Welp, about what I expected. Unless something really broken comes around, I'd be shocked if we see any major changes to the Banned list until next year. It is nice to know that Probe and Top are basically guaranteed to stay banned, if only so I don't get more than I need for EDH decks.
Operating by your premise is that they're saying blue and white are fine, what color representation problems do you think he's alluding to? Certainly it's not that black or green isn't good enough.
Probably there's not enough red or colorless for Forsythe's taste. I don't think he'll rest until Jund Eldrazi is the ultimate deck of ultimate supreme power. /facetious.
I'm predicting if the trends in the meta continue as they have no unbannings next announcement either.
If DS decks keep being the best aggro option
then it stands to reason that UW control will continue to do better and gain in shares of the meta-game
This will produce a meta-game in which a reactive U&W control deck is top tier hence no unbannings needed to help correct any issues presumed to exist by us the players.
I also note that they used the phrase "If there's an easy change to the banned list that could open up more decks in the future...."
This to me doesn't bode well for many of the U&W cards on the Banned list coming off. Most of what remains have been involved in format warping decks in various other formats and I don't imagine they would consider such potentially dangerous cards as a "easy change" more of a heavily weighed risk which might break the format. Honestly it is slim pickings on the Banned list and printing new powerful cards is more likely imo than letting the magic equivalent of serial format killers loose on Modern.
. Do you mean censor? Is that still being pushed as blues fatal push? Because if they are waiting to feel out modern because of censor then we are never going to see anything happen. They can continue to "monitor colors", then a new set comes out with some awful reactive answer that is supposed to shake up the format so they need "to continue to monitor the format". Then rinse and repeat. They literally never have to do anything under their current paradigm; honestly it is genius on their part. If only they could manage a format half as well as they manage the illusion of them managing a format...
The format will always need to be monitored with new cards but they are using that as a justification for refusing to put in the work as to which banned cards actually need to be banned or not.
Yeah, tapping out Turn 3 to maximize your As Foretold...hoping you have a 0 cost card in hand to get something for your trouble...and then casting a 1 mana card FOR FREE...lol.
I'm not feeling it. Sure you can maybe build a Restore Balance shell around it, but its 3 mana, even if it is good, its Abrupt Decay fodder.
Yeah, tapping out Turn 3 to maximize your As Foretold...hoping you have a 0 cost card in hand to get something for your trouble...and then casting a 1 mana card FOR FREE...lol.
I'm not feeling it. Sure you can maybe build a Restore Balance shell around it, but its 3 mana, even if it is good, its Abrupt Decay fodder.
Have you played against it? I have, and they can do some serious things on turn 3.
. Do you mean censor? Is that still being pushed as blues fatal push? Because if they are waiting to feel out modern because of censor then we are never going to see anything happen. They can continue to "monitor colors", then a new set comes out with some awful reactive answer that is supposed to shake up the format so they need "to continue to monitor the format". Then rinse and repeat. They literally never have to do anything under their current paradigm; honestly it is genius on their part. If only they could manage a format half as well as they manage the illusion of them managing a format...
The format will always need to be monitored with new cards but they are using that as a justification for refusing to put in the work as to which banned cards actually need to be banned or not.
There are still other sets to be spoiled. Might be other cards in there as well.
If they killed the only good control deck in Legacy, it just means we will NEVER get good answers on the level of Counterspell ever again through Standard. We get stuck with crap like Mana Leak and Remand for the rest of Modern's lifespan.
In Modern, Death's Shadow continues to be the best deck, but technology like Condemn is starting to emerge, and the format appears to be in a safe spot at the moment. While deck diversity is good, we're keeping an eye on color balance. If there's an easy change to the banned list that could open up more decks in the future, we will examine it when other formats have less pressing needs.
I'm a bit sad they didn't unban sfm. What makes me laugh a little is the "condemn tech". LOL. We will have to wait til the next announcement. In the meantime, I'm only gonna play certain new card game from blizzard cos there's no deck I enjoy in this aggro and bigstupidguys meta.
The color balance and open up more decks in the future parts make me think they are talking about sfm, but the when other formats have less pressing needs just makes me think they are lazy as .... . Bad lazy wizards, BAD!!! Where's my hearthstone button!?
