(The announcement of the updated Ban/Restricted lists can be found here; if you click on this link you'll see the official explanation for the updates)
Hey guys!
Earlier this morning Wizards of the Coast posted their December 20th Banned/Restricted List update to take effect January 1, 2012.
No formats were touched...except Modern.
NEW BANNINGS IN MODERN
Punishing Fire
Wild Nacatl
Wild Nacatl and Punishing Fire were both featured in Zoo builds.
Punishing Fire would be combined with Grove of the Burnwillows to either do a net of 1 damage to the opponent that's reuseable or to get a reuseable 2 damage hit to creatures. And with enough mana and Punishing Fires, that turns into 4, 6, or 8 to a creature in exchange for some life gain the opponent will end up losing because you're re-re-reusing your Punishing Fires.
Wild Nacatl has a lot in common with Kird Ape. Kird Ape was popular in the then-new Extended format. It could easily be a 2/3 creature on Turn 1 thanks to Taiga being legal in the format then. Because it was so efficient, it got banned. And in later years, everyone laughed that a potential 2/3 for 1 mana ever got banned in Extended.
Flashforward to Modern. Wild Nacatl has a little more going for it. We have the Modern equivalent of Dual Lands in the form of "shock lands". As well, Wild Nacatl has a friend Kird Ape never had :"Fetch lands." Yes, on Turn 1 Wild Nacatl could easily be a 2/2 for 1 mana, then next turn a 3/3 for 1 mana with little chance for an opponent to answer until a few turns later. Here's all it takes:
Turn 1: Arid Mesa, "crack" the Fetchland to get a Temple Garden/Stomping Ground, cast Wild Nacatl. Now that you control a Plains/Mountain (whichever of those lands you got), you have a 1-mana 2/2.
Turn 2: If your opponent didn't have a Lightning Bolt, you play any of the other Plains and/or Mountain "shocklands" and Wild Nacatl becomes a 3/3. Add Noble Hierarch to the mix and you have a 4/4 when attacking on Turn 2.
And it seems this kind of play happened more often than not. With fetchlands and Exalted triggers, it's easy to make Nacatl much more powerful than it was for Kird Ape to ever be and much faster too.
For these reasons, the DCI felt that the variety of the format was being threatened. Zoo decks are too prominent, in part because of Wild Nacatl and in part because of the Grove of the Burnwillows/Punishing Fire combo. As well, the Grove/Fire combo was being used as a win condition in other decks that could afford to run the combo.
And because deck variety was being threatened, the DCI felt the need to ban these 2 cards.
On the plus side...this is the fewest bannings that have happened to Modern since the format sprang up earlier this year. Last update had 6 cards banned, and the initial announcement (on August 12th) had a whopping 21 cards on it. With 29 cards on the list, I have a sneaky suspicion we'll see at least a couple cards come off the list next update (scheduled for March 20th to be effective April 1, 2012).
What do you all think? Are these bans the correct move? Should something have been unbanned? What about in other formats? Feel free to leave your comments here and share and discuss! :)
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Innistrad Initial Rules Posted
Hey guys!
Follow the link below for the initial Innistrad League details. Feel free to post any feedback here.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BTJZZCZbTDOq2FkqvlnH81TjqbzZp9KHFao7Gikny8I/edit?hl=en_US
Any and all feedback is welcome! :)
Follow the link below for the initial Innistrad League details. Feel free to post any feedback here.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BTJZZCZbTDOq2FkqvlnH81TjqbzZp9KHFao7Gikny8I/edit?hl=en_US
Any and all feedback is welcome! :)
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Preliminary Innistrad League Details (FINALLY!)
Okay, guys. Preliminary information about Innistrad League! (FINALLY! lol!)
Start date: December 31st
Run time: Roughly 14 weeks, give or take depending on feedback.
Basic Prize Support: Everyone gets a free promo Tormented Soul for playing (while supplies last). Devil's Play promos will be included at random periods as part of a bi-weekly further prize split. Other basic prize support TBD.
