Ahead of the holidays in the next few weeks, there isn't that much Magic: The Gathering news to talk about, save for one major story. Unless you've been living under a rock this week, this news is regarding the major banned and restricted announcement that was released this past Monday, December 16. As such, I figured it would be good to focus on this for the news this week and showcase a few select decks that have come out of the many unbans as opposed to just sharing one decklist of the week. Any minor news stories from this week will show up in next week's article, so for now let's get right into the main event!

Jegantha, the Wellspring is banned in Pioneer (and Explorer)!

The One Ring, Amped Raptor, and Jegantha, the Wellspring are banned in Modern!

Mox Opal, Faithless Looting, Green Sun's Zenith, and Splinter Twin are unbanned in Modern!

Psychic Frog and Vexing Bauble are banned in Legacy!

WHEW! Where to begin?! I suppose we should start with the bans themselves.

I doubt that anyone is terribly surprised by the cards that were actually banned. If you've been paying any amount of attention to competitive Magic over the last year or so, it's clear that the majority of these cards needed to go. The One Ring was dominating the Modern meta as it seeped into every deck, Jegantha was simply too free, and Psychic Frog pushed Legacy Reanimator to absurd heights. Even the banning of Amped Raptor probably shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, as it was clear that Boros Energy was way too dominant in Modern and needed to be knocked down a peg or two.

What really took just about everyone by surprise, though, was the big announcement of several unbans! Some players hoped for one or two cards to come off the Modern ban list, but seeing four come off all at once was a huge surprise. This is all the more true when you consider that most people didn't even have the majority of them on their radar as possible unban candidates.

The meme is dead, Splinter Twin is unbanned! At long last, this fan favorite is back at it once again. Modern players everywhere were quick to debate whether it was actually going to stick around and be a real deck or not in the current high-powered format. It's already put up some results, though, so you'd better believe people are trying their damnedest.

Boros Energy Twin | Modern | AcquireCardboard, MTGO Modern League 5-0

• Creatures (21)
• 1 White Orchid Phantom
• 4 Ajani, Nacatl Pariah // Ajani, Nacatl Avenger
• 4 Guide of Souls
• 4 Ocelot Pride
• 4 Phlage, Titan of Nature's Fury
• 4 Village Bell-Ringer

• Instants (6)
• 2 Lightning Bolt
• 4 Galvanic Discharge

• Enchantments (10)
• 2 Goblin Bombardment
• 4 Splinter Twin
• 4 Static Prison

• Lands (23)
• 1 Mountain
• 2 Plains
• 1 Flooded Strand
• 1 Windswept Heath
• 2 Elegant Parlor
• 3 Aether Hub
• 3 Arena of Glory
• 3 Marsh Flats
• 3 Sacred Foundry
• 4 Arid Mesa

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Exorcise
• 2 Rest in Peace
• 2 White Orchid Phantom
• 3 Blood Moon
• 3 Orim's Chant
• 3 Stony Silence

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While some people have been trying the more typical Izzet builds, others have been talking a different approach. Village Bell-Ringer saw some minor inclusions in Boros Energy lists like the one above, although most Energy lists have remained a lot closer to their pre-ban incarnations. Additionally, some lists are also noting Fear of Missing Out as being one of the best Splinter Twin targets, so it's worth picking up some copies of those if you're looking to take the deck to an event sometime soon.

Early results show Twin as being not as powerful as some players would've hoped, but the other cards are showing up quite a bit. Each of these has been seen as pushing Modern on several fronts. Mox Opal pushes artifact decks and certain combo lists with fast mana, Faithless Looting provides powerful card draw while simultaneously filling the graveyard, and Green Sun's Zenith both enables easy ramp and finds you whatever creatures you're looking for.

Song of Creation Combo | Modern | GigaChadSigmaMale, 3rd Place MTGO Modern Challenge

• Creatures (4)
• 1 Thundertrap Trainer
• 3 Endurance

• Instants (12)
• 2 An Offer You Can't Refuse
• 2 Gut Shot
• 4 Cache Grab
• 4 Pact of Negation

• Sorceries (9)
• 1 Grapeshot
• 4 Malevolent Rumble
• 4 Strike It Rich

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Song of Creation

• Artifacts (12)
• 4 Engineered Explosives
• 4 Mishra's Bauble
• 4 Mox Opal

• Lands (19)
• 1 Forest
• 1 Island
• 1 Mountain
• 1 Boseiju, Who Endures
• 1 Breeding Pool
• 1 Commercial District
• 1 Hedge Maze
• 1 Stomping Ground
• 1 Thundering Falls
• 3 Shifting Woodland
• 3 Wooded Foothills
• 4 Misty Rainforest

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Flusterstorm
• 2 Force of Vigor
• 2 Meltdown
• 2 Mine Collapse
• 2 Surgical Extraction
• 2 Unholy Heat
• 4 Veil of Summer

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Many players were quick to try out a lot of the classic Mox Opal archetypes with that powerful card's unbanning. Players jumped at the chance to sleeve up Affinity and Lantern Control once again, as well as shove it straight into Grinding Station Combo decks. We even got to see some new spice come out of the mix, like the above Song of Creation combo deck that took third place in a recent Challenge on Magic Online!

