Jace, sfm, and bbe imo don’t effect the format at all. They should all be unbanned yes but I don’t see any of them doing anything about the current meta. They’ve also all been discussed a million times on here. Imo only one feesable unban actually shifts the meta but only time will tell.
@gkourou Have to keep in mind Vintage is a different breed of mtg than Legacy, as in Vintage Chalice of the Void is restricted because it became an auto win card against Moxen playing opponents!
So Legacy, whether you agree with it being a good comparison for similar bans in modern or not, is still a closer comparison than Vintage.
---------
On Jace, I can see him becoming a key of control decks if they can grind past turn 4, but one really gets a boost if they go two color to play him, Lantern control/prison. He can become another lock piece with his +2. Not sure if it will give the deck a shot, but it's something to consider.
@wraith and GK
Not sure where all this Vintage talk came from. I was very clear that my comparison was to Legacy, not Vintage, the latter of which is a totally different animal that we shouldn't compare to Modern. Legacy, however, is a much cleaner comparison. Also, I never said cards that were good in Legacy, like Wraith's Mentor example, are good in Modern too. I very clearly said that cards BANNED in Legacy would also be busted in Modern.
DTT is the one disagreement you had that actually fits my initial comparison, but I'm pretty sure that one is never coming off. Wizards will make the very comparison I made and keep it banned in Modern forever.
Just so we're clear, it's totally OK to rehash the same old and tired arguments for any card on the banned list, including Jace, SFM, and BBE, despite there being really nothing new, no new insight, no new revelations on anything. But discussion on Twin can't happen because..... people don't like hearing old and tired arguments that offer nothing new, no new insight, and no new revelations on anything? I'm confused here. These last pages of discussion on SFM have been essentially identical to every other time SFM has come up... pretty much ever. Why is that allowed? We should just ban that too.
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Just so we're clear, it's totally OK to rehash the same old and tired arguments for any card on the banned list, including Jace, SFM, and BBE, despite there being really nothing new, no new insight, no new revelations on anything. But discussion on Twin can't happen because..... people don't like hearing old and tired arguments that offer nothing new, no new insight, and no new revelations on anything? I'm confused here. These last pages of discussion on SFM have been essentially identical to every other time SFM has come up... pretty much ever. Why is that allowed? We should just ban that too.
@wraith and GK
Not sure where all this Vintage talk came from. I was very clear that my comparison was to Legacy, not Vintage, the latter of which is a totally different animal that we shouldn't compare to Modern. Legacy, however, is a much cleaner comparison. Also, I never said cards that were good in Legacy, like Wraith's Mentor example, are good in Modern too. I very clearly said that cards BANNED in Legacy would also be busted in Modern.
DTT is the one disagreement you had that actually fits my initial comparison, but I'm pretty sure that one is never coming off. Wizards will make the very comparison I made and keep it banned in Modern forever.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the point you were making was that you could draw good conclusions on what a card's performance in Modern would be by examining its performance in Legacy. That was what I was objecting to.
On your point about the legacy banlist, DTT is the only card where that might not be true, but I could see there being cards that are busted enough to be banned in Legacy but are fine in Modern in the future. Just as an example, I could see Leovald getting the axe someday, he's really powerful in a format all about card advantage, but I'm not sure he would see much play in Modern if he were legal. Sultai just isn't good in this format.
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Modern UBR Grixis Shadow UBR UR Izzet Phoenix UR UW UW Control UW GB GB Rock GB
Commander BG Meren of Clan Nel Toth BG BGUW Atraxa, Praetor's Voice BGUW
Storm is a runner up again. Though like people saying, midrange including Jund is starting to show up. But UB Tezz as winner? Wish I could see decklists...
Storm is a runner up again. Though like people saying, midrange including Jund is starting to show up. But UB Tezz as winner? Wish I could see decklists...
Storm is a runner up again. Though like people saying, midrange including Jund is starting to show up. But UB Tezz as winner? Wish I could see decklists...
