MTG ban list 2026: banned and restricted announcements

This guide lists every banned and restricted card in Standard, Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Commander and Pauper, and covers the Arena formats below. The latest Banned & Restricted announcement was October 12, 2026; the next is scheduled for November 30, 2026. Card lists were last checked against Wizards’ official list and Scryfall on October 24, 2026, and each format links to Scryfall’s live legality search so you can confirm the list yourself.

Recent Update — October 12, 2026

The October 12, 2026 B&R announcement (effective October 12, 2026) changed no paper format:

• Standard, Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Pauper: no changes.
• Commander: no changes.
• Alchemy, Historic, Timeless, Brawl: no changes.
• Competitive Brawl (MTG Arena): Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow, Spider-Man 2099 and Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice are banned as commanders. Nine other commanders are now banned only as a commander, so they are legal in the other 99 cards, and Nashi, Illusion Gadgeteer was rebalanced.

The prior announcement, August 10, 2026, banned Badgermole Cub, Stormchaser's Talent and Gran-Gran in Standard, banned The Fantasticar in Legacy and restricted it in Vintage, and made the Bonder's Ornament unban permanent in Pauper. The next Banned & Restricted announcement is scheduled for November 30, 2026.

Jump to: Standard · Pioneer · Modern · Legacy · Vintage · Commander · Pauper · Alchemy · Historic, Timeless & Brawl · Next announcement

Standard Banned Cards

Standard's ban list is typically short because the card pool is small and WotC has gotten better at design testing. Cards that get banned in Standard are usually design mistakes that slipped through testing. The August 10, 2026 announcement banned three at once — Badgermole Cub, Stormchaser's Talent and Gran-Gran — one card from each of the three decks at the top of the format (Selesnya Offense, Izzet Prowess and Jeskai Lessons), acting before the Standard Regional Championship Qualifier season rather than waiting for it to prove the problem.

The current Standard ban list changes with new sets. Check the official WotC page for the live list. Notable past Standard bans include Oko, Thief of Crowns (November 2019), Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath (September 2020) and The Meathook Massacre (October 2022).

Verify the live list: Scryfall banned:standard.

Pioneer Banned Cards

Pioneer launched on October 21, 2019 with the five fetch lands already banned, and its list has grown with later announcements. Key bans include:

• All fetch lands (Flooded Strand, Polluted Delta, etc.) — banned at format creation to differentiate Pioneer from Modern and keep mana bases more constrained
• Inverter of Truth / Walking Ballista / Underworld Breach — combo pieces that enabled degenerate kills too early for the format
• Leyline of Abundance — banned November 4, 2019, in Pioneer's first ban announcement, for giving Green Devotion its fastest starts. Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, the land the deck is built around, is legal.
• Geological Appraiser — banned December 4, 2023. Its discover trigger let decks win as early as turn three. (Smuggler's Copter was unbanned in Pioneer the same day.)
• Cori-Steel Cutter — banned May 18, 2026. WotC said the Izzet decks' play and win rates on MTG Arena had “looked clearly out of line” and called Cutter “the clear power-level and play-pattern outlier” among their tools.

Pioneer's ban philosophy is more conservative than Standard's. WotC lets formats develop before intervening, which means problematic cards sometimes persist for months before action.

Verify the live list: Scryfall banned:pioneer.

Modern Banned Cards

Modern has the longest and most impactful ban list of any format because the card pool is enormous and new sets (especially Modern Horizons) regularly introduce powerful cards. Key categories of Modern bans:

• Fast mana: Chrome Mox, Rite of Flame, Simian Spirit Guide, Seething Song. Modern does not tolerate free or ultra-cheap mana acceleration because it enables degenerate combo kills. (Mox Opal, Green Sun's Zenith and Faithless Looting are all legal in Modern today.)
• Card selection: Ponder, Gitaxian Probe, Treasure Cruise, Dig Through Time. Cheap card selection that finds combo pieces too efficiently. Preordain is legal. Brainstorm is not legal in Modern at all.
• Combo enablers: Birthing Pod, Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis, Summer Bloom, Underworld Breach. Each of these created combo decks that were too fast or too consistent for the format.
• Format warpers: Oko, Thief of Crowns, Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath, Field of the Dead. Cards so powerful that they pushed out other strategies entirely.
• Fury — banned December 4, 2023. Wizards said Fury made creature decks nearly impossible to play and kept several strategies out of Modern.
• Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury — banned May 18, 2026. Boros Energy had been climbing in metagame share, and WotC pointed to the Phlage and Arena of Glory pair: most aggro and midrange decks were either adopting it or “almost disappear[ing] from the metagame.” WotC kept Arena of Glory and banned Phlage.
• Lotus Field — banned the same day. The strongest Amulet Titan builds used Lotus Field with Aftermath Analyst and Shifting Woodland for an infinite-mana loop whose “non-deterministic lines of play” WotC called “a nightmare for tournament logistics.” The ban is meant to weaken the deck, not remove it.

