Predicting The Next Legendary Creature to Be Banned as Commander

Last updated on August 19, 2026

Etali, Primal Conqueror | Illustration by Ryan Pancoast

Arena patch notes typically come with bug fixes but the notes from Aug. 17, 2026, came with an unexpected feature: Arena has added support for banned as commander in Brawl, Standard Brawl, and Competitive Brawl. While no cards have been banned as commander in these formats, Wizards wouldn’t add this feature without intending to use it.

What Does Banned As Commander Mean? Is It Good?

Leovold, Emissary of Trest | Illustration by Magali Villeneuve

A card “banned as commander” can’t be put in the command zone but can be played in the 99 of decks with the appropriate color identity. It’s very similar to EDH’s banned as companion rule for Lutri, the Spellchaser.

While Commander proper doesn’t use banned as commander, some variants do, most notably Duel Commander. Considering Duel Commander is important because, as Brawl currently stands, it’s closer to that Commander variant than the original format.

Commanders banned as commander in Duel Commander are typically cheap value engines that dominate games or offer too much flexibility, as well as several partners and eminence commanders. Brawl is unlikely to directly correlate with Duel Commander banlist, if only because there are so many differences between the format’s card pools, but it provides an idea of what could go.

I enjoy banned as commander. Having a commander is inherently broken; not only is it an extra card in your hand every game, it’s the same card, so you get to build around it and have access to it throughout the game. Banned as commander gives format overseers a scalpel to trim poor play patterns rather than a hammer to smash them aside.

Banned As Commander in Brawl

Golos, Tireless Pilgrim | Illustration by Joseph Meehan

Expect the banned as commander list for base Brawl to be the longest because Wizards has more stake in expanding the Brawl ban list to cultivate the casual experience they want. We saw this recently, with the banning of free countermagic and Wash Away, which was a hyper-efficient answer to any commander.

Brawl currently has a few boogiemen you can expect to go. For example, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah will always be top cat in a 1v1 format; there’s a reason it was banned in Competitive Brawl on day 0.

Golos, Tireless Pilgrim could also hit the surgical table. The five-color commander helms good-stuff piles that don’t mesh with the idea of a casual format, plus I’ve always found Golos’s play pattern toxic. Since it ramps when it enters, removing it is almost fruitless because your opponent only one additional land drop instead of two to cast it, but you can’t ignore a large body that casts three spells in play.

There’s also a selection of what I consider “ramp slop” commanders like Etali, Primal Conqueror, Raph & Mikey, Troublemakers, and Mythweaver Poq that play essentially similar lists: All the cheap green ramp, and you either kill them before they play a 7-drop on turn 4 or die. I don’t think any one of these are problematic enough to ban as commander, especially considering two or three other cards would take their spot, but I wonder if these commanders might be a baseline for the linear play patterns Wizards allows in Brawl.

Banned As Commander in Competitive Brawl

Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow | Illustration by Yongjae Choi

The most obvious option for banned as commander in Competitive Brawl (and probably Brawl) are all the commanders that were pre-banned in the format:

• Ajani, Nacatl Pariah
• Nadu, Winged Wisdom
• Lutri, the Spellchaser
• Oko, Thief of Crowns
• Old Stickfingers
• Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
• Rusko, Clockmaker
• Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student
• Wrenn and Six
• Tajic, Legion's Valor

With the exception of Lutri, these cards are problematic only when in your opening hand every game and built around. It’s also worth noting most of these are on the Duel Commander banlist.

Another high-tier commander I wouldn’t be surprised to see leave the format is Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow. The ninja commander tacks card advantage and pressure into a cheap package, but the real issue is commander ninjutsu. Yuriko never costs more than and does absurd work for that cost. It’s extremely hard to keep up with as a consistent threat in a 1v1 format as you don’t have two other opponent obligated to keep threats in check and half the life you would in cEDH.

I’m pulling on that Duel Commander experience here, but Spider-Man 2099 ended up being a serious problem for that format. It got banned for being a flexible interaction spell that was also a threat and sometimes a combo win condition with a couple combat tricks. Though the card pool of Competitive Brawl is weaker, it has many of the tools that made this commander so powerful, so it might be a problem in the future.