June 24, 2024, Banned and Restricted Announcement (2024)

Announcement Date: June 24, 2024

No changes in all formats.

The next banned and restricted announcement will be in August. View the list of all banned and restricted cards by format.

Tabletop details provided by Andrew Brown.

Standard

It has been one year since we changed Standard's rotation time from two years to three, and we've been monitoring the format closely. That change was a first step in our renewed goal to revitalize tabletop Standard. The change has produced many of the desired results; we're seeing more diversity in strategy across the standard metagame, and more players are playing the format at their local game stores.

In last year's article, we outlined that the time before the release of the summer set (Bloomburrow) would be when we'd look to make changes to the Standard format. We talked about how banning events are an easy exit point from the format, and our goal is to have a more consistent and stable management of the format. Today, we are choosing not to ban any cards leading up to this year's rotation. The format looks very healthy as a whole, and many of the cards that we would be worried about post rotation lose considerable strength.

We considered banning a few cards, with Atraxa, Grand Unifier and Knight Errant of Eos being our leading candidates. It is difficult to predict what exactly will happen after each rotation; we may see these cards break out in other decks or strategies, but we are happy as long as the metagame continues to evolve. Atraxa has been a constant presence in the metagame as the headliner card in Domain Ramp strategies, and sometimes it can be too much to overcome after it's resolved. With rotation, those strategies lose the tri-lands from Streets of New Capenna and will have a difficult time getting domain, which will rein in that deck's overall power level.

Boros Convoke has always been a solid choice in the metagame and shows up on MTG Arena at a high frequency. We are happy with the existence of a tokens aggro deck, but sometimes its opening draws can be too difficult to beat too early into the game. With rotation, it loses Voldaren Epicure, which is a crucial card in its ability to play Knight Errant of Eos on the second turn of the game after casting Gleeful Demolition.

Pioneer

We are seeing a flood of results and decklists stream in from Pioneer Regional Championship Qualifiers, and it's a mixed bag. The biggest positive we are seeing in the format is that almost every macro-archetype is viable in the format.

One thing that we are going to keep a close eye on is the evolution of the Amalia Combo deck. As a creature combo deck, we are generally positive on it; unfortunately, its ability to draw the game is a negative play experience.

We are making no changes to the format today, as we still see room for the metagame to shift around the surge of Amalia Combo, and because Regional Championship Qualifiers for Pioneer continue to mid-July, we don't like to disrupt those events mid-season. The Regional Championship round for Pioneer starts September 28 and goes to December 7.

Modern

As we announced previously, there will be no changes to Modern in anticipation of Pro Tour Modern Horizons 3. So far, Modern Horizons 3 is having a sizable impact on the format that we expect to see reflected at the upcoming Pro Tour.

We are still very early into this new metagame. Although Nadu, Winged Wisdom has raised some early concerns, it appears the Modern format has proven it has tools to fight it, with its results over Modern Leagues and Challenges starting to stabilize over the last few days as the format continues to adapt.

The rise of spell-based combo and Ruby Storm with Ruby Medallion and Ral, Monsoon Mage from Modern Horizons 3 is a notable addition to the format that fights Nadu by being typically a full turn faster. Similarly, as it has risen in popularity, so too have efforts to defeat it.

It's been awesome to see archetypes emerge, with new decks utilizing both energy and Eldrazi packages as well as the aforementioned combo decks and tons of new build-arounds.

Eldrazi Tron, Mardu Midrange (with Ajani, Nacatl Pariah and Sorin of House Markov), Mono-Black Necrodominance, Gruul Prowess, Esper Goryo's Vengeance, Izzet Murktide, Azorius Control, Bant Nadu, and Boros Burn are all different decks that have won Magic Online challenge events since the release of Modern Horizons 3.

Legacy

We are approaching Legacy similarly to Modern right now. Modern Horizons 3 has brought major changes to the format, and we're waiting to see how it responds to this release. While the community explores Modern Horizons 3, we will continue to monitor the play rate and win rate of reanimator, as it has surged dramatically in recent months. We intend to take a hard look at Legacy in our next announcement coming in late August.

Vintage

Overall, Vintage looks to be a healthy format, and we will continue to manage it with community-first thinking given the size and amount of play.

MTG Arena details provided by Dave Finseth.

Alchemy

Alchemy's top-end metagame is looking more varied than it has in a while, with the Heist deck as a new entrant to challenge perennial stalwarts like Mono-Red and Mono-Black. We're also seeing more experimentation in the upper ranks, with some interesting decks emerging there that aren't seeing nearly as much play in Platinum Tier and below. Win rates for these decks are holding within a reasonable range, making for a generally diverse and balanced meta. With rotation coming in about a month, Alchemy isn't in need of any action.

Brawl

Brawl players picked up many new tools with Modern Horizons 3, and we're watching and responding behind the scenes to get new commanders adjusted properly for matchmaking. Some, like Nadu, Winged Wisdom, needed a big adjustment. Others have needed smaller tweaks. We always prefer to let players and the metagame guide these decisions, so the launch of new content tends to make for a bit of a wild time as the proper tiers get sorted out. Still, we think it's better to allow some commanders to take some time to adjust rather than start with our thumb on the scales.

Historic

Historic has obviously had a large infusion of new cards with Modern Horizons 3, and it is definitely showing the effects of that. We're seeing the emergence of several new decks, as well as improved takes on some old favorites. While it remains to be seen whether there are any of these that have the staying power to take down the powerhouse that is Blue-Red Wizards, there are several that look to have a fair shot. We'll all learn a lot more here when Arena Championship 6 showcases Historic in a couple weeks, but so far things seem to be holding up well.

Timeless

If Historic picked up some new toys with Modern Horizons 3, Timeless got the whole toy box dumped on it. We're seeing big shake-ups to the format, including both the expected surge of Rakdos decks sure to inspire Fury and Grief on their opponents, but also a host of new decks. Older favorites like Show & Tell and Domain are still around, but in lower numbers. There's a lot going on in Timeless right now. None of it is remotely fair, but so far, it all seems fairly balanced. There's a very high bar for restriction in Timeless, and nothing is threatening in that way.

Explorer

MTG Arena continues to match Explorer card bans with Pioneer.