MTG Banned and Restricted drop surprisingly unbans 2 Modern and Legacy cards

The official Magic: The Gathering Banned and Restricted announcement that was scheduled for Aug. 7 has left many in the community surprised over no bans and two cards getting unbanned in the Modern and Legacy formats.

Leading up to the launch of Wilds of Eldraine, WotC addressed any format changes needed heading into the 2023-2024 season. The Banned and Restricted announcement that took place on Aug. 7 was the first of its kind, with Standard Rotation getting altered forever, starting with the 2023-2024 season. No cards were banned in any MTG format, though. Instead, Preordain from the Modern format and Mind’s Desire in Legacy were both unbanned.

Many in the MTG Modern community thought The One Ring would for sure be on the Banned and Restricted chopping block for the Aug. 7 announcement. And right behind the new The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth card was Orcish Bowmasters, also from the same set. But neither was hit following Pro Tour Barcelona. Both cards are still on the Banned and Restricted team’s radar, though. 

“Despite the healthy tournament results and there seemingly being plenty of wiggle room to explore further in the format during the upcoming Regional Championship Qualifiers, the play rates of these cards are still high,” WotC said. “We’ll be monitoring the long-term fun of The One Ring’s play pattern, especially given its ability to be looped and/or reset to repeat its enters-the-battlefield ability.”

The unbanned cards, Preordain and Mind’s Desire, were both brought back into their respective MTG formats since much has changed, especially since the release of LTR. Of the two, Mind’s Desire will likely have more of an impact within the Legacy format than Preordain will have in the Modern format

Both Preordain and Mind’s Desire from the MTG Banned and Restricted announcement are officially unbanned from tabletop and MTGO play starting on Aug. 7.