With MTG Spider Man prerelease being this weekend, we expected a rather quiet week leading up to it. Instead, we got a series of announcements that have some serious implications for Secret Lair and MTG Arena.
Alongside the MTG Spider Man pre-update implemented today, a ton of extremely powerful reprints were discovered by players for the first time. Frankly, we’re surprised that some of these cards are appearing on MTG Arena at all. Considering that some of these cards are Legacy and Vintage all-stars, it only seemed right that a ban would follow up on their announcements.
Broadside Bombadiers Banned in Historic
Any Legacy, Vintage Cube, and Duel Commander players will not be shocked to hear that Broadside Bombardiers are getting pre-banned in Historic. Bombardiers is one of the best red creatures in all of these formats, capable of attacking fast and piling on absurd amounts of damage. It appears as a staple card in Legacy Moon Stompy decks, is considered one of the best red cards in Vintage Cube, and very commonly appears in any aggressive red Duel Commander strategy.
Broadside Bombardiers was originally printed as a Commander-exclusive card in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan. This means that there’s a fairly good chance that the Goblin was never designed with two-player formats in mind. Considering the amount of damage this card can push, it makes a lot of sense. Trading a card for a creature, or some damage, isn’t a big deal in Commander. In constructed, Broadside Bombardiers can easily deal upwards of 5 damage on turn three, and can end the game on the next turn with some help. You can even remove blockers before your opponents can even chump block your Menace creature.
Broadside Bombardiers has shown that it is capable of warping powerful formats around it. It’s no wonder the card is getting pre-banned in Historic. Despite Bombardiers’s pre-ban, the card should still see play in Timeless and Brawl.
Gut, True Soul Zealot Banned in Historic
Another card that likely wasn’t designed with two-player formats in mind, Gut, True Soul Zealot has also been pre-banned in Historic. Unlike Broadside Bombardiers, Gut only sees a lot of play in two formats: Vintage Cube and Duel Commander. Gut is a notoriously strong pick in Vintage Cube that was slept on for quite some time after it was added. The effect may not look too powerful, but there’s a lot to consider here on further inspection.
A 4/1 Skeleton with Menace that comes in tapped in attacking deals a ton of damage. Most of these attack trigger effects would sacrifice the attacking token at the end step, but Gut does not. This means that Gut’s value scales absurdly as turns pass. On entry, Gut is swinging in for four Menace damage. Next turn, he can swing for ten damage on his own, and ultimately creates three bodies that you need to deal with.
As if this wasn’t good enough, Gut doesn’t need to attack himself to create the token. You can attack with any creature and trigger Gut, sacrificing whatever scrap you have lying around to create a Skeleton that’s difficult to deal with. These factors have made Gut infamous in Vintage Cube and, from what it’s capable of there, the card seems very banable in Historic.
This is a rather bizarre creature to add to MTG Arena. Guts isn’t a particularly popular card outside of Vintage Cube, and its sudden appearance has made some players speculate that MTG Arena’s ultimate goal is to add Vintage Cube to the client. This is an extremely popular game mode on MTGO, so adding it would likely bring a lot of veteran players back to MTG Arena.
Iona, Shield of Emeria Banned in Brawl
Iona, Shield of Emeria currently appears on the Commander ban list. The infamous Angel is generally considered against the spirit of the format and creates miserable gameplay patterns that aren’t enjoyable. If Iona were allowed to see play in Brawl, at worst, it would shut down an entire mono-colored Commander deck. At best, Iona will always shut down your opponent from casting their Commander. As a result, Iona, Shield of Emeria is being banned in Brawl.
For non-competitive formats that are more about the quality of gameplay than a competitive result, this makes a lot of sense. Emeria is likely to create a ton of concessions if allowed in Brawl, which isn’t fun for anyone.
Other Controversial Picks
Honestly, I’m surprised that these are the only bans that we’re seeing from MTG Arena’s third and fourth Anthologies. The third Anthology, in particular, has a lot of powerful cards that could cause problems in Historic.
Crop Rotation seems particularly powerful in Historic, especially when combined with Exploration. This might allow some janky version of Amulet Titan or Scapeshift to become competitive in the format, but it also allows Lotus Field decks to find their namesake land more consistently. That said, they will need to sacrifice an additional land when doing this, which is likely enough to slow them down.
Memory Jar is another concerning powerhouse that’s been banned even in Legacy. The card doubles as both a temporary seven-card refill and a win condition, making it a risky gamble in any MTG format where you can run multiples of it. You can continue to play all the cards in your deck, while Memory Jar mills your opponent out.
Chain Lightning also seems like a Historic addition that’s a bit more powerful than where the format currently is. Lightning Bolt is notably banned in Historic, and while Chain Lightning is a downgrade, it’s an incredibly powerful spell in the context of the format.
Arena Anthology 3 and 4 will be available on September 23rd, but you can craft the cards right now. According to the official article, this seems intentional. Players can use these cards in Historic, Timeless, and Brawl right now.’
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