Wizards of the Coast opts to suspend⁠—not ban⁠— 4 MTG Arena Historic cards

Wizards of the Coast has suspended four cards today in the MTG Arena Historic format, bypassing a ban on them. 

The team WotC team says it’s happy with how the new cards have adapted into the first season of Historic Anthology. But several former Standard ones have become problematic toward ensuring a healthy meta. 

• Field of the Dead
• Once Upon a Time
• Veil of Summer
• Oko, Thief of Crown

WotC launched the first Historic Anthology season without any bans, specifically those made in the Standard format over the course of the last six months. Now that several of these cards have proven problematic, the organization revealed a suspension mechanic today as a means to address them.

“For gameplay purposes, a suspension works like a ban, in that the card will not be legal to use in the format while it is suspended, said WotC. “But unlike how we handle banning cards, we plan to use the flexibility that the digital format provides to move cards onto and off of the suspension list more commonly.” 

Players who own cards in the Historic format that are suspended, won’t receive wildcard redemptions like they would if a card was banned. 

“Suspension isn’t a final verdict, it’s an indication that we think this card may be causing issues, and we’d like to see what the meta looks like without that influence,” said WotC.

Cards that are suspended in the MTG Arena Historic format may rotate on and off the list, according to WotC. But if a card remains unplayable, then it will get moved to a ban list.