HUGE BANS IN COMMANDER!!!

The Commander format for Magic: the Gathering just had a huge ban announcement! Nadu, Winged Wisdom, Mana Crypt, Dockside Extortionist, and Jeweled Lotus are no longer legal, which opens the door to all sorts of strategies!

#MTGCommander #MTG #MagicTheGathering

[NicolaiBolas]

EDIT: My initial reaction from a gameplay perspective is I think the bans will improve gameplay for casual Commander players such as myself, who don't have an established group and who just go to play in game stores. I am a fan of reducing the number of problematic outliers or "must play" cards that snowball the game, and it sounds like the ban was made with that goal in mind. However, I also think the way the bans were handled was far from ideal, and as a result the announcement was a net negative overall.
Commander is not like other formats where there is an expectation of bans if cards become too strong, as the default throughout the format's history has been to let playgroups self moderate and adjust the cards they play themselves (outside of extreme circumstances). As just one example, me and my main Commander friend group decided not to play infinite combos in our decks because we didn't find them fun, even though they were completely legal based on the ban list. It feels like most groups, and even random pods at a local game store, have a similar ability to find a power level everyone can enjoy. While the newly banned cards were potentially problematic, the "Rule 0" pregame conversations do a lot to mitigate the potential damage (though it can be tricky to single out individual cards in that discussion in the same way a ban can). Additionally, some players and groups really like going all out and doing the most powerful things possible, and these bans have an outsized impact on that group, as it prevents them from doing what they enjoy most. The Competitive EDH community is justifiably very upset by these bans that almost specifically target their format, and there should probably just be a different ban list for the two formats.
If bans of this magnitude were going to occur, I believe there needed to be some sort of advance notice. Considering the last ban took place in 2021 (to the best of my knowledge), there was not an expectation that staple cards were potentially on the chopping block. When a card has the potential to be banned, its price reflects that, as there are some people who will not buy the card due to the risk. There was not a good reason to expect that a card like Mana Crypt would be banned like this, so the price did not reflect the risk of owning the card. There was a reason to think Nadu was getting banned, since it is a newcomer to the format and has some gameplay issues associated with its nondeterministic combo in addition to being quite strong, but the other cards have been around for years in a stable ecosystem. I lean towards the philosophy that having lower card prices is better, and reprints to facilitate that are good. Card prices going to zero out of nowhere because of a ban is completely different, and I do not believe it is good for the game. Arguments about the ban announcement being bad solely because the cards were expensive are a bit flawed, because a high price tag should not protect a card if it is hurting a format, but in this case where there is not an urgent need to be addressed, there was time to be more nuanced and careful. In any ban, someone ultimately is holding the card when its price decreases, but usually those individuals have more knowledge of their potential risks.
Finally, it goes without saying that among individual groups there's nothing that stops players from just using these cards anyway.

[Guukoh]

Pulled my first Mana Crypt a week ago. I’ve never even gotten to play it..

[HoosierHospitality]

Meanwhile my casual table just got news that we have some killer cards we can add to our decks now that they're affordable.

[vibinivan]

Not banning sol ring because it's "sufficiently tied to the identity of the format" after setting the precedent against fast mana with these bans seems silly. They should just axe the ring - games without it are less about keeping the ring player accountable/losing to the mana provided by the ring. Makes commander healthier I think.

[Persy]

For casual play I understand these changes but I also love watching cedh content and those bans are gonna hurt that part of the format so much

[guim]

Good for the game, incredibily bad for any paper player. Guess this is just gonna be the biggest move to proxy in the history of the game

[JulesDurand]

Just order a 5€ lotus with that
Best day ever

[johnwoodland]

Why do i feel like how the community didnt want a diffrent ban list for cedh and so rc said ok lets nerf cedh!

[jackmcnally]

Very happy to see dockside gone, that card has ruined “casual” games for way too long. But Crypt and Lotus were actually Rule 0’d nearly all the time, and are way less unfun to play against IMO. Nadu I’ve never seen in game so I’m indifferent there, but I know the damage it did to Modern.

[tannermaple]

Looks like turn zero rules would have fixed all of this and not devalued everyone’s collection

[johnathanrhoades]

Very very happy with these bans! Though I do hope CEDH gets some love.

[lordBeerus]

Legit pulled millions of value your players

[ixintheStix]

No Mana Crypt, Lotus and the gobbo are HUGEEEE bans bro😦

[PixelWolv]

Lol JUST found that i had a dockside, put it in my Baylen deck to try this weekend, GUESS not

[Straydeath]

and the price on these cards have tanked
great

[QuicksilverSG]

Great start, Rules Committee. Keep up the good work!

[darkenedangel]

if you play casual sit at casual tables leave competitive tables alone.

[SchemingGuide]

Sol ring and thassas oracle should be next