On June 7, Magic: The Gathering updated its banned and restricted cards list with new Pioneer and Explorer bans, bringing the banned card number up in Pioneer to 25 and 15 in Explorer. Winota, er of Forces allowed players to put multiple cards into play and cheat on mana costs severely, while Expressive Iteration acted as a draw-two that allowed too much card selection. Both these cards are from more recent sets, but they’ll a long list of banned cards that span the entire history of the game.
Recently, MTG card bans have been somewhat sparse as multiple formats have had competitive and mostly diverse metagames. However, these new bans are a welcome addition to the roster as Winota-based decks have been at the top of the Pioneer for many months. The two cards banned in the soon-to-come to MTG Arena format Pioneer represent a small section of the cards banned in the history of MTG. Broken card draw spells and synergy pieces like Timetwister and Ancestral Recall were some of the first cards banned in Magic, giving precedence for the less-powerful but still meta-warping Winota and Expressive Iteration bans.
Wizards of the Coast has banned many cards over Magic’s lifetime and promotes multiple formats, each with its own ban list. Bans are important for players to keep up with, especially those looking to play in tournaments or Friday Night Magic events at their local game store. For reference and for those looking to compete, here is the full list of banned and restricted cards in Magic: The Gathering as of June 2022.
Every Card Banned in Magic: The Gathering’s Standard Format
The following MTG cards are banned in Standard format:
- Alrund’s Epiphany
- Divide By Zero
- Faceless Haven
- Omnath, Locus of Creation
Every Card Banned in Magic: The Gathering’s Pioneer Format
These cards have been banned in MTG's Pioneer format:
- Balustrade Spy
- Bloodstained Mire
- Expressive Iteration
- Felidar Guardian
- Field of the Dead
- Flooded Strand
- Inverter of Truth
- Kethis, the Hidden Hand
- Leyline of Abundance
- Lurrus of the Dream-Den
- Nexus of Fate
- Oko, Thief of Crowns
- Once Upon a Time
- Polluted Delta
- Smuggler’s Copter
- Teferi, Time Raveler
- Undercity Informer
- Underworld Breach
- Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath
- Veil of Summer
- Walking Ballista
- Wilderness Reclamation
- Windswept Heath
- Winota, er of Forces
- Wooded Foothills
Every Card Banned in Magic: The Gathering’s Explorer Format
These are the banned cards in Magic: The Gathering's Explorer format:
- Expressive Iteration
- Field of the Dead
- Kethis, the Hidden Hand
- Leyline of Abundance
- Lurrus of the Dream-Den
- Nexus of Fate
- Oko, Thief of Crowns
- Once Upon a Time
- Teferi, Time Raveler
- Tibalt's Trickery
- Underworld Breach
- Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath
- Veil of Summer
- Wilderness Reclamation
- Winota, er of Forces
Every Card Banned in Magic: The Gathering’s Modern Format
These are the banned cards in MTG's Modern format:
- Ancient Den
- Arcum’s Astrolabe
- Birthing Pod
- Blazing Shoal
- Bridge from Below
- Chrome Mox
- Cloudpost
- Dark Depths
- Deathrite Shaman
- Dig Through Time
- Dread Return
- Eye of Ugin
- Faithless Looting
- Field of the Dead
- Gitaxian Probe
- Glimpse of Nature
- Golgari Grave Troll
- Great Furnace
- Green Sun’s Zenith
- Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis
- Hypergenesis
- Krark-Clan Ironworks
- Lurrus of the Dream-Den
- Mental Misstep
- Mox Opal
- Mycosynth Lattice
- Mystic Sanctuary
- Oko, Thief of Crowns
- Once Upon a Time
- Ponder
- Preordain
- Punishing Fire
- Rite of Flame
- Seat of the Synod
- Second Sunrise
- Seething Song
- Sensei’s Divining Top
- Simian Spirit Guide
- Skullclamp
- Splinter Twin
- Summer Bloom
- Tibalt’s Trickery
- Treasure Cruise
- Tree of Tales
- Umezawa’s Jitte
- Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath
- Vault of Whispers
Every Card Banned in Magic: the Gathering’s Legacy Format
- All 25 Magic: The Gathering cards with the Card Type “Conspiracy”
- All 9 cards that reference “playing for ante”
- 7 cards whose art, text, or name are racially or culturally offensive
- Ancestral Recall
- Arcum’s Astrolabe
- Balance
- Bazaar of Baghdad
- Black Lotus
- Channel
- Chaos Orb
- Deathrite Shaman
- Demonic Consultation
- Demonic Tutor
- Dig Through Time
- Dreadhorde Arcanist
- Earthcraft
- Falling Star
- Fastbond
- Flash
- Frantic Search
- Gitaxian Probe
- Goblin Recruiter
- Gush
- Hermit Druid
- Imperial Seal
- Library of Alexandria
- Lurrus of the Dream-Den
- Mana Crypt
- Mana Drain
- Mana Vault
- Memory Jar
- Mental Misstep
- Mind Twist
