Parallax Tide Banned in Premodern (January 2026)

On January 18, 2026, Parallax Tide became the first card banned in Premodern in years, added to the list by format creator Martin Berlin at premodernmagic.com. The ban broke the “Tide lock” — a soft-lock that repeatedly exiled an opponent’s lands — that had warped the format after Premodern’s arrival on Magic Online.

Why it was banned

Paired with Opalescence-style effects and protected by Stifle, Parallax Tide could keep an opponent off their lands more or less indefinitely while the controlling deck assembled its win. The full reasoning — the Chain of Vapor and Stifle lines, and the data behind the decision — lives on the evergreen banlist entry: why Parallax Tide is banned. As always, premodernmtg.com mirrors Martin Berlin’s canonical banlist within 24 hours of any update.

What changed

Replenish lost its most devastating plan but did not die — it rebuilt around a Decree of Silence and Pandemonium burst-kill package and has kept winning. With the land-lock gone, fair midrange decks like The Rock returned, and GW Enchantress rose to “the deck to beat.” The full picture is in the March 2026 metagame snapshot.