1/19/15 Ban and restricted list update. Treasure Cruise rekt

[rezombad]

http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/ar ... 2015-01-19

Announcement Date: January 19, 2015

Effective Date: January 23, 2015

Magic Online Effective Date: January 28, 2015

Modern:

Dig Through Time, Treasure Cruise, and Birthing Pod are banned.

Golgari Grave-Troll is no longer banned.

Legacy:

Treasure Cruise is banned.

Worldgorger Dragon is no longer banned.

Vintage:

Treasure Cruise is restricted.

Gifts Ungiven is no longer restricted.

The complete list of all banned and restricted cards, by format, is here.

Next B&R Announcement: March 23, 2015

EXPLANATION OF CHANGES
Wizards of the Coast examines tournament results from each competitive Constructed format. When a format becomes imbalanced, we examine the cause. Sometimes, a card-drawing card can be too efficient. The decks that draw cards so efficiently push out many other decks, limiting the field to the strong decks that best use those card drawers and decks that don't play in interactive games with those strong decks. In that case, the best option might be to ban the overly efficient card drawer.

Since Wizards looks to limit the number of cards banned, each format is evaluated on its own merits. The same card might be banned in some formats, and not others, in a way that might appear uneven. That happens because the card is banned in the formats where, in practice, it is problematic.

Here are our changes:

Modern

Decks playing the powerful card drawers have been winning a lot, and pushing a lot of other decks down in competitive play. Blue-Red Delver decks, playing efficient creatures, card drawers, burn, and some permission spells have been the most successful. Also, decks focused on more burn, or combination decks using Jeskai Ascendancy, have done well. However, as these decks have occupied a large portion of the competitive metagame, the overall variety of successful decks has been suppressed. It is imbalanced enough that Wizards of the Coast has decided to act. In Modern, these cards are easy replacements for one another—while a Delver deck might use Treasure Cruise over Dig Through Time, banning one but not the other would do little to change the deck. Dig Through Time and Treasure Cruise are banned.

Over the past year, Birthing Pod decks have won significantly more Grand Prix than any other Modern decks and compose the largest percentage of the field. Each year, new powerful options are printed, most recently Siege Rhino. Over time, this creates a growing gap between the strength of the Pod deck and other creature decks. Pod won five of the twelve Grand Prix over the past year, including winning the last two. The high percentage of the field playing Pod suppresses decks, especially other creature decks, that have an unfavorable matchup. In the interest of supporting a diverse format, Birthing Pod is banned.

When cards are banned from a format, Wizards investigates whether there is a banned card that, if not banned, might add new decks to competitive play. We look for cards that are unlikely to add power to existing top decks, but instead add new strategies or augment decks that are not currently as successful. Golgari Grave-Troll is very powerful in a deck based on getting a lot of cards into its graveyard. Replacing a card draw with dredge 6 is a terrific rate. However, that type of deck has not been as successful in Modern tournaments recently. While taking such a card off the banned list has some risks, this is a good time to see what happens. Golgari Grave-Troll is no longer banned.

Legacy

Blue-Red Delver decks have been so successful at tournament play that they are hurting the diversity of the format. While other decks can have some success, the diversity is significantly less than it had been. Treasure Cruise is banned.

Worldgorger Dragon has a strange and powerful interaction with Animate Dead. This used to be too powerful for Legacy. It is not clear that this is more powerful than animating Griselbrand, and this interaction may add an interesting variant. Worldgorger Dragon is no longer banned.

Vintage

Again, Blue-Red Delver decks have been so successful at tournament play that they are hurting the diversity of the format. Treasure Cruise is restricted.

Years ago, Gifts Ungiven was dominating Vintage tournament play. However, this has not been the case recently, and the card might invigorate some less-played Vintage decks. Gifts Ungiven is no longer restricted.

[Mcdonalds]

Good

[rezombad]

Modern dredge is now!

[rezombad]

Good

Your insight is unrivaled. Truly a renaissance man.

[Kaitscralt]

Lines up with my Delve predictions, although I thought Pod would hold out a little longer. Honestly not sure what is going on in Modern anymore.

[rezombad]

I was not expecting the pod ban. But it made me happy.

[TheCleaner]

I wonder if they'll from now on do that everytime before a modern PT... i'd love that, to be honest

[rezombad]

Well, they do open up a lot of design space not having to design creatures with pod in mind.

[Kaitscralt]

like they cared

[Mcdonalds]

Given the trend towards high value creatures (see standards midrange hell) yeah they wouldn't give a shit

[Mcdonalds]

Actually that raises questions, I get and agree SFM should be banned but they have literally done nothing with artifacts in the years since scars

[Mcdonalds]

So what design space was it limiting (iirc that was part of the reason it was banned)

[Mcdonalds]

I want my cycle of allied color swords dammit

[rezombad]

So what design space was it limiting (iirc that was part of the reason it was banned)

Xcc things that would break pod

[Mcdonalds]

Talking about sfm

[rezombad]

Overcosted equipment.

[Thrillho]

I honestly didn't see the Pod ban coming at all, and their rationale kind of stinks/echoes what Spam said, especially given that Modern is a pretty diverse and open format. That said, I guess when decks with Pod stop being combo decks and morph into midrange absurd value decks, it's time to reconsider your format.

Sad but obviously not in any way surprised that Cruise has sailed for the last time. Happy I picked up foil Dig Through Times when I did so that I may still cast them in Legacy.

I don't see the ban shaking up the deck color schemes any, and Jund/Junk filling the void left by Pod's absence.

I doubt Dredge will become a deck with GGT unbanned, given that the broken cards from Legacy that make it even tier 2 are not in the format.

Stoneforge Mystic isn't legal and won't be legal because it means they can't print any new or interesting takes on equipment, new costs, new abilities, etc going forward without having to take it into account. Scars isn't actually all that long ago, especially given that they've only done an enchantment-themed block for the first time ever only a year ago, but Scars is just one example of why you can't have a card like Stoneforge Mystic legal with "fair" cards and how much an enabler like that can constrain design space that would be otherwise robust and open.

[Kaitscralt]

I believe they claim not to consider Modern whatsoever when designing new cards, but I don't have the interest to look up a source

although I do have the time

[Mcdonalds]

They say that but they've said abrupt decay was made with counterbalance in mind

[Thrillho]

modern staple counterbalance

[rezombad]

I would love to see a modern counterbalance deck. But I don't see it happening.

[Thrillho]

With no way to consistently modify the top card of your deck and spells generally costing the gamut of 0 to 15 mana in most competitive Modern decks, I would guess that, no, Counterbalance is not the card it's been in Legacy.

[( G_R )]

I'm really excited about Gifts and my BoW deck. Might be time to give the caj room another shot.

[Kaitscralt]

I know LSV used to love Gifts as a Vintage deck, he will probably see if it is still viable. Gifts is one of my favorite cards ever, when Modern as a format was announced me and some MTGS guys brewed a really competitive list with Punishing Fire, then they banned half the deck.

[Mcdonalds]

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Heh