Source transparency: This Digest item is based primarily on reporting from Wizards of the Coast. TMF summarizes and interprets the news; original reporting remains credited and linked.
Wizards of the Coast and the Pauper Format Panel have changed their decision on The Zeta Set. The twelve cards printed at common for the first time will affect Pauper legality, with two immediate bans: Narcomoeba and Price of Progress.
The remaining ten become legal in tabletop Pauper on September 7, 2026: Dispatch, Return to Dust, Serra Angel, An Offer You Can’t Refuse, Cut Down, Sengir Vampire, Vandalblast, Gigantosaurus, Baleful Strix and Soul-Guide Lantern. Magic Online is scheduled to implement the change on September 23, creating a temporary difference between paper and online play.
Gavin Verhey announced the reversal on September 4 on behalf of the Pauper Format Panel. The decision preserves the format’s usual principle that a common printing in paper or on Magic Online counts toward legality, subject to bans.
Several additions, including Baleful Strix, Vandalblast, Dispatch and Cut Down, will be monitored closely. The panel plans to reassess the cards in the October 12 and December banned-and-restricted updates; further bans have not been announced.
Source: Wizards of the Coast — On The Zeta Set in Pauper.
The remaining ten become legal in tabletop Pauper on September 7, 2026: Dispatch, Return to Dust, Serra Angel, An Offer You Can’t Refuse, Cut Down, Sengir Vampire, Vandalblast, Gigantosaurus, Baleful Strix and Soul-Guide Lantern. Magic Online is scheduled to implement the change on September 23, creating a temporary difference between paper and online play.
Gavin Verhey announced the reversal on September 4 on behalf of the Pauper Format Panel. The decision preserves the format’s usual principle that a common printing in paper or on Magic Online counts toward legality, subject to bans.
Several additions, including Baleful Strix, Vandalblast, Dispatch and Cut Down, will be monitored closely. The panel plans to reassess the cards in the October 12 and December banned-and-restricted updates; further bans have not been announced.
Source: Wizards of the Coast — On The Zeta Set in Pauper.
Original source: On The Zeta Set in Pauper ↗Wizards of the Coast