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MTG Banned and Restricted Cards

March 6, 2023

Welcome to the world of Magic: The Gathering (MTG), where the banned and restricted announcements are a topic of heated discussion among the community. These announcements are crucial in shaping and maintaining constructed formats and are an integral part of the Magic ecosystem.

Now, let’s dive into the nitty-gritty of what, why, and where. The banned and restricted list is essentially a catalog of cards that are either not allowed or restricted in competitive play. The list is updated regularly to ensure balance and fairness in the game.

As for the “who” is a collaborative effort between game designers, professional players, and community feedback. These stakeholders work together to evaluate the impact of cards on the game’s meta and make necessary changes.

So, why the hype? The banned and restricted list significantly impacts deckbuilding strategies and the overall gameplay experience. Players can either rejoice or despair, depending on whether their favorite cards are banned or not.

But, before we get lost in the banlist discussions, let’s clarify that this article is going to be a comprehensive guide on the history of these announcements. So, grab a snack, get comfortable, and join us on a journey through the evolution of the MTG banlist.

Latest Banned and Restricted Cards

Effective Date: October 10, 2022

Standard: Banned

Modern: Banned

The Meathook Massacre

Yorion, Sky Nomad

Why are Certain Magic Cards Banned?

Have you ever wondered why certain Magic: The Gathering (MTG) cards are banned? Well, there are a few reasons. Some cards are too powerful and can throw off the balance of a format. Take Oko, Thief of Crowns, for example. This card’s power level was so egregious that it had to be banned.

Other cards may be too efficient or lead to “unfun” gameplay, which can make the game less enjoyable for everyone involved. And sometimes, cards are banned for the sake of competitive diversity. The aim is to ensure that no one deck or strategy dominates the metagame, creating a more level playing field for all players.

But sometimes, cards get banned because they were simply a mistake. Play design is challenging, and one wrong stat can make a card absurdly overpowered. Unfortunately, unlike in video games, there’s no way to patch or errata a mistake once the card has been printed.

Wizards of the Coast, the company behind MTG, is always innovating and coming up with new card designs. However, sometimes these new ideas are just too strong for the game. When this happens, cards need to be banned to prevent them from overrunning the format.

While not everyone may agree with every decision made by Wizards, the banned and restricted articles are a great insight into the reasoning behind these decisions. They provide valuable information about what cards have broken the game and why. For many players, the day a new B&R article drops is like Christmas.

Despite some missteps along the way, Wizards of the Coast has a wealth of experience in balancing the game. And if we didn’t believe in the game, we wouldn’t still be here. So, while we may not always agree with every decision, we can trust that Wizards is doing their best to maintain a fun and fair gaming experience for all players.

Who Decides What MTG Cards are Banned?

If you’re curious about who is responsible for banning cards in Magic: The Gathering (MTG), the answer can vary depending on the format. For all of the official formats other than Commander, Wizards of the Coast makes the decisions and announces them on their blog.

However, Commander bans are made by the rules committee and are posted onto the official Commander rules committee website. This committee is made up of individuals who are highly knowledgeable about the Commander format and work to ensure that the game remains balanced and fun for all players.

For other formats, specific committees or councils may be responsible for making banning decisions. These groups are typically made up of players who are deeply involved in the format and have a strong understanding of its mechanics and gameplay. They work together to evaluate the impact of cards on the format and make informed decisions that benefit the community as a whole.

Complete Banned Cards List

Standard

The Standard format uses the most recently released Magic sets.

The Meathook Massacre

Modern

This format lets you dive deeper into Magic’s history, allowing cards from Eighth Edition to today.
Ancient Den
Arcum’s Astrolabe
Birthing Pod
Blazing Shoal
Bridge From Below
Chrome Mox
Cloudpost
Dark Depths
Deathrite Shaman
Dig Through Time
Dread Return
Eye of Ugin
Faithless Looting
Field of the Dead
Gitaxian Probe
Glimpse of Nature
Golgari Grave-Troll
Great Furnace
Green Sun’s Zenith
Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis
Hypergenesis
Krark-Clan Ironworks
Mental Misstep
Mox Opal
Mycosynth Lattice
Mystic Sanctuary
Oko, Thief of Crowns
Once Upon a Time
Ponder
Preordain
Punishing Fire
Rite of Flame
Seat of the Synod
Second Sunrise
Seething Song
Sensei’s Divining Top
Simian Spirit Guide
Skullclamp
Splinter Twin
Summer Bloom
Tibalt’s Trickery
Treasure Cruise
Tree of Tales
Umezawa’s Jitte
Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath
Vault of Whispers
Lurrus of the Dream-Den
Yorion, Sky Nomad

Vintage

While Modern lets you play cards from as far back as 2003, Vintage lets you play cards from any set in the 20+ year history of Magic!

