When it comes to Magic news for 2024, Wizards really did save some of the best for last. The Modern bans and unbans we saw on Monday were some of the most exciting MTG developments we’ve had all year. The format is already experiencing a resurgence, and I expect that to continue deep into 2025. These changes are certainly exciting in isolation, but they’ve also thrown the floodgates wide open.
With cards that were once considered format-warping now back in Modern, players are hungry for more. Surely if Mox Opal is acceptable in current Modern, then some of the older cards on the banlist should be too? Well, it turns out the designers at Wizards agree. More unbans are currently under consideration, and we may well see them sooner rather than later.
More Unbans To Come?
The topic of additional unbans came up during this week’s episode of WeeklyMTG. Given that the bulk of the episode was a discussion of Monday’s bans and unbans, this wasn’t surprising. Coming into the Q&A section that made up the second half, host Blake Rasmussen noted that “we have a slew of questions about ‘why not unban this card?’ and ‘this card seems less powerful than Mox Opal, is it safe to unban?'” The two MTG Designers present, Carmen Klomparens and Dan Musser had plenty to say on the topic.
“I don’t think we’re going to take everything off the list at once, I think we’ve talked on previous streams about why that’s probably a bad idea, but slowly letting some cards through I think is on the table for sure.”
Dan Musser
Musser opening the discussion with a statement like this was surprising. Wizards has been stingy with Modern unbans for years, but now it seems like it’s considering them much more openly. Of course, this doesn’t mean anything and everything will go the way of Splinter Twin. As Musser notes, they approached this week’s decisions through the lens of “What cards can we release that don’t necessarily add to what the top strategies are right now?”
This same approach will undoubtedly be applied to any additional Modern unbans in the near future. The pair then mentioned some specific cards they’ve considered unbanning in the format. “One of the ones we’d talked about was Umezawa’s Jitte,” noted Musser “It’s probably not too risky.” Klomparens echoed this, adding that “Umezawa’s Jitte is one that I think might even be able to come back sometime.”
Klomparens also mentioned Glimpse of Nature, a notorious draw engine for Elf decks of Modern past. “Glimpse of Nature was actually on our shortlist,” she said, in the context of giving green creature decks more tools to work with. Musser agreed, adding “If it’s not strong enough, and we still don’t see real green creature decks, maybe that’s next.”
A New Era For Modern
It’s exciting to consider the possibility of such iconic and powerful MTG cards receiving unbans in Modern. Klomparens and Musser did add some caveats, however. Musser noted that Jitte has “A completely warping effect on creature combat.” Alongside this, Klomparens mentioned that it “Might not do much in the format other than make people with small creature decks upset sometimes.”
There were likewise concerns around Glimspe of Nature. “Glimpse turns often take quite a lot of time,” added Musser, “It’s fun for that person, but I wouldn’t call it net fun.” Statements like these may be disappointing to those looking for total upheaval in Modern, but overall I think they’re very reassuring.
The idea of fun, and what fun looks like for different players, was discussed a lot in the episode. That Wizards is giving this serious consideration alongside power level when making these decisions is excellent. Musser reinforced this idea perfectly: “If people aren’t having fun, it’s our job to do something about that.”
That’s not to say Wizards isn’t willing to make some bold moves, however. Monday’s changes were clear evidence of that alone, but Klomparens hinted that they may push things even further in the future. “At one point I even made other people in the building talk about Dig Through Time. […] We know this is too strong, but do we know this is too strong?”
If Dig Through Time, a card so good it’s banned in Legacy and restricted in Vintage, is under discussion, you know Wizards is prepared to take some risks. Mox Opal likely won’t be the last big swing we’ll see in Modern. It’s all part of what Klomparens calls their “different approach to curating Modern.” I, for one, am excited to see how it works out.
Players Share Their Wishlists
Turns out the MTG community is hungry for more Modern unbans, too. This was evident from the WeeklyMTG alone. Blake Rasmussen noted that “A number of players have mentioned Deathrite Shaman, Jitte, Birthing Pod,” when going over many unban queries presented during the episode’s livestream. Klomparens and Musser confirmed Jitte was a maybe, but they weren’t so sure about the others. Musser noted, “I don’t remember how much credence we gave to Deathrite exactly.”
That’s not hugely surprising. While it looks innocuous, Deathrite Shaman is the kind of generically good, flexible card that ends up making deck building more limited overall. Musser was more positive on Pod, however, noting that “We did talk about Birthing Pod.” That’s good news for the player base. Outside of the stream, many players online have been calling for a Pod unban. LargestEgg711 commented “Time to unban pod to return Modern to the way God intended,” in the r/MagicTCG discussion thread on the unbans. Theopholus agreed, adding “Unban birthing pod and Hypergenesis you cowards!”
Hypergenesis was another popular pick for an unban. In fact, an entire thread dedicated to the topic popped up just yesterday. Interestingly, the majority of community voices seem to be advocating for green unbans at present. This does actually align with what Klomparens and Musser said on WeeklyMTG, however, where they noted that red/white and blue/black are incredibly strong currently, and that green is being left behind.
Right now, it’s impossible to say which cards will be freed from the yoke of the banlist next. The fact that Wizards is more open to doing so is pretty exciting in itself, however, and the fact that they’re still proceeding with caution is reassuring. Modern’s future looks to be in good hands.
