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#1
Official Announcements / November 1st, 2024 - Bans, Unb...
Last post by Rigero - 01-11-2024, 01:01:25 AM
Changes to the present banned list, effective 15.11.2024:

Banned:

None.

Unbanned:

None.

Unban Trial:

None.


Explanation:
Following extensive discussions we ultimately decided to leave the banned list in its current states. We do not see any major offenders in the allowed cards and the meta diversity is in a good shape. This can be seen in the various small-scale tournaments (for example FNMs) as well as the larger events that took place this year. Recent events (BBQ Masters Erfurt, Ylämaa III) feature aggro, tempo, midrange, combo and control decks in their top8s and good color diversity. While unban trials were discussed, no consensus was found what would be the best card for an unban trial. We look forward to continued discussion for the next announcement

Cards to watch:

None.

New Council Member: Henri Särkkä (5 for join, 0 against, 2 abstain)
pyyhttu will leave the council and be succeeded by Henri Särkkä.
Pyyhttu has been a council member since 2009 and has always supported the community since then. A big thank you for the many years in which you have put in valuable time and effort.

With Henri Särkkä we are sure that we have gained a discussion-loving and committed member who will bring a new perspective to the Council. We warmly welcome Henri Särkkä to the council.

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

Next scheduled Update: 1st February 2024 – Bans, Unbans, Trials and cards to watch
#2
Official Announcements / August 1st, 2024 – Bans, Unban...
Last post by Rigero - 01-08-2024, 09:51:48 AM
August 1st, 2024 – Bans, Unbans, Trials and cards to watch

Changes to the present banned list, effective 15.08.2024:

Banned

All cards that bring a sticker or an Attraction into the game are banned.

Unbanned

None.

Unban Trial:

None.


Explanation:
In compliance to the mothership at WotC we decided unanimously to ban all cards that introduce stickers and Attractions to the game. We did so to limit the differences to other, more commonly played formats with the goal to reduce the entrance barrier to European Highlander and to limit the obstacles for future Tournament Organizers. We decided against banning Unsets per se, since especially these "fun" sets allow WotC to introduce new and "outlandish" mechanics to eternal formats, which might not be feasible for regular sets.

Currently we don't see major offenders in our format. Therefore we decided against any bans.

The current banned list has been shrunken significantly over the past years. Only the cream of the crop, like Power 9, Underworld Breach, Thassa's Oracle, etc., remain. An unban and trial of any of those remaining cards would substantially impact our format. Since these remaining cards are so powerful, we can only test and evaluate their influence in a metagame, that has not been shaken by other, unintended factors. With the release of MH3 all eternal formats have been heavily affected and so is Highlander. The full extent of MH3's impact on Highlander is still incalculable and might overshadow possible trials. Many of potentially powerful cards of MH3 have not been properly tested in Highlander, yet,  and there is still much to explore. A trial would blur the lines between the influences of MH3 and the influences of a potential unban. Therefore we decided to wait with further trials and monitor the current format.


Cards to watch:

Currently we don't see major offenders in our format. Please, feel free to give us suggestions of cards we should specifically monitor, in case you think there is need for action.


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

Next scheduled Update: November 1st, 2024 – Bans, Unbans, Trials and cards to watch
#3
Official Announcements / May 1st, 2024 – Bans, Unbans, ...
Last post by Rigero - 01-05-2024, 01:00:10 AM
May 1st, 2024 – Bans, Unbans, Trials and cards to watch

Dalibor has been a long-standing member of the council that participated in shaping the format as a council member and a player. Due to lackluster activity over a long period, the active council members have voted with 5 yes, 0 no and 2 abstain to part ways with Dailbor. We wish him all the best in the future. We are looking for a replacement from the Slovakian community. So, please, send us your application, in case you can see yourself working on and improving our format!

Changes to the present banned list, effective 15.05.2024:

Banned
-

Unbanned
Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath
Balance

Unban Trial:
Over the past years, many cards got tried out an unbanned. The currently banned cards are the cream of the crop and their trials might have huge impact on the format. We want the dust to settle after the Uro and Balance unban. Also the printing of MH3 will heavily influence our format within a month. Therefore we will take a break from the trials for this trial period.