I assume they are waiting to plug the trigger on blue, to see if As Foretold and other blue cards make waves in Modern.
Yeah, makes sense. I must admit that I don't really see any of the Blue cards in Amonkhet really pushing it forward. I guess people have been seeing success with Censor, but I'm having much the opposite with the proxies I've been testing with. It's too easy to play around for most decks in the format.
Yeah, tapping out Turn 3 to maximize your As Foretold...hoping you have a 0 cost card in hand to get something for your trouble...and then casting a 1 mana card FOR FREE...lol.
I'm not feeling it. Sure you can maybe build a Restore Balance shell around it, but its 3 mana, even if it is good, its Abrupt Decay fodder.
100% agree Abrupt Decay just increases in count in decks that can run it and people quickly find out that it is to fragile to compete on the level of T1 modern decks.
I'm predicting if the trends in the meta continue as they have no unbannings next announcement either.
If DS decks keep being the best aggro option
then it stands to reason that UW control will continue to do better and gain in shares of the meta-game
This will produce a meta-game in which a reactive U&W control deck is top tier hence no unbannings needed to help correct any issues presumed to exist by us the players.
I also note that they used the phrase "If there's an easy change to the banned list that could open up more decks in the future...."
This to me doesn't bode well for many of the U&W cards on the Banned list coming off. Most of what remains have been involved in format warping decks in various other formats and I don't imagine they would consider such potentially dangerous cards as a "easy change" more of a heavily weighed risk which might break the format. Honestly it is slim pickings on the Banned list and printing new powerful cards is more likely imo than letting the magic equivalent of serial format killers loose on Modern.
Quick! We better remove that oppressive monastery mentor from modern! After all, it is destroying vintage!
They are being lazy calling something "easy". You know what's easy? Making up information and using irrelevant data (other formats) for justification to do something. You know what isn't easy? TESTING!!
"If we believe we can unban a card without us having to test it, and it won't shake the format up so much we have to actually put work into thinking about the format, and it will help us sell more cardboard squares than if we didn't do it, AND we can pretend we are throwing a color a bone, then we will consider unbanning the card."
Well, they outright admitted they were (and are) neglecting the format because they have their hands full with all the Standard problems, which isn't surprising, but at least its good to know they do acknowledge the problems the format is facing even if they are too busy to take any active stance on it.
In fairness if Eldrazi Winter didn't completely kill the format back then, I doubt Death's Shadow will. Another regression for the format though? Maybe. (Although I've seen the combined factor of that regression along with MM3 for a slightly healthier Secondary Market comparatively, at least).
After WotC failed by banning two cards and unbanning nothing in january, I was very disappointed. It seems like the cards banned were so close to fine that taking action impacted more players than the negative influence of the cards on the format - yes I understand why GGT and Probe were banned, but they really didn't need to be. Nothing was taking over the metagame, and there were fair cards on the banlist that might help contain these decks. Nope, just bans.
Then in March, it seemed like the meta was ripe to let one or more of the safe and fair cards off the banned list. There are good reasons to do so if you just look at the format: the colour imbalance has been skewed towards black and green for a long time - and they seem to keep getting more cards. Nothing internal to modern could be cited as reasons to not release something - there are a few options even. No action taken.
Today's announcement is a disappointment to say the least. The most frustrating part demonstrated an utter lack of awareness of the format:
If there's an easy change to the banned list that could open up more decks in the future, we will examine it when other formats have less pressing needs.
How is there not an easy change right now? Preordain is easy and will do basically nothing. If ad nauseam or storm are tier 1, who cares? Preordain does not have the capacity to speed up kill times, only improve consistency. Other decks need consistency tools that can compete with Ancient Stirrings. Storm is hated out with a wide variety of cards - and a current tier 1 deck is a natural predator. Easy change. Stoneforge Mystic is a threat below the level of Death's Shadow or Tarmogoyf, and a more defensive card. A turn 3 4/4 vigilence lifelinker is kinda medium for the format, easy change.
