Wizards of the Coast revealed that the Magic: The Gathering's Commander audience has tripled between 2018 and 2020.

WotC released key data points this week detailing the growth of the Commander format. Between the start 2018 and when metrics were frozen in February 2020, the number of unique players attending Commander events per week at WPN stores went from 9,000 in 2018 to 28,000 in 2020. In February 2020, all stores that ran events were averaging 1846 Tickets per year. However, stores that ran Commander events averaged about 2111 Tickets per year which is a 12.6% increase over the stores not running Commander. Also, WPN Premium stores were clocking in more than one Commander event a week.

For retailers, this data is relevant on a number of levels. Commander is clearly a growing format and is driving OP numbers upward, which can be utilized to jumpstart in-store play when the COVID-19 pandemic starts to wind down. There are a few major products left in the Year of Commander cycle such as Commander decks for Zendikar Rising (see " Wizards of the Coast Releases More 'Magic: The Gathering' 'Zendikar Rising' Product Info"), Commander Collection: Green (see " Preview: 'Magic: the Gathering' 'Commander Collection: Green' "), and the capstone product, Commander Legends (see "Wizards of the Coast Drops Deets on 'Commander Legends' Product Line "). All of these products will likely be desirable for new and old Commander players, and might be a good fit for the Holiday season.

On a final note, for stores that carry singles, Reserved List Commander cards have been on a tear lately. The Reserved List is a group of Magic cards that can never be reprinted due to WotC policy, and with all of the reprints from the last several years, these cards have been on a run upward in price. As an example, the market price on TCGplayer.com of a copy of Gaea's Cradle from Urza's Saga, a very desirable Reserved List Commander card, was around $325.00 at the beginning of 2020. As of this article's publication, the market price sits at around $600.00 which represents more than a 45% increase in value in only about nine months.