Just so we're clear, it's totally OK to rehash the same old and tired arguments for any card on the banned list, including Jace, SFM, and BBE, despite there being really nothing new, no new insight, no new revelations on anything. But discussion on Twin can't happen because..... people don't like hearing old and tired arguments that offer nothing new, no new insight, and no new revelations on anything? I'm confused here. These last pages of discussion on SFM have been essentially identical to every other time SFM has come up... pretty much ever. Why is that allowed? We should just ban that too.
There is significant new information whether or not you choose to acknowledge it. Wizards is actively considering an unban and currently considers the format healthy. That means they will likely follow the pattern of previous unbans and unban one or more conservative cards that benefit underplayed, lower-tier strategies. I don't really think SFM will meet those criteria in Wizards' eyes because there are too many top-finishing white decks in recent events. But BBE looks really promising by those standards. JTMS too, but less so.
Re: Legacy comparison
The comparison I made is super clear. If a card is BANNED in Legacy, I believe it would also be banned/broken in Modern. I also think Wizards will follow a similar metric when evaluating cards.
I said before this doesn't work when you flip the definitions. For instance, Leovold, not banned, does not fit this comparison. Nor does Mentor. Good cards in Legacy are not necessarily as good in Modern, and I never said they were. They often are/would be, but not always.
You questioned DTT here and that's potentially up for debate. Another might be Goblin Recruiter.
ktkenshinx: If a card is BANNED in Legacy, I believe it would also be banned/broken in Modern.
But under what pretense? I get where you're coming from, but at the same time, Legacy and Modern are hardly comparable. Legacy is dominated by noncreatures, Modern is generally the opposite. Long story short, this makes the them entirely different beasts. As mentioned before, certain cards excel in Legacy due to the prevalence of noncreature spells and grindy games. In Modern, the format is just super hostile to cards that don't directly impact the board immediately or win the game. Would this type of dichotomy not also apply to banlist cards?
There is significant new information whether or not you choose to acknowledge it. Wizards is actively considering an unban and currently considers the format healthy. That means they will likely follow the pattern of previous unbans and unban one or more conservative cards that benefit underplayed, lower-tier strategies. I don't really think SFM will meet those criteria in Wizards' eyes because there are too many top-finishing white decks in recent events. But BBE looks really promising by those standards. JTMS too, but less so.
But this same logic directly applies to Twin too -- unless you consider UR Kiki and UR Breach to be "commonly played decks" (they're not). And we know exactly how it behaves in the Modern meta. Seems like a much less risky option compared to other powerhouses of unknown viability in Modern (Jace and Stoneforge). And yes, Bloodbraid also would benefit "underplayed" decks and has been observed in Modern before, even if UR combo-control decks see less play right now than Jund.
Just so we're clear, it's totally OK to rehash the same old and tired arguments for any card on the banned list, including Jace, SFM, and BBE, despite there being really nothing new, no new insight, no new revelations on anything. But discussion on Twin can't happen because..... people don't like hearing old and tired arguments that offer nothing new, no new insight, and no new revelations on anything? I'm confused here. These last pages of discussion on SFM have been essentially identical to every other time SFM has come up... pretty much ever. Why is that allowed? We should just ban that too.
You are aware that there are only +/- 35 cards on the Modern ban list, right? As much as I'd like to have Deathrite Shaman in Modern, I don't see it coming off the ban list anytime soon, so there's no need to mention it; the same goes for MM, Jitte, Pod, etc etc etc. WotC has already acknowledged that W & U aren't well-represented in the format; when you consider that along with new printings of SFM/JTMS being injected into the market, and the fact that they've been mulling over unbannings, it shouldn't be a surprise that those specific cards are being discussed in regards to how they'd fit in and how/if they'd have a dramatic impact on the format. AV, Thopter Founds, Sword of the Meek, etc all came off the banlist and people thought it would instantly lead to degeneracy, but instead the impact was pretty underwhelming. There's a distinct difference between constructive discussion and destructive, resentful comments that serve no purpose aside from creating a toxic environment.
