Thread by @GavinVerhey

Hi everyone! I thought it would be worth taking a moment to talk about white in Commander. There's no way I can do this topic justice in a single tweet, so it's going to be a long thread - I encourage you to read the whole thing. :) Let's get started!
#wotcstaff #CMRLegends

So to set the ground floor to begin: we recognize that white needs some Commander love. More then ever, and especially in the past 9ish months, this has been a very front-of-mind issue. Commander is a format built upon ramp and card draw - and these are both weaknesses of white.

We aren't blind to the issue, and we don't think what we have is enough. We've had many great discussions about how to get white what it needs. I want to give a big shout out to @SixthComma, who as white on the Council of Colors, has been doing a great job leading the charge.

There was another color like this not too long ago. That color was red. It also mostly lacked mana ramp and card draw. The discussion from players was similar. So we tried to figure out solutions. In doing so, we needed to innovate new tools for red.

A big one was "impulsive draw" - this let red draw cards in a way that feels very red. And often, in a Commander game that goes long, you can usually play what you exile to essentially draw a card. Now we do this fairly often, and it's been adopted by many players into decks.

Another big one has been treasure. And while multiple colors get gold/treasure, red has access to it. Curse of Opulence is great. Dockside Extortionist, while over the line on power, has helped red out. Even a more reasonable version of Dockside Extortionist would help red ramp.

Additionally, there are just plenty of one-of cards we've made which help red in these and other ways. And over the past 7 years, red has gotten more and more tools. Our work here isn't done, but Red is in a much happier place. (Red was only 2% behind blue in Command Zone data!)

One thing you'll note about these above cards? They come from different sets. It takes time to slowly build a color up. But a card or two every set, and over time, your Commander deck starts looking stronger and stronger.

It's good to do this over time for a number of reasons. A big one is that we can see what impact the cards have instead of just firehosing in 10 cards featuring a new mechanic to help out the color and then learning we made a huge error with how several of them were designed

For example, imagine if impulsive draw had been very negatively received by players. By doing a couple initially and learning, we could make sure people wanted them, and also improve later ones. (For example, changing some Commander ones to be "until end of next turn" versions.)

So that's been a lot of talk about red. Now let's talk about white. We are just on the precipice of a lot of what we've talked about with white beginning to gradually manifest. Much like red, we are going to be doing different things over time, seeing the reaction, and learning.

It is really important to note that, for reasons mentioned above, this is not going to be a sudden change. One set is not going to come out and release 10 cards that will go into every every white Commander deck for all time. But over many sets, white will get all kinds of tools.

In Commander Legends, there are some powerful white cards. I know we previewed it months ago now, but Keeper of the Accord is VERY strong. Promise of Tomorrow & Court of Grace are card advantage that play to white's strengths. Skyhunter is card advantage and free casting in one!

Long term, I'd expect a couple of these to be staples in average power level, and others to show up occasionally. They won't all hit. But these are examples of what this set is doing. As mentioned earlier, it's a gradual process. We can also learn from these for future cards.

Next up, I want to talk about a couple of cards in the set that I see referenced frequently to white. Now before I get into them, I'll say that I was not involved in the design of either, nor am I on the Council of Colors. That said, I do have thoughts that may be enlightening.

These are, of course, Opposition Agent and Hullbreacher. What I write is solely in reference to color pie here - there is plenty otherwise to say about the power level/impact, but as I said, I wasn't involved in the design of these so I can't fully speak to that.

I've been tagged in a lot of posts about how these should have been white cards instead of black or blue cards. I agree there are elements that are white! However, while I totally see where you're coming from, I disagree where these exact effects belong.

Stopping your opponents from searching like this can be white. No arguments there. However, looking through their deck and taking cards is, to me, certainly not white - and I don't see an interpretation of the color pie where white is doing this exact card.

I've seen a lot of comparisons between Hullbreacher and Smothering Tithe. They are *very* different cards. Tithe doesn't replace the card draw, it taxes your opponent. Hullbreacher removes all draws. I'll also note Tithe is the only white card in Magic to create treasure.

If you want to make those exact cards of Opposition Agent and Hullbreacher, they are in the correct colors. Those are not white cards. White doesn't turn opponent's cards into treasure, nor does it cause your opponent's library to betray them as you steal cards you searched for.

Now, you could say that white's color pie could use some expansion. I personally agree! It will go through some as we explore. But even if you expand white's pie, I don't think it's going to get to stealing cards from your opponent's library. Opposition Agent's text is black. :)

I think it's also worth noting that multiple colors can do rule setting and punishing. Blue or black both have plenty of cards in that space. I do think there is a good discussion to keep an eye on the mana cost blue and black do it for - but that's another discussion.

Now, to agree with a general sentiment: I think you could absolutely say that white could have something better for answering searching or drawing extra cards than Aven Mindcensor or Alms Collector. There's room to do more there. A good note to get that in a future set. :)

...And no, it's not "If your opponent would search/draw extra, instead gain 1 life." :) We can give white rewards that are awesome - just searching your opponent's library and then stealing their cards is not a white thing to do, in game or philosophically.

So yes, we're looking to give white tools it needs. It is going to take time, and I know waiting is tough. But a few years from now, I hope to look around at white in Commander and see all the sweet new cards that address players' concerns. I know I'm excited for that world. :)

And finally, many thanks again to @SixthComma for all his hard work on white. He's really making future cool stuff happen! While I'm the one talking here, this is all me relaying general feelings and principles, plus my opinion. Ari has a great vision, and I really trust him. :)