I think it's perfectly fine to not like it; but there is a big difference between "I don't like it" and "its not a good card". I also like how there are cards you can only use in EDH, it gives the game an unique feeling and atmosphere.
I feel like the entire purpose of this thread is to start an argument.
Use the card, or don't. No reason to try and convert others to your way of thought. It won't happen.
You either like the card or you hate the card, that won't change because you heard the opinion of the other side of the argument.
Since the argument is clearly not based on the usefulness of the card but instead upon feelings, the discussion is pretty pointless.
I feel like the entire purpose of this thread is to start an argument.
Use the card, or don't. No reason to try and convert others to your way of thought. It won't happen.
You either like the card or you hate the card, that won't change because you heard the opinion of the other side of the argument.
Since the argument is clearly not based on the usefulness of the card but instead upon feelings, the discussion is pretty pointless.
I think the point, like so much of the internet, is to find other people who agree with you so you can all bask in your mutual rightness. Which we were trying to do in peace.
But yeah, it's pretty unlikely to sway anyone one way or another.
I think the point, like so much of the internet, is to find other people who agree with you so you can all bask in your mutual rightness. Which we were trying to do in peace.
But yeah, it's pretty unlikely to sway anyone one way or another.
Yes, it's weird. It's like not wanting ABU lands. I get where you're coming from though. I just took a Heroes Downfall out of a deck for standard and I was glad I have that option, but in the same notion, I'll always use my command tower in my EDH games. It has a permanent slot in my Wrexial and Daakon decks, and I don't forsee taking either apart so it's fine with me.
It's only wierd from the perspective that you're allowing a piece of cardboard to generate an emotional response based on the way it interacts with other pieces of cardboard in a game of imagination.
This.
Anyways, I think it's designed well enough. It adds to a format without warping the format, which is more than I can say of other cards (jace, I'm looking at you). It doesn't break anything more than a land which taps for all colors can, especially given the drawback that it lacks basic land types and can only be used in commander. I personally use every copy of it that I own and if you all don't want to use it, just give your copies to me.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Currently trying to think up a way to abuse giant oyster
I feel like Command Tower illustrates a philosophy in WotC or what WotC believes the target market of Commander is. Its been often said how WotC and the RC communicate about Commander product. I think Command Tower shows us what the two entities feel Commander is.
Why would you ever print a card like Command Tower? Entering the battlefield untapped and producing any color of mana your deck could care about (and up to five colors) is insanely powerful. There is no precedent for a card like that. Shock, Fetch, and Pain lands all punish you for even giving you 2 colors. So what crowd would want Command Tower but not want Shocks/Fetchs? Casual players which are also, typically or maybe just stereotypically, players with low budget. Command Tower provides a service in 3+ color decks that would require 3 Shock/Fetch lands to do but for a fraction of the cost.
But WHY does Command Tower cost so little in the secondary market? Because who gives a crap about a card that can only be used in commander? Its not like when you play commander there are boxes or $1000 prizes on the line. The restriction of that card makes it less of a priority than Shocks/Fetchs because its also less competitively versatile. Command Tower becomes an easy alternative to expensive competitive lands for casual players playing in a casual format. Command Tower may be good for the hyper-tuners but it was designed for the casual players.
I think that's why WotC printed it, they have to be aware of the secondary market and at least care a little bit about it otherwise what is the point of the Restricted List? Command Tower is not an example of bad design, its an example of purpose in design. You can like it or not like it, I'm inclined to be rather meh towards it myself but just because you don't like it does not mean that you cannot appreciate what the card is, its reason for existence, and that consideration that was given to its target audience. WotC does often give the middle finger to certain audiences but its nice when they print cards just for the casuals and do so in such a way that it becomes more easily accessible for the casuals. The elegance in this cards design is not what it does in your deck or on the battlefield, its the achievement of the conscious purpose that spawned it.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
The following link is an invitation to join Pucatrade (card trading service though similar to TCGPLayer). If you follow the link then it awards me with tokens to exchange for actual cards. Thanks! https://pucatrade.com/invite/gift/86097
I didn't see it posted anywhere, but Command Tower is 100% confirmed for the newest decks.
In terms of Design, everyone says it's either good design or bad design. Where's the 3rd option? There was really no design. Making official product, Wizards wanted a land that is great for color but only for EDH, especially when they're printing 3 color decks with no strong duals and two of five didn't have green.
