Is it time to Unban Griselbrand in Commander?

Griselbrand has been banned in Commander since June 2012. Is it finally time to turn Griselbanned into Griselunbanned?

Griselbrand is up there as one of the most iconic cards in Magic. When you think of cards that most people know – Black Lotus aside – you tend to think of the likes of Delver of Secrets, Lightning Bolt, Bloodbraid Elf, Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Siege Rhino and, well, Griselbrand. 

GRISELBRAND

Griselbrand is an eight mana 7/7 Flyer with lifelink, and the ability to pay 7 life in order to draw seven cards – whenever you like, and however many times you can pay it. This is an absurdly powerful ability, and it’s why Griselbrand is arguably one of the best creatures to reanimate. 

Whether you’re in Modern, Legacy or Cube, getting Griselbrand into the yard to cheaply bring it back has been a winning stratagem. It can put you way ahead on board and cards as early as turn one when you factor in fast mana in formats where it’s legal – or I guess ones where you can snap off a cheeky Dark Ritual.

Grislebrand came out in May of 2012 in Avacyn Restored, and was banned not even a month later. 

The logic behind the ban is obvious. It’s a cheap strategy that can send one player so far ahead in tempo – and draw them into a combo or other way to win – that it just couldn’t exist in the format. The question is, is it still bannable today? Or is the format in a different place?

THE STATE OF THE FORMAT

Entering 2026, we’re going into the second year of the Commander Brackets Beta. Gavin said in his recent update that they might even come out of beta this year – which means things are starting to settle in regards to the bracket system itself, and the concept of using Gamechangers.

The current bracket system is doing a good job of allowing players to matchmake in untrusted play. It helps players less familiar (at a convention, or new to an LGS playgroup) pitch their decks, and combined with the expectations under each of the five brackets, arrive at the most accurate ballpark so far for describing their deck. It’s not perfect (and never will be), but it does a solid job of icebreaking, and perhaps most importantly, keeps Optimized and cEDH players away from Core players, and keeps annoying and frustrating Game Changer cards away from Bracket 2 for those who want a more predictable experience.

But what about the cards being printed? What about the overall metagame?

Well, speed and power creep has been in full swing since Throne of Eldraine and the “Year of Commander” that came after it in 2020. And, crucially, the sheer number of new cards being printed each year has reached fever pitch. Just look at the number of products increasing so much until 2022 on this handy graph. In 2022 that was 2118 brand new never seen before cards. In 2023 it was 1923, 2024 and 2060 and 2025 had 1927.

Compare that to when Griselbrand released in 2012? A mere 729, and I can guarantee way more of those were chaff. For a start, eleven of those were straight up Vanilla cards, compared to the three in 2025 (when excluding the DFT Legendaries). 

So sure, there are a lot more Magic cards now. But what does that have to do with Griselbrand?

COMMANDER IS FASTER NOW

I think the main factor to consider when thinking about Griselbrand potentially seeing an unban is that the format is simply much faster now. You can be sub-30 life as early as turn three or four. By turn six – even in Bracket 3 – multiple players could have lethal damage on the board. Board wipes don’t see as much play anymore due to multiple factors (such as desired game length, greediness of deckbuilding, and how much easier it so to assemble a win, even without a combo). 

When you add it all together, you get an environment that is far more lethal. Let’s grab just a few articles I’ve written on the state of the format in the last couple of years:

• Is Lifelink the King of Casual Commander?
• The Most Important New Commander Cards of 2025
• Aristocrats Decks are a Trap in Commander
• Everything in Magic is Now a Titan
• Three Drops that Quietly Win Games of Magic

When you put all of that together, you get the picture of the modern Commander format. Cards do a lot more of a lot less mana. Games are over far quicker. Blockers are actually important, and some strategies haven’t aged so well. And then there’s the fact there always seems to be a burn deck at the table. “Commander Feels Fast These Days… And Here’s Why”.

