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To check a Magic: The Gathering card, first identify the exact format and play mode, then use Wizards of the Coast’s current Banned & Restricted Lists page. Open that format’s section and search for the card’s exact name. A card listed as banned cannot be in your deck or sideboard; a restricted card is limited to one copy across both. A result in one format does not determine legality in another, so check the live list again shortly before an event or match.

What you need to know before checking a card

Magic legality is not universal. Wizards maintains separate lists for each Constructed format, and the same card can be banned in one format while remaining legal in another. Wizards gives the example that a card banned in Modern may still be legal in Standard. Therefore, “Is this card banned?” is incomplete unless you name the format, platform and mode.

Write down all three details before looking anything up:

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  • Format: such as Standard, Modern, Pioneer, Legacy, Vintage, Pauper, Alchemy, Historic, Timeless, Brawl or Commander.
  • Platform: tabletop play, Magic: The Gathering Arena or another supported digital environment.
  • Mode: for example, Arena Best-of-One rather than a Best-of-Three match, or Competitive Brawl rather than a different Brawl queue.

The Banned & Restricted Lists page is aimed at Constructed formats. Wizards says those lists do not govern Limited formats such as Draft and Sealed. Limited events still have their own card-pool and deck-construction rules, so do not use the Constructed ban list as a general answer for every way to play.

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Step 1: Name the exact format and play mode

Separate formats that sound similar

Standard, Modern, Pioneer and the other tabletop formats use different card pools and different legality decisions. A card’s presence on one list says nothing by itself about the others. Commander and Brawl also need special care because the commander role can have an additional restriction beyond the rest of the deck.

Check tabletop versus digital play

Digital formats can have entries that do not apply to tabletop games. The official lists include mode-specific notes, including Arena Best-of-One restrictions. If you are building for Arena, identify whether the event or queue is Best-of-One before deciding that a tabletop result applies.

Record the event’s rules, not just its name

For an organized event, read the event listing or rules announcement for the exact format and effective date. A store may advertise “Brawl” while the relevant rules section is Competitive Brawl, or a digital event may specify a mode with its own restriction. If the listing and your deck-building app disagree, the current official list and the event’s stated rules take priority.

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Step 2: Open the official Banned & Restricted Lists page

Use Wizards of the Coast’s live Banned & Restricted Lists page rather than a search-result snippet, an old deck list or an undated article. The page organizes entries by format. Choose the heading that exactly matches the format you wrote down.

  1. Open the current Banned & Restricted Lists page.
  2. Locate the section for your format, including a digital mode or Competitive Brawl subsection if one is shown.
  3. Keep the page open while checking the card and any date or qualifier attached to its entry.

The live page is the current reference. Dated announcement articles are useful for understanding when a change took effect, but they can become stale after a later update.

Step 3: Search the card’s exact name

Use the page’s find command (Ctrl+F on Windows or Linux, Command+F on macOS) and enter the card’s exact printed name. Search within the selected format section, not across the entire page, because the same name may appear in several format lists or in explanatory text.

Check punctuation, apostrophes and alternate names carefully. If the card has a digital-only version or a special rules entry, read the complete line rather than stopping at the first name match. When a list uses a qualifier such as “in Best-of-One” or “as a commander,” that qualifier is part of the legality decision.

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How to interpret the result

Status shown What it means for deck construction What to verify
Banned Do not include any copy in the deck or sideboard for that format. Confirm that the entry applies to your exact format and mode.
Restricted Only one copy is allowed across the combined main deck and sideboard. Count both zones together; Wizards currently has a restricted list only for Vintage.
Suspended The entry may temporarily prevent use in the named format or digital environment. Read the suspension’s scope and effective date; do not treat it as a permanent, universal ban.
Commander-only or commander ban The restriction applies to the card’s use as a commander, or to a Competitive Brawl commander slot, as stated. Read whether the card remains usable in the 99-card deck or is prohibited only in the commander position.
Not listed No ban or restriction is shown in that section. Check the format’s card-pool, set-rotation, rarity, color-identity and other deck-construction rules before including it.

