Hi Dave, did you see the new Ragavan Card in Modern Horizons 2? I don't know if Quantum Commander is even still a thing, but do you think that Kari-Zev and Ragavan could be Quantum Partners, since Kari makes a Ragavan Token?
I would totally consider Kari-Zev and Ragavan to be legal Quantum Commander partners since Kari’s card creates Ragavan tokens.
Thanks for asking @deg99!! It’s been a lon time since I’ve gotten a Quantum Commander question, and it’s nice to know there are people still interested in that quirky Vorthos-themed format!
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In the interests of simplifying the process for others, I figured I’d make a list for the Quantum Commander format thought up by @flavoracle over here.
I’ll be adding to the list in the future, with new cards and any I miss along the way.
Please, if you find any I miss, let me know.
Akroma (Akroma, Angel of Wrath, Akroma, Angel of Fury, or Karona, False God)
Chandra (Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh//Chandra, Roaring Flame with Chandra Ablaze, Chandra Nalaar, Chandra, Flamecaller, Chandra, Pyrogenius, Chandra, Pyromaster, Chandra, Torch of Defiance, or Chandra, the Firebrand)
Gideon (Kytheon, Hero of Akros//Gideon, Battle-Forged with Gideon Jura, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Gideon, Champion of Justice, Gideon, Martial Paragon, or Gideon of the Trials)
Jace (Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy//Jace, Telepath Unbound with Jace Beleren, Jace, Architect of Thought, Jace, Memory Adept, Jace, Unraveler of Secrets, Jace, the Living Guildpact, Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Jace, Cunning Castaway, or Jace, Ingenious Mind-Mage)
Liliana (Liliana, Heretical Healer//Liliana, Defiant Necromancer with Liliana Vess, Liliana of the Dark Realms, Liliana of the Veil, Liliana, the Last Hope, Liliana, Death Wielder, or Liliana, Death’s Majesty)
QC question! Mila, Crafty Companion (STX) has Lukka, Wayward Bonder on the flipside. Would a QC deck be legal with MCC/LWB (STX) and Lukka, Coppercoat Outcast (IKO)?
I would consider this a legal pairing for Quantum Commander for two reasons:
Mila is a legendary creature, and anyone sharing a card with a legendary creature is part of the quantum entanglement.
Back in April 2019 I posted that I consider all legendary planeswalkers to be legal commanders for Quantum Commander.
Quantum Commander (or “QC” for short) is a format for playing Magic: the Gathering that was inspired by an ask from @wretchedor30 (you can see the original post here.)Â
The overall premise of the format is that it’s similar to Commander (a.k.a. EDH) except that instead of having a single commander, Quantum Commander allows players to have up to two commanders as long as those commanders flavorfully represent different versions of the same character. (Like the two Ashlings pictured above.)Â
But in QC, those two commanders actually represent two different states of reality, so there’s a bit more to it than just “you get to have two commanders.” Below is a further breakdown of the rules. (Updates will be made below the “Keep reading” link as they’re made.)Â
So for those of you curious about Quantum Commander, read on...Â
Quantum Commander works something like this:Â
Players still have a 100-card singleton deck (except for basic lands)Â
Instead of one legendary creature for a commander, QC decks have up to two commanders, as long as both cards flavorfully represent alternate versions of the same characterÂ
As long as one commander is a legal EDH commander, its pair may be any permanent type as long as it flavorfully represents the same character (so for example, if a character is represented on both a legendary creature and a planeswalker card, a QC deck could have both cards as its two commanders)Â
QC decks may contain cards that match the color identity of the combined commandersÂ
Players may only have one of their commanders on the battlefield at a time (since each one represents an entirely different state of reality)Â
When a player has neither of their commanders on the battlefield, their deck is in “superposition,” and can cast any spells availableÂ
When a commander is on the battlefield, the deck loses “superposition” and its owner may not cast any spells in colors outside of that commander’s color identityÂ
If a player has one of their commanders on the battlefield, casting their other commander results in exiling the first, and sending it to the Command Zone (regardless of who controls the commander at the time)Â
A player can’t win the game in “superposition” (they can only win the game when one of their commanders is on the battlefield)Â
OK, so let’s go through some QC Q&A. And for our examples here, we’re going to use these two handsome legendary creatures for our commanders:Â
Q: What card colors can I have in this deck?
