In my opinion all of the prices of the secondary market are too high. If a tier 1 modern deck wasn't $500-600 more people would play the format which would be good for anyone who plays the format.
I kind of agree with EEpop that doing little adjustments to the ban list probably won't really fix most of moderns woes. I do have a list that I would like to see unbanned though. I have been playing modern since the community cup, and I have played extended and legacy for years so I think my opinions, ideas, and testing should account for something.
ON: Cranial plating- This is what makes affinity overpowered in my opinion. Technically it is not really OP, but this needs to be banned to allows certain unbans.
Blood-braid elf- Not really the most money card for Jund, since it is a good stuff deck targeted bans do much less than most other decks. The objective should not be to kill jund, but to weaken it a bit and banning BBE no doubt will accomplish this.
Edit(ON)
Disciple of the vault- forgot this guy was not banned. This is another ban that allows artifact lands to be unbanned
OFF: Chrome mox- This is a more controversial card, but it really should not be. Chrome mox is a more specific card that most people seem to see since they really don't think of the drawback.(this has it's own section at the end of the post)
Artifact lands- Allowing this back in the format opens tons of new options and more deck customization for several decks. With cranial plating banned these would allow affinity to be strong enough, but would take out the "oops I win button" that most players hate.
Bitterblossom- Its no secret that faeries ruined a standard season(much like jund) but this card is miles behind most of the staples in the format. Abrupt decay being printed makes this even more of a slam dunk candidate for unbanning.(ps I hate faeries, but this has seen play in token decks, and even some death cloud decks in the past.)
Sword of the meek- In my testing this card is kinda meh. The Gifts deck that rain it as a win in the old extended was about a tier 1.5 deck. DD was also a tier 1.5 deck, but the two of them were too good together. This is one of the cards that allows control to exist.
Ancestral vision- This is a pretty powerful card, however if was BBE banned no other cascade cards are good enough to break this. Yes this makes tempo stronger, yes it makes control stronger, it does make jund slightly weaker since it gives these two deck types a fighting chance to get card advantage.
Wild Nactl- I know this was in pretty much every non-affinity aggro deck that existed. However that 1 more aggro deck was more than we have now with it banned. Punishing fire was the real problem not zoo. If you want to make this argument for it being banned then why not tarmogoyf. It has been in every deck that could play it just about.(jund, zoo, counter-balance(legacy), some tempo decks)
[CARD]
Golgari Grave-Troll[/CARD]: it is just me or does this card just take up space with dread return banned? Maybe this might make some BUG midrange grave deck viable, but the more decks available the better.
Umezawa's Jitte- I am somewhat on the fence about this one, but I think it could make decks that aren't jund stronger which in effect makes jund weaker. Without stoneforge mystic this card is much weaker. It was never broken or OP in extended for the years it existed there.
What decks would chrome mox possibly be played in(pros and cons)
Storm
Pros
Free storm count
Possible mana accel/mana fixing
Cons
The drawback
What do you replace?
Is not as mana effcient as 2 mana accelerators(since it is 2 cards for +1 mana instead of 1. Kinda worse than a land since a land is +1 for 1 card)
bad to see more than one(running multiples only way for the card to be seen enough to be effective)
Verdict
Cons win makes storm worse.(tested already)
Jund
Pros
Turn 2 liliana
Turn 1 bob(maybe worth it)
Cons
The drawback
Seeing multiples means you lose.
Bad to get with BBE if she is in the format.
Most of the time pitching a card makes it hard to disrupt , your opponent and go aggro at the same time.
deathrite shaman does what it does while only having upsides.
Verdict
makes the deck worse(tested)
Infect-
Pros
Makes the deck possible into a turn 3 win
Cons
Pitching anything in your hand makes you much weaker to disruption.
Seeing multiples really hurts
Only slightly faster than noble heiarch which provides better mana fixing, close to the same speed, and adds 1 more power to your infect creature.
Verdict(untested)
seems to make your deck less consistent while not doing enough the ~22% of the time you see it in your opener.
affinity
Pros
I like magic
Cons
Makes your deck less consistent
you have like 7-8 cards that aren't lands or artifacts
Verdict(does not need testing)
or an explanation for that matter
Tempo decks
Pros
Slightly faster when you see it turn 1
able to poop out a threat and defend it sooner
Allows you to delve into more 3-4 mana options
Cons
kinda like jund you don't have much card advantage so pitching a card may hurt your chances to play threats and protect them.
Only really good if you run several cards that cost 3-4 mana which hurts your speed and consistency when you don't open with the mox.
Verdict(untested)
Some tempo decks may want it even though it does cut some consistency. Other tempo decks will treat it like a leper.
Tron
Verdict(tested)
U/x tron will love this card, although it would force a few changes in tron which will make it function more like a control deck.
U/x control variants
Pros
If you start with it you can counter things on turn 1
"free artifacts" for thirst for knowledge
Good draw on turns 1-4 because you can have several 4 cost things and you will run thirst for knowledge(even if you draw it on turn 3 setting up a early wrath, gifts, teachings, et cetra is always good)
Cons
Bad in multiples at times although this is lessened by thirst for knowledge
Kinda makes you run certain cards that you might not to have enough artifacts for thirst(only kinda a con)
verdict(tested)
is part of the shot in the arm that control decks need to compete in modern because it allows greater velocity and synergizes with thirst for knowledge
Twin
Pros
Allows for a turn 3 win if unmolested and you get the perfect hand to start the game with.
Makes it easier to play combo and have counter magic up
Cons
There is a good chance you had to pitch your only counterspell to it in order for it to produce mana which kills one of the pros.
Bad in multiples
what do you cut? I turn faster is generally only better than excess combo pieces and counterspells unless your opponent has some way to disrupt you then your honestly worse off in general than if you did not have mox.