I honestly don't know what's worse; discussions getting derailed by posts that blatantly & obsessively beat a horse which has been dead for two years or discussions being derailed by passive-aggressive posts that dance around the subject, but still manage to contain the same degree of whining & pouting.
But this same logic directly applies to Twin too -- unless you consider UR Kiki and UR Breach to be "commonly played decks" (they're not). And we know exactly how it behaves in the Modern meta. Seems like a much less risky option compared to other powerhouses of unknown viability in Modern (Jace and Stoneforge). And yes, Bloodbraid also would benefit "underplayed" decks and has been observed in Modern before, even if UR combo-control decks see less play right now than Jund.
Which is exactly why it's not the option with the least risk by any means; WotC banned it for a reason, two years ago. JTMS & SFM were banned ~6 years ago; the format is a completely different animal than it was back then. Worst case scenario is they somehow dodge all the artifact/creature/narrow hate cards and make eldrazi winter look like Spring Break; in that case, one or both would get the ol' "Welp, we gave it a shot" and find itself back on the ban list. Best case scenario is they boost W/U's format presence and foster the creation of non-oppressive deck(s) that are held in check by other archetypes.
ktkenshinx: If a card is BANNED in Legacy, I believe it would also be banned/broken in Modern.
But under what pretense? I get where you're coming from, but at the same time, Legacy and Modern are hardly comparable. Legacy is dominated by noncreatures, Modern is generally the opposite. Long story short, this makes the them entirely different beasts. As mentioned before, certain cards excel in Legacy due to the prevalence of noncreature spells and grindy games. In Modern, the format is just super hostile to cards that don't directly impact the board immediately or win the game. Would this type of dichotomy not also apply to banlist cards?
I don't think there's any pretense or underlying principle behind my evaluation. I'm literally just looking at all the cards on the Legacy banlist and seeing how busted they would be in Modern if they were legal. The only questionable case is Goblin Recruiter, which probably shouldn't be banned in Legacy anyway. Everything else is very clear-cut. I'm not making this observation for my own sake either. I'm suggesting that I think Wizards will look at a card that could be legal in Modern, e.g. DTT, and then look at it being banned in Legacy and say "whoa, if that is busted in Legacy it's definitely busted in Modern."
Re: Modern Challenge metagame
E-Tron still sucks and old-school Tron is back. GDS still in the T8 but with lower presence. Interestingly, there are a bunch of white decks that Wizards could be worried about with respect to a possible SFM unban. BBE unban still looking very promising though.
Re: Twin talk
I've sent out a mass PM to everyone who keeps talking about Twin; let's just talk about it via PM and not in a public thread.
I'm suggesting that I think Wizards will look at a card that could be legal in Modern, e.g. DTT, and then look at it being banned in Legacy and say "whoa, if that is busted in Legacy it's definitely busted in Modern."
Just so we're clear, it's totally OK to rehash the same old and tired arguments for any card on the banned list, including Jace, SFM, and BBE, despite there being really nothing new, no new insight, no new revelations on anything. But discussion on Twin can't happen because..... people don't like hearing old and tired arguments that offer nothing new, no new insight, and no new revelations on anything? I'm confused here. These last pages of discussion on SFM have been essentially identical to every other time SFM has come up... pretty much ever. Why is that allowed? We should just ban that too.
It's because for 2 years, you have written about the subject almost obsessively, to the point that it almost looks like borderline trolling. This restriction was practically enforced because of you. The subject of it was fine, you constantly and non-stop take it too far too often.
It's not the subject of Twin, its you
Does that answer your question, or will you post ten more posts about why your freedom of speech is being restricted?
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Infraction for Trolling. Keep the discussions on the cards and not the players.
ktkenshinx: If a card is BANNED in Legacy, I believe it would also be banned/broken in Modern.
