MTG Banned and Restricted announcement hits Grinning Ignus with, ban, Winota unbanned

A minor Banned and Restricted Magic: The Gathering announcement dropped today, removing Grinning Ignus from the Alchemy format while unbanning Winota, Joiner of Forces from the Historic format.

Effective on July 7 via MTG Arena, the elemental creature Grinning Ignus will no longer be a playable card within the Alchemy format. The Banned and Restricted announcement eluded toward the combo power potential of Grinning Ignus, which is the main reason the Red elemental was removed from the Alchemy format. Similar to the ban of Winota, Joiner of Forces within the Historic format, the MTG Arena balance team is discussing rebalance options and may implement those changes sometime in the future, according to WotC. 

In addition to the ban of Ginning Ignus from the Alchemy format, Winona, Joiner of Forces was unbanned from the Historic format. The MTG Arena balance team has tweaked her triggers to only go off once per turn.

• Winona, Joiner of Forces: “Whenever one or more non-human creatures you control attack, look at the top six cards of your library. You may put a human creature card from among them onto the battlefield tapped and attacking. It gains Indestructible until the end of the turn. Put the rest of the cards on the bottom of your library in a random order.”

Players can expect over two dozen Alchemy rebalance changes that will go into effect on July 7 with the launch of Alchemy Horizons: Baldur’s Gate and Draft. Adjustments were made to planeswalkers like Rowan, Scholar of Sparks//Will, Scholar of Frost, and to creature cards like Ochre Jelly. 

The MTG Banned and Restricted announcement for Grinning Ignus within the Alchemy format will go into effect on July 7, along with the unbanning of Winota, Joiner of Forces from the Historic format