Banned

Cards with the Card Type “Conspiracy.”
Cards that reference “playing for ante.”
Cards whose art, text, name, or combination thereof are racially or culturally offensive.
Chaos Orb
Falling Star
Shahrazad

Restricted

The following cards are restricted, which means you can only have one of them in your main deck and sideboard combined:

Ancestral Recall
Balance
Black Lotus
Brainstorm
Chalice of the Void
Channel
Demonic Consultation
Demonic Tutor
Dig Through Time
Flash
Gitaxian Probe
Golgari Grave-Troll
Gush
Imperial Seal
Karn, the Great Creator
Library of Alexandria
Lion’s Eye Diamond
Lodestone Golem
Lotus Petal
Mana Crypt
Mana Vault
Memory Jar
Mental Misstep
Merchant Scroll
Mind’s Desire
Monastery Mentor
Mox Emerald
Mox Jet
Mox Pearl
Mox Ruby
Mox Sapphire
Mystic Forge
Mystical Tutor
Narset, Parter of Veils
Necropotence
Ponder
Sol Ring
Strip Mine
Thorn of Amethyst
Time Vault
Time Walk
Timetwister
Tinker
Tolarian Academy
Treasure Cruise
Trinisphere
Vampiric Tutor
Wheel of Fortune
Windfall
Yawgmoth’s Will

Legacy

Legacy is a non-rotating format that allows cards from all legal sets, but certain cards are banned for power-level reasons. The following cards are banned in Legacy:

Cards with the Card Type “Conspiracy.”
Cards that reference “playing for ante.”
Cards whose art, text, name, or combination thereof are racially or culturally offensive.
Ancestral Recall
Arcum’s Astrolabe
Balance
Bazaar of Baghdad
Black Lotus
Channel
Chaos Orb
Deathrite Shaman
Demonic Consultation
Demonic Tutor
Dig Through Time
Dreadhorde Arcanist
Earthcraft
Falling Star
Fastbond
Flash
Frantic Search
Gitaxian Probe
Goblin Recruiter
Gush
Hermit Druid
Imperial Seal
Library of Alexandria
Lurrus of the Dream-Den
Mana Crypt
Mana Drain
Mana Vault
Memory Jar
Mental Misstep
Mind Twist
Mind’s Desire
Mishra’s Workshop
Mox Emerald
Mox Jet
Mox Pearl
Mox Ruby
Mox Sapphire
Mystical Tutor
Necropotence
Oath of Druids
Oko, Thief of Crowns
Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
Sensei’s Divining Top
Shahrazad
Skullclamp
Sol Ring
Strip Mine
Survival of the Fittest
Time Vault
Time Walk
Timetwister
Tinker
Tolarian Academy
Treasure Cruise
Underworld Breach
Vampiric Tutor
Wheel of Fortune
Windfall
Wrenn and Six
Yawgmoth’s Bargain
Yawgmoth’s Will
Zirda, the Dawnwaker

Commander / EDH Banned List:

The following cards are banned in EDH, including several banned commanders:

Cards with the Card Type “Conspiracy.”
Cards that reference “playing for ante.”
Cards whose art, text, name, or combination thereof are racially or culturally offensive.
Ancestral Recall
Balance
Biorhythm
Black Lotus
Braids, Cabal Minion
Chaos Orb
Coalition Victory
Channel
Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
Erayo, Soratami Ascendant
Falling Star
Fastbond
Flash
Gifts Ungiven
Golos, Tireless Pilgrim
Griselbrand
Hullbreacher
Iona, Shield of Emeria
Karakas
Leovold, Emissary of Trest
Library of Alexandria
Limited Resources
Lutri, the Spellchaser
Mox Emerald
Mox Jet
Mox Pearl
Mox Ruby
Mox Sapphire
Panoptic Mirror
Paradox Engine
Primeval Titan
Prophet of Kruphix
Recurring Nightmare
Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
Shahrazad
Sundering Titan
Sway of the Stars
Sylvan Primordial
Time Vault
Time Walk
Tinker
Tolarian Academy
Trade Secrets
Upheaval
Yawgmoth’s Bargain

