Banned and restricted cards in Pauper

The Pauper banlist holds the cards banned in the format played exclusively with commons. After Standard it is the list that moves most often, because the pool of legal cards widens with every common reprint.

Pauper is made of commons, and the banlist protects that

Pauper is played with cards of common rarity only, which changes what the list means: a card lands here not for being rare and powerful, but because a common has an effect out of proportion with what the format can answer. Its pool also grows in an unusual way — every common reprint of an older card suddenly makes it legal, and some of those reprints are exactly what forced an intervention. It is the format whose list is worth checking most often, because a card that was rare yesterday may have become common with the latest set.

How to check a Pauper deck

Before settling a list it is worth checking the cards in the other formats you might play them in: the complete banlist gathers every list on one page, and from there you reach the Commander banlist and the Modern banlist. To see what the latest change did to the tables there are the Pauper decks and the Pauper tournaments, while the spoilers of the sets on the way are where you see, ahead of time, the cards that may push towards the next intervention.

Frequently asked questions about the Pauper banlist

Which cards are legal in Pauper?

Only the ones printed at common rarity. It is the criterion that defines the format, and also the reason the pool widens with every set.

Does a common reprint make a formerly rare card legal?

Yes, and that is what makes this the most mobile list of all: a card reprinted at common joins the format the day the set is out, and sometimes that arrival is exactly what forces an intervention.