Quick Links
You can’t keep a good Magic: The Gathering card like Reckoner Bankbuster down unless, of course, it gets banned in Standard. The loss of an extremely versatile draw engine and occasional attacker will have a huge impact on many decks in the format, while also allowing other cards to shine.
Reckoner Bankbuster hit Standard back in Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty and quickly become one of the most played cards in the format, finding its way into just about any deck thanks to its low cost and completely colorless mana cost. If you’re still wondering why Reckoner Bankbuster was banned, here’s everything you need to know about the little vehicle, why it was so powerful, and why Magic decided to ban it.
What Is Reckoner Bankbuster?
One of several breakout cards from the science fiction-inspired set Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, Reckoner Bankbuster is an artifact vehicle for just two generic mana, letting it slot right into practically any deck in Standard.
With a crew cost of three, you could turn Reckoner Bankbuster into a 4/4 creature, which might not be much to write home about on its own; it can quickly chip away at your opponent's life total after only a few turns.
Much of what makes Reckonder Bankbuster so good is its ability to sit back and draw cards with your available mana. When it comes into play, you place three charge counters on it. Then, by paying two generic mana and tapping it, you could remove a counter to draw a card.
Once all counters are removed this way, you create a Treasure token as well as a 1/1 colorless Pilot creature token that has an extra ability to allow it to crew Vehicles as though its power is two points higher than what it currently is.
Why Is Reckoner Bankbuster Good?
It shouldn’t be surprising that Reckoner Bankbuster is considered one of the best artifacts printed in a long time, given all it can do.
Reckoner Bankbuster is a cheap artifact that pulls triple duty; it can draw you cards, block or attack depending on your situation, and even help advance your board if you’re short on creatures or mana.
Much of its power comes from its versatility. Reckoner Bankbuster only costs two generic mana, and its abilities only cost another two generic mana, meaning any deck can play without any restriction in mana.
It doesn’t matter if you’re playing an aggro deck or a hard control list; you can safely include a few Bankbusters without having to make any specific mana commitments.
Another big contributor to the Bankbuster’s power in Standard was the number of plays it gave you at any given time. Since you can activate its abilities at instant speed, you could wait to see what your opponents do before deciding on your own.
If your opponent recklessly attacks with a creature with three power or less, you can crew your Bankbuster to block it. Even if your opponent has a response, you can still pay two generic mana to draw a card from Bankbuster before it dies.
Speaking of removal spells, Reckoner Bankbuster could also dodge most of the commonly played removal spells in Standard. Cut Down can't stop it since its combined power and toughness are eight. Go For The Throat does nothing, as Reckoner Bankbuster is an artifact creature. Even Invoke Despair is powerless to take out a Reckoner Bankbuster, unless you crewed it on your opponent’s turn.
Why Was Reckoner Bankbuster Banned?
Given all the value you can get from Reckoner Bankbuster, it's come as little surprise that this Vehicle was on the chopping block. A card that provides consistent card draw while also capable of reducing your opponent’s life total is a little too good.
Wizards explained the ban in further detail, saying,
“Reckoner Bankbuster has been the go-to card-advantage engine for many decks in Standard since its release. As a colorless card, it has been effortless to slot into a wide variety of colors and strategies. Its general ubiquity and strength have pushed out other card-advantage options too much as a colorless card. It has also put stress on creature sizing, as creatures that can crew Reckoner Bankbuster have been more favored than others. To promote more diversity and give power back to other types of cards in different colors, Reckoner Bankbuster is banned.”
Reckoner Bankbuster’s versatility meant that 29 of the Top 32 decks from Magic: The Gathering Arena’s Arena Championship 3 tournament played at least one copy of the Vehicle in the main board.
Even if players weren’t playing with a full playset in the main deck, several additional copies could be found in the Sideboard of their decks.
Since its wide usage can be considered format-warping, having found itself in the majority of the top decks in Standard, including Rakdos Midrange, Jeskai Dragons, Boros Midrange, and more, it warranted a ban in anticipation of the The Wilds of Eldraine.
Can I Still Play Reckoner Bankbuster?
Unfortunately no, you cannot play Reckoner Bankbuster, not in Standard, at least. There may be a possibility in the future for an unbanning once additional sets are released, but the likelihood of this happening is extremely low.
You can still take your copies of Reckoner Bankbuster with you to Brawl, Commander, Legacy, Modern, Oathbreaker, Pioneer, Vintage, and more, as the only format it is banned in is Standard.