love to see proxies see more widespread use in games.

[@jgroen5545]

Curious to see how critical they are about WotC and Hasbro. Not taking a stance in times like these is as good as agreeing with their practises.

[@XragebootsX]

Don’t forget that they are sponsored by WotC, something about not biting the hand that feeds you

[@marsrocks247]

01:02:00 I appreciate Rachel's healthy and positive mentality and approach to this being how much product is released. FOMO is an unhealthy, addiction based mindset that people need to let go or be broken out of. However, the quantity of the product is not all that is wrong here, as you've just spent the last hour explaining - let's just look at the Unfinity black-border vs. acorns. They're not just printing a lot of "Secret Lair: Just for YOU"; that would be fine, just like Rachel says. Instead they are trying to make every single product valuable to every single player by injecting some chase card into every single product. You want those transformer cards? You want mystical archives? You want the real magic card universes beyond cards? The problem isn't that there is too much product, the problem is that there is too much product because WotC is trying to cash-in on their players being indoctrinated into FOMO because of the reserve list. It is disgusting and you need to stop trying to find a way to justify it.

[@PhyrexianGrace]

Honestly, when you were talking about how theres so many different options for the same overarching theme, my mind immediately went to goblin tribal. Im currently building Guts, True Soul Zealot, with the Haunted One Background, and it is such a unique way to build around R/B gobbos

[@crilleedara]

58:56 Thank you guys, for saying exactly what's on Everyones' minds rn. You put it perfectly

[@Jwhiz24]

If Kamigawa, New Capenna, Double Masters, and 40k were the only things they released this year. That would have been enough.

[@nicolechansawang4054]

yeah....when they drop Hasbros stock because of oversupply I dunno that we have to just accept that this much product is the norm.

[@screebb]

Came here to finally get the team's perspective on 30th Anniversary packs.

[@equos5060]

Remember that they are on WOTC'S payroll.

[@screebb]

@@equos5060 understood but they still gave valid perspectives, they didn’t attempt to whitewash. Glad they’re not robots.

[@EPICLYFATALERROR]

Love the digs at double feature and overall really fun episode!

[@zealcrux]

huge shout-out to the editors on this one!

[@markmason2216]

Jimmy's blaming of the communities VIEWS rather than the company's misuse of their naming brand conventions is nauseating.

[@ggflowen]

I'm on team Rachel with the Baldur's gate set. It had outstanding gameplay, more good cards than people give it credit for, but it just lacked reprints. I also agree with Josh that the D&D branding probably hurt it.

[@ggflowen]

Also this trio chemistry is great.

[@AzkuulaKtaktu]

More like the Commander Legends branding hurt it.

[@carlosbravo6669]

Dockside extorsionist at $45??? CK your sponsor sells them at $70… this type of stuff is misleading

[@AltPlay]

36:23 lmaoooooooo The naming scheme of the commandersssss

[@t0mber74]

never played or even watched any magic content so whilst i understood nothing in this video, still enjoyed the watch

[@MrVotiga]

I'm interested in seeing what the "Dr Who" set will look like. About 4 years ago I custom made an entire "Dr Who" commander deck with The TARDIS as the leader. Being about time travel, I included a bunch of suspend mechanics and used the Dr's companions as a way to temper the Dr's more destructive urges. So I am very curious about how they tackle this IP

[@cmassive113]

with baldur's gate there was also a huge miscommunication factor around the "Commander Legends" brand. WOTC said "this is a draftable commander set," but a lot of players looked at the last CL set that had busted new cards like Jotus and Hullbreacher; and some pretty expensive reprints like vampiric tutor and mana drain; and those players said "wotc failed to meet expectations of the commander legends brand. This is worse in every way than the last commander legends set," even though that's not what the CL brand was actually supposed to be. Some fault in both courts but that plus double masters were the two biggest nails in the CLB coffin

[@b2falcon]

I can see it now... In about 10 years wizards is "magically" going to find pallets and pallets of magic 30th anniversary boosters and put those singles in boosters so you too get that nostalgic feel of vitriol ~ Happy Anniversary! -With love, Hasbro

[@danacoleman4007]

Good call!!!!

[@drewbuntoo]

I'm brand new to magic this year and all I've played is commander precons w friends. They're excellent products from what I can tell

[@Mayoh-WTP]

45:50 what Josh is talking about here is how it feels as a new commander player, “ there’s a million cards and I have no idea what they do… “

[@pajurr]

Happy end of 2022 ! Wow so many things happened this year everywhere ! To review this episode : --> About the first hour and the last 30 minutes, about the constructive criticism : It feels like you are trying to hold all of Magic's community together by not throwing the stone to Wizards and explaining to us that "no this is a normal move, I do not want to judge it, or get involved, not even dip my toes in the topic by giving the shadow of a negative feedback, and you should do the same, because WOTC brought us so much before." I disagree, and really I disagree really strongly. A company is shaped by its successes, meaning : by its customers. If you always talk only about the positive and do not want to look and talk about the negative, how would they know it is bad ? If you do not highlight the lows ; the highs loose all their shine. I say this because I felt like you were really "corporate", not allowing yourselves to say in public good or bad, to criticize intelligently. Instead you are trying to defend WOTC on pretty bad decisions, saying "well yes but remember 30 years ago when it started we would have been happy about it" or "yeah but we do not really know what happened in the background, maybe it is not their fault...", trying to take it upon yourselves to calm the community, even when they are right, pretty objectively. And I feel like it is not your role, not your identity to be their PR, you are independent. Also, for the rest : --> I think it is a really like when you talked about the fact that we might have to deal with the fact so much content might be the standard now. And yes we might be less involved with new content in the game, and we might have to deal with it. I like it when we think about the future. --> I really like all the reprints of this year, tons of them were great ! --> So many new commanders ! --> About the rules committee : I think it is really great that there is a woman in the team now, because she will bring new ideas and thinks differently. However, I do not understand the diversity part of the argument, like for real. Is it important if the guy behind the desk is white, black, blue or purple ? I mean, I am French, maybe these white dudes are from Canada, Spain, Russia and USA. And you would have richer and more interesting point of view from a team like that, rather than a team of people with different skin color that all come from the US, I do not see what is the added value there, but I would like to learn about it. Have a great day everyone, happy end and new year, and stop taking serious social medias, Twitter is not real life, spend good time with family and friends, those are real.

