The long-awaited Standard ban announcement has finally been released for Magic: The Gathering. After weeks of swirling rumors and even an elaborately constructed hoax that "leaked" the ban list before it was officially revealed, players now know which cards have been deemed too overpowered for Standard and are getting the executioner's axe. Here's how the Standard meta is changing.

Wizards of the Coast recently announced big changes to the Standard format in MTG, notably less frequent rotation and bans. These are major changes that will cause the Standard card pool to expand further than it ever has in MTG history, though the effect this will have on the meta is as of yet unknown.

MTG March 29 Standard Ban Announcement

In a release on the official MTG website, Wizards of the Coast announced three cards are to be banned in Standard: Invoke Despair, Fable of the Mirror Breaker and Reckoner Bankbuster. These three cards have appeared in quadruplicate in the most powerful decks in Standard for months - their banning will likely come as some relief to players tired of facing these decks.

Broadly, our goal of Standard remaining a fun and healthy play environment hasn't changed. However, we will be placing more scrutiny on cards and play patterns that have been in play longer to ensure Standard is a fresh, engaging, and continually exciting format.WOTC designer Andrew Brown

Players on MTG Arena will receive Wildcards equal to the number of copies they have of these cards as a "refund." The ban will likely come into effect online sometime in the next few days.

This article was originally published on dbltap as MTG March 29 Standard Ban Announcement.