Those two are so easy and safe, I can't believe it's not obvious that one of the two at the very minimum should have been released. At least, it would be obvious if they had any awareness of the format at all.
The quote is also troubling because they cite other formats as being reasons why they failed to take any action at all. Combined with the elimination of Modern GPs, and now the complete inattention to the format, I am losing faith that WotC is interested in the format at all. I get the sense that they are specifically holding back modern to try and push standard. Very frustrating announcement.
And I have to say, only slightly more baffling than the inaction in modern, is the inaction in standard. Instead of banning something from standard to make it more playable, they are just throwing modern under the bus. Kinda makes me want to reduce the number of deck I have for the format when I see they willing to try hold it back so that standard doesn't look so awful by comparison.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Modern Decks
KnightfallGWUR
Azorius Control UW
Burn RBG
If they killed the only good control deck in Legacy, it just means we will NEVER get good answers on the level of Counterspell ever again through Standard. We get stuck with crap like Mana Leak and Remand for the rest of Modern's lifespan.
I think that Top in legacy showcases exactly why you will never see a consistent T1 control deck in Modern. For control to be consistently T1 good it essentially has to be oppressive because when control is good it is oppressive by its very nature. This is what Top has been in Legacy for long time now and for it to maintain its T1 status it need to make anything else bad.
Modern will continue to be a "finger checking the wind" control format in which 3-4 known control builds exist and certain anticipated meta-games bolster one over the other given the situations presented by the other decks present. Control will do well for a few weeks and aggro and combo players will shift decks or adjust builds to negate the current control flavors methods of control. Unless DS decks maintain their current status as best aggro deck by a large margin in which case UW control might just become a mainstay and also invalidate any claims that U&W are struggling as that is it is hard to claim that reactive control decks are hurting when 1 is in the T1 status of decks and UW control doing good increases the number of meta representation for both colors. This might make a "Michigan J. Frog problem" in which the frog only sings when those we want to see it are not looking and when they do look there is nothing to see.
did anyone else read the article "Amonkhet, Talking Part 1" which had the very troubling line of " Logic Knot proved too clever for its own good and we wanted a simpler version of a counterspell with delve." that hurt to read as Logic Knot see's very little play but is apparently to good for current standard design.
Yeah, tapping out Turn 3 to maximize your As Foretold...hoping you have a 0 cost card in hand to get something for your trouble...and then casting a 1 mana card FOR FREE...lol.
I'm not feeling it. Sure you can maybe build a Restore Balance shell around it, but its 3 mana, even if it is good, its Abrupt Decay fodder.
100% agree Abrupt Decay just increases in count in decks that can run it and people quickly find out that it is to fragile to compete on the level of T1 modern decks.
I love all of these pros talking as if they know exactly how a card will play-out in Modern before its even legal.
Ive played against a good amount of decks using As Foretold in the past week for testing purposes, and turn 3 living ends, and turn 3 restore balances, are not something to scoff at. Depending on the build, you can get that down to turn 2.
Im not saying the card is broken, or even tier 1, but Im not arrogant enough to say it will not see any competitive play at all.
You guys speak as if players just have empty slots in their decks for more main board removal. Even if AF gets decayed, it still does what it is supposed to do.
They would cite UW Control preying on Shadow decks, and probably reason that now Grixis Shadow exists, therefore blue is just fine
The bomb in all of this is Sensei's Divining Top being banned, this says that no matter how huge of a pillar a deck is in a format, that it is never safe.
SDT was a long time coming. Wizards was EXTREMELY generous in letting it stick around as long as it did, and I played it a lot in Nic Fit. There's other good options for looking at your library like Sylvan Library and Mirri's Guile. For people who want that, the effect is still around. Miracles needed this though, it may have been the format policeman, but that just shows how bad the format is being regulated right now... FoW isn't enough. This change will probably lead to several other bannings over the next couple years, but ultimately a better format in the end.
When it comes to Modern, I still maintain that Mardu DS is the best build of the deck. It's not the most popular, but it has all the same good matchups, most of the same bad, and is favored in the mirror.
I want to see SFM come off. It would be risky, but I think it would do great things for the format.
