Riftbound bans Stealthy Pursuer and two battlefields — and a 2v2 ban list is born
The second round of bans in Riftbound history is a triple hit. With today's announcement Riot adds one card to the Standard ban list — Stealthy Pursuer — and two more battlefields: The Arena's Greatest and Aspirant's Climb. On top of that, a dedicated 2v2 Constructed ban list makes its debut, inheriting the entire Standard list and adding one heavyweight name: the Legend Master Yi, Wuju Bladesman. Everything takes effect on Friday, July 24, 2026.
The big pictureAll the bans at a glance
| Card | Type | Where it's banned | The reason in short |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stealthy Pursuer | Unit | Standard (and therefore 2v2) | Engine of an infinite-unit combo as early as turn three |
| The Arena's Greatest | Battlefield | Standard (and therefore 2v2) | Amplifies the first player's advantage too much |
| Aspirant's Climb | Battlefield | Standard (and therefore 2v2) | A «forced» pick that also makes tournament rounds longer |
| Master Yi, Wuju Bladesman | Legend | 2v2 Constructed only | The defensive bonus doubled onto your ally dominates the format |
The structural news is the 2v2 Constructed ban list: from today the team format has its own list, made up of the entire Standard ban list plus the cards banned only there. Future announcements will always state explicitly which of the two formats each ban applies to.
The pre-emptive banStealthy Pursuer and the infinite Recruits combo
The most interesting case is Stealthy Pursuer, because it is effectively a pre-emptive ban: Riot had already shared its intent to ban the card early in the Vendetta preview season, when much of the community had spotted a potential infinite Unit combo built around it, Eye of the Herald and Renata Glasc, Industrialist.
The result? Infinite Recruits as early as turn three, with only small windows for the opponent to interact. In Riot's internal testing the combo proved disruptable, yes — but so consistent that it became a merciless check on the entire metagame: either your deck beats it, or it loses. The classic polarizing games where you get to turn three and ask your opponent: «do you have it?» — and nobody wants a format decided like that.
The turning pointTwo battlefields out of Standard
The banhammer hits battlefields again — it already happened in March with The Dreaming Tree, Obelisk of Power and Reaver's Row — but this time the reasoning is subtler than the usual «card too strong». The Arena's Greatest and Aspirant's Climb were hugely popular, but not to the point of forcing action on popularity alone: the problem, Riot explains, is the effect they had on the structure of competitive play. For many decks, running one of these point battlefields had become the automatic move in game 2 or 3, the moment you learned whether you were going first or second.
The Arena's Greatest — a point at each player's first Beginning Phase — is particularly powerful when going first: a structural advantage Riot didn't think it healthy to reinforce with that much consistency. Aspirant's Climb has the opposite problem: by raising the points needed to win by 1, it makes games longer — a mild annoyance at the kitchen table, a real issue in tournaments, where rounds have to finish on time.
The stated goal is more diversity in battlefield choices and decisions less determined by who goes first. We'll see over the coming weeks how the meta tier list settles.
The team formatMaster Yi banned in 2v2 (and only there)
Closing the announcement is Master Yi, Wuju Bladesman, the first name on the newborn 2v2 ban list. Note, though: the Proving Grounds Legend remains perfectly legal in 1v1, where it has proven a solid but not dominant competitor. The problem lies entirely in the team format: its defensive bonus extends to your ally too, and starting the game with that many «free» stats on two fronts turned out to be too much. Ever since Riot started experimenting with 2v2 as a competitive format, Wuju Bladesman had been overwhelmingly overrepresented among top teams.
It's the kind of surgical move players of other TCGs know well: banning per format, rather than everywhere, protects the health of 2v2 without punishing anyone who plays Master Yi in the main format.
The philosophyThe three questions Riot asks before a ban
Riot took the opportunity to restate its ban philosophy, summed up in three questions: is the card overrepresented in an unhealthy way? Will its problems get better or worse over time? Does it promote unhealthy play patterns? The curious thing about today's announcement is that each ban answers a different question: Stealthy Pursuer falls on the second (with Vendetta on the way, it could only get worse), the two battlefields on the third (they made choices deterministic), Master Yi on the first (it dominated the top 2v2 teams).
In short
- 🚫 Stealthy Pursuer, The Arena's Greatest and Aspirant's Climb are banned in Standard from July 24, 2026.
- 👥 A 2v2 Constructed ban list is born: the entire Standard list plus Master Yi, Wuju Bladesman, who remains legal in 1v1.
- ♾️ Stealthy Pursuer is a pre-emptive ban: with Eye of the Herald and Renata Glasc, Industrialist it generated infinite Recruits from turn three.
- 🗺️ The count of banned battlefields rises to five (after March's three): the goal is more variety and less of an edge for whoever goes first.
Frequently asked questionsFAQ: the July bans
When do the new bans take effect?
On July 24, 2026. Since the announcement came on July 17, there is a one-week transition window: every tournament played from the 24th onwards, including Zone tournaments, applies the new list.
Is Master Yi, Wuju Bladesman banned in 1v1 too?
No: the ban only applies to 2v2 Constructed. In 1v1 Standard the Legend remains fully legal and playable.
Why was Stealthy Pursuer banned if the combo could be disrupted?
Because testing showed it was far too consistent: it generated infinite units as early as turn three with only small windows for interaction, forcing the whole metagame to answer it. Riot had already announced its intent to ban the card during the Vendetta preview season.
Where can I find the complete, up-to-date ban lists?
In our complete Riftbound ban list, updated with every announcement, or on the official Rules Hub. Future ban announcements will explicitly state whether they apply to Standard, 2v2 or both.
Source: official «July Ban List Updates» announcement on playriftbound.com; complete ban lists on the Rules Hub. Analysis by the Riftbound Zone editorial team. Card images © Riot Games.
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