Single card explanation:


Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath (6 for unban, 0 for ban, 2 abstain)
Uro is a powerful threat in simic style midrange and control decks, that can mitigate a lot of the early pressure by aggressive decks. However, todays highlander has more tools available to handle the titan. Exile removal became more accessible and incidental graveyard hate can more easily be included. Graveyard synergies and ramp decks heavily profit from the titan, but there has not been concerning observations to us in the trial phase. Therefore, Uro will be unbanned.


Balance (4 for unban, 2 for ban, 2 abstain)
Balance is a cheap equalizer that can relief early pressure and reset a game. Overall, we do not consider this aspect of the card as problematic. The key to abuse Balance is to break parity. This is only possible in dedicated (synergy heavy) archetypes, which are not well represented right now. Even in those decks Balance needs to be set up and the game has to be stirred into a game state, that actually benefits its caster. We think that the card enables some interesting deck building choices and pros outweigh the cons. Having an interactive game piece, that benefits setup, a controlling approach to the format and punishes creature centric overaggression, is beneficial to our format and strengthens underrepresented archetypes. As such, Balance will be unbanned.

Cards to watch:

Currently we don't see major offenders in our format. Please, feel free to give us suggestions of cards we should specifically monitor, in case you think there is need for action.



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

Next scheduled Update: 1st August 2024 – Bans, Unbans, Trials and cards to watch
#4
Official Announcements / FEBRUARY 1ST, 2024 – BANS, UNB...
Last post by Rigero - 01-02-2024, 01:01:18 AM
We decided that the watchlist in its current form will be removed. The high frequency of set releases demands faster reactions and the watchlist lost its purpose by being outpaced. This decision was support by 7/8 council members, one being abstain.
We replace the current watchlist announcements with ban and unban announcements, which will result in a 3 month periodicity.
Finally, we will include statements on cards that we consider ban or (trial) unban worthy in the foreseeable future.

Changes to the present banned list, effective 15.02.2023:

Banned


Unbanned


Unban Trial (3 months):
Balance
Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath

Single card explanation:

Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath (5 for unban, 1 for ban, 2 abstain)
Uro was initially banned on the 15/05/2022, following the announcement on 01/05/2022. Since then, a plethora of sets has been released and the overall quality of threats and answers has increased. Is Uro still over top and deserves a ban? Uro may just slot into already thriving decks such as scapeshift, lands or 4c good stuff piles. It may also enable UGx based control decks, for example Bant or Sultai. We want to see if Uro still deserves a ban and monitor its impact on the format closely. We hope it will open up the format for more controlling decks, and draw our conclusions if it doesn't. It will be unbanned for at least 3 months.

Balance (5 for unban, 1 for ban, 2 abstain)
Balance has been on the banned list for quite a long time. We think that balance could act as a powerful equalizer for control decks, while parity can be broken in artifact or enchantment centric decks. For now, it might be an interesting build around or inclusion for decks that are not widely spread, hence we want to give the card an opportunity to prove itself for at least 3 months.

Review of 2023:
Following the corona pandemic, the year 2023 saw many small scale and medium scale events. In addition, four larger tournaments took place: 2x Finland with 48 and 60 participants, 1x 46 players in Slovakia and  1x in Germany with 63 players. Across these Tournaments, aggro, tempo, midrange, control and combo decks made top 8 finishes. Everything from mono color to 5c decks was present. We are a comparatively small format in the mtg community, which means that player preferences have a large impact on tournament results. Given the results of 2023, we conclude that deck diversity and balancing are in an overall good state.

