Banned list update- 21 Jun 2025

Effective date: July 1, 2025

Greetings, EDHR players! After gathering community feedback and analyzing game balance, we’ve decided to update the current banned list. Below are the details of the changes, including unbannings and new bans, along with explanations for our decisions. We hope these adjustments will enhance your gameplay experience while keeping it fun and fair!

Balance is banned.

Balance is a unique and powerful card that can drastically shift the game depending on the situation. Here’s why it’s causing issues and led to its ban:

1. Unfair Game Swings:

   • When a player is behind, Balance can act as a "reset button," equalizing resources like cards in hand, creatures, or lands. This can feel frustrating because it can undo an opponent’s lead or reward poor decisions by the trailing player.

   • It’s highly variable, meaning its impact depends heavily on the game state, which can lead to inconsistent and less enjoyable gameplay.

2. New Problematic Use in Top Decks:

   • Historically, Balance wasn’t a huge issue because top decks couldn’t fully exploit it.

   • Recently, "reanimator" combo decks have started using Balance in a new, powerful way. These decks can:

     • Use Balance reactively to catch up when behind (e.g., resetting the board if they’re losing).

     • Use it proactively to widen their lead by building strategies around it, making it a versatile and oppressive tool.

   • This has made Balance a staple in an already strong archetype, reducing the variety and strategic depth of games.

3. Impact on Game Health:

   • The card’s growing presence in these top-tier decks makes matches less interactive and strategically interesting.

   • It strengthens an already dominant archetype, which unbalances the format and reduces diversity in deck-building and gameplay.

Summary

Balance was banned because it creates frustrating, swingy games and has become too powerful in reanimator decks. These decks use it both defensively (to recover) and offensively (to pull further ahead), making it a central piece in an already strong strategy. This reduces the fun and strategic variety in EDHR, prompting the ban to keep the format healthy and diverse.