But under what pretense? I get where you're coming from, but at the same time, Legacy and Modern are hardly comparable. Legacy is dominated by noncreatures, Modern is generally the opposite. Long story short, this makes the them entirely different beasts. As mentioned before, certain cards excel in Legacy due to the prevalence of noncreature spells and grindy games. In Modern, the format is just super hostile to cards that don't directly impact the board immediately or win the game. Would this type of dichotomy not also apply to banlist cards?
I don't think there's any pretense or underlying principle behind my evaluation. I'm literally just looking at all the cards on the Legacy banlist and seeing how busted they would be in Modern if they were legal. The only questionable case is Goblin Recruiter, which probably shouldn't be banned in Legacy anyway. Everything else is very clear-cut. I'm not making this observation for my own sake either. I'm suggesting that I think Wizards will look at a card that could be legal in Modern, e.g. DTT, and then look at it being banned in Legacy and say "whoa, if that is busted in Legacy it's definitely busted in Modern."
Re: Modern Challenge metagame
E-Tron still sucks and old-school Tron is back. GDS still in the T8 but with lower presence. Interestingly, there are a bunch of white decks that Wizards could be worried about with respect to a possible SFM unban. BBE unban still looking very promising though.
Re: Twin talk
I've sent out a mass PM to everyone who keeps talking about Twin; let's just talk about it via PM and not in a public thread.
There's a shocking amount of white cards now doing well!
And I have noticed a small tick-up in regular tron. I think E-Tron is probably a tier 2 deck right now, due to the meta shift.
Grixis Shadow is still great deck, but now it's just another great deck instead of THE deck
I'm still waiting to see if Mullen's Human list breaks out and if it can adapt if it proves to be a top tier deck
I don't think blazing shoal adds anything to modern except a card asking to be broken
I don't think Shoal is a safe unban, not even remotely, but I also want to say that your comment applies to every card on the list. By definition a card existing on the banlist is asking to be broken if unbanned. That "brokenness" can take a few forms, including too much meta prevalence.
So just saying something that literally applies to every card on the banlist isn't quite enough to rule out any particular card.
Free Earthcraft!
I don't really think earth craft or mindtwist would be terribly powerful in modern. (I don't think earthcraft would be playable at all, and I don't think mindtwist would be particularly format defining, though it might be playable. Getting hymned on t3 seems like the best it would do, and thats pretty useless against a lot of decks right now.
Do you all think that when wizards said they're looking at "an unban" that means they have 1 specific card in mind, or simply that they recognize there are a number of cards that could potentially see play?
When I read it, I got the impression that they basically said "Card X is probably pretty safe, but we don't wanna mess everything up right now, so in a few months, we'll probably unban it. Sorry we can't tell you what card X is." but it seems like thats not how everyone else read it.
I don't think blazing shoal adds anything to modern except a card asking to be broken
I don't think Shoal is a safe unban, not even remotely, but I also want to say that your comment applies to every card on the list. By definition a card existing on the banlist is asking to be broken if unbanned. That "brokenness" can take a few forms, including too much meta prevalence.
So just saying something that literally applies to every card on the banlist isn't quite enough to rule out any particular card.
To be clearer, I don't think the issue with Shoal is it being merely "broken." I think the issue is that Wizards is never unbanning something that potentially violates the T4 rule. Shoal did that in 2011. If one of Modern's main complaints is "too fast, too linear, too non-interactive" (a line of complaint Wizards surely knows), Shoal is not the card they will consider.
Pod or punishing fire? I mentioned them in my list
Pod isn't coming back for the same reason GSZ is banned. It creates a perfect toolbox that provides extreme value at all points in the game. Company is still powerful (far less than Pod), and it's been talked about here as well.
Fire + Grove is a strong combo. Not sure if it would be used against aggro or for it. Both?
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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"I hope to have such a death... lying in triumph atop the broken bodies of those who slew me..."
You don't call "dying to removal" if the removal is more expensive in resources than the creature. If you have to spend BG (Abrupt Decay), or W + basic land (PtE) to remove a 1G, that is not "dying to removal". Strictly speaking Goyf dies to removal, but actually your removal is dying to Goyf.
