The last few months have been a tumultuous time for Duel Commander. Following a fracturing of the format’s community-driven panel, there are now multiple bodies competing for authority over banned and restricted decisions there. As a result, MTGO has effectively suspended the format in its pre-November 18th state for the time being. This was an interesting move in a vacuum, and it’s even more interesting now that the November 2025 Duel Commander bans/unbans update is here.
This update comes in two forms, depending on which side of the fractured panel you listen to. This, essentially, splits Duel Commander in three. You have the MTGO version of the format, which sticks to the previous banlist, and two new versions, each with their own updated banlists. If this sounds confusing to you, then don’t worry: it definitely is. Hopefully we can see a unification of format authority soon, as division like this is no good for the format, or its player base, long-term.
Nadu, Winged Wisdom Is Banned
The version of the November 2025 Duel Commander bans/unbans update that most players seem to be rallying behind at present comes from Duelcommander.org. This is also, quite frankly, the much more reasonable of the two options.
First of all, Nadu, Winged Wisdom is now completely banned from Duel Commander. At this point, seeing Nadu banned in yet another format isn’t surprising at all. The card is completely broken, to the point where it has received bans in Modern, Legacy, and regular Commander. It’s incredibly easy to combo off with the card and zero-mana targeting effects like Shuko. This results in an overwhelming value wave that’s hard for opponents to overcome. Not only is this strategy powerful, but it’s also very cumbersome. Nadu combos are non-deterministic, so it takes a long time to play them out, which isn’t much fun for opponents.
In Duel Commander, as the update notes, Nadu restricted the format by filtering out pretty much every other Simic legend from consideration. It also functioned just fine as a standalone value card, even if you didn’t go down the combo route. Recent builds of Peter Parker//Amazing Spider-Man demonstrate this idea perfectly, running Nadu as just one option in an otherwise solid Midrange deck.
Ultimately, Nadu was just too strong and too awkward for Duel Commander. It made combo wins too easy, and it was too difficult to interact with for most decks to keep up. As with the other formats freed from the yoke of Nadu, its removal should open the doors for more diverse strategies to shine.
Breya, Etherium Shaper Is (Experimentally) Unbanned
The only other change that came with the Duelcommander.org update today is an unban, and one that goes back a long way. Back in April 2017, Breya, Etherium Shaper was one of several legends banned as Commander in the Duel Commander format. Today, after eight years, that decision is being reversed.
Reading the panel’s notes on this move is a fascinating time capsule of what Duel Commander used to be. In 2017, Breya was the undisputed best Commander in the format due to its flexibility and color identity. Control strategies were dominant at the time, and Breya offered a powerful Commander that gave you access to all of the best Control tools.
In 2025, however, Duel Commander is a different beast entirely. All of the top decks right now, from Aragorn, King of Gondor to Slimefoot and Squee, are proactive, aggressive strategies. A Commander like Breya, while still solid, feels a lot more clunky in this environment. Because of this, the panel considers it a safe unban at this point.
Unbanning Breya as a Commander now also provides a much-needed four-color option for players. Breya is literally the only standalone legend in the WUBR color combination in Magic’s history. Since it’s been banned, Duel Commander players have had to resort to Partner combinations to fill that role, but no longer.
It’s worth noting that the update classifies this unban as ‘experimental’ in nature. This means it’s essentially a testing period to see if the card can be unbanned for real. I’d say this was pretty likely given how far the format has come since the Breya ban, but it’s not guaranteed. If it starts dominating the metagame, it could be back on the list in a few months.
The Other Side Of The Fence
Perhaps the most interesting thing about the November 2025 Duel Commander bans/unbans update is the fact that there are two versions. The other, which is hosted on Mtgdc.info, offers a far more radical set of changes.
Other than banning Nadu, this list goes off in a completely different direction from the first. It also bans Deadpool, Trading Card, and unbans a whopping 15 cards, none of which are Breya. These cards are all high-end, game-changing powerhouses, like Force of Will, Imperial Seal, and Najeela, the Blade Blossom. Most players online are in agreement that this update is a step too far with how many powerful cards it unleashes all at once. Because of this, the version we looked at first seems to be the ‘official’ version for now.
That said, the fact that there are two versions of this update has ramifications for the future of the format. As Wizards noted in an MTGO update earlier in November, it won’t be updating the format’s banlist on MTGO “until there is unification on the issue from the format’s stewards.” Two separate banlists being delivered today clearly indicate that such unification hasn’t been reached yet.
This is an unfortunate circumstance for everyone who plays Duel Commander, be it in person or on MTGO. Hopefully, the panel can resolve the issues at hand soon. If not, the format could lose a lot of players in the confusion.
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