Back in mid-May, Wizards of the Coast made a significant announcement regarding the Magic: The Gathering (MTG) ban schedule. For the first time in a long time, there would be predetermined windows for banning cards, instead of immediate and unexpected bans. After much anticipation, the first of these windows has finally arrived.
In preparation for the upcoming spoiler season of the Wilds of Eldraine set starting on August 15th, Wizards revealed the latest yearly MTG bans, or rather, lack thereof. In a somewhat unsurprising twist, no cards were banned during this momentous announcement. Instead, Wizards of the Coast decided to unban two cards in order to shake up a pair of classic formats.
It is important to note that all the bans, or rather unbans, covered in today’s news will take effect on August 7th, 2023.
The first card to be unbanned is Preordain in the Modern format. Originally banned in 2011, Preordain hasn’t been allowed in Modern for over a decade. Since then, the format has undergone numerous transformations, particularly with the introduction of sets like Modern Horizons. The ban list in Modern can sometimes seem peculiar, and Wizards of the Coast aims to address this issue by reducing the size of the banned list.
The recent announcement article explicitly states, “While it is not something that we do often, we are interested in finding opportunities to reduce the size of the Modern banned list when we believe it will make the format more fun and provide players with more options.” Unbanning Preordain aligns with this goal, as it enhances the consistency of combo strategies, which have faced challenges after the release of Modern Horizons. This change should bring more enjoyment to combo players and also revive the previously less popular Blue-Red Murktide archetype.
Although the unbanning of Preordain may not entirely revolutionize the Modern format, it is expected to give players a fun new option to spice up their decks. However, the impact on the format’s metagame remains uncertain, considering the presence of problematic cards from Modern Horizons.
In addition to the Modern unbanning, Wizards of the Coast has also chosen to unban Mind’s Desire in the Legacy format. Mind’s Desire holds the distinction of being the fastest-ever banned card in MTG history, receiving a ban shortly after its release in the Scourge set in 2003. One might assume that such a card would never be unbanned due to its perceived dangerously powerful nature. However, contrary to expectations, Mind’s Desire is not as overpowered as initially thought.
With these unbans, Wizards of the Coast aims to bring fresh excitement to the Modern and Legacy formats. As players eagerly await the implementation of these changes on August 7th, it remains to be seen how the metagame will adapt and whether these unbanned cards will truly reshape the dynamics of their respective formats.