Wizards of the Coast updated the Banned and Restricted list Monday and enemy No. 1 was Deathrite Shaman.
The one-mana utility Elf from Return to Ravnica was banned from Modern after the success and popularity of various B/G decks that used it to accelerate mana, disrupt graveyard strategies, and grant inevitability.
While Deathrite Shaman got the axe, Wild Nacatl and Bitterblossom were unbanned from Modern. Wizards of the Coast unbanned Wild Nacatl with the hope it would give aggressive strategies a push after Affinity’s run as the top aggro deck.
Bitterblossom never had a chance to make an impact on Modern because of a pre-emptive ban after its dominance in Standard years ago. Now that the Modern format has stabilized, Wizards of the Coast said, “[Bitterblossom] is of an appropriate power level to compete with other powerful strategies in the format.”
With Pro Tour Born of the Gods in Valencia set for Feb. 21-23, the Modern shakeup will be on full display.