Game Changer cards (and let’s be real, GrizzyB would always be one if unbanned) are evaluated more heavily on how they affect Bracket 3 than how they affect Bracket 4 and 5. Personally, I think putting Griselbrand into cEDH would be pretty damn interesting, and potentially unseat Rhystic Study a little from the stranglehold it has on the cEDH metagame. But let’s focus on that Bracket 3 environment.

Assembling an early Griselbrand in Bracket 3 is enough to get you nuked off of the table by the collective might of the other three players. Presuming you’re already starting at 30 life after cracking a Fetch, being Shocked by a Shockland, and taking some chip damage, that’s putting you on 23 life after the first activation, and down to 16 life after the second. 

At the very earliest, you could do this on turn one or two, before people have a board set up to put pressure on, or draw a removal spell. But let’s be honest – if you’re doing that consistently, and you’ve built your deck to be able to do it – with the likes of Mox Diamond, Mox Opal or Dark Ritual, for instance – then you’re not a Bracket 3 deck, are you? You’re a Bracket 4 deck at least. Especially once we figure out what you’re using Griselbrand to draw into.

In the average Bracket 3 deck, going sub 20 life – and even getting close to 10 life – to activate Griselbrand? You’re putting yourself in alpha strike range from multiple decks at the table that don’t even need to be properly set up to punish you. Provided one of them has a removal spell (and that you’re not maxed out on free counters like Deflecting Swat and Fierce Guardianship, which, again, suggests your intent far surpasses Bracket 3), the others can swing in and knock you out before you even profit off of Griselbrand.

When you compare him to Necropotence, Consecrated Sphinx, Rhystic Study, The Great Henge and other draw engines? He starts to feel quite risky in any competent Bracket 3 pod. Paying that much life is risky.

That said, there is the fact that hasting it out makes it a lot stronger. Not that we should balance around that, but the idea of a Henzie deck, for instance, blitzing Griselbrand and immediately gaining that life back? That might be a bit good. Game changingly good. 

BUT WHAT ABOUT PRIMEVAL TITAN?

Speaking of Henzie decks, some folks might say there’s an elephant in the room here: Primeval Titan. Isn’t Griselbrand much more powerful than Primeval Titan?  Well, in a vacuum… maybe? Certainly it’s easier to win with it in Cube, where synergies aren’t as available as in constructed. They have a similar share of the current Modern metagame, so they can’t be that different. Right?

Well, in Commander, I think they actually are quite different. If you’re trying to cheat out Griselbrand early and use the card advantage to win early, you’re at least in Bracket 4. Otherwise, you’re paying life to gain cards, and putting yourself dangerously low for another play to take you out. Hell, I’ve argued that gaining life in Commander can buy you extra turns. Paying 7-14 life does the opposite of that. 

Last year I actually argued that You Don’t Want Primeval Titan Unbanned in Commander. The difference here is that Primeval Titan wins more insidiously. It looks less crazy on the surface, but that’s what fools you. Because there isn’t such a monumental shift in life totals  and resources as there is with Griselbrand, the card looks and feels less of a problem in Bracket 3. The fact of the matter is, though, it’s much closer to Dockside Extortionist, in that games would likely revolve around it still, and the massive burst in mana generation over multiple turns would be enough to win games in lower Bracket play without looking like you’re going to win a game.

In effect, Griselbrand already has a safety valve on it – or, I guess, maybe two. Firstly, people can crack back and kill you. And secondly? Well, if you’re doing anything too fast or crazy with it, you’re very obviously Bracket 4. I don’t think Primeval Titan is the same sort of card.

END STEP

Should Griselbrand be unbanned in Commander? Well, it depends. Big splashy spells are what the format is about, and Griselbrand is iconic. It doesn’t seem anywhere near the outlier it used to be, and it could be that it’s able to be kept in check by the aggressiveness of the format going into 2026. It might even spice up cEDH. What do you think? Let us know on socials.