You can find short explanations for each banned card by clicking on them. These explanations are not exhaustive and are only intended to serve as a high-level overview of the experiences each card creates in Commander.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
- \n
- All cards that refer to the ante mechanic (full list here<\/a>)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- All cards that Wizards has removed from constructed formats (full list here<\/a>)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- All cards with the Conspiracy card type (full list here<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Ancestral Recall<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-58.png\")
<\/figure>\nFirst Printed: 1993-AUG-05<\/em>
Banned: <\/em>—
Ancestral Recall was originally banned for poor optics, rather than power level. While it\u2019s plenty powerful, it\u2019s the effect on perceived barrier-to-entry that really posed a problem because casual players watching Commander games in passing could reasonably assume that they needed hundreds (now thousands) of dollars in Power-9 mana as table stakes, just to join the format. Ancestral Recall was an iconic and expensive card at the time it was banned, and removing it from the card pool was intended to combat the notion that Commander is a prohibitively expensive and inaccessible format.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nBalance<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-1.png\")
<\/figure>\nFirst Printed: 1993-AUG<\/em>
Banned: <\/em>—
On its face, Balance looks like a very effective catch-up strategy that\u2019s mechanically very white, but in practice it leads to slow, long games with a low density of meaningful decisions or memorable events. Players are often left with little-to-no resources and little-to-no cards in hand, feeling like they don\u2019t have any agency in the game they\u2019re playing.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nBiorhythm<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-3.png\")
<\/figure>\nFirst Printed: 2002-OCT<\/em>
Banned:<\/em> —
As an eight-mana sorcery, Biorhythm can appear to deck builders as a fair and funny haymaker but the reality is that it usually results in a disappointing twist to the game, ignoring previous gameplay to wipe 100+ life off the board. Wrath effects are a core element of casual metagames, and most often Biorhythm results in the accidental elimination of players rather than a strategic payoff.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nBlack Lotus<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-4.png\")
<\/figure>\n
First Printed: 1993-AUG<\/em>
Banned: <\/em>—
Black Lotus was originally banned for poor optics, rather than power level. Players watching Commander games in passing could reasonably assume that they needed hundreds (now thousands) of dollars in Power-9 mana as table stakes, just to join the format. Black Lotus was an iconic and expensive card at the time it was banned, and removing it from the card pool was intended to combat the notion that Commander is a prohibitively expensive and inaccessible format.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nChannel<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-6.png\")
<\/figure>\nFirst Printed: 1993-AUG<\/em>
Banned: 2010-JUN<\/em>
Channel abuses two important aspects of the format:
1) Higher life totals make the life payment essentially trivial if this is played in the early game;
2) Players always have something to do with the mana (eg. cast their commander).
Channel often catapults its controller way ahead by producing huge amounts of mana.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nChaos Orb<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-7.png\")
<\/figure>\nFirst Printed: 1993-AUG<\/em>
Banned: <\/em>—
Cards that require manual dexterity present unique accessibility challenges for the format. We don\u2019t want Commander to be a format that you can only play if you can engage in specific physical actions. Chaos Orb incentivizes players to physically spread their cards out over a large area in order to minimize the possibility of multiple permanents being affected. At best, this is awkward, and at worst it adds needless complexity to maintaining the state of the game.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nDockside Extortionist<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Dockside-Extortionist-1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nFirst Printed: 2019-AUG<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banned: 2024-<\/em>SEP<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dockside Extortionist generates 4+ treasures very easily in a multiplayer game, which accelerates one player into midgame (or even late game) plays starting as early as turn two. As a creature it’s easy to recur, and often entire games would revolve around a two-drop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n
Emrakul, the Aeon’s Torn<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-11.png\")
<\/figure>\nFirst Printed: 2010-APR<\/em>
Banned: 2010-DEC<\/em>
Emrakul\u2019s collection of game-warping abilities come at a high cost, but they have a tendency to effectively win games without explicitly ending them. Emrakul was banned due to overwhelming outcry from the community, who told us that ramping quickly into it was one of the most common and least-interesting ways to win. As an amazing colorless finisher, it was too tempting for too many decks.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nErayo, Soratami Ascendant<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-14.png\")
<\/figure>\nFirst Printed: 2005-JUN<\/em>
Banned: 2014-SEP<\/em>
When played as a commander, Erayo leads decks that cast and flip her early, leading to games where even targeted removal is often ineffective. Worse, a flipped Erayo does not always send a strong signal to newer players that the game is essentially over. The natural result is a play pattern that is nearly always one-sided and oppressive.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nFalling Star<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-17.png\")
<\/figure>\nFirst Printed: 1994-JUN<\/em>
Banned: <\/em>—
Cards that require manual dexterity present unique accessibility challenges for the format. We don\u2019t want Commander to be a format that you can only play if you can engage in specific physical actions. Falling Star incentivizes players to physically spread their cards out over a large area in order to minimize the possibility of multiple permanents being affected. At best, this is awkward, and at worst it adds needless complexity to maintaining the state of the game.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nFastbond<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-22.png\")
<\/figure>\nFirst Printed: 1993-AUG<\/em>
Banned: 2009-JUN<\/em>
Fastbond exploits two unique and important aspects of the format:
1) Higher life totals make the damage essentially trivial if this is played in the early game;
2) Players always have something to do with the mana (eg. cast their commander).
