(The following information is from this article detaliing the Banned/Restricted List Changes and this forum post on MTGCommander.net)
Hey all!
Today's another Banned/Restricted announcement, this time a normally scheduled one. All normaly Banned/Restricted updates happen on the 20th of ever 3rd month (so there are 4 regularly scheduled updates in a year). This is the first Banned/Restricted announcement since Jace, the Mind Sculptor got banned in Standard, Stoneforge got semi-banned in Standard, and the Modern official Banned list was released.
And today sees more changes than are normally seen out of a Banned/Restricted Update. Let me put it this way...the only formats NOT hit seemed to be Scars of Mirrodin block and Standard. Everything else that has sanctioned play at least once a year got a Banned/Restricted List update.
So let's go ahead and get started off with the first rotating format to get updates...EXTENDED!
Extended Ban List Update
NEWLY BANNED:
Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Mental Misstep
Ponder
Preordain
Stoneforge Mystic
REASON: Basically, every card banned here was a big player in too many successful decks over the last 3 years in Standard. Players seemed to complain about how the format was shaping up, so these new bans are a means to help revitalize interest in Extended.
NOTE: There is no partial banning of Stoneforge Mystic. She is completely banned in Extended.
Now let's move on to our most recent Eternal format, MODERN!
Modern Ban List Update
NEWLY BANNED:
Blazing Shoal
Cloudpost
Green Sun's Zenith
Ponder
Preordain
Rite of Flame
REASONS:
Blazing Shoal delivered too consistent of a quick kill: Turn 1-2, throw out Blighted Agent or Inkmoth Nexus, Turn 2-3 cast Blazing Shoal and ditch a Dragonstorm/Reaper King/Progenitus to get lethal Infect damage.
Cloudpost was dominating, allowing very quick mana acceleration in combination with Vesuva and Glimmerpost. Supposedly, these decks could hit 15 mana by Turn 4. This was deemed unhealthy.
Green Sun's Zenith: Early or late game, it's just too efficient at what it does. It can either act as early mana acceleration by getting a Dryad Arbor or get a late-game beater like Primeval Titan. It was getting to a point where all Green decks were going the Green Sun's Zenith route and no other way.
Ponder and Preordain: Like Brainstorm and Ponder in Vintage, they're too good at what they do. In some combo decks, it became too easy to find combo pieces...just like Brainstorm.
Rite of Flame: Combo enabler that was seen way to often. One of the highest finishing decks at the latest Pro Tour won 9 out of 10 games with it and the games ended VERY quickly.
Next up, we're moving to the more restrictive format...LEGACY!
Legacy Ban List Update
NEWLY BANNED:
Mental Misstep
REASON: Mental Misstep was a mistake...a BAD mistake. Printed to help non-blue decks have access to a Force of Will-type card, instead blue deck adopted Mental Misstep ALONGSIDE Force of Will. What happened to the Legacy metagame was exactly the opposite of what they intended. They planned to ban the card if the results were poor, and, well, they were.
So congratulations! Unless you're playing Standard, Scars of Mirrodin block constructed, or Vintage, you have no opportunity to play Mental Misstep.
And almost finally, we get some good news with an unrestriction in the most open format for legalities, VINTAGE!
Vintage Restricted List Update
NEWLY RESTRICTED:
None
NEWLY UNRESTRICTED (4-of):
Fact or Fiction
REASON: Fact or Fiction was powerful long ago, and the time seems to have come to unban it and see if it's as big a powerhouse now as it was then. This goes along with unbannings like Grim Monolith and Time Spiral in Legacy where each proved to be not overpowered in the present day.
ULTIMATELY LASTLY AND FINALLY...finally (:p)...we have a COMMANDER update with one unbanning and 1 banning as a Commander.
Commander Ban List Update
UNBANNED:
Lion's Eye Diamond
BANNED AS A COMMANDER (still okay in the other 99 cards of your deck):
Erayo, Soratami Ascendant
BANNED:
Shahrazad
REASONS
Lion's Eye Diamond: Sheldon Menery, basically the internet leader for EDH, and his rules committee feel that while Lion's Eye Diamond COULD have potential issues, the benefits of letting newer players explore "non-scummy" ways to use it seems to be worth unbanning. Or something like that? But they'll keep a close eye on it and see if it ends up hurting the format.
Shahrazad: Meant to let newer players have some fun with subgames, the rules committee was finding that people were building Shahrazad-based decks just to annoy players. That's never good for the game. Whatever exception allowed Shahrazad to be played was removed and it's not completely banned.
Erayo, Soratami Ascendant as a Commander: Simply put, he effectively ends games as soon as he hits the board. Sheldon and the rules committee don't like Commanders that do that. Players learn the hard way that, unless they have a very narrow set of answers, they can't deal with Erayo once it flips.
All of these changes except Commander take effect on October 1st, so enjoy your Ponders, Preordains, Mental Misstepts, and Rite of Flames a little while longer. For Commander, the changes are immediate, as best I can tell.
That is all for tonight. Comments? Suggestions? Feel free to post here. :)
Showing posts with label extended. Show all posts
Showing posts with label extended. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Reminder about Standard and Extended Set Legalities on M12 Release
Hey all!
