Lutri, the SpellchaserLutri, the Spellchaser | Art by Lie Setiawan

Happy Super Bowl Monday folks! Today we were hit with two articles for the Commander format from Gavin Verhey, head of the Commander Format Panel. These articles gave a start of the year address on Commander, with some changes to the banned list that players have been asking for.

Commander Ban List Updates

The big news headlining every conversation today is sure to be the ban list changes. We've steadily gotten unbans to cards since the shift from the Rules Committee to the Wizards of the Coast led Commander Format Panel. Today's updates to the banned card list is short, but sure to be a crowd pleaser. Per the announcement:

• BiorhythmBiorhythm is unbanned
• Lutri, the SpellchaserLutri, the Spellchaser is unbanned, and becomes only banned as a companion

While BiorhythmBiorhythm might not change much for players, Lutri, the SpellchaserLutri, the Spellchaser will get folks excited. This marks the first time that Lutri will be legal in the Commander format, after all!

Fortunately for us non-Izzet players, Commander will see its first "banned as companion" entry with Lutri due to the free nature of its companion clause.

Otter Otter Oxen Free

For those who weren't playing Commander in 2020, Lutri, the SpellchaserLutri, the Spellchaser was pre-banned in the format. Companion was first introduced in Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths and was contentious from the start. This mechanic brought a command zone-style mechanic into 60-card formats where the clash was disastrous.

Companion allowed for a creature to act as a commander (or extra commander) so long as a specific clause was satisfied. This ranged from all non-lands having a certain mana value, to sharing a card type, and so on. Companion ended up being such a broken mechanic that it had to see several adjustments to the way it even functioned.

Since Lutri, the SpellchaserLutri, the Spellchaser had a pre-fulfilled companion clause for Commander players, this caused a huge problem. Commander is a singleton format, meaning every non-land in the deck will have a different name. Now of course, there are exceptions - looking at you, Seven DwarvesSeven Dwarves and Persistent PetitionersPersistent Petitioners players - but for a majority of decks it was a free card that you would always have access to.

Understandably, this was a problem that required attention.

Lutri, the SpellchaserLutri, the Spellchaser was met with a preemptive ban before the set ever came out. Many players wanted Lutri freed as it was the first creature printed with the Otter creature type. With Bloomburrow giving a set full of Otters, Lutri is set to join to the romp. This will be the first time we will have a card "banned as Companion," which feels like a healthy middle ground. Players will be able to play Lutri in Commander, just not as a free companion.

Whether or not Lutri, the SpellchaserLutri, the Spellchaser sees a large amount of play will be seen. Acting as a second copy of Dualcaster MageDualcaster Mage is a fine bar. Dualcaster MageDualcaster Mage currently sees play in over 170,000 decks, which is a respectable number. Lutri having a identity is a little more restrictive though. Among the commanders you see Dualcaster MageDualcaster Mage showing up in, Lutri likely only shows up in a few.

Fire Lord AzulaFire Lord Azula makes a lot of sense, being able to flash in a Lutri and get multiple ETB effects. Kalamax, the StormsireKalamax, the Stormsire and Stella Lee, Wild CardStella Lee, Wild Card also have some amount of potential as well. Other than dedicated Otter decks though, I can't imagine there's a ton of demand for more Lutri.

Lutri being banned as a companion also opens up a very interesting other conversation: should we bring back "banned as a commander?" I won't go into that conversation today, but EDHREC writer Nick Lucchesi wrote a wonderful piece exploring that question. It might be time to time to brush up and reevaluate these thoughts.

Getting Back Into 'Rhythm

Believe it or not, there was actually another card mentioned in the announcements that will now be legal in the format! BiorhythmBiorhythm was once maligned for its ability to be an "instant win" spell, functioning as a mass burn spell...in green.

This video from Joel Are Magic gives a quick rundown of the problems presented with BiorhythmBiorhythm:

Ultimately, the CFP decided it is time for another once-dangerous, high-mana spells to be given a chance. We have seen this philosophy shift from the days of the Rules Committee where costly spells are given another chance. As we have seen with previous B&R announcements, the Commander Format Panel continues with this shift in approach today. Per the announcement article:

While we respect those concerns about ending the game and sitting to the right being a big disadvantage, we have now successfully unbanned several expensive spells that radically warp or end the game: WorldfireWorldfire (in the days before the Format Panel), Sway of the StarsSway of the Stars, and Coalition VictoryCoalition Victory. All of those have ultimately turned out just fine. While Biorhythm is stronger, easier to set up, and, yes, can make the game unsatisfyingly end, it takes enough setup and has enough counterplay that its far from an auto include. As a situational eight mana sorcery, there are plenty of times where it’s a weak draw.