Entry Fee: $16.50 will get you 6 packs of Innistrad to use in constructing a minimum 40-card deck. Trades within the League will be allowed (details TBA). Also, add $2 to help with further prize support every 2 weeks (details TBA).
Pack Additions: Packs will be added every 2 weeks at $2.75 per pack, 1 pack at a time. This means on Week 3 you'll be at 7 packs, Week 5 up to 9 packs, etc.
Further Prize Support: I wish to incorporate the Graveborn pre-con deck somewhere in here (Premium Deck Series: Graveborn list link is about 4 posts below this). Also, I'll throw in packs of Innistrad either to the winner and/or to split among all the players.
EXACT details are still TBA, most likely tomorrow or Thursday. But I wanted to give a basic run-down and get some feedback before we get official details out.
Who's interested? Who would want to play?
PS: You WILL be able to use your League cards outside of the League. We'll have everyone type out their pack openings and any trades made so each player can have a record of what cards should go back into their League piles when playing for League games. Exact details on how this will work will be posted in the next few days.
Start date: December 31st
Run time: Roughly 14 weeks, give or take depending on feedback.
Basic Prize Support: Everyone gets a free promo Tormented Soul for playing (while supplies last). Devil's Play promos will be included at random periods as part of a bi-weekly further prize split. Other basic prize support TBD.
Entry Fee: $16.50 will get you 6 packs of Innistrad to use in constructing a minimum 40-card deck. Trades within the League will be allowed (details TBA). Also, add $2 to help with further prize support every 2 weeks (details TBA).
Pack Additions: Packs will be added every 2 weeks at $2.75 per pack, 1 pack at a time. This means on Week 3 you'll be at 7 packs, Week 5 up to 9 packs, etc.
Further Prize Support: I wish to incorporate the Graveborn pre-con deck somewhere in here (Premium Deck Series: Graveborn list link is about 4 posts below this). Also, I'll throw in packs of Innistrad either to the winner and/or to split among all the players.
EXACT details are still TBA, most likely tomorrow or Thursday. But I wanted to give a basic run-down and get some feedback before we get official details out.
Who's interested? Who would want to play?
PS: You WILL be able to use your League cards outside of the League. We'll have everyone type out their pack openings and any trades made so each player can have a record of what cards should go back into their League piles when playing for League games. Exact details on how this will work will be posted in the next few days.
Friday, November 25, 2011
SMM Not At Church Saturday, 11/26
We will not meet at the church for SMM this Saturday, 11/26. Rachel is hosting a family Thanksgiving meal that she does every Saturday after Thanksgiving.
We can meet at the Northgate Mall food court area instead.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Premium Deck Series: Graveborn DECK LIST SPOILER!
Alright, guys. The moment we've been waiting for! (Or at least, I have been waiting for)
Premium Deck Series: Graveborn comes out November 18th, a week from today. But someone's already leaked the spoiler to MTGSalvation.com.
Wanna know more? Of course you do! I mean, who wouldn't want a blinged-out Reanimator deck? :)
The list is taken straight from this MTGSalvation thread on the deck.
That's not too bad now! Just think of some of the heavily-weighted cards based on either price or popularity or use in a traditional Reanimator deck:
Reanimate
Dread Return
Blazing Archon
Sphinx of the Steel Wind
Reanimate
Entomb
Exhume (and 3 copies! :) )
Animate Dead (with the current oracle wording, new art, and 3 copies! :) )
Inkwell Leviathan
Duress (and 3 copies! :) )
Putrid Imp
And most importantly of all...Swamp! (What, did you expect to pay those black costs without swamps? :p )
TCGPlayer has the low end of these contents being $70+. The MSRP for this deck? $35, plus tax. That's not a bad chunk of change cut from the price, considering at one point Entomb was around $30-$35 all by its lonesome.