For those who are still getting used to how Standard and Extended rotates in and out sets since their changes a year or two ago, I'll remind you about certain sets' legalities as of M12 and when Innistrad releases in the Fall.
M12 Release Set Legalities: Standard
Remember, unlike the pre-M10 Core Sets, the release of a new Core Set does not automatically knock out the previous Core Set.
When M12 officially releases Friday, M11 will still be legal. Yes, for example that gives Goblin decks access to 4x Goblin Guide (from Zendikar), 4x Goblin Grenade (from M12), and 4x Lightning Bolt.
At least, for a little while.
Each Core Set is now tied to the block that immediately preceded it. For example, M11 ties to Zendikar block for rotation purposes, and M12 will tie to Scars of Mirrodin block.
What does this mean for when rotation happens?
Well, remember that Standard is a 2-year format. A block only stays legal for 2 years counting from when the first set in that block released. (So for example, even though we just finished up Scars of Mirrodin block, it rotates out in full in Fall 2012 when the block after Innistrad starts).
SO...all of THAT was to say...M11 will rotate at the same time as Zendikar block. That is, when Innistrad releases on September 24th. So at the same time we lose Goblin Guide, we'll also lose Lightning Bolt (for example).
So here are all the Standard-legal sets as of M12's release Friday (in chronological order):
Zendikar
Worldwake (except for Jace, the Mind Sculptor and 99.999999% of the time Stoneforge Mystic)
Rise of the Eldrazi
M11
Scars of Mirrodin
Mirrodin Beseiged
New Phyrexia
M12
When Innistrad releases on September 30th, though, here's our (much more shortened) list:
For those who are still getting used to how Standard and Extended rotates in and out sets since their changes a year or two ago, I'll remind you about certain sets' legalities as of M12 and when Innistrad releases in the Fall.
M12 Release Set Legalities: Standard
Remember, unlike the pre-M10 Core Sets, the release of a new Core Set does not automatically knock out the previous Core Set.
When M12 officially releases Friday, M11 will still be legal. Yes, for example that gives Goblin decks access to 4x Goblin Guide (from Zendikar), 4x Goblin Grenade (from M12), and 4x Lightning Bolt.
At least, for a little while.
Each Core Set is now tied to the block that immediately preceded it. For example, M11 ties to Zendikar block for rotation purposes, and M12 will tie to Scars of Mirrodin block.
What does this mean for when rotation happens?
Well, remember that Standard is a 2-year format. A block only stays legal for 2 years counting from when the first set in that block released. (So for example, even though we just finished up Scars of Mirrodin block, it rotates out in full in Fall 2012 when the block after Innistrad starts).
SO...all of THAT was to say...M11 will rotate at the same time as Zendikar block. That is, when Innistrad releases on September 24th. So at the same time we lose Goblin Guide, we'll also lose Lightning Bolt (for example).
So here are all the Standard-legal sets as of M12's release Friday (in chronological order):
Zendikar
Worldwake (except for Jace, the Mind Sculptor and 99.999999% of the time Stoneforge Mystic)
Rise of the Eldrazi
M11
Scars of Mirrodin
Mirrodin Beseiged
New Phyrexia
M12
When Innistrad releases on September 30th, though, here's our (much more shortened) list:
Scars of Mirrodin
Mirrodin Beseiged
New Phyrexia
M12
Innistrad
M12 Release Set Legalities: Extended
Extended is like a "double Standard" in that the oldest block is 4 years old instead of Standard's 2. (This took effect a year ago, I believe). So when Innistrad releases in the fall, Lorwyn/Shadowmoor "mega-block" will rotate out of Extended.
What does this mean for the Core Sets, though?
The same rotation plan will happen.
M10 seems to tie to Shards of Alara block, M11 still to Zendikar, and M12 to Scars of Mirrodin.
So what happens when Friday hits? Nothing except for M12 being added to the format, just like Standard. :) Your Extended list will look like this on Friday:
Lorwyn
Morningtide
Shadowmoor
Eventide
Shards of Alara
Conflux
Alara Reborn
M10
Zendikar
Worldwake
Rise of the Eldrazi
M11
Scars of Mirrodin
Mirrodin Beseiged
New Phyrexia
M12
Once Innistrad hits on September 30th, though, Extended will lose its oldest block, in this case Lorwyn/Shadowmoor "mega-block" and Extended will look like this:
Shards of Alara
Conflux
Alara Reborn
M10
Zendikar
Worldwake
Rise of the Eldrazi
M11
Scars of Mirrodin
Mirrodin Beseiged
New Phyrexia
M12
Innistrad
"So when does the next Core Set rotate out, then?" Well, if I'm right, M10 ties to Shards of Alara block, so when the block after Innistrad starts and every year thereafter, the oldest Core Set will rotate out with the oldest block in the format just like it does now with Standard.
...
That is, unless they change format rotation strategies again. :p
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
An Idea: Charity Tournament for Japan in Two Weeks?
