Summary
The Jeweled Lotus card inMagic: TheGatheringis now totally unplayable, following the recent ban by the Commander Rules Committee. Jeweled Lotus is a Mythic Artifact inMagic: The Gatheringthat can be cast for free and tapped for mana, but players can only spend this mana on their commander, meaning the new ban makes the card functionally useless.
Released in 2020 as part of the Commander Legends set, Jeweled Lotus has been a staple of the format since its introduction, seeing various reprints and alternate arts throughout its lifespan. It was also incredibly expensive, on account of it being a free Artifact which gave three mana and allowed for some explosive early-game plays if luck was on the player’s side. It was designed to be a Commander-oriented version ofMagic: The Gathering’s famous Black Lotus card, as the mana from Jeweled Lotus can only be spent on one’s commander, which gave it a semblance of balance. In the recent ban list released by the Commander Rules Committee, it was decided that the card had become too powerful and, among other mana ramp cards, was banned from the Commander format.
The issue with banning a Commander-only card from the Commander format is that the card is now functionally unplayable, and fans on Reddit have been quick to point this out. The other banned cards can at least see play in otherMagic: The Gatheringformats, but Jeweled Lotus is a card that is limited by design to the Commander format, rendering it now useless. The removal of Jeweled Lotus was to try and control early game acceleration and curb the amount of “fast” mana players have access to, hence the ban of another free mana generator, Mana Crypt. Whilemany fans are upset with these recentMagic: The Gatheringbans, Jeweled Lotus specifically is a sore point, given how expensive the card was, and how it’s now unplayable.
Jeweled Lotus is Now Unplayable Following Commander Ban
There is a small, albeit niche rebuff to this claim, in that Jeweled Lotus can still be played in two formats: Legacy and Vintage. Legacy and Vintage are “eternal” formats that allow almost every printed card in the game’s history to be played,includingMagic: The Gathering’s famous Power Nine. While there is no “commander” to spend the mana on, nothing stops players from casting it or even tapping it for mana in these formats, and some incredibly niche interactions can be done here with the fact that Jeweled Lotus can be cast for free, and if anything duplicates the mana it creates, it is not held to the same restrictions.
Obviously, these bans are only for tournaments, and casual player groups can decide to keep using the card if all players involved agree. Withthe new horror-themed Commander set coming toMagic: The Gatheringsoon, Commander players are left to decide whether they follow the ban in casual play or continue to use the cards.
