Commander Banlist Remains Unchanged in Wizards' Latest MTG Update

The Commander banlist held firm through Wizards of the Coast's March 23 banned and restricted announcement, the second of 2026, with no changes made to the format. Senior game designer Carmen Klomparens, writing on behalf of Magic's Play Design team, framed the update as consistent with Wizards' current philosophy: "check in often for the sake of giving ourselves windows to act."

Klomparens noted that the team would discuss the announcement on WeeklyMTG at twitch.tv/magic on March 24 at 10 a.m. PT. Only Historic saw any changes in this cycle, while a few formats included notes on cards sitting on watchlists for potential future action.

For EDH players tracking the list, the numbers are straightforward. With Standard, Pioneer, Modern, and eternal formats behaving themselves, Wizards has been able to unban cards recently rather than add to restrictions, though in this latest announcement the sole change was Food Chain being banned in Historic. That makes Commander's stability in this cycle a continuation of the calm, not an outlier.

The last time Commander's list actually moved was February 9, and the changes were significant. Biorhythm was unbanned, and Lutri, the Spellchaser was unbanned but remained banned as a companion. Biorhythm has the potential to end a game on the spot for a player with no creatures, and can be set up to eliminate all three opponents simultaneously. The Commander Format Panel had held off on Biorhythm previously, but pointed to the successful unbanning of similarly game-warping expensive spells, including Worldfire and Coalition Victory, as evidence that Biorhythm could be trusted at the table.

Like those previously freed cards, Biorhythm was immediately placed on the Game Changers list. Lutri's situation required a different solution entirely. The problem was that if Lutri were legal as a companion, every blue-red deck for the rest of time would have a strong incentive to include it, with no downside whatsoever, which Wizards specifically did not want for a color combination that doesn't need the help. To resolve this, the Commander Format Panel created a new designation: banned as a companion. Lutri cannot be used as a companion, but it can appear in the 99 or serve as a commander.

Those two February unbannings are reflected in the current state of the list. According to Gavin Verhey, the Commander Format Panel's next update is expected sometime in May or June.

The broader announcement had no drama for Commander players but offered some context on the health of adjacent formats. Standard has continued to look diverse and healthy since the last banned and restricted update, with decks moving up and down in win rate as new technology is discovered. In Brawl, the Magic: The Gathering Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles release added exciting new commanders, with Raph & Mikey, Troublemakers topping the popularity charts while Splinter, Radical Rat trailed closely behind, and Wizards continues regular matchmaking updates with most releases.

The next scheduled banned and restricted announcement is May 18, giving every format time to adjust following the release of Secrets of Strixhaven. For Commander specifically, the Format Panel operates on its own cadence, but Verhey's May or June window aligns closely enough that another EDH update could coincide with that broader cycle.