- Mind’s Desire
- Mishra’s Workshop
- Mox Emerald
- Mox Jet
- Mox Pearl
- Mox Ruby
- Mox Sapphire
- Mystical Tutor
- Necropotence
- Oath of Druids
- Oko, Thief of Crowns
- Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
- Sensei’s Divining Top
- Shahrazad
- Skullclamp
- Sol Ring
- Strip Mine
- Survival of the Fittest
- Time Vault
- Time Walk
- Timetwister
- Tinker
- Tolarian Academy
- Treasure Cruise
- Underworld Breach
- Vampiric Tutor
- Wheel of Fortune
- Windfall
- Wrenn and Six
- Yawgmoth’s Bargain
- Yawgmoth’s Will
- Zirda, the Dawnwalker
Every Card Banned in Magic: The Gathering’s Commander Format
Here are the MTG cards banned in Commander:
- All 25 cards with the Card Type “Conspiracy”
- All 9 cards that reference “playing for ante”
- All 7 cards whose art, text, or name are racially or culturally offensive
- Ancestral Recall
- Balance
- Biorhythm
- Black Lotus
- Braids, Cabal Minion
- Chaos Orb
- Coalition Victory
- Channel
- Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
- Erayo, Soratami Ascendant
- Falling Star
- Fastbond
- Flash
- Gifts Ungiven
- Golos, Tireless Pilgrim
- Griselbrand
- Hullbreacher
- Iona, Shield of Emeria
- Karakas
- Leovold, Emissary of Trest
- Library of Alexandria
- Limited Resources
- Lutri, the Spellchaser
- Mox Emerald
- Mox Jet
- Mox Pearl
- Mox Ruby
- Mox Sapphire
- Panoptic Mirror
- Paradox Engine
- Primeval Titan
- Prophet of Kruphix
- Recurring Nightmare
- Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
- Shahrazad
- Sundering Titan
- Sway of the Stars
- Sylvan Primordial
- Time Vault
- Time Walk
- Tinker
- Tolarian Academy
- Trade Secrets
- Upheaval
- Yawgmoth’s Bargain
Every Card Banned in Magic: The Gathering’s Brawl Format
- Drannith Magistrate
- Lutri, the Spellchaser
- Oko, Thief of Crowns
- Omnath, Locus of Creation
- Runed Halo
- Sorcerous Spyglass
- Winota, er of Forces
- Pithing Needle
Every Card Banned in Magic: The Gathering’s Pauper Format
- Arcum’s Astrolabe
- Atog
- Bonder’s Ornament
- Chatterstorm
- Cloud of Faeries
- Cloudpost
- Cranial Plating
- Daze
- Disciple of the Vault
- Empty the Warrens
- Fall from Favor
- Frantic Search
- Galvanic Relay
- Gitaxian Probe
- Grapeshot
- Gush
- Invigorate
- Mystic Sanctuary
- Peregrine Drake
- Prophetic Prism
- Sojourner’s Companion
- Temporal Fissure
- Treasure Cruise
- High Tide
- Hymn to Tourach
- Sinkhole
Every Card Banned in Magic: The Gathering’s Historic Format
- Agent of Treachery
- Brainstorm
- Channel
- Counterspell
- Dark Ritual
- Demonic Tutor
- Field of the Dead
- Lightning Bolt
- Memory Lapse
- Natural Order
- Nexus of Fate
- Oko, Thief of Crowns
- Omnath, Locus of Creation
- Swords to Plowshares
- Thassa’s Oracle
- Tibalt’s Trickery
- Time Warp
- Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath
- Veil of Summer
- Wilderness Reclamation
- Winota, er of Forces
Every Card Banned & Restricted in Magic: The Gathering’s Vintage Format
- All 25 cards with the Card Type “Conspiracy”
- All 9 cards that reference “playing for ante”
- All 7 cards whose art, text, or name are racially or culturally offensive
- Chaos Orb
- Falling Star
- Shahrazad
The following Magic: The Gathering cards are restricted, meaning players can only have one copy in their maindeck and sideboard combined.
- Ancestral Recall
- Balance
- Black Lotus
- Brainstorm
- Chalice of the Void
- Channel
- Demonic Consultation
- Demonic Tutor
- Dig Through Time
- Flash
- Gitaxian Probe
- Golgari Grave-Troll
- Gush
- Imperial Seal
- Karn, the Great Creator
- Library of Alexandria
- Lion’s Eye Diamond
- Lodestone Golem
- Lotus Petal
- Mana Crypt
- Mana Vault
- Memory Jar
- Mental Misstep
- Merchant Scroll
- Mind’s Desire
- Monastery Mentor
- Mox Emerald
- Mox Jet
- Mox Pearl
- Mox Ruby
- Mox Sapphire
- Mystic Forge
- Mystical Tutor
- Narset, Parter of Veils
- Necropotence
- Ponder
- Sol Ring
- Strip Mine
- Thorn of Amethyst
- Time Vault
- Time Walk
- Timetwister
- Tinker
- Tolarian Academy
- Treasure Cruise
- Trinisphere
- Vampiric Tutor
- Wheel of Fortune
- Windfall
- Yawgmoth’s Will
Looking at format ban lists from a long time ago, players can see how the game has evolved. No longer are there completely broken cards like the Moxen or even self-fueling engines like Uro banned in 2021, but there are still cards that provide powerful effects that can run away with a game on their own or paired with specific cards. With the new bans, Explorer and Pioneer will likely have more variety and open up opportunities to deckbuild. These Magic: The Gathering formats should be stable for a while, as it won’t be until September that new cards are added to the pool.