Banned means zero copies

Wizards states that if a card appears on the banned list for your chosen format, you may not include that card in your deck or sideboard. “Zero copies” includes cards in a sideboard that you planned to bring in after game one. Remove the card before submitting a deck list.

Restricted means one copy total

A restricted card is not a four-copy allowance. The maximum is one copy across the main deck and sideboard combined. For example, one copy in the main deck plus one in the sideboard would exceed the limit. Wizards says Vintage is currently the only format with a restricted list.

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Commander-only restrictions are narrower

A commander-only entry does not automatically mean every copy is forbidden everywhere in the deck. Read the wording to determine whether the card is prohibited only as the commander, restricted to a particular commander category, or affected by a Competitive Brawl rule. Do not transfer a commander-specific result to Standard, Modern or another format.

Step 4: Read qualifiers, effective dates and exceptions

The text beside a card can be as important as its status label. Look for:

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  • Mode qualifiers: such as Arena Best-of-One.
  • Format qualifiers: a card may be listed under one format while absent from another.
  • Suspension language: a temporary digital or format-specific action is not the same as a permanent ban.
  • Commander language: an entry may apply only to the commander slot or to Competitive Brawl commanders.
  • Effective dates: a decision may begin at a stated time rather than when an article was first posted.

When an announcement and the live list appear to differ, compare the announcement’s effective date with the current list. The live list determines what is legal now; the dated announcement explains when the change was scheduled to begin.

What the latest dated announcement says

As of October 14, 2026, the latest linked announcement was Wizards’ October 12, 2026 Banned and Restricted Announcement. It reported no changes for Standard, Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Pauper, Alchemy, Historic, Timeless and Brawl.

That announcement did report Competitive Brawl changes effective October 12, 2026, including cards newly banned as commanders and cards whose restriction changed to commander-only. Those changes illustrate why a broad “Brawl” search is not enough: you must read the Competitive Brawl section and the role-specific wording.

Because ban decisions can change after that announcement, do not treat October 12, 2026 as a permanent answer. Use the live official list for the event or match you are about to play.

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Why an unlisted card may still be unusable

Absence from a banned or restricted list answers only the ban question. It does not override the rest of a format’s rules. Depending on the format, you may also need to verify:

  • Whether the card belongs to the format’s legal card pool.
  • Whether a rotation or set update has changed eligibility.
  • Whether the card’s rarity meets the format’s requirements.
  • Whether the card fits color-identity or commander-construction rules.
  • Whether a digital version has a separate suspension or mode restriction.
  • Whether the event uses a special rules supplement.

For that reason, the correct conclusion after finding no entry is “no ban or restriction is listed in this section,” not “the card is automatically legal in every deck.”

How to verify a result when tools disagree

Deck-building websites and mobile apps can be useful for a first pass, but they may update on a different schedule from Wizards’ page. If an app marks a card illegal, open the official list and identify whether the app is applying a different format, a former rule or a local tournament setting. If the official page has changed but the app has not, follow the current official status and tell the event organizer about the discrepancy.

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When asking a judge or organizer, provide the card’s exact name, the format, the platform, the mode and the date you checked. That information prevents a vague “Is this banned?” question from being answered for the wrong queue or format. For a paper event, retain a link or screenshot showing the relevant entry and date; it can help resolve a last-minute disagreement, although the organizer still controls that event’s enforcement.

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Common mistakes and how to fix them

Checking the wrong format

Symptom: You find the card on a Modern list and assume it cannot be played in Standard.

Fix: Return to the page and search the Standard section separately. Legality is format-specific.

Using an old article or deck database

Symptom: A deck guide says a card is legal, but an event organizer says it is not.

Fix: Check the publication date, then use the live official list. Older pages preserve history, not necessarily current legality.

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Ignoring Best-of-One rules

Symptom: A card is legal in tabletop or Best-of-Three, but Arena rejects the deck in Best-of-One.