While deck diversity is good, we're keeping an eye on color balance. If there's an easy change to the banned list that could open up more decks in the future, we will examine it when other formats have less pressing needs.
Why get ready? This has been an obvious change for over a full year, maybe close to two years. At what point do we just stop saying "maybe they'll get it right next time" and just admit that they are either:
1)Holding modern back to try and get players back to standard, or
2)Unable to manage the format
What evidence do we have that they will release those two incredibly obvious unbans? Because from my seat, it looks like the evidence says WotC is useless at balancing formats. They can't even figure out to ban Felidar Guardian in the present standard. Never-mind missing the combo entirely before release.
. Do you mean censor? Is that still being pushed as blues fatal push? Because if they are waiting to feel out modern because of censor then we are never going to see anything happen. They can continue to "monitor colors", then a new set comes out with some awful reactive answer that is supposed to shake up the format so they need "to continue to monitor the format". Then rinse and repeat. They literally never have to do anything under their current paradigm; honestly it is genius on their part. If only they could manage a format half as well as they manage the illusion of them managing a format...
The format will always need to be monitored with new cards but they are using that as a justification for refusing to put in the work as to which banned cards actually need to be banned or not.
There are still other sets to be spoiled. Might be other cards in there as well.
. Do you mean censor? Is that still being pushed as blues fatal push? Because if they are waiting to feel out modern because of censor then we are never going to see anything happen. They can continue to "monitor colors", then a new set comes out with some awful reactive answer that is supposed to shake up the format so they need "to continue to monitor the format". Then rinse and repeat. They literally never have to do anything under their current paradigm; honestly it is genius on their part. If only they could manage a format half as well as they manage the illusion of them managing a format...
The format will always need to be monitored with new cards but they are using that as a justification for refusing to put in the work as to which banned cards actually need to be banned or not.
There are still other sets to be spoiled. Might be other cards in there as well.
So...We should continue to monitor a color because it is having a card printed in 2 years that may or may not be usable? What are you even trying to imply here? That we shouldn't unban cards because new cards are going to be added to the format and we need to feel it out first? That's literally the scenario I was talking about where they never have to do anything but can always pretend to be.
"Amonkhet has a number of exciting and powerful cards, both proactive and reactive" No, amonkhet does not have power reactive cards anywhere close to the proactive ones. They are delusional if they think otherwise. Them even saying this, plus missing on the revolt counterspell (and you know they didn't miss this, it was a deliberate omission) makes me very pessimistic that there is some card in the works for hour of devastation that is going to make me think "Damn, good thing they didn't unban SFM because that deck would've been OP!!"
While deck diversity is good, we're keeping an eye on color balance. If there's an easy change to the banned list that could open up more decks in the future, we will examine it when other formats have less pressing needs.
I've been ready for over a year. Please, stop. My hopes have been crushed more times than I can count. I already fully intend to continue to be kicked while down for the next announcement. I don't think we need to start it yet.
I'm not disgusted by this changes(Top out of Legacy seems right), although they are basically acknowledging that DS WILL be all over the place in the next GP's Top 8's. There are no indications that there's a good natural predator of Death's Shadow and UW is terrible unless you know you'll play Death's Shadow several times in a given tournament.
All in all, many pro's will be crushing coming GP's with Shadow being the top dog. We know they like formats where there is a 'best deck'...
Faeries, Burn, and Tokens are all good predators to DS.
SFM is super safe imo. Even if things run out of control, they could just ban Batterskull. Pretty sure no one but e-tron would miss that. This would obviously benefit UWx control and D&T, two archetypes that could use some love in Modern. Also, they could just reban the thing like they did with GGT? Or even better, they could just print answers. The risk here is just Abzan getting too good (again).
As much as i would like to call some bans right now, i stil prefer to have more cards in the pool to deal with the bullsh*t rather than just banning it all, lol.
Yeah, tapping out Turn 3 to maximize your As Foretold...hoping you have a 0 cost card in hand to get something for your trouble...and then casting a 1 mana card FOR FREE...lol.
I'm not feeling it. Sure you can maybe build a Restore Balance shell around it, but its 3 mana, even if it is good, its Abrupt Decay fodder.
