I don't think it really falls into banworthy territory.
It is basically the definition of "interacts poorly with the format" and from what I understand, that is a significant criteria for banning.
No one is denying that it interacts oddly with the format. We're debating if it interacts poorly - that word leaves a lot of wiggle room. For example - does the creature get boosted because of your starting life total? Yes. But your opponents' life totals are also boosted, mitigating the damage. A 6/6 flier against one opponent at 20 life is a completely different story than a 6/6 flier against three opponents with 40 life each.
I play Serra Ascendant in my Karlov deck because it's mana efficient and gains life. It's good, but it's not that good. I think I have once had it out on turn one. It created a mini-panic, ate some removal a couple turns later, and died with me still having a target on my back. Think about it - it takes seven swings to kill one player, twenty-one swings to kill a table, and that's assuming no blockers or removal. Yes, it gains you life and helps keep you alive a little longer, but it's really slow. It has no built-in protection and doesn't impede your opponents' plans in any way. There are literally hundreds or even thousands of answers to it.
However i seldom see Serra Ascendant come out late game in EDH it is always out within the first few turns if it is played and more often than not, turn 1.
I question how your opponents are getting it out so early so consistently. Given the odds, as well as experience, I can tell you it is more likely to be drawn late than be in your opening hand. Do they just keep it in hand if they draw it and are not above 30 life? If so, they're effectively making it a dead card, which plays to your advantage. Why would you want to ban a card that your opponents willing refuse to play?
"sacrifices a nonland permanent" is 100% a different case than "sacrifices target nonland permanent." You have no choice about what he can or cannot sacrifice - he gets to pick. It doesn't say target, so it doesn't target.
What about Bad Moon? It makes Yargle a 10/4 on cast, which dodges some extra removal and gets you closer to lethal. For an investment of only 1B, that's not bad.
I find playing the same thing over and over to be very boring and predictable. And deckbuilding is half the challenge - it's a puzzle to figure out, and actually playing is how you find out if you did well.
So, yeah, for me it's a matter of how many - I've built over 50 commander decks and build more all the time. It got to the point that I had to get 2000 matching sleeves and get rid of many of my duplicate cards to build a modular commander "cube" that I assemble around 4 decks ata time from. I still have a few decks that I keep together outside of that collection, but it enables me to build/scrap/rebuild at will and really get a lot of variety.
I've turned into Mr. Golgari so I've limited myself... I'm not even sure why I'm drawn to this color combination in EDH. In "real" formats I avoid green like the plague.
Golgari and Orzhov are my favorite two color combos. Green by itself, or white by itself, does tend to be boring and straightforward. But mix them with black, and you get a potent combo. They shore up each other's weaknesses so well.
YES!!! The errata to Vial Smasher didn't nerf the card. I was worried when they said there was an exception for Vial Smasher that it would be stupid and treat planeswalkers and players as the same random choice. This actually preserves how the card was intended to function and is the best possible errata.
For the second, though, a contraption deck is separate from your 40-card-minimum deck. No, you cannot play less than 40 cards in your actual deck. You play a deck of 40+ and a contraption deck of 0+.
Although muldrotha, the gravetide decks make you eat those words since you can just keep casting the card from your graveyard basicly shoulder shrug cumulative upkeep.
Speaking of Muldrotha, I assume that card is the reason Command Beacon has spiked so hard recently? I was planning to get one, but not at the new price.
Tatyova, Benthic Druid all the way. I plan on making an extra-low budget build with no cards worth more than $0.50, and I think she'll be able to hold her own through shear card advantage and a little life cushion. In most decks, ramp cards lose their effectiveness after a certain point. In her deck, Farhaven Elf becomes 2G for a 1/1 body, a basic land, a card draw, and a 1-point lifegain.
Untamed Kavu is absurd and should be in every cube forever.
LOL. Yeah, if it ever gets outclassed, power creep will have destroyed the game. That card is super good, scalable, and works in a +1/+1 counter archetype. I will most certainly be making room in my cube.
Angel of Despair may have recently been outclassed, but it will remain my favorite card - awesome art and a powerful ETB ability in colors than allow it to be recurred either by blinking or through reanimation, all stapled to a big flying body. What's not to love?
Also, Edric, Spymaster of Trest turns all the stupid 1/1 evasive creatures into a legitimate threat. These are normally too small to make a difference in commander, but with free card draw, they accelerate you into your win condition.
So, yeah, for me it's a matter of how many - I've built over 50 commander decks and build more all the time. It got to the point that I had to get 2000 matching sleeves and get rid of many of my duplicate cards to build a modular commander "cube" that I assemble around 4 decks ata time from. I still have a few decks that I keep together outside of that collection, but it enables me to build/scrap/rebuild at will and really get a lot of variety.
Golgari and Orzhov are my favorite two color combos. Green by itself, or white by itself, does tend to be boring and straightforward. But mix them with black, and you get a potent combo. They shore up each other's weaknesses so well.
For the second, though, a contraption deck is separate from your 40-card-minimum deck. No, you cannot play less than 40 cards in your actual deck. You play a deck of 40+ and a contraption deck of 0+.