February 9th Banned and Restricted Announcement

Last updated on February 9, 2026

Jeweled Lotus | Illustration by Alanya Danner

January 1st’s Banned and Restricted announcement is upon us, and it’s time for us to find out which cards we can no longer play. The sweeping B&R of June 2025 retired Standard powerhouses like Heartfire Hero and Cori-Steel Cutter. Vivi Ornitier was banned on November 10, 2025. Both left Standard in a strange place.

The past two B&R announcements shook things up to say the least. Today’s B&R included fewer cards, but will still have an impact.

Feb 9 B&R Changes

Commander

Historic

Timeless

Biorhythm Unbanned

Biorhythm | Illustration by Ron Spears

People had a pretty good guess that Biorhythm would make it off the banlist at some point. Much like Sway of the Stars, it’s an expensive “game-ender” that harkens back to a different time in Magic, and there are equivalent cards that close out games at the same cost that aren’t banned. The philosophy is that it’ll weed itself out of the format if it proves to be unfun.

Specifically, Biorhythm will be a Game Changer for now, which is the standard procedure for something that just came off the banlist.

Lutri Unbanned

Lutri, the Spellchaser | Illustration by Lie Setiawan

The otter is free! Well, sort of. Lutri, the Spellchaser is no longer on the banlist for Commander, but it’s also being reintroduced with the restriction that it can’t be companioned. This should make fans of the otter happy enough without introducing an absolute “must-play” card into the format.

Notably, Lutri will not be added to the Game Changers list, and is free to play across all Brackets.

Farewell – New Game Changer

Farewell | Illustration by Seb McKinnon

I guess this is farewell to Farewell. Well, at least in lower Brackets. This board wipe is a groan-inducer for sure, but not something the Commander Format Panel is interested in banning right now. It is known to slow the pace of games tremendously, and the sweeper coverage is brutal, so it’s been upgraded (downgraded?) to a Game Changer.

Arena Format Changes

Scholar of the Lost Trove | Illustration by Volkan Baga

Historic is seeing a little bit of a switch-up, with a bunch of interactive pieces like Force of Vigor and Magus of the Moon being introduced into the format, while some more format-defining cards like Ajani, Nacatl Pariah and Eldrazi Temple are out.

Necropotence has also been restricted (one copy) in Timeless, and a bunch of Alchemy rebalances were made as well. You can see the full list of rebalances here.

The Times, They Are a-Changin’

Rules Lawyer | Illustration by Sean Murray

This has been one of the most tame B&R announcements in years. While Badgermole Cub and Gran-Gran are currently wrecking in Standard, the format largely looks healthy. Every format has its meta-breaking decks, there’ll always be someone screaming about Reanimator in Legacy.

Commander didn’t change as much as people had anticipated, and some of the speculation from last year didn’t carry over. No sweeping changes it probably a good thing overall, but it definitely feels like we were drumming up to something bigger than a Biorhythm unban.

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Eli Weinberg

Eli Weinberg is an actor, freelance writer, and avid MTG player. He hosts monthly Commander meetups in SoCal with his collective Infinite Loop