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Messages - Dr. Opossum

#1
Watchlist changes August 1st 2020

Cards on the following list will be closely observed and are potential candidates for a banning on November 15th, 2020.


  • Demonic Tutor
  • Dig Through Time
  • Intuition
  • Mana Drain
  • Oath of Druids
  • Oko, Thief of Crowns
  • Tainted Pact
  • Thassa's Oracle *new*
  • Tolarian Academy
  • Treasure Cruise
  • Underworld Breach


Cards from the following list are still banned but will be under testing for a potential unbanning on November 15th, 2020.



  • Skullclamp
  • Survival of the Fittest
  • True-Name Nemesis
  • Umezawa's Jitte


On the Ban watchlist:

Thassa's Oracle
In May this Year, Underworld Breach was introduced to the watchlist for enabling a new powerful combo deck that has been putting up good results in the Vienna community. On one hand, Oracle is used in the Breach Combo Deck as a finisher and an enabler of a second combo with tainted pact or demonic consultation. On the other hand, it has also made Hermit Druid a lot stronger than before. A powerful and resilient deck which is maybe flying a little under the radar at the moment. It is also very likely that Thassa's Oracle will enable a UB based combo deck by itself if Breach were to be banned in the future. Right now it is only seen as a sidekick (although a very powerful one) but in reality it has the potential to be the main gameplan aswell and we want to be prepared for that instant.
To keep our options open we chose to add Thassa's Oracle to the Watchlist, so that we can react accordingly to new developments.


Off the Ban watchlist:

Mana Drain
Mana Drain has been on the watchlist for a very long time. While it is still a very powerful and perceptively broken card, the number of times where Mana Drain is used to play game ending spells ahead of time has declined significantly with mana curves getting lower and lower.

The decks that can really abuse this spell to its fullest are mostly control decks which aren't too well positioned right now. Getting rid of Mana Drain would hurt those a lot more than blue tempo decks, leaving them with only one unconditional hardcounter for two mana.

If we choose to weaken blue decks, our focus will be on the two delve spells Treasure Cruise and Dig Through Time instead of Mana Drain. Thus we have decided to cut this card from the watchlist.


Off the Unban watchlist:

Survival of the Fittest
Survival of the Fittest, which has now been banned for 10 years, was put on the watchlist for a potential unban last year.
Back in October we wrote the following in our statement:

"Nowadays the meta looks quite different and it is doubtful if the powerful synergies of the past using Squee, Genesis or Reveillark are still viable in any way."

Nothing has changed about this statement, as a slow and grindy game plan is under heavier attack than ever and probably not fast enough anymore to keep up with streamlined combo or tempo-oriented decks.
Though on the contrary, Survival of the Fittest would fit very neatly in these powerful creature combo shells like Hermit Druid or midrange green-based decks like Sultai or Temur. We think that, especially in combination with Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath, the repeatable tutor function of Survival of the Fittest would push these already established deck types into even more powerful territories.

Having all of your silver bullet haymakers available while working as a combo enabler at the same time makes for too strong of an effect for the mere investment of 2 mana and could lead to frustrating games when playing against it.
Because power creep is especially evident with the printing of new creatures, the door has closed on a comeback of Survival of the Fittest into our format for now. We have thus decided to remove Survival from the watchlist.


True-Name Nemesis
True-Name Nemesis leaves the Watch list for now. The power level of this card is also a hot topic of discussion in the Council, but the trigger for this decision is rather questions like why a large part of the community is frustrated by this card and to what extent the current format would benefit from an unban. True-Name Nemesis showed us again that there can be many reasons for a ban. Nevertheless, we naturally try to keep the list as manageable as possible. Therefore we will reevaluate the topic around this card from time to time with you. Until then, we will focus on other format-dominant cards.


Other announcements:

Racism and card design

After intensive discussion, we decided to follow WotC's decision and not allow the following cards any longer:


  • Invoke Prejudice
  • Cleanse
  • Stone-Throwing Devils
  • Pradesh Gypsies
  • Jihad
  • Imprison
  • Crusade

We know about the bitter aftertaste that WotC's announcement brings with it due to the allegations that were raised against WotC itself. We want to emphasize that we do not see ourselves in the position to judge whether and which cards are perceived by someone as denouncing and hurtful, but we decide for the cards already listed that have been officially confirmed as cross-border and racially intoned to no longer recognize them as legal.

