August 10th Banned & Restricted Announcement

Last updated on August 10, 2026

The Fantasticar | Illustration by Maxim Ruabtsev

Didn't we just have one of these on June 29th? What's changed since then? Huge changes were announced for Standard, and an impactful ban has hit two other formats.

• The Fantasticar is RESTRICTED in Vintage & BANNED in Legacy
• Gran-Gran is BANNED in Standard
• Badgermole Cub is BANNED in Standard
• Stormchaser's Talent is BANNED in Standard

The Fantasticar Breaks Down

When this card got spoiled, I personally wrote it off because it's a vehicle. Sorry to all vehicle lovers out there, but I will have you know that I run The Regalia in Commander.

As an unwitting Commander player, I failed to notice how absolutely cracked this card was. This thing doesn't make that much sense in the command zone, but it makes tons of sense in formats like Vintage and Legacy.

In Vintage, you can run 4x Fantasticar, 4x Mishra's Bauble, 4x Mox Diamond…you get the idea? You figure out a way to get Fantasticar down on turn 1, play 3 cheap noncreature spells (Fantasticar sees itself), and you're swinging in with 16 in the air immediately.

16 damage is scary, particularly in a 20 life format. In the article that followed the June 29th B&R, WotC admitted that this card was a problem:

“Finally, we are aware that the community has taken notice of The Fantasticar. It isn't lost on us that this is a card that plays very well with the fast mana and colorless artifact enablers of Eternal formats. We expect that the card has a higher risk of ruin in Vintage than in Legacy, but this announcement should be taken as a demonstration that we are willing to act quickly in the event that a card proves to be an obvious detriment to either format.”

The Fantasticar has completely overrun both Vintage and Legacy, it represents an unhealthy share of their respective metas. Feels like a Nadu, Winged Wisdom situation to me. How in the world did this card get printed?

Huge Changes in Standard

Wow. They actually did it. The community has been crying out for these cards to be banned for eons. Badgermole Cub is an absolutely insane piece that is directly responsible for green's rise in Standard. Gran-Gran enabled Izzet Lessons to dominate the field, and Stormchaser's Talent is basically a four-of in any Standard deck running Izzet.

This is a shake-up of gargantuan proportions. Will another Izzet deck rise to the top, and will Ouroboroid strategies continue to to wreck the format?

Wrap Up

Rules Lawyer | Illustration by Sean Murray

Standard finally got the changes people have been begging for. Nothing on Commander, but it's safe to assume we'll get an announcement of some kind after the Commander Format Panel's meeting in September.

The Fantasticar fluke has been nuked, and Standard has been severely shaken up.