The format would be combo as fast as you can, that's it, it was that with a lot of cards banned and I doubt it would get better if more cards are unbanned. And saying Misstep might stop Skullclamp is like saying Misstep might stop Ancestral Recall, sure it can counter it but if they ever resolve Ancestral Recall you basically will just lose so Mental Misstep wouldn't really keep either in check.
I also think that Skullclamp would probably be too powerful, but I'm not 100% sure. It needs a lot of x/1 creatures to be abusive, and the kind of decks that run that many x/1 creatures are especially vulnerable to mental misstep (because most of them should have cmc 1). I just think it would be interesting to give it a chance, after all, Skullclamp was banned from everywhere long ago, we can't be sure how it would interact with all the new cards.
I'm surprised that you find Dark Depths that busted. When the deck was first created it was good, but nowhere near broken, it only made a few top 8s. It was when the deck incorporated the Thopter Foundry combo that it became an oppresive force. Thopter Foundry was a fine deck on its own too, just as good as Dark Depths but also not broken. I think that both combos might be too much for the format, but it would be ok to have just one. If I had to choose, I'd leave Dark Depths in just because it's a more flavorful combo, but that's a matter of prefference. Also, in Over Extended Dark Depths was legal (Sword of the Meek was banned though) and it wasn't a problem for the format at all. I know is not the same, but is something to note. That being said, my initial banned list would be something like this:
And how about doing the exact opposite wizards did? Instead of banning a bunch of cards and then start to balance the format, maybe we could start with just a few cards and then ban a few more until the metagame is somewhat balanced. I would actually like to see a couple of tournaments with no banned list, just to be sure... who knows? maybe Mental Misstep would keep at bay Skullclamp and other broken stuff.
I know you guys probably don't agree with that, but what about a really short list? Maybe a poll to determine the really, really broken cards, and start the balancing process from there. Of course it would be better to try something like this in MWS first since it would be so unstable.
This whole idea that combo must be slower than zoo is ****ing ignorant. Combo decks are supposed to be at least a full turn faster than aggro. I mean hell that's why you run them. They are easier to disrupt than aggro, they are less consistent, and now they are slower than aggro.....why even run combo at all now that it doesn't have a good match up against zoo?
I totally agree with this, combo is supposed to goldfish at least a turn earlier than aggro, otherwise why bother finding all the pieces of your combo and everything, when you can just throw some dudes to your opponent and you'll be just as fast.
That's what I don't like about modern. The 4th turn kill policy. In my opinion is a terrible idea to shape the speed of a format through the banned list (actually, I think it's a terrible idea to shape a format at all through the banned list), since the speed of aggro is already settled unless you want to ban a huge amount of cards. A 3rd turn kill policy would be much better. And that doesn't mean that the average game would be too short. I mean look at legacy, most of the games are very interactive and last a good amount of turns, and fast combo is still a perfectly viable strategy.
I propose we make our own modern format with a different banned list (much shorter), blackjack and hookers. In fact, forget the format!
But seriously, if there's enough people supporting this, maybe wizards will listen, just the way they listened when people started to play overextended.
I also think that Skullclamp would probably be too powerful, but I'm not 100% sure. It needs a lot of x/1 creatures to be abusive, and the kind of decks that run that many x/1 creatures are especially vulnerable to mental misstep (because most of them should have cmc 1). I just think it would be interesting to give it a chance, after all, Skullclamp was banned from everywhere long ago, we can't be sure how it would interact with all the new cards.
I'm surprised that you find Dark Depths that busted. When the deck was first created it was good, but nowhere near broken, it only made a few top 8s. It was when the deck incorporated the Thopter Foundry combo that it became an oppresive force. Thopter Foundry was a fine deck on its own too, just as good as Dark Depths but also not broken. I think that both combos might be too much for the format, but it would be ok to have just one. If I had to choose, I'd leave Dark Depths in just because it's a more flavorful combo, but that's a matter of prefference. Also, in Over Extended Dark Depths was legal (Sword of the Meek was banned though) and it wasn't a problem for the format at all. I know is not the same, but is something to note. That being said, my initial banned list would be something like this:
And my initial watch list:
(Maybe a couple more...)
Alternatively, I'd be willing to try a couple of tournaments with no banned list at all. Just saying...
I know you guys probably don't agree with that, but what about a really short list? Maybe a poll to determine the really, really broken cards, and start the balancing process from there. Of course it would be better to try something like this in MWS first since it would be so unstable.
Now lets get to business
I totally agree with this, combo is supposed to goldfish at least a turn earlier than aggro, otherwise why bother finding all the pieces of your combo and everything, when you can just throw some dudes to your opponent and you'll be just as fast.
That's what I don't like about modern. The 4th turn kill policy. In my opinion is a terrible idea to shape the speed of a format through the banned list (actually, I think it's a terrible idea to shape a format at all through the banned list), since the speed of aggro is already settled unless you want to ban a huge amount of cards. A 3rd turn kill policy would be much better. And that doesn't mean that the average game would be too short. I mean look at legacy, most of the games are very interactive and last a good amount of turns, and fast combo is still a perfectly viable strategy.
I propose we make our own modern format with a different banned list (much shorter), blackjack and hookers. In fact, forget the format!
But seriously, if there's enough people supporting this, maybe wizards will listen, just the way they listened when people started to play overextended.