Block

These cards are banned in block-constructed tournaments, separated by block:

Innistrad-Avacyn Restored Block

Intangible Virtue
Lingering Souls

Mirrodin Block

AEther Vial
Ancient Den
Arcbound Ravager
Darksteel Citadel
Disciple of the Vault
Great Furnace
Seat of the Synod
Tree of Tales
Vault of Whispers
Skullclamp

Masques Block

Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero
Rishadan Port

Urza Block

Gaea’s Cradle
Memory Jar
Serra’s Sanctum
Time Spiral
Tolarian Academy
Voltaic Key
Windfall

Tempest Block

Cursed Scroll

Mirage Block

Squandered Resources

Ice Age Block

Amulet of Quoz
Thawing Glaciers
Zuran Orb

Brawl

The following cards are banned in Brawl and can’t be included in your deck or used as your commander:

Drannith Magistrate
Lutri, the Spellchaser
Oko, Thief of Crowns
Omnath, Locus of Creation
Runed Halo
Sorcerous Spyglass
Winota, Joiner of Forces
Pithing Needle

Pauper

To be eligible for the Pauper format, all cards must have been printed at common rarity in a Magic set or product. Common promo cards are allowed if they meet this requirement. Any version of a card that has been released as a common in Magic is legal in this format.

The following cards are banned in this format:

Arcum’s Astrolabe
Chatterstorm
Cloud of Faeries
Cloudpost
Cranial Plating
Daze
Empty the Warrens
Fall from Favor
Frantic Search
Gitaxian Probe
Grapeshot
Gush
Invigorate
Mystic Sanctuary
Peregrine Drake
Sojourner’s Companion
Temporal Fissure
Treasure Cruise
High Tide
Hymn to Tourach
Sinkhole
Atog
Bonder’s Ornament
Prophetic Prism
Galvanic Relay
Disciple of the Vault
Aarakocra Sneak
Stirring Bard
Underdark Explorer
Vicious Battlerager

Pioneer

Pioneer is a new-ish nonrotating format featuring cards from Return to Ravnica and forward. The following cards are banned:

Balustrade Spy
Bloodstained Mire
Felidar Guardian
Field of the Dead
Flooded Strand
Inverter of Truth
Kethis, the Hidden Hand
Leyline of Abundance
Nexus of Fate
Oko, Thief of Crowns
Once Upon a Time
Polluted Delta
Smuggler’s Copter
Teferi, Time Raveler
Undercity Informer
Underworld Breach
Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath
Veil of Summer
Walking Ballista
Wilderness Reclamation
Windswept Heath
Wooded Foothills
Lurrus of the Dream-Den
Expressive Iteration
Winota, Joiner of Forces

Historic

Suspended: None currently

Banned:

Agent of Treachery
Channel
Counterspell
Dark Ritual
Demonic Tutor
Field of the Dead
Fires of Invention
Lightning Bolt
Natural Order
Nexus of Fate
Oko, Thief of Crowns
Omnath, Locus of Creation
Once Upon a Time
Swords to Plowshares
Thassa’s Oracle
Time Warp
Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath
Veil of Summer
Wilderness Reclamation
Brainstorm
Tibalt’s Trickery
Memory Lapse

Rebalanced

Rebalanced cards have been modified to correct any metagame problems without having to remove cards from play altogether. These cards only exist in digital form.

Davriel’s Withering (“target creature” replaced with “target creature an opponent controls”)
Davriel, Soul Broker (“target creature” replaced with “target creature an opponent controls”)
Faceless Agent (2/1 stats replaced with 2/2 stats)
Sarkhan, Wanderer to Shiv (second ability now +1 instead of +0)
Subversive Acolyte (costs 1B instead of BB, 2/2 stats replaced with 2/3 stats, activated ability grants 1 less toughness)
Teferi, Time Raveler
Winota, Joiner of Forces