Magic: The Gathering, Please Stop Forcing Commander Games To Be All About Combat
As one of Magic: The Gathering's largest and most popular formats, Commander is all about having the freedom to play whatever deck you want. If you want to make a highly competitive combo-driven Kraum and Tymna Turbo Ad Nauseam deck, you can – if you want to make a chill Jellyfish Tribal deck with Gluntch, that's totally fine too. Self-expression is key to Commander more than any other format.
But a worrying trend has emerged in Magic's newest Commander-focused set, Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate. So many cards and new mechanics seem focused on forcing you into combat, just one of many ways to win a game of Commander, and easily my least favourite.
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It all started a few months ago when Wizards announced it was introducing 'Commander Evergreen mechanics'. These mechanics are free to use in any Commander product, usually ones that serve a useful role in the design of the game (like trample, flight, and ward). Goad was the first of these mechanics, and its ability to force an opponent’s creatures to attack anyone but you has been seen a few times since then. We saw it in Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty's Commander decks, then in Streets of New Capenna's, and now it's playing a big role in Battle for Baldur's Gate.
Exclusive to Baldur's Gate is a brand-new mechanic called initiative. When a player has initiative, they have access to a whole unique dungeon that they progress through each upkeep. However, other players can take the initiative from them by dealing combat damage, the exact same way monarch worked in the previous Commander Legends set.
With goad, initiative, and myriad (making token copies of attacking creatures that attack
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