Verdict(tested)
Makes you deck worse, and the speed boost really only matters against aggro decks, and you run red so you would be better off with a bit of spot removal like lightning bolt.
ON:
Cranial plating- This is what makes affinity overpowered in my opinion. Technically it is not really OP, but this needs to be banned to allows certain unbans.
Blood-braid elf- Not really the most money card for Jund, since it is a good stuff deck targeted bans do much less than most other decks. The objective should not be to kill jund, but to weaken it a bit and banning BBE no doubt will accomplish this.
Edit(ON)
Disciple of the vault- forgot this guy was not banned. This is another ban that allows artifact lands to be unbanned
OFF:
Chrome mox- This is a more controversial card, but it really should not be. Chrome mox is a more specific card that most people seem to see since they really don't think of the drawback.(this has it's own section at the end of the post)
Artifact lands- Allowing this back in the format opens tons of new options and more deck customization for several decks. With cranial plating banned these would allow affinity to be strong enough, but would take out the "oops I win button" that most players hate.
Bitterblossom- Its no secret that faeries ruined a standard season(much like jund) but this card is miles behind most of the staples in the format. Abrupt decay being printed makes this even more of a slam dunk candidate for unbanning.(ps I hate faeries, but this has seen play in token decks, and even some death cloud decks in the past.)
Sword of the meek- In my testing this card is kinda meh. The Gifts deck that rain it as a win in the old extended was about a tier 1.5 deck. DD was also a tier 1.5 deck, but the two of them were too good together. This is one of the cards that allows control to exist.
Ancestral vision- This is a pretty powerful card, however if was BBE banned no other cascade cards are good enough to break this. Yes this makes tempo stronger, yes it makes control stronger, it does make jund slightly weaker since it gives these two deck types a fighting chance to get card advantage.
Wild Nactl- I know this was in pretty much every non-affinity aggro deck that existed. However that 1 more aggro deck was more than we have now with it banned. Punishing fire was the real problem not zoo. If you want to make this argument for it being banned then why not tarmogoyf. It has been in every deck that could play it just about.(jund, zoo, counter-balance(legacy), some tempo decks)
[CARD]
Golgari Grave-Troll[/CARD]: it is just me or does this card just take up space with dread return banned? Maybe this might make some BUG midrange grave deck viable, but the more decks available the better.
Umezawa's Jitte- I am somewhat on the fence about this one, but I think it could make decks that aren't jund stronger which in effect makes jund weaker. Without stoneforge mystic this card is much weaker. It was never broken or OP in extended for the years it existed there.
The Chrome mox Section
What decks would chrome mox possibly be played in(pros and cons)
Storm
Pros
Free storm count
Possible mana accel/mana fixing
Cons
The drawback
What do you replace?
Is not as mana effcient as 2 mana accelerators(since it is 2 cards for +1 mana instead of 1. Kinda worse than a land since a land is +1 for 1 card)
bad to see more than one(running multiples only way for the card to be seen enough to be effective)
Verdict
Cons win makes storm worse.(tested already)
Jund
Pros
Turn 2 liliana
Turn 1 bob(maybe worth it)
Cons
The drawback
Seeing multiples means you lose.
Bad to get with BBE if she is in the format.
Most of the time pitching a card makes it hard to disrupt , your opponent and go aggro at the same time.
deathrite shaman does what it does while only having upsides.
Verdict
makes the deck worse(tested)
Infect-
Pros
Makes the deck possible into a turn 3 win
Cons
Pitching anything in your hand makes you much weaker to disruption.
Seeing multiples really hurts
Only slightly faster than noble heiarch which provides better mana fixing, close to the same speed, and adds 1 more power to your infect creature.
Verdict(untested)
seems to make your deck less consistent while not doing enough the ~22% of the time you see it in your opener.
affinity
Pros
I like magic
Cons
Makes your deck less consistent
you have like 7-8 cards that aren't lands or artifacts
Verdict(does not need testing)
or an explanation for that matter
Tempo decks
Pros
Slightly faster when you see it turn 1
able to poop out a threat and defend it sooner
Allows you to delve into more 3-4 mana options
Cons
kinda like jund you don't have much card advantage so pitching a card may hurt your chances to play threats and protect them.
Only really good if you run several cards that cost 3-4 mana which hurts your speed and consistency when you don't open with the mox.
Verdict(untested)
Some tempo decks may want it even though it does cut some consistency. Other tempo decks will treat it like a leper.
Tron
Verdict(tested)
U/x tron will love this card, although it would force a few changes in tron which will make it function more like a control deck.
U/x control variants
Pros
If you start with it you can counter things on turn 1
"free artifacts" for thirst for knowledge
Good draw on turns 1-4 because you can have several 4 cost things and you will run thirst for knowledge(even if you draw it on turn 3 setting up a early wrath, gifts, teachings, et cetra is always good)
Cons
Bad in multiples at times although this is lessened by thirst for knowledge
Kinda makes you run certain cards that you might not to have enough artifacts for thirst(only kinda a con)
verdict(tested)
is part of the shot in the arm that control decks need to compete in modern because it allows greater velocity and synergizes with thirst for knowledge
Twin
Pros
Allows for a turn 3 win if unmolested and you get the perfect hand to start the game with.
Makes it easier to play combo and have counter magic up
Cons
There is a good chance you had to pitch your only counterspell to it in order for it to produce mana which kills one of the pros.
Bad in multiples
what do you cut? I turn faster is generally only better than excess combo pieces and counterspells unless your opponent has some way to disrupt you then your honestly worse off in general than if you did not have mox.
Verdict(tested)
Makes you deck worse, and the speed boost really only matters against aggro decks, and you run red so you would be better off with a bit of spot removal like lightning bolt.