For as long as Magic the Gathering has been around, there’s been quite a divide (usually seen at the local level) between player bases as it relates to proxies, specifically, with playing with them in the course of a game.

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     If you’re not familiar with the term “proxy”, as it relates to the game of Magic, the word “proxy” usually synonymous with the word “fake”. In this context, we define the word proxy to mean a card that is not legal for DCI-Sanctioned Tournament play, whether or not it’s been licensed by Wizards of the Crack (sic), except in limited circumstances, as noted by Elaine Chase on behalf of Wizards:

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“The only exception is if a card has become damaged during the course of play in a particular event (for instance, a shuffling accident bends a card or a drink gets spilled); in that case a judge may issue a proxy for use only for the duration of that event so the player can continue playing.” (Chase, 2016, Jan. 14)

 

     The above quote certainly begs the question, doesn’t it? Obviously we’re not talking about Modern, Legacy, or Vintage here. Or for that matter, Standard (which in our opinion is a money pit).

 

     We’re talking about Commander.

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     From just a brief glancing of what the internet can provide (via Google search), a person can find out for themselves that the three categories in which DCI groups together their sanctioned events are Constructed, Eternal, and Limited. The above formats that we’ve noted so far (Standard and Modern) fall within the Constructed category. Block Constructed also falls into this category too. However, Vintage and Legacy both fall under the Eternal format categorization due to the nature of their card pools (even though they still fall under Constructed format guidelines for the requirements of deckbuilding).

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     The main question is this: Is EDH/Commander considered to be a DCI-Sanctionable Event? And what does anything that’s been stated so far have to do with Commander?

 

     Quite a bit in fact, on both accounts.

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     In our research thus far, the answer related to EDH/Commander being a sanctionable event is “Not Officially”. It can, however, be ran as a side event, as determined by the hosting LGS under the banner of “Casual Event” through Wizards Event Reporter. This is a broad grouping that’s allowed by WOTC and DCI for the purposes of reporting their events and for issuing Planeswalker Points to their participants.

 

(Speculation:   Maybe this is why some players are under the assumption that EDH is a casual format?)

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     Rather than explain the rationale behind this, here’s a partial remittance from an an email received from a WOTC Retail Sales Representative (who will remain nameless out of respect for their anonymity):

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“We spoke briefly about event reporting Commander events for WPN retailers. As noted in our call, Commander is an available format for casual events. Additionally, while there are far fewer restrictions for casual events, and proxies are not explicitly prohibited in casual events (highlight used for emphasis), I would strongly discourage permitting their use in your events. There are two main reasons behind this. One, this practice does not help grow your business in the long run, and may have the opposite effect. Without needing to purchase cards/packs from your business, you're missing out on potential sales. The other thing to call out is that players have not received permission to use WotC assets to create physical items.”

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     This information was garnered simply by calling WOTC Customer Support and letting them know of your potential interest in possibly starting an LGS, and then asking the rep whether or not Commander is considered to be a DCI-sanctioned event.

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     So, there are two things to take away from this when it comes to proxies being frowned upon, at least from WOTC’s perspective. One, possible fewer sales to your LGS, which means possibly going out of business over a period of time. And two, possible perceived copyright infringements, which can result in lawsuits if discovered and pursued by the company.

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     Now that we’ve figured some things out, let’s get to brass tacks. Remember that we’re approaching this from a consumer’s perspective, and not approaching this from a business perspective. With that in mind, let’s address each question individually:

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One -- Is EDH/Commander considered to be a DCI-Sanctionable Event?

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Answer -- It’s only considered to be a sanctioned event if it’s reported to DCI as a Casual Event in Wizards Event Reporter. This means it’s up to the LGS to decide if the event is being ran as a Sanctioned Event, and even then, it’s up to the LGS to decide if they intend to follow through with not allowing proxies.

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TL;DR? The answer is “No. Commander is not explicitly a DCI sanctionable format.”

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Two -- What does anything that’s been stated so far have to do with Commander?

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Answer -- In the context of players physically playing the game, what that means to you, the player, is this: Seeing as though the likelihood of copyright infringement is highly unlikely, unless you’re selling the proxies you make as well (which we explicitly do not recommend), and WOTC somehow finds out about it, this issue isn’t likely to come up.

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     So, what’s the takeaway from all of this?

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     The reason why WOTC discourages proxies (and more than likely many LGS’s as well) is because of the potential likelihood of the LGS losing potential repeat revenue. And while we agree with many people that it’s rather problematic to play at a big box store (like Target and Wal-Mart), many within the EDH community, on a whole, still seem to be quite divided on this issue for various reasons.

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      And no matter where you personally stand on this issue, this is an issue that cannot be ignored much longer.

      That’s all the time we have for this article. The Tryhard Academy will be posting, in the next few weeks, a supplementary audio podcast that will involve a discussion on this hot-button topic.

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      If you like the content we’ve put together so far, feel free to like and share this information with your fellow player. And as always, it's better to Get Good Rather Than Get Wrecked.

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Sources:

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1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxy_card

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2. https://blogs.magicjudges.org/rules/mtr3-4/

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3. https://mtg.gamepedia.com/DCI#Tournament_formats

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4. https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/proxies-policy-and-communication-2016-01-14

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5. WOTC Email, in full, with names redacted to protect anonymity (see below).

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============================================================

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(WOTC EMAIL)

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You are being contacted in regards to one of your Wizards accounts. Note that this contact may be in response to a request for personal assistance from our on-line support center or a contact initiated by our support staff. If you would like to respond to this contact, respond to this email or go to www.wizards.com/customerservice and click the "Support History" tab. Thank you for allowing us to be of service to you.

 

Subject

Reporting Events, Proxies, and Joining the WPN

 

Response By Email (Support Rep) (02/15/2018 02:12 PM)

Greetings,

 

Thank you for contacting Wizards of the Coast!

 

We spoke briefly about event reporting Commander events for WPN retailers. As noted in our call, Commander is an available format for casual events. Additionally, while there are far fewer restrictions for casual events, and proxies are not explicitly prohibited in casual events, I would strongly discourage permitting their use in your events. There are two main reasons behind this. One, this practice does not help grow your business in the long run, and may have the opposite effect. Without needing to purchase cards/packs from your business, you're missing out on potential sales. The other thing to call out is that players have not received permission to use WotC assets to create physical items.

 

Once you've got your business up and running, I'd like for you to take a look at what the Wizards Play Network has to offer in order to help support Magic at your store.

 

If you haven't already, I would ask that you create a Wizards Account at http://accounts.wizards.com. After the creation of your account, you would need to complete the WPN application found here: http://wpn.wizards.com/en/sign-wpn

 

For more information about the joining process and benefits, you can also scope out the following link, designed for new retailers: http://wpn.wizards.com/en/join-wpn

 

Once you've signed up with the WPN, you will be put in contact with our Retail Development team who will guide you through the on-boarding process and help you get started with selling our product and running officially sanctioned events.

 

Additionally, here's a link to a list of our Authorized Distributors that you can contact about setting up an account to obtain product for your location: http://wpn.wizards.com/en/resources/distributors

 

This information should get you on the path to WPN greatness, but if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!

 

To login to your account or update your question, please click here.

 

(NAME REDACTED)

Retail Support Representative

Wizards of the Coast, LLC

1-800-564-1636 (US and Canada)

Monday-Sunday 9am-5pm PST / 12pm-8pm EST