WotC's official statement, to which we hereby refer, can be viewed on the official website: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/depictions-racism-magic-2020-06-10


Council members

Thomas / Maqi has left a gap in the council that we are currently trying to fill. For this reason, we are in discussion with several potential candidates. Please note that we will take the time we need to make an informed selection in the best interest for the Highlander format instead of a rash decisions.
#2
Updated tournament summary:

* added "Additional Decklists" - Rank 9, 10, 21, 33

* added "Video Coverage"
#3
Nils sent his Bant Fields list: https://deckstats.net/decks/113590/1519478-bant-field-european-highlander

We had also a Scapeshift list in the final match of the Mind Game Mages tournament. You can find it here: http://www.magicplayer.org/forum/index.php?topic=1537.msg14992#new
#4
Mind Game Mages Berlin 11/01/2020


Decklists Top 8:

Rank 1: Nils R. - Grixis Tempo
https://deckstats.net/decks/113590/1517932-grixis-tempo/de

Rank 2: Tobias W. - 5C Scapeshift
https://deckstats.net/deck-20761031-8cf8f4928a71d2508d325bc2440e2b6d.html

Rank 3: Karl-Florian P. - 4C Reanimator
https://deckstats.net/deck-20761398-2ba351ed21fc11e180fbb8dc1c0a458e.html

Rank 4: Thomas H. - Mono U Tempo
https://deckstats.net/deck-20760549-8536afaa2049e906148b6b16e1e3f1b5.html

Rank 5: Hendrik S. - Gwb Ramp
https://deckstats.net/deck-20760997-af6c30174df87a9bee5ddcbc041748e7.html

Rank 6: Yannic O. - Izzet Control
https://deckstats.net/deck-20760784-48a89d60ac32e79bd0c5d84d6c7c4751.html

Rank 7: Richard K. - 4C (w/o U) Blood
https://deckstats.net/deck-20760600-583d609255b9367532a1255f5d39b6cb.html

Rank 8: Jacob K. - Temur Tempo
https://deckstats.net/deck-20760894-5db7b46adb1cae9d9549a792dc572205.html


Final Standings:




Top 8:

QF

Karl- Florian (4C Reanimator) vs. Jacob (Temur Tempo)
Nils (Grixis Tempo)  vs. Hendrik (Gwb Ramp)
Thomas (Mono U Tempo)  vs. Yannic (Izzet Control)
Tobias (5C Scapeshift)  vs. Richard (4C (w/o U) Blood)

SF

Karl- Florian (4C Reanimator) vs. Nils (Grixis Tempo)
Thomas (Mono U Tempo) vs. Tobias (5C Scapeshift)

F

Nils (Grixis Tempo)  vs. Tobias (5C Scapeshift)

Winner: Nils (Grixis Tempo)


Meta Breakdown:




Archtype Breakdown:






Additional Decklists:

Rank 9: Niclas E. - Mono B Aggro
https://deckstats.net/deck-20766298-3a99f4b1f8d2ad90eae4f064fb0a492c.html

Rank 10: Dominik B. - Bant Midrange
https://deckstats.net/deck-20416763-3b9029f19c4a9b443ea413610614f29b.html

Rank 21: Carsten K. - TPS (5C Storm)
https://deckstats.net/deck-20762391-f79e939bf076bf97b307e3343b9cd532.html

Rank 33: Tim W. - Izzet Artifact Tempo
https://deckstats.net/deck-20761844-085d9e37c8542193a467e884bb8fb4f3.html


Video Coverage:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tnx50kQn0go&list=PL-Oj9PuhYKKpNX9CaugwMPeI65S_ufbky




Leave me a comment if you are interested in another decklist.

#5
Patience, guys. :) Tomorrow is the Mind Game Mages tournament in Berlin and I am pretty sure Nils will be there and play his Scapeshift deck (Result thread ~ sunday/ monday). If not I ask him to upload and post it here.
#6
This survey was handed out on the Continental Cup #2 in Halle, November 2019. 47 of 90 people took part in the survey.

