Duel Commander Banned List Revamp, Major Cards Relegalized

The Duel Commander Committee posted an update on November 24, 2025 that made a number of changes to the format's Banned and Restricted list and reaffirmed committee positions going forward. The announcement named Deadpool, Trading Card and Nadu, Winged Wisdom as newly banned, and listed a slate of formerly banned or restricted cards that are now legal.

Key legal changes included Force of Will, Humility, Imperial Seal, Blood Moon, Back to Basics, Price of Progress, Wasteland, Cavern of Souls, Field of the Dead, Genesis Storm, Rain of Filth, Emrakul the Aeons Torn, Najeela the Blade Blossom, Krark the Thumbless and Geist of Saint Traft being returned to legality. The committee explained that Deadpool, Trading Card was banned because of its one card win potential and its unavailability on digital platforms, making it too disruptive and without meaningful counterplay. Nadu, Winged Wisdom was banned for creating an overly consistent fast spellslinging engine that homogenized deck building and reduced interaction.

The committee framed the moves to relegalize many cards as a response to shifts in the metagame, card availability, and the interaction environment. It judged that today’s faster, more interactive metagame and different deck building constraints had reduced the degenerative impacts those cards once caused. The announcement also said that cards such as Genesis Storm and Rain of Filth were now tolerable because disruption and speed in the current metagame make the explosive lines they once enabled harder to assemble reliably.

For players and event organizers the ruling set signals substantial near term change. Expect decks that relied on newer engines or that benefited from the old bans to be reevaluated, and expect renewed attention to blue counterspell strategies and toolbox land packages. Local tournament policies, prize support and judging guidance may be updated as organizers consult the committee’s Comprehensive Rules page and the Banned and Restricted page for authoritative lists and further rulings.

The committee closed by reminding readers where to find its other resources and by pointing to scheduled future updates. The full original text and any subsequent edits are available on mtgdc.info.