Wizards of the Coast bans a number of cards from Magic: The Gathering's Standard format.
Just how many? How about seven -- an entire hand's worth.
Those cards are:
- Cori-Steel Cutter
- Abuelo's Awakening
- Monstrous Rage
- Heartfire Hero
- Up the Beanstalk
- Hopeless Nightmare
- This Town Ain't Big Enough
"Seven is a lot of cards, even for our "early rotation" window, and especially so since it has been over two years since any cards at all were banned in Standard," says WotC's Carmen Klomparens.
The reasons for the card bans vary, but they all share a common theme: The cards (and the decks they play a major role in) have become too widespread and are overall detrimental to the health of the format.
For example, in the case of Cori-Steel Cutter, Klomparens states that the card "reshaped the landscape of Standard. It's very challenging to predict what will happen to the metagame after it's banning, but we have concerns that the format may drift back to the format as it existed previously."
Similar can be said about Monstroud Rage.
"We've enjoyed having a combat trick be a strong Standard card, but it's clear that Monstrous Rage has overstayed its welcome," comments Klomparens. "It has enabled combo-style aggro decks more than we would like and has played a large role in lowering the fundamental turn in Standard and putting players under too much pressure too quickly."
All other Magic: The Gathering formats remained untouched, save for the MTG - Arena Alchemy format where Cori-Steel Cutter has been suspended.
