This Week in Magic - July 3, 2026

By Paige Smith

Posted on July 3, 2026

Here's a look at everything that happened in the MTG world this week.

Banned and Restricted Announcement Brings Changes

This Monday saw the release of another Banned and Restricted update.

This time, one card was banned in Legacy - Candelabra of Tawnos - and one was banned in Pauper - Seeker of Skybreak.

On the digital side of things, several cards were banned in MTG Arena's Brawl format:

Force of Will

Subtlety

Wash Away

Ugin's Labyrinth

Time Warp

Temporal Manipulation

Many players were expecting more changes across other formats that haven't quite come to fruition. Several hoped for changes to Standard while others hoped The Fantasticar in Legacy and Vintage would get the hammer.

The day after this announcement went live, the WeeklyMTG stream brought Carmen Klomparens and Dave Finseth on to discuss the changes. Most of it is covered well in the announcement for those who didn't have time to watch.

The biggest of these was that Standard changes, as of now, seem unlikely to happen until later in the year. This aligns any changes more closely with rotation, which will be the release of 2027's first set.

More details on when those changes, if any, might happen would be a future announcement.

The next B&R announcement will take place on August 10th, shortly after the Prerelease weekend for The Hobbit.

The Next Festival in a Box Announced

MagicCon Amsterdam is right around the corner, taking place in two weeks. Ahead of this came the traditional announcement of the next Festival in a Box release.

These releases are sold via the Secret Lair website ahead of MagicCon events like this. Each comes with a Mystery Booster 2 booster box, a special Secret Lair unique to the event, and a few specialty promos. This includes notable cards such as a Future Sight frame Llanowar Elves, a special Nissa, Resurgent Animist, and a borderless Atraxa, Praetors' Voice.

This release goes on sale on July 13, 2026 for $199.99. They usually sell quickly, so make sure to save the date so you can lock in.

All-Access Back on Magic Online

While MTG Arena has become the preferred mode for many, there's still a lot to love with the classic digital client, Magic Online. The client allows you to play several older formats like Pauper, Modern, Legacy, and even Vintage whenever you want. The only issue for many is the barrier to entry.

Thankfully, every so often, Magic Online mitigates this by bringing back special All-Access tokens for short periods of time. As of this Wednesday, it's back once again, with All-Access tokens on sale for $25.00.

These tokens will last you through July 15th and grant you the ability to play with nearly every card on the client, letting you sample just about everything the game has to offer.

You can find out all the details on the client's website.

Discord Hackers Impact Multiple Magic Community Members

This past week saw several content creators, business folks, and even a Wizards of the Coast employee get hacked on Discord. This included the likes of Shivam Bhatt, SaffronOlive, and Evan Erwin.

PSA: Don't click links you cannot vet. Be smart. Phishing is the most common form of compromise.

[image or embed]
— Logan // Seraph Six (@seraphsix.com) June 25, 2026 at 7:26 PM

Community tech expert Logan Isch, also known as Seraph Six, raised the alarm and shared the news via social media, encouraging folks to stay vigilant.

Stay safe out there!

Decklist of the Week

Izzet Spellementals | MSH Standard | Linden_43, 1st Place MTGO Standard Challenge

Enchantments (2)
2 Roaring Furnace // Steaming Sauna

Buy This Deck Export text

Marvel Super Heroes has finally hit and we're seeing some of the impact on different formats. Many have been eager to see if it might affect Standard and how.

At this point, very few decks have changed all that much. This is fairly normal when adding just one new set into a format that already features about 17 others. It can often make it difficult for new cards to stand out when so many other powerful cards are already being played. Still, a few have shown up in small numbers.

A great example of this is Namor the Sub-Mariner. Thanks to his ability to generate small Merfolk tokens as you cast more spells, he's a great fit for the Izzet Spellementals deck.

These lists are known for their ability to cast numerous Instants and Sorcery spells in quick succession. As a result, it allows you to generate an army of tokens with ease with Namor himself turning into a large, evasive threat.

It's not going to turn Standard on its head, but even little changes like this can make a big shift in known archetypes. It was good enough to win a MTGO Challenge event here and will likely continue to be good as Standard continues to evolve.

Paige Smith

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