I was perusing Twitter one day this week and saw that, in place of Grand Prix - Kobe (I think it's Kobe, but it doesn't matter. It's a Grand Prix that should have been in Japan) this weekend some tournament organizers in Japan are holding charity tournament to help raise money for the Japanese relief efforts.
So I was wondering...Why don't we do something?
I'm going to see what I can get for prize support, but I want to do a constructed event with proxies allowed (especially if we do Legacy or Vintage). Specific proxy rules and formats would follow, but the basic idea is here.
Entry fee would be $6: $3 would go toward any prizes I may have to pay for, and $3 would go toward the charity part.
My idea is if we could get people to RSVP, I could get a base prize based on the number of entrants and the format we do.
For example...
4-6 people (the minimum I'd do): $12 for prizes, so maybe a Metalworker for Legacy, Cryptic Command for Extended, or an Elspeth Tirel for Standard (depending on which format we choose). The rest would go toward charity.
7-9 people: $21 for prizes, so maybe an Intuition for Legacy or Sword of Feast or Famine for Standard (again, format-dependent). The rest toward charity.
10+ people: $30 minimum available for prizes, so possibly a Rishadan Port for Legacy or, with enough people, a Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas for Standard (again, format-dependent). The rest to charity.
NOTE: I'm definitely not tied to anything right now, but you get the general idea. If I can get prize donations, I'll add those to the prize pool and they won't count toward the "prize payback" I'm doing with the RSVP example (so I won't take money away from the charity to "pay" for your contributions).
Just keep in mind: This isn't done for the prizes (they're an incentive to participate, NOT the focus) and there's no ranking of any kind on the line.
If you've got ideas or prize donations you want to add in, feel free to chip in. Again, nothing's set in stone. I just want to get feedback and additional ideas and/or fixes to my proposal.
EDIT: I just wanted to clarify...the $3 per person that I'd use for prizes is to get a prize that's desireable and worth peoples' time to attend. Also note that if I'm doing an RSVP type idea I'd only use the lower number's $3 piece to pay for the card. For example, at the 4-6 bracket, I'd only use upwards of $12 to get a card. If I get 4 people, that's $12 for prize and $12 for charity. If I get 5 people, that's still $12 for a prize and that 5th person's whole $6 would go toward charity for $18 going to charity. 6 people would then be $12 for prize and $24 for charity. At 7 people, the next level, $21 goes toward prizes and $21 goes to charity. At 8 people, that's $21 to prize and $27 to charity, and so on. As I said, though, this is only an idea and is NOT set in stone. Feedback and prize donations are welcome.
EDIT 2: We have a bite on prize donations! We're getting a free Cryptic Command to throw into the prize pool! :) Let's hope to keep the donations rolling. :)
So I was wondering...Why don't we do something?
I'm going to see what I can get for prize support, but I want to do a constructed event with proxies allowed (especially if we do Legacy or Vintage). Specific proxy rules and formats would follow, but the basic idea is here.
Entry fee would be $6: $3 would go toward any prizes I may have to pay for, and $3 would go toward the charity part.
My idea is if we could get people to RSVP, I could get a base prize based on the number of entrants and the format we do.
For example...
4-6 people (the minimum I'd do): $12 for prizes, so maybe a Metalworker for Legacy, Cryptic Command for Extended, or an Elspeth Tirel for Standard (depending on which format we choose). The rest would go toward charity.
7-9 people: $21 for prizes, so maybe an Intuition for Legacy or Sword of Feast or Famine for Standard (again, format-dependent). The rest toward charity.
10+ people: $30 minimum available for prizes, so possibly a Rishadan Port for Legacy or, with enough people, a Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas for Standard (again, format-dependent). The rest to charity.
NOTE: I'm definitely not tied to anything right now, but you get the general idea. If I can get prize donations, I'll add those to the prize pool and they won't count toward the "prize payback" I'm doing with the RSVP example (so I won't take money away from the charity to "pay" for your contributions).
Just keep in mind: This isn't done for the prizes (they're an incentive to participate, NOT the focus) and there's no ranking of any kind on the line.
If you've got ideas or prize donations you want to add in, feel free to chip in. Again, nothing's set in stone. I just want to get feedback and additional ideas and/or fixes to my proposal.
EDIT: I just wanted to clarify...the $3 per person that I'd use for prizes is to get a prize that's desireable and worth peoples' time to attend. Also note that if I'm doing an RSVP type idea I'd only use the lower number's $3 piece to pay for the card. For example, at the 4-6 bracket, I'd only use upwards of $12 to get a card. If I get 4 people, that's $12 for prize and $12 for charity. If I get 5 people, that's still $12 for a prize and that 5th person's whole $6 would go toward charity for $18 going to charity. 6 people would then be $12 for prize and $24 for charity. At 7 people, the next level, $21 goes toward prizes and $21 goes to charity. At 8 people, that's $21 to prize and $27 to charity, and so on. As I said, though, this is only an idea and is NOT set in stone. Feedback and prize donations are welcome.
EDIT 2: We have a bite on prize donations! We're getting a free Cryptic Command to throw into the prize pool! :) Let's hope to keep the donations rolling. :)
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