Speaking of third place combo finishes, check out this Kethis Combo deck from another Challenge!

Kethis Combo | Modern | CrazyMorango, 3rd Place MTGO Modern Challenge

• Creatures (12)
• 1 Dryad Arbor
• 1 Endurance
• 2 Emry, Lurker of the Loch
• 4 Delighted Halfling
• 4 Kethis, the Hidden Hand

• Planeswalkers (8)
• 1 Grist, the Hunger Tide
• 3 Teferi, Time Raveler
• 4 Jace, the Perfected Mind

• Sorceries (8)
• 4 Green Sun's Zenith
• 4 Malevolent Rumble

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Oath of Nissa

• Artifacts (7)
• 3 Agatha's Soul Cauldron
• 4 Mox Amber

• Lands (21)
• 1 Forest
• 1 Breeding Pool
• 1 Misty Rainforest
• 1 Overgrown Tomb
• 1 Shifting Woodland
• 1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
• 1 Temple Garden
• 1 Underground Mortuary
• 2 Verdant Catacombs
• 2 Windswept Heath
• 2 Wooded Foothills
• 3 Boseiju, Who Endures
• 4 Plaza of Heroes

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Haywire Mite
• 1 Knight of Autumn
• 1 Scavenging Ooze
• 1 Teferi, Time Raveler
• 2 Endurance
• 2 Kataki, War's Wage
• 2 Thoughtseize
• 2 Veil of Summer
• 3 Fatal Push

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Kethis Combo may have long been banned out of Pioneer, but Green Sun's Zenith is injecting some new life into the archetype in Modern! Many players figured the card would mostly fuel lesser decks like Elves and Maverick (two archetypes after my own heart) as well as push Amulet Titan over the top in terms of power. Of all the unbanned cards, Green Sun's Zenith has been on the ban list the longest, almost since the inception of the format, so it'll be interesting to see how players adjust to it going forward.

Finally, let's talk about Faithless Looting. This card was noted as being unbanned to make up for being banned for the nonsense Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis was getting up to back in the day. While there was concern this could cause the format to speed up somewhat, others noted that this could be combated easily with the aid of Orcish Bowmasters. Still, it hasn't stopped people from doing powerful things, like Indomitable Creativity.

Indomitable Creativity | Modern | Misplacedginger, 12th Place MTGO Modern Challenge

• Creatures (4)
• 4 Archon of Cruelty

• Instants (6)
• 3 Fatal Push
• 3 Lightning Bolt

• Sorceries (18)
• 2 Inquisition of Kozilek
• 4 Faithless Looting
• 4 Indomitable Creativity
• 4 Persist
• 4 Thoughtseize

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker // Reflection of Kiki-Jiki

• Lands (24)
• 1 Mountain
• 1 Boseiju, Who Endures
• 1 Commercial District
• 1 Raucous Theater
• 1 Stomping Ground
• 1 Ziatora's Proving Ground
• 2 Blood Crypt
• 4 Arid Mesa
• 4 Bloodstained Mire
• 4 Dwarven Mine
• 4 Wooded Foothills

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Boseiju, Who Endures
• 1 Brotherhood's End
• 1 Pawpatch Formation
• 3 Leyline of the Void
• 3 Meltdown
• 3 Terastodon
• 3 Veil of Summer

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This is simply but a small sampling of the decks people are trying out. Old staple Faithless Looting decks like Izzet Phoenix, Prowess, and Dredge are similarly making a glorious comeback, showing there's all kinds of awesome stuff that can be done.

With all these new decks, it's going to be an interesting couple of weeks ahead. In fact, if I were to show off all the different kinds of archetypes using these newly unbanned cards, this article would simply go on and on. We're in a real silver age for Modern and it's awesome to see unfold in real time. We'll soon see where it settles, but it's worth enjoying while it lasts!

Last but not least, I feel it's worth mentioning that during the WeeklyMTG stream this week where they discussed the announcement, a couple unban watchlist cards were revealed. Both Umezawa's Jitte and Glimpse of Nature were noted as being high on the list of possible unban contenders in the future. Given that they noted in the B&R announcement that this may just be the first wave of unbans, it might not be a bad idea to get your hands on some copies now!

Finally, I did want to note that while no changes were announced for Pauper, the Pauper Format Panel (or PFP for short) released a video discussing the state of the format. This was to communicate to the community the thoughts of the panel after several months without an update and to get feedback from the player base as well.

Check out the full B&R announcement for all the details right here!

Paige Smith

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