MTG ban list update unrestricts classic blue staple and more 

MTG’s developers dropped an interesting ban list update on March 11, 2024. Fans have known for a while that a change in the ban schedule has been made for Magic: The Gathering, considering the shift in how often the Standard rotation will be made. Only two cards have been adjusted in this ban cycle, and it thankfully will not affect Magic: The Gathering Arena at all. Instead, this is more focused on the evergreen, permanent formats that do not rotate content out.

One major card was added to the ban list in this MTG update, and the other, interestingly enough, was a card that was restricted (1 per deck) for the Vintage format. Fans who were looking for Standard changes are going to have to wait a few months, unfortunately. Let’s take a look at these cards.

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What cards were adjusted in MTG’s latest banlist update?

• Violent Outburst (Modern) banned
• Ponder (Vintage) unrestricted

Violent Outburst in Magic: The Gathering (Image via Wizards of the Coast)

First off, on the modern front, Cascade decks were nerfed pretty hard in this MTG ban list update. Violent Outburst, an incredibly powerful Instant from the Alara Block, was banned. A three-cost red and green instant, it triggered Cascade and gave your creatures +1/+0 until the end of the turn. We’ve discussed Cascade previously as a powerful effect that lets you cast spells from your deck without paying their mana cost.

What made Violent Outburst so powerful is that it’s an Instant, so you can cast it on your opponent’s turn and Cascade with far fewer potential negative consequences. It made Temur Rhinos arguably one of the most powerful, safe decks in the Modern format.

The last Modern ban nerfed Rakdos Midrange, making it a powerful but not overpowered deck. Since then, Temur Rhinos has soared into the spotlight. There are still plenty of other cards the deck can run instead after the MTG ban list update, without making it one that feels impossible to answer.

Ponder in Magic: The Gathering (Image via Wizards of the Coast)

The Vintage update is an interesting one: Ponder. A simple 1-cost blue Sorcery, it lets players look at the top three cards of their deck and put them back in any order. Then, you draw a card. Ponder has been restricted in Vintage since 2008, and it’s finally been unchained - now players can run 4 of this card in a deck.

It’s an incredibly easy card to acquire and was reprinted in the recent Doctor Who Commander decks, as an example. The developers felt this change would not dramatically shift the meta, as many popular decks focus on other cards.

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Fans hoping for Standard bans or changes will simply have to wait for now. The next major ban list update will be taking place on May 13, 2024.