Wizards of the Coast just dropped the February 2026 Banned and Restricted announcement, and while it’s not as explosive as previous updates, it still packs some significant changes across multiple formats. From Commander unbans to Historic shake-ups and a crucial Timeless restriction, here’s everything you need to know about what’s legal and what’s not in Magic: The Gathering.

Commander Format Changes: Welcome Back, Banned Cards

Biorhythm Unbanned (Added to Game Changers List)

The green sorcery that sets each player’s life total equal to the number of creatures they control is finally off the ban list. Biorhythm now joins the Game Changers list, which is standard procedure for newly unbanned cards. Wizards believes expensive game-enders like this will naturally filter themselves out if they prove unfun, similar to how Sway of the Stars was handled.

Lutri, the Spellchaser Unbanned (With Restrictions)

The otter is free—sort of! Lutri, the Spellchaser can now be played in Commander decks, but there’s a catch: you cannot use it as a companion. This compromise lets fans enjoy the card without making it an auto-include must-play in every red-blue deck. Notably, Lutri won’t be added to the Game Changers list and remains free to play across all Brackets.

Farewell Added to Game Changers List

This brutal board wipe isn’t getting banned, but it’s been upgraded to Game Changer status. The sweeper’s comprehensive coverage—exiling creatures, artifacts, enchantments, and more—has proven to slow games tremendously. While not ban-worthy, Farewell now carries a warning label for lower-power Brackets.

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MTG Banned and Restricted Historic Format Overhaul: Bans and Unbans Galore

Historic receives the most dramatic changes this cycle, with Wizards fundamentally shifting the format’s philosophy away from strict heuristics toward card-by-card evaluation.

What’s Banned:

Eldrazi Temple – The powerhouse land fueling Simic Eldrazi’s dominance gets the axe, though Ugin’s Labyrinth survives since it has applications outside Eldrazi shells
Ajani, Nacatl Pariah – The two-drop planeswalker was impossible to trade profitably against, pushing Boros Energy’s win rate well over 60%
Crop Rotation – The experiment to see if this card could exist without Gaea’s Cradle failed, as Lotus Field Combo proved too consistent
Scholar of the Lost Trove – This creature enabled turn-two wins via Persist reanimation in Best-of-One, creating extremely polarizing games

What’s Unbanned:

Historic players gain access to powerful interaction tools that were previously banned based on old format philosophies:

Force of Negation – Offers combo disruption without snowballing your own game plan
Force of Vigor – Provides clear sideboard answers against Affinity and artifact-heavy strategies
Endurance – Main-deckable graveyard hate that stops combo decks cold
Magus of the Moon and Harbinger of the Seas – Land hate creatures that answer powerful nonbasic strategies while remaining easier to remove than Blood Moon
Wilderness Reclamation – No longer problematic in a format operating at Modern power levels
Agent of Treachery – Safe to return now that Winota, Joiner of Forces isn’t dominating

Wizards acknowledges these unbans break long-standing rules against free spells and mass land denial. However, the current threat level in Historic demands better answers. Moreover, these cards add clear counterplay options against dominant linear strategies.

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Timeless Restriction: Necropotence Takes a Hit

Necropotence Restricted to One Copy

Mono-Black Necropotence variants emerged as clear format outliers following Arena Championship 10. The deck combined cheap interaction, fast mana, and powerful two-card combos like Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord plus Saint Elenda. Necropotence allowed pilots to reliably assemble combos while making it impossible for opponents to compete on card advantage.

Restricting Necropotence to one copy aims to reduce the deck’s consistency without completely eliminating mono-black combo strategies from the format. Furthermore, Wizards continues monitoring Strip Mine decks, though they haven’t reached the threshold for action yet.

Alchemy Rebalances: Digital-Only Adjustments

Thirteen cards received rebalances in Alchemy, targeting Best-of-One issues:

Key Rebalances:

Kona, Rescue Beastie – Mana cost increased to slow down the noninteractive Omniscience combo
Val, Marooned Surveyor – Changed from two mana to four mana to address the infinite damage combo with Trelasarra, Moon Dancer in Historic

Additional buffs hit cards from Alchemy: Bloomburrow, Duskmourn, and Edge of Eternities to revitalize underperforming strategies.

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Standard, Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Pauper: No Changes

All these formats remain untouched this cycle. Standard particularly looks healthy following Pro Tour Lorwyn Eclipsed, which showcased seven different decks in the Top 8. While Badgermole Cub decks held 40% of the Day One metagame, they posted below 50% win rates in non-mirror matches, indicating natural metagame correction is working.

Official Source: Commander Banned and Restricted Announcement by MTG