List of deprecated mechanics

Some mechanics are unlikely to be printed in the future. For a variety of reasons, these mechanics were found to create undesirable gameplay. Many have been superseded by broadly similar mechanics.

Deprecated keywords

 * Banding, replaced by simarily flavored mechanics like Soulbond and Exalted
 * Fading, replaced by Vanishing
 * Fear, and later Intimidate, replaced by Menace as black/red evergreen evasion ability.
 * Landwalk.
 * Phasing, replaced by flickering.
 * Shroud, replaced by Hexproof.
 * Regenerate, replaced by Indestructible (until end of turn).

Other deprecated mechanics

 * Ante is hugely unpopular, illegal in some jurisdictions, and strictly banned by the Tournament Rules.
 * Flip cards, replaced by double-faced cards.

Deprecated counters
Many counter types are used on only a small handful of cards, and some cards have Oracle text that describes a different type of counter than that originally printed on the card. However, those counters generally vary in name for the sake of flavor, and there is no evidence that any such counter is deprecated.

Power/Toughness counters other than +1/+1 counters and -1/-1 counters were discontinued for the sake of ease of calculating a creature's current values.
 * +0/+1 counter
 * +0/+2 counter
 * +1/+0 counter
 * +1/+2 counter
 * +2/+0 counter
 * +2/+2 counter
 * -0/-1 counter
 * -0/-2 counter
 * -1/-0 counter
 * -2/-1 counter
 * -2/-2 counter