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Wizards of the Coast surprisingly banned cards like Mana Crypt and a few other staple cards from MTG's Commander format. For a hefty amount of time, Mana Crypt was considered to be one of the must-have cards in a cEDH (competitive Elder Dragon Highlander) deck. This is due to its nature of helping a player gain mana advantage in one turn for no cost. Because of that, the mana rock's value skyrocketed, turning into one of the most expensive cards to own in a commander deck.
Unfortunately, cEDH players can no longer use Mana Crypt as Wizards of the Coast decided to ban it from Commander.
Mana Crypt and Others Banned from MTG Commander
While finding out that Mana Crypt is no longer Commander-legal is a huge let down, there are other staple cards players can no longer use in the format. Here's a full list:
- Dockside Extortionist
- Jeweled Lotus
- Nadu, Winged Wisdom
Why did WotC ban these cards?
The committee behind the Commander format's rules explained that they're trying to reduce the amount of explosive starts in a game. Mana Crypt and Jeweled Lotus have given players multiple opportunities to win the game within one to three turns. As for Dockside Extortionist, while it may not be as explosive as the other two mana rocks, it could still give the player mana advantage in the first few turns.
Given these reasons, one might ask why Wizards of the Coast also didn't ban Sol Ring. The committee explained that while they want to reduce the number of methods for players to gain the upper hand in the first few turns, they don't want to get rid of it entirely. To them, Sol Ring feels like a more reasonable way to produce more mana. This is simply because players still need to pay at least one mana to cast it, rather than summoning the card for free.
Each Banned Card Explained
Dockside Extortionist
Dockside Extortionist is a two-cost (one generic and one red) creature. When Dockside Extortionist enters, create X Treasure tokens, where X is the number of artifacts and enchantments your opponents control.
Depending on what the board state is, controllers of Dockside Extortionist can easily create a plethora of treasures by turn three if their opponents cast several artifacts on the battlefield. Being able to produce an abundance of mana by turn four could lead to an early victory.
Jeweled Lotus
Jeweled Lotus is a zero-cost artifact.
Tap, Sacrifice Jeweled Lotus: Add three mana of any one color. Spend this mana only to cast your commander.
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Jeweled Lotus is quite troublesome to deal with, especially if players are running monocolored commanders. Imagine being able to cast your five-cost commander by turn two. Depending on which commander the player is running with, they could easily end the game before turn five.
Mana Crypt
Mana Crypt is a zero-cost artifact.
At the beginning of your upkeep, flip a coin. If you lose the flip, Mana Crypt deals 3 damage to you.
Tap: Add two colorless mana.
Mana Crypt is one of the most notorious cards out of the banned Commander format cards. Imagine casting a mana rock for free to cast several other mana rocks, which could end the turn by summoning a low-cost creature. By turn two, a player could already have six to seven mana in their mana pool. Before everyone knows it, the game is over.
Nadu, Winged Wisdom
Nadu, Winged Wisdom is a three-cost (one generic, one green, and one blue) legendary creature with Flying. Creatures you control have “Whenever this creature becomes the target of a spell or ability, reveal the top card of your library. If it’s a land card, put it onto the battlefield. Otherwise, put it into your hand. This ability triggers only twice each turn.”
Many consider Nadu to be a broken commander because of its abilities. Nadu gives all creatures the player controls the ability to help them gain card and mana advantage. While limiting it to only two triggers each turn was supposed to balance the card's abilities, it's still a broken commander to have.
Do you think these bans are justified? Should Wizards of the Coast reconsider? For MTG content, be sure to check out the full list of MTG Duskmourn's monogreen cards.
