Creator of Magic: The Gathering’s Commander Format Has Passed Away

Sheldon Menery, the architect of Magic: The Gathering’s most popular format has passed away after a battle with throat cancer. Menery’s wife Gretchyn Melde first shared the news on Friday on Facebook, followed by a posted made to Magic: The Gathering’s website. Menery is best known for being a crucial figure in the development of the Commander format of Magic: The Gathering, a multiplayer variant of the game built around a larger deck size and a leader character. Menery was known as the “Godfather of Commander,” and helped establish the Commander Rules Committee, a volunteer organization that helped to guide the more casual format of the game. 

While Menery was a competitive Magic judge for many years, having helped to shape the judge program during its early days. However, it was his guidance of the Commander format, which started off as an unofficial system of play managed by fans (mostly judges such as Menery) and was adopted as an “official” style of play by Wizards of the Coast nearly 15 years after the format was first conceived. Not only is Commander one of the reasons why Magic: The Gathering has been embraced as a more casual game, it’s also a key reason for its continued success, as Wizards releases multiple pre-built Commander decks and sets geared towards Commander every year.  

While Menery had been part of the Magic community for years and was arguably one of its most influential members, he didn’t formally work on Magic: The Gathering until 2021, when he consulted on a series of Commander decks released for the Strixhaven: School of Mages set. 

“Sheldon’s loss will be deeply felt by all those who knew him, and we extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and the entire Magic community,” Wizards wrote in their blog post announcing Menery’s death. “Sheldon is a legend who will be remembered for many years to come and whose legacy will live on through countless players.”