Magic: The Gathering Announces It Will Ban Its Most Problematic Card

Wizards of the Coast is banning Magic: The Gathering card Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath in Pioneer, Modern, and Historic play. The Legendary Creature, released as part of the Theros Beyond Death set in 2020, is already banned in Standard play after warping the competitive metagame following its release. The ban announcement came in an unusual and roundabout fashion. Uro's ban hasn't gone into effect yet. Instead, Wizards of the Coast pre-announced it while revealing its the Secret Lair Smitten Superdrop timed for Valentine's Day. Since an alternate art version of Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath comes in the collection, Wizards of the Coast likely wanted to avoid a backlash by banning the card shortly after players purchase a pricey collector's set that includes Uro.

The note inserted in the Secret Lair announcement reads, "We are planning an upcoming B&R announcement. In that announcement, we plan to ban Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath in Pioneer, Modern, and Historic. Additionally, we are continuing discussions about doing the same in Legacy. While we are still working internally on the larger B&R announcement for that week, we wanted to share this information ahead of this sale."

Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath has wreaked havoc on the competitive Magic scene, including the Standard and Historic competitive ladders in Magic: The Gathering Arena, since its release. Its dominance came to a head after Zendikar Rising's debut and the introduction of Omnath, Locus of Creation into the format. Omnath was banned soon after.

Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath combines an early game ramp play, plus card draw and life gain, with the ability to "Escape" the creature from the graveyard to repeat its effects and gain a 6/6 creature. That's an assault on all fronts that few other decks are capable of withstanding.

Uro has continued to dominate Historic tournaments, including Magic esports events, which may be a factor in Wizards of the Coast's decision to ban the creature in these additional formats. It is the latest in a string of high-profile bans to correct Magic: The Gathering's competitive scene in recent years.

What do you think of Wizards of the Coasts announcing that it would soon ban Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath in Pioneer, Modern, and Historic formats? Let us know how you feel about it in the comments section. Wizards of the Coast did not specify the date that Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath's ban will go into effect.