diff --git a/command/cli.go b/command/cli.go
index b10ce4153..cf104c762 100644
--- a/command/cli.go
+++ b/command/cli.go
@@ -41,6 +41,9 @@ func ConfigType(args ...string) (string, error) {
 
 // NewMetaArgs parses cli args and put possible values
 func (ma *MetaArgs) AddFlagSets(fs *flag.FlagSet) {
+	if ma == nil {
+		ma = &MetaArgs{}
+	}
 	fs.Var((*sliceflag.StringFlag)(&ma.Only), "only", "")
 	fs.Var((*sliceflag.StringFlag)(&ma.Except), "except", "")
 	fs.Var((*kvflag.Flag)(&ma.Vars), "var", "")
@@ -57,6 +60,9 @@ type MetaArgs struct {
 }
 
 func (ba *BuildArgs) AddFlagSets(flags *flag.FlagSet) {
+	if ba == nil {
+		ba = &BuildArgs{}
+	}
 	flags.BoolVar(&ba.Color, "color", true, "")
 	flags.BoolVar(&ba.Debug, "debug", false, "")
 	flags.BoolVar(&ba.Force, "force", false, "")
@@ -83,6 +89,9 @@ type BuildArgs struct {
 type ConsoleArgs struct{ MetaArgs }
 
 func (fa *FixArgs) AddFlagSets(flags *flag.FlagSet) {
+	if fa == nil {
+		fa = &FixArgs{}
+	}
 	flags.BoolVar(&fa.Validate, "validate", true, "")
 
 	fa.MetaArgs.AddFlagSets(flags)
@@ -95,6 +104,9 @@ type FixArgs struct {
 }
 
 func (va *ValidateArgs) AddFlagSets(flags *flag.FlagSet) {
+	if va == nil {
+		va = &ValidateArgs{}
+	}
 	flags.BoolVar(&va.SyntaxOnly, "syntax-only", true, "")
 
 	va.MetaArgs.AddFlagSets(flags)
diff --git a/command/meta.go b/command/meta.go
index a42a463f0..6e0543e2c 100644
--- a/command/meta.go
+++ b/command/meta.go
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ import (
 	"os"
 
 	kvflag "github.com/hashicorp/packer/helper/flag-kv"
-	sliceflag "github.com/hashicorp/packer/helper/flag-slice"
 	"github.com/hashicorp/packer/helper/wrappedstreams"
 	"github.com/hashicorp/packer/packer"
 	"github.com/hashicorp/packer/template"
@@ -80,19 +79,6 @@ func (m *Meta) Core(tpl *template.Template) (*packer.Core, error) {
 func (m *Meta) FlagSet(n string, fs FlagSetFlags) *flag.FlagSet {
 	f := flag.NewFlagSet(n, flag.ContinueOnError)
 
-	// FlagSetBuildFilter tells us to enable the settings for selecting
-	// builds we care about.
-	if fs&FlagSetBuildFilter != 0 {
-		f.Var((*sliceflag.StringFlag)(&m.CoreConfig.Except), "except", "")
-		f.Var((*sliceflag.StringFlag)(&m.CoreConfig.Only), "only", "")
-	}
-
-	// FlagSetVars tells us what variables to use
-	if fs&FlagSetVars != 0 {
-		f.Var((*kvflag.Flag)(&m.flagVars), "var", "")
-		f.Var((*kvflag.StringSlice)(&m.varFiles), "var-file", "")
-	}
-
 	// Create an io.Writer that writes to our Ui properly for errors.
 	// This is kind of a hack, but it does the job. Basically: create
 	// a pipe, use a scanner to break it into lines, and output each line