A: Since Rhys the Exiled has a color identity of Green/Black, and Rhys the Redeemed has a color identity of Green/White, this deck can contain any spells or lands with green, black, or white mana symbols on them (as well as colorless or generic mana.)
Q: Would I be able to play any Abzan colored cards like Doran the Siege Tower in this deck?
A: You can put Doran in the deck, and you can play him while the deck is in “superposition” (when neither commander is on the battlefield) but as soon as either Rhys is played, you would not be able to cast Doran, since neither commander has all of Doran’s colors in their color identities.
Q: What about a cool spell with a White/Black hybrid mana cost, like Unmake?
A: Unmake can go in the deck, and you can play it while the deck is in “superposition,” but you would be unable to cast it while either commander is in play.
Q: If I control a black creature, does it go away when I cast Rhys the Redeemed?
A: Nope, casting Rhys the Redeemed won’t make any of your black permanents go away. You just won’t be able to cast any black spells while he’s on the battlefield.
Q: Can I play a Plains while Rhys the Exiled is on the battlefield? Or pay an activation cost that requires white mana?Â
A:Â Absolutely! Commanders on the battlefield only restrict which spells you can cast.Â
Q: If playing one of my commanders could restrict the spells I can play, why wouldn’t I just choose to never cast my commanders?Â
A: Because you can’t win the game in “superposition.” You have to have one of your commanders on the battlefield in order to win. (Also, hopefully your commanders are actually an important part of your deck strategy.)Â
Q: What happens if my opponent’s life total is 0 or they can’t draw a card, and I don’t have a commander in play?
A: Since you can’t win in “superposition,” the game will continue (like if you had an Abysmal Persecutor under your control) until either you cast one of your commanders, or your opponent wins the game. If both you and your opponent have life totals of 0 or lower when you cast a commander, the game ends in a draw. (Note that this rule applies only when you have a single opponent. If you have multiple opponents, those opponents can still lose while your deck is in “superposition.” Once you have eliminated all but one opponent, this rule then takes effect.)
Q: What’s with all the extra restrictions, dude? Why do you hate fun?!
A: OK, first of all, that’s more than one question. Secondly, that’s kind of rude. And thirdly, I think that restrictions are important for keeping formats fun! (I mean, if you’re going to have the flexibility of TWO commanders, you’re going to need to give some stuff up.)
Q: Could I make a case that Maralen of the Mornsong and Oona, Queen of the Fae are two versions of the same character?
A: Ooo! I see you’ve read the Lorwyn books too! Hmm, I could see making a case for that, but it’s up to the discretion of your playgroup whether or not they accept that interpretation of the character.
So what do you all think?! Fun format? Inherently broken? Something worth trying out? WANT TO PLAY?!Â
(P.S. @sending-out-a-searchlight and @luminous-umbra have both worked hard to create amazing lists of all the possible commanders for this format. I highly recommend checking them out here and here!)Â
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Is there a format like Commander but with multiple versions of the same characters? Between so many return blocks and the alternate versions of Phage, etc, seems like that should be a thing by now.
