Commander's banned list is a mix of ancient Power Nine cards nobody expected to be legal, format-warping threats that dominated tables for years, and a handful of cards that simply interact poorly with the 100-card singleton structure. The list changed on February 9, 2026, when the Commander Format Panel unbanned Biorhythm and Lutri, the Spellchaser, while introducing a brand-new restriction category. No new cards were banned.
Quick answer: Commander currently bans 44 individually named cards, plus all Conspiracy-type cards, all ante cards, and all cards Wizards of the Coast has removed from constructed formats for depicting racism. Lutri, the Spellchaser, is now legal in decks and as a commander but remains banned as a companion. Biorhythm is fully legal.
Complete Commander banned card list (February 2026)
Beyond the three structural categories — Conspiracy-type cards, ante cards, and cards removed for offensive content — the following individual cards cannot appear in any Commander deck:
| Card | Primary ban reason |
|---|---|
| Ancestral Recall | Power Nine optics / barrier to entry |
| Balance | Strips all players of resources, creates low-agency games |
| Black Lotus | Power Nine optics / barrier to entry |
| Channel | Exploits 40-life format to produce massive mana early |
| Chaos Orb | Manual dexterity / accessibility |
| Dockside Extortionist | Generates overwhelming treasure in multiplayer, easy to recur |
| Emrakul, the Aeons Torn | Colorless finisher too tempting for too many decks |
| Erayo, Soratami Ascendant | Oppressive lock as commander, hard to remove once flipped |
| Falling Star | Manual dexterity / accessibility |
| Fastbond | Exploits high life totals for massive mana and landfall |
| Flash | Cheats creatures into play for two mana, prevents interaction |
| Golos, Tireless Pilgrim | Outclassed nearly every other commander at low-to-mid power |
| Griselbrand | Draws enormous card counts off 40 life, often wins on the spot |
| Hullbreacher | Asymmetric resource denial, strips hands with wheel effects |
| Iona, Shield of Emeria | Locks monocolor players out of casting spells entirely |
| Jeweled Lotus | Explosive early commander acceleration, hard to catch up with |
| Karakas | Repeatedly bounces commanders for almost no cost |
| Leovold, Emissary of Trest | Asymmetric resource denial as commander |
| Library of Alexandria | Optics plus powerful colorless card draw over long games |
| Limited Resources | Doesn't scale to multiplayer; effectively stops land drops on turn two |
| Mana Crypt | Zero-cost accelerant with negligible downside at 40 life |
| Mox Emerald | Power Nine optics / barrier to entry |
| Mox Jet | Power Nine optics / barrier to entry |
| Mox Pearl | Power Nine optics / barrier to entry |
| Mox Ruby | Power Nine optics / barrier to entry |
| Mox Sapphire | Power Nine optics / barrier to entry |
| Nadu, Winged Wisdom | Overwhelming resource advantage, long non-deterministic turns |
| Paradox Engine | Colorless combo piece that monopolizes game time |
| Primeval Titan | Tutors lands on ETB and attack, warps games around itself |
| Prophet of Kruphix | Lets controller play meaningfully on every turn, monopolizes time |
| Recurring Nightmare | Nearly impossible to interact with once active |
| Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary | Consistent six mana on turn three as commander |
| Shahrazad | Logistical nightmare in multiplayer subgames |
| Sundering Titan | Repeatable basic land destruction via blink effects |
| Sylvan Primordial | Destroys permanents and ramps simultaneously when flickered |
| Time Vault | Infinite turns with any simple untap effect |
| Time Walk | Power Nine optics / barrier to entry |
| Tinker | Cheats expensive artifacts into play extremely early |
| Tolarian Academy | Produces absurd colored mana from cheap artifacts |
| Trade Secrets | Allows two players to collude and draw unlimited cards |
| Upheaval | Resets the entire game while the caster floats mana ahead |
| Yawgmoth's Bargain | Exploits 40 life to draw most of a deck instantly |
February 2026 changes explained
Biorhythm is an eight-mana green sorcery that sets each player's life total equal to the number of creatures they control. It had been banned since the format's early days because it could abruptly eliminate players who had no creatures on board, especially after a board wipe. The Commander Format Panel decided the card requires enough setup and mana investment that it falls in line with other previously unbanned game-ending sorceries like Worldfire, Sway of the Stars, and Coalition Victory. Biorhythm has been added to the Game Changers list, meaning it won't appear in lower-bracket games under the bracket system.
