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Instant
Draw three cards, then put two cards from your hand on top of your library in any order.
"I reeled from the blow, and then suddenly, I knew exactly what to do. Within moments, victory was mine." —Gustha Ebbasdotter, Kjeldoran Royal Mage
Ban history
Banned for format identity — to keep Premodern from being 'Legacy-lite', not because of a specific deck.
- Banned in Premodern
- On or before May 2018
- On earliest archived list; likely since 2012 founding
- Category
- Format identity
- Research
- Research confidence: High confidence
- First printed
- First printed in Ice Age (3 June 1995).
Why it’s banned
Format identity: official site says cards dominant in other formats are banned 'to leave room for other cards to prosper, and to make the format distinct from others' (Brainstorm named explicitly). Also cited as 'premium filtering' in June 2018.
Official reason
“some cards that are dominant in other formats are banned in Premodern (e.g. Brainstorm and Force of Will) in order to leave room for other cards to prosper, and to make the format distinct from others.”
Context (not an official statement)
Brainstorm is widely described as one of the best cards in Legacy, especially combined with fetchland shuffles (both Onslaught fetchlands and Brainstorm are in the Premodern pool). Berlin's June 2018 post also counts its absence ('premium filtering like Brainstorm (also banned)') as a reason Bargain combo was less consistent. Never banned or restricted in Standard/Extended/Legacy; restricted in Vintage June 2008.[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
The story
Brainstorm (Ice Age, 1995) is Legacy's signature cantrip, made far stronger by fetchland shuffles. Premodern's official About text names it, with Force of Will, as a card banned not because of a particular deck but to leave room for other cards and keep the format distinct from Legacy. It appears on every archived Premodern ban list (earliest May 2018), and Berlin's 2018 post notes its absence weakens combo consistency. Wizards has only ever restricted it in Vintage (June 2008).
Premodern changes
- On listOn the earliest archived Premodern ban list.[7]
Other formats (Wizards)
Related cards
Sources
- premodernmagic.com About / History / Rules (main template)
- Ban list update June 2018 (Martin Berlin, 2018-06-25)
- Star City Games: The Long And Winding Road – The Best Card In Legacy
- TCGplayer: How to Master Brainstorm in MTG: Deep Dive
- MTGBans.info per-card timelines (effective dates; site's AI-generated rationales NOT used)
- MTG Wiki: Banned and restricted cards/Timeline
- Wayback: premodernmagic.com/banned-watched/ 2018-05-06 (34 banned, 5 watched)
- Scryfall card data (printings, release dates)
- premodernmagic.com legal sets endpoint
Research as of 18 October 2026.
In our decks
Not in any of our curated decklists yet. Find similar cards.
Played in tournaments
Share of published Premodern decklists that play Brainstorm (main or sideboard): 4,173 lists from paper events and MTGO in the last 90 days, through .
Not seen in any of the 4,173 tournament lists from the last 90 days. Browse the meta.
Printings (45)
Every tournament-legal paper printing (no gold-border, World Championship or oversized cards). Hover or tap a row to preview that printing.