Recent unbans (May 18, 2026):

• Violent Outburst — unbanned. It was banned about two years earlier, before Modern Horizons 3 and before strong new hate cards for cascade decks (Consign to Memory, Vexing Bauble). WotC called the unban “certainly risky” but a calculated one.
• Umezawa's Jitte — unbanned after about fifteen years; it had been on Modern's banned list since the format began in 2011. WotC hopes it brings back combat-oriented and Stoneforge Mystic decks.

Verify the live list: Scryfall banned:modern.

Legacy Banned Cards

Legacy bans are rare and carefully considered because the format is designed to allow most of Magic's history. Cards that get banned in Legacy are truly broken:

• Ante cards (Contract from Below, etc.) — gambling is against tournament rules
• Manual dexterity cards (Chaos Orb, Falling Star) — physical skill is not part of competitive Magic
• Conspiracy cards — designed for multiplayer draft, not constructed
• Power-level bans: Channel (one-card fast mana combo), Fastbond (free land drops), Mind Twist (hand disruption too good), Earthcraft + Hermit Druid + other combo enablers
• Undercity Informer — banned May 18, 2026. The Oops, All Spells! deck's win rate had been rising, and WotC cited how often it could win on turn one. Balustrade Spy stays legal, so the deck survives in a weaker form.
• Candelabra of Tawnos — banned June 29, 2026. WotC: it “rarely shows up unless it is in a problematically strong combo deck.”
• The Fantasticar — banned August 10, 2026 (and restricted in Vintage the same day).

Verify the live list: Scryfall banned:legacy.

Vintage Restricted List

Vintage is unique: instead of banning cards for power, it restricts them to one copy per deck. This means you can play one Black Lotus, one Ancestral Recall, one Time Walk, and one of each Mox in your Vintage deck. The philosophy is that almost every card should be playable somewhere in Magic, and Vintage is that somewhere.

The Vintage restricted list includes the Power 9 (Black Lotus, Ancestral Recall, Time Walk, five Moxen, Timetwister), fast mana (Sol Ring, Mana Crypt, Mana Vault), draw spells (Brainstorm, Treasure Cruise, Dig Through Time), and tutors (Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Mystical Tutor). The newest addition is The Fantasticar, restricted on August 10, 2026.

Outright bans in Vintage are four categories (Conspiracy cards, ante cards, culturally offensive cards, and cards that use stickers or Attractions) plus three named cards: Chaos Orb, Falling Star and Shahrazad.

Commander Banned Cards

Commander has its own ban list and recently introduced the Game Changers system as part of the 5-bracket power level framework:

• Banned cards (83 total): Cards deemed too problematic for any Commander game. Includes Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, Griselbrand, Primeval Titan, Recurring Nightmare, Hullbreacher, Paradox Engine and Golos, Tireless Pilgrim. Also includes Conspiracy draft cards (Power Play, Worldknit, etc.) which are non-functional outside draft, plus the ante cards and a handful of cards removed from all formats for offensive content.
• Banned as companion: Lutri, the Spellchaser can be your commander or in the 99 but cannot be used as a companion (February 2026 change).
• Game Changers (53 cards): Powerful cards that signal higher bracket play. Includes Rhystic Study, Cyclonic Rift, Demonic Tutor, Smothering Tithe, and Farewell (added February 2026). Biorhythm was unbanned and moved to the Game Changers list in the same update.

Commander bans are managed by Wizards of the Coast (as of September 30, 2024, previously by the Commander Rules Committee). The last Commander-specific update was the February 9, 2026 bracket update, which unbanned Biorhythm, added Farewell to Game Changers, and created the "banned as companion" category for Lutri. None of the May 18, 2026, August 10, 2026 or October 12, 2026 B&R announcements made any Commander changes. The next announcement is scheduled for November 30, 2026. Use our Bracket Calculator to check if your deck contains any Game Changers and where it falls in the bracket system.

