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Banned means zero copies in the named format’s deck and sideboard; restricted means one copy total across both. Neither status automatically applies to every version of Magic: a card banned in one format may be legal in another, and “not banned” alone does not prove a card is legal. Check the exact format’s current rules and card list before building or registering a deck.
At a glance
| Name | Key rule | Where it applies | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banned | Zero copies in the format’s deck and sideboard | Only the format whose rules list the card | Oct. 30, 2026 |
| Restricted | One copy total in the deck and sideboard | Only the format whose rules list the card | Oct. 30, 2026 |
The word “format” does most of the work in both definitions. A card is not simply banned or restricted everywhere in Magic; it has that status under a particular rules document, list, or role. Tabletop Modern, tabletop Vintage, Commander, Arena Timeless, and Arena Historic can therefore produce different answers for the same card.
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A banned card cannot be included in either the main deck or sideboard for the format that bans it. A restricted card may be included once total across those two zones. The key distinction is zero copies versus one—not whether a card is merely discouraged or difficult to play.
Wizards of the Coast’s Banned & Restricted guidance says a card on the banned list for a chosen format may not be included in its deck or sideboard. The Magic Tournament Rules make the restricted limit explicit: a restricted card may have only one copy in a deck, including its sideboard. That combined count matters. One copy in the main deck plus another in the sideboard is two, so it exceeds the limit.
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| Question | Banned | Restricted |
|---|---|---|
| How many copies? | None | One total |
| Can it be in the main deck? | No | Yes, if that format permits it |
| Can it be in the sideboard? | No | Yes, instead of putting the permitted copy in the main deck |
| Does the status apply everywhere in MTG? | No; it is tied to a named format or role | No; it is tied to a named format |
| Can I use one in each zone? | No | No; the deck and sideboard share one allowance |
Can I play one copy of a restricted card?
Usually, yes, if the named format actually uses a restricted list and the card is otherwise eligible. You may place that one copy in the main deck or in the sideboard. Moving it after a sideboard exchange does not create a second allowance; the total list still contains only one copy.
Restriction is not a recommendation to play exactly one copy. It is a maximum. You may choose zero copies, or one copy in whichever zone best fits the deck’s plan. A sideboard copy still counts before the event and during deck registration.
Does a ban apply to every MTG format?
No. Legality is format-specific. A card’s status in Standard does not, by itself, determine its status in Modern, Commander, Vintage, or an MTG Arena format.
Each format has its own card pool, deck-construction rules, and—where applicable—banned or restricted list. The same card can therefore be prohibited in one format and allowed in another. “It’s banned” is incomplete unless you know where it is banned.
For example, if a card is banned in Modern, that answer only settles Modern. You must independently check Standard’s legal sets and list, Commander’s rules and color identity, Vintage’s list, or the relevant Arena format. A Modern ban neither grants nor removes legality in those other environments.
Wizards maintains separate Constructed lists for major tabletop formats such as Standard, Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, and Pauper. Arena has its own format rules and lists for digital environments, including Historic, Timeless, Alchemy, and Brawl. Do not assume a tabletop status carries over to an Arena format, or vice versa; consult the specific format’s official information.
Vintage and Timeless are separate formats
Vintage is the tabletop format specifically identified by Wizards’ main Banned & Restricted page as using a restricted list. MTG Arena’s Timeless format also has an official restricted list, but Timeless is a distinct digital format, not another name for Vintage. A restricted status must be read in the context of the list that assigns it.
That distinction matters when searching decklists or card databases. A Timeless restriction is an Arena rule, while a Vintage restriction belongs to tabletop Vintage. The formats have different card pools, availability, tournament settings, and other construction rules, so one list cannot be substituted for the other.
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Commander can restrict a card’s role
A Commander rule can prohibit a card from serving as the commander without prohibiting it from the rest of the deck. Wizards’ October 12, 2026 announcement provides a concrete example: Wrenn and Six and Tajic, Legion’s Valor became banned as commanders but remained legal among the other 99 cards. In that case, “banned” describes the commander role, not a blanket ban on including the card anywhere in the deck.
When a Commander announcement uses role-specific language, read that scope literally. “Banned as a commander” is different from “banned in Commander.” The former prevents the card from occupying the command zone as a commander; the latter would prohibit inclusion under the format’s deck rules. The current Commander list and announcement control if the status changes.
What does “suspended” mean on MTG Arena?
A suspended Arena card is temporarily unavailable in the relevant digital format; it is not the same as a restricted card that may be played as a one-copy exception. Arena’s format guidance distinguishes banned, restricted, and suspended statuses.
