Going into 2026, the thought of having seven ban windows throughout the year felt like a necessity. After being plagued by problems in 2025, more windows for MTG bans definitely felt like the answer players had been hoping for. Now that we’re in 2026, however, it seems Wizards has miraculously turned a corner, as most formats are remarkably well balanced.
With Standard, Pioneer, Modern, and even eternal formats behaving themselves, Wizards has even been able to unban a few cards recently. In this latest announcement, however, there’s only one change, as Food Chain has been banned in Historic. Considering the awful play experience that this card created, this change isn’t at all surprising.
Food Chain Banned in Historic
Added to MTG Arena in the TMNT MTG set earlier in March, it didn’t take long for Food Chain to cause problems. Alongside Sigardian Evangel, Food Chain can create an endless amount of 3/1s, mana, and tap effects. Unsurprisingly, this is more than enough to close out a game of Historic, and this combo can consistently pop off on turn three.
Adding in some fast mana, this Food Chain combo can even go infinite on turn two, which is above the threshold for Historic. According to Wizards of the Coast, this is the main reason the card was banned, as that’s Timeless’ territory. While this combo will be legal in Timeless, it’s nowhere near as competitive, thanks to free counterspells.
As much as the speed of this combo may have been the main problem, it also created a pretty horrible play pattern. Since you need to activate Food Chain, sacrificing Sigardian Evangel a bunch of times, turns take absolutely ages. This puts MTG players at the mercy of their opponents, as if they don’t concede, you’ll spend minutes repetitively playing the same cards.
Thanks to this, and the card’s obscene power, Wizards of the Coast has stated that releasing Food Chain into Historic was “a mistake.” Hopefully, this mistake won’t be repeated in the future, but we’ll have to wait and see about that. Considering the Mystical Archive is returning with Secrets of Strixhaven, more MTG Historic pre-bans feel inevitable.
No Other Changes
For better or worse, Food Chain is the only card being hit during this latest MTG ban announcement. That said, when discussing every format, Wizards did reveal a bevvy of interesting details that could lead to future action. In Standard, for instance, Wizards indicated that “there’s still room for improvement” as the format is a touch too fast.
Realistically, this problem should be addressed through future MTG sets that slow the metagame down somewhat, rather than through bans. That said, should a new, even faster threat emerge, Wizards may take action against it. Even if this doesn’t feel hugely likely, Wizards has been banning a lot in Standard recently.
Meanwhile, in Modern, Wizards once again flagged the Amulet Titan deck as a potential problem. Due to the length of turns this deck causes at competitive events, there’s a chance action is taken following the Modern RCQ season. From the sounds of things, however, bans are more of a last resort option, as the format is rather healthy right now.
If any bans are to happen soon, they’re going to be in Pauper, from the sounds of things. Utrom Monitor has been highlighted as a potential ban target, but only if “things really start going sideways.” Outside of that, Wizards has mentioned “a trial unban of Bonder’s Ornament,” but this is subject to feedback.
A Welcome Bit of Balance
All in all, it seems MTG players are pretty pleased with the latest banned and restricted announcement. Outside of Historic, which has now had its problem card dealt with, things are actually balanced for a change. Now, when Wizards says that a format is “flourishing,” players don’t have to roll their eyes too hard.
Looking ahead, we can only hope that Wizards of the Coast keeps this up going forward. Considering the sheer volume of sets being released throughout 2026, however, nothing is for certain. The good news, however, is that if a problem does break out, Wizards can address it quickly.
With the next MTG bans scheduled for May 18th, we’ve got just two months before more changes happen. Before then, Wizards will be going over their reasoning behind the bans, or lack thereof, tomorrow during the WeeklyMTG livestream.
Stick with us here at mtgrocks.com: the best site for Magic: The Gathering coverage. Be sure to check out our deckbuilder for your next big brew!