Magic: The Gathering Has Already Nerfed Vivi Before The November 10 Bans

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A popular card in Magic: The Gathering, Vivi Ornitier, is being weakened today in the MTG Arena digital version. It might even be banned in certain game formats starting November 10th. Magic: The Gathering is currently doing very well, with sales up, and releases featuring characters from other franchises—called Universes Beyond—are a contributing factor. While opinions on these releases are varied, the Final Fantasy collaboration was a big hit with players and introduced some incredibly strong cards and strategies.

When cards from the Universes Beyond: Final Fantasy set became legal for Standard play, players quickly began testing them. However, a powerful card named Vivi Ornitier quickly became dominant, and the best Final Fantasy deck proved very expensive – costing around $800. After community feedback, Wizards of the Coast announced an earlier date for their November banned and restricted list and hinted that Vivi might be banned. Now, they’ve announced that Vivi won’t be banned, but will instead receive adjustments to balance its power within the MTG Arena digital game.

Say Goodbye to Magic: The Gathering’s Vivi Ornitier As You Know It

The combination of Vivi and Agatha’s Soul Cauldron is proving very powerful in the Standard format of Magic: The Gathering. Although this particular combo isn’t possible in the Alchemy format, Wizards of the Coast is adjusting Vivi to ensure it remains balanced compared to other strong cards. In Alchemy, Vivi can be combined with Swiftspear’s Teachings for a low cost to deal damage to opponents, strengthen itself, and create even more mana. This also gives any creature played afterward both haste and prowess.

Vivi can now generate mana more often, as its ability isn’t limited to once per turn. With a recent change to Swiftspear’s Teachings – it now grants either haste or prowess to the next creature played, instead of both – the combination of Vivi and Swiftspear might not be as strong in the Alchemy format. However, this change could actually make Vivi even more powerful in the Historic format, opening up opportunities for powerful combos that repeatedly untap creatures. Because Vivi creates a lot of mana, it’s easier to achieve this with cards like Crab Umbra and Freed from the Real.

A big Magic: The Gathering tournament is happening this weekend, and these changes are unfortunately inconvenient for people who play online.

Adding to the problem, the digital version of the card Vivi being altered creates a difficult situation for the physical card. Wizards of the Coast will either need to issue an official correction and update the card’s text on future printings, or address the issue with the existing physical cards – potentially by banning Vivi in tabletop play, but not in the online version. To make matters worse, many Magic: The Gathering Standard decks now revolve entirely around Vivi and the Cauldron combo, or strategies specifically designed to defeat it, like aggressive mono-Red decks.

As a Magic: The Gathering player, I’m hearing a lot of disappointment about the current state of Vivi. Honestly, the revised version they tested would have been way less problematic and dominant in Standard. It seems like Wizards is in a tough spot, and some people are guessing they might not ban Vivi right away. Instead, they could test things out online first and maybe ban something like Agatha’s Soul Cauldron to slow down the most popular deck and give the meta a chance to breathe. But it’s all just speculation until the official announcement on November 10th, so we’ll have to wait and see!

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2025-10-28 21:34