They made Occam's Razor: the land, and moved on. And I think it's understandable.
To address the OP's question, it depends on what you mean by weird. If weird means unusual then yes, it's weird not to like Command Tower since most people do. If weird was meant to have any negative connotation (as when people say "what a weird-o") then no, disliking a magic card is not weird. If the OP were calling for the banning of Command Tower that would be weird, too, but that doesn't seem to be anyone's intention here.
Several posters have already weighed in on this, but I want to summarize and add a little bit. If you're playing more than two colors then Command Tower is just the best fixing land that exists*. If you remove personal bias from the evaluation of "best" this statement should be pretty uncontroversial. I like what the tower does to the format. For people like me, who own most fetch- and dual-lands, Command Tower is just one of many excellent color fixing lands. For newer and/or lower budget players, Command Tower is a breath of fresh air. It's one less Vivid land or Refuge you have to run to make your spells castable.
*Ignoring corner cases like decks that need an extreme number of basics or try to abuse the two land types on dual- and shock-lands.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
You would never guess, at the terrifying sight of the man, that Hunding was as charming a companion as one could wish for.
If this was something that came up in my LGS (ala real life) I'd laugh at them.
1. 'easy design' uh yeah...some cards need to be easy designs.
2. should have been come into play tapped...in the land of ABU duels, survival of the fittest...maybe in your low powered commander group.
3. commander only design...like the new commanders. commander is now its own supported thing, big woop.
4. forgetting the context that the card doesn't fit in every deck, realizing that sometimes you see it misplaced in decks it doesn't need to be in because of a)bad deck building b) availability c) no harm done--little nonbasic hate/better hate targets in the meta.
I think if your running more than one color than you should absolutely be running command tower.. Honestly i can't think of a game or time i didn't want it in play.. It consistently adds any color you need all the time with no draw back except that there are limited ways to search for it..
Command tower cannot be used outside of EDH. It's that simple, when you design a card that does not function (command tower does not work in a 60 card deck) it's bad design.
Using this logic we can say that Ferarri's were badly designed because they cannot be used to pull 40ft trailers.
If part of the intent of the design was aimed at 60 card formats, then yes, it would be bad design. However, the card was designed Specifically for Commander, therefore the design satisfies the intent of the card.
Yes, it's weird. You may need to seek professional psychological help. This wierdness is indicative of sociopathy and should be treated with heavy medication.
I like the card because it is good. It fits in all my multicolor decks. ALL of them. Think about that. Better than any Tundra. Better than City of Brass. It lets you keep almost any opener three-land opening hand. It does its little 1/38 part in completely trivializing color management in the game. It makes all multicolor commander decks 98 cards and a Command Tower instead of 99. And EVERYONE HAS IT. Doesn't anyone else just think it's too easy?
And more importantly... I enjoy the things about our decks that make us unique. The fun pet cards everyone plays or kills you with. The different ways people like to durdle and suddenly combo out. The theme decks we make for funsies. All that individualistic stuff that says "this is YOUR deck" and "this is MY deck" is what I love so much about this format. Some people want to kill you with a 45/45 Consuming Aberration with a Whispersilk Cloak. Others want to triple-cast Molten Psyche after a Wheel. It keeps the games fresh and gives the decks a little extra meaning than just a pile of 99 cards trying to get your life total to zero. I believe that the fun is in the journey, not the destination.
Command tower is the utter antithesis of this. You slot it in and it's done, and every deck is just a little more the same than it was before it was printed. We are one step closer to multiplayer solitaire because of it.
tl;dr Command Tower is a guilty pleasure that trivializes color management and homogenizes decks across the entire format, and at least someone should be able to see how that might not be desirable.
Command tower is worse than g/x duals because it can't be searched by things like Skyshroud Claim or Natures Lore.
Command Tower is like Sol Ring. It shows how insane our format is, and that's a huge part of why I play it. If I wanted to play "fair" magic I'd waste time with bad formats like Standard.
I like the card because it is good. It fits in all my multicolor decks. ALL of them. Think about that. Better than any Tundra. Better than City of Brass. It lets you keep almost any opener three-land opening hand. It does its little 1/38 part in completely trivializing color management in the game. It makes all multicolor commander decks 98 cards and a Command Tower instead of 99. And EVERYONE HAS IT. Doesn't anyone else just think it's too easy?
