The Professor talks about the recent bans in Commander

  • Belly_Beanis [he/him]
    ·
    2 months ago

    EDH's banlist needs a complete rework. The problem with the format is fast mana (artifact mana especially) and tutors. Banning Jeweled Lotus and Mana Crypt was a good thing. And the same needs to be done to Mana Vault, Chrome Mox, Lion's Eye Diamond, Demonic Tutor, etc. Then a lot of cards could be taken off. Sway the Stars is a 10 mana sorcery. If you let your opponent resolve such a card, you deserve whatever comes after it. Cards like Upheaval are only a problem because of cards like Sol Ring and Mox Amber.

    EDH players and the RC don't want to swallow the hard pill it's currently a $5,000 turn three format. If you want it to be cheaper, there needs to be more viable strategies instead of goodstuff piles using staples tacked together. If you want it to be slower, you need to ban things that allow consistent play patterns.

    Prismatic was the "big deck" format for years on MODO and it's what EDH could be with the right banlist. People played with four copies of Darksteel Colossus and would hard cast them into play. That was only possible because Prismatic understood the power of cards like Tooth and Nail and moxen. EDH players want to live in some magical Christmas land where they can use Vampiric Tutor or Survival of the Fittest, but not have anyone do anything broken that ends the game on turn two.