<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Balance|V09|1" href="#" target="_blank">Balance</a> | Art by <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=a%3A%E2%80%9CRandy+Gallegos%E2%80%9D&amp;unique=art" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Randy Gallegos</a>
An important factor in every Magic format is <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Balance" href="#" target="_blank">Balance</a>. The larger the format, the harder it is to find a good balance. The <a href="https://edhrec.com/banned" target="_blank" rel="noopener">banned list</a> often serves as the primary way formats are balanced. Putting cards on and taking cards off both have their own levels of effectiveness to "fix" a format. With the <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/commander-ban-list-update-feb-9-2026?utm_source=edhrec" target="_blank" rel="noopener">latest ban list update for Commander</a>, we saw <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Biorhythm" href="#" target="_blank">Biorhythm</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lutri, the Spellchaser" href="#" target="_blank">Lutri, the Spellchaser</a>, get taken off the list.
The next logical question is: was that enough? Currently, there are 83 cards banned in Commander. Discounting cards that use the old Ante rules and cards with the Conspiracy type, the list gets cut down to <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=banned%3Acommander+-t%3Aconspiracy+-o%3Aante&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=color" target="_blank" rel="noopener">48</a>. I took a close look at the list and asked myself "What else should be unbanned in Commander?"
<h2>If Money Were No Object</h2>
A number of the cards on the banned list are there, in no small part, because they are currently expensive. Cards such as <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Black Lotus" href="#" target="_blank">Black Lotus</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Time Walk" href="#" target="_blank">Time Walk</a> would be out of most players' price range if legal. Others are on there due to having a dexterity aspect to them: <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Falling Star" href="#" target="_blank">Falling Star</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chaos Orb" href="#" target="_blank">Chaos Orb</a>. One big issue with the cards on this list is that they're also on the <a href="https://mtg.wiki/page/Reserved_List" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reserved List</a> and not eligible for a reprint.
All of these factors aside, what if money were of no concern? For a moment, pretend that all cards cost a single dollar. In the world I have created, I believe that <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shahrazad" href="#" target="_blank">Shahrazad</a> could be set free.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Shahrazad"></div></div>
While this card is extremely powerful, the main downside is that it would significantly lengthen the game. Playing a sub game in 60-card formats isn't the quickest, but in Commander, you could be looking at additional hours added to a game where the result is one or more players losing half their life. If the goal is to cut life totals in half, there exists a <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?as=grid&amp;order=name&amp;q=%28oracle%3Alose+oracle%3Ahalf+oracle%3Atheir+oracle%3Alife%29+%28game%3Apaper%29+prefer%3Abest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sufficient number</a> of cards to do this at a much quicker clip.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Havoc Festival"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Quietus Spike"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blood Tribute"></div></div>
In the defense of Shahrazad, the card is objectively hilarious, and if you've ever seen one in action, format permitting, then you know just how crazy it can make a game. Sadly this card is prohibitively expensive, but I can dream of a day when I'm trapped in a sub game after sub game by someone getting this card back and casting it over and over.
<h2>Good On Turn One</h2>
Again, imagine a world where the card price is removed from the equation. The other card that's restrictively expensive to the average player, but probably fine for the Commander format, is <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Library of Alexandria" href="#" target="_blank">Library of Alexandria</a>.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Library of Alexandria"></div></div>
Unlike Shahrazad, the Library is a legit powerhouse of a card: It comes in untapped, can give you mana when you need it, and most importantly, can draw a card. Well, it can sometimes draw a card. By that, I mean it can draw a card if a very specific condition is met: having exactly seven cards in hand.
When it comes to <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Library of Alexandria" href="#" target="_blank">Library of Alexandria</a>, the Commander format only gives an extra card draw on the first turn of the game. So, unless you can always get the Library in your opening hand every game, you won't be activating this card as much as you think. When you have it, your game will be smooth as butter, and when you draw it on the tenth turn of the game, you can at least take solace in the fact that it comes into play untapped.
<h2>The Hot Take</h2>
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Karakas" href="#" target="_blank">Karakas</a>. Yes, I'm serious. I think this card is ok to unban.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Karakas"></div></div>
You don't have to believe me right away, but before you pass judgment, think for a moment. Take out the bad beats of Vintage Cube where your opponent is bouncing your <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lurrus of the Dream-Den" href="#" target="_blank">Lurrus of the Dream-Den</a> every turn. Don't think about them reusing a <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phlage, Titan of Fire&#039;s Fury" href="#" target="_blank">Phlage, Titan of Fire&#039;s Fury</a> every turn with the sacrifice trigger on the stack. Instead, think about you resetting your <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Atraxa, Grand Unifier" href="#" target="_blank">Atraxa, Grand Unifier</a> or <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Plagon, Lord of the Beach" href="#" target="_blank">Plagon, Lord of the Beach</a>.