Pod or punishing fire? I mentioned them in my list
Pod isn't coming back for the same reason GSZ is banned. It creates a perfect toolbox that provides extreme value at all points in the game. Company is still powerful (far less than Pod), and it's been talked about here as well.
Fire + Grove is a strong combo. Not sure if it would be used against aggro or for it. Both?
Aggro wouldn't use it. The life gain from Grove if you aren't getting back punishing fire is a big issue and the punishing fires themselves are too slow.
No. It might not be broken right now if it was unbanned, but the card does literally nothing good for the format. It will only see play if it's part of some busted "kill you on turn 2 or 3" combo deck. It's kinda like the GGT unbanning, it'll either do nothing or make something broken so it has to be banned again.
I don't think Storm would use DTT. Gifts is better for them, and they need the fuel in their graveyard, they can't afford to run delve cards. The bigger question mark for DTT would be Scapeshift. The blue version is almost nonexistent, and most of those who are playing it are playing the 4c BTL version over the RUG version. Would RUG Scapeshift with DTT be better than 4c BTL? I'm not sure. If it is, would it be enough better to make blue Scapeshift viable in the meta again? Even harder question to answer.
You can only run so many delve cards. Tasigur and Angler can be difficult to cast in multiples already, and sometimes impossible through graveyard hate. Adding DTT means something has to give.
Blazing Shoal is never coming off for being a turn two kill enabler. Most famous for infect, but Temur Battle Rage opens up options for one drops in other decks.
So Legacy, whether you agree with it being a good comparison for similar bans in modern or not, is still a closer comparison than Vintage.
---------
On Jace, I can see him becoming a key of control decks if they can grind past turn 4, but one really gets a boost if they go two color to play him, Lantern control/prison. He can become another lock piece with his +2. Not sure if it will give the deck a shot, but it's something to consider.
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Not sure where all this Vintage talk came from. I was very clear that my comparison was to Legacy, not Vintage, the latter of which is a totally different animal that we shouldn't compare to Modern. Legacy, however, is a much cleaner comparison. Also, I never said cards that were good in Legacy, like Wraith's Mentor example, are good in Modern too. I very clearly said that cards BANNED in Legacy would also be busted in Modern.
DTT is the one disagreement you had that actually fits my initial comparison, but I'm pretty sure that one is never coming off. Wizards will make the very comparison I made and keep it banned in Modern forever.
UR ....... WUBR ........... WB ............. RGW ........ UBR ....... WUB .... BGU
Spells / Blink & Combo / Token Grind / Dino Tribal / Draw Cards / Zombies / Reanimate
This was exactly my thoughts but ...
On your point about the legacy banlist, DTT is the only card where that might not be true, but I could see there being cards that are busted enough to be banned in Legacy but are fine in Modern in the future. Just as an example, I could see Leovald getting the axe someday, he's really powerful in a format all about card advantage, but I'm not sure he would see much play in Modern if he were legal. Sultai just isn't good in this format.
UBR Grixis Shadow UBR
UR Izzet Phoenix UR
UW UW Control UW
GB GB Rock GB
Commander
BG Meren of Clan Nel Toth BG
BGUW Atraxa, Praetor's Voice BGUW
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What deck? What event?
Modern
WUBRG
Tezz is usually popular in the challenges.
There is significant new information whether or not you choose to acknowledge it. Wizards is actively considering an unban and currently considers the format healthy. That means they will likely follow the pattern of previous unbans and unban one or more conservative cards that benefit underplayed, lower-tier strategies. I don't really think SFM will meet those criteria in Wizards' eyes because there are too many top-finishing white decks in recent events. But BBE looks really promising by those standards. JTMS too, but less so.
Re: Legacy comparison
The comparison I made is super clear. If a card is BANNED in Legacy, I believe it would also be banned/broken in Modern. I also think Wizards will follow a similar metric when evaluating cards.