[@markdziamski4859]

As much as I hate to see the value of my expensive cards drop, I love the ability to be able to buy more

[@xaviesposito2485]

Happy new year to all of the staff

[@stevecarr1389]

Much as I love the Boyz, Rachel is such a good addition to the team. They are so insightful and articulates their points so well. A++

[@jd7391]

The big point for me is that there's just too much product. Unfortunately I do play commander and have for years and I play cEDH more than casual and cEDH requires that you update and tune your deck regularly. I can't afford to keep up with product and stay competitive anymore but casual really isn't very fun for me. It leaves me in a spot that feels really bad.

[@noahulrey6483]

1:23:42 I’m surprised they didn’t mention Hinata in most powerful commanders

[@JavierOrtizBultron]

In 2023 I'll be focusing on singles. They basically killed draft in paper this year. When they raised the prices but reduced the EV on them it made it a no go for me. If they keep the approach for the next standard set we're almost all the special art and treatments show up in all the packs Hopefully will fix this. Time will tell.

[@endlessorbaggins8223]

I hear that it is great now because Collector variant are making de basic cards more cheap. But at the same time the products that contains these cheaper cards are increasing in price. I no longer look at sealed products has worth buying. Seems like now your purchase feels worth it only if you hit a varaint of couple chase cards in it. I'm not a drafter, but I can get why someone would hesitate to purchase a box when the valu is no longer there. At least if the price of the box was cheaper too it would make sense. But increasing price when EV is lower and lower doesn't.

[@JavierOrtizBultron]

@@endlessorbaggins8223 the game is more affordable now than never I believe. At least for standard and eternal formats due to what you describe. Almost feel like there's no product for me anymore. Draft and set are harder and harder to break even and collector are just dumb and expensive IMO. Set seemed to be the answer for some time but the standard set value of cards are too variable. 1-2 big cards you need to hit 2+ more on a box to break even. Most times those are mythics. I prefer the value more distributed. I'm seeing that in special sets like double masters, Dominaria remastered, etc.

[@VexylObby]

I did that maybe 5 years ago, as I realized sealed was a huge waste of money. Then a couple years went by, focused ONLY on cards I am SURE to use in a deck I have at the time. Then another year went by, and the greed grew. So now i only proxy. I still have a collection, but I simply cannot keep up, and often get priced out quickly. Funny how these trends coincide with the level of greed employed by the company.

[@Bostyn333]

I was introduced to magic this year around the time Baldurs gate came out, and that has been my favorite set so far. Even though a lot of negative things happened this year with magic, I've still found so much enjoyment in the game. Easily my new favorite obsession has been MTG! I can't wait for Dominaria Remastered!

[@VexylObby]

You will notice the community is very dissatisfied as of late. And I think as time goes by, you will see why. The cost of knowing what is in the game and to get what you want to play with will increase as years go by, and it won't need to.

[@Rizso1]

the beamtown was so unique i started playing that deck!

[@reubenfromow4854]

The “friends forever” point is SO pertinent- why were these innistrad cards instead of, say, a squad of Strixhaven mages who were all mates?

[@caskaptein9889]

You guys missed the point that WOtC outright lied to all players and investors by reprinting reserved list cards. Even after the m30 announcement, it stated on their website that reserved list cards would not be reprinted, even not with different borders or backs. The RL rules were later deleted from the website.

[@Gshadewolf14]

I really don’t like your comments at the end about just ignoring products that don’t matter to you, because someone at WotC will see that and say “oh, it’s just the players fault that our stupid product had a bad reception” and keep making bad products. It’s good to have a negative reaction to something that’s bad, because those who put out the bad stuff will learn their lesson (hopefully, eventually). Silence doesn’t bring about positive change.

[@LeonardoOliveira-858]

This show was so apologetic and palliative of Wizards’ big blunders. What’s with the toxic positivity…?

[@JonReid01]

Money.

[@cfrydlewicz]

I was a big fan of print-to-order Secret Lairs. I signed up for email alerts from WotC's website and everything. But I've missed several Secret Lair drops because they never send me any emails when they come out. This is especially crappy when the drop is limited (which makes zero sense by the way). The experiences I've had finding out after it's too late that a new Secret Lair came and went after I've made the effort to be alerted by them is extremely frustrating.

[@Gray_Falcon]

Prof opened it from an original legends booster pack. Not from Dominaria United.

[@jasonkorf7700]

You forgot one that still needs a reprint...........Dockside Extortionist, which is currently sitting at over $57 for the cheapest version even though it had a reprint in Double Masters. Overall, I think there were more positives than negatives this year, but the negatives were so massive that most players view this year negatively.

[@jamesgratz4771]

Screw that card

[@gladbandanna]

Prof opened the Tabernacle from an actual LEGENDS pack, btw.

[@ty_sylicus]

Top 3 favorite Sets of the year: Commander Legends: Buldar's Gate Unfinity Jump/Start 2022 Honorable Mention: Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty

[@LunarWingCloud]

I'm glad that CK took you guys back since these things are super complicated To comment on this year, this was definitely the year I mostly took off because of the saturation of product, but I think long-term it will be nice to discover all the new cards I missed