Oooooooooo!! I don’t know of any format that exists like that YET, but I like where you mind is going with this, Nonnie…Â
OK, so I propose we call our new format:Â
Quantum CommanderÂ
(or “QC” for short)Â
And it works something like this:Â
Players still have a 100-card singleton deck (except for basic lands)Â
Instead of one legendary creature for a commander, QC decks have up to two commanders, as long as both creatures flavorfully represent alternate versions of the same characterÂ
QC decks may contain cards that match the color identity of the combined commandersÂ
Players may only have one of their commanders on the battlefield at a time (we don’t want any paradoxes, after all)Â
If a player has one of their commanders on the battlefield, casting their other commander results in exiling the first, and sending it to the Command Zone (regardless of who controls the creature at the time)Â
When a commander is in play, its owner may not cast any spells from their hand or play any lands in colors outside of that commander’s color identity (Updated 8-11-2017, italics text added, strikeout text removed)Â
A player can only win the game when one of their commanders is on the battlefield (though not necessarily under their control)Â
OK, so let’s go through some QC Q&A. And for our examples here, we’re going to use these two handsome legendary creatures for our commanders:Â
Q: What card colors can I have in this deck? A: Since Rhys the Exiled has a color identity of Green/Black, and Rhys the Redeemed has a color identity of Green/White, this deck can contain any spells or lands with green, black, or white mana symbols on them (as well as colorless or generic mana.)Â
Q: Would I be able to play any Abzan colored cards like Doran the Siege Tower in this deck? A: You can put Doran in the deck, and you can play him while the deck is in “superposition” (when neither commander is on the battlefield) but as soon as either Rhys is played, you would not be able to cast Doran from your hand, since neither commander has all of Doran’s colors in their color identities. (Updated 8-11-2017, italics text added)Â
Q: What about a cool spell with a White/Black hybrid mana cost, like Unmake? A: Unmake can go in the deck, and you can play it while the deck is in “superposition,” but you would be unable to cast it from your hand while either commander is in play. (Updated 8-11-2017, italics text added)
Q: If I control a black creature, like Hunter of Eyeblights, does it go away when I cast Rhys the Redeemed? A: Nope, casting Rhys the Redeemed won’t make any of your black permanents go away. You just won’t be able to cast any black spells from your hand while he’s on the battlefield. (Updated 8-11-2017, italics text added)
Q: Can I play a Plains while Rhys the Exiled is on the battlefield? A: Yes. No, but you can still use any lands you already have in play (as long as you’re not using them to cast white spells.) (Updated 8-11-2017, italics text added, strikeout text removed)Â
Q: What happens if my opponent’s life total is 0 or they can’t draw a card, and I don’t have a commander in play? A: Since you can’t win in “superposition,” the game will continue (like if you had an Abysmal Persecutor under your control) until either you cast one of your commanders, or your opponent wins the game. If both you and your opponent have life totals of 0 or lower when you cast a commander, the game ends in a draw. (Note that this rule applies only when you have a single opponent. If you have multiple opponents, those opponents can still lose while your deck is in “superposition.” Once you have eliminated all but one opponent, this rule then takes effect.)Â
Q: What’s with all the extra restrictions, dude? Why do you hate fun?! A: OK, first of all, that’s more than one question. Secondly, that’s kind of rude. And thirdly, I think that restrictions are important for keeping formats fun! (I mean, if you’re going to have the flexibility of TWO commanders, you’re going to need to give some stuff up.)Â
Q: Could I make a case that Maralen of the Mornsong and Oona, Queen of the Fae are two versions of the same character? A: Ooo! I see you’ve read the Lorwyn books too! Hmm, I could see making a case for that, but it’s up to the discretion of your playgroup whether or not they accept that interpretation of the character.Â
Q: How much longer are these questions and answers going to go on? A: I think this is a good place to end them for now (at least until other people chime in with questions of their own.)Â
So what do you all think?! Fun format? Inherently broken? Something worth trying out? Let me know your thoughts/suggestions!Â
(Update 2-15-2018: After nearly a year of mystery, this post’s anonymous asker has finally been identified as @wretchedor30. Thanks for the great question that inspired all of this, Owen!)Â
My concern for your stated goal of encouraging people to actually play the off color commanders, is that right now the rules actually do the opposite. Because you have access to all your colors when they're in superposition, but only some when they're not, the best move is to simply not play them unless you get an amazing advantage out of them. Unfortunately, I don't have an easy way to fix that issue, but it's something to keep in mind as you test it.
OK PEOPLE! My goal is to post the updated rules for Quantum Commander tonight (and then not make any major updates for a while until I’ve done a bunch of playtesting.)
So this is the time to make your case for or against the “superposition” rule that states you can’t cast spells outside the color identity of the commander you have on the battlefield. (I’m already taking out the restriction on lands you can play.)
Do you like the superposition rule? Hate it? Most importantly, WHY? LET ME KNOW!
Regarding Quantum Commander, could you use planeswalkers as commander if it's paired with a creature version of itself? (Like Narset, Karn, or the members of the Gatewatch?)
In the revised rules that I’m posting (hopefully) later tonight, yes. That is one of the updates.Â
