WotC Adds New Card to Banned & Restricted Watchlist

Last updated on June 30, 2026

Sneaky Snacker | Illustration by Irina Nordsol

Wizards’ June 29^th banned and restricted announcement impacted Pauper yesterday with Seeker of Skybreak banned and Sneaky Snacker called out as a card the Pauper Format Panel plans to watch closely over the next few months until the next B&R announcement on August 10, 2026.

The banning of Seeker of Skybreak is hardly a surprise; Hawkeye's Bow, from Marvel Super Heroes, introduced a cheap two-card infinite combo that could win as early as turn 2. Gavin Verhey’s article justified the Pauper ban only days after MSH released on the basis that a resilient two-card combo falls outside what the Pauper Format Panel considers healthy for the format and its strong showing in recent MTGO Challenges, which Naya Gates won each of, suggested a ban would be necessary in August.

Perhaps more interesting is the spotlight Verhey shone on Sneaky Snacker, a common that sees wide-spread play in the format—including that Naya () Gates deck, despite lacking the lands to cast a Dimir () card.

What Is Sneaky Snacker?

Sneaky Snacker is a common from Modern Horizons 3—far from the first card from the set to cause issue in Eternal formats. It’s a simple faerie that costs but has a potent ability: When you draw your third card in a turn, it reanimates itself.

Because there’s no cost associated with reanimating the Snacker, it isn’t restricted to decks that can cast a blue-black spell. The Naya/Bow Gates deck is a perfect example of this as it put Snacker into play off the back of Pursue the Past and Bitter Reunion, which doubled as cheap card filtering to find the combo faster. Though it’s the newest Snacker deck, it’s far from the only example.

Sneaky Snacker is a key threat in Madness Burn, which combines looting and rummage spells like Faithless Looting and Grab the Prize to enable Fiery Temper and the faerie. It also sees play in Tolarian Terror decks which prefer milling the Snacker to discarding it. The deck already runs playsets of Thought Scour and Mental Note to enable Terror; why not get a free 2/1 out of the deal?

This is what makes the Sneaky Snacker so powerful: If your deck touches the graveyard and draws cards, it run the Snacker regardless of your ability to cast it. Sure, some Terror decks are Dimir, but mono-blue decks can also run it. Madness Burn is a mono-red deck. Again, the Dimir card was a key part of the Naya deck.

Should Sneaky Snacker Get Banned?

Cooped Up | Illustration by Jodie Muir

Verhey mentioned that part of the reason they banned Seeker of Skybreak now was because of two upcoming events between now and August 10^th: Paupergeddon and Paupergenesis are both held in July and among Pauper’s biggest event. The PFP banned Seeker early to ensure the combo didn’t skew tournament data so they could evaluate Sneaky Snacker’s place in the meta. Verhey had this to say:

“…when we talked about wanting the data from…Paupergeddon and Paupergenesis to not be tainted by…the Seeker of Skybreak and Hawkeye’s Bow combo, that was so that we can learn more about the win rates and results of cards like Snacker on the largest stages.”

Banning Sneaky Snacker seems perfectly reasonable given the ubiquity of the card and how tricky it is to answer. Simply asking a deck to interact with the graveyard and draw cards is an extremely low threshold for a free spell. Worse, it’s not a one-off effect like Snuff Out (which has a stiffer restriction because you need a lot of Swamps) as a Snacker that eats a removal spell returns to play the next time its owner draws three cards. Because Snacker comes into play almost incidentally while your opponent develops an entirely different game plan, the recursive creature stresses your removal like nothing else in the format.

Verhey promised that the August 10^th banned and restricted announcement would include the Pauper Format Panel’s thoughts on Sneaky Snacker. I fully expect those thoughts to be their justification for its banning.