Wizards of the Coast has updated the ban list for Magic: The Gathering. The widely popular card game has routinely updated lists for its various formats of play, encouraging a healthy meta within its player base. However, the new ban on recent cards will greatly affect a number of decks being used in its Legacy format.
The banned cards in Magic Legacy format
The updated ban list for Magic: The Gathering was announced by an official blog post. According to the post, effective immediately, two cards are banned from the Legacy format. Those cards are Expressive Iteration, first seen in the Strixhaven: School of Mages set, and White Plume Adventurer from the D&D crossover set Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate.
As for why these bans in the Magic Legacy format are happening, WOTC's Ian Duke explains. Basically, the Legacy metagame is largely occupied by two distinct deck builds. The first are ones that revolve around Izzet Delver. While Izzet Delver is a popular card in legacy, the addition of recent cards from new sets has led to deck builds with a much higher win rate. Said cards include Dragon's Rage Channeler, Murktide Regent, and Expressive Iteration. In order to encourage more metagame diversity and innovation, as well as reinforce the known strengths and weaknesses of Izzet Delver, they decided to ban Expressive Iteration.
As for White Plume Adventurer ban it mostly revolves around the new initiative mechanic introduced in its set. It is so useful it is the focus of the second most popular deck archetype in Legacy. Basically, it uses fast mana to power out an initiative creature, secure a hefty early advantage, and apply pressure to its opponent. White Plume Adventurer is a three-cost creature with initiative, making it a highly efficient staple of this fast deck style. So to reduce the consistency and speed of these decks, this card is now on the list.
Aside from these two changes to Magic Legacy format, the rest of the game's formats remain untouched.
