Magic: The Gathering banned and restricted cards list 2024

Ensuring diversity is crucial for the vitality of Magic: The Gathering. A range of competitive decks allows tournament players to explore different strategies and keeps the game dynamic. Imagine if only one deck dominated the scene - tournaments would become repetitive as players would be compelled to either use that deck or counter it specifically. Moreover, players have diverse preferences in play styles and offering various viable options caters to this variety, attracting more participants to tournaments.

MTG banned cards

To uphold this diversity and maintain the health of the tournament environment, Wizards of the Coast implements banned and restricted lists. These lists comprise cards that are either entirely prohibited or restricted.

Two important points: Firstly, these lists pertain solely to Constructed formats, excluding Limited formats. Secondly, the banned and restricted lists are tailored to specific formats; thus, a card banned in Modern may remain legal in Standard.

MTG banlist

Banned cards

Including a banned card in your deck or sideboard renders it ineligible for sanctioned tournaments within your chosen format.

Cards typically end up on the banned list when they excessively influence the play environment, often by enabling dominant strategies or distorting gameplay. In essence, their legality would compel competitive players to either adopt them or devise strategies solely to counteract them.

Certain cards are banned due to their overwhelming power within a particular format. Despite extensive playtesting, the intricate interactions between new and existing cards in Magic the Gathering make it challenging to foresee every potential outcome accurately. As a result, some cards prove too potent once released into the player base, necessitating their banishment from sanctioned play.

Restricted cards

In formats where a restricted list applies, such as Vintage, players are limited to including only one copy of a restricted card in their entire deck, including both the main deck and sideboard. This restriction aims to balance gameplay by allowing access to powerful cards while preventing excessive reliance on them.
As of now, the restricted list is exclusive to the Vintage format.

MTG standard format banned cards

Standard banned cards

The following cards are banned from the format:

MTG modern format banned cards

Modern banned cards

This format spans Eighth edition onwards, opening up a wide array of cards and strategies from Magic's history.

MTG Vintage format banned and restricted cards

Vintage banned and restricted cards

Modern grants access to cards from 2003 onwards, but Vintage offers the full breadth of Magic's over 30-year history, allowing players to utilize cards from any set.

The following cards are restricted, meaning you may include only one copy of each in your main deck and sideboard combined:

MTG legacy format banned cards

Legacy banned cards

The following cards are banned in legacy tournaments:

MTG commander format banned cards

Commander banned cards

The following cards are banned from the format:

MTG pauper format banned cards

Pauper banned cards

The following cards are banned from the format:

MTG pioneer format banned cards

Pioneer banned cards

The following cards are banned from the format:

MTG historic format banned cards

Historic banned cards

The following cards are banned from the format:

MTG timeless format banned cards

Timeless Restricted Cards

The following cards are restricted, which means you can only have one of them in your main deck and sideboard combined:

MTG brawl format banned cards

Brawl banned cards

The following cards are banned in Brawl and are not permitted to be included in your deck or used as your commander:

MTG explorer format banned cards

Explorer banned cards

The following cards are banned from the format:

MTG alchemy format banned cards

Alchemy banned cards

No current banned cards

Universally banned MTG cards

Universally Banned MTG Cards

Numerous cards have been restricted across all formats due to various reasons. Among them are the following 25 cards from Conspiracy, exclusively permitted for limited play:

Next, there's a compilation of nine cards that involve 'ante.' This mechanic harks back to Magic: The Gathering's earliest days, where players would essentially wager their cards on the game's outcome. However, it fell out of favor swiftly and was discontinued, leading to the banning of the following cards across all formats:

The MTG banlist also addresses cards considered racially or culturally insensitive. These bans are universal, applying to sanctioned tournaments across all formats. In 2020, Wizards of the Coast removed the images of these cards from their database. Presently, there are seven cards banned for cultural or racial insensitivity.

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