While Commander’s grassroots origins make it different from many other Magic formats, it still has a ban list like the rest of them. However, since Commander is not a format with tons of tournament data to back up banning certain cards, some players are unsure why certain offenders end up on the list.
Over the last year, I’ve been making my way through the banlist and discussing the rationale behind the bannings and discussing whether or not those cards can be unbanned. Now, there are only a few cards left! Today, I’m going to take a look at Golos, Tireless Pilgrim.
Golos certainly doesn’t have efficient stats, but the textbox has two incredibly powerful abilities. First, Golos can tutor up a land and put it onto the battlefield tapped. Second, he has a great mana sink ability that can let you cast as many as three free spells each time you use it.
As good as that second ability is, it’s Golos’s ETB ability that is frequently the most powerful one.
Importantly, it lets you get any land and not just basics. Magic has no shortage of incredibly powerful nonbasic lands, so adding a body to the board while you tutor one is a powerful thing. So powerful that Golos has seen play in every 60-card format.
In Standard and Pioneer, Golos teamed up with Field of the Dead to dominate both formats. Golos could not only grab your Fields, he could help you find other lands to make sure you could generate Zombie tokens. This ultimately resulted in Field of the Dead getting banned in both formats.
In Modern and Legacy he’s used to grab lands that give you huge mana boosts when you assemble enough of them. In the former, it’s the Tron lands.
In the latter, it’s Cloudpost.
Vintage is where Golos is arguably at its most powerful. There, it can grab your singleton copy of Tolarian Academy or Mishra’s Workshop.
Why is Golos Banned in Commander?
So, I’ve established that Golos is incredibly powerful in 60-card formats. However, he isn’t actually banned in any of them. What got him banned in Commander?
Golos was legal in Commander for about two years before the RC cracked down on it. During that time he quickly became the game’s most popular Commander. This gave them lots of opportunities to consider whether or not Golos decks were fair in the format.
As powerful as Golos is in 60-card formats, he was even more insane in Commander. Tutors are always more powerful in a singleton format like Commander as they drastically reduce variance. The ETB also makes it much easier for you to pay the Commander tax.
Additionally, Golos’s 5-color activated ability actually comes up in Commander. In fact, more often than not Golos players would grab lands that would help them use the activated ability.
Once you get the mana to use it, the game gets broken wide open. Even if you have three other opponents, getting up to three free spells every turn is often insurmountable for them.
In the end, they chose to ban Golos because he was so powerful as a Commander that he promoted a lack of diversity. Almost all other five-color Commanders were abandoned in favor of the powerful pilgrim.
Should Golos be Unbanned?
For most of the legendary creatures I have covered in this series, I have advocated for a return of the “Banned as Commander Only” rule and this is another case where I think it would be appropriate. Having Golos start the game in your deck is much different than having him as your Commander.
He’s too powerful to effectively start every game in your opening hand, especially because Commanders are naturally recursive. That’s without mentioning how insane he gets when you combine him with blink and flicker effects, which will allow you to very easily assemble the lands you need to use his activated ability.
End Step
What do you think? Should Golos be unbanned? Should it be easy to tutor up powerful lands, while also having access to an activated ability that can break the game? Would Golos be fair if you could only play him in your deck? Hit me up on X with your thoughts!
Jacob has been playing Magic for the better part of 24 years, and he especially loves playing Magic’s Limited formats. He also holds a PhD in history from the University of Oklahoma. In 2015, he started his YouTube channel, “Nizzahon Magic,” where he combines his interests with many videos covering Magic’s competitive history. When he’s not playing Magic or making Magic content, he can be found teaching college-level history courses or caring for a menagerie of pets with his wife.