Magic Adds Four Cards To Commander Ban List
Magic: The Gathering’s Commander format got a major shake-up earlier this week with the announcement that the Commander Rules Committee was adding four powerful cards to the ban list. The response to this decision from the Magic community has been largely one of shock and outrage. If you’re a casual Magic player or just someone who likes trading card games in general, you might be wondering what all the noise is about. If so, here’s a breakdown of what happened, why the response has been so loud, and how this affects Magic in the future.
What Happened?
The Commander Rules Committee, an independent group that governs the Commander format, announced that it was adding Dockside Extortionist, Jeweled Lotus, Mana Crypt, and Nadu, Winged Wisdom to the ban list. That means these cards are now officially off-limits in Commander decks.
There had been no indication beforehand that these changes were coming, so the Magic community was caught completely by surprise when the announcement was made earlier this week.
Why Were These Cards Banned?
The reasoning behind the ban revolves around the power level of these cards, especially their ability to generate mana (the in-game resource that fuels spells and abilities) too quickly in the early stages of a game. Since Commander is a multiplayer format, it’s meant to be slower and more social, with plenty of time for interaction and back-and-forth gameplay. However, these cards were considered pushing the pace too fast and allowing players to win games quickly.
Dockside Extortionist allows the player to potentially generate a significant amount of Treasure tokens, which can be sacrificed for mana. It’s so effective at doing this that it’s a staple in almost any deck that includes red, and when drawn early, allows the player access to a significant amount of mana right away.
Jeweled Lotus serves as a one-time mana boost that can be used to cast a player’s Commander (as opposed to the infamous Black Lotus, which lets you use it for anything), allowing for powerful four- and five-cost Commanders to come out much earlier than usual. It’s worth noting that this card has only ever been allowed in Commander, which means this card can no longer be used in any Magic deck.
Mana Crypt is a zero-cost artifact that generates extra mana immediately at the cost of a minor risk—taking 3 damage from a failed coin flip every turn. Because the potential damage wasn’t significant enough in the 40 life Commander format, this card became a staple in many Commander decks because of how quickly it could ramp up mana early in the game.
Nadu, Winged Wisdom is used as a card-drawing machine that when played right, allows players to draw two extra cards per turn, monopolizing a game and making it less fun for opponents to play against. Players could use it stall with actions that might not even help them win the game, wasting everybody’s time in the process.
The Reaction
The ban immediately sparked a vocal reaction from Magic players, especially since it had been three years since the last update to the Commander ban list.
One of the biggest points of contention is the financial hit players took. Because these cards were so powerful and staples in many decks, the cost of acquiring the cards was very high. Their sudden ban caused the value of these cards to plummet immediately, as they no longer were as useful as they had been before the ban. The ban caused a big hit to the value of many players’ collections.
The decision also reignited the age-old debate between what’s considered casual or competitive in the eyes of Commander players. Commander is generally seen as a more casual and social format, but there is a vibrant competitive scene (known as cEDH) where these cards were recognized as key pillars of the format. Some argue that the ban disproportionately hurts competitive players for the sake of helping casual players.
It should be noted that the banning of Nadu, Winged Wisdom did not provoke nearly as much negativity, as it was seen by many as a problematic and unfun card to play against. The backlash was largely directed at the banning of Dockside Extortionist, and especially Mana Crypt and Jeweled Lotus.
The reaction has been so intense that there’s now an online petition calling for the Commander Rules Committee to be fired. In response to the anger, the committee published an FAQ several days later to explain their actions and address player concerns.
What Happens Now?
The banning of these cards will now force a lot of players to modify their decks to comply with the new rules. Commander is a format that encourages creativity and experimentation, so while the banned cards will be missed, it is an opportunity for fresh strategies to emerge and different deck builds to rise in popularity.
The concerning possibility is that this hurts the ongoing popularity of the Commander format. If players cannot trust the Rules Committee to handle big changes in a fair and open manner, they might feel like Commander isn’t a format they should invest time and money in. Hopefully the committee and players can reach an understanding that preserves the integrity of the format and that this recent decision helps the Commander format continue to grow.
In Conclusion
The updated ban list is one of the most momentous changes to hit Magic: The Gathering in years, so it’s no surprise that it’s been the topic every Magic player wants to discuss this past week. Losing these cards is huge, and it will be interesting to see how Magic players respond with the make-up of their updated decks. If you’re in need of some new Magic cards, be sure to check out the wide selection we offer at Zephyr Epic!
How do you feel about these changes? Do you think the Rules Committee was right to ban these cards or would you like to see changes to how bans happen? Let us know in the comments and, as always, thanks for reading!