How often do you play Highlander (highlandermagic.info rules)?
(absolute frequencies)




How satisfied are you with the format currently on a scale from 1 to 10 (1=not at all, 10=very much)?
(absolute frequencies)



(mean)
(median -> resistant to outliers)



satisfaction according to how often highlander is played




These card(s) should be banned:
(absolute frequencies)
(relative frequencies)
(cards currently on the Watchlist are italic)




Reasonings (single cards):
(I tried to make the written reasonings as unadulterated as possible, even if there were synonymous formulations (e.g. "too strong" vs. "too powerful").)

Demonic Tutor
- quite slow
- fairly costed
- Tutors make the format too consistent in the face of power creep
- Combo seems too good atm
- broken, but if you splash its greedy
- allows strategies
- nothing broken
- easy splash for every deck
- 100 singleton format -> not having 2 copies of every card x4
- too powerful
- format defining card
- iconic card x2
- no tutors x2
- control needs this card
- fair powerful
- people splash b for tutor
- maybe too cheap
- generic
- skill intensive
- black payoff
- singleton
- banned Mystical < Demonic
- combo needs it
- not too strong at cmc 2 + sorcery
- too good overall
- it's the best card of each deck with black
- combo and card too strong
- powerful card, not nuts

Dig Through Time
- doesn't seem oppressive
- may be banworthy if some other changes are implemented
- maybe too good
- finds answers, digs deep
- finds too often heavy solution
- UU is often complicated
- nothing broken
- no action needed
- no tutors
- too good
- double U somewhat balance this card
- U staple that makes blue competitive
- one of the blue spells should be banned
- fuels decks with cantrips a lot
- extremely swingy
- undercosted
- out of nowhere
- 2 mana = 7 cards ?!
- too strong on balanced boards
- powerful card, not nuts
- too strong top deck
- good but not too good
- too much advantage for easy restriction
- is ok
- too strong and better than cruise
- too many delve cards in one deck are not possible
- if a delve spell should go i think it should be DTT

Entomb
- Best 1cc Tutor
- enables hard to interact with strategies
- only one deck plays this effectively
- Reanimator not oppressive
- a lot of combos
- nothing broken
- depends on Reanimate / Echo the Aeons abuse
- fair
- could be broken if more people bought Bazaar
- no tutors x2
- good for reanimator x2
- ban echo of aeons instead
- too strong
- narrow applications
- reanimator not Tier 1
- has not dominated in any archetype
- not more busted than other cards in the format
- is fine
- possibly too strong, but demonic is worse
- hard to say since reanimator is not that representative
- powerful card, not nuts

Mana Drain
- glorified Counterspell
- reactive, not worth banning
- most of the time Counterspell x3
- manapush is insane x2
- too good Counterspell
- it's so Yu-Gi-Oh -> OP!
- nothing broken
- unnecessary to have Counterspell with huge tempowing
- almost fair
- necessary UU harcounter
- ramp in mono U + counter
- powerful card, not nuts
- variance increases
- strong but not unfair
- hard to abuse
- mostly no value
- strong but ok
- slightly better than Counterspell
- i think here are more problematic cards
- not as strong anymore, since the speed of the format has increased

Tainted Pact
- deck building restrictions  x3
- may be banworthy if some other changes are implemented
- bad Demonic
- requires greedy deck
- nothing broken x2
- no tutors x2
- ok, this card cannot be used by combo x2
- instant demonic
- in the right deck critical
- not universally playable
- skill intensive
- maybe too strong
- better than DT in most scenarios, but restrict deck building enough
- exiles library
- as long as DT is in the format we dont have to talk about pact
- the downside of exiling is real
- powerful card, not nuts
- fair card

Tolarian Academy
- hard to interact with x2
- deck is becoming too strong and will be able to win without x2
- not the problem in Academy
- ban other Academy stuff x3
- play solitaire
- deck is too fast, too consistent
- need to be weakened
- too boring to play against
- nearly every deck is playing Wasteland
- annoying to play against
- broken x2
- unfun
- too oppressive
- too good
- deck is retarded
- obv
- instant speed tutor, but needs deck built around it
- powerlevel?
- deck is inconsistent enough
- skill intensive
- too strong?
- much too strong
- very powerful
- too consistent
- if proxies are allowed, academy might be too powerful
- people should learn to adept first