What about protecting your <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tiamat" href="#" target="_blank">Tiamat</a> or <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aragorn and Arwen, Wed" href="#" target="_blank">Aragorn and Arwen, Wed</a>? White might not be as bad as it used to be in the format, but every deck should be able to deal with one pesky land. Unban Krakas and add it to the <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/game-changers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Game Changers list</a>, where it can hang around the likes of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gaea&#039;s Cradle" href="#" target="_blank">Gaea&#039;s Cradle</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mishra&#039;s Workshop" href="#" target="_blank">Mishra&#039;s Workshop</a>. Karakas would be the <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shivan Gorge" href="#" target="_blank">Shivan Gorge</a> of the lands on that list.
<h2>The Real Answer</h2>
The more I looked over the banned list, the more one card kept catching my eye. The card is extremely strong and is no doubt groan-inducing when it hits the table. However, it isn't on the Reserved List and currently isn't prohibitively expensive. That card is <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Prophet of Kruphix" href="#" target="_blank">Prophet of Kruphix</a>.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Prophet of Kruphix"></div></div>
Before you start raging in the comments or calling for my decks to be thrown off a cruise ship into the ocean, let me show my work.
First off, Prophet is a 2/3 with no inherent protection. It isn't indestructible, there's no ward or hexproof, and it doesn't have a body that stands up to combat or damage-based removal. And there are cards available now that can mimic Prophet's effects.
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Awakening" href="#" target="_blank">Awakening</a> has the same effect as the first part of Prophet of Kruphix for one less mana and in a single color . <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Drumbellower" href="#" target="_blank">Drumbellower</a> might only do creatures, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Murkfiend Liege" href="#" target="_blank">Murkfiend Liege</a> is creatures of a specific color, but the point is that options exist.
In fact, the second line of text on Prophet of Kruphix is worse than some cards that see common play today.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="High Fae Trickster"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Leyline of Anticipation"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vedalken Orrery"></div></div>
These are just the first three cards I thought of that can let you cast anything you want at instant speed. If you get lucky enough, you can even live the dream of a turn-zero <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Leyline of Anticipation" href="#" target="_blank">Leyline of Anticipation</a>. The key thing is that Prophet is the only card that has both of these effects on one card.
Does the Simic () color combination need this card? No, they have enough toys, and the color combination is Commander with training wheels.
Should it be on the banned list? As the days go on, I think it has served its time.
<h2>Wrap Up</h2>
There are more cards I want to see added to the banned list than removed. Most of the cards on here abuse the Commander format in ways that are just not cool—providing too much acceleration too early with cards such as the Moxen, asking for the game to become a king-making scenario with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Trade Secrets" href="#" target="_blank">Trade Secrets</a> and just being far too oppressive to be worth having around, like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Limited Resources" href="#" target="_blank">Limited Resources</a>.
Some cards just should not be seen when you start at 40 life.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fastbond"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Channel"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Yawgmoth&#039;s Bargain"></div></div>
I'm sure you, dear reader, have many opinions on the banned list. Believe it or not, I want to know what those opinions are. How much do you disagree with me? How little do you agree with me? What would you take off the banned list? Let me know in the comments here (be polite) or over on Bluesky @nicnax96.

What Else Should Be Unbanned in Commander?

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Iona, Shield of Emeria" href="#" target="_blank">Iona, Shield of Emeria</a> | Art by <a href="http://www.jasonchanart.com/">Jason Chan</a>)</h6>
<h1>The Ban Hammer Has Fallen</h1>
Yesterday we got a whopper of an announcement from the EDH Rules Committee. Before we even begin, please feel free to check out the <a href="http://mtgcommander.net/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&amp;t=19171">full announcement here</a>, because there is a great deal to process. Today I’ll try to break it down for you and what it could mean for your playgroups.
Here’s the quick summary provided from the announcement:
<hr />
Commander Banned List Update, 8 July 2019
&nbsp;
ADMIN
Philosophy Document Update
&nbsp;
CARDS
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Paradox Engine" href="#" target="_blank">Paradox Engine</a> is banned
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Iona, Shield of Emeria" href="#" target="_blank">Iona, Shield of Emeria</a> is banned
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Painter’s Servant" href="#" target="_blank">Painter’s Servant</a> is unbanned
&nbsp;
RULES
No changes.
