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There's one Magic: The Gathering ability that is now banned because it messes up MTG Arena

There is a reason why the ability to block an additional creature is a thing of the past in Magic: The Gathering

The art for Act of Heroism from Magic: The Gathering — Image credit: Wizards of the Coast

News by Jules Chin Greene, Staff Writer

Published on Thu Aug 20 2026

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It feels like there are as many mechanics in Magic: The Gathering as there are mutants in Marvel Comics. And not unlike Marvel's Merry Mutants, every Magic mechanic has at least one devoted super-fan. For the sake of clarity, I'll stop the X-Men invocations there.

Recently, Magic's head of design, Mark Rosewater, revealed on his Tumblr the reason why we don't typically see cards that have the ability to block an additional creature per turn these days.

On Tumblr, a fan asked Rosewater, "Do you think we will see more 'Can block an additional creature' cards? I really enjoy them," to which the designer responded, "We’ve stopped doing them (for now, at least) because they cause a lot of problems with digital."

The "digital" that Rosewater is referring to is MTG Arena, the digital version of Magic: The Gathering. Cards with the ability to block an additional creature tend to be from 2018 and earlier, though one card, Entourage of Trest, itself a reprint of the same card from the Conspiracy: Take the Crown set from 2016, was released in 2023 as part of the Commander Masters set.

Over the past six years, Magic has exploded in popularity, so it makes sense that the player base of Arena would also grow too. And nobody likes bugs in digital games.

So, sorry to those of you who are fans of the ability to block an additional creature.

Whether you are a Commander player, a regular at your local game shop's FNM event, or simply love collecting Magic: The Gathering cards, you've landed in the right place. From Universes Beyond to the furthest reaches of the Magic Multiverse, we've got you covered here at Popverse.

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Jules Chin Greene: Jules Chin Greene is a journalist and Jack Kirby enthusiast. He has written about comics, video games, movies, and television for sites such as Nerdist, AIPT, and Multiverse of Color.