Ban:

Edgar Markov

Chrome Mox

Ancient Tomb

Mox Diamond

Winter Orb

Sylvan Library

Worldly Tutor

Sylvan Tutor

Unban:

Protean Hulk

Mishra’s Workshop

Bazaar of Baghdad

Griselbrand





Edgar Markov has been dominant for some time now, and so much of the power is tied in specifically to the eminence ability that he needs to be banned.

Fast mana in Chrome Mox, Mox Diamond, and Ancient Tomb has been adding significant power to games in which those cards are drawn, and we’ve heard consistent and strong feedback that they have too often led to games hinging on that mana advantage. Sylvan Library has also been often cited as extremely difficult to beat in a format with 30 starting life, creating similar large swings.

Sylvan Tutor and Worldly Tutor were left in the previous pass, which removed most of the format’s tutoring, as they’re at a lower power level. Since then, it’s become clear that they’re still contributing to games playing out more similarly game-to-game, which is undesirable for a singleton format.

Winter Orb joins Back to Basics and similar cards on the ban list as a card that shuts down the game in a widely disliked fashion as soon as it’s cast.

The unbans are primarily aimed at opening up new space for deck building without adding to the already-strong decks. As the format has primarily hinged around board presence and mana efficiency, these four cards are aimed at opening up space to do larger, splashier things in very different ways.