Mirror, Mirror event brings changes to banned cards in MTG Historic

Magic Arena is revisiting some of the strongest banned cards from the past two years in the Mirror, Mirror event on July 3 to 6.

Historic is a digital format found exclusively on Magic Arena. This event is the game’s first experiment with nerfing cards that were previously banned in the format. These changes are only for the event and won’t be implemented in Historic going forward.

The no-cost event is all-access, meaning every card in Magic Arena can be used regardless of whether it’s in your collection. These rebalanced cards have the Arena logo before their names and as the set symbol.

For players looking to import decklists, put “A-” before the nerfed card’s name.

Here’s every change in the Mirror, Mirror event.

• Agent of Treachery’s enter the battlefield ability only triggers if it was cast from your hand. This change nerfs strategies that look to cheat out Agent of Treachery with Transmogrify or Lukka, Coppercoat Outcast.
• Field of the Dead is a legendary land. This means you can only have one copy of the card on the battlefield at the same time. This keeps the card powerful, but not broken like the original version.
• Fires of Invention costs 3RR. The one extra mana slows down decks using this card as a primary engine. It’s still one of the strongest cards in Arena despite the nerf.
• Nexus of Fate exiles itself instead of shuffling itself back into your library. This is a hard nerf to the card. What made the card great is the loop you could pull off with its ability to shuffle back into your library. The nerf turns Nexus of Fate into a really bad Karn’s Temporal Sundering or Alrund’s Epiphany.
• Omnath, Locus of Creation will only Scry one instead of draw a card with its enter the battlefield trigger. The change doesn’t hurt its power too much. The real strength of Omnath comes from the Landfall ability.
• Oko, Thief of Crowns first loyalty ability is a +1 and the second loyalty ability is a -2. Oko is the strongest Planeswalker printed in Magic and the nerf makes him fairer. What made Oko strong was his two plus abilities that allowed him to stick around with massive amounts of Loyalty.
• Once Upon a Time costs one mana instead of being free if it’s the first spell you’ve cast in the game. This nerf lets the card smooth out early turns while giving it a real mana cost.
• Teferi, Time Raveler starts with five loyalty and costs 2WU. Teferi at four mana is still a great Planeswalker in control decks. Coming in a turn later is relevant, but the extra cost is balanced out by bigger starting loyalty.
• Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath doesn’t put a land from your hand onto the battlefield when it enters the battlefield or attacks. Uro is still an excellent midrange and control finisher. It doesn’t ramp, but the life gain, card draw, and 6/6 body are formidable.
• Veil of Summer costs 1G. The extra mana keeps its power but forces Green decks to hold two mana open to protect their cards. This is a big cost for decks that typically want to tap out on their turn.
• Wilderness Reclamation only untapped two lands instead of all lands you control. This nerf makes the card unviable. Any decks looking to play a Wilderness Reclamation effect should just jam a Beledros Witherbloom in the list.
• Winona Joiner of Forces looks at the top four cards instead of the top six. This nerfs the combo potential of the card but keeps its strength in R/W aggro strategies.

Wizards of the Coast doesn’t have plans right now to bring nerfs and buffs to Arena. There are several events in Arena that take advantage of the digital nature of the game, like Omniscience Draft. This is the first time the game will have direct nerfs as a part of an event.

All images via WotC.