Wizards of the Coast has dropped the list of banned and restricted Magic: The Gathering cards for the upcoming month on their website. While updating this list is a common occurrence for the company, the announcement also included a ruling change, which is a very rare move coming from the trading card game company.
While COVID-19 continues to keep Wizards games from being played in stores, players have moved to virtual formats in order to keep up with Magic: The Gathering. Players have still been creating new decks and innovative card combinations despite not being able to play in person. The new bans and restrictions may change what decks are coming together.
Wizards of the Coast is banning two cards from both the Standard and Historic formats of the game. Agent of Treachery, a blue creature in the Core Set 2020 expansion, and Fires of Invention, a red enchantment from Throne of Eldaraine, will no longer be allowed in those specific formats. This ruling will be effective immediately in Tabletop and Magic Online settings, while MTG Arena will be updated with these card bans on June 4 once maintenance is finished. MTG Arena players who have these cards in their in-game collections will have them replaced with an equal number of rare Wildcards instead. The cards can still be crafted for other formats like Brawl or Direct Challenge matches; however, when they are crafted, the game will remind players that the cards can’t be used in Standard matches.
Along with banned cards, the update from Wizards shows that the game is also nerfing a recently introduced mechanic. Companion is a new mechanic that the new Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths set brought to the game. Here’s the new ruleset:
“Once per game, any time you could cast a sorcery (during your main phase when the stack is empty), you can pay 3 generic mana to put your companion from your sideboard into your hand. This is a special action, not an activated ability. It happens immediately and can't be responded to. It can't be countered or stopped by cards like Phyrexian Revoker.”
Wizards changed this mechanic due to the metadata, which showed companions' overwhelming impact on creating repetitive gameplay patterns. This rule change will go into effect immediately for Tabletop formats, on June 3 for Magic Online, and June 4 for MTG Arena.
Since Fire of Invention decks have over a 55% win rate in Standard, banning this MTG card should change the landscape of these games and allow for more variety in these formats. Those who play Magic: The Gathering have been looking for a counter to the companion culture, so the changes to this mechanic rule should be received positively overall.
Source: Wizards of the Coast