Everything You Need to Know About the Commander Format Panel

Last updated on March 29, 2025

The Council of Four | Illustrated by Justine Cruz

Commander sure has come a long way since that original elder dragon cycle. What started as a casual and unsanctioned format has grown into one of the more popular and well-supported Magic formats, with a bunch of spinoff formats like Pauper Commander and Canadian Highlander. Considering that we get new Commander precons with most Standard set releases, decks for Universes Beyond products like Warhammer 40,000, Doctor Who, and Fallout, and even Commander-focused sets like Commander Legends, Commander Anthology, and Commander Masters, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that in the grand scheme of all things Magic, Commander is a pretty big deal.

Decisions about Commander used to be made independently by the Commander Rules Committee (with input from the Commander Advisory Group), but it’s all in-house now, baby! For better or for worse, Wizards of the Coast is now both the producer of Magic cards and the steward of the Commander format.

So let’s break down what we know about the new Commander Format Panel, touch on how we got here, and see what we can glean about what the future holds for EDH.

What Is the Commander Format Panel?

Council's Deliberation | Illustration by Viko Menezes

The Commander Format Panel is a group of community members with the mandate to help Wizards of the Coast manage Commander. Per Wizards’ announcement introducing the Commander Format Panel, it functions similarly to the Pauper Format Panel, who “work together to monitor the health of [the format], suggest changes, and discuss things like ban updates.”

Spiritually, it’s a successor to the Commander Rules Committee (established in 2006) and its Advisory Group (est. 2019). The Commander Rules Committee was a similar, yet independent group that previously filled a very similar role to the Commander Format Panel. The distinction is important, because the Commander Rules Committee was separate from Wizards and bore the responsibility of managing the format, while the Commander Format Panel itself is managed by Gavin Verhey, a former Pro Tour player who now works for Wizards of the Coast.

For those out of the loop, the Commander Rules Committee disbanded as a result of the response to their decisions to add Nadu, Winged Wisdom, Mana Crypt, Dockside Extortionist, and Jeweled Lotus to the Commander Ban List. This isn’t the space to relitigate that. But harassment and threats are not okay. Your thoughts and feelings on ban decisions are valid. But that doesn’t give you a license to cause harm or distress to others. Cool? Cool.

(It also reminds me of people who bet on sports and get mad at the coaches or athletes when their bets miss. “I bet $50 on Joe Jones scoring 25 points, but it was a blowout and Coach Carter benched in the fourth quarter. I lost $50 and I need Joe Jones and Coach Carter specifically to know how I feel about it.” Don’t be that guy.)

Who Is on the Commander Format Panel?

The Commander Format Panel is composed of 17 members as of Foundations. The panel is managed by Gavin Verhey, and its members are:

• Attack on Cardboard – @AttackOnCards
• Bandit – @BanditMTG1
• Benjamin Wheeler – @BWheelerMTG
• Charlotte Sable – @Jaqalyte
• DeQuan Watson – @powrdragn
• Deco – @Deco_pdc
• Greg Sablan – @GregorySablan
• Ittetu – @ittetu_
• Josh Lee Kwai – @JoshLeeKwai
• Kristen Gregory – @NurakamiKnight
• Lua Stardust – @luastardust
• Olivia Gobert-Hicks – @goberthicks
• Rachel Weeks – @wachelreeks
• Rebell Lily – @Rebell_Lily
• Scott Larabee – @ScottLarabee
• Tim Willoughby – @timswheelbarrow
• Toby Elliott – @tobyelliott

These members have signed on for one year. The plan is for panel members to rotate in and out while maintaining a certain level of consistency. Who knows! Maybe you or your favorite Magic community member will sit on the panel someday.

What Does the Commander Format Panel Plan to Do?

In brief, talk about Commander! In the announcement, Gavin Verhey emphasizes that he wants communication to run both from Wizards to the Commander Format Panel, and from the Panel up to Wizards. The initial intent is to have weekly meetings where Verhey can bring topics that are being discussed internally at Wizards of the Coast while also providing the Panel’s members a forum to discuss “what they’re seeing that [Wizards] should take a closer look at.”

The Panel will advise on decisions, but at the end of the day, responsibility and accountability for those decisions rests with Wizards of the Coast, as they have final say. Panel members are encouraged to voice their opinions, and publicly, too! Verhey mentions that the panel was assembled to have diverse viewpoints and perspectives, whether demographically or in terms of player profile. Panel members are compensated for their time, but they aren’t expected to toe the company line or anything.

Proposed Commander Power Bracket by Wizards of the Coast

Commander Power Brackets are among the first topics to discuss, which to me feels like trying to formalize the 10-point scale that Commander players use to informally discuss power levels, especially during Rule 0 conversations. Verhey also mentions a review of the Commander ban list is planned, so the Panel will have a chance to weigh in on that.

It’s hard to speculate on their exact impact, since I wouldn’t doubt that there’s a certain level of confidentiality involved. Since Wizards actively consults the panel on future products, we probably won’t hear much about design-level recommendations until another round of products, especially Commander precons.

I’d expect most of the Commander Format Panel’s impact to be felt behind the scenes, nudging Wizards designers toward or away from some types of decisions when making new Standard sets and Commander products. The committee is also diverse, in the sense that you have folks to represent casual players and cEDH players alike, and every player profile in between. That’s a wide range of tastes and opinions, and you can’t please everyone all of the time. But hopefully they’ll bring up questions and concerns that should help Wizards market each individual product to the gamer that they’re aiming for. Maybe another round of eminence commanders? (I’m kidding.)

Is the Commander Format Panel Going to Change the Ban List?

I lean yes, though not right away. Ban lists are part of the Commander Format Panel’s mandate, but, per the initial announcement of the Commander Rules Committee’s dissolution: “immediate changes to the list are not [their] priority.”

In Verhey’s announcement of the formation of the Commander Format Panel, he mentions that ban lists are on the docket for review, but that we shouldn’t expect much until early 2025. He states that we shouldn’t expect any new bans at that time, but I’m curious to see if they’ll recommend unbanning some cards considering how much of the current panel is made up of former Commander Rules Committee and Advisory Group members.

Are the CAG and Commander Rules Committee Still Around?

No, at least not in those forms. The Commander Rules Committee disbanded in September 2024 and handed over control of the Commander format to Wizards. In assembling the Commander Format Panel, Gavin Verhey wanted at least some continuity. Some members of the Commander Rules Committee and the Commander Advisory Group (CAG) at the time they were dissolved joined the Commander Format Panel when it was formed.

Commanding Conclusion

Ghost Council of Orzhova | Illustration by Greg Staples

So it really is a “The more things change, the more they stay the same” situation, eh? At least, that’s the intention here. New name, and one panel rather than a committee and an advisory group. And Wizards now has final say on all format decisions, rather than there being an independent committee.

I won’t pretend to predict whether this is good for the format overall. As Verhey mentions, Commander is a slow-moving format, and the Commander Format Panel isn’t looking to turn the meta on its head. But I’m curious to see how many panel members rotate off after their first year, and I’m very curious to hear which decisions Wizards takes that go against what the majority of the panel decides.

Got a thought on the future of Commander? Drop a comment below, or continue the discussion over on the Draftsim Discord server.

Until next time, stay safe! And don’t forget to build some interaction into your deck!