Balustrade Spy

Standard	Rotated out on September 26, 2014
Pioneer	Banned since February 15, 2021
Modern	Never Banned
Legacy	Never Banned
Vintage	Never Banned
Commander	Never Banned
Pauper	Never Banned
Oathbreaker	Never Banned
Extended	Never Banned

View on Scryfall

Timeline

• February 1, 2013 - Released
• February 15, 2021 - Status changed to Banned in Pioneer

Rationale

Balustrade Spy was banned in the Pioneer format due to its role in the "Oops! All Spells" deck. This strategy, which utilizes Balustrade Spy and Undercity Informer to empty the library, presents a powerful and difficult-to-counter build that commanded a significant portion of the metagame. The ban was enacted because the overwhelming presence of this specific deck threatened the desired balance and diversity of the format.

This summary was generated by gemma4 on September 14, 2026. It has not yet been reviewed by a human editor and may contain some inaccuracies. Learn more.

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