A Magic: The Gathering Banned and Restricted announcement dropped on Aug. 26, removing overpowered cards like Nadu, Winged Wisdom, Grief, Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord, and Amalia Benavides Aguirre.
The anticipation for the August MTG Banned and Restricted announcement was intense, with many players calling for a ban on Nadu, Winged Wisdom from the Modern format. The Modern Horizons 3 card rose to ban status following the final Pro Tour tournament of the 2023-2024 season in the Bant Nadu deck, and has continued to dominate the Modern format in the 2024-2025 season. Nadu was removed from the Modern format through the Aug. 26 MTG Banned and Restricted announcement, along with Grief. Multiple other Magic formats were also hit with bans, including Pioneer, Legacy, Vintage, and Explorer.
All bans will go into effect through MTG Arena on Aug. 27 and are effective immediately for tabletop. Here is the full MTG Banned and Restricted list for Aug. 26.
| MTG format | MTG cards banned or restricted |
|---|---|
| Modern | Nadu, Winged Wisdom banned Grief banned |
| Pioneer | Amalia Benavides Aguirre banned Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord banned |
| Legacy | Grief banned |
| Vintage | Urza’s Saga restricted Vexing Bauble restricted |
| Explorer | Amalia Benavides Aguirre banned Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord banned |
The banning of Nadu, Winged Wisdom from the Modern format wasn’t a surprise, as players have been calling for its ban before the RCQ 2024-2025 season began. Grief was somewhat of a surprise, although it “has been maligned as one of the least fun parts of competitive Modern events,” according to lead designer Michael Majors.
Much like Nadu and Grief dominating the Modern format after a Pro Tour tournament, the Pioneer format has had Amalia Benavides Aguirre and Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord bogging down the meta through Rakdos Vampires for almost a year. Heading into the 2024-2025 RCQ season, the deck dominated over 30 percent of the field at tournaments. Wizards of the Coast also removed the powerful cards from the Explorer MTG Arena format, which is like a digital version of the tabletop Pioneer format.
Players can expect the bans of Amalia Benavides Aguirre and Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord to go into effect on Aug. 27 through MTG Arena. No changes were made to the Standard format.
