Written by ForceofPhil
Whenever ban discourse ensues, you might hear the about the mythical format of , when Legacy was supposedly enjoyable and full of deep gameplay and creative deckbuilding. While it might seem like pulling a random year beyond memory's reach of a more than a decade, it's likely not too far off from a marked shift in Legacy history.
2016 was the most recent full calendar year without a ban in the Legacy format. 2014 featured no bans either. 2015 saw Treasure Cruise and Dig Through Time banned.
I'd argue that Legacy has been lame duck since the introduction of War of the Spark and F.I.R.E design in 2019. We'll chat about when we get there in the timeline.
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Legacy Ban Timeline
For some historical context to get on the same page regarding when Legacy was "healthy" and/or "good," here is a timeline of when cards were banned and how long each those banned cards existed in the format. A card's lifespan in Legacy may be suggestive of how meaningful its ban was.
If a card lasted a long time before getting the axe, it suggests new contexts increased its powerlevel. If a card was banned quickly, it likely suggests its inherent power or play experience was unacceptable.
For example, over the most recent three years, Wizards of the Coast (WotC) has treated Entomb like an untouchable pillar of Legacy's identity. However, it was banned in the format in 2003 and not unbanned until September 2009. I wonder how the Legacy players played Legacy with a missing identity pillar for six years. How did they know which format they were playing?*
*The inclusion of this line is to demonstrate how amorphous and unhelpful "format identity" arguments are and will forever be.
2015
Treasure Cruise was banned in January 2015. It was released in September 2014. It lasted four months.
Treasure Cruise was broken in many decks but most notably the UR Delver deck because it obsoleted needing to make meaningful decisions. If you were always resource-rich, it mattered less how resources were spent.
Dig Through Time was a reasonable substitute, such that it took nine more months for it to join Treasure Cruise on the banlist in September 2015. MonoU OmniShow was arguably the most powerful deck with Dig Through Time. Delve as a mechanic must pay for the sins of fetchlands (i.e., zero-mana, instant speed tutors).
2017
Sensei's Divining Top was banned in April 2017. It was first legal in Legacy in October 2004 — nearly 13 years in the format. Though most prevalent as the centerpiece of Miracles, Sensei's Divining Top was present across a variety of decks*, including Painter, Storm, High Tide, Dark Depths, Sneak & Show, Nic Fit, Jund, Stoneblade, Cloudpost, and Doomsday, among others, all of which played out differently.
Of all the cards on the Legacy banned list, Sensei's Divining Top spent the most time unbanned. Somehow, Sensei's Divining Top was not helmed by WotC as a pillar of the format.
*To check out decks that feature cards discussed in this article, go to this link, toggle format to Legacy, and search them.
2018
Deathrite Shaman and Gitaxian Probe were banned in July 2018. Ahead of its time, Deathrite Shaman would likely still be in Legacy had it been printed alongside Dragon's Rage Channeler and Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student in a Modern Horizons set when the Overton Window of WotC's failure to design properly for 1v1 shifted to the point of obsolescence.
Deathrite Shaman withstood six years — first released in October 2012. Gitaxian Probe lasted even longer; first released in May 2011. Deathrite Shaman was in pretty much every non-combo, non-Miracles decklist, including Czech Pile, Grixis Delver, BUG Delver, Shardless BUG, Esper piles, Aluren, Maverick, Turbo Depths, Food Chain, and 4c Loam.
Gitaxian Probe was in any deck interested in it's combination of it with Cabal Therapy (e.g., Storm and other combo decks, Grixis Delver, BUG Delver, and anything willing to splash black (e.g. Infect, Show & Tell)).
2019
Wrenn & Six got the axe in November 2019. It was released in June 2019. F.I.R.E. design philosophy, which it stands for Fun. Inviting. Replayable. Exciting., was introduced this year. I believe it was sugarcoating for Unfun. Exclusive. Irresponsible. Broken.
2020
Underworld Breach was banned in March of 2020 as the world shutdown due to COVID-19. It was released on January 24 of that year. It lasted less than two months. This wasn't a shocker as spoiling Yawgmoth's Will for one less mana on a permanent was knowingly broken instantaneously from its spoiler — "Brain Freeze me, Brainfreeze me, Brainfreeze you."
A pattern emerged as outright broken, or unsustainably snowbally designs rampaged Legacy without any introspection toward the design philosophy change.
Two months later, in May 2020, the companion debacle folded with Lurrus of the Dream-Den and Zirda, Dawnwaker hitting the banlist as WotC tried to Commanderify 1v1 formats. Companions were released just one month prior (April 24, 2020, in Ikoria: Lair of the Behemoths).
2021
In February 2021, Arcum's Astrolabe, Dreadhorde Arcanist, and Oko, Thief of Crowns caught bans. Astrolabe lasted shy of two years — first released in June 2019. Dreadhorde Arcanist was released two months prior in May 2019. Oko was released in October 2019.
F.I.R.E. design philosophy implicitly embraced bannings not as a failure of R&D but as a feather in their cap for pushing boundaries. COVID-19 pandemic led WotC to shift toward Commander as the premiere way to play Magic. R&D designed primarily for Commander and disguised those designs into Standard or Modern sets. This is still the case at the time of this article's publication.
2022
Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer was banned in January 2022. It was released in June 2021.
The timeframes of print to ban of these cards in Legacy since 2019 highlight how clear it was that the designs were broken from the jump. They weren't Deathrite Shaman's six years or Sensei's Divining Top's 13 years where the format baked over time to where a majority of players didn't want those cards in the game anymore.
Post F.I.R.E. designs were printed and banned within two years, which also accounts for WotC's notoriousness for slow-rolling ban-related action.
2023
Expressive Iteration and White Plume Adventurer were banned in March 2023. Has anyone been having any fun in Legacy for the past seven years?
Expressive Iteration didn't last two years, having been released in April 2021. Neither did White Plume Adventurer, which was released in July 2021.
2024
In May 2024, all cards that introduced stickers or attractions into the game were banned. They were all released in October 2022. No introspection to design philosophy or product output was actionably taken.
Grief was banned in August 2024 — months later than players expected/desired. It was released in June 2021.
Psychic Frog and Vexing Bauble were banned in December 2024. There were released in June of that year in Modern Horizons 3 (MH3).
2025
Sowing Mycospawn and Troll of Khazad-dûm were banned in March 2025. Isn't this exhausting?
Mycospawn was released alongside Psychic Frog and Vexing Bauble in MH3. Troll of Khazad-dûm, first released in June 2023, is a laughable addition to the banlist by comparison to its company.
Troll of Khazad-dûm got the axe to protect the "format pillar" Reanimator archetype, perceived as Entomb and