I said before this doesn't work when you flip the definitions. For instance, Leovold, not banned, does not fit this comparison. Nor does Mentor. Good cards in Legacy are not necessarily as good in Modern, and I never said they were. They often are/would be, but not always.
You questioned DTT here and that's potentially up for debate. Another might be Goblin Recruiter.
But under what pretense? I get where you're coming from, but at the same time, Legacy and Modern are hardly comparable. Legacy is dominated by noncreatures, Modern is generally the opposite. Long story short, this makes the them entirely different beasts. As mentioned before, certain cards excel in Legacy due to the prevalence of noncreature spells and grindy games. In Modern, the format is just super hostile to cards that don't directly impact the board immediately or win the game. Would this type of dichotomy not also apply to banlist cards?
But this same logic directly applies to Twin too -- unless you consider UR Kiki and UR Breach to be "commonly played decks" (they're not). And we know exactly how it behaves in the Modern meta. Seems like a much less risky option compared to other powerhouses of unknown viability in Modern (Jace and Stoneforge). And yes, Bloodbraid also would benefit "underplayed" decks and has been observed in Modern before, even if UR combo-control decks see less play right now than Jund.
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You are aware that there are only +/- 35 cards on the Modern ban list, right? As much as I'd like to have Deathrite Shaman in Modern, I don't see it coming off the ban list anytime soon, so there's no need to mention it; the same goes for MM, Jitte, Pod, etc etc etc. WotC has already acknowledged that W & U aren't well-represented in the format; when you consider that along with new printings of SFM/JTMS being injected into the market, and the fact that they've been mulling over unbannings, it shouldn't be a surprise that those specific cards are being discussed in regards to how they'd fit in and how/if they'd have a dramatic impact on the format. AV, Thopter Founds, Sword of the Meek, etc all came off the banlist and people thought it would instantly lead to degeneracy, but instead the impact was pretty underwhelming. There's a distinct difference between constructive discussion and destructive, resentful comments that serve no purpose aside from creating a toxic environment.
I honestly don't know what's worse; discussions getting derailed by posts that blatantly & obsessively beat a horse which has been dead for two years or discussions being derailed by passive-aggressive posts that dance around the subject, but still manage to contain the same degree of whining & pouting.
Which is exactly why it's not the option with the least risk by any means; WotC banned it for a reason, two years ago. JTMS & SFM were banned ~6 years ago; the format is a completely different animal than it was back then. Worst case scenario is they somehow dodge all the artifact/creature/narrow hate cards and make eldrazi winter look like Spring Break; in that case, one or both would get the ol' "Welp, we gave it a shot" and find itself back on the ban list. Best case scenario is they boost W/U's format presence and foster the creation of non-oppressive deck(s) that are held in check by other archetypes.
Link to Discord server where anybody from MTGS can keep up with thread topics while everything is being sorted out with the new site.
I don't think there's any pretense or underlying principle behind my evaluation. I'm literally just looking at all the cards on the Legacy banlist and seeing how busted they would be in Modern if they were legal. The only questionable case is Goblin Recruiter, which probably shouldn't be banned in Legacy anyway. Everything else is very clear-cut. I'm not making this observation for my own sake either. I'm suggesting that I think Wizards will look at a card that could be legal in Modern, e.g. DTT, and then look at it being banned in Legacy and say "whoa, if that is busted in Legacy it's definitely busted in Modern."
Re: Modern Challenge metagame
E-Tron still sucks and old-school Tron is back. GDS still in the T8 but with lower presence. Interestingly, there are a bunch of white decks that Wizards could be worried about with respect to a possible SFM unban. BBE unban still looking very promising though.
Re: Twin talk
I've sent out a mass PM to everyone who keeps talking about Twin; let's just talk about it via PM and not in a public thread.
Oh.
Yep, lol, I can definitely see WotC doing that.
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UW Azorius Control (clicky)
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EDH: I've decided I don't like multiplayer formats.
It's because for 2 years, you have written about the subject almost obsessively, to the point that it almost looks like borderline trolling. This restriction was practically enforced because of you. The subject of it was fine, you constantly and non-stop take it too far too often.