Lutri, the Spellchaser was pre-banned in 2020 before it was ever legal. Because Commander decks are already singleton, every blue-red deck automatically met Lutri's companion condition, making it a free extra card with zero deckbuilding cost. Rather than keep it banned entirely, the Commander Format Panel created a new designation: banned as a companion. Lutri can now be your commander or sit in your 99, but you cannot start the game with it in your companion slot. The panel emphasized this does not signal a future "banned as commander" list — it's a one-off solution for a unique card.
No cards were added to the banned list. The panel confirmed that both Thassa's Oracle and Rhystic Study were discussed, but neither came close to a ban. Thassa's Oracle remains mostly confined to competitive Commander, and Rhystic Study, while powerful and polarizing, still has broad support among players.
Cards the panel considered unbanning but left banned
Three other cards received serious discussion and may appear in future announcements:
Sundering Titan destroys a land of each basic type when it enters and leaves the battlefield. The panel acknowledged that the bracket system could limit its worst abuse patterns, but land destruction remains deeply unpopular, and as a colorless artifact creature it slots into any deck. It stays banned for now.
Iona, Shield of Emeria names a color when it enters and prevents opponents from casting spells of that color. Against monocolor decks, this effectively removes a player from the game. The panel said Iona was "right on the cusp" of being unbanned but decided to seek community feedback first. Player reaction has been overwhelmingly against unbanning it.
Griselbrand lets its controller pay seven life to draw seven cards, which is devastating in a format that starts at 40 life. The panel called it a "tremendous risk" but noted the card is beloved and could potentially fit in higher-bracket and competitive games. It remains banned.
Jeweled Lotus was also discussed and explicitly left banned. The panel stated that much of the reasoning from its original September 2024 ban still applies.
Why cards get banned in Commander
Commander bans fall into a few broad categories. Some cards were removed for optics and accessibility — the original five Moxen, Black Lotus, Ancestral Recall, Time Walk, and Library of Alexandria were all banned primarily to prevent the perception that Commander requires thousands of dollars in Power Nine cards just to participate.
Others were banned for raw power level. Mana Crypt, Jeweled Lotus, and Dockside Extortionist all produced too much mana too early, creating explosive starts that warped games. Griselbrand and Yawgmoth's Bargain convert Commander's generous 40-life starting total into absurd card advantage.
A third group creates miserable play patterns without necessarily winning. Prophet of Kruphix lets one player take meaningful actions on every turn. Hullbreacher and Leovold strip opponents' hands and keep them empty. Iona prevents entire colors from being cast. These cards remove agency from other players without cleanly ending the game, which is particularly problematic in a social format.
Finally, some cards interact poorly with Commander's structural rules. Karakas repeatedly bounces legendary commanders for almost no cost. Golos was simply the best commander for nearly every strategy. Lutri's companion condition was automatically met by every singleton deck.
When to expect the next update
The Commander Format Panel has indicated the next banned and restricted announcement will likely arrive in May or June 2026. Unlike 2025, when the panel limited itself to a single update window for the entire year, 2026 will allow multiple announcements if warranted. Commander updates operate on their own schedule, separate from Standard, Modern, and other format announcements.
If you're building a new deck, the current banned list is the one to follow. Keep an eye on Sundering Titan, Iona, and Griselbrand — the panel has explicitly asked for community feedback on all three, and any of them could move off the list in a future update.
