Today, @ForCommander uploaded a video on the question "Are Combos OK for Commander?"

I believe they are, but not in their current form. I invite you to join me on this journey as I explain the role combos have/should have in Commander (aka not cEDH).

1/X

Combo is an archetype just like Aggro and Control, and Commander is designed to try to make all three of these archetypes harder to accomplish (whether that's intentional or not is debatable).

Control is harder when the game is multiplayer, meaning 1-for-1's drown you in card...

... disadvantage.

Aggro is harder when the game starts with twice the life and with multiplayer (thankfully, Commander damage helps to offset this).

Combo is harder when your deck is 100-card singleton... well...

At least, it SHOULD be... <dramatic music here>

3/X

The format has LOTS AND LOTS of Tutors, which means Combo is not held back as much as Aggro and Control. (Peeking at cEDH for a moment, that's why >90% of cEDH games end by a combo rather than by being controlled out of the game or by combat.)

So, what is the solution?

4/X

There are only two options:

1. Ban the most efficient tutors.
2. Add a rule that makes tutors less balance-destroying.

Of course, we could just ban the tutors that cost <4 mana, but that just makes tutors get combos just as easily, only later in the game. Not that helpful.

5/X

The only solution I like is to add a rule to Commander that ensures that Combo is at the same level as Aggro and Control:

"If a source would cause its owner to search a library, that player searches the top 7 cards of that library instead."

Why I like this:

...

6/7

...

1. It lets Tutors still be playable, just not as game-breakingly efficient.
2. It brings back the trade-off for being multicolored.
3. It lets cards be unbanned since they will show up more rarely.
4. This stays within the letter and the spirit of the current rules.

7/7