Duel Commander: March 30th Banlist Review

Lutri, the Spellchaser is now banned as a companion only.

To be blunt, the March 30th banlist update was irrelevant.

As a companion, Lutri would be a free pick in any deck that played its colors. But, other than that, it doesn't really do anything because of a single part in its text, "if you cast it". These four words prevent us from using it as a Duelcaster Mage in combo strategies.

As a commander, or as one of your 99 cards, it could see play in some decks, but it will be, at most, a "roleplayer". The only thing that could be a reason to play it is that it is a 3/2. It attacks much more than a Duelcaster Mage, and it is much easier to play (an Aragorn list won't struggle to create , but it will struggle to create ).

That being said, doubling a cantrip (like Ponder) is not good enough. And as a way to double removals (like a Galvanic Discharge), I can't see how it would be valuable in Duel Commander.

To some of us, this banlist update was a surprise. Many players were asking for a Spider-Man 2099 ban.

We can list many reasons for this, but the main ones are:

It sees almost twice as much play as the second most-played list.

On mtgtop8, this archetype is 14% of the meta, which is practically twice as much as Tasigur (which is only 7.6% and is only this popular because it was unbanned 2 months ago and is still something new in the eyes of the community). No other deck represents over 5% of the meta.

It is part of an incredibly strong, "free" combo.

These three 1-mana cards "combo" with this commander and let you deal 15 damage with it when you cast it (well, just 12 if you play the aura). Considering Duel Commander as a format (fetchlands, Thoughtseize, shocklands), a Spider-Man turn usually wins the game. You can interact with this combo by playing removals, of course, but the fact that you can't tap all your lands to put pressure simply because you might die to it once you pass priority (and it won't be a "fast death") can be considered unhealthy for the format.

Analyzing the data on mtgtop8 a little further, we can tell that Spider-Man 2099 lists are quite different from one another. Some staples see play in all of them (or practically all of them), like Brazen Borrower, Expressive Iteration, and the "good cards" (counterspells and burns). But they play around 17 creatures per list, and we found 41 different creatures when we looked at them a little deeper.

This makes it feel like the best part of this deck is not the 99 cards, but the command zone.

Should Spider-Man 2099 Have Been Banned?

Personally, no.

This deck is powerful and has performed really well lately, but it's not even close to making the meta unhealthy. We aren't building decks with it in mind (for instance, Cut Down, an excellent removal against this archetype, hasn't become more popular), and, even though it is the most popular deck, it's far from unbeatable.

To be frank, I can't really see this deck being a problem. Aragorn was a lot more dominant for a lot longer, and the meta eventually adapted and pushed it out of the top 10 strongest lists.

Should We Have Gotten Unbans?

Usually, unbanning or banning commanders is a much more complex debate than banning or unbanning regular cards.

At this moment, I believe there are some commanders they could unban, like Prime Speaker Vannifar. But most unbanned commanders (well, the good ones) usually see a lot of play once they're free. I believe keeping them banned is a way to make Tasigur adapt to the meta (for instance, Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar was quite popular in the meta until it settled into a "fun option"). Releasing some commanders could add a lot of "silent" monsters to the meta (we must also figure out, of course, if Tasigur itself isn't a monster - though it doesn't seem like one).

In a previous article, we mentioned what we believe can happen and what probably won't. To be blunt once again, Fury and Demonic Tutor are most likely the dominant decks in the format (they're also the second and fourth most popular cards - Lightning Bolt and Mental Misstep are ahead of them).

But there is an explanation for this. Lightning Bolt is great, but it is used just as Galvanic Discharge is. It might see more play, but it isn't that impactful. A great removal, and nothing else.

We can't really say the same for Fury. Whereas Lightning Bolt represents a 1-to-1 trade in terms of cards and a 1-to-2 trade in terms of mana (assuming it kills creatures with a CMC of 1, 2, or 3), Fury usually represents a 2-to-2 trade (though it rarely kills just a single creature or three). In terms of mana, however, it is much better (it's a 0-to-3.5 investment).

When Jackal Pup and Arrogant Wurm were the attackers, this was great. Modern MTG works with a much different concept of tempo, and, as creatures get bigger and their effects get more complex, this type of advantage is difficult to beat.

Please note that the same goes for Parallax Wave and Pyrokinesis, but I'm not really in favor of banning them. I believe one of Fury's main problems is that it is a "reanimatable" creature. The advantage we mentioned before often gives you the opportunity to come back into the game, as complicated as that is, but a second Fury... and Animate Dead sees play in every type of list, just like Emperor of Bones. To sum up, this card doesn't come with the drawback effects other removals do (they're often useless against decks that don't play creatures) because a 3/3 with double strike is enough.

I can't really make up my mind on this matter. On one side, this card seems "fair" to me, and not that far from other cards in terms of power. On the other hand, I've often seen myself in game states in which a Fury would simply win the game (for me or the opponent). I also can't recall the last red deck I built that didn't play a Fury or in which it wasn't the best card in it.

This card is also responsible for how successful every type of URx tempo list is (whether they're Spider-Man 2099 or Aragorn).

Demonic Tutor, in turn, is the best card in the format. I am really annoyed by the fact it is unbanned and Vampiric Tutor is banned. Vampiric Tutor is clearly worse, as it costs life, you only get the tutored card in the following turn, and it costs you an entire card, whereas Demonic Tutor refills itself. I consider this card the most likely ban target for the committee in the following months.

In our last article, we mentioned Lumra was quite dominant but that we eventually found an answer for it, and today it is popular but doesn't really stand out.

Duel Commander is healthy and fun, and banlist updates are more and more experimental. They're usually trying to free past offenders that are not that powerful in the current meta. I don't expect to see any great changes on May 25th, but I keep dreaming about some commanders.

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

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!