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The Ban List. As if Brackets weren't divisive enough, what other topic has stirred more drama into the Commander world than the Commander ban hammer?

Today we're looking into what the best given reasons for banned cards to be banned are so we can better understand what the goal of the Commander Format Panel (CFP) is for Commander.

Because there isn't a straight answer or article to point towards when determining what the CFP hopes to achieve as the leader of the format, we need to instead look at what decisions they've made to better visualize what their authoritative voice is saying.

That, and it's pretty handy to have an updated list of why cards are banned. I'll be referencing various sources, but this one and the next are in spirit what we'll be pulling from.

I plan on making this into two articles with today reviewing the explicit reasons why the ban list is the way it is and next time discussing their biggest weaknesses. Feel free to voice your support or disdain for the ban rationale; it'll make our next discussion that much more entertaining!

Eight of the Power Nine

Ancestral RecallAncestral Recall, Black LotusBlack Lotus, Mox EmeraldMox Emerald, Mox JetMox Jet, Mox PearlMox Pearl, Mox RubyMox Ruby, Mox SapphireMox Sapphire, and Time WalkTime Walk.

What more needs to be said? These eight cards are some of Magic's most powerful spells and are banned from almost every format, limited primarily to the restricted spaces of Vintage. There's very little the CFP desires to state specifically for these cards, and so there's very little to talk about here.

TimetwisterTimetwister is the only Power Nine card not banned in Commander. Nothing quite beats free mana or very cheap draw/extra turn spells, but Timetwister's effect is common enough, though it's often swapped for much cheaper Time SpiralTime Spiral effects that allow players to refill their hand and continue their turn without losing steam.

Too Strong or Too Powerful for Commander

ChannelChannel, Chaos OrbChaos Orb, FastbondFastbond, KarakasKarakas, Library of AlexandriaLibrary of Alexandria, Mana CryptMana Crypt, Recurring NightmareRecurring Nightmare, Rofellos, Llanowar EmissaryRofellos, Llanowar Emissary, Time VaultTime Vault, TinkerTinker, and Tolarian AcademyTolarian Academy.

These cards are banned due to how strong they are on their own, before players even begin considering exploiting their raw strengths further.

Take RofellosRofellos, for example. Since the CFP has yet to follow through with their threat of yet another sub-ban list as they have for LutriLutri, Rofellos is just too strong of a commander and thus is unilaterally banned in all of Commander.

ChannelChannel and FastbondFastbond are exceedingly strong given Commander's starting life totals and thus incompatible with the CFP's vision for Commander. KarakasKarakas and Library of AlexandriaLibrary of Alexandria are considered "auto includes" in eligible decks which would be problematic enough, but additionally unfavorable due to how unobtainable cards like Library or Time VaultTime Vault are.

TinkerTinker and Tolarian AcademyTolarian Academy also fall into "auto include" territory for artifact decks containing a blue identity. Recurring NightmareRecurring Nightmare is the premier reanimator strategy card due to how easily broken its combos are and how easily it evades removal, what with its activation cost bouncing the enchantment to hand.

Chaos OrbChaos Orb, as legendary as its mythos may be, is quite cumbersome to resolve and not a playstyle the CFP wishes to endorse. Simply put, the Orb is not accessibly friendly to all players and requires a level of dexterity the CFP doesn't wish to promote.

And then there's Mana CryptMana Crypt. Whatever my reservations may be with this particular philosophy, Mana Crypt has been deemed too fast and ubiquitous for Commander. Any deck can play it, and for a format that already seeks to end the game around turn six (on average), giving a player an additional turn-or-two's worth of mana for effectively zero downside is problematic.

As of now, there has been no official statement hinting towards Mana Crypt being unbanned.

Rather Broken Commander Cards

FlashFlash, Trade SecretsTrade Secrets, and Dockside ExtortionistDockside Extortionist.

FlashFlash was heavily meta warping for cEDH games with the majority of matches concluding with some version of Flash into Protean HulkProtean Hulk combo. While more casual tables didn't see it all that much, Flash will only get more broken as time goes on and stronger creatures continue to be printed.

Trade SecretsTrade Secrets promotes collusion, wherein two players effectively make a deal to end the game on the spot on their terms. While the card is not conventionally strong, it promotes a playstyle the CFP doesn't want to encourage, as seen with the reasoning behind Consecrated SphinxConsecrated Sphinx's Game Changer status.

Dockside ExtortionistDockside Extortionist was originally banned for its ability to snowball games in one player's favor, similar to Mana CryptMana Crypt or Jeweled LotusJeweled Lotus. The CFP hasn't really made any arguments specifically for Dockside to remain banned other than giving Brackets more time to evolve, so the original ban announcement defaults to being the CFP's best defense for keeping it banned.