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

Next scheduled Update: 1st May 2024 – Bans, Unbans, Trials and cards to watch
#5
Official Announcements / NOVEMBER 1ST, 2023 – BAN AND W...
Last post by Rigero - 01-11-2023, 01:09:05 AM
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
#6
Official Announcements / August 1st, 2023 - Watch List ...
Last post by Rigero - 01-08-2023, 01:00:32 AM
August 1st, 2023 - Watch List Changes

Changes to the present watch lists:

Ban Watchlist
• Oath of Druids
True-Name Nemesis *removed*
• Urza's Saga


Unban Watchlist:
• Gifts Ungiven
• Library of Alexandria
White Plume Adventurer *removed*

Unban Trial (The following cards are on unban trial, starting 15.08.23 for 3 months. The next change to their status would be on 15.11.23)
• Gifts Ungiven
• Library of Alexandria

Single card explanation:

True Name Nemesis
True-Name Nemesis turned out to be just another power-full three drop in our format. We do not see any capability of the card to be as game decisive as it used be 4-5 Years ago. As a consequence, it will be removed from the ban watchlist.

White Plume Adventurer
We've previously stated, that the cheapest Initiative threat is the most dangerous, which led to the ban of White Plume Adventurer. Without any errata to the initiative or the undercity, this effect on a three mana creature with reasonable stats and an ability that helps to defend the initiative is too problematic. For now, we do not see any room for an unban of the card, hence it will be removed from the unban watchlist.

Gifts Ungiven
Gifts Ungiven offers players the flexibility to search up value piles, a combo finish or simply the best four cards in their decks. In itself, this effect sounds extremely powerful (and probably still is), but is it still enough to warrant a ban?
The power-level of cards and our format has increased since the original banning of Gifts Ungiven back in 2011. As a consequence, the card has now to compete with a variety of cards in the same CMC-Slot. On top, interaction on the stack, the board and the graveyard have substantially improved in the last 12 Years.
Inspired by the feedback of the community that we received, the card will be available for an unban trial. Is it still too strong? Does resolving the card take too much time and makes it thus a bad experience for tournament play? We encourage everyone to experiment with the card and providing us feedback.


Library of Alexandria
There was a time when playing Library of Alexandria on the draw turn one was game decisive. In 2010, the card was banned because of its dominance in control mirrors and price tag. While we want the format to be as accessible as possible, most communities already allow proxies and we do not consider price tags as a reason for bannings.
The card still has the potential to dominate slower matchups, but it comes at a significant cost. With the increase of power-level and speed, it became almost mandatory to have a play on turn 1 (be it a permanent or a spell to interact). These constraints also affect the mana base, as including only colorless mana producing lands has become a real cost.
Thus, we think that the card should be available for an unban trial. As in the case of Gifts Ungiven, we will appreciate everyone testing the card and providing us feedback.



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

Next scheduled Update: 1st November 2023 - Ban- and Watchlist update
#7
Official Announcements / May 1st, 2023 - Ban and Watch ...
Last post by Rigero - 01-05-2023, 01:00:54 AM
May 1st, 2023 - Ban and Watch List Changes

Changes to the present banned list, effective 15/05/2023:

Banned:
•White Plume Adventurer

Unbanned:
•True-Name Nemesis

Changes to the present watch lists:

Ban Watchlist
Birthing Pod *Removed
• Oath of Druids
Oko, Thief of Crowns *Removed*
• Urza's Saga
• True-Name Nemesis

Unban Watchlist:
• Gifts Ungiven *New*
• Library of Alexandria *New*
• White Plume Adventurer

Single card explanation:

White Plume Adventurer
The tight grip that the Initiative mechanic has held over the midrange matchups of the format hasn't loosened up since we initially put WPA on the watchlist. Since WotC hasn't shown any interest in fixing the mechanic themselves (by nerfing The Undercity for example) we don't see any other way forward than to take action ourselves.
We've previously stated, that the cheapest Initiative threat is the most dangerous and for this reason we are banning White Plume Adventurer.

True-Name Nemesis
The HL format is hardly the same it was back in 2019, when TNN was added to the ban list. While still being able to take over some games, he is hardly as fearsome as he used to be. As our own testing and the majority of the feedback we have gotten during the trial phase has shown that the Merfolk is just another good 3-drop nowadays we have decided to unban True-Name Nemesis.

Birthing Pod
When we unbanned Pod in November last year we stated that "a three month trial period cannot show all effects on the meta and we will keep an eye on the development of the format with Birthing Pod."
Another six months have passed since then and while Birthing Pod is in fact a strong card, it hasn't lead to any initially unforseen unhealthy play patterns. After this additional surveillance periode we are now removing Birthing Pod from the watchlist.