Fastbond often catapults its controller ahead by producing huge amounts of mana and landfall triggers.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nFlash<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-23.png\")
<\/figure>\nFirst Printed: 1996-OCT<\/em>
Banned: 2020-APR<\/em>
Flash effectively allows players to evoke a creature in their hand for 1U. Many other formats have recognized that the mechanism that Flash uses to do this prevents meaningful interaction. Worse, because Flash\u2019s power is tied to the creatures that are being cheated into play, its power increases over time as creature designs become more powerful.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nGolos, Tireless Pilgrim<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-27.png\")
<\/figure>\nFirst Printed: 2019-JUL<\/em>
Banned: 2021-SEP<\/em>
There are many problems with the card, but the greatest is that in the low-to-middle power level tiers where we focus the banlist, Golos is simply a better choice of leader for all but the most commander-centric decks. Its presence crushes the kind of diversity in commander choice which we want to promote.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nGriselbrand<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-28.png\")
<\/figure>\nFirst Printed: 2012-MAY<\/em>
Banned: 2012-JUN<\/em>
Griselbrand\u2019s typical play pattern involves cheating it onto the battlefield early to draw an overwhelming number of cards. Its effect is amplified in Commander due to higher starting life totals, its constant availability as a commander, and by the fact that you get the cards in hand immediately after activating its ability. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nHullbreacher<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-29.png\")
<\/figure>\nFirst Printed: 2020-NOV<\/em>
Banned: 2021-JUL<\/em>
Hullbreacher creates an environment of asymmetric resource denial in the early game. Its ability easily combines with several other cards to strip opponents\u2019 hands, and keep them empty. This creates an environment where players don\u2019t have agency, but doesn\u2019t outright end the game. Combined with its easy splashability, it was an attractive and popular card to include in decks that were played in environments that couldn\u2019t handle it.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nIona, Shield of Emeria<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-30.png\")
<\/figure>\nFirst Printed: 2009-OCT<\/em>
Banned: 2019-JUL<\/em>
Iona\u2019s ability to lock entire colors out of the game makes it brutally efficient at removing agency from other players at the table, especially when opponents are playing 1- or 2-color decks. This often has the effect of totally negating one or more players\u2019 involvement in a game and creates unnecessary social friction.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nJeweled Lotus<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Jeweled-Lotus.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nFirst Printed: 2020-AUG<\/em>
Banned: 2024-SEP<\/em>
Jeweled Lotus accelerates big commanders, but also accelerates 4-5 mana commanders even more and those have become increasingly powerful since 2020. Often drawing cards or otherwise yielding value, they offset the disadvantage of lotus, which contributes to explosive starts which are difficult to catch up with.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nKarakas<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-31.png\")
<\/figure>\nFirst Printed: 1994-JUN<\/em>
Banned: 2008-SEP<\/em>
Commander is a format that focuses on legendary creatures that tie together decks thematically, and Karakas is a land that can both prevent a player from having consistent access to their commander AND allow its controller to consistently save their commander from removal. It does both of these things for a negligibly low activation cost.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nLeovold, Emissary of Trest<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-32.png\")
<\/figure>\nFirst Printed: 2016-AUG<\/em>
Banned: 2017-APR<\/em>
Leovold – as a commander – creates an environment of asymmetric resource denial in the early game. Its second ability protects itself and other resource denial pieces in play, and its first ability easily combines with several other cards to strip opponents\u2019 hands, and keep them empty. This creates an environment where players don\u2019t have agency, but doesn\u2019t outright end the game.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nLibrary of Alexandria<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-33.png\")
<\/figure>\nFirst Printed: 1993-DEC<\/em>
Banned: <\/em>—
Library was for a long time considered the 10th piece of power in Vintage play. Like those, it was banned to avoid the perceived-barrier-to-entry, but was strong enough to be a candidate for banning even without the optics – especially in long games where the card draw yields inevitability over time. Combined with its colorless nature, allowing it to go into every deck, and the occasional difficulty for inexperienced players to realize that Library is the reason they\u2019re losing, its place on the banned list is very secure.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nLimited Resources<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-34.png\")
<\/figure>\nFirst Printed: 1998-JUN<\/em>
Banned: 2008-JUN<\/em>
Limited resources is probably the easiest card on the ban list to justify. It does not scale with the number of players, so as early as turn two it effectively reads \u201cPlayers can\u2019t play any more lands\u201d on a one mana enchantment.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nLutri, the Spellchaser<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-35.png\")
<\/figure>\nFirst Printed: 2020-APR<\/em>
Banned: 2020-APR<\/em>
