So we received a pretty big shakeup to the 1v1 Commander format for MTGO. Tutors were hit hard, and tutor commanders were taken off the list. Let's take a look into these bannings and unbannings and what it means for MTGO 1v1 Commander.
<hr />
<h2>Bringing Down the Hammer!</h2>
<h3>Cards Added to the Banned List</h3>
<ul>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Baral, Chief of Compliance" href="#" target="_blank">Baral, Chief of Compliance</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Demonic Tutor" href="#" target="_blank">Demonic Tutor</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Emrakul, the Aeons Torn" href="#" target="_blank">Emrakul, the Aeons Torn</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Enlightened Tutor" href="#" target="_blank">Enlightened Tutor</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Imperial Seal" href="#" target="_blank">Imperial Seal</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mystical Tutor" href="#" target="_blank">Mystical Tutor</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vampiric Tutor" href="#" target="_blank">Vampiric Tutor</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Cards Removed from Banned List</h3>
<ul>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Arcum Dagsson" href="#" target="_blank">Arcum Dagsson</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Yisan, the Wanderer Bard" href="#" target="_blank">Yisan, the Wanderer Bard</a></li>
</ul>
Let's dig a litter deeper here. 
<h3>Tutors</h3>
Tutors were hit really hard in this banning. From a selfish standpoint, I hate seeing these cards go. Part of the allure of Commander is having the ability to play with some of the most powerful cards in Magic. Setting that aside, it makes sense why they were banned. I can't tell you how many times I've used my opening hand tutor to search up <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phyrexian Arena" href="#" target="_blank">Phyrexian Arena</a> to get the card draw flowing. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but having that consistent access to value cards/combo pieces seems to go against the spirit of this singleton format. The world isn't coming to an end, there are still some good tutor cards out there to replace them. These cards don't pack the same punch as the tutor cards banned above, but cards like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mystical Teachings" href="#" target="_blank">Mystical Teachings</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Merchant Scroll" href="#" target="_blank">Merchant Scroll</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grim Tutor" href="#" target="_blank">Grim Tutor</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Diabolic Intent" href="#" target="_blank">Diabolic Intent</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Beseech the Queen" href="#" target="_blank">Beseech the Queen</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rhystic Tutor" href="#" target="_blank">Rhystic Tutor</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Insidious Dreams" href="#" target="_blank">Insidious Dreams</a> can be suitable replacements. In the end, I think this will be a healthy move for the format.
<hr />
<h3>Baral / Emrakul</h3>
Turn three <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Polymorph" href="#" target="_blank">Polymorph</a> targeting Baral into Emrakul...yeah...I'm not going to miss that one bit. I've never enjoyed playing against Baral in 1v1 Commander. It's hard to put words to it, but Baral has always felt like an empty Commander deck to me. Sure you can eat BBQ with a fork and a knife and never get dirty. But at the end of the day, did you really get the full BBQ experience? You're supposed to get down and dirty in Commander and a consistent 50 counterspell-Polymorph.dek isn't that.
Now, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ponder" href="#" target="_blank">Ponder</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Preordain" href="#" target="_blank">Preordain</a>, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brainstorm" href="#" target="_blank">Brainstorm</a> were all banned as of the July 5th, 2017 update. They were banned in hopes of slowing down blue decks at the top of the meta *cough* Baral *cough*. With Baral gone, I hope the MTGO rules committee will take a look at unbanning these cards. Free those cantrips up!
<hr />
<h3>Arcum / Yisan</h3>
I was surprised when Arcum started off on the initial ban list for 1v1 commander. Sure Arcum can lead to some busted games, most notably the <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nevinyrral&#039;s Disk" href="#" target="_blank">Nevinyrral&#039;s Disk</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Darksteel Forge" href="#" target="_blank">Darksteel Forge</a> late night drink mix. But he's still beatable. Yisan on the other hand can lead to some really busted games. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scryb Ranger" href="#" target="_blank">Scryb Ranger</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Quirion Ranger" href="#" target="_blank">Quirion Ranger</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wirewood Symbiote" href="#" target="_blank">Wirewood Symbiote</a>, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Temur Sabertooth" href="#" target="_blank">Temur Sabertooth</a> can lead to some really activation heavy turns for Yisan. Which can make you feel a little helpless in 1v1 Commander if you don't have an answer right then. It does give me some optimism that the rules committee is going to take an active approach at banning and unbanning cards. Unbanning Arcum and Yisan hints at them going in that direction.
&nbsp;
That's going to wrap it up for today. If you don't know who I am, I have a YouTube <a href="http://youtube.com/jolt539">channel</a> that focuses on 1v1 Commander gameplay. I keep all my commanders sectioned off in my playlist section if you're looking for a specific commander. Have fun with those Arcum and Yisan activations!
-Jolt539