It's not the subject of Twin, its you
Does that answer your question, or will you post ten more posts about why your freedom of speech is being restricted?
There's a shocking amount of white cards now doing well!
And I have noticed a small tick-up in regular tron. I think E-Tron is probably a tier 2 deck right now, due to the meta shift.
Grixis Shadow is still great deck, but now it's just another great deck instead of THE deck
I'm still waiting to see if Mullen's Human list breaks out and if it can adapt if it proves to be a top tier deck
So just saying something that literally applies to every card on the banlist isn't quite enough to rule out any particular card.
Standard: lol no
Modern: BG/x, UR/x, Burn, Merfolk, Zoo, Storm
Legacy: Shardless BUG, Delver (BUG, RUG, Grixis), Landstill, Depths Combo, Merfolk
Vintage: Dark Times, BUG Fish, Merfolk
EDH: Teysa, Orzhov Scion / Krenko, Mob Boss / Stonebrow, Krosan Hero
I don't really think earth craft or mindtwist would be terribly powerful in modern. (I don't think earthcraft would be playable at all, and I don't think mindtwist would be particularly format defining, though it might be playable. Getting hymned on t3 seems like the best it would do, and thats pretty useless against a lot of decks right now.
Do you all think that when wizards said they're looking at "an unban" that means they have 1 specific card in mind, or simply that they recognize there are a number of cards that could potentially see play?
When I read it, I got the impression that they basically said "Card X is probably pretty safe, but we don't wanna mess everything up right now, so in a few months, we'll probably unban it. Sorry we can't tell you what card X is." but it seems like thats not how everyone else read it.
To be clearer, I don't think the issue with Shoal is it being merely "broken." I think the issue is that Wizards is never unbanning something that potentially violates the T4 rule. Shoal did that in 2011. If one of Modern's main complaints is "too fast, too linear, too non-interactive" (a line of complaint Wizards surely knows), Shoal is not the card they will consider.
Pod isn't coming back for the same reason GSZ is banned. It creates a perfect toolbox that provides extreme value at all points in the game. Company is still powerful (far less than Pod), and it's been talked about here as well.
Fire + Grove is a strong combo. Not sure if it would be used against aggro or for it. Both?
"I hope to have such a death... lying in triumph atop the broken bodies of those who slew me..."
Aggro wouldn't use it. The life gain from Grove if you aren't getting back punishing fire is a big issue and the punishing fires themselves are too slow.
No. It might not be broken right now if it was unbanned, but the card does literally nothing good for the format. It will only see play if it's part of some busted "kill you on turn 2 or 3" combo deck. It's kinda like the GGT unbanning, it'll either do nothing or make something broken so it has to be banned again.
I don't think Storm would use DTT. Gifts is better for them, and they need the fuel in their graveyard, they can't afford to run delve cards. The bigger question mark for DTT would be Scapeshift. The blue version is almost nonexistent, and most of those who are playing it are playing the 4c BTL version over the RUG version. Would RUG Scapeshift with DTT be better than 4c BTL? I'm not sure. If it is, would it be enough better to make blue Scapeshift viable in the meta again? Even harder question to answer.
Punishing Fire is too punishing (snicker) against creature decks. It being legal would probably kill Elves, CoCo decks, Zoo, Merfolk, etc.
UBR Grixis Shadow UBR
UR Izzet Phoenix UR
UW UW Control UW
GB GB Rock GB
Commander
BG Meren of Clan Nel Toth BG
BGUW Atraxa, Praetor's Voice BGUW
UR ....... WUBR ........... WB ............. RGW ........ UBR ....... WUB .... BGU
Spells / Blink & Combo / Token Grind / Dino Tribal / Draw Cards / Zombies / Reanimate
Thanks to Heroes of the Plane Studios for the sigpic.
Spider-Man Mafia 3 (Off-Site: NGA)
Metroid Mafia (Off-Site: Mafia Universe)