Verify the live list: Scryfall banned:commander (83 cards) and Scryfall is:gamechanger (53 cards).

Pauper Banned Cards

Pauper has a surprisingly active ban list because commons from 30 years of Magic sometimes combine in unexpected ways. Notable bans include:

• Storm cards: Chatterstorm and Galvanic Relay
• Initiative cards: all four initiative commons from Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate — Aarakocra Sneak, Stirring Bard, Underdark Explorer and Vicious Battlerager
• Peregrine Drake — untaps five lands on ETB, enabling infinite mana combos with flicker effects
• Daze — a counterspell you can cast for free by returning an Island

Unban confirmed (August 10, 2026): Bonder's Ornament, unbanned on a trial basis in May 2026, is now permanently legal. WotC concluded the card had "mostly been normalized and become another playable card." The last Pauper ban was Seeker of Skybreak on June 29, 2026, over a new combo with Hawkeye's Bow “that can kill extremely quickly.”

Verify the live list: Scryfall banned:pauper.

Alchemy Banned Cards

Alchemy is MTG Arena's rebalanced digital-only format. WotC can rebalance cards in Alchemy rather than outright banning them, but a small handful of cards are still removed entirely. Because Alchemy uses digital adjustments, its ban list is shorter than the paper formats — usually a card is rebalanced before a ban is needed.

Recent ban (May 18, 2026): Sewer-veillance Cam is banned in Alchemy. The common's untap effect, combined with Boomerang Basics, brought the rebalanced A-Vivi Ornitier back to the top of the format.

Verify the live list: Scryfall banned:alchemy.

MTG Arena Formats: Historic, Timeless and Brawl

MTG Arena's own formats have separate lists that change in the same announcements. Every 2026 change so far:

• February 9, 2026: Historic banned Eldrazi Temple, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, Crop Rotation and Scholar of the Lost Trove, and unbanned Magus of the Moon, Harbinger of the Seas, Force of Vigor, Force of Negation, Endurance, Wilderness Reclamation and Agent of Treachery. Timeless restricted Necropotence.
• March 23, 2026: Historic banned Food Chain.
• June 29, 2026: Brawl banned Force of Will, Subtlety, Wash Away, Ugin's Labyrinth, Time Warp and Temporal Manipulation.
• August 10, 2026: no changes to Historic, Timeless or Brawl.
• October 12, 2026: no changes to Historic, Timeless or Brawl. Competitive Brawl banned Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow, Spider-Man 2099 and Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice as commanders.

For the complete current Arena lists, see Wizards' banned and restricted list. In paper, two cards are banned only in MTG Arena best-of-one play and are legal at the table: Leyline of Resonance in Standard and Tibalt's Trickery in Pioneer.

How Bans Work

Wizards of the Coast reviews the health of each format through internal data, tournament results, and player feedback. When a card is determined to be too dominant, they take one of three actions:

• Banned: The card cannot be played in the format at all. This is the most common action. A banned card in Modern cannot appear in any Modern deck—main deck or sideboard.
• Restricted (Vintage, and Timeless on MTG Arena): The card is limited to one copy per deck. Vintage does not ban cards for power level—it restricts them. This is why you can play one Black Lotus in Vintage but zero in every other format.
• Suspended (Arena only): A temporary ban that may be reversed. Suspended cards are removed from play while WotC evaluates them. They can be unbanned, permanently banned, or rebalanced.

Bans and restrictions are announced through official WotC channels, and each announcement names the date of the next one. In 2026 there have been six so far — February 9, March 23, May 18, June 29, August 10 and October 12 — and the next is scheduled for November 30, 2026.

Why Cards Get Banned

Cards are banned for several reasons, and understanding them helps you predict future bans:

• Metagame dominance: When one deck takes too much of the field and wins too often against the rest. Oko, Thief of Crowns was banned in Standard in November 2019 and is banned in Pioneer, Modern and Legacy today.
• Unfun play patterns: Cards that create repetitive, non-interactive games. When Nexus of Fate was banned in Pioneer on December 16, 2019, Wizards pointed to frustrating play patterns and long matches.
• Homogenization: When a card is so good that decks of every kind play it. The Fantasticar was banned in Legacy on August 10, 2026 after it turned up in more than a dozen archetypes.
• Combos and locks: When a combination wins, or locks the opponent out, before they can reasonably interact. Modern banned Mycosynth Lattice on January 13, 2020 because its combination with Karn, the Great Creator could lock opponents out.