Treasure Cruise
- doesn't seem oppressive
- may be banworthy if some other changes are implemented
- maybe too good
- finds answers, digs deep
- too much [???] power
- who don't like going on a cruise
- it's ok
- too powerful
- too oppressive
- powerful card, not nuts
- too good
- blue needs some toys, this is one of it
- U staple that makes blue competitive
- extremely swingy
- undercosted
- out of nowhere
- 1 Mana = 3 cards ?!
- too strong on balanced boards
- too strong top deck
- good but not too good
- comparable to Ancestral Recall, which is banned as well
- is fine
- too strong, almost Ancestral Recall
- too many delve cards in one deck are not possible


Following cards were asked as well, even though they are currently not on the Watchlist:

Oko, Thief of the Crown
- hoses all creature strategies
- unfun
- too strong
- not able to kill without removal
- this survey is now a 3/3 Elk
- game turns to elk

Oath of Druids
- too oppressive
- 2 mana 'I win'
- should at least be on the Watchlist
- it's one of the most powerful card in our format

Scapeshift
- search and win
- just ridiculous
- too strong
- too consistent
- now also got Field of the Dead


These card(s) should be unbanned:
(absolute frequencies)
(relative frequencies)
(cards currently on the Watchlist are italic)




Reasonings (single cards):
(I tried to make the written reasonings as unadulterated as possible, even if there were synonymous formulations (e.g. "too strong" vs. "too powerful").)

Skullclamp
- just broken
- needs setup to be good
- advantage doesn't outright win
- to get creature decks going again
- could be interesting
- try out  x2
- that's broken stuff
- too strong in the current meta
- needs setup, creature based decks
- fair enough
- enough antitech
- not sure, probably too good
- too strong
- please never unban
- unban jitte instead
- not universally playable
- archetype enabler
- too strong
- busted in already good creature decks
- takes aways the cost of playing mana dorks
- go creatures, go elves
- only helps mono G
- problematic in other formats
- stupid card
- auto include in every creature deck

Survival of the Fittest
- just broken
- may be banworthy if some other changes are implemented
- easy repeatable tutors are even worse
- too much combo already
- a lot of mana + setup + combo deck
- that's broken stuff
- enables too strong interactions
- multiple tutor
- should be tried
- too oppressive
- too good and tutor
- maybe but first keep Academy in check
- that one is retarded
- repeatable tutor too strong
- i dont know
- broken combos possible
- please test it
- probably not too powerful anymore
- potentially too strong for reanimator
- I would love to but NO! Pls NO!

True-Name Nemesis
- unfun
- hard to interact with
- creature that can be answered
- too oppressive
- is actually not so bad
- not oppressive enough
- not good enough anymore
- not too strong
- fair enough
- complete unfun
- enough antitech
- dumb
- i really do hate this card
- good ban
- why ban?
- unfun card
- bad for gameplay
- not OP
- not for powerlevel, but for bad impact on the games it appears in
- dont care
- ban makes the match up against blue decks better
- not problematic for the most decks
- it's and creature

Umezawa's Jitte
- hoses all creature strategies
- unfun x2
- too stupid in creature match ups
- to get creature decks going again
- first unban Skullclamp
- jitte is just unfair
- only unban if SFM get's banned x2
- fair enough
- enough antitech
- too good
- will warp every creature mirror
- if you really want to unban equipment, unban Jitte, NOT Skullclamp
- equipment drawback
- fun card
- too support creature toolbox decks
- not too strong at the moment
- seems ok to test
- turns all around once it enters
- please don't
- tested and was too strong
- stupid card


How satisfied are you with the current Mulligan on a scale from 1 to 10 (1=not at all, 10=very much)?
(absolute frequencies)



(mean)
(median -> resistant to outliers)