The Commander unbans article specifically calls out a few cards similar to BiorhythmBiorhythm that are a great starting point. WorldfireWorldfire, Sway of the StarsSway of the Stars, and Coalition VictoryCoalition Victory all have seen changes to their legality over recent years, and haven't made an impact on the format.

Coalition VictoryCoalition Victory is in just 7,430 on EDHREC, roughly as many decks as War EffortWar Effort which was released around the same time. Players once thought Coalition VictoryCoalition Victory was un-unbannable, myself included. Even cards like Gifts UngivenGifts Ungiven have been freed to have minimal spread to tables it would cause issues at.

Next Cards To Fall?

The philosophical questions about the format and allowing these high costed spells to make a comeback definitely will fill the content sphere for a while. In the Commander unbans article Gavin Verhey calls out three other cards that have been subject to conversations recently. GriselbrandGriselbrand, Iona, Shield of EmeriaIona, Shield of Emeria, and Sundering TitanSundering Titan all are costly permanents that have significant payoffs.

Players are also quick to point out the unfavorable board states these cards can create. Sundering TitanSundering Titan and Iona, Shield of EmeriaIona, Shield of Emeria are capable of invalidating entire games leading up to their arrival. And for those who never played 60-card formats, GriselbrandGriselbrand is a card draw engine like no other.

It will be interesting to monitor these cards and if they come back. Could other expensive cards like Primeval TitanPrimeval Titan or Sylvan PrimordialSylvan Primordial also come back with Sundering TitanSundering Titan? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

A Not-So-Fond Farewell?

Gavin Verhey also released an article with an update to the format from a higher point of view. This article covered observations over the year, from the introduction of Brackets (can you believe it's only been a year!?) to the hybrid mana conversation. Gavin's article did introduce one new addition to the Game Changer list: FarewellFarewell.

FarewellFarewell has shown similar characteristics to other cards that have spent time on the ban list, like Sway of the StarsSway of the Stars, which was banned for a significant amount of time, acting as a hard reset on the game. Players might carry more disdain for a single FarewellFarewell cast than any other singular card in recent memory.

Still, it's hard to say that FarewellFarewell deserves to be removed entirely from the format.

One interesting point about FarewellFarewell is that it has been included in preconstructed decks that Wizards has produced. Gavin Verhey directly addresses this point in the Commander update article:

I do want to call out that many precons have included Farewell – and especially Universes Beyond ones, since it tends to be so resonant for some of those story moments. While we did decouple precons from bracket 2 in the last update (a change we’re very happy with!) it is still something we’ll be mindful of going forward. Not saying that precons will never have Farewell again (they definitely will!) but it’s worth acknowledging that it’s a sweeper on a little different tier than most board sweepers and not everybody finds that level of cleaning up the game enjoyable.

We saw this shift covered a bit in our October 2025 updates on the format as well. Bracket 2 - Core is no longer meant to be tied to precons, giving freedom for the design teams to include some powerful cards in them. Whether it's FarewellFarewell or other Game Changers, we can expect these cards in future preconstructed decks.

Hybrid Mana

The last point that stood out to me as part of the Commander update article is the emphasis put on the hybrid mana debate. Hybrid mana as a topic has been talked about time and time again all across the community. Many Commander players appreciate the doors it would open and want freedom of expression in their decks. Other players would prefer some restrictions to remain, saying that color identity is a core pillar of the format.

This topic was incredibly divisive on social media for some time even, bringing heated debates for both sides. Gavin Verhey mentions specifically that this might have been the most evenly split topic that he can remember:

It seemed so split that I worked with our internal insights team to run a survey in December and early January among players of many different types. It was worth getting more opinions other than just people on social media, and something a little more quantative. Maybe that would help shed some light.

And, well, the results of that research... Also showed it nearly perfectly split. On a rating scale of 1 to 5,where 1 is feeling very negatively about the change and 5 is feeling very positively about the change it broke down like this:

5 (Very positively): 25%
4 (Positively): 19%
3 (Neutral): 19%
2 (Negatively): 17%
1 (Very negatively): 21%

Incredible how evenly split that was! With that split, the decision has been made to shelve the change once again. This slow pace of change is something that I think most Commander players can appreciate. Wizards has said several times that they plan on printing more hybrid mana cards, so the slow moving habit Commander has with changes will give players time to adjust.

The End Step

Commander has been a pillar of the Magic: The Gathering player base for years now. With that, it has evolved gradually and deliberately for most of its existence. A couple years ago, today's changes might have felt like something only in dreams. However, with the slow and intentional tweaks I do believe that the format is in good hands.

What do you all think? Is Lutri going to snuggle its way into your games now that there's no cage? Or do you wish we said a complete "farewell," to FarewellFarewell and adding it as a Game Changer isn't far enough? Let me know in the comments what you think and what cards should be unbanned next.

Until next time!