Fix: Read the digital mode qualifier in the relevant list section and build for the exact queue.

Counting a restricted card incorrectly

Symptom: You have one copy in the main deck and another in the sideboard.

Fix: Count the main deck and sideboard together. A restricted card allows one total copy.

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Treating a commander ban as a universal ban

Symptom: You remove a card from every deck because it is prohibited as a Competitive Brawl commander.

Fix: Read the scope. Commander-only wording does not automatically prohibit the card in unrelated formats or roles.

Checking too early

Symptom: Your deck was legal when submitted but not legal on event day.

Fix: Recheck the live list shortly before the event, especially after a scheduled announcement date.

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A reliable pre-event checklist

  1. Write down the exact format.
  2. Record tabletop or digital platform.
  3. Record the mode, such as Best-of-One, Best-of-Three or Competitive Brawl.
  4. Open Wizards’ current Banned & Restricted Lists page.
  5. Select the matching format and mode section.
  6. Search the exact card name.
  7. If it is banned, remove every copy from the deck and sideboard.
  8. If it is restricted, keep no more than one copy across both zones.
  9. If the entry is suspended or commander-only, follow the stated scope instead of applying a broader ban.
  10. If the card is not listed, verify the format’s other card-pool and deck-building rules.
  11. Check the latest effective date and repeat the lookup shortly before play.
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Quick decision examples

A card appears under Modern but not Standard

Do not carry the Modern result into Standard. Search the Standard section and then check Standard’s other eligibility rules. The two formats make independent legality decisions.

A card appears as restricted in Vintage

Count the copies in the main deck and sideboard together. One total copy is the maximum; placing a second copy in the sideboard still violates the restriction.

A card is banned as a Competitive Brawl commander

Apply the entry to the commander position and read whether the announcement changes its treatment in the 99-card deck. Do not describe the card as universally banned without that additional scope.

A card is absent from every visible ban entry

Record that no ban or restriction is listed in the section you checked, then verify card-pool, rotation, rarity, color-identity and event-specific rules. An unlisted card is not automatically legal in every format.

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When to check again

Perform the lookup when you build the deck, when you register for an event and again shortly before playing. Announcements can introduce changes with a stated effective date, and digital formats can carry mode-specific updates. Keep the live list as your final authority and use dated announcements only to understand the timing and scope of a change.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the official MTG banned list?

Use Wizards of the Coast’s live Banned & Restricted Lists page. Select the exact format section instead of relying on a search snippet, deck database or undated article.

Does a ban in Modern apply to Standard?

No. Wizards maintains format-specific lists; a card banned in Modern may still be legal in Standard. Check each format separately.

Can a banned card be in my sideboard?

No. For the named format, a banned card may not appear in either the deck or sideboard. Remove every copy before submitting the list.

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How many copies of a restricted card may I play?

One copy total across the combined main deck and sideboard. Wizards currently has a restricted list only for Vintage, so read the entry rather than assuming a restriction exists in another format.

Is an unlisted card automatically legal?

No. An unlisted result means no ban or restriction appears in that section. You must still check the format’s card pool, rotation, rarity, color identity, commander rules and event-specific requirements.

What does suspended mean?

A suspension is a temporary, scoped action. Read the listed format or digital environment and the effective date; do not automatically treat it as a permanent ban everywhere.

Can a card banned as a commander go in the rest of a Brawl or Commander deck?

Not necessarily. Commander-only and Competitive Brawl entries can target the commander position while treating the rest of the deck differently. Read the complete wording for that entry.

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How often should I check legality?

Check when building, when registering and again shortly before the match or event. Use the live official list for current status and dated announcements to understand effective dates.

The Bottom Line

Write down the exact format, platform and mode, then search that section of Wizards’ live Banned & Restricted Lists page. Banned means zero copies in the deck and sideboard; restricted means one copy across both. Treat suspensions and commander-only entries according to their qualifiers, and verify the format’s other deck-building rules before you submit.

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