Surprise MTG Pauper ban drops before Modern Horizon 3 spoilers start

Wizards of the Coast dropped a surprise Magic: The Gathering Banned and Restricted announcement on May 13 for the Pauper format, banning the Enchantment Aura All That Glitters. 

The last MTG Banned and Restricted announcement dropped in March, while the December ban included five cards, of which Karn, the Great Creator, and Geoligical Appraiser were removed from the Pauper format. Leading up to the release of Modern Horizons 3 (MH3), WotC used the May 13 B&R window to remove All That Glitters from the Pauper format. 

Pauper received two bans in December and the unbanning of Smuggler’s Copter. At the time, All That Glitters was also on the hot seat, giving cards like Gingerbrute and Ornithopter power they shouldn’t have. 

“All That Glitters is a card that makes it so that you never want to tap out,” principal game designer Gavin Verhey said. “If you don’t have answers early, you can die incredibly easily, yet you still have to be worried about it late in the game. The play pattern is just not very enjoyable: it both speeds up Pauper, something we’ve been trying to push back against, and creates polarizing games.”

The surprise MTG Banned and Restricted announcement hit All That Glitters before MH3 as non-Standard sets that focus on Modern and Eternal formats often add an abundance of cards to the Pauper format, according to Verhey. There’s even a card that the devs are watching closely that has yet to be spoiled. 

“There is one Common from Modern Horizons 3 that has a high likelihood of needing to be banned in Pauper, as it is like a card we have banned in the past,” Verhey said. 

The surprise MTG Banned and Restricted announcement also included the removal of Stickers and Attractions from competitive Pauper, Vintage, and Legacy gameplay. A full list of cards is available on the WotC website.

Players should expect possible Pauper bans following the launch of MH3 during the regularly scheduled Banned and Restricted announcement. The removal of All That Glitters from the Puaper format will go into effect immediately for tabletop and Magic Online gameplay. No other MTG formats were hit through the May 13 Banned and Restricted announcement.