The Magic: The Gathering community is mourning the death of Sheldon Menery, known as the Godfather of Commander: Magic’s most popular format.
As reported by Polygon, Menery’s wife Gretchyn Melde announced on September 9 that her husband passed away peacefully following a battle with cancer.
“It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we mourn the loss of a dear friend and colleague, Sheldon Menery,” Magic developer Wizards of the Coast told Polygon.
“Perhaps one of his greatest contributions to the Magic community is through the Commander format. Known by many as the “Godfather of Commander,” he was instrumental in the format’s creation and development. As a founding member of the Commander Rules Committee, he oversaw the format’s evolution into one of Magic: The Gathering’s most popular formats.
“Of his work with Commander, Sheldon said: “To see something that you created and shepherded and nurtured become wildly popular and beloved by so many people, it’s a pretty humbling moment.”
Commander is Magic’s more casual, multiplayer format, that features slightly different rules to the standard one on one game. It promotes creativity and thematic deck building as players must create a library of 100 cards with no duplicates.
While it began as a fan-made format, Menery alongside other instrumental figures helped cultivate the mode which led to its huge popularity. Fans need only look at the extent of official collaborations to see the success its success, as Wizards of the Coast has collaborated with the likes of Lord of the Rings, Warhammer 40,000, Bethesda’s Fallout, Doctor Who, and more to create Commander decks.
Image Credit: Commander RC
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
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