Wizards of the Coast has released the final Banned and Restricted announcement of 2025, banning over ten cards total across multiple formats. The ban hammer hit several dominant archetypes in Standard, Pioneer, Pauper and Legacy, as well as a couple of Arena formats.
Let’s take a look at which cards were hit and why.
Standard
Banned: Vivi Ornitier, Screaming Nemesis, Proft’s Eidetic Memory
If you paid any attention to Standard recently, you know about the Izzet Cauldron, a combo-control deck built around Proft’s Eidetic Memory and Agatha’s Soul Cauldron, with Vivi Ornitier being the key enabler. The archetype was simply the best deck by a large margin, and nothing could stop its dominance.
Wizards’ Play Design team stated that Vivi Ornitier created “a strategy with no clear angle of counterplay,” while Proft’s Eidetic Memory served as a high-efficiency card-advantage engine with minimal interaction points. Both cards have been banned to open the format for new archetypes.
In addition, Screaming Nemesis was also banned. Wizards wanted to rein in Mono-Red Aggro, which could become the next format warper post-Izzet. Usually the best way to combat this archetype is to gain life or play large blockers. Screaming Nemesis invalidated both of these things, which warranted a ban.
Wizards also acknowledged some problems with this year’s ban cadence. The bans came to slow, and made players lose interest in Standard. Thus, we can expect more frequent ban windows in 2026, the next one coming in three months — on February 9, 2026.
Pioneer
Banned: Heartfire Hero
Surprisingly enough, there was also an update to Pioneer, which hasn’t seen much competitive support. The format is mostly played on Magic Online and Arena.
Anyhow, Wizards reported that Mono-Red Aggro held an extremely high win rate, especially in Best-of-One on MTG Arena. Heartfire Hero was nicked in order to take the deck down a notch while still keeping it playable.
Modern
No changes
Following Pro Tour Edge of Eternities and the first wave of Regional Championships, Wizards deemed Modern to be in a healthy and self-correcting state. Decks such as Tameshi Belcher, Esper Goryo’s Vengeance, and Amulet Titan continue to perform well, with strong hate options maintaining balance.
Wizards did note logistical concerns surrounding Amulet Titan’s new Shifting Woodland and Aftermath Analyst loop. However, they opted to monitor the situation rather than act preemptively.
Legacy
Banned: Entomb, Nadu, Winged Wisdom
After years of attempts to preserve Dimir Reanimator as a viable but fair strategy, Entomb has finally been removed. The card’s ability to bypass deck-building constraints and enable turn-one Reanimate plays proved a little too consistent. (This means you won’t be able to cast the cool new Entomb from Avatar’s Commander Bundle in Legacy.)
Nadu, Winged Wisdom got hit by the ban hammer in yet another format — due to power-level and gameplay concerns. Honestly, good riddance you OP bird!
Wizards said that this is an “aggressive but necessary” ban for the sake of Legacy’s playability and tournament logistics.
Vintage
No changes
Wizards described Vintage as “healthy and diverse,” with eight distinct archetypes represented in the North American Eternal Weekend Top 8. Lurrus of the Dream-Den remains heavily played but not problematic, while Tezzeret, Cruel Captain from Edge of Eternities has been a welcome new addition to Shops variants, keeping the format somewhat fresh.
Pauper
Banned: High Tide
The Pauper Format Panel has ended its experimental unban of High Tide. Despite early optimism, the deck’s repetitive combo turns and time-consuming play patterns were just too much. The Psychic Puppetry combo lists consistently posted strong results while creating negative play experiences, leading to the re-ban.
Arena Formats
There were also a few changes to Arena formats.
Looking Forward to the Next Set!
That’s it about the bans. What do you think about them? Let us know in the comments below!
But bans aren’t the only part of MTG news, since a brand-new Avatar set is just around the corner. We’ve got plenty of articles that can help you learn more about it:
Until next time, enjoy Magic, and may your favorite cards be safe from the ban hammer.