Last updated on February 14, 2026
Dockside Extortionist (kind of) | Illustration by Forrest Imel
Times are tough, and tough times call for adaptation. The Commander format isn’t immune to the ever-increasing price fluctuation of the world, and so it’s with the heart of a Solemn Simulacrum that the Commander Format Panel announced an increase to commander tax in EDH. It will now cost players to play their commanders from the command zone with each subsequent recast.
50% Increase Across the Board
This new rule will take effect immediately with the release of the South Park Universes Beyond Commander decks, and affects all cards that are eligible for the commander zone, with the exception of Lady Orca, because the Panel felt like it was too harsh to punish the three people playing that deck, and spacecraft commanders, which are exempt from the change because the Format Panel forgot they spacecraft could be put in the command zone.
This news comes coupled with a number of other tweaks to the format. The hybrid mana rules have been loosened even further, allowing players to put any hybrid card in any deck, regardless of color identity, because, and I quote: “Why not?”
Commander damage has also been hit with a 50% increase, which means a single commander now needs to deal 31.5 damage to be considered lethal. The Panel describes this change as “inconsequential”, stating that no one “has ever or will ever die to commander damage, especially now.”
Will Derevi Be Affected?
Yes, actually. In fact, Derevi, Empyrial Tactician will be disproportionately affected by the new rules change. According to the Panel, Derevi’s activated ability has been errata’d to now cost an additional four mana per activation. The Panel cites being “really tired of that bird’s bullshit” as the reason for this change.
Similarly, there’s now a new tax added to eminence commanders, which includes Oloro, Ageless Ascetic, who thought he was going to get away with not actually having eminence written on his card. These abilities now cost to trigger from the command zone, which the Panel admits “doesn’t actually really make any sense” with The Ur-Dragon specifically. They believe this change will not only force eminence commanders to pay their fair due, but will finally exonerate Gavin Verhey for creating the ability in the first place.
What About Partners?
Vial Smasher the Fierce | Illustration by Deruchenko Alexander
Partner commanders were a heavy topic of consideration, but the Format Panel has come up with what they proport to be an elegant solution to this recent inflation. If you run partners, or some partner pairing like backgrounds, Friends Forever, Father & Son, Lefty & Righty, Chutes & Ladders, or Johnson & Johnson from the new Johnson & Johnson Secret Lair collaboration, both commanders will be subject to the new 3-mana commander tax. However, to compensate for this, you will also be allowed to play 50% more commanders in the command zone, so you can now play three partners together at the same time.
These changes will certainly be controversial; not as controversial as when infect damage was reduced to two poison counters to be considered lethal, but there will still be plenty of backlash surrounding this recent wave of inflation.
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Timothy Zaccagnino
Timothy has been a Magic enthusiast since picking up the game in 2012, with a love of Limited and Commander. He’s the co-creator of Jank Diver Gaming and co-host of The Deep Dive podcast. These days you can find him at the draft table, brewing his 20th EDH deck or cubing with friends on Arena.