MTG suspends Winota, Joiner of Forces from Historic format

An unexpected announcement from Wizards of the Coast has suspended Winota, Joiner of Forces in the Magic: The Gathering Arena Historic format. 

WotC revealed today that a suspension of Winota, Joiner of Forces will go into effect immediately. Unlike previous announcements that gave notice a week ahead of time, the team felt it was necessary to take action without delay. Immediate changes, like the one today, won’t occur when major events are taking place, however.

“Changes like this will not occur in any major event using the Historic format,” WotC said. “This includes both organized play events such as a Mythic Invitational, as well as MTG Arena-specific events geared toward high-level competitive play such as an Arena Open.”

Winota, Joiner of Forces had been on the WotC watchlist in the Historic format since the return of the ranked format in May. After giving the deck time, despite it showing a strong influence on the meta early on, the Banned and Restricted team decided to suspend it today. 

Since the B&R announcements on June 1 that suspended Agent of Treachery and Fires of Invention in Historic, the number of people playing Winota decks has almost doubled. And the win rates of these builds have been “problematically high,” according to WotC. 

Winota is still playable in Standard and wildcards won’t be redeemed for its suspension in the Historic format. Players who were already participating in events via MTG Arena with Winona are permitted to complete the event despite a flag stating the deck is invalid.