Oko, Thief of Crowns
Today marks the 3-year-anniversary of Oko being introduced to the watch list. While the planeswalker is still a very strong card and can sometimes be frustrating to play against, numerous answers have been printed since 2020 and what once seemed almost like it couldn't be dealt with, can now be handled by almost any deck (Not more or less difficult than other Planeswalker anyway).
We do believe that there will be even more viable solutions to Oko printed in the future. For now, the Thief of Crowns has served his time on the watchlist and is free once more.
We are removing Oko, Thief of Crowns from the watchlist!

Gifts Ungiven
While Oko's three years might sound like a long time initially, they do get dwarfed by the almost incomprehensible 12 years, that Gifts Ungiven has been on the ban list already. Most Highlander players never experienced a format with the powerful instant. Even nowadays, the council statement from the initial banning holds up:

The three most common scenarios with Gifts have been: tutor up the four best cards for any given situation (tutoring for overall quality), setup a strong graveyard based synergy, or pave a way for a combo win initiated during next turns. So in a sense, Gifts has been both a powerful tutor, as well as an instant draw on steroids at the same time in combo/control builds. When abusing this card, the most broken scenarios have been the ones where Gifts has been used to tutor up a suite of win conditions that in the end leave the opponent no way out.

While combo cards, graveyard synergys, win conditions and the overall powerlevel of cards in general has gone up since then, one very important thing has also changed: The speed of the format.

We still recognize Gifts Ungiven as a very powerful tutor spell that can set up all kinds of shenanigans that weren't even around back when it was first banned (Sevinne's Reclamation / Unburial Rites+Fatty - Yes, you read that one right! The original Innistrad released exactly one day before Gifts Ungiven was banned, so HL players never got to experience that combo!) but we do at the same time think that the format might be fast enough today to not have it being dominated by it.
To have the potential to test Gifts Ungiven in a future Trial, we are adding the card to the unban watchlist.

Library of Alexandria
One-upping even Gifts Ungiven, this land was banned in 2010, almost 13 years ago, after being legal since 2008.
The two main reasons given back then were dominance in control mirrors and the price tag (If people back then knew what cards would be worth today...).
We do want the format to be as accessible as possible but card prices are no longer leading to bans.
As for the dominance in control mirrors (or other matchups): The same logic in regards to the speed of the format explained above with Gifts Ungiven applies here.
To have the potential to test Library of Alexandria in a future Trial, we are adding the card to the unban watchlist.

Miscellaneous:
Every now and then Players are asking if they are allowed to bring a wishboard. To make it clear for everyone, the homepage rules section will be updated: For rules purposes, the only cards a player owns during a tournament match are the ones contained in the deck they are currently playing.
#8
Official Announcements / February 1st, 2023 - Watch Lis...
Last post by Rigero - 01-02-2023, 01:00:45 AM
February 1st, 2023 - Watch List Changes


Changes to the present watch lists:

Current watchlists:

Ban watchlist:

• Birthing Pod  
• Oath of Druids
• Oko, Thief of Crowns
• Urza's Saga  
• White Plume Adventurer *NEW*                                        

Unban Trial-Candidate (This card is unbanned for the next 3 Month until the next Announcement)
• True-Name Nemesis

Single card explanation:

White Plume Adventurer
Over the past few months the arrival of Initiative as a mechanic has shaken many eternal formats to their core (Vintage, Legacy and Pauper) and it has done so as well for Highlander. In a 1-v-1 singleton format the answers to the Initiative are few and the mechanic has started to warp our format. The Initiative might be one, if not the best thing to do for "fair" decks. Even dedicated midrange/goodstuff lists often get outvalued by a single Initiative threat. The sooner you get the Initiative, the easier it gets to "ride it to victory", making the cheapest Initiative threat the most dangerous. Therefore, we decided to monitor the Initiative closely and to put White Plume Adventurer on the Watchlist.