MTGO 1v1 Ban Update — Tutors, Scrap Metal, and Tunes

Welcome to our first news update here at EDHREC. Since we want to become your one stop shop for all things EDH we wanted to give you a quick rundown of recent events in the EDH world. Yesterday was a huge day for us! In case you missed it, <a href="http://mtgcommander.net/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&amp;t=18588">here is a link</a> to the chaos that set off a whirlwind of activity. Just in case the link is still broken from everyone overloading the site Sheldon Menery gave us a TL:DR here:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
It looks like we might have crashed the website. Short version: Leovold, Emissary of Trest banned; Protean Hulk unbanned. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/mtgcmdr?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#mtgcmdr</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/edh?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#edh</a>
&mdash; Sheldon Menery, Surviving (@SheldonMenery) <a href="https://twitter.com/SheldonMenery/status/856601158198198273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Sooooooooo yea. Big news like I said. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Leovold, Emissary of Trest" href="#" target="_blank">Leovold, Emissary of Trest</a> is now banned while <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Protean Hulk" href="#" target="_blank">Protean Hulk</a> is now set loose on the format. Let's break down some of the action play-by-play style.
&nbsp;
<h2>So Long and Thanks for All the Wheels</h2>
From the announcement:
<blockquote>"We had hopes for Leovold and gave him every opportunity to prove that he would be strong but safe in the format. He simply wasn’t. Leovold violates the tenet of creating undesirable game states by easily locking other players out of the game. We prefer to encourage situations in which everyone gets to play, and it’s too easy for Leovold to create the opposite, even unintentionally."</blockquote>
<img decoding="async" class="oneimage aligncenter" src="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?name=Leovold,%20Emissary%20of%20Trest&amp;type=card&amp;.jpg" />
<h4 style="text-align: center;">We had fun while it lasted...oh wait no it sucked</h4>
Anyone who has played against <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Leovold, Emissary of Trest" href="#" target="_blank">Leovold, Emissary of Trest</a> decks know how quickly things can get out of hand. Leovold's static ability of opponents only being able to draw one card a turn shuts down several common strategies in the format and keeps decks from being able to dig out of an early hole as well.
<h3>A Series of Undesirable Board States</h3>
Some of the undesirable board states that Sheldon mentions have to do with cards like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Howling Mine" href="#" target="_blank">Howling Mine</a> effects letting the Leovold player load up on cards for themselves while keeping the rest of the table out in the cold. The real issue is where the Leovold player can play cards like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Teferi&#039;s Puzzle Box" href="#" target="_blank">Teferi&#039;s Puzzle Box</a> or <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Windfall" href="#" target="_blank">Windfall</a> effects that leave opposing players empty handed.
<img decoding="async" class="oneimage" src="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?name=Teferi%27s%20Puzzle%20Box&amp;type=card&amp;.jpg" /> <img decoding="async" class="oneimage" src="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?name=Windfall&amp;type=card&amp;.jpg" />
<h4 style="text-align: center;">Lock pieces? How do you unlock a puzzle? Just solve it?</h4>
Board states where opponents get soft-locked out of the game obviously are no fun to play against, and even as a Leovold player myself they aren't very fun to create. Yes, that was not a typo. I myself have built a Leovold deck. Sheldon Menery often talks about the format being "self-policing," where individual playgroups are able to keep out overly oppressive or undesirable decks. Sometimes this works and sometimes this doesn't. This obviously puts a lot of trust in the player base, and this time it required a <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fatal Push" href="#" target="_blank">Fatal Push</a> in the right direction. Ultimately, even though I lose a deck to play with my more competitive friends, this is a very good thing for EDH because it's just too hard to play a "fair" Leovold deck.
<h3>A Future So Bright</h3>
So what does this mean for us as EDH players? Well for one it's a huge monkey off our backs. We don't have to worry about sitting down with a group of strangers and one of them pulling out a deck of fun police <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Windfall" href="#" target="_blank">Windfall</a> effects and the game taking three hours because the Leovold player has all control but no actual way to close the game out. The Sultai colors remain one of the best combinations (in my personal opinion at least), but now Sultai players need to do it a little less...crappily.
<h2>HULK SMASH!!!</h2>
From the announcement:
<blockquote>"On the other hand, we feel as though it’s time to let <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Protean Hulk" href="#" target="_blank">Protean Hulk</a> off the leash. A number of factors led to this decision. Support within the community has been tilting toward Protean Hulk for quite some time. Inside the Rules Committee, we have been leaning in that direction for a while as well, but didn’t have enough of a consensus. Now we do. We acknowledge that the card will be strong, but are of the opinion that it won’t be the centralizing factor it once would have been. Back when Protean Hulk was banned, both creatures and graveyard control were nowhere near as strong as they are today. We know combo possibilities exist with the card, but they need to be specifically built around, so to us it becomes a great value card instead of a dangerous combo piece in casual environments. We suspect that Protean Hulk will be much like Kokusho, the Evening Star when it was unbanned: powerful but not broken in the current Commander landscape."</blockquote>
