Riftbound Ban List Explained

Riftbound's first banlist landed on 31 March 2026, when Riot Games banned seven cards from competitive constructed play. On 17 July 2026 Riot announced a second wave — four more bans, effective 24 July 2026 — plus a brand-new Constructed 2v2 ban list. Here's the complete, current picture: every banned card, why each was banned, and what it means if you own one.

July 2026 update: 4 more bans + a new 2v2 ban list

Effective 24 July 2026, Riot added three cards to the Standard banlist and opened a separate ban list for the Constructed 2v2 format:

Added to the Standard banlist:

• Stealthy Pursuer (Origins) — enabled a near-infinite Unit combo with Eye of the Herald and Renata Glasc, Industrialist, generating infinite Recruits as early as turn 3. Riot called it out during Vendetta's own preview season once the community found it, and confirmed internal testing showed it stayed consistent even though technically disruptable — "a harsh check on the metagame."
• The Arena's Greatest (Origins, Battlefield) — very popular, but Riot judged it had bent the structure of competitive play in an unhealthy direction.
• Aspirant's Climb (Origins, Battlefield) — banned alongside The Arena's Greatest for the same structural reason.

New: Constructed 2v2 ban list. This is the first time Riot has published a ban list specific to the 2v2 format. It starts as the entire Standard banlist (everything above and below) plus one additional card:

• Master Yi, Wuju Bladesman (Legend) — banned in 2v2 only; legal in 1v1 Standard.

Riot's own words on how they decide a ban: "there are three questions we ask ourselves when considering whether to ban a card: is this card overrepresented in an unhealthy way? Are the problems with this card likely to get better or worse over time? Does this card promote unhealthy play patterns?" Going forward, Riot says any ban that applies to both formats will say so explicitly — otherwise assume a new Standard ban does not automatically apply to 2v2, and vice versa.

The original 7 banned cards (31 March 2026)

• Scrapheap (Origins) — enabled "Miracle Decks": drawing and playing large numbers of cards at heavily discounted cost.
• Called Shot (Spiritforged) — the same Miracle Deck problem as Scrapheap.
• Draven, Vanquisher (Spiritforged) — a straight power outlier; the design team has called it an outright mistake.
• Reaver's Row (Origins) — synergised too well with Draven and encouraged non-interactive play patterns.
• Fight or Flight (Origins) — limited to rein in Chaos decks' overall power level.
• The Dreaming Tree (Origins) — provided so much card flow it tipped the balance toward specific deck styles.
• Obelisk of Power (Origins) — banned for its sheer ubiquity; it was in nearly every competitive list.

What "banned" actually means

A banned card can't be included in a deck for competitive constructed play — organized tournaments and ranked events run under Riot's official rules. It doesn't necessarily mean your local game store's casual nights follow the same list; check with your local organizer if you're unsure, since casual play often runs looser rules than sanctioned events. And as of July 2026, "banned" isn't one list any more — a card can be banned in Standard, in 2v2 only, or (per Riot) in both if a future update says so explicitly.

Does a ban affect a card's price?

It can go either way. A ban can crash a card's price as competitive demand dries up, or it can hold steady (or even rise) on casual and collector demand if the card is popular outside tournament play — especially for a splashy legendary printing like Draven, Vanquisher. Rather than guess, check the live numbers: every banned card above links to its own RiftCompare page with current pricing and price history across every market we track.

Why ban lists matter for deckbuilding

If you're building a deck today, none of the cards above are legal in sanctioned events for their listed format(s) — plan around their absence rather than building toward them. If you already own one, it's still a real card for casual games, or worth checking the price on if you're thinking of selling.

We'll update this guide the moment any further changes to either ban list are announced.

Ban reasoning summarized from Riot Games' official announcements (31 March 2026 and 17 July 2026) and community coverage of Riftbound's ban history.