<hr />
<h2>Philosophy Document Updates</h2>
Let's start in order. The Philosophy Document is a very detailed document, and not something that will be covered here in its entirety. In the announcement, the Rules Committee does clarify the goals and purpose of the Philosophy Document, which is worth reading even for those already familiar with it.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-36011 aligncenter" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Scroll-of-the-Masters-Fate-Reforged-MtG-Art.jpg" alt="" width="479" height="348" />
Worth noting in the updated document is the emphasis put on two main ideas: the separation from tournament play and the shared experiences between players. The Rules Committee have often cited Commander as a 'social' format as opposed to a 'casual' format, putting the emphasis on the gameplay and communication between players. Understanding the goal of the Philosophy Document helps to provide some clarity on the bannings, rule updates, and any other changes in the format. Per the updated Philosophy Document:
<blockquote>Commander is for fun. It’s a socially interactive, multiplayer Magic: the Gathering format full of wild interactions and epic plays, specifically designed as an alternative to tournament Magic.... Each game is a journey the players share, relying on a social contract in which each player is considerate of the experiences of everyone involved--this promotes player interaction, inter-game variance, a variety of play styles, and a positive communal atmosphere.</blockquote>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-36012 aligncenter" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/rule-of-law.jpg" alt="" width="425" height="239" />
<blockquote>The goal of the ban list is similar; it does not seek to regulate competitive play or power level, which are decisions best left to individual play groups. The ban list seeks to demonstrate which cards threaten the positive player experience at the core of the format or prevent players from reasonable self-expression. The primary focus of the list is on cards which are problematic because of their extreme consistency, ubiquity, and/or ability to restrict others’ opportunities.</blockquote>
The full document clarifies the emphasis on the atmosphere and experiences that all players in the game share, and provides insight on what players can expect moving forward. The social contract, interaction and separation from a competitive tournament atmosphere will be what the format is guided from. When examining the ban updates, this can be useful to help contextualize changes.
Speaking of which, let's get to the changes themselves.
<hr />
<h2>Banned List Update</h2>
The banned list update revolves around three impressively powerful cards, with two bannings and one unbanning. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Paradox Engine" href="#" target="_blank">Paradox Engine</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Iona, Shield of Emeria" href="#" target="_blank">Iona, Shield of Emeria</a> are leaving the format, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Painter’s Servant" href="#" target="_blank">Painter’s Servant</a> is being re-introduced. This is sure to have decks in nearly every playgroup shaken up to some degree.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Paradox Engine"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Iona, Shield of Emeria"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Painter’s Servant"></div></div>
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Paradox Engine" href="#" target="_blank">Paradox Engine</a>'s banning is almost assuredly tied to <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urza, Lord High Artificer" href="#" target="_blank">Urza, Lord High Artificer</a>'s release in Modern Horizons. While <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Paradox Engine" href="#" target="_blank">Paradox Engine</a> has been a powerful card on its own since it was first printed, the new legendary Artificer may have pushed the card over the edge. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Paradox Engine" href="#" target="_blank">Paradox Engine</a> was seeing play in an incredibly high 68% of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urza, Lord High Artificer" href="#" target="_blank">Urza, Lord High Artificer</a> decks in the short time the two have been legal together. Ultimately, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Paradox Engine" href="#" target="_blank">Paradox Engine</a> is one of the single most powerful enablers in the format regardless of who the commander is.
To hear the Rules Committee tell it:
<blockquote><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Paradox Engine" href="#" target="_blank">Paradox Engine</a> is a card that has proven to be intensely problematic. Not only does it provide easy wins seemingly out of nowhere, it has demonstrated the potential to unintentionally wreck games. Easily inserted into any deck, it combines with cards which players already have heavy incentives to play, generating a great deal of mana with virtually no deck building cost. While we don’t ban cards which are only problematic if you build around them, Paradox Engine has clearly demonstrated that it doesn’t need to be built around to be broken.</blockquote>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Urza, Lord High Artificer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Paradox Engine"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Isochron Scepter"></div></div>
The problem with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Paradox Engine" href="#" target="_blank">Paradox Engine</a> was the ease in which players were able to end the game. The obvious synergy with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Isochron Scepter" href="#" target="_blank">Isochron Scepter</a> and efficient mana rocks made for almost accidental infinite combos, ending games without warning or much setup. As the announcement points out, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Paradox Engine" href="#" target="_blank">Paradox Engine</a> does not require building around for a deck to be able to exploit its obvious power; people already run efficient mana rocks, from Signets and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sol Ring" href="#" target="_blank">Sol Ring</a>s to <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thran Dynamo" href="#" target="_blank">Thran Dynamo</a>s and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Worn Powerstone" href="#" target="_blank">Worn Powerstone</a>s, all of which are untapped over and over by the Engine. The potential powerful interactions with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Paradox Engine" href="#" target="_blank">Paradox Engine</a> only grow with every set, leading to its removal from the format.