For deckbuilding, treat a suspension as a current prohibition in the affected format: do not rely on being able to use the card while it is suspended. The status is temporary in the sense that the card may later return to the playable pool, but a possible future return does not make it legal now. Check the current Arena format page for the affected format and any later status change.
A suspension can therefore look like a temporary ban from a player’s practical perspective, but it has a different administrative label and possible end point. Do not count a suspended card as your one permitted copy under a restricted rule. If the card later returns, its new status—legal, restricted, or banned—must be checked at that time.
Does “not banned” mean a card is legal?
No. A ban list is only one legality check. The card must also satisfy the format’s card-pool rules and all applicable deck-construction limits.
The February 27, 2026 Magic Tournament Rules say a Constructed card must come from a set legal in that format, or have the same name as a card from a legal set. They also set baseline deck construction: a Constructed deck has at least 60 cards, a sideboard (if used) may have no more than 15, and the combined deck and sideboard normally may not contain more than four copies of an individual card by English card title. Basic cards and cards with rules that say otherwise are exceptions to the ordinary four-copy limit.
These checks answer different questions. A card might not appear on the format’s banned list, but still fail its card-pool requirement. Or it could be legal by card pool but exceed the ordinary copy limit. Restricted cards have their own stricter one-copy cap, counted across deck and sideboard.
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Card-pool legality and reprints
Look at the format’s legal-set rule, not just the expansion symbol on the exact copy in your hand. Under the Tournament Rules, a card can qualify because it comes from a set legal in the format or because it has the same name as a card from a legal set. This is why a reprint can matter when evaluating an otherwise identical card.
That rule does not erase other restrictions. A same-name printing still has to fit the format’s deck rules, and a card banned by that format’s list remains unavailable even if another printing appears in a legal set. Card-pool eligibility and banned-list status are separate gates.
Deck text does not replace format rules
A card ability that changes how a deck is built cannot change external format legality, including whether a card is banned or restricted. The Comprehensive Rules draw that boundary: card text does not override the format’s legality list.
For example, an ability that lets you include extra copies, ignores a normal deck limit, or starts with a card outside the deck cannot authorize a card that the format has banned. First apply the format’s list and card-pool rules; only then apply any deckbuilding permission printed on an otherwise legal card.
How do you check whether a Magic card is legal?
Use the exact format and the current official rules for it; checking the card name without naming a format is not enough. Work through these steps before submitting a deck or entering an event.
- Identify the exact environment. Specify tabletop or Arena, then the format: for example, tabletop Modern, tabletop Commander, Arena Timeless, or Arena Historic. If the card is a commander, check whether a rule applies specifically to that role.
- Open the current official list for that format. Use Wizards’ Banned & Restricted page for its listed Constructed formats, or the official format guidance for an Arena format. Read the status under the correct format heading rather than searching for a card name in isolation.
- Confirm card-pool eligibility. Check that the card comes from a set legal in the format, or that it has the same name as a card from a legal set, as permitted by the Tournament Rules. A card’s appearance in an older or newer product does not alone answer this question.
- Count copies across the whole Constructed list. Add the main deck and sideboard together. Apply any restricted one-copy limit first, then check the normal four-copy limit and any card-specific exception that applies.
- Check special format rules and digital statuses. For Commander, verify whether the issue is a commander-only restriction. On Arena, distinguish a ban or restriction from a suspension in that digital format.
- Recheck near the event. Banned and restricted announcements can change legality. Wizards’ rules hub provides current rules documents, while the relevant list or format page is the place to confirm the status in force for the event.
A quick legality worksheet
For a practical check, write the format at the top of the decklist, then answer four yes-or-no questions: Is the card in the format’s card pool? Is it absent from that format’s banned list? If restricted, is there no more than one copy across deck and sideboard? Do the deck, sideboard, and copy counts meet the format’s construction rules? Keeping those questions separate prevents a legal-set answer from being mistaken for a ban-list answer.
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What does the rule look like in common deckbuilding situations?
These examples show how to apply the rules without treating every status as a universal card property. They assume the card is otherwise in the format’s card pool; set legality and other construction rules still need their own check.
A card is banned in Modern but you want it in another format
The Modern ban only answers whether the card may be played in Modern. Check the second format’s own list and card-pool rules independently; do not carry the Modern result over to Standard, Commander, Vintage, or Arena by assumption. The card could be legal, restricted, or banned there, or it could fail that format’s card-pool rule without appearing on a ban list.