100% agree Abrupt Decay just increases in count in decks that can run it and people quickly find out that it is to fragile to compete on the level of T1 modern decks.
I love all of these pros talking as if they know exactly how a card will play-out in Modern before its even legal.
Ive played against a good amount of decks using As Foretold in the past week for testing purposes, and turn 3 living ends, and turn 3 restore balances, are not something to scoff at. Depending on the build, you can get that down to turn 2.
Im not saying the card is broken, or even tier 1, but Im not arrogant enough to say it will not see any competitive play at all.
You guys speak as if players just have empty slots in their decks for more main board removal. Even if AF gets decayed, it still does what it is supposed to do.
Sure like Jeskai Nahiri which was op busted just like people going on about AF and it takes a way bigger commitment to dead cards if you don't have the AF. Nahiri only requires what 5 cards and every AF build i've seen is packed with a bunch of stuff that will sit in your hand doing jack for turns.
its not just decay though its 8 1c.c. targeted discard and AD slice up your hand and leave you with a do nothing enchantment which promptly gets ADed. It is to reliant on synergy which in Modern has only ever worked out for highly redundant decks like Merfolk and Burn types of decks in which your synergy is supported by 8-12 functional duplicates in which IoK/TS choices mean far less.
Arguing that AF dies to hand disruption can be applied to almost any combo deck. AF decks are literally just starting out. I think they will have a place in Modern. The tier they will find themselves is still up in the air.
While deck diversity is good, we're keeping an eye on color balance. If there's an easy change to the banned list that could open up more decks in the future, we will examine it when other formats have less pressing needs.
This means AF and WOTC think W and U are the weakest colours in colour pie in Modern.
This also means that they will try to up those colours in Modern IF they feel there is something that is safe and can help them. [...]
Of course, if they feel those cards are super powerful to them, they won't unban them.
The fact that his statement is an "If" is why it's concerning. If they had any awareness of the format at all, it would not be an "if" statement. I think you covered why they phrased it like that well: "they feel those cards are super powerful". They would have unbanned them already if they were at all capable of evaluating card in the modern context. It's not only their intentions I question (seemingly throwing modern under the bus for standard), but also their ability.
I full expect that next announcement they will discuss why SFM and preordain are too powerful, despite there already being clearly superior threats and a contextually much better non-blue cantrip. Heck, I'm getting convinced that they would sooner ban Death's Shadow than release SFM.
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Probably there's not enough red or colorless for Forsythe's taste. I don't think he'll rest until Jund Eldrazi is the ultimate deck of ultimate supreme power. /facetious.
RUG Temur Deprive Delver
BUG Sultai Deprive Delver
If DS decks keep being the best aggro option
then it stands to reason that UW control will continue to do better and gain in shares of the meta-game
This will produce a meta-game in which a reactive U&W control deck is top tier hence no unbannings needed to help correct any issues presumed to exist by us the players.
I also note that they used the phrase "If there's an easy change to the banned list that could open up more decks in the future...."
This to me doesn't bode well for many of the U&W cards on the Banned list coming off. Most of what remains have been involved in format warping decks in various other formats and I don't imagine they would consider such potentially dangerous cards as a "easy change" more of a heavily weighed risk which might break the format. Honestly it is slim pickings on the Banned list and printing new powerful cards is more likely imo than letting the magic equivalent of serial format killers loose on Modern.
The format will always need to be monitored with new cards but they are using that as a justification for refusing to put in the work as to which banned cards actually need to be banned or not.
I'm not feeling it. Sure you can maybe build a Restore Balance shell around it, but its 3 mana, even if it is good, its Abrupt Decay fodder.
Spirits
Have you played against it? I have, and they can do some serious things on turn 3.
RUG Temur Deprive Delver
BUG Sultai Deprive Delver
There are still other sets to be spoiled. Might be other cards in there as well.
RUG Temur Deprive Delver
BUG Sultai Deprive Delver
I'm a bit sad they didn't unban sfm. What makes me laugh a little is the "condemn tech". LOL. We will have to wait til the next announcement. In the meantime, I'm only gonna play certain new card game from blizzard cos there's no deck I enjoy in this aggro and bigstupidguys meta.