When Is the Next B&R Announcement?

The next Banned & Restricted announcement is scheduled for November 30, 2026, per WotC's October 12, 2026 announcement. Each announcement names the next date, and 2026 has run at roughly six- to nine-week intervals: February 9, March 23, May 18, June 29, August 10 and October 12. Follow official WotC news for announcements.

Every 2026 Banned & Restricted announcement so far:

• February 9 — no paper-format changes; Historic and Timeless bans and 13 Alchemy rebalances (Commander changes came in a separate Commander announcement the same day)
• March 23 — Historic only (Food Chain)
• May 18 — Pioneer (Cori-Steel Cutter), Modern (Phlage, Lotus Field banned; Violent Outburst, Umezawa's Jitte unbanned), Legacy (Undercity Informer), Pauper (Bonder's Ornament trial unban), Alchemy (Sewer-veillance Cam)
• June 29 — Legacy (Candelabra of Tawnos), Pauper (Seeker of Skybreak), six Brawl bans
• August 10 — Standard (Badgermole Cub, Stormchaser's Talent, Gran-Gran), Legacy and Vintage (The Fantasticar), Bonder's Ornament made permanent in Pauper
• October 12 — no paper-format changes; Competitive Brawl banned three commanders
• Next: November 30, 2026

Sources & Verification

This guide is verified against primary sources every B&R announcement. Last verified October 24, 2026, against the October 12, 2026 announcement and WotC's current banned and restricted list.

• Banned and Restricted Lists (Wizards of the Coast, official)
• Banned and Restricted Announcement — October 12, 2026 (Wizards of the Coast)
• Banned and Restricted Announcement — August 10, 2026 (Wizards of the Coast)
• Banned and Restricted Announcement — June 29, 2026 (Wizards of the Coast)
• Banned and Restricted Announcement — May 18, 2026 (Wizards of the Coast)
• Banned and Restricted Announcement — March 23, 2026 (Wizards of the Coast)
• Banned and Restricted Announcement — February 9, 2026 (Wizards of the Coast)
• Commander Banned and Restricted Announcement — February 9, 2026 (Wizards of the Coast)
• Commander Brackets Beta Update — February 9, 2026 (Wizards of the Coast)
• On the Future of Commander — September 30, 2024 (Wizards of the Coast)
• December 4, 2023 Banned and Restricted Announcement (Wizards of the Coast)
• Scryfall legality search — search any format’s banned cards yourself (for example banned:modern)
• Magic: The Gathering Comprehensive Rules

Related Resources

Learn about every format in our Formats Explained Guide. Check current Standard-legal sets in the Standard Rotation Guide. Understand Commander's Game Changers system in our Game Changers List and Commander Brackets guide. See which legal cards players dislike most in our Commander salt score list. Build your next deck with the Sideboard Strategy Guide. Browse our deck gallery for legal decklists, and use the Price Checker to monitor card values around ban announcements.

Frequently Asked Questions

What changed in the most recent MTG ban announcement?

The October 12, 2026 announcement changed no paper format: Standard, Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Pauper and Commander are unchanged. On MTG Arena, Competitive Brawl banned Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow, Spider-Man 2099 and Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice as commanders. The next Banned & Restricted announcement is scheduled for November 30, 2026.

How often are MTG cards banned?

WotC names the date of the next announcement in each one. In 2026 there have been six so far (February 9, March 23, May 18, June 29, August 10 and October 12), roughly every six to nine weeks, though three of them (February 9, March 23 and October 12) changed no paper format. The next is November 30, 2026.

What happens to banned cards on MTG Arena?

When a card is banned on Arena, it is removed from the format's card pool. You can still use banned cards in other formats where they are legal (e.g., a Standard-banned card may still be legal in Historic).

What is the difference between banned and restricted?

Banned means the card cannot be played at all in that format. Restricted (used only in Vintage and MTG Arena's Timeless) means you can play exactly one copy in your deck. Vintage restricts powerful cards instead of banning them, so that almost every card in Magic has a format where it can be played.

Can banned cards be unbanned?

Yes. WotC periodically unbans cards when they believe the format can handle them. Recent examples: Smuggler's Copter in Pioneer (December 4, 2023), and Violent Outburst and Umezawa's Jitte in Modern (May 18, 2026). Unbans are less common than bans but they do happen, usually when the surrounding metagame has shifted enough to contain the formerly problematic card.

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