True-Name Nemesis
True-Name Nemesis was banned in October 2019. Since then, the format has dramatically shifted. Spellbased-Combo and control are close to non existent, while creature centric decks are ubiquitous. With TNN back to the mix our reasoning is, that TNN from a Goodstuff/Midrange/Tempo deck is "just another 3drop threat", whilst it is a much-needed roadblock for more controlish decks. In non-control decks TNN is a resistant but statwise overcosted threat, that is often outclassed by its more aggressive counterparts and doesn't generate cardadvantage (which most 3drops do nowadays). In control decks it is a much-needed answer to Monarch and Initiative, while also being able to play offensive and defense. This trial is clearly risky. We are aware, that this might lead to an uprise of Tempo decks. On the other hand, it might establish Control as a force to be reckoned with and help to keep the Initiative in check. For the three-month Trial Period we are willing to take these risk and hope to shake up the format in new and interesting ways. As usual we rely on your feedback as a community to evaluate this Trial Period.


New Council Member:
We are happy to announce our new Council member Felix/ BourbKi, who has applied to join us and will from now on be part of this council. Felix has been known for his active participation and community engagement for quite some time. Beside of his current work on the recent local establishment of a local Highlander League in Berlin, he was particularly noticeable because of his always friendly and fair dealings with other community members. We are looking forward to work with Felix in the future.



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

Next scheduled Update: 1st Mai 2023 - Watchlist update
#9
Official Announcements / November 1st, 2022 - Ban and W...
Last post by Rigero - 01-11-2022, 01:00:56 AM
November 1st, 2022 - Ban and Watch List Changes

Changes to the present banned list, effective 15/11/2022:

Unbanned:
• Birthing Pod *New*

Changes to the present watch lists:

Current watchlists:

Ban watchlist:

• Birthing Pod  
Intuition
• Oath of Druids
• Oko, Thief of Crowns
• Urza's Saga                                            


Single card explanation:

Birthing Pod
The last 3 month have shown us that this card is not as scary anymore as it was when it was banned. With the current meta being a lot faster and punishing against the life loss, we did not observe any domination by Birthing Pod. In fact we noticed that it was not played as much and left a lot of lists that were prime candidates to play it. However, a three month trial period cannot show all effects on the meta and we will keep an eye on the development of the format with Birthing Pod.


Attractions and Cards from the Unfinity set
To clarify the questions regarding the legality of attractions and cards from the Unfinity set; We've decided to go with the same way WotC put forward. This means all eternal legal cards from this set will also be legal in European Highlander ("Not every card in the set has an acorn symbol. The other cards, known as "eternal cards," are just like cards in any other expansion. They conform to the Comprehensive Rules, although in many cases they necessitated new rules being written." https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/unfinity-release-notes-2022-10-07). If there should be the need to ban certain cards in the future, we will adjust this accordingly over the normal banning of said cards.


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

Next scheduled Update: 1st February 2023 - Watchlist update
#10
Official Announcements / August 1st, 2022 – Watch List ...
Last post by Rigero - 01-08-2022, 01:00:35 AM
August 1st, 2022 – Watch List Changes

Changes to the present watch list, effective 15/08/2022:

Current watchlists:


Ban watchlist:

• Intuition
• Mind Twist
• Oath of Druids
• Oko, Thief of Crowns
• Urza's Saga

Unban watchlist:                                                
• Birthing Pod  *New*
• Underworld Breach
• Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath

Because we are testing Birthing Pod for an unban we are putting the card on the unban watchlist.
If we decide not to unban Birthing Pod after evaluating its trial period, we will remove it from the watchlist again.

Trial Period:

The following card will be unbanned from August 15th till November 1st 2022.(It will be default banned at that date unless it specifically gets unbanned):

Birthing Pod

Single card explanation:

Birthing Pod
The discussion about this card is going on for quite a while, and we think currently the Format is in a pretty good shape, with a lot of divers decks. Therefore, we think it is a good time to shake up the format a bit and try out cards that might not be as broken/influencing anymore as they were when they were banned. This time we want to test out Birthing Pod for 3 month to see how it performs.


To further improve the format and gain valuable information we need your input, worries and opinions on these changes and views on the format. Do not hesitate to contact any of us via private message or just start a topic in the forum.

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

Next scheduled Update: November 1st 2022 – Banlist update