<img decoding="async" class="oneimage aligncenter" src="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?name=Protean%20Hulk&amp;type=card&amp;.jpg" />
<h4 style="text-align: center;">I really forgot how ugly this mug is....</h4>
&nbsp;
<h3>Hulkamaniancs Unite!</h3>
Now this is what lots of people are excited about. One of my buddies in our playgroup has a pet <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Karador, Ghost Chieftain" href="#" target="_blank">Karador, Ghost Chieftain</a> deck and immediately asked about the best way to break it. The EDHREC authors had a lengthy chat as well, discussing the merits and ways to integrate <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Protean Hulk" href="#" target="_blank">Protean Hulk</a> into current decks.
For those that don't play Modern, there <a href="http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=84589">has been a deck for a while</a> the creeps in and out of top tables at events which plays <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Protean Hulk" href="#" target="_blank">Protean Hulk</a> along with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reveillark" href="#" target="_blank">Reveillark</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Body Double" href="#" target="_blank">Body Double</a> to create a loop to sneak in an assortment of creatures able to kill opponents. In the context of EDH, it creates a huge opportunity for players to sneak a tool box full of creatures in at instant speed.
<img decoding="async" class="oneimage" src="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?name=Reveillark&amp;type=card&amp;.jpg" /> <img decoding="async" class="oneimage" src="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?name=Karmic%20Guide&amp;type=card&amp;.jpg" />
<h3>The Jolly Green Combo Giant</h3>
So what decks can best take advantage of our new hulkish friend? I think any deck built to take advantage of graveyard shenanigans is a great place to start. Obviously the already mentioned <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Karador, Ghost Chieftan" href="#" target="_blank">Karador, Ghost Chieftan</a> is an prime benefactor. Since Karador can hulk out once per turn and sacrifice him to the slew of different outlets those decks typically contains means your local Karador player is going to quickly get a LOT of value.
<img decoding="async" class="oneimage" src="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?name=Meren%20of%20Clan%20Nel%20Toth&amp;type=card&amp;.jpg" /> <img decoding="async" class="oneimage" src="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?name=Adun%20Oakenshield&amp;type=card&amp;.jpg" />
<h3>Planet Hulk</h3>
The current EDHREC page for <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Protean Hulk" href="#" target="_blank">Protean Hulk</a> shows the only two commanders that play it as <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mayael the Anima" href="#" target="_blank">Mayael the Anima</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shattergang Brothers" href="#" target="_blank">Shattergang Brothers</a>. Both generals certainly seem like solid starting places. That list is sure to grow daily now that the hulk is loose. Other early ideas that came up in conversation in the EDHREC secret compound are graveyard/death trigger centered commanders like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Adun Oakenshield" href="#" target="_blank">Adun Oakenshield</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Meren of Clan Nel Toth" href="#" target="_blank">Meren of Clan Nel Toth</a>. I agree that both seem primed to take advantage of a great new toy to fill the creature toolbox strategies.
https://twitter.com/baetog_/status/856610174630375424 
&nbsp;
<h2>Top Down</h2>
It probably is worth mentioning in our news update that <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sensei&#039;s Divining Top" href="#" target="_blank">Sensei&#039;s Divining Top</a> was banned yesterday for play in the Legacy format. While this doesn't directly affect EDH, it does mean that LOTS of Legacy players will be selling their Tops. After the reprint in Eternal Masters this creates a way for Tops to get cheaper for anyone who was waiting on buying one. If your area had any Legacy play you should start seeing it show up at your LGS, hopefully at a cheaper price than before. It's win/win as far as I'm concerned. I hate playing against the top's main abuser deck, Miracles in Legacy. Just remember everyone, you do NOT have to activate your Top in response to EVERYTHING. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Harsh Mentor" href="#" target="_blank">Harsh Mentor</a> exists now. Don't let it get you!
<img decoding="async" class="oneimage aligncenter" src="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?name=Sensei%27s%20Divining%20Top&amp;type=card&amp;.jpg" />
<h2>Final Thoughts</h2>
What do you all think of these bans? Will <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Protean Hulk" href="#" target="_blank">Protean Hulk</a> end up too powerful and end up back on the ban list? Will ANYONE miss playing against <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Leovold, Emissary of Trest" href="#" target="_blank">Leovold, Emissary of Trest</a>? Anyone at all? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

news

MTGO 1v1 Ban Update — Tutors, Scrap Metal, and Tunes

EDHREC News Update 4/24/17