The Commander Rules Committee has announced that they decided not to ban the Magic: The Gathering cards from the upcoming crossover product, Secret Lair x The Walking Dead in the Commander format despite the fans' outrage against Wizards of the Coast's decision to print the cards in black border and feature characters from AMC's show in the popular trading card game.
On Friday, Commander Rules Committee founding member Sheldon Menery explained their decision to not ban The Walking Dead cards from the Commander format.
"We're not banning the cards from Secret Lair: The Walking Dead. We understand that this won't sit well with some folks; we have spent a lot of the last few days listening to a wide variety of opinions, and we want to thank everyone for taking the time to share their thoughts," Menery said "It was, at times, quite overwhelming. It's clear that this is an issue that many people are passionate about."
He continued, "There's no support in the Commander Philosophy Document for banning these cards. They certainly present no mechanical difficulties, and taken simply as cards, don't come close to fitting any criteria we have for banning. However, as we are always seeking to improve the document, we discussed whether banning these cards could fit under new philosophical criteria and whether using the banlist in this way was appropriate."
Menery went on to discuss the three major concerns about the crossover Secret Lair:
On the card's availability, Menery said:
On the existence of non-Magic IP on cards:
On Negan's character:
Earlier this week, over 27,000 fans have signed the petition for the Commander RC to ban The Walking Dead cards from the game.
Do you agree with the Commander RC's decision to not ban The Walking Dead cards from Commander? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Secret Lair x The Walking Dead will be available for preorder on October 4-12 on secretlair.wizards.com for $49.99/£49.99/€54.99.