What the report says
News Magic: The Gathering Written by Tyler ChanceyPublished: August 10, 2026 3:17 PMWizards of the Coast has announced an updated Magic: The Gathering ban list. The new list may surprise fans of the iconic card game's more recent crossover sets since newly banned cards include ones from the Avatar: The Last Airbender and Marvel Super Hero sets.The Recent Magic: The Gathering Ban ListAs the most recent blog post illustrates, the new Magic: The Gathering ban list addresses four cards across three different play formats. Standard format, the most popular way to play alongside Commander, will ban three cards.
Gran-Gran and Badgermole Cub from the Avatar: The Last Airbender set, and Stormchaser's Talent from Bloomburrow. Lastly, Legacy format will ban The Fantasticar from the Marvel Super Hero set and Vintage will restrict the same card.As with all ban list updates, the design team expressed their reasons for these bans. Badgermole Cub is getting the axe due to its consistent use in the Selesnya Offense deck. It's a two-drop creature that both Earthbends (turning a land into a 1/1 creature that can still be tapped for mana) and has an effect that gives you bonus mana when you tap a creature for mana.
This low-cost, high-efficiency card became the keystone card of the deck thanks to its combo potential. Nature's Rhythm lets you summon the cub from your deck, again with low cost, and Practiced Offense putting tokens and Double Strike or Lifelink on creatures you control means an early game where you summon multiple cubs, with earthbent lands, all buffed to hell, leading to quick, early victories. Because of this low cost and high pressure, Badgermole Cub is on the ban list.Stormchaser's Talent is on the Magic: The Gathering ban list for similar reasons. It is a keystone card in the red-blue Izzet Prowess deck thanks to it being a one-cost card that leads to strong fast starts.
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It can even serve well in the late game with Boomerang Basics. With this card banned, the deck should be slower to ramp up, leading to more engaging play.As for Gran-Gran, it's due to her effect on decks that utilize Lesson cards, a unique card type introduced in the Avatar: The Last Airbender set. One deck cited by the post, the red-blue Jeskal Revelation deck, scales well with Gran-Gran. Again, like the other two cards cited, the card is low cost, one blue mana, and reduces noncreature card costs if you have three or more Lessons in your graveyard.Considering the deck is low on creatures, that means Gran-Gran has a terrifying snowball effect in late gameplay.
Even if she is a Legendary Creature, meaning only one can be in play at a time, that is more than enough to see it hit the ban list.Curiously, the reasons for The Fantasticar's banning are minimal. As such, the official reasons for certain combos or strategies are entirely conjectural. Tyler Chancey | Staff Writer Ever since he was small, Tyler Chancey has had a deep, abiding love for video games and a tendency to think and overanalyze everything he enjoyed. This… More about Tyler More Info About This Game Learn More About Magic: The Gathering Game Page Magic: The Gathering Developer Wizards Of The Coast Publisher Wizards Of The Coast Release Date August 5, 1993 (Calendar) Purchase (Some links may be affiliated) Amazon Wizards Additional topics: Announcement
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