Why Was Jeweled Lotus Banned In Commander? - Magic: The Gathering

Magic: The Gathering players have always had to battle cards getting banned from their favorite formats when things get a little too hectic in the game. Commander players might not see bannings as often as in other formats, but it does occur from time to time.

One of the more controversial bannings to hit the format targeted several high-powered mana enablers, with the coveted Jeweled Lotus being banned from the format. If you were looking to find more information on why the powerful artifact was banned, we took a look at everything the card does and why the Commander Rules Committee decided to give the card the axe.

What Is Jeweled Lotus?

One of the strongest mana rocks in the format, Jeweled Lotus, has quickly gained notoriety for being exceptionally powerful, fueling mid to late-game Commander plays much earlier than intended, thanks to all the extra mana it can generate.

This mana rock follows the trend of Lotus-themed cards being exceptionally powerful and valuable, with effects that add a ton of mana for very little commitment of resources. In Jeweled Lotus’ case, that mana commitment is zero, letting you play it before you even play your first land in the game.

You can then tap and sacrifice Jeweled Lotus to add three mana of one color to your mana pool. The only stipulation on this mana is that you can only use it to case your commander.

So What Made Jeweled Lotus So Good?

That bonus three mana that Jeweled Lotus provides can accelerate you ahead in mana and in resources by a huge amount on your first turn. While that mana might seem limiting at first, since you can only use it to cast your commander, you can quickly take control of the game by sticking your commander several turns earlier than any of your opponents.

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If you play a land on your first turn, you’ll have access to at least four mana, potentially five if you are lucky and drew both a Sol Ring and Jeweled Lotus, meaning you can cast your four or five drop commander on your first turn.

Some of the most popular commanders that you can play on turn one with just a Jeweled Lotus and a single land include:

• Lathril, Blade of the Elves
• Krenko, Mob Boss
• Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver
• Shorikai, Genesis Engine
• Prosper, Tome-Bound

Playing any one of these commanders on turn one can give you such an incredible advantage in a game of Commander, though it does paint a pretty big target on your back right away.

Why Does That Mean Jeweled Lotus Had To Be Banned?

The Commander Rules Committee has always been skeptical of such effective fast mana sources like Jeweled Lotus, with cards like Dockside Extortionist, another card that generates an incredible amount of value very easily, having been on the radar for quite some time.

With Jeweled Lotus, you get an incredible amount of value from having access to at least four mana on your first turn, having your commander out several turns earlier than anyone else, or being able to ramp into a late-game commander in the mid to early game.

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Following this logic led the Commander Rules Committee to ban Jeweled Lotus. It falls in line with their desire to keep the format accessible and to not have games be quite as explosive all the time.

The goal isn’t necessarily to slow the game down but to make sure that everyone is on the same playing field when entering a match.

Can You Still Play Jeweled Lotus Anywhere?

Having a Commander focused card get banned in the primary format it was designed for seems like a death knell for Jeweled Lotus, but surprisingly there does exist a deck that can utilize the card outside of Commander.

Turns out there is a Legacy deck that utilized four copies of Jeweled Lotus to generate tons of mana. The way it works is through the artifact card Doubling Cube. You can pay three mana and tap Doubling Cube to double the amount of each type of mana in your mana pool.

Fun fact: Jeweled Lotus is also playable in Vintage, but nowhere else.

When you do it, you run a bunch of free and one mana mana rocks, using them to generate a ton of mana for free. Once you have a few out, you pop them, add those mana values to your mana pool, and then double all of it with Doubling Cube.

The thing with Jeweled Lotus’ restriction is that once you copy the mana, that commander-only stipulation falls off. So, while you still can’t use the original three mana you generated for anything, the three mana you just gained can be used for anything. Copy it again off the back of a second Doubling Cube, and you’ll be sitting pretty with a ton of open mana.

The deck wins through Aetherflux Reservoir and Echo of Eons, rotating through your deck a bunch and then doming your opponent for 50 points of damage all at once.

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