Summary
Effective Date: Friday, April 3rd, 2026Next B&R: April 20th, 2026
Summary: Unmake Duality is moving to category 3, Grim Pastiche and Baby Green Slime are moving to category 2, and Carpsong Coda is added to category 1. Tidestone Bovine is removed from category 1. New Pantheon watchlist added.
The Watchlists only contain cards that were either previously legal in that format's watchlist or are currently legal for that format. There are currently two watch lists: Standard and Pantheon.
See the entire list of banned cards here.
Standard Watchlist
Category 3
This category will contain all cards that are banned and restricted, proving to be too powerful or too impactful, and limiting tournament deck diversity and meta health in Standard. Currently, Baby Gray Slime, Crystal of Empowerment, Corhazi Outlook, Dissonant Fractal, Erupting Rhapsody, Icebound Slam, Lost in Thought, Sword of Avarice, Reckless Conversion, Rile the Abyss, and Unmake Duality are banned.
In line with our previous assessment of Unmake Duality, we are moving the card to category 3 and banning it, effective tomorrow, on April 3rd. As mentioned in our last articles, we have been noticing a gradual disuse of Grand Crusader's Ring in favor of Unmake Duality. Decks featuring Unmake use construction and play patterns that navigate away from our philosophy for the value of a Divine Relic, the cost of effects that draw an additional card, and for the general balance of resource abundance in Grand Archive. We hope this ban can address these points and refocus play to a healthier direction.
Category 2
This category contains cards that we consider very problematic and are heavily watched for potential future legality changes and category shifts. This category currently has five cards: Baby Green Slime, Chalice of Blood, Crystalline Mirror, Grim Pastiche, and Mercenary's Blade.
Baby Green Slime: With the expanding panel of cards in Grand Archive, effects like those of Baby Green Slime become increasingly more difficult to balance around in a Standard format. Originally, we placed this card in Category 1 due to the versatility of its On Enter effect in combination with the low opportunity cost and high element relevance of Baby Green Slime's design. The category upshift serves to signal our internal focus and awareness of these kinds of problems in card design and balance.
Grim Pastiche: With the launch of Radiant Origins, we are completing a milestone of our first set to support a multitude of decks and archetypes. This is opposed to focused story sets that may only examine a few archetypes at a time to properly flesh out their fundamentals. Of the archetypes given support in Radiant Origins, Ciel's mechanic of using Omens is well-represented. We previously talked about Pastiche being a flexible tool and recursive option in Ciel decks, offering "toolboxing" in some strategies. Recursion effects generally amplify cards that are problematic when seen in multiples beyond what ordinarily should be the general odds of seeing and playing any particular card in a game. With added Omen synergies and support, Pastiche is further solidified and strengthened in these strategies, which in turn further lays bare the aforementioned problems. We will continue to monitor Pastiche and its utility in the upcoming meta.
Category 1
This category consists of cards that we don’t consider problematic in the current environment, but are unhealthy for future balance and game design space. This category currently has six cards: Alkahest, Carpsong Coda, Dream Fairy, Incandescent Reliquary, Ranger Strides, and Topsy Decree.
Carpsong Coda is the newest addition to Category 1. While we wanted to present this card as a sort of capstone of Harmony and Melody Water decks (as Erupting Rhapsody existed for Fire decks), we do have initial concerns about this card for the upcoming meta. Carpsong Coda has a low floor of access with the now-abundant sources of effects that put cards into the graveyard in Water. In addition, it suffers the same issue as most Harmonies and Melodies in the subtyping as a Skill as opposed to a Spell, allowing Coda to circumvent many sources that could interact with this card. .
Pantheon Watchlist
Category 3
This category will contain all cards that are banned and restricted, proving to be too powerful or too impactful, and limiting tournament deck diversity and meta health of the Pantheon Format. There are no cards here yet! Hooray!Category 2
This category contains cards that we consider very problematic and are heavily watched for potential future legality changes and category shifts. There are no cards here yet! Yahoo!Category 1
This category consists of cards that we don’t consider problematic in the current environment, but are unhealthy for future balance and game design space. There are no cards here yet! Yippee!That's all for this B&R update! The next B&R will be April 20th, 2026.