And more importantly... I enjoy the things about our decks that make us unique. The fun pet cards everyone plays or kills you with. The different ways people like to durdle and suddenly combo out. The theme decks we make for funsies. All that individualistic stuff that says "this is YOUR deck" and "this is MY deck" is what I love so much about this format. Command tower is the utter antithesis of this. You slot it in and it's done, and every deck is just a little more the same than it was before it was printed.
tl;dr Command Tower is a guilty pleasure that trivializes color management and homogenizes decks across the entire format, and at least someone should be able to see how that might not be desirable.
Well said.
It also gives a big advantage to multicolour decks which already have an advantage over monocolour decks.
Command tower is worse than g/x duals because it can't be searched by things like Skyshroud Claim or Natures Lore.
Command Tower is like Sol Ring. It shows how insane our format is, and that's a huge part of why I play it. If I wanted to play "fair" magic I'd waste time with bad formats like Standard.
You still run both so your first point is unimportant. I agree with you on your second point though. It's exactly like Sol Ring. It's overpowered and everyone plays it. To me, I like playing with really good cards but when everyone else is playing with the same exact ones it just doesn't hold my excitement over the near-5 years I've been playing Commander.
Given that the OP never actually returned to defend his position and had a rather flimsy argument in the first place, this thread is basically trolling... A lock would be fantastic about now before it gets necro'd again.
Please don't call other users trolls. Warning for trolling - BlackVise
You still run both so your first point is unimportant. I agree with you on your second point though. It's exactly like Sol Ring. It's overpowered and everyone plays it. To me, I like playing with really good cards but when everyone else is playing with the same exact ones it just doesn't hold my excitement over the near-5 years I've been playing Commander.
You stop caring about silly nonexistent things like "being unique" when you realize intent is more important than the action. The deck is yours because you made it, regardless of how "individual" it is.
tl;dr Command Tower is a guilty pleasure that trivializes color management and homogenizes decks across the entire format, and at least someone should be able to see how that might not be desirable.
freaking hipsters. " I DONT PLAY GOOD CARDS BECAUSE DURRR OTHER PEOPLE DO"
should probably stop playing Islands as well...
GUESS MY MULTICOLOR DECK NEEDS COMMAND TOWER BETTER SLOT IT IN
HURR DURR NEXT LEVEL
Otherwise here's a serious question: Where do you draw a line between two theoretical extremes "No one plays the same cards" and "everyone plays the same deck"? Command tower is an unequivocal shift towards the latter as it is autoincluded in every multicolor deck. Where is your preference? Can you understand that people who want to see variety in some decks and want to be challenged by deckbuilding maybe would prefer something closer to the former, where decisions like Command Tower are not made for them in deck construction?
I've made my preference clear. Autoincludes are boring. HURR DURR or something like that
Use the card, or don't. No reason to try and convert others to your way of thought. It won't happen.
You either like the card or you hate the card, that won't change because you heard the opinion of the other side of the argument.
Since the argument is clearly not based on the usefulness of the card but instead upon feelings, the discussion is pretty pointless.
I think the point, like so much of the internet, is to find other people who agree with you so you can all bask in your mutual rightness. Which we were trying to do in peace.
But yeah, it's pretty unlikely to sway anyone one way or another.
EDH Primers
Phelddagrif - Zirilan
EDH
Thrasios+Bruse - Pang - Sasaya - Wydwen - Feather - Rona - Toshiro - Sylvia+Khorvath - Geth - QMarchesa - Firesong - Athreos - Arixmethes - Isperia - Etali - Silas+Sidar - Saskia - Virtus+Gorm - Kynaios - Naban - Aryel - Mizzix - Kazuul - Tymna+Kraum - Sidar+Tymna - Ayli - Gwendlyn - Phelddagrif 4 - Liliana - Kaervek - Phelddagrif 3 - Mairsil - Scarab - Child - Phenax - Shirei - Thada - Depala - Circu - Kytheon - GrenzoHR - Phelddagrif - Reyhan+Kraum - Toshiro - Varolz - Nin - Ojutai - Tasigur - Zedruu - Uril - Edric - Wort - Zurgo - Nahiri - Grenzo - Kozilek - Yisan - Ink-Treader - Yisan - Brago - Sidisi - Toshiro - Alexi - Sygg - Brimaz - Sek'Kuar - Marchesa - Vish Kal - Iroas - Phelddagrif - Ephara - Derevi - Glissa - Wanderer - Saffi - Melek - Xiahou Dun - Lazav - Lin Sivvi - Zirilan - Glissa
PDH - Drake - Graverobber - Izzet GM - Tallowisp - Symbiote Brawl - Feather - Ugin - Jace - Scarab - Angrath - Vraska - Kumena Oathbreaker - Wrenn&6
I think you're right.
