In the wake of Pro Tour Rivals of Ixalan, the Magic world was abuzz with potential updates to the Modern banned list. Today it was announced that both Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Bloodbraid Elf, two long time residents of the banned list, were coming back to play. These changes will take effect on Magic Online this Wednesday, February 14. In paper the change will take effect next Monday, allowing Grand Prix Lyon to go forward without these two cards being legal.

In the update, Ian Duke described the evolving Modern format as a reason for returning these two cards to the fold. Since the pair first found themselves removed from Modern, the power level has steadily risen. Given the accumulation of data from both the Pro Tour and Magic Online, the team at Wizards of the Coast felt that adding Jace and Bloodbraid back to card pool would increase diversity while not harming format health.

The next Banned and Restricted List Update will take place on April 16, 2018.