Last updated on May 18, 2026
Flow State | Illustration by Genel Jumalon
Yet another B&R is upon us, folks. We speculated, and now we have some answers. The banhammer has skipped Standard once again, but we’ve got some major changes to Modern, Pioneer, and even Pauper.
Standard
Pioneer
Modern
Pauper
Alchemy
Legacy
Standard Skipped
As a surprise to some, WotC declined to ban (or unban) any cards in Standard this time around. This may shock you since Standard is full of Izzet decks, they make up almost 45% of the meta, but that’s not the full story.
Those decks have yet to actually win anything, and there are still a few distinct strategies within the color pair. Multiple control, landfall, and tempo strategies are still winning tournaments and making top 8s, including Momo, 4C (Jeskai Black), Mardu Discard, and others.
It’s Pronounced “Djee-Tay”
This little sword was an absolute wrecker back in the day. It’s been banned in Modern for well over a decade, and it was pre-banned in Historic when it first hit MTG Arena.
Will it see play in Boros Energy? Probably not, especially with Phlage gone, so it’s gotta be OK in the format…right?
Wrap Up
Yowza! That was crazy. Standard is full of Izzet decks, but there’s been no ban. That isn’t that surprising, though, since those decks have yet to claim victory at a premier tournament and are actually 3 very distinct strategies.
Several iconic Modern cards are now playable once more, and for the first time ever, Umezawa’s Jitte is unbanned.
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Eli Weinberg
Eli Weinberg is an actor, freelance writer, and avid MTG player. He hosts monthly Commander meetups in SoCal with his collective Infinite Loop
