The Duel Commander Rules Committee posted the latest Banned & Restricted update for the format on Monday, making three changes for the popular 1v1 Commander variant.
Invert Polarity has been banned due to its “ability to drastically swing games as early as turn 3 through coin flips.” This three-mana counterspell with massive variance-riddled upside was more suitable for the format when it was mainly being played in blue and red decks, but the rise in popularity of Aragorn, King of Gondor as a commander has led to it being played in a much higher percentage of decks.
The other two updates are considered experimental changes from the rules committee, meaning it can respond quickly to put the cards back on the banned list if they prove problematic. Zurgo Bellstriker is legal, so it can be played as the commander of a deck or used in the 99. When it was the lone one-mana legend for red decks Zurgo was too strong, but with the printing of multiple other options at one-mana the format has reacted to the potentially fast starts red decks are capable of. As Duel Commander matches allow players to swap their commander with any other legendary creature in their deck, Zurgo gives mono-red decks more flexibility.
Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis is now unrestricted, meaning it can be played in decks but not used as a commander. The rules committee notes that green decks are the least-played decks in the format and could use the boost. The rules committee said it “wanted to give midrange strategies the tools necessary to match the velocity of combo decks” in the format.
The full Banned & Restricted list can be found here.
Read the official announcement from the Duel Commander Rules Committee.
