SHOULD THEY BE BANNED??? Thoughts on the EDH Ban List

[@djaybird861]

Jeweled lots, mana crypt, dockside and Nadu just got banned today 9/23/24

[@AffinityForCommander]

Just seen. Will definitely create some sad commander players 🤔

[@DeltaFiend]

Whenever I see someone talk about Paradox Engine I have flashbacks to this guy at my old LGS taking a 30+ minutes turn only to not win the game and pass. And while they did not win that turn they did set up plenty of protection so they could get back to their turn and presumably spend *another* 30+ minutes playing solitaire. (I was out and needed to hit the road by this point though so I don't know if they did.) There was much rejoicing when the ban announcment came up. And even the one playing it at the time had, bedgrudgingly, agreed it was for the best.

[@DarkEinherjar]

Nadu, anyone?

[@jumpanama]

Me, that perfectly describes me. I had an amazing King Macar deck that could go infinite with Paradox Engine but struggled to win in one turn if I couldn't find Gary or Damnable Pact. Even then, both of those cards require other cards to win when you're infinite. After the banning, it went from a difficult to pilot and unbearable to play against combo deck to a grindy midrange that is very fun for everybody. Pretty much all the decks that go off with Paradox Engine have this same issue. They're usually actually better when you take it out.

[@DarkEinherjar]

The main issue with Biorhythm and Coalition Victory, Alex, is that they DON'T need to be the deck's main wincon. Every single card you compared to Biorhythm has one distinct difference: they need specific board setups to win the game, and thus need the deck to support them. Biorhythm only needs you to have a single creature out so you don't die to it. Because of it, you can slot it into any green deck and have it there as an alternate "I win" button in addition to your main strategy, without any further changes to the deck itself. Coalition Victory has the same issue: you may think its win condition is too steep, but between lands with 2-3 basic land types and multicolored creatures, it's very easy to have all five basic land types and all colors worth of creatures (even easier if your commander is actually all five colors). As such, you can slot this into any 5c deck with no penalties whatsoever and have it there as single "I win" button. If it gets countered or your board is dealt with so the conditions are no longer met? Big deal, you keep playing your main strategy. Comparing to the Heliod and Mikaeus combos you mentioned, these are probably the deck's main wincon (assuming they're the commanders) and you built the deck aiming to find the pieces and win. Stop those combos, and suddenly winning the game becomes significantly harder for those decks. That's not the case with Biorhythm and Coalition Victory.

[@jumpanama]

As someone with Intuition in a deck, the most braindead way to break Gifts Ungiven is to choose your two win-con cards and two cards that let you get them back/cast from the graveyard. It's not a fun interaction for anybody else and ends the game on the spot

[@scweekyclansman3635]

The commander is the only card that is consistently seen in a game the 99 are basically luck of the draw unless you flood your deck with tutors or draw extra cards

[@markussonnabend6418]

Moxes are banned, but Sol Ring is reprinted in EVERY commander Deck. Sol Ring sucks!

[@ptp1999]

Love this video, as alwyas, brilliantly put together. You're wrong about my boy Rofellos though - bring him back, at least in the 99.

[@cole10002002]

I also die on the hill for biorhythm and the victory.