Commander: Banlist Update Review

Usually, when I write these Commander articles, I always talk about something fun and treat the format as the more social and less competitive part of Magic: The Gathering. When it comes to articles centered around banlists and balance changes, I stick to One Piece TCG.

However, today we'll go over the last EDH banlist update, which came out on February 9th, 2026 and was brought by Gavin Verhey in the name of the Commander Format Panel. This time, the community wasn't expecting any bans, like we frequently do. Instead, we got something else entirely: two unbans and a very straightforward talk about why the Panel was unbanning those cards.

In this article, we'll go through what changed and how it will affect the format, as well as how valuable my Kismet collection will become as a result.

To be as straightforward as the announcement, the Commander Format Panel decided to unban Biorhythm and Lutri, the Spellchaser.

This will go into effect immediately, so you can already play these cards without any fear in your heart.

Biorhythm

Biorhythm is an 8-mana spell that changes the life total of each player according to the number of creatures they control. And yes, that includes 0 if a player doesn't have any creatures in play. Usually, this card isn't that effective in 1v1 formats because it costs a lot of mana. Players usually swap it for a better finisher instead of trying to use it to set their opponent's life total to a small number or even 0. It is also vulnerable to counters.

The Panel seems to have put this card in the box of "expensive cards that end matches but need a setup to really be effective". Biorhythm often becomes stale in your hand, sometimes forces you to spend an entire turn to try to resolve it, and can be easily answered today, as players can simply create tokens at instant speed. It can still end matches, but it won't be inevitable like it once was or a must-have in all green lists, which is just more reason to unban it.

I see Biorhythm more as a situational finisher than a core part of your deck. It needs an entire setup to work and award those who developed their boards and punish those who were left with no units after getting their board wiped or trading them in combat. This card was removed from the banlist and immediately named a Game Changer, a label that demands respect from the community and limits how much play it can actually see. This shows that EDH has space for avoidable, non-repetitive, answerable finishers today.

Lutri, the Spellchaser

And, finally, they have unbanned Lutri, the Spellchaser as well. This Otter was preemptively banned on the same day it was spoiled back in 2020 when Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths came out. The reason for this is no mystery, considering its text: "Companion — Each nonland card in your starting deck has a different name. (If this card is your chosen companion, you may put it into your hand from outside the game as a sorcery.)". If it wasn't banned, it would be necessary in any deck with its colors, like a n°101 card, basically. However, the real mystery has always been: "Why not ban it just as a Companion?" So, today, this card was unbanned under exactly that restriction. It took nearly six years.

So, we can now finally discuss what Lutri can do in a deck. A card that creates value by copying spells is always welcome to engines like Kalamax, the Stormsire's. This Otter interacts on the stack at instant speed and can double spell effects at precisely the right time. It works even in the command zone, though it will be more predictable.

Lutri, the Spellchaser will still have to compete with a few copy spells that already see play in spellslinger decks, so it won't be an automatic addition to blue/red lists. This was also a reason for unbanning it. The real impact is that decks with these colors won't exactly gain an obvious Companion card, which would go against the highly customizable nature and philosophy of EDH builds. Instead, it is more like a friend that arrived very late to a party.

If you're a Vorthos player, some good news: the Otter deck is finally more viable because of this card. It actually fits the Bloomburrow Izzet options really well.

In the official announcement, the Panel cited a few cards in particular that they seriously considered unbanning and why they didn't at this time.

They cited four cards:

Sundering Titan

The Panel recognizes the format has changed since the days when blinking this Titan repeatedly and destroying mana bases was a solid plan. The announcement even suggests that punishing bases full of triomes and dual lands that have a type might seem "heroic" in some contexts. But, to no one's surprise, as much as destroying a mana base that is better-built than yours might seem tempting, we're still talking about destroying lands. And that is a capital crime for EDH players.

Furthermore, this Titan is colorless, so it can easily fit any deck. Its popularity would become a matter of how many players can't resist the obvious temptation.

Iona, Shield of Emeria

This card has a very clear problem. In the right pod, Iona can simply remove a player from the match, particularly and mostly monocolor players. Furthermore, Iona can also lock down a commander in the command zone. She also interacts really well with Painter's Servant. Together, they'd prevent all players from casting spells. The official announcement stated that they almost unbanned this card, but decided to get more feedback before they did.

Griselbrand

The Panel describes this card as a premium Reanimation target that takes advantage of the 40 life points to draw an absurd amount of cards and frequently win on the spot instead of looking for combos. That was why it was banned at first. At the same time, a specific group of players would like playing it, and the Panel states they really wished they could do something to make that happen.

Jeweled Lotus

Gavin Verhey stated explicitly in the announcement that they thought about Jeweled Lotus, but decided against unbanning it almost straight away. There are no ifs and buts about it, it's a "yes, we talked about it, and no, not now". My Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER will hear about this.

In the "No Bans" section, the announcement states that Thassa's Oracle and Rhystic Study were under monitoring and that they asked for more feedback regarding them. However, they didn't get enough complaints to justify any action right now.

Rhystic Study

Rhystic Study was the one card most players bet the Panel would ban. It is often described as very powerful and annoying, particularly because it famously forces you to answer, "will you pay ?" whenever it triggers. This hilarious phrase is frequently said by all who use it, but it is quite annoying to those that face it because it delays the game. Personally, I find it hilarious.

About banning it, the Panel stated they would only touch it if they got stronger signs that they should, particularly if the public opinion about it swung drastically into negative territory. Until then, they will keep… studying…this card up close and asking for more community feedback.

Thassa’s Oracle

As for Thassa's Oracle, their opinion is that this card sees more play in high-level pods, that is, cEDH matches, and cEDH players seem to accept it well, mostly. So, the Panel deems this matter is closed for now, though they admit this could change if this card starts seeing play in casual Commander matches to the point it becomes toxic.

Overall, I believe these changes were positive. On one side, we got some very welcome unbans. Biorhythm will enable new strategies, and Lutri, the Spellchaser can finally see play again. I've always thought it was weird they didn't ban this Otter only as a Companion, and the article somewhat mentions this mystery. They were afraid to create too many exceptions and conditions for too many cards.

Keeping up with public opinion regarding certain cards is also a great call. It could yield great decisions in the future.

What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!