Your question:

"[Translated from French] Hello, I have a problem with the phasing rule. A card like Oubliette totally blocks commanders and doesn't allow interacting like we could do with Claustrophobia or Stasis Snare, where rules allow putting commanders back into command zones. There aren't enchantment removal effects in all colors and answers are very limited, which unfortunately often changes the course of games. Thanks."

Our answer:

Cards that make commanders unavailable (like Oubliette/Nevermore/Drannith Magistrate) represent an interesting part of the metagame as they favour less linear and more subtle deckbuilding. Only very oppressive cards like Karakas should be banned.

Your question:

"I dont get it: why is Lutri, the Spellchaser banned? It's broken as a companion, but why is it banned in a deck, it's just like Dualcaster Mage..."

Our answer:

We do not want to make a "banned as a companion" section in the B&R only for it". It does not really deserve to be banned as a card but this doesn't really matter as it would not be widely played if it was legal anyway.

Your question:

"Are there any plans to ban Galazeth Prismari as a commander? it's very similar to Urza, Lord High Artificer which deck I previously built, and I would hate if I bought it and it was banned right after. Thank you. :)"

Our answer:

Galazeth Prismari is a strong card that the will supervise. But it is notably weaker than Urza, Lord High Artificer as the mana cannot be used to cast more artifacts and then snowball. The card is strong but doesn't seems to be a problem in the foreseable future.

Your question:

"Hello, what is the point of view of the Committee on manabases of 5-color decks? These kinds of deck (Niv Mizzet, the First Sliver,...) seem to be way more stable than some bicolor decks. Is a ban of a land cycle (dual lands, fetchlands,...) conceivable if this kind of decks performs too well?"

Our answer:

We agree on your point. The singleton nature of the format makes 4-5 color decks more stable than two-color ones. This is structural. However, we do not plan to adjust this point as it would require massive changes for a minor gain.

Your question:

"Why hasn't Silas Renn, Seeker Adept been banned? I don't think it is "too powerful" but all the other bicolor, low-mana-cost partners have been banned. So why did it survive to the ban hammer unlike Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist or Reyhan, Last of the Abzan?"

Our answer:

Silas Renn, Seeker Adept was studied as a potential ban instead of Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist or Reyhan, Last of the Abzan. It was acknowleged as giving less tempo than Reyhan, Last of the Abzan and proved less flexible (it need to deals combat damage) and a weaker creature than Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist.

Your question:

"Is it a consideration to ban Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle and unban Scapeshift?

The latter was initialy banned because of the abusiveness of Field of the Dead, but it was banned on the very next announcement. Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle is a card that has no "fair" uses, while Scapeshift *could* open up some fun strategies.

I don't really expect an actual Scapeshift unban, I'm just wondering if it's something that has been discussed among you.

Thank you in advance for your consideration"

Our answer:

It could be done. But any new printed land that would be broken with Scapeshift would reset that problem. Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle legal is a fairer card with less potential for future broken interactions.

Your question:

"How will Historic Horizon cards, specifically ones that utilize the Seek, Conjure, and Perpetually mechanics, be handled?"

Our answer:

Historic Horizons cards are not physical cards but only digital ones. So they will not be legal for non-MTGA events like DC tournaments.

Your question:

"Why is Balance still legal?"

Our answer:

Balance is a card that needs a complex setup to be powerful. The card is widely weakened by the singleton / 99-cards nature of the format. In most games, Balance is unplayable or a bad equivalent of Toxic Deluge. On few occasions will it be a very spectacular card that punishes players that forgot to win and only gained pointless card advantage.

Your question:

"Why is Prossh, Skyraider of Kher still legal?"

Our answer:

Even if Prossh, Skyraider of Kher is a strong Commander it is not overperforming at the moment.

Your question:

"Why don’t you ban all the cards that have the “partner” keyword, or take similar decisions, such as restricting the cards in the command zone to one?"

Our answer:

First, we try not to modify rules that could contradict those that come from the comprehensive Wizards Of The Coast rules. Life totals, commander damage, etc. can differ. That’s our limit, so far. Using the regular way would mean adding 79 cards today to the B&R, which is not really appropriate either. Our approach is the same: focus on results and imbalance, then act on specific cards.

Your question:

"Why is Mox Amber still legal when most of the permanent fast mana is already on the B&R?"

Our answer:

Over the past years, permanent-based fast mana got more and more problematic, and though the power 9 ones (as well as other absolutely impossible cards like Sol Ring) got removed a long time ago, all the “mox” cards were added to the B&R year after year. Though Mox Amber’s fate is not sealed yet, the card requires too much of a special setup to become effective, especially during the precious first turns, which is why it is still considered fair. Moreover, to be really efficient, it has to be paired with low cost commander and we think it’s restrictive enough for now.

Your question:

"How does the ''Learn'' ability introduced in Strixhaven cards work?"

Our answer:

In Commander, in general, whatever refers to “outside the game” works but has no effect. You can read the abilities and resolve them, but they refer to a non-existent pool.

For the record, this pool comes from the sanctioned constructed formats (Standard, Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, and back then Extended, etc.), where an additional game mechanic (namely: sideboard) becomes part of this pool. There are about 30 cards which refer to this pool (“wishes”, and more recently Legion Angel or Granted), and none of these cards do anything in Commander, with only 2020 exception of companion cards, which work as intended. Only the part of the text that does not refer to this card pool works (like you may discard and draw a card when resolving a card with the Learn ability).

As Wizards of The Coast said and from what we know: those cards don’t have a special treatment from previous rules.

Your question:

"How can one join the Duel Commander Rules Committee?"

Our answer:

Though we don’t have a precise detection process, we have internal recruitment processes and tools. Which means everyone would join under the same conditions, but who could join is not a predetermined process. We currently have distinct roles that you can find under the “About us” section. Anyone could apply, but also many times did the Committee find its members by itself, too. The core qualities are: being able to work in a team, understanding the plurality of voices, a solid general knowledge of Magic The Gathering, having a decent English level, and sometimes a few other qualities.

Your question:

"Is it possible to play cards like companions, lessons or dungeons and how does it count towards the 100 cards + cards outside the deck?"

Our answer:

Thanks for your question! All of these have been added/updated in the Frequently Asked Question page now thanks to you!

Your question:

"Why is High Tide banned (blue) while other cards that create lots of mana within black like Bubbling Muck, Cabal Coffers or Lake of the dead are allowed? Making mono black very powerful as it can pay commander taxes without a problem..."

Our answer:

High Tide historically got far higher results than Bubling Muck. Also "untap X lands" is a natural blue mechanic (Time Spiral/Turnabout/Frantic search).

Your question:

"Why wasn't Esior, Wardwing Familiar unbanned as a partner commander, now that the partner mechanic has been weakened?"

Our answer:

We promote interactive gameplay. Esior, Wardwing Familiar favors solitaire-like Magic.