News!

November 1st, 2023 – Ban and Watch List Changes

01/11/2023

Changes to the present Watchlists

Ban Watchlist
• Gifts Ungiven
• Oath of Druids (5 for unban, 0 for ban, 2 abstain)
• Urza’s Saga (5 for unban, 0 for ban, 2 abstain)

Unban Watchlist:
–

Changes to the present banned list, effective 15/11/2023:

Banned
–

Unbanned
• Gifts Ungiven

Single card explanation:

Library of Alexandria: (1 for unban, 4 for ban, 2 abstain)

Library of Alexandria was perceived as too powerful in most of the communities. Based on feedback, discussion and observations, we believe that the potential card advantage provided by it heavily outweighs the tempo disadvantage (or the “non-basic wastes scenario”). This trial has shown that the card is unsuitable to the format right now, for which it remains banned.

Gifts Ungiven: (6 for unban, 0 for ban, 1 abstain)

Gifts Ungiven is a card, that takes potentially a very long time to resolve. Here, we received mixed impressions. On one hand, experienced players come well prepared and the tutoring does not consume a lot of time. On the other hand, just looking up “good stuff cards” or general inexperience may cause significant time loss. This aspect of the card may improve over time when players get more experienced playing with and against it.
Is Gifts Ungiven to powerful for the format? The trial has not shown any results that point to a higher power-level compared to legal 4 mana+ powerhouses of the format. Potential abuses that have been under the radar for now could be a concern, but can also be reacted upon in the future. Therefore we decided to give Gifts Ungiven a chance to stay in the format.

New Council Member: Lucas Schulte (4 for join, 0 against, 3 abstain)

Lukas Schulte applied to the council quite some time ago, and after several talks to him we think he will be a very good addition to the council and will help shaping the format in a good and constructive way, while keeping the opinion of the community in mind. We happily welcome Lukas Schulte to the council.

Contact us:
Forum (http://www.magicplayer.org/forum/index.php), Email (hlcouncil.eu@gmail.com)

Next scheduled Update: 1st February 2024 – Watchlist update