The color balance and open up more decks in the future parts make me think they are talking about sfm, but the when other formats have less pressing needs just makes me think they are lazy as .... . Bad lazy wizards, BAD!!! Where's my hearthstone button!?
Yeah, makes sense. I must admit that I don't really see any of the Blue cards in Amonkhet really pushing it forward. I guess people have been seeing success with Censor, but I'm having much the opposite with the proxies I've been testing with. It's too easy to play around for most decks in the format.
100% agree Abrupt Decay just increases in count in decks that can run it and people quickly find out that it is to fragile to compete on the level of T1 modern decks.
Quick! We better remove that oppressive monastery mentor from modern! After all, it is destroying vintage!
They are being lazy calling something "easy". You know what's easy? Making up information and using irrelevant data (other formats) for justification to do something. You know what isn't easy? TESTING!!
"If we believe we can unban a card without us having to test it, and it won't shake the format up so much we have to actually put work into thinking about the format, and it will help us sell more cardboard squares than if we didn't do it, AND we can pretend we are throwing a color a bone, then we will consider unbanning the card."
In fairness if Eldrazi Winter didn't completely kill the format back then, I doubt Death's Shadow will. Another regression for the format though? Maybe. (Although I've seen the combined factor of that regression along with MM3 for a slightly healthier Secondary Market comparatively, at least).
Then in March, it seemed like the meta was ripe to let one or more of the safe and fair cards off the banned list. There are good reasons to do so if you just look at the format: the colour imbalance has been skewed towards black and green for a long time - and they seem to keep getting more cards. Nothing internal to modern could be cited as reasons to not release something - there are a few options even. No action taken.
Today's announcement is a disappointment to say the least. The most frustrating part demonstrated an utter lack of awareness of the format: How is there not an easy change right now? Preordain is easy and will do basically nothing. If ad nauseam or storm are tier 1, who cares? Preordain does not have the capacity to speed up kill times, only improve consistency. Other decks need consistency tools that can compete with Ancient Stirrings. Storm is hated out with a wide variety of cards - and a current tier 1 deck is a natural predator. Easy change. Stoneforge Mystic is a threat below the level of Death's Shadow or Tarmogoyf, and a more defensive card. A turn 3 4/4 vigilence lifelinker is kinda medium for the format, easy change.
Those two are so easy and safe, I can't believe it's not obvious that one of the two at the very minimum should have been released. At least, it would be obvious if they had any awareness of the format at all.
The quote is also troubling because they cite other formats as being reasons why they failed to take any action at all. Combined with the elimination of Modern GPs, and now the complete inattention to the format, I am losing faith that WotC is interested in the format at all. I get the sense that they are specifically holding back modern to try and push standard. Very frustrating announcement.
And I have to say, only slightly more baffling than the inaction in modern, is the inaction in standard. Instead of banning something from standard to make it more playable, they are just throwing modern under the bus. Kinda makes me want to reduce the number of deck I have for the format when I see they willing to try hold it back so that standard doesn't look so awful by comparison.
KnightfallGWUR
Azorius Control UW
Burn RBG
I think that Top in legacy showcases exactly why you will never see a consistent T1 control deck in Modern. For control to be consistently T1 good it essentially has to be oppressive because when control is good it is oppressive by its very nature. This is what Top has been in Legacy for long time now and for it to maintain its T1 status it need to make anything else bad.
Modern will continue to be a "finger checking the wind" control format in which 3-4 known control builds exist and certain anticipated meta-games bolster one over the other given the situations presented by the other decks present. Control will do well for a few weeks and aggro and combo players will shift decks or adjust builds to negate the current control flavors methods of control. Unless DS decks maintain their current status as best aggro deck by a large margin in which case UW control might just become a mainstay and also invalidate any claims that U&W are struggling as that is it is hard to claim that reactive control decks are hurting when 1 is in the T1 status of decks and UW control doing good increases the number of meta representation for both colors. This might make a "Michigan J. Frog problem" in which the frog only sings when those we want to see it are not looking and when they do look there is nothing to see.
did anyone else read the article "Amonkhet, Talking Part 1" which had the very troubling line of " Logic Knot proved too clever for its own good and we wanted a simpler version of a counterspell with delve." that hurt to read as Logic Knot see's very little play but is apparently to good for current standard design.