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A restricted card is already in your sideboard
If the format restricts the card, that sideboard copy uses the one-copy allowance. You cannot add a second copy to the main deck, even though the two zones are checked separately for some other deckbuilding purposes. During sideboarding, exchanging the copy between zones does not change the combined count.
A card is allowed in the 99 but not as your commander
Read the rule’s scope precisely. A commander-only ban prevents that card from occupying the commander role, while a rule expressly allowing it in the other 99 permits it there, subject to the rest of Commander’s rules. It does not automatically make the card legal as a commander in a different deck or under a later announcement.
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Absence from a list is not permission to ignore the format’s card-pool rule. Verify that the card is from a legal set or qualifies through a same-name printing in a legal set before counting copies. If it fails that test, changing the number of copies will not make the deck legal.
You have four copies in the main deck and one in the sideboard
For an ordinary Constructed card, the baseline four-copy limit applies to the combined deck and sideboard, not as four in each zone. A card-specific rule or basic-card exception can change that baseline, but a player cannot assume that a sideboard resets the count. A restricted card is stricter still: one total, not one per zone.
The card appears in an Arena collection but is suspended
Ownership or digital availability in a collection does not override an Arena format suspension. Remove it from the affected format’s deck until the official status changes. The same card may still be playable in another Arena format if that other format’s card pool and list allow it, so check the format named in the suspension.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Constructed versus Limited
The ordinary Wizards Banned & Restricted page is framed around Constructed formats, not Limited play. Draft and Sealed events use the cards opened or supplied for that event and their own Limited deckbuilding rules. Do not import a Constructed ban-list explanation as a universal rule for a Limited pool.
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That does not mean every card is automatically playable in Limited. The event’s pool, the cards actually opened or provided, and the Limited construction rules determine what can be registered. If an event announcement supplies an additional restriction, follow that event-specific instruction.
Which official update is relevant in November 2026?
The latest dated Banned & Restricted announcement identified as of October 30, 2026, was published October 12, 2026; its changes took effect that day. Wizards scheduled the next announcement for November 30, 2026, so that future announcement is not part of the October 30 snapshot.
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The October announcement is useful for understanding role-specific legality, but it should not be treated as a permanent card list. For a card-by-card ruling, consult the live official list and the rules for the named format, especially when an event is near. A deck legal when an announcement is published can become illegal when a later effective date arrives.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a card’s own deckbuilding ability let me play it when the format bans it?
No. The Comprehensive Rules state that an ability modifying deck construction cannot alter format legality, including a banned or restricted status. Format rules and lists take precedence over that card-text effect.
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Are Wrenn and Six and Tajic, Legion’s Valor legal in Commander?
Wizards’ October 12, 2026 announcement says both are banned as commanders but remain legal among the other 99 cards. That answer reflects the announcement’s stated scope; check the current Commander rules and list before an event.
Does the Wizards Banned & Restricted page govern Draft and Sealed?
Its stated scope is Constructed formats, not Limited. In Draft or Sealed, legality depends on the event’s card pool and Limited deckbuilding rules rather than applying the Constructed list as a universal rule.
Can I put one restricted copy in my main deck and another in my sideboard?
No. The restriction is one copy in the combined deck and sideboard. You must choose which zone contains the single copy.
Is a card banned in Modern automatically banned in Standard?
No. Lists are format-specific. Check Standard’s card pool and current list separately; the Modern status does not decide Standard legality.
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No. They are separate formats with separate rules and lists. Both can use restricted-list concepts, but a Timeless restriction is an Arena rule and a Vintage restriction is a tabletop rule.
Can I play a suspended card as a one-of on Arena?
No. Suspension makes the card unavailable in the affected digital format while the suspension is in effect. It is not a normal one-copy restricted exception.
What if a card is not on any banned list but comes from an illegal set?
It is still not legal in that format unless it qualifies under the same-name rule for a legal-set card. Ban-list absence does not replace the card-pool check.
How many cards can a Constructed sideboard contain?
The February 27, 2026 Magic Tournament Rules set a maximum of 15 cards for a sideboard, if one is used. The combined deck and sideboard also normally observe the four-copy limit, subject to stated exceptions.
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Remember the order: name the exact format and role, verify the card pool, read that format’s current list, then count copies across the main deck and sideboard. Banned means zero; restricted means one total; suspended on Arena means unavailable for now. A Modern ban is not a universal MTG ban, a commander-only ban is not necessarily a 99-card ban, and a card absent from a list can still fail set or deck-construction rules. Recheck the official format page close to your event because effective dates and lists can change.
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