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.
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. While this card sadly isn’t as good as Dualcaster Mage since Lutri needs to be cast to copy something, there’s still potential here.
Multiple 1.5 Card Infinites
If you want to go infinite with Lutri, the Spellchaser, all you have to do is cast Baral’s Expertise. While this is fairly mana-intensive, since you’ll need to cast Lutri after, having eight mana in Commander isn’t unheard of. Once cast, Lutri can copy Baral’s Expertise and use that new copy to bounce two creatures or artifacts, and itself. Using Baral’s cost reduction effect, you can then recast Lutri while the original Baral’s Expertise is still on the stack for an infinite loop.
While this infinite loop won’t win on its own, it does let you bounce all your opponent’s creatures and artifacts. You’ll also get infinite enters and leaves the battlefield triggers, as well as Magecraft triggers and Storm count. Unsurprisingly, winning from here is pretty trivial, using anything like Impact Tremors or Grapeshot.
For added consistency, a cheaper, albeit simpler, version of this combo is possible with Release to the Wind. Since this unique flicker spell specifically lets you recast, you can keep doubling it with Lutri. While this will only get you infinite ETB, LTB, Magecraft triggers, and Strom count, this still makes winning a breeze.
Thanks to Semblance Anvil, it’s even possible to go infinite by Airbending Lutri using Whirlwind Technique. So long as you’ve got another creature exiled with the Anvil, you can recast Lutri from exile for free, setting up an infinite loop. Ideally, this combo can force each of your opponents to draw their decks; however, this is somewhat risky. After all, if they’re not tapped out, this does give them resources to stop you.
Ultimately, even though Lutri is no Naru Meha, Master Wizard, there’s no denying this Otter has serious potential. Between its combos, and access to Izzet providing more options, Lutri is a real force to be reckoned with. Considering you can run both Naru Meha and Dualcaster Mage in the 99, too, going infinite should be easy.
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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