Magic community mourns Sheldon Menery, creator of the beloved Commander format
Sheldon Menery, the creator of Commander, Magic: The Gathering’s most popular style of play, has died following a seven-year battle with cancer. The announcement was made Friday morning on Facebook where his wife, Gretchyn Melde, said that he passed away peacefully. The sad news been followed by kind words and condolences from across the tabletop industry.
Commander is a multiplayer format of Magic, which was originally designed as a strictly two-player game. It allows three or more players, using unique 100-card decks and a singular leader character, to enjoy a more casual style of gameplay. The format is known for its sense of creative expression, with players concocting all manner of clever uses for existing mechanics — including Menery’s own signature deck, titled You Did This To Yourself, which turns opponents’ cards into weapons to be used against them.
Menery, speaking with Polygon in 2020, discussed the birth of the Commander format in detail. He said that it grew out of the Elder Dragon Highlander (EDH) format, a variation to which he was introduced during his time at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska. Later, during his time as a high-ranking judge on the Magic Pro Tour, Menery would further refine this EDH variant, expanding its potential for creative deck-building, and laying the groundwork for what would become the format’s governing body — The Commander Rules Committee — of which he remained an active member until his death. Today, this volunteer organization helps to guide the format in partnership with its publisher, Wizards of the Coast, giving guidance on rules adjustments, banned cards, new cards, and more.
“Philosophically, [Commander] was always intended to be a break from competitiveMagi
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