Ezio Auditore da Firenze

Ezio Auditore da Firenze, although only recently released, has become one of the most-played commanders in the metagame in the space of just a few months. The possibility to play all five colors has also enabled the deck to exist in several forms simultaneously.

Ezio Auditore da Firenze can be analyzed according to two distinct issues, which, taken individually, are not necessarily problematic, but prove decisive when combined into a single card:

• On the one hand, Ezio Auditore da Firenze's solid stats and colors allow players to build a classic yet powerful deck that can play the best cards in the format, being able to develop almost any type of playstyle, depending on the player's choice. 

• On the other hand, Ezio Auditore da Firenze's real strength lies in its ability to end games single-handedly and without strong constraints in terms of deck-building. This possibility provides Ezio Auditore da Firenze's decks access to an incredibly pressuring tool in addition to its main game plan, essentially acting like a combo deck which winning condition would be made up of its commander only. 

Putting pressure on two radically different aspects of the game without needing specific deck-building, Ezio Auditore da Firenze appears superior to many other competitive options, and, as a result, ultimately poses a diversity problem. For this reason, Ezio Auditore da Firenze is banned in Duel Commander.

Balance

Balance is a unique card. In its basic use, it remains useless as long as the one playing the card is ahead of their opponent, but allows for significant reversals in the opposite case. Highly subject to variance, the game experience associated with it can be frustrating, as it rewards or cancels out bad decisions made by the player. When built around, Balance proves to be even better: it becomes a proactive tool, not only for catching up, but also for widening the gap.

Until now, however, this latter use has been marginal, as none of the game's most popular decks could take full advantage of it. 

For some time now, however, the situation has changed. First of all, the "reanimator" variants have established themselves as a benchmark for Duel Commander combo decks. Now, they're proving to be able to take full advantage of this second function, using Balance as both a reactive tool for defending and a proactive one for strategy development. Here again, its ever-increasing presence reinforces an already powerful archetype, while at the same time diminishing the strategic interest of the games in which it is involved. Also, a small consequence of this announcement, Akiri, Line-Slinger, as being legal again, is likely to offer another opportunity to abuse this strategy, and we'd rather add new playing opportunities without hurting strategic interest of games.

Balance is hence banned again in Duel Commander.

Reanimate

Reanimate has been around for a very long time in Duel Commander. While its effect in itself is quite common in Magic The Gathering, Reanimate remains unique by its cost efficenciency: an unconstrained reanimation (from any graveyard) for one single mana, in exchange for life points instead. Above all, the card has the problem of offering a very powerful reward in terms of efficiency for very little mana spent, leading to many unrecoverable games in which the advantage taken too early can never be reversed.

If we've decided to act on this issue today, it is because it lies at the crossroads of two recent developments in our game: first, the reanimating variants have developed to a point of being among of the most played ones. Second, the average quality of creatures per mana cost (hence, here, for life lost) has risen enormously, especially as more and more of them can reach graveyards without any particular effort.

These two trends have made Reanimate a card played in almost all decks capable of doing so, while constituting the best tool of the eponymous archetype. As its ubiquity does little to enhance the strategic interest of games, Reanimate is now banned in Duel Commander.

White-Plume Adventurer

White-Plume Adventurer is a card that is part of the “Take the initiative” ability group of cards. This ability is interesting for several reasons: it offers a powerful tool for achieving inevitability, while rewarding strategies based on dominating the battlefield. However, not all cards with this ability offer the same power level.

White-Plume Adventurer stands out from the other options for two reasons: 

• first, it is the only card offering this effect at a cost of three mana, all the others costing a minimum of four. As a result, The Initiative is able to appear way earlier in the game, before the battlefield presence is sufficiently developed, preventing it from being effectively contested. 

• second, its second ability, allowing its controller to attack while blocking the same turns, ensures that an early Initiative taken is effectively protected, further limiting the possibilities for an opponent to recover.

These considerations explain why White-Plume Adventurer is the source of many unrecoverable games, reducing the strategic interest of the format by offering a decisive advantage too early in the game. For this reason, White-Plume Adventurer is now banned from our game.

Akiri, Line-Slinger

Akiri, Line-Slinger was banned at a time when cards with the partner rule were playable without any particular constraints. Taking full strength in the card advantage provided by this rule, Akiri, Line-Slinger-based decks could easily dominate the battlefield, especially as the average quality of interactions and creatures was quite inferior compared to recent printings. 

Moreover, the specific constraints imposed by Akiri, Line-Slinger may allow the emergence of artifact-based archetypes, increasing overall metagame diversity. For these reasons, Akiri, Line-Slinger is now legal in Duel Commander.