MTG Arena Banned Cards - October 2024

UPDATED: This list is updated and current as of the October 22, 2024 ban update, which is as follows:

MTG Arena:

Leyline of Resonance is banned in MTG Arena Standard Best-of-One Constructed formats. It is not banned in Traditional Standard (Best-of-Three), Limited formats (Draft/Sealed), or special formats.
Leyline of Resonance is suspended in MTG Arena Alchemy Best-of-One and Best-of-Three Constructed formats, pending a rebalance.

Effective Date for MTG Arena: October 22, 2024. WOTC gave the following Ban Explanation:

Leyline of Resonance

We love fast and fun Magic. This is especially true for MTG Arena, where the guiding philosophy is fast, fun Magic for everyone, anywhere. What’s critical is that it be fast and fun for both players involved. Fast without the fun undermines the purpose of playing the game, and this is the issue both we and the player community have observed with Leyline of Resonance on MTG Arena. It disrupts normal play in Best-of-One Constructed matches, and it has led us to the decision to ban the card in Best-of-One Standard Constructed—only in MTG Arena—and to suspend it in Alchemy until the release of a rebalanced card.

What Led to the Decision?

Back in 2019, we made a similar targeted adjustment with Nexus of Fate for similar reasons. Where Nexus of Fate made gameplay unfun through a long loop that couldn’t be shortcut to the win, Leyline of Resonance has made gameplay unfun by … making it so there isn’t much “playing” involved. Either folks playing Leyline of Resonance decks concede with their initial hand because they’re dissatisfied with the draw and are unable to mulligan down to a winning solution, or they win within the first few turns of play.

This is especially problematic in Best-of-One Constructed formats, where players on the opposite side of the battlefield win or lose the game (and subsequently, the match) with little or no decision-making on their part and no option to sideboard in possible solutions for subsequent games.

While Nexus of Fate created non-interactive win conditions that could take a half hour or more to finish, Leyline of Resonance is creating non-interactive win conditions within two turns. Both disrupt what we would consider “normal play.”
via MAGIC THE GATHERING

Players who had Leyline of Resonance in their MTG Arena account prior to the date of banning will receive rare wildcards as compensation.

The next B&R update is scheduled for December 16, 2024. No new bans are expected until this time.

The following list contains all the cards banned in every competitive format on MTG Arena; including, Standard, Explorer, Historic, Timeless, Brawl, and Alchemy. It is regularly updated as new cards are added to the MTG Arena Banned & Restricted List.

Also banned on August 26, 2024 was Amalia Benavides Aguirre and Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord in Explorer. No other changes were made to MTG Arena formats. The changes to paper-based formats are noted here.