If you've been wanting to get in on the Reanimator deck type but didn't have the staples of the deck, or you want to bling out your current Reanimator cards, or you're just looking for a fun all-foil deck to play, consider picking this up. I'm getting 3: one to hold on to and 2 to bust open, combine, and use.
I've already done some sample hand draws online and I'll just say, turn 2 Sphinx of the Steel Wind after Turn 1 Entomb and Turn 2 Exhume or Animate Dead is very hard to come back from. ;)
Premium Deck Series: Graveborn comes out November 18th, a week from today. But someone's already leaked the spoiler to MTGSalvation.com.
Wanna know more? Of course you do! I mean, who wouldn't want a blinged-out Reanimator deck? :)
The list is taken straight from this MTGSalvation thread on the deck.
That's not too bad now! Just think of some of the heavily-weighted cards based on either price or popularity or use in a traditional Reanimator deck:
Reanimate
Dread Return
Blazing Archon
Sphinx of the Steel Wind
Reanimate
Entomb
Exhume (and 3 copies! :) )
Animate Dead (with the current oracle wording, new art, and 3 copies! :) )
Inkwell Leviathan
Duress (and 3 copies! :) )
Putrid Imp
And most importantly of all...Swamp! (What, did you expect to pay those black costs without swamps? :p )
TCGPlayer has the low end of these contents being $70+. The MSRP for this deck? $35, plus tax. That's not a bad chunk of change cut from the price, considering at one point Entomb was around $30-$35 all by its lonesome.
If you've been wanting to get in on the Reanimator deck type but didn't have the staples of the deck, or you want to bling out your current Reanimator cards, or you're just looking for a fun all-foil deck to play, consider picking this up. I'm getting 3: one to hold on to and 2 to bust open, combine, and use.
I've already done some sample hand draws online and I'll just say, turn 2 Sphinx of the Steel Wind after Turn 1 Entomb and Turn 2 Exhume or Animate Dead is very hard to come back from. ;)
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Some (Long Overdue) Updates
Hey guys!
It's been a while since I've done any updates. I apologize for that. School's been so hectic that I haven't had much time for anything else.
1) Innistrad League: I will have some preliminary procedures for Innistrad League this Friday, 11/11.
2) A bit of release news, we've had the front cover for Premium Deck Series: Graveborn. It confirms Entomb as a reprint alongside Buried Alive, Crosis, the Purger, Avatar of Woe (for its 5th reprinting and its 4th in about 2 years' time), and even an alternate art Animate Dead!
Also, on MTGSalvation.com, it's rumored that there will indeed be 1 Mythic Rare and it will be from Shards of Alara block. (Like we need any more foil Alara reprints??) The big contenders for that spot are Thraximundar, Sedris, the Traitor King, Sphinx of the Steel Wind, and Empyrial Archangel.
We'll see which Mythic gets the nod, along with possibly the full decklist, this upcoming Monday. I'll post the list when it goes up, so stay tuned!
3) Next Saturday, November 19th, we will not be meeting at the church for SMM.
4) I need tournament ideas. If you've got something you want to try, let me know and I'll see where I can fit it into the schedule. Remember, though, that you need to have at minimum rules and tournament procedures ready 2 weeks before the tournament date minimum. If you want something to go up for a vote, let me know and I'll post a poll here and on Facebook.
5) Personal request more than anything: I'm looking to pick up a Tundra (yeah, I know, that's ironic considering I traded my then-"extra" one. lol!). I'll take it in any condition, language, etc. as long as it's sleeve-playable. Cheapest tournament-playable versions are much more preferable. lol! I can trade toward it or mix cash and trades. E-mail me (CardGameNut@gmail.com) if you can help out.
That does it for me for now. Any comments or questions feel free to post them here or E-mail me.
Take care all! :)
It's been a while since I've done any updates. I apologize for that. School's been so hectic that I haven't had much time for anything else.
1) Innistrad League: I will have some preliminary procedures for Innistrad League this Friday, 11/11.
