Amalia Benavides Aguirre — Pioneer ban and where the explore combo stands now

Amalia Benavides Aguirre came out of The Lost Caverns of Ixalan: a 2/2 Vampire Scout with ward—pay 3 life. Whenever you gain life, Amalia explores. When her power is exactly 20, you destroy all other creatures. The combo was straightforward — gain life, put +1/+1 counters on her, hit 20, board wipe and swing. In Pioneer it was enough for Wizards to act. She's now banned in Pioneer. She's still legal in Standard, Modern, and Commander. So the deck that ran her in Pioneer is gone from that format; the card itself is very much alive elsewhere.

What the ban means

Pioneer lost the Amalia combo. Players who had the deck either switched to another format or shelved the strategy there. Demand for the card in Pioneer vanished for that format; demand in Commander and Standard (and to a lesser extent Modern) remains. We're not calling a top or a bottom. We're reporting: the chart below shows the LCI printing. If you're playing her in another format or just tracking the aftermath of the ban, the data's there. Until next time — may your life gain be modest and your power counts be 19 or 21.