Commander Anthology (CMA): The Complete Guide

Some Commander precons are worth revisiting years after their original release - and Commander Anthology is Wizards of the Coast's acknowledgement of exactly that. Released on June 9, 2017, CMA bundles four previously released Commander preconstructed decks into a single product, reprinting all the cards in the post-Magic 2015 card frame style. It carries an MSRP of $164.99.

Think of it less as a new set and more as a curated retrospective: a chance to get your hands on some of the most beloved early Commander precons without hunting down ageing copies from years past.

What is Commander Anthology?

Commander Anthology is a compilation product - not a standalone expansion - released by Wizards of the Coast on June 9, 2017. Its set code is CMA, and it contains 320 cards drawn entirely from four previously printed Commander preconstructed decks.

The key distinction from a traditional set is that CMA introduces no new cards. Every card inside was printed in an earlier Commander product. What it does offer is a unified reprint run with consistent, updated card frames - the post-Magic 2015 style that most players were already used to by 2017.

Format check: Because CMA contains only reprints, the format legality of any individual card depends on where it was originally printed. CMA itself does not change a card's legality in Standard, Modern, or any other format.

At $164.99 MSRP, the product sat in an interesting spot: premium enough to feel like a collector's item, but practical enough that players who'd missed the original precons could catch up on a range of Commander staples in one purchase.

A product built for Commander players

Commander Anthology sits in a broader lineage of Commander products that Wizards began building out seriously from 2011 onwards. By 2017, the annual Commander precon releases had become one of the most anticipated product cycles of the year, and going back to grab older decks from 2014 or 2015 often meant paying secondary market prices.

CMA addressed that directly. By bundling four older decks together with updated frames, it gave players - especially those newer to Commander - a shortcut to content that had otherwise slipped out of print.

Its success led directly to a follow-up: Commander Anthology Volume II, released on June 8, 2018, which repeated the same formula with a different selection of four decks.

Set legacy

Commander Anthology occupies a quiet but useful place in Magic's product history. It didn't reshape formats or introduce powerful new cards, but it did something arguably more valuable for the Commander community: it kept older precon content accessible.

For collectors, the updated card frames gave familiar cards a fresh look. For new players, it was an on-ramp to Commander without the hassle of tracking down out-of-print products. And for the game overall, it signalled that Wizards saw Commander's back catalogue as worth preserving and revisiting - a philosophy that has only grown more prominent in the years since.

If you're curious about the follow-up, Commander Anthology Volume II (CM2) covers a different set of four decks and is worth looking at alongside this one.