If it weren’t for Marvel Super Heroes, this upcoming MTG ban announcement would feel largely unneeded. Previously, almost every major format was miraculously balanced; however, a few new cards have thrown a spanner in the works. Thankfully, Wizards of the Coast has been quick to solve this problem by banning a card almost immediately.
On top of this expected ban, Wizards has managed to surprise us a little. Despite not being the biggest MTG ban announcement ever, it has banned seven other cards across Legacy and Brawl. While these changes might not be the ones players were hoping for, it’s probably best not to cause too much chaos.
Pauper
- Seeker of Skybreak is banned
Going into this MTG ban announcement, Pauper looked like the most obvious format for something to be banned in. This is thanks to the new combo that Hawkeye’s Bow enables with Seeker of Skybreak. Together, these two cards can easily win on turn three, or even turn two with some fast mana.
While this combo can be thwarted by some well-timed removal, its potential to ruin the format sparked immediate concern. As much as there’s potential to build around it, with major Pauper tournaments on the horizon, leaving it unchecked felt dangerous. With this in mind, it’s no wonder that Wizards of the Coast decided to take action.
In order to stop the combo dead in its tracks, Wizards has banned Seeker of Skybreak in Pauper effective immediately. On top of killing the combo dead, this ban also prevents any future cards like Hawkeye’s Bow from causing problems. While it would have been fun to play with this combo competitively, banning it now is definitely the right decision.
Legacy
- Candelabra of Tawnos is banned
While The Fantasticar has been putting up strong results in Legacy, Wizards went in a completely different direction than expected for bans. Tackling the somewhat recent Colorless Tron decks from the format, Wizards has banned Candelabra of Tawnos in Legacy today. Considering how easily this artifact can go infinite with the Tron lands, it’s no wonder it’s getting hit.
Notably, while Colorless Tron was allowed to live for a little while, Wizards feels its current popularity is becoming concerning. As such, something from the deck had to go, and Candelabra of Tawnos felt like the best fit. While it’s not the deck’s sole engine, Wizards feels it could easily cause problems in the future, so hitting it now felt like the right choice.
Vintage
- No Changes
Following the release of Marvel Super Heroes, The Fantasticar has been the big talking point in Vintage. Thanks to its trivial Crew cost and surprisingly low mana cost, The Fantasticar has been putting up incredibly strong results. Considering it’s capable of being powered out and swinging for 16 damage in the air on turn one, this winning hot streak is entirely unsurprising.
Despite concerns amongst the community, Wizards of the Coast hasn’t decided to take action just yet. For now, they’re just watching the format and The Fantasticar to see if it’ll be absorbed or overwhelm things. Considering what Vintage has rebuffed in the past, there’s a chance this is just a temporary obsession, but we’ll have to wait and see.
Standard
- No Changes
Thanks to Four Color Control, nothing is being banned or unbanned in Standard today. Previously, Wizards had identified and discussed Standard’s speed problem, which was particularly pressing at Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven. With this in mind, there was some hope that this ban window would be used as a format reset in place of rotation. Evidently, however, that hasn’t happened.
Pointing toward Four Color Control as proof, Wizards now feels that slower decks can stand up in Standard. While this isn’t what some MTG players will want to hear, it’s hard to deny that Standard looks fairly good right now. Speed aside, there’s a lot of variety within the top decks with no one clear frontrunner.
Thanks to this fairly stable variety, it’s probably for the best that Wizards isn’t dramatically changing things. While the next Standard rotation isn’t scheduled until early 2027, not rocking the boat until then feels wise.
Brawl
- Force of Will is banned.
- Subtlety is banned.
- Wash Away is banned.
- Ugin’s Labyrinth is banned.
- Time Warp is banned.
- Temporal Manipulation is banned.
Following the release of Competitive Brawl, it’s not hugely surprising that Wizards has gone on a banning spree. Since this new format is the aptly named competitive play space, regular Brawl can become more casual. To facilitate this, Wizards is banning six cards to combat the negative play patterns of fast mana, free spells, and extra turns.
Given that each of the banned cards is a frontrunner within its respective category, banning them makes sense through that lens. Taking a step back, however, it does feel unusual that Wizards is drawing such a line in the sand here. While Brawl doesn’t have a server browser to pick opponents or communicate brackets, these cards aren’t inherently broken.
That being said, while each of these cards can be used fairly, there’s definitely the potential for shenanigans. While Brawl’s weighted matchmaking system can account for this somewhat, there’s still the potential for abuse. Technically, Wizards has combatted this before with similar bans, which makes these make sense, but it’s all very ambiguous.
Ultimately, given Competitive Brawl is still fairly fresh, I wouldn’t be surprised if these are the last Brawl-based changes we’ll see for a while. Ultimately, since we can’t predict the future, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens. Thankfully, thanks to the new ban calendar, we shouldn’t have to wait long.
The Next MTG Bans
Currently, the next MTG bans are scheduled for Monday, August 10th. While this was revealed when Wizards first announced the ban calendar, it has now been reconfirmed today. Considering the faff we endured with today’s ban date, having this locked in is definitely welcome.
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