For the most part, the banned and restricted announcement in early February was rather uneventful. Outside of a bevy of changes on MTG Arena, no competitive paper format was touched. Even in Commander, we didn’t see any of the dramatic, potentially format-warping changes that were expected. Instead, Wizards only unbanned two cards in Commander.
Outside of the expected unbanning of Biorhythm, only one change actually caught players off guard. Lutri, the Spellchaser was finally freed from the Commander banlist, albeit with a catch. While you can’t play this otter as a Companion, since it’d be an auto-include everywhere, you can use it like a normal legend. Thanks to the insane synergy this card offers, it’s well worth genuinely considering as a Commander.
MTG Lutri, the Spellchaser
Despite being the only card ever pre-banned in the format, as a Commander, Lutri, the Spellchaser is surprisingly reasonable. Arguably, in fact, this Otter is somewhat difficult to use in the format, since it only has an enters effect. While this is a fantastic ability for three mana, Commander Tax can get very expensive very quickly.
Thankfully, there are ways to get around Commander Tax, such as bouncing or flickering Lutri. While this Otter doesn’t have access to white, you can still use Blur, Displace, or any bounce effect like Snap. Not only are these great for dodging removal, but they can even become infinite combos with the right timing.
Even before getting into the seriously spicy infinite combos, getting to double any instant or sorcery is exceptionally useful. Whether you’re doubling up on card draw with Brainstorm, ramp with Mana Geyser, or turns with Temporal Manipulation, the potential for value is huge. While this is already a hugely powerful ability, Twinning Staff copies copies for even more shenanigans.
Outside of the copy shenanigans, thanks to their natural affinity for instants and sorcerers, Lutri, the Spellchaser suits a spellslinger shell. Using cost reduction effects like Goblin Electromancer and Birgi, God of Storytelling, it’s fairly easy to Storm out, even.
All in all, even if you only get to use Lutri a handful of times over a game of Commander, they can still work wonders. However, getting good value is just the tip of the iceberg for this card. Given that this card is effectively an Izzet Naru Meha, Master Wizard, it’s safe to say there’s a ridiculous amount of combos available.
Obscene Infinite Potential
If you want to go infinite with Lutri, the Spellchaser, all you have to do is cast a flicker spell, like Displace, and then Lutri. By copying this spell, then stacking the triggers, you can flicker Lutri so it copies the original spell on the stack. This can be done infinitely for infinite enters and leaves the battlefield effects, as well as infinite Storm Count.
As usual, from this point, winning the game is trivial, as any pinger like Impact Tremors becomes a wincon. Alternatively, utilizing Blur instead of Displace will let you draw your entire deck, setting up a Thassa’s Oracle win. Realistically, there’s no shortage of ways you can win with this combo established, and getting to that point is remarkably easy.
On top of spells like Release to the Wind, Ghostly Flicker, and Baral’s Expertise adding consistency, you can also just turn Lutri into Dualcaster Mage. By adding a Mirror Box into the equation as needed, all this card’s combos become options. Twinflame, Molten Duplication, and Heat Shimmer can all get you infinite Lutri’s, for instance, once this line is unlocked.
Realistically, there are so many possible combos with Lutri, the Spellchaser, that the only struggle is picking between them. As fun as copying big spells is, the sheer number of options makes this Commander have remarkable redundancy. This makes it great as both a high-bracket competitive option and a low-bracket shenanigan machine.
A Brilliant Budget Pick
At the moment, Lutri, the Spellchaser is still remarkably unknown in Commander. According to EDHREC, Lutri helms just 406 decks right now, and appears in the 99 of a little over 2,500. Realistically, this low play rate likely has less to do with Lutri’s power and more to do with the fact that it only became playable recently.
The good news is that this means Lutri, the Spellchaser is a rather cheap MTG card at the moment. Selling for less than $3 on TCGplayer, you can reasonably build an effective Lutri deck on a budget. Given the high price of many Spellslinger staples, however, things can get very expensive very quickly.
If you do like the sounds of Lutri yourself, it might be a good idea to pick up a copy sooner rather than later. As more and more MTG players rediscover this card’s potential, it’s likely to get a good bit more expensive. While we have already seen this card spike in price and drop down once before, demand may well continue over time.
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