Lutri is in a unique category of banned cards that interact poorly with the structure of the format. In general terms, companions encourage creative deckbuilding and reinforce the idea that self-imposed restrictions can be fun and novel. Lutri\u2019s restriction is met by nearly all Commander decks, so it allows all decks with blue and red to have a 101st card in deck and 8th card in their hand.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nMana Crypt<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Mana-Crypt.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nFirst Printed: 1994<\/em>
Banned: 2024-SEP<\/em>
Mana Crypt is an extremely powerful accelerant which, if drawn in the first two turns, immediately moves its controller to midgame spells. The drawback of losing 1.5 life per turn is not a significant deterrent in a game which ends within 5-6 turns and starts with 40 life. It is banned to lower the number of available mana-positive rocks in the first few turns, and in doing so decrease the frequency of extremely fast starts.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nMox Emerald<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-36.png\")
<\/figure>\nFirst Printed: 1993-AUG<\/em>
Banned: <\/em>—
The five coloured Moxen were originally banned for poor optics, rather than power level. While they\u2019re fairly powerful, it\u2019s their effect on perceived barrier-to-entry that really posed a problem because casual players watching Commander games in passing could reasonably assume that they needed hundreds (now thousands) of dollars in Power-9 mana as table stakes, just to join the format. The Moxen were iconic and expensive cards at the time they were banned, and removing them from the card pool was intended to combat the notion that Commander is a prohibitively expensive and inaccessible format.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nMox Jet<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-37.png\")
<\/figure>\nFirst Printed: 1993-AUG<\/em>
Banned: <\/em>—
The five coloured Moxen were originally banned for poor optics, rather than power level. While they\u2019re fairly powerful, it\u2019s their effect on perceived barrier-to-entry that really posed a problem because casual players watching Commander games in passing could reasonably assume that they needed hundreds (now thousands) of dollars in Power-9 mana as table stakes, just to join the format. The Moxen were iconic and expensive cards at the time they were banned, and removing them from the card pool was intended to combat the notion that Commander is a prohibitively expensive and inaccessible format.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nMox Pearl<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-38.png\")
<\/figure>\nFirst Printed: 1993-AUG<\/em>
Banned: <\/em>—
The five coloured Moxen were originally banned for poor optics, rather than power level. While they\u2019re fairly powerful, it\u2019s their effect on perceived barrier-to-entry that really posed a problem because casual players watching Commander games in passing could reasonably assume that they needed hundreds (now thousands) of dollars in Power-9 mana as table stakes, just to join the format. The Moxen were iconic and expensive cards at the time they were banned, and removing them from the card pool was intended to combat the notion that Commander is a prohibitively expensive and inaccessible format.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nMox Ruby<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-39.png\")
<\/figure>\nFirst Printed: 1993-AUG<\/em>
Banned: <\/em>—
The five coloured Moxen were originally banned for poor optics, rather than power level. While they\u2019re fairly powerful, it\u2019s their effect on perceived barrier-to-entry that really posed a problem because casual players watching Commander games in passing could reasonably assume that they needed hundreds (now thousands) of dollars in Power-9 mana as table stakes, just to join the format. The Moxen were iconic and expensive cards at the time they were banned, and removing them from the card pool was intended to combat the notion that Commander is a prohibitively expensive and inaccessible format.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nMox Sapphire<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-40.png\")
<\/figure>\nFirst Printed: 1993-AUG<\/em>
Banned: <\/em>—
The five coloured Moxen were originally banned for poor optics, rather than power level. While they\u2019re fairly powerful, it\u2019s their effect on perceived barrier-to-entry that really posed a problem because casual players watching Commander games in passing could reasonably assume that they needed hundreds (now thousands) of dollars in Power-9 mana as table stakes, just to join the format. The Moxen were iconic and expensive cards at the time they were banned, and removing them from the card pool was intended to combat the notion that Commander is a prohibitively expensive and inaccessible format.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nNadu, Winged Wisdom<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Nadu-Winged-Wisdom.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nFirst Printed: 2024-APR<\/em>
Banned: 2024-SEP<\/em>
Nadu is an inexpensive commander, in popular colours which very easily yields an overwhelming resource advantage. Even without building around it, it leads to long, non-deterministic turns with little opportunity for fruitful interaction. Worse, it\u2019s not obvious how powerful Nadu is and the temptation to play it quickly led to a lot of miserable games.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nParadox Engine<\/summary>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mtgcommander.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-42.png\")
<\/figure>\nFirst Printed: 2017-JAN<\/em>
- All cards that Wizards has removed from constructed formats (full list here<\/a>)<\/li>\n\n\n\n