Ekko, Recurrent and Stacked Deck Join Riftbound's Ban List on September 18
Ekko, Recurrent and Stacked Deck are banned in Standard and Constructed 2v2 from September 18, 2026.
Starting September 18, 2026, Ekko - Recurrent and Stacked Deck are banned in both Standard and Constructed 2v2. The change applies to sanctioned play in those formats from the effective date, so lists prepared for the next Regional Championship stretch need to remove every copy before registration.
This is a targeted two-card update, not a ban on Lux, Kennen, or Chaos as a whole. Riot is cutting the engine pieces it says create the least healthy outcomes: Ekko's self-recycling, rune-readying loop and Stacked Deck's unusually efficient combination of selection, synergy, and trash setup.
At a glance
- Effective
- September 18, 2026
- Standard
- Ekko - Recurrent and Stacked Deck banned
- Constructed 2v2
- Both cards also banned
- Card IDs
- OGN-110 and OGN-183
Cards in this update
Review the two cards joining the Standard and Constructed 2v2 ban lists.
Why Ekko, Recurrent was banned
Riot's concern is the play pattern rather than raw popularity. The Lux combo that grew out of Unleashed remained a small share of the field, but Ekko could recycle itself while readying runes, allowing the engine to continue with few practical windows for the opponent to intervene. Riot describes the effect as functionally granting another turn while returning its own key piece.
Removing Ekko attacks the repeatable core instead of every Mind card around it. Most Mind decks should remain intact, while lists built around the loop will need a genuine rebuild rather than a one-card substitution.
Why Stacked Deck was banned
Stacked Deck asks very little of a Chaos deck for a large consistency gain. It smooths draws, works cheaply with Ravenbloom Student and Abandoned Hall, and becomes more powerful when a strategy also rewards cards entering the trash.
Kennen is the clearest target. With Lightning Rush, Stacked Deck helped the deck move through cards quickly, locate Nocturne, and stock the trash for Rhasa the Sunderer and Last Rites. Riot's stated goal is to slow that engine without deleting Kennen's core strategy. Other Chaos decks lose a flexible consistency tool too, so the adjustment is broader than a single matchup even though Kennen prompted the action.
What players need to change
Remove both cards from Standard and Constructed 2v2 lists for events on or after September 18. The update is shared by both formats; it is not another 2v2-only restriction. Master Yi, Wuju Bladesman remains the additional 2v2-only ban from the July update.
Lux combo pilots should treat the change as an engine break and retest from the win condition outward. Kennen pilots still retain the Legend and the rest of the trash-based shell, but they should expect fewer effortless keeps and less reliable access to their most important payoffs. Any other Chaos list using Stacked Deck as generic glue needs to replace the function it served—selection, synergy, or trash setup—rather than assuming one card can reproduce all three.
Riftarc view: narrow bans with wide deckbuilding consequences
The two choices follow different balance goals. Ekko is a play-pattern ban aimed at preventing a repeatable, low-interaction loop. Stacked Deck is a consistency ban aimed at reducing how often a top strategy assembles its best sequence. Neither ban removes the headline Legend behind the affected deck, which leaves room for adaptation while meaningfully lowering the reliability of the old builds.
For tournament preparation, the practical takeaway is simple: update exported lists now, then test the rebuilt decks instead of relying on pre-ban matchup data. The cards become illegal on September 18, and the first important results after the change will show which strategies can convert that lost consistency into a new plan.