I love all of these pros talking as if they know exactly how a card will play-out in Modern before its even legal.
Ive played against a good amount of decks using As Foretold in the past week for testing purposes, and turn 3 living ends, and turn 3 restore balances, are not something to scoff at. Depending on the build, you can get that down to turn 2.
Im not saying the card is broken, or even tier 1, but Im not arrogant enough to say it will not see any competitive play at all.
You guys speak as if players just have empty slots in their decks for more main board removal. Even if AF gets decayed, it still does what it is supposed to do.
RUG Temur Deprive Delver
BUG Sultai Deprive Delver
SDT was a long time coming. Wizards was EXTREMELY generous in letting it stick around as long as it did, and I played it a lot in Nic Fit. There's other good options for looking at your library like Sylvan Library and Mirri's Guile. For people who want that, the effect is still around. Miracles needed this though, it may have been the format policeman, but that just shows how bad the format is being regulated right now... FoW isn't enough. This change will probably lead to several other bannings over the next couple years, but ultimately a better format in the end.
When it comes to Modern, I still maintain that Mardu DS is the best build of the deck. It's not the most popular, but it has all the same good matchups, most of the same bad, and is favored in the mirror.
I want to see SFM come off. It would be risky, but I think it would do great things for the format.
1)Holding modern back to try and get players back to standard, or
2)Unable to manage the format
What evidence do we have that they will release those two incredibly obvious unbans? Because from my seat, it looks like the evidence says WotC is useless at balancing formats. They can't even figure out to ban Felidar Guardian in the present standard. Never-mind missing the combo entirely before release.
KnightfallGWUR
Azorius Control UW
Burn RBG
So...We should continue to monitor a color because it is having a card printed in 2 years that may or may not be usable? What are you even trying to imply here? That we shouldn't unban cards because new cards are going to be added to the format and we need to feel it out first? That's literally the scenario I was talking about where they never have to do anything but can always pretend to be.
"Amonkhet has a number of exciting and powerful cards, both proactive and reactive" No, amonkhet does not have power reactive cards anywhere close to the proactive ones. They are delusional if they think otherwise. Them even saying this, plus missing on the revolt counterspell (and you know they didn't miss this, it was a deliberate omission) makes me very pessimistic that there is some card in the works for hour of devastation that is going to make me think "Damn, good thing they didn't unban SFM because that deck would've been OP!!"
I've been ready for over a year. Please, stop. My hopes have been crushed more times than I can count. I already fully intend to continue to be kicked while down for the next announcement. I don't think we need to start it yet.
Faeries, Burn, and Tokens are all good predators to DS.
As much as i would like to call some bans right now, i stil prefer to have more cards in the pool to deal with the bullsh*t rather than just banning it all, lol.
Sure like Jeskai Nahiri which was op busted just like people going on about AF and it takes a way bigger commitment to dead cards if you don't have the AF. Nahiri only requires what 5 cards and every AF build i've seen is packed with a bunch of stuff that will sit in your hand doing jack for turns.
its not just decay though its 8 1c.c. targeted discard and AD slice up your hand and leave you with a do nothing enchantment which promptly gets ADed. It is to reliant on synergy which in Modern has only ever worked out for highly redundant decks like Merfolk and Burn types of decks in which your synergy is supported by 8-12 functional duplicates in which IoK/TS choices mean far less.
RUG Temur Deprive Delver
BUG Sultai Deprive Delver
1.) The format really spins out of control from oppression
2.) The format is very safe and fun, and they'll unban something around December as a big shake up
Seriously, definitely don't expect preordain/SFM/Jace/Twin until early next year
I full expect that next announcement they will discuss why SFM and preordain are too powerful, despite there already being clearly superior threats and a contextually much better non-blue cantrip. Heck, I'm getting convinced that they would sooner ban Death's Shadow than release SFM.
KnightfallGWUR
Azorius Control UW
Burn RBG