Quote from: Vazdru on 12-03-2018, 09:18:09 PM
c&p from wl changes Jan. 1 2017:
The tutor setting in highlander has always been a controversial object. How many tutors are necessary for a healthy meta? And which one? There were epic debates over the different tutors in the long history of our format. Many people consider Demonic Tutor as best tutor overall and always wonder why Demonic Tutur is unbanned while other has been banned. Our banning policy is founded on following principles five reasons (http://highlandermagic.info/index.php?id=faq). Imperial Seal was also kept banned by an unofficially reasoning #6 - the price barrier. Since the recent judge foil reprint this has been partly fallen away. At least we decided to have an "overall-picture" view on our tutor setting again and to discuss the current one on the whole. That's why we also added Vampiric Tutor to the watch-list. It is argued that the format should have that one good tutor, which has been Demonic Tutor from the beginning, maybe there is time for a reallocation. It is also said that splashing for Demonic is too easy with no real cost, while Vampiric could perhaps remove that reason. Vampiric is more often harder to interact than Demonic, but a successful counter play to nullify Vampiric Tutor costs to its caster a draw and 2 life, which favors opposing control, and aggro strategies.
Splashing Demonic Tutor is easy. Correct. But that should be an argument for allowing Demonic Tutor, not against it. Every deck that plays black can play Demonic Tutor. That's good for every archetype.
I also don't get the reasoning for Vampiric Tutor. It is often harder to interact with than Demonic Tutor (an assessment I totally agree with). If (big if) one successfully interacts with it (has a counter play) then it punishes the player more (which is again correct in my opinion). But how do you interact? In the current meta Vampiric Tutor is just strengthening the decks that are (too?) strong; the card disadvantage and the two life are something a Combo deck does not care about if it simply wins with the card it tutored for.
Quote from: Vazdru on 12-03-2018, 09:18:09 PM
Both Imperial Seal and Vampiric Tutor seem comparable in power-level to Demonic or Mystical Tutor, but they shine more in combo-decks and decks with clear gameplan but less in midrange-goodstuff-piles. At the cost of 2 life, sorcery rather instant speed, card disadvantage, and the fact that present meta is lacking a combo presence (Vazdru: ) with shift to burn, we should take both under a scrutiny.
Since the meta isn't lacking Combo decks any more, there is no reason to include more instant speed tutors to the format.
Quote from: Vazdru on 12-03-2018, 09:18:09 PM
Indeed Entomb has a different effect on the game play and it is still comparable to the other new introduced tutors on the watchlist. But Entomb is even more a combo-tutor than the others and usually no option for most Aggro-, Midrange- or Control-decks. Entomb is obviously THE tutor for graveyard-based decks, especially of course for reanimator. We will evaluate how strong those decks perform which could have any use of Entomb in the next months.[/i]
That's why I think that Entomb is a great addition to the format. It allows something unique. Still, if (and again I think it's currently questionable) combo decks are too strong, then it would be wrong to ban Demonic Tutor. A ban of a tutor that can only be (or is mostly) used in Combo decks would be a favorable solution to the dominance of the Combo archetype.