UBRSedris, the Necromancer KingUBR
This.
Anyways, I think it's designed well enough. It adds to a format without warping the format, which is more than I can say of other cards (jace, I'm looking at you). It doesn't break anything more than a land which taps for all colors can, especially given the drawback that it lacks basic land types and can only be used in commander. I personally use every copy of it that I own and if you all don't want to use it, just give your copies to me.
BPauper Glissa EDHG
WMaw of the Obzedat PDHB
Why would you ever print a card like Command Tower? Entering the battlefield untapped and producing any color of mana your deck could care about (and up to five colors) is insanely powerful. There is no precedent for a card like that. Shock, Fetch, and Pain lands all punish you for even giving you 2 colors. So what crowd would want Command Tower but not want Shocks/Fetchs? Casual players which are also, typically or maybe just stereotypically, players with low budget. Command Tower provides a service in 3+ color decks that would require 3 Shock/Fetch lands to do but for a fraction of the cost.
But WHY does Command Tower cost so little in the secondary market? Because who gives a crap about a card that can only be used in commander? Its not like when you play commander there are boxes or $1000 prizes on the line. The restriction of that card makes it less of a priority than Shocks/Fetchs because its also less competitively versatile. Command Tower becomes an easy alternative to expensive competitive lands for casual players playing in a casual format. Command Tower may be good for the hyper-tuners but it was designed for the casual players.
I think that's why WotC printed it, they have to be aware of the secondary market and at least care a little bit about it otherwise what is the point of the Restricted List? Command Tower is not an example of bad design, its an example of purpose in design. You can like it or not like it, I'm inclined to be rather meh towards it myself but just because you don't like it does not mean that you cannot appreciate what the card is, its reason for existence, and that consideration that was given to its target audience. WotC does often give the middle finger to certain audiences but its nice when they print cards just for the casuals and do so in such a way that it becomes more easily accessible for the casuals. The elegance in this cards design is not what it does in your deck or on the battlefield, its the achievement of the conscious purpose that spawned it.
https://pucatrade.com/invite/gift/86097
In terms of Design, everyone says it's either good design or bad design. Where's the 3rd option? There was really no design. Making official product, Wizards wanted a land that is great for color but only for EDH, especially when they're printing 3 color decks with no strong duals and two of five didn't have green.
They made Occam's Razor: the land, and moved on. And I think it's understandable.
Several posters have already weighed in on this, but I want to summarize and add a little bit. If you're playing more than two colors then Command Tower is just the best fixing land that exists*. If you remove personal bias from the evaluation of "best" this statement should be pretty uncontroversial. I like what the tower does to the format. For people like me, who own most fetch- and dual-lands, Command Tower is just one of many excellent color fixing lands. For newer and/or lower budget players, Command Tower is a breath of fresh air. It's one less Vivid land or Refuge you have to run to make your spells castable.
*Ignoring corner cases like decks that need an extreme number of basics or try to abuse the two land types on dual- and shock-lands.
1. 'easy design' uh yeah...some cards need to be easy designs.
2. should have been come into play tapped...in the land of ABU duels, survival of the fittest...maybe in your low powered commander group.
3. commander only design...like the new commanders. commander is now its own supported thing, big woop.
4. forgetting the context that the card doesn't fit in every deck, realizing that sometimes you see it misplaced in decks it doesn't need to be in because of a)bad deck building b) availability c) no harm done--little nonbasic hate/better hate targets in the meta.
Newsflash: It doesnt make you better than anyone else, and the card is good without being broken. Get over yourself. It's a game.
Warning for trolling - BlackVise
GB [Primer][Competitive][Stax][Combo] Meren of Clan Nel Toth 95% RETIRED
UW [Primer][Competitive][Combo][Stax] Brago, King Eternal RETIRED
BR Rakdos, Lord of Riots (75%)
G Titania - 75%
W SRAM - Welcome to the cheeri0s jam 95%
U Teferi - stax 100%
R Neheb - janky mono red eggs combo 90%
B Gonti - 50% valuetown
Using this logic we can say that Ferarri's were badly designed because they cannot be used to pull 40ft trailers.