Simply Unfun Experiences

BalanceBalance, Erayo, Soratami AscendantErayo, Soratami Ascendant, Falling StarFalling Star, HullbreacherHullbreacher, Iona, Shield of EmeriaIona, Shield of Emeria, Leovold, Emissary of TrestLeovold, Emissary of Trest, Limited ResourcesLimited Resources, Nadu, Winged WisdomNadu, Winged Wisdom, ShahrazadShahrazad, Sundering TitanSundering Titan, and UpheavalUpheaval.

These cards are, simply put, too unfun to play. For most of them, these cards suck way too much fun out of Commander for the CFP's liking.

The easiest examples are Falling StarFalling Star and ShahrazadShahrazad. Very little needs to be said about Shahrazad's banning, and Falling Star falls (pun intended) under the same dexterity problem Chaos OrbChaos Orb does as well as requiring a very complex resolution of the spell.

Who needs Commander games to be even longer than they already are?

Because Commander is socially oriented, unsocial cards like BalanceBalance and UpheavalUpheaval aren't playstyles the CFP wants to endorse, similar to why TergridTergrid's a Game Changer.

Limited ResourcesLimited Resources is debilitating in multiplayer and often locks players out of the game upon resolution. HullbreacherHullbreacher was meta warping at worst, miserable for casuals at best. As Verhey puts it, it's "pure anti-fun."

NaduNadu fits into both the unfun space and very time consuming in a nondeterministic fashion.

There may be a world where ErayoErayo is legal in the 99, but that's not the time we live in. Same goes for LeovoldLeovold. For now, they aren't playstyles the CFP wishes to endorse.

Sundering TitanSundering Titan was recently singled out by Gavin Verhey as being potentially safe for Game Changer status, but ultimately it promotes such an unfun playstyle and can go into any deck that it's very unlikely to be unbanned without major community support.

Similarly, IonaIona was also singled out as potentially being unbanned if limited to higher Brackets. However, in the same article Verhey says this, he previously cited that many players don't use the Brackets and unbanning Sundering Titan would mean players outside of Brackets wouldn't have the "safe space" lower Brackets provide. He ultimately appeals to player consensus around Iona's status. Speaking of potential unbans...

Too Strong and Too Unfun... Unless?

Emrakul, the Aeons TornEmrakul, the Aeons Torn, Golos, Tireless PilgrimGolos, Tireless Pilgrim, GriselbrandGriselbrand, Jeweled LotusJeweled Lotus, Primeval TitanPrimeval Titan, Paradox EngineParadox Engine, Prophet of KruphixProphet of Kruphix, Sylvan PrimordialSylvan Primordial, and Yawgmoth's BargainYawgmoth's Bargain.

At one time or another, these cards were too strong or broken for Commander. However, with the advent of Brackets, the CFP is comfortable stating that these cards theoretically can be Game Changers for higher Brackets. For now, though, they remain banned until further notice.

EmrakulEmrakul and GriselbrandGriselbrand are both very powerful cards, both representing optimal end games for many Commander pods. Similar to Prime TimePrime Time, many games devolve into who can get their big creature first and who then can keep theirs the longest, whether through cloning, copying, or stealing others' big game finisher.

GolosGolos isn't necessarily a strong card, especially compared to most of the other banned cards, but it was severely warping casual experiences. Many casual tables were expecting to see Golos at least once a game night due to it being the best "de facto" commander for any given strategy. It may be safe for the 99, but again, that's not where Commander is today.

Paradox EngineParadox Engine and Prophet of KruphixProphet of Kruphix both grant players an enormous "extra turn" effect that can take tens of minutes to resolve completely, slowing games down to a crawl nondeterministically.

Sylvan PrimordialSylvan Primordial is Mass Land Denial on steroids, going even further to convert whatever destruction ensues into ramp for its controller. Even if with a high mana cost, it's quite simple to cheat into play.

Yawgmoth's BargainYawgmoth's Bargain is what NecropotenceNecropotence is meant to be the fairer version of. Turns out, unrestricted card draw from paying life is pretty strong, if Griselbrand weren't telling enough. Commander doesn't require a stronger version of Necropotence, simply put.

That being said, all of this last group holds the potential for being unbanned as described by Verhey's article discussing last year's unban announcement. Realistically, all that bars these cards from Game Changer status is enough community support. After all, the last major unban was made possible in part due to players calling for Coalition VictoryCoalition Victory to be legal.

Given enough support, I'd argue that Jeweled LotusJeweled Lotus would be the next community driven unban. But what do you think? How do you feel about the CFP's ban philosophy so far? What are your thoughts on more unbans given Brackets' success? Do you think the CFP should ban or unban more at this time?

I hope this article was informative with exploring where the CFP hopes to direct the format. Find me on BlueSky at @ajwicker4.bsky.social, I'd love to hear from you and what your thoughts are.

Tune in next time to continue this deep dive in the Bracket system and more Commander Philosophy!