Magic: The Gathering lead designer Mark Rosewater addressed the extreme backlash from some players after several cards were banned in the Commander format.
On September 23, Wizards of the Coast confirmed that four cards – Dockside Extortionist, Jeweled Lotus, Mana Crypt, and Nadu, Winged Wisdom – had been immediately banned from Commander by the format’s Rules Committee.
In a September 28 blog post, Rosewater was asked by a player if they were willing to comment on “harassment towards the RC and CAG to deter these harassers”, to which he provided a lengthy response.
Attributing much of the extreme vitriol to internet anonymity, he said:
“At times, we do things a majority are *very* unhappy with. That’s when things can get a bit ugly. There are a lot of civilities built into daily life. There are things you don’t do or say to another human being. Most of that goes out the window online.”
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Explaining how he deals with personal attacks and threats, Rosewater added, “I came to realize that someone being nasty is more a commentary on them than me. I’ve made the conscious choice to build a thick skin and weather special media, so I can continue doing what I love,” he added, admitting that “It saddens me that I have to.”
Openly requesting that such bad actors reflect on the potentially harmful nature of their actions, Rosewater signed off, “I ask the Magic community to be better. I know we have the potential. I’ve seen it.”
Due to all four affected cards’ high secondary market value, accusations of insider trading quickly followed the September 23 ban announcement, prompting the Rules Committee to deny any such claims while confirming it had “no desire or intent” of rolling back any of the changes.
