Wizards of the Coast (WotC) has released a surprise Banned and Restricted update, impacting Standard, Historic, Pioneer, and Brawl.
Standard
According to WotC, this set of changes is a “deviation from our usual banned-list philosophy for Standard”, for the sake of improving the short and long-term health of the format.
Wilderness Reclamation, Growth Spiral, and Teferi, Time Raveler are all up for rotation this fall – however due to the increase in play from digital formats, WotC feels it is necessary to remove these cards in order to “help freshen up the remaining summer metagame.”
Historic
After the banning of Nexus of Fate, WotC felt that Wilderness Reclamation decks would fall into a reasonable place, but recently, Temur Reclamation has risen to “…over 10% of Best-of-Three games while maintaining concerning win rates.”
Similarly, decks that include Teferi, Time Raveler have exceeded “20% of Historic Best-of-Three games and significant percentages in other modes as well.”
Both of these cards are currently suspended and WotC aims to monitor the metagame without these cards closely to determine if they may be reintroduced to the format at some point in the future.
Pioneer
Just over halfway through Pioneer’s first year, WotC has observed combo decks becoming the most popular strategy in the format, and subsequently noticed an overall decrease in play – both in person and on Magic Online.
In order to breath life back into the the playerbase, WotC’s intent with banning these cards is to “…ensure that Pioneer can deliver an enjoyable play experience to players who are looking for an accessible, nonrotating format that’s closer to Standard in power level and offers a variety of archetypes and decks to choose from.”
Ultimately, how much fun players are having with the environment is the most important driving force behind B&R updates…
Brawl
In observing play patterns in Brawl, it was discovered Teferi, Time Raveler had become “one of the most played commanders… appearing in over 10% of games, and he has one of the highest win rates.”
For the health of the format and encouraging players to branch out and explore other commander options, Teferi, Time Raveler has been banned.
Future Banned and Restricted Announcements
Due to the greatly reduced frequency of tabletop play from COVID-19, the need for more proactive Banned and Restricted Announcements has risen, and WotC intends to forgo the typical one-week notice for future announcements for the foreseeable future.
The changes announced above are scheduled to go into effect immediately for both tabletop Magic as well as digital via MTG Arena and Magic Online.
Do you agree with today’s Banned and Restricted Announcement? Leave us a comment below and tell us what you think!
Read the original article from Wizards of the Coast.