November 24, 2025 Announcement/Update
November 24, 2025

Nadu, Winged Wisdom

Nadu currently poses a problem for the balance of the format.

It is extremely difficult to reliably interact with the combo: it bypasses most traditional hate options, and truly effective disruption options are too rare or too restrictive. Furthermore, even if the combo is stopped, Nadu remains an inherently overpowered card: an effective body, an effect that generates card advantage as soon as you interact with it, and too high a contribution to any fair plan. Added to this is an ease of assembly that is far above what the format can absorb: between Nomads en-Kor, Shuko, and the amount of tutors/redundancies available, the combo lines are too numerous and too fluid to be contained.

This abnormally high success rate reduces the amount of real decision-making in games. Nadu decks almost never have to work to achieve their combo: they achieve it too often, too early, and too naturally, which has the effect of almost entirely resolving the creature-combo archetype. Nadu crushes all other lists in this category and becomes the strictly superior version, a clear sign that it distorts the overall metagame of the format. Every new blue and green legendary creature ends up facing the question, Is this a good Nadu deck?

The problem has been further amplified with the arrival of a commander that not only carries Nadu, but also provides it with a solid midrange shell. This general drastically increases the quality of combo tutors (Neoform, Birthing Pod, Chord of Calling, etc.), while making the plan more threatening. The result is a deck capable of accelerating towards a difficult-to-counter win condition while also having an effective aggressive plan. This versatility (explosiveness + stability) pushes Nadu well beyond an acceptable level.

Another critical point is that the combo is non-deterministic. This type of sequence creates organizational complications, lengthens rounds, puts referees in difficult situations, and detracts from the players gaming experience.

For all these reasons (raw power, excessive combo potential, negative impact on creature-combo deck diversity, difficulty in interrupting it, the commanders stabilizing influence, structural issues related to non-determinism), Nadu, the Winged Wisdom is now banned from Duel Commander

Breya, Etherium Shaper

The context that led to Breyas ban is no longer relevant. At the time, she excessively reinforced the control strategies that were dominant at the time, offering them a versatile commander who was difficult to manage and excellent at resource warfare.

However, this type of archetype is no longer at the top of the current metagame. Todays format is much more explosive, faster, and largely oriented towards proactive plans. In this new environment, Breyas position seems much less overwhelming, and her presence could even help revive control or artifact strategies, which are currently underrepresented.

Furthermore, the overall power level of the format has increased so much that the historical reasons for her removal no longer apply: what seemed overpowered in a slow and weaker metagame is now the standard in the current Commander Duel. Current interaction tools are more numerous, more flexible, and more effective against artifacts than they were when she was banned, which mechanically reduces Breyas impact in long games.

Finally, Breyas return seems beneficial to strategic diversity. The format lacks true 4-color representatives outside of partners and artifact decks built around an identifiable commander.

For all these reasons, Breya, Etherium Shaper is legal as a commander on an experimental basis