Format Update - 06/13/2025

Effective Date: 06/16/2025

Summary of Changes

  • Broadside Bombardiers – Removed from Watchlist

  • Nadu, Winged Wisdom – Removed from Watchlist

  • Ketramose, the New Dawn – Remains on Watchlist

  • Lutri, the Spellchaser – Added to Watchlist

Broadside Bombardiers – Removed from Watchlist

The card remains powerful, especially in aggressive red decks where its burst damage can close out games, but its performance has remained within expectations. While Broadside excels when paired with synergistic pieces like Fable of the Mirror-Breaker tokens or commanders such as Slimefoot, it functions more as a complementary threat than a standalone problem. Its most explosive plays tend to rely on setup and board presence, making it easier to answer in reactive matchups.

Control and midrange decks have adapted to keep up interaction for turns where Broadside might hit the battlefield. Though it can take over games if left unchecked, that’s true of many staples in the format. Broadside has proven to be strong but not format-warping, and it hasn’t demonstrated an outsized or oppressive influence on the metagame. With that in mind, the card will be removed from the Watchlist.

Nadu, Winged Wisdom – Removed from Watchlist

Nadu, Winged Wisdom will be removed from the Watchlist. While the card remains powerful and can be frustrating to face, its overall impact on the format has not warranted a ban. Combo lines involving Lightning Greaves, Shuko, or other enablers can certainly generate impressive value and occasionally win games on the spot, but they typically require multiple pieces and board presence. Compared to more deterministic combos like Chain of Smog with Witherbloom Apprentice, Nadu’s interactions tend to be more conditional and less consistent.

In practice, Nadu serves more often as a strong synergy piece rather than a dominant win condition. It can swing games when paired with the right tools, but it rarely acts as the sole driver of victory. Its reliance on enablers that are otherwise low-impact adds a natural check to its power level. When played fairly, Nadu resembles cards like Kira, Great Glass-Spinner, offering protection and incremental value, but requiring support to truly shine. Its presence in the format encourages creative deckbuilding but hasn’t proven oppressive.

Nadu has been under watch for over a year, and while initial concerns were understandable, recent data and gameplay suggest that it fits within the current competitive environment. With that in mind, the committee believes it is appropriate to remove Nadu from the Watchlist.

Ketramose, the New Dawn – Remains on Watchlist

After careful review and discussion, the committee has decided to keep Ketramose on the Watchlist rather than proceed with a ban. While the card does warp the metagame to a degree, its presence has also led to several positive developments that merit continued observation rather than immediate removal. Notably, Ketramose has created shifts in deckbuilding and card choices, including the increased use of efficient answers like Dismember and Ray of Enfeeblement. Its influence has disrupted midrange dominance, creating room for aggro decks to succeed and even opening space for combo strategies. We see these changes as healthy signs of a diversifying top tier of decks.

Ketramose also introduces a viable control archetype distinct from Aminatou, offering players an alternative path in that space. While its play patterns may still be frustrating to some, its role in expanding the control landscape is a valuable one, especially in a format where viable control options have historically been narrow. Counterplay does exist, particularly in blue and white decks that can rely on counterspells, flicker effects, bounce, and exile-based removal like On Thin Ice and Ossification. While green decks may struggle more, so do red decks, but we view this as a valuable safety valve on a color that has been dominant since the change from 25 life to 20 life.

Initial community sentiment around Ketramose was largely negative, but that stance has softened somewhat following recent events. Some players, and certainly some Committee members, have begun to recognize its contribution to a more varied and interesting metagame, even if its patterns remain polarizing. In terms of graveyard interaction, Ketramose does affect certain strategies, but full-on graveyard decks have struggled for some time, and this card has not significantly made that situation worse. Some graveyard-reliant archetypes remain viable with the right tuning.

For now, Ketramose will remain on the Watchlist as we continue monitoring its long-term impact. The current data suggests it is fostering rather than stifling diversity, and we encourage players to keep adapting and innovating as the format evolves.

Lutri, the Spellchaser – Added to Watchlist

Lutri, the Spellchaser will not be banned at this time. While early concerns focused on its Companion status and the perception that it’s a “free” card, recent discussion and gameplay data point to a more nuanced reality. Lutri provides real strategic value, particularly in Izzet decks, as a way to generate tempo swings and close out games, often by copying spells like Swords to Plowshares or Lightning Bolt at decisive moments. Against decks like Ketramose, Lutri can even serve as a primary win condition, helping to push through damage when traditional aggro means fall short.

Although the Companion requirement may not feel restrictive to some players, it does impose a cost. A sideboard slot is used, and decks must be built within the limitations of the singleton rule and two-color identity. While these constraints aren't severe, they do limit where Lutri can effectively be played. Importantly, some on the committee do not view Lutri as the core reason problematic decks succeed. Its presence in strategies like 5-color goodstuff or Ral-based combos reflects its usefulness, but those decks often have multiple engines for victory. Lutri enhances them but doesn’t define them.

Ultimately, Lutri remains strong, and its ability to swing games is undeniable, but its power level appears to be within range of other format staples. The committee will continue to monitor Lutri’s role carefully, especially in relation to broader archetypes and future shifts in the metagame.

Final Thoughts

The committee remains committed to transparency in how we handle banlist decisions. We know some community members feel we take too long to take strong stances on certain cards, and while that criticism is fair, it’s not without context.

In the online meta, our main tournaments run over the course of a month, which naturally slows down how quickly we can observe meaningful meta shifts. Similarly, we’re fortunate to now receive data from a growing in-paper scene, in Northern California, but those events also occur monthly and share the same limitations in pacing.

Second, while we do look at results and patterns, we haven’t yet had an efficient system to turn raw data into meaningful insights. Much of the analysis is still done manually, but that’s changing. We’re about 60% of the way through building an automated process that will give us real analytics to better support our decisions, alongside play experience and community feedback.

Even in the absence of fully automated tools, our discussions around the Watchlist and Ban List are thoughtful and deliberate. We want to be clear that we’re actively working to improve our internal processes, and we appreciate your patience as we grow in that area.

Thank you all for your continued support and trust as we work to steward the format responsibly.

– The Tiny Leaders Reborn Committee