Cali Commander rules

Deck construction

• Cali Commander uses normal Commander deck construction unless stated otherwise.
• Decks are 100 cards total, including the commander or commanders.
• Singleton rules apply, except for basic lands and cards that specifically say otherwise.
• Color identity rules apply.
• Partner and other official commander-pairing mechanics are legal unless a specific commander is banned.
• There is no sideboard.
• Iona, Shield of Emeria is legal in the 99 but cannot be your commander.
• Lutri, the Spellchaser is banned as a companion. It remains legal as a commander and in the 99.

Gameplay

• Cali Commander is played 1v1.
• Players start at 30 life.
• The player who takes the first turn does not draw a card on their first draw step.
• 21 commander damage still applies.
• 10 poison counters still apply.
• Best-of-one or best-of-three structure is announced in each tournament packet.

Format goals

• Fast, powerful, and competitive.
• More explosive than casual Commander.
• Less punishing than 20-life 1v1 Commander.
• Open to aggro, combo, midrange, tempo, and control.
• Shaped by community testing, not just theory.

We are not trying to ban every strong card. Strong cards are part of the format. The list only bans cards and commanders likely to create repetitive games, early non-games, extreme 1v1 pressure, or lockout patterns that make the format less fun to test.

Cali Commander intentionally leaves many powerful cards legal that are banned in Duel Commander, Brawl, Historic, or other 1v1-style formats. That is part of the identity of this format: test power first, then adjust every three months if the games show us something needs to change.

Every card above is enforced automatically by the deck checker and the deck builder. The ban list page shows the same list with the vote behind each card — 15 kept banned by Vote 1, 2 by Vote 2 and 1 by the confirmation vote — plus the full vote numbers.

The watch list is not a ban list — it is a testing and discussion tool. All 5 cards are fully legal today, but each drew ban support from more than a quarter of Vote 1 voters. Vote 2 put all 5 back on the ballot, and none came close to a ban: the most was Thassa's Oracle at 32%.

Three community ballots decided the current list. The full aggregate numbers for every question are public on the vote results page.

Vote 1 · July 2026

The first community vote (~285 voters, 124 ballot questions) was decided at the 50% rule of the time. It unbanned 14 cards and banned nothing new, and every original beta-only Cali ban — Strip Mine, The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale, Blood Moon, Yuriko, Winota, and Rograkh as a commander — was overturned. Two of those unbans won less than 55%, so they went to the confirmation vote below.

Vote 2 · September 4–11, 2026

Vote 2 (106 voters) put the 16 remaining official Commander bans and the 5 watch-list cards on the ballot, with 3 rules questions. It also set the threshold: 66 of 106 voters wanted more than 50%, and a majority asked for 55% or more, but not for 60% or more. Counted at 55%, it unbanned 8 cards and made Emrakul, Golos, Griselbrand and Leovold legal as commanders. Erayo, Soratami Ascendant and Yawgmoth's Bargain stayed banned. 6 unbans landed between 50% and 55% and went to the confirmation vote. The first player still skips their first draw (91 of 106), and there is still no sideboard (55 of 106).

Confirmation vote · September 16–22, 2026

Applying 55% to results first counted at 50% changed 8 of them, so those unbans went back to the players with 55% stated on the ballot. 38 voters took part, and abstentions did not count. 7 passed. The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale stays banned (17 Yes, 19 No). Iona, Shield of Emeria is legal in the 99, but its commander question fell short (17 Yes, 19 No), so it cannot be your commander.

Cali Commander starts more open than other 1v1 Commander-style formats — on purpose. The cards below are banned, restricted, or frequently targeted in other competitive environments, but legal here for now. Cards tagged Watch are on the official watch list above.

Fast mana

Fast starts are part of the format identity. We only act if games become too opening-hand dependent.

Tutors and consistency

High-power Commander relies on consistency. We watch whether the same combo lines show up too often.

Efficient interaction

Strong interaction keeps fast combo and explosive commanders honest.

Combo finishers

Combo should exist. The question is whether any one package becomes too dominant or too repetitive.

Prison and denial

Disruption is allowed, but we watch whether these create too many games where one player cannot participate.

Powerful value cards

Commanders and command-zone engines

Commanders are more dangerous in 1v1 because they are always available. We watch whether a small number of commanders dominate the first quarter.

Lands and mana engines

Lands can be hard to answer and can create repeated game patterns. Strip Mine started the beta banned and the community voted it back in. The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale was voted back in by Vote 1, then fell short of 55% in the confirmation vote, so it is banned again.

• Whether 30 life is the correct starting total.
• Whether the first player not drawing keeps tempo fair enough.
• Whether 21 commander damage still feels right.
• Whether aggro can compete.
• Whether combo is too protected by 30 life.
• Whether fast mana creates too many non-games.
• Whether Rograkh-style Partner shells need additional restrictions.
• Whether control and prison decks are healthy or too punishing.
• Whether one or two commanders become obviously better than everything else.
• Whether the format is fun to watch, not just technically balanced.

Cali Commander is shaped through the Collector's Horde Discord.

• Each ballot takes one response per person. Every proposal on it is its own Yes-or-No question, and some ballots offer an abstain option.
• A card or commander needs at least 55% Yes among the Yes and No votes to be banned or unbanned. Abstentions count as neither.
• If a proposal falls short of 55%, the card keeps its current status.
• A question about making a card legal as a commander only counts if the card's own unban passes.
• 55% was chosen in Vote 2: 66 of 106 voters wanted more than 50%, and a majority asked for 55% or more, but not for 60% or more.
• Ban list changes apply during the scheduled three-month update window unless emergency action is needed.
• Emergency action happens sooner only if a card or commander clearly breaks the format.
• The watch list is not a ban list. It is a testing and discussion tool.

Cali Commander tournaments use:

• 30 starting life.
• First player does not draw on their first turn.
• 21 commander damage.
• 10 poison counters.
• No sideboard.
• The live Cali Commander ban list on this site.
• Any tournament-specific logistics announced separately.

Baseline reference: Wizards of the Coast — Banned & Restricted List. Cali Commander is not trying to copy Duel Commander, Brawl, or cEDH. It is its own format — intentionally powerful, intentionally open, and shaped by the community.