Magic: The Gathering's Banned and Restricted post for November 10 confirms that multiple OP cards are now banned across five different formats. Previously scheduled for late November, the Banned and Restricted post published today was moved up in order to keep things more balanced in Magic: The Gathering. With some format-warping cards, the metagame was far from a healthy one in recent tournaments, and it was clear that some cards had to go.

Wizards of the Coast stated that it doesn't want to do emergency bans throughout the year because it means changing the formats too much ahead of important tournaments, which led to the state of Standard, in particular, being disastrous for months on end. The main culprit here was MTG's Vivi Ornitier, which came out with Final Fantasy in June, and soon after the ban window in the same month, it started starring in the Izzet Cauldron deck. Now, Vivi is banned alongside several other powerful cards, and not only in Standard.

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November 10 is Suddenly a Big Day For Magic: The Gathering

Wizards of the Coast is about to make decisions about Magic: The Gathering's future on November 10, which will be a big day regardless of the outcome.

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Say Goodbye to Vivi Ornitier in Magic: The Gathering

The list of banned cards spans Standard, Pioneer, Legacy, Pauper, and Brawl for a total of 11 cards, whereas no unbans were announced. There are also 5 pre-bans in Historic. The list includes:

  • Standard
    • Vivi Ornitier is banned.
    • Screaming Nemesis is banned.
    • Proft's Eideitc Memory is banned.

  • Pioneer
    • Heartfire Hero is banned.

  • Modern
    • No changes.

  • Legacy
    • Entomb is banned.
    • Nadu, Winged Wisdom is banned.

  • Vintage
    • No changes.

  • Pauper
    • High Tide is banned (again).

  • Alchemy
    • No changes.

  • Historic
    • Force of Negation is pre-banned.
    • Frantic Search is pre-banned.
    • Mystical Tutor is pre-banned.
    • Entomb is pre-banned.
    • Dark Depths is pre-banned.

  • Timeless
    • No changes.

  • Brawl
    • Strip Mine is banned.
    • Mana Drain is banned.
    • Chrome Mox is banned.
    • Ancient Tomb is banned.

Wizards of the Coast also confirms that the next date for Magic: The Gathering bans, restricted, and unbans is set on February 9, 2026.

The Vivi Ornitier ban in MTG is probably not surprising to fans, as WotC had already stated in its previous post about moving the November Banned and Restricted announcement that Vivi was being heavily considered for a ban. This happened today, and the reasoning is that it is more likely to cause balance issues in the format if other cards are banned, instead, like Agatha's Soul Cauldron.

Vivi was nerfed in MTG Online and Arena before today, but the paper version is harder to fix, and so it was banned.

Mono-Red losing Screaming Nemesis in MTG can hurt the deck, but seeing how it's already one of the best in the format and it's getting even more good cards in the Avatar set, this ban was unavoidable. Proft's Eidetic Memory also caused balance issues, like in Jeskai Oculus, before Izzet Cauldron was a thing.

Interestingly, MTG's Hearthfire Hero was banned in Standard in June, and it's now being banned in Pioneer for very similar reasons. Likewise, Nadu, Winged Wisdom has been banned in multiple formats due to how strong and time-consuming it is, enabling too many combos. For these reasons, it's banned in Legacy alongside a Dimir Reanimator staple — Entomb. The meta for all these formats will inevitably have to evolve now, and Avatar on November 21 may be what kickstarts it.

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Magic: The Gathering Arena
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Digital Card Game
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PC-1
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Top Critic Avg: 82 /100 Critics Rec: 81%
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Released
September 27, 2018
ESRB
T for Teen // Blood and Gore, Mild Fantasy Violence
Developer(s)
Wizards of the Coast, Wizards Digital Games Studios
Publisher(s)
Wizards of the Coast
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DIGITAL
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Digital Card Game