It was a busy and wild week in the world of Magic with some much appreciated news coming in an unexpected location. The headline from last week is the upcoming ban of Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath in Historic, Modern, and Pioneer. The announcement was followed with a Tweet saying that more information is coming on Monday, February 15th. It is possible there will be other bans (including removing Uro from Legacy) but nothing has been confirmed.
The ban announcement came in the midst of a Secret Lair Superdrop article. The Smitten Superdrop features five different Secret Lairs and is on sale from February 12-21. One lair features Uro, which prompted the early announcement of the ban. The drops are:
- Faerie, Faerie Bad: Available in foil only, the drop will include borderless alternate art for Glen Elendra Archmage, Mistbind Clique, Spellstutter Sprite, and Vendilion Clique.
- The Unfathomable Crushing Brutality of Basic Lands: Available in both foil and non-foil varieties, this drop features one of each basic land with new, alternate art.
- Valentine’s Day 2021: Available in foil and non-foil, features borderless alternate art for Boros Charm, Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, Goblin Rabblemaster, Heliod, Sun Crowned, Monastery Swiftspear, and Goblin Token.
- There are two Showcase Kaldheim drops. Both are available in foil and non-foil and the cards are given the Kaldheim Showcase treatment. Part 1 features Frost Titan, Primeval Titan, and Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath. Part 2 features Grave Titan, Inferno Titan, and Kroxa, Titan of Death’s Hunger.
Speaking of Secret Lairs, three more cards were revealed for Secret Lair: Black is Magic: Cultivate, Kaya, Ghost Assassin, and Teferi, Hero of Dominaria. Available February 22-March 31, the proceeds from this Secret Lair will benefit Black Girls CODE.
This week also saw the release of the latest batch of Challenger Decks. These decks are designed to be competitive at Friday Night Magic level events straight out of the box. The 2021 batch include Azorius Control, Dimir Rogues, Mono-Red Aggro, and Mono-Green Stompy.
The final bit of news from this week is the first Limited Arena Open. Taking place February 20-21, the two day, high level event will feature Kaldheim Sealed on Day One and Day Two. Players can enter as many times as they like on Day One (with the option of both Best-of-One and Best-of-Three play). Getting to seven wins on Day Two will net you $2,000 (USD) and an invitation to the Strixhaven Qualifier Weekend on Arena.