If part of the intent of the design was aimed at 60 card formats, then yes, it would be bad design. However, the card was designed Specifically for Commander, therefore the design satisfies the intent of the card.
Other than trying to be cool I cannot see any kind of comprehensible rational explanation
I like the card because it is good. It fits in all my multicolor decks. ALL of them. Think about that. Better than any Tundra. Better than City of Brass. It lets you keep almost any opener three-land opening hand. It does its little 1/38 part in completely trivializing color management in the game. It makes all multicolor commander decks 98 cards and a Command Tower instead of 99. And EVERYONE HAS IT. Doesn't anyone else just think it's too easy?
And more importantly... I enjoy the things about our decks that make us unique. The fun pet cards everyone plays or kills you with. The different ways people like to durdle and suddenly combo out. The theme decks we make for funsies. All that individualistic stuff that says "this is YOUR deck" and "this is MY deck" is what I love so much about this format. Some people want to kill you with a 45/45 Consuming Aberration with a Whispersilk Cloak. Others want to triple-cast Molten Psyche after a Wheel. It keeps the games fresh and gives the decks a little extra meaning than just a pile of 99 cards trying to get your life total to zero. I believe that the fun is in the journey, not the destination.
Command tower is the utter antithesis of this. You slot it in and it's done, and every deck is just a little more the same than it was before it was printed. We are one step closer to multiplayer solitaire because of it.
tl;dr Command Tower is a guilty pleasure that trivializes color management and homogenizes decks across the entire format, and at least someone should be able to see how that might not be desirable.
:symu::symr: Melek WheelStorm
:symw::symg: Trostani Enchantress (updated 6/5)
:symg::symr::symu: Unexpected Results.dec
Thada Adel Stax WIP
Command Tower is like Sol Ring. It shows how insane our format is, and that's a huge part of why I play it. If I wanted to play "fair" magic I'd waste time with bad formats like Standard.
Well said.
It also gives a big advantage to multicolour decks which already have an advantage over monocolour decks.
BBB Two Hundred Zombies BBB
Duel Commander
WR Tajic, Wrath of the Manlands RW
BGW Doran Destruction WGB
Commander
GUB Mimeoplasm, Screw Politics BUG
BR Mogis, God of Slaughter RB
RGW Marath, Ramp and Removal WGR
WUBRG Karona, Jank God GRBUW
You still run both so your first point is unimportant. I agree with you on your second point though. It's exactly like Sol Ring. It's overpowered and everyone plays it. To me, I like playing with really good cards but when everyone else is playing with the same exact ones it just doesn't hold my excitement over the near-5 years I've been playing Commander.
:symu::symr: Melek WheelStorm
:symw::symg: Trostani Enchantress (updated 6/5)
:symg::symr::symu: Unexpected Results.dec
Thada Adel Stax WIP
Please don't call other users trolls. Warning for trolling - BlackVise
You stop caring about silly nonexistent things like "being unique" when you realize intent is more important than the action. The deck is yours because you made it, regardless of how "individual" it is.
Guilty pleasure?
Homogenizes 100 card singleton decks?!
Hahaha
should probably stop playing Islands as well...
Infraction for trolling - BlackVise
I had this problem building a Sharuum deck until I realized I was being a stupid child.
GUESS MY MULTICOLOR DECK NEEDS COMMAND TOWER BETTER SLOT IT IN
HURR DURR NEXT LEVEL
Otherwise here's a serious question: Where do you draw a line between two theoretical extremes "No one plays the same cards" and "everyone plays the same deck"? Command tower is an unequivocal shift towards the latter as it is autoincluded in every multicolor deck. Where is your preference? Can you understand that people who want to see variety in some decks and want to be challenged by deckbuilding maybe would prefer something closer to the former, where decisions like Command Tower are not made for them in deck construction?
I've made my preference clear. Autoincludes are boring. HURR DURR or something like that
:symu::symr: Melek WheelStorm
:symw::symg: Trostani Enchantress (updated 6/5)
:symg::symr::symu: Unexpected Results.dec
Thada Adel Stax WIP