The next two banned list changes can be linked together. Per the announcement:
<blockquote><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Iona, Shield of Emeria" href="#" target="_blank">Iona, Shield of Emeria</a> creates a negative experience for many players without the benefit of a positive application. We had previously considered its high mana cost sufficient to keep it from getting played, but deeper investigation demonstrated many ways of getting it onto the battlefield without paying that cost. Iona, Shield of Emeria is also an exemplar as the type of card which creates an experience we wish to discourage, namely shutting players out of games.
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Painter’s Servant" href="#" target="_blank">Painter’s Servant</a> is a card that’s been discussed for a long time and it’s time to take off the shackles. We feel as though there are now more weird and fun uses for the card than there are dangerous ones. The card will provide deck builders with some additional paths to explore in expressing their creativity.</blockquote>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Iona, Shield of Emeria"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Painter&#039;s Servant"></div></div>
These two cards exchanging status in legality is a form of give-and-take from the Rules Committee. As the announcement points out, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Iona, Shield of Emeria" href="#" target="_blank">Iona, Shield of Emeria</a> could often be put onto the battlefield with no regard for its mana cost, sometimes even as early as turn three. Played in about 4,400 decks, Iona’s ability to shut down entire decks - especially those playing a single color - can create very lopsided games. The Rules Committee has made it clear that part of their mission is to encourage more interaction within the format, so it is understandable why they'd elect to ban a card that discourages that interaction. 
In an inverse action, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Painter’s Servant" href="#" target="_blank">Painter’s Servant</a> has become unbanned after sitting in exile from the format for many years. The relationship between <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Painter’s Servant" href="#" target="_blank">Painter’s Servant</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Iona, Shield of Emeria" href="#" target="_blank">Iona, Shield of Emeria</a> is particularly interesting, since decks that would play <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Iona, Shield of Emeria" href="#" target="_blank">Iona, Shield of Emeria</a> would almost certainly play <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Painter’s Servant" href="#" target="_blank">Painter’s Servant</a> as well, considering the color hate that <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Painter’s Servant" href="#" target="_blank">Painter’s Servant</a> can enable. Since the announcement has gone live, <a href="https://twitter.com/SheldonMenery/status/1148259562841149441">Sheldon has clarified</a> that the cards were evaluated as separate entities and not lumped together.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-36002 aligncenter" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/sheldon-iona.png" alt="" width="528" height="231" />
The obvious combination of the newly-unbanned Scarecrow and its favorite friend <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grindstone" href="#" target="_blank">Grindstone</a> is of course famous for knocking players out of the game one at a time.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Grindstone"></div></div>
The argument, though, is that this combo is not all that different from other two-card auto-victory combinations (Mike &amp; Trike comes to mind, for instance). That, along with the artifact hate nearly every deck has access to, still provides some defenses against a ubiquitous pair of tutor-able cards. As mentioned in the announcement, Painter's Servant has apparently been discussed as a candidate for unbanning for some time, which should reassure players that the Rules Committee does not foresee too many problems with the doors the card opens in the format. Thus, it is available to players once again.
<hr />
<h2>I Own a Pair o' Docks in Gin</h2>
The release of the updated Philosophy Document at the time of the ban announcement should help give guidance and illustrate what we may be able to expect from the format's direction moving forward. Iona was not necessarily a prolific card - only in 4,400 decks to the Engine's 13,572 - but some bans, such as <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Paradox Engine" href="#" target="_blank">Paradox Engine</a>, can be chosen because of their power level, ubiquity, or the ease with which they can become oppressive, and some, like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Iona, Shield of Emeria" href="#" target="_blank">Iona, Shield of Emeria</a>, are chosen for the interactivity they restrict. The more transparency we get behind big decisions, the better!
As with every banning, we can expect the changes to take some time to be felt in any playgroup. Players may now search and find some replacements for some cards, or can brew new decks entirely around the newly-legal <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Painter’s Servant" href="#" target="_blank">Painter’s Servant</a>, fixing up <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grindstone" href="#" target="_blank">Grindstone</a> combos, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Eight-and-a-Half-Tails" href="#" target="_blank">Eight-and-a-Half-Tails</a> decks, or wacky <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rith, the Awakener" href="#" target="_blank">Rith, the Awakener</a> craziness. Some doors closed, and some others opened.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Eight-and-a-Half-Tails"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rith, the Awakener"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Llawan, Cephalid Empress"></div></div>
Many members of the Commander Advisory Group and the Rules Committee have also been active in responding to questions since the announcement went live, helping to provide additional feedback and clarity to yesterday's update. We would love to hear from you as well in the comments - what do you think about the banned list update? What do the Philosophy Document changes mean to you and your playgroup?
Happy brewing!

commander ban list

What Else Should Be Unbanned in Commander?

EDH Update - Banned List Changes