At this point, it’s no secret that Magic: The Gathering’s Standard format is struggling. We suffered through months of Cori-Steel Cutter domination before it and Mono-Red finally caught some bans in June. After that, we immediately moved into another problematic format, as Vivi Cauldron became the new unstoppable deck in town. Whether it was down to the new 2025 ban schedule or just the escalating power level of MTG in general, it was clear there was a problem.
Wizards of the Coast has been largely silent on the Vivi issue for months, but that silence broke earlier today. In a new article, Senior Game Designer Carmen Klomparens gave an update on the situation. While nothing is changing today, Wizards is taking some action on Standard, and sooner than expected. It also provided a rare glimpse into potential upcoming bans. This is an extraordinary announcement, so fitting for the current extraordinary Standard situation.
The 2025 MTG Ban Schedule Was A Mistake
Klomparens’s article is full of insights into the current Standard problem. By far the most interesting part, however, is their commentary on the current MTG ban schedule for 2025. In August last year, Wizards made the decision to align banned and restricted announcements with RC and RCQ seasons. This was intended to “ensure the best experience possible for our competitive play pipeline.” On a high level, this makes perfect sense, as banning mid-way through a competitive season can cause huge frustration in players.
As we’ve seen from the state of Standard this year, however, this new approach isn’t exactly working as intended. This is down to both the specific timing of the ban windows, and the low number of them. Klomparens admits that “we do think we got our banned and restricted announcement timing windows wrong during this part of the year.” It’s rare to see such a candid admission of error from Wizards, but it’s hard to argue given how angry players are with the format currently.
Klomparens also outlines a couple of moves Wizards is taking to address this problem. Apparently, Wizards is going to be “more aggressive” with ban windows next year, specifically adding more of them. While Klomparens doesn’t set anything in stone, they note that the plan is to have one ban window per major set release, which could be up to six a year at the current rate. That’s a huge increase, and one that Standard players will undoubtedly appreciate. Timing-wise, it makes total sense, too. Each new set has the potential to break Standard, so Wizards needs the opportunity to react in each instance.
A Rare Preview Of The Next Bans
That’s the long-term plan, but what about right now? We’re still in the midst of Vivi Cauldron Summer, after all, with no bans scheduled until November. In this area, Klomparens’s article has less comfort to offer, but not none.
In an interesting move, the next banned and restricted announcement is actually being moved up by two weeks, from November 24th to November 10th. This isn’t a huge difference in the grand scheme of things, but it does recontextualize Avatar: The Last Airbender somewhat. Now, instead of getting bans a few days after it launches, we’re getting them nearly two weeks before. This is a welcome change, to be sure.
As to what changes we’ll see during this announcement, Klomparens had some notes. They said “We believe that we will likely take action in November. Vivi Ornitier is warping the Standard format and likely needs to go.” It’s extremely unusual for Wizards to telegraph bans in advance like this, and even more so for specific cards. A Vivi ban wouldn’t be a surprise to anyone at this point, of course, but this is still out of the ordinary as announcements go.
In the case of Agatha’s Soul Cauldron, Standard’s other big bad, Klomparens notes that Wizards is “unsure.” While Cauldron does see play in a wider range of decks than Vivi, it wasn’t remotely problematic before Final Fantasy came along, so this is likely the right call. Of course, neither one of these bans is guaranteed.
Klomparens also mentions that Standard “hasn’t reached an equilibrium point yet,” in terms of the format fully settling. We’re seeing this right now in real time, as Mono-Red and Mono-Green both establish themselves as meta players in a Cauldron world. Until the dust settles, it’s hard to say whether bans will be needed or not.
An Evolving Process
Overall, today’s announcements are extremely positive for Standard. Vivi being on the way out is a great start, and the updated ban schedule looks fantastic. Wizards gave the format a chance to self-regulate, and it’s going to try one last time before November, but as an experiment, it hasn’t been hugely successful. The 2025 MTG ban schedule, particularly for Standard, hasn’t aligned with the new ‘six sets a year’ model.
With the move to a ban window per set, however, things should be much, much better. Wizards will be able to address problems as and when they arise, instead of leaving players in the lurch for months on end. It’s a process evolution that matches the direction the game itself has evolved in. While it came later than many would’ve liked, it’s great to see Wizards adapting to new circumstances like this.
Of course, as with anything, there are some trade-offs here. Frequent bans can create an unstable format, which, as Klomparens notes in their article, is bad for the game long-term. This was a big part of Wizards’ reasoning behind reducing the number of ban windows in the first place, so it could be a problem come 2026. Players may not be annoyed by the state of the format anymore, but rather by having their pricey chase mythics banned not long after release.
That said, nothing is confirmed yet. The new ban schedule is just an aim for now, and the bans aren’t totally locked in. We’ll all need to wait and see how the format develops over the year to come.
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