Breaking Down Magic: The Gathering Standard 7-Card Ban That Just Changed Everything

There’s a certain feeling in the Magic: The Gathering community on Banned & Restricted (B&R) announcement day. It’s a mix of nervous energy and hopeful excitement.

For months, the Standard format has felt like it was struggling. So, when Wizards of the Coast (WotC) dropped the B&R announcement on June 30, 2025, it came with excitement and also a sprinkling of nerves.

Seven cards. Banned. At once.

This is a historic moment for Standard, the largest single ban wave the format has seen in years, tying it for the second largest of all time. This wasn’t a minor course correction, it was a total system reboot designed to pull the format back from the brink.  

A Holiday for Some, a Bombshell for All

I’ll be honest, the vibe in Standard has been pretty grim lately. I’ve seen countless posts online from players, especially new ones drawn in by the fantastic Magic: The Gathering Final Fantasy crossover set, asking for advice.

The response was often a grim warning, you will be miserable because the format will kill you by turn 4, don’t try. The format had become a dumpster fire, a place where only the fastest, most brutal decks could survive.  

According to the official announcement, Standard was looking fun and healthy just three months ago, but the release of Tarkir: Dragonstorm had a dramatic effect on the metagame.

The format quickly became warped around a few key strategies, creating unhealthy play patterns that restrict viable deck-building options.  

This massive ban is also the first major test of WotC’s new philosophy for managing the format. With Standard’s lifespan extended to three years, many worried that powerful cards would overstay their welcome.

To address this, WotC created a once-a-year early rotation window to ban cards that are proving too problematic. This seven-card ban is that new philosophy in action.

For players and collectors, it sends a clear message. In the new three-year Standard, no card is ever truly safe.  

Deconstructing the Obvious Bans

Anyone who played Standard recently could tell you which decks were at the top. The community was practically begging for these bans. So, let’s start with the two big ones that absolutely had to go.  

Izzet Prowess and the Overpowered Engine

First up is the undisputed king of the old format, the Izzet Prowess deck. At the recent Pro Tour Final Fantasy, this one archetype made up 42.3 percent of the entire field. That’s a historically massive metagame share, second only to the reign of terror by Oko, Thief of Crowns back in 2019.

When nearly half the players at the highest level of competition are on the same deck, the format is fundamentally broken.

At the heart of this beast was Cori-Steel Cutter, a two-mana artifact from Tarkir: Dragonstorm. The deck’s game plan was to cast a flurry of cheap spells to trigger the prowess ability on its creatures, making them bigger.

Cori-Steel Cutter supercharged this by creating artifact creature tokens with every non-creature spell. WotC’s own ban announcement called it quite simply, too strong for the format.

The card was so powerful that it warped the entire metagame around itself, forcing players to run specific hate cards in their main decks just to have a chance.  

The Red Menace Contained

While Izzet Prowess was the best deck, Mono-Red Aggro was the format’s gatekeeper, responsible for many of those dead by turn four games. To bring this strategy back in line, WotC took out its two most important pieces.  

Monstrous Rage and Heartfire Hero

Of the two, Monstrous Rage was the true villain. As Hall of Famer Reid Duke perfectly put it, the card made blocking “the fundamental defensive action in MTG’s rules a fool’s errand”.

For one red mana, it gave a creature +2/+0 and trample, meaning it could run right over most blockers. The card was included in over 56% of all decks at the Pro Tour, a key piece in multiple top archetypes.

Its partner in crime was Heartfire Hero, a one-mana Mouse from Bloomburrow. Its valiant ability meant that targeting it with Monstrous Rage permanently grew it, and when it died, it dealt damage equal to its power to the opponent.

Banning both cards at once was a necessary move to dismantle the engine behind Mono-Red’s most explosive openings.  

The Proactive Bans

If WotC had stopped there, most would have been satisfied. But they didn’t. In what Reid Duke called a “forward-thinking approach,” the designers took additional action against the cards they believed would simply rise up to take the place of the fallen kings.

These next bans were about preventing the next oppressive format.

Waiting in the wings was the Azorius Omniscience deck, a combo deck that aimed to cheat the ten-mana enchantment Omniscience into play, allowing the pilot to cast all their spells for free and win in a single, long, non-interactive turn.

The key was Abuelo’s Awakening, the most efficient way to reanimate Omniscience, often as early as turn four. Banning it effectively neutered the combo, forcing it to be much slower and fairer.  

The final three bans targeted value engines which provided a relentless advantage.

• Up the Beanstalk: This two-mana enchantment was simply the best card-drawing engine in Standard, fueling powerful midrange strategies.  
• Hopeless Nightmare and This Town Ain’t Big Enough: These two were the backbone of the annoying Esper Pixie bounce deck. Hopeless Nightmare offered incredible value for one mana, while This Town Ain’t Big Enough was a brutally efficient bounce spell.

These proactive bans show a clear desire to slow the format down and promote more interactive, back-and-forth games of Magic. It’s a direct response to community feedback.  

The Collector’s Fallout and a Whole New World

For collectors, a B&R announcement can crater the value of prized cards. A card’s new price floor is determined by its playability in non-rotating formats like Commander, Pioneer, and Modern.

Of all the banned cards, Up the Beanstalk has the brightest future. It’s proven itself in powerful formats like Modern and Legacy.

Cori-Steel Cutter also sees play in older formats, specifically in Prowess decks in Pioneer and Modern, so while its price will drop from its $9.00 peak, it won’t hit bulk status.

The remaining cards face a steeper decline. Monstrous Rage, an uncommon that was a staple in over half the Pro Tour decks, will drop from its $3.00 high due to massive supply, though it will see some play in Pioneer and Commander.

Heartfire Hero, Abuelo’s Awakening, Hopeless Nightmare, and This Town Ain’t Big Enough were largely dependent on Standard synergies and have limited appeal elsewhere, destining them for the bulk bins.

With the old tyrants deposed, the throne of Standard is now empty. For the first time in a long time, the format feels like a wide-open wild west.

If I were a betting man, my money would be on Dimir (Blue/Black) Midrange to ascend to the top tier. It was already a solid contender and lost nothing, while its worst matchup, Izzet Prowess, is now gone.

Graveyard-based decks like Golgari Roots and traditional control archetypes also have the breathing room they need to shine.

We are likely to see the emergence of a much healthier rock-paper-scissors metagame, with midrange, control, and a new form of aggro keeping each other in check. 

This seven-card ban was a decisive move by Wizards of the Coast to rescue Standard. It was a clear signal that they are listening to player feedback and are willing to take drastic steps to prioritize the health and fun of their flagship format.

For the first time in what feels like a very long time, Standard is a land of opportunity again. Happy brewing, and as always, happy hunting!

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