2) A bit of release news, we've had the front cover for Premium Deck Series: Graveborn. It confirms Entomb as a reprint alongside Buried Alive, Crosis, the Purger, Avatar of Woe (for its 5th reprinting and its 4th in about 2 years' time), and even an alternate art Animate Dead!
 |
| Image from DailyMTG.com |
We'll see which Mythic gets the nod, along with possibly the full decklist, this upcoming Monday. I'll post the list when it goes up, so stay tuned!
3) Next Saturday, November 19th, we will not be meeting at the church for SMM.
4) I need tournament ideas. If you've got something you want to try, let me know and I'll see where I can fit it into the schedule. Remember, though, that you need to have at minimum rules and tournament procedures ready 2 weeks before the tournament date minimum. If you want something to go up for a vote, let me know and I'll post a poll here and on Facebook.
5) Personal request more than anything: I'm looking to pick up a Tundra (yeah, I know, that's ironic considering I traded my then-"extra" one. lol!). I'll take it in any condition, language, etc. as long as it's sleeve-playable. Cheapest tournament-playable versions are much more preferable. lol! I can trade toward it or mix cash and trades. E-mail me (CardGameNut@gmail.com) if you can help out.
That does it for me for now. Any comments or questions feel free to post them here or E-mail me.
Take care all! :)
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Who's Interested: Innistrad League?
Hey guys!
Nathaniel and I want to get a preliminary count of who would be interested in doing an Innistrad league.
Here's the basics of how it will work: When we start the league, you'll get 6 packs of Innistrad and you'll build a Sealed Deck from your 6 packs and any trades you make from your league stuff only (ie: You can't use cards you didn't open in those 6 packs to trade for league stuff to use for your league deck). You'll play other people in the league each week to earn points. Every so often (time frame still TBD), you'll add 1 pack to your league collection and can modify your deck even more. (And at a certain point, we may up the minimum deck count, but that detail is still TBD). We'll continue battling and adding packs until a certain cutoff (still TBD). We'll figure out what we'll do, if anything, for prizes then.
While we don't have specifics, we would like to get what the interest level is. Entry fee would be a minimum of $16.50 to get in (the price of 6 Innistrad packs) and $2.75 for each additional pack until we hit our cutoff date.
Is there any interest so far? Nathaniel is working on details and hopefully we'll have those soon. I know he, I, Wayne, and one other are interested, so we have 4 so far. We'd like to get as many people as we can, though. But do note that telling us of your interest does not obligate you to play. It's just to gauge how many we can expect so we'll know if we need to buy additional product, know what kind of prizes (if any) we could do, etc.
Thanks! :)
Nathaniel and I want to get a preliminary count of who would be interested in doing an Innistrad league.
Here's the basics of how it will work: When we start the league, you'll get 6 packs of Innistrad and you'll build a Sealed Deck from your 6 packs and any trades you make from your league stuff only (ie: You can't use cards you didn't open in those 6 packs to trade for league stuff to use for your league deck). You'll play other people in the league each week to earn points. Every so often (time frame still TBD), you'll add 1 pack to your league collection and can modify your deck even more. (And at a certain point, we may up the minimum deck count, but that detail is still TBD). We'll continue battling and adding packs until a certain cutoff (still TBD). We'll figure out what we'll do, if anything, for prizes then.
While we don't have specifics, we would like to get what the interest level is. Entry fee would be a minimum of $16.50 to get in (the price of 6 Innistrad packs) and $2.75 for each additional pack until we hit our cutoff date.
Is there any interest so far? Nathaniel is working on details and hopefully we'll have those soon. I know he, I, Wayne, and one other are interested, so we have 4 so far. We'd like to get as many people as we can, though. But do note that telling us of your interest does not obligate you to play. It's just to gauge how many we can expect so we'll know if we need to buy additional product, know what kind of prizes (if any) we could do, etc.
Thanks! :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)