Comments on the Mulligan:
- better than scry
- more games decided by flood/screw or bad hands vs. good hands
- today was fun
- more lopsided wins than with free mulligan
- i like this mulligan
- keep the current mulligan
- 1 free mulligan would be totally fine
- it's nice to have a mulligan like in standard, modern etc.
- favours combo decks
- didn't fix the non-game issue
- free mulligan would increase the number of games which are not decided by a bad starting hand
- mulligan is fine x2
- please ban it
- much more non-games x2
- maybe it's too good with two-card combos
- current mulligan is ok
- i think the free mulligan should be a part of HL
- still undecided
- amount of non-games increased, but free mulligan + LM feels too strong
- i think more exciting games would happen on a free mull
- brawl uses freemull
- no opinion
- LM is perfect
- spoil 2 cards mulligan <3
- Mulligan is good
- especially mulligan to 5 still enables interactive gameplays
- non-games were drastically reduced compared to vancouver mulligan
- I would prefer London + Free Mulligan
- a lot worse without free mulligan
- free mulligan is not needed
- you can easier win games with mulligan on 5
- i prefer london + free


Comments on the Format:
- feels combo heavy
- need to be super aggressive or have a combo win
- fair decks seem to be not good enough
- powerlevel of cards is too high  x2
- currently in a pretty good spot
- combo decks are fine for the format as long as they don't dominate
- I like the strong cards that cannot be played in other formats
- nice format
- i always hate bannings
- the Academy deck needs to be nerfed (ban Academy or tutors)
- the current format splits my community
- I would like if you ban some cards
- meta was nicely diverse

#9
Added:

Final Standings
Meta Breakdown
Archetype Breakdown
#10
Continental Cup Halle 9/11/2019


Decklists Top 8:

Platz 1: Sven V. - UW Control
https://deckstats.net/deck-20412058-ca8f18685de733d94c3c8edbc666f683.html

Platz 2: Luca D. - Temur Midrange
https://deckstats.net/deck-20412060-274f0ea29be084f32030a557c10d9256.html

Platz 3: Patrick R. - 5C Academy
https://deckstats.net/deck-20412061-01dc78737cb9aedb3851d763f1d8f72c.html

Platz 4: Marvin M. - GWu Aggro
https://deckstats.net/deck-20412064-87dc56cfb7eaec8f7f96fe327f8326bd.html

Platz 5: Werner D. - RDW
https://deckstats.net/deck-20412066-3ab23c9f895ee352dc2cd021ec7b689f.html

Platz 6: Max H. - Grixis Tempo
https://deckstats.net/deck-20412067-c572f47c5e943fc1dee7071f942721bc.html

Platz 7: Hendrik S. - Gwb Ramp
https://deckstats.net/deck-20412068-0ad791ba20b8e067bc211df472c15885.html

Platz 8: Alexander R. - Esper Control
https://deckstats.net/deck-20412070-8a3ad533fcd5b651423638a6cc7112a0.html


Final Standings:




Top 8:

QF

Werner (RDW)  vs. Marvin (GWu Aggro)
Max (Grixis Tempo)  vs. Sven (UW Control)
Patrick (5C Academy)  vs. Alexander (Esper Control)
Luca (Temur Midrange)  vs. Hendrik (Gwb Ramp)

SF

Luca (Temur Midrange)    vs. Marvin (GWu Aggro)
Sven (UW Control)   vs. Patrick (5C Academy)

F

Luca (Temur Midrange)  vs. Sven (UW Control)

Winner: Sven (UW Control)


Meta Breakdown:




Archtype Breakdown:






Additional lists:

Platz 9: Cedric Z. - Bant Creature Stax
https://deckstats.net/deck-20412504-bdb76b557413ec8ee85f7fca622fea27.html

Platz 10: Dominik B. - Bant Midrange
https://deckstats.net/deck-20416763-3b9029f19c4a9b443ea413610614f29b.html

Platz 12: Björn O. - UB Reanimator
https://deckstats.net/deck-20418310-a96d2d151dce7fed21bab231e43f1cc6.html

Platz 15: Jan D. - 4C Tempo (w/o B)
https://deckstats.net/deck-20446919-70ceb9ebfb4dc7bf27677d74518046da.html

Platz 18: Jonas L. - 5C Aluren Hermit
https://deckstats.net/deck-20418634-acabb07d99c4abfbe8dc75be3bd3619e.html

