A Local Ban Is Also a Perfectly Fair Solution

There is also another important point here: Commander has always been a format where local group preferences matter.

If your own playgroup genuinely hates Rhystic Study, or feels that the card makes games repetitive and less enjoyable, then you do not need a format-wide ban to solve that problem. You can simply agree not to play it in your own pod. That is one of the strengths of EDH. Not every issue needs to be fixed at the global level when a local solution already exists.

A playgroup ban allows your table to create the kind of games you want, without taking the card away from players in other groups who are perfectly fine with it. That makes Rhystic Study feel like exactly the kind of card that is better handled through Rule 0 conversations and local agreements than through an official ban.

If your group cannot stand the card, ban it at your own table. That is a valid solution. But that does not mean everyone else should lose access to it as well.

Rhystic Study Punishes Passive Play

One of the main reasons I do not think Rhystic Study should be banned is that it punishes passive or lazy play patterns.

Players cannot just tap out carelessly and expect no consequences. They have to consider timing, mana efficiency, and whether a spell is worth giving away a card. Yes, that creates tension. Yes, that can become annoying. But tension is part of Commander, and cards that force better decision-making are not automatically bad for the format.

In many games, Rhystic Study actually creates more meaningful decisions, not fewer.