Wizards of the Coast unbans two cards in Commander.
The first of the two cards making a return to the format is Biorhythm, a card from Onslaught that has the capability of knocking out one or more players upon resolution should those players not have any creatures in play at the time.
Says Wizards of the Coast's Gavin Verhey: "We talked about this card a lot last year and ultimately decided to leave it on the banned list for the first go-around. Its potential strength and the disproportionate impact to the player to your right was something we noted and decided to hold off on."
"While we respect those concerns about ending the game and sitting to the Biorhythm player's right as a big disadvantage, we have now successfully unbanned several expensive spells that radically warp or end the game: Worldfire (in the days before the Commander Format Panel), Sway of the Stars, and Coalition Victory," he continues. "All of those have ultimately turned out just fine. While Biorhythm is stronger, easier to set up, and, yes, can make the game unsatisfyingly end, it takes enough setup and has enough counterplay that it's far from an auto-include. As a situational eight-mana sorcery, there are plenty of times where it's a weak draw."
The card will be placed onto Commander's Game Changers list.
The other card being unbanned is the Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths card Lutri, the Spellchaser.
Lutri is a card that, in addition to being either a commander or part of a deck's 99, also has the companion mechanic. While the card is being unbanned for Commander, players will not be able to use it as a companion.
"Lutri itself is far from too strong of a card in a game of Commander," Verhey explains. "However, the problem is that if Lutri is legal as a companion, every deck for the rest of time that has a blue-red color identity should have Lutri as a companion. There is absolutely no downside to doing so. We don't want blue-red decks to have access to an extra card in every game of Commander for all time (and it's not like it's a color combination that needs the help!) nor have players who don't have access to Lutri get told they "have to" play Lutri. It's a really undesirable outcome to add a card that shows up at that level of ubiquity."
As for why the card is being unbanned despite this, Verhey says that it's because the card has a lot going for it.
"Copying spells is fun," he says. "It's a cute otter! Since the day Lutri was revealed, players have been asking to play with the card in Commander—a request which has only risen in popularity post-Bloomburrow. After much discussion, we decided to free the Otter."
Wizards of the Coast considered taking action on a few other cards as well, but ultimately decided against it. This includes the possible unbannings of Sundering Titan, Iona, Shield of Emeria, and Griselbrand. The possibility of banning the cards Rhystic Study and Thassa's Oracle were also explored, but ultimately decided against.
The next changes, if any, to Commander are expected to be announced in May or June of this year.