Platz 19: Felix M. - Gruul Aggro
https://deckstats.net/decks/97035/1466320-gruul-is-cool-cc2-in-halle?fbclid=IwAR3ljnKRxosCCj_apibMTEFW7gvLSa_LMM3VGOdNWx_HlCpk7p-DSmHC34M

Platz 22: Alexander E. - Golgari Midrange
https://deckstats.net/deck-20422924-2aadeb783a504133da7acc6503f98cc3.html

Platz 27: Marcel S. - Izzet Control
https://deckstats.net/deck-20418456-686b8fd01fd92dd2729b9f7d0d0d55cc.html

Platz 29: Thomas H. - Mono U Tempo
https://deckstats.net/deck-20421438-5c8eda9f4453ab3cdb6b4157396441ea.html

Platz 36: Sebastian N. - Sultai Midrange
https://deckstats.net/deck-20422934-9a0ab03e8cabd159d3b0f47d5a98ef9e.html

Platz 40: Roy H. - 4C Ramp (w/o U)
https://deckstats.net/decks/124819/1466623-halle-cc2-grwb-ramp?fbclid=IwAR3Rl_m4CFKaRQ4-s7d9_s3qoj2uvhPGePd79tnbfNnH5smDZFNr9jQqcJM

Platz 54: Benjamin M. - White Weenie
https://deckstats.net/deck-20451321-695ad56e268344966ff6024a4332c4bf.html

Platz 63: Gerry S. - UBg Reanimator
https://deckstats.net/deck-20447024-61af347bf19ad53ecbeb1f6b672672c6.html


Articles/ Video Content:

Tournament Report - GR Elves:
https://www.mtg-forum.de/topic/162190-mgm-continental-cup-ii-in-halle-highlander/

Tournament Report - 5C Good Stuff:
http://metagamemasters.eu/a-time-of-change-continental-cup-2019-tournament-report

Tournament Report - Izzet Control:
https://www.dd3.eu/report/2019/11/13/creature-based-strategies-are-bad.html

Video Coverage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQuERVNigfE


Leave me a comment if you are interested in another deck lists.

#11
This survey was handed out by Council member Thrias to the Vienna Community in October 2019. 18 people took part in the survey. (There are some differences to the previous survey versions, which are also noticeable in the evaluations. I will address it in the appropriate places.)

How often do you play Highlander (highlandermagic.info rules)?
(absolute frequencies)




How satisfied are you with the format currently on a scale from 1 to 10 (1=not at all, 10=very much)?
(absolute frequencies)




(mean)
(median -> resistant to outliers)




satisfaction according to how often Highlander is played
unlike in other regions, playfulness correlates positively with satisfaction




These card(s) should be banned:
(absolute frequencies)
(relative frequencies)




Reasonings (single cards):
(I tried to make the written reasonings as unadulterated as possible, even if there were synonymous formulations (eg "too strong" vs. "too powerful").)
survey had a different layout
-> complete banned list + additional specific cards were given
-> also comments on cards that are judged the same by the whole area (eg Black Lotus -> 12/18 comments, why it should stay banned)
-> because of the mass of comments/ workload I had to cut/ focus on the more important candidates

Demonic Tutor:
- acceptable tutor
- efficient
- always included II
- makes combos easier
- too strong II
- not too strong
- good but not broken
- sorcery speed
- costs one turn
- auto include in every black deck
- some tutors should be legal
- not overpowered
- format defining
- the reason to play black
- splashable tutor

Dig Through Time:
- have no problems with it
- too efficient
- important for control
- you rarely lose after DTT
- not too strong II
- if you want to weaken blue ban DTT
- + cards in hand -> too many choices/options
- good but not broken
- if you want to weaken blue ban delve cards
- control should stay playable
- too strong
- fair because of delve
- not problematic as a one off
- needs setup

Entomb:
- have no problems with it
- fifty fifty
- strong tutor
- tough but not as strong as demonic
- not too strong
- good but not broken
- no broken targets
- not format defining
- possibly fair enough in 100 cards
- combo enabler
- card disadvantage

Mana Drain:
- not fun but ok
- not as explosive as expected
- mostly not much better than counterspell II
- not too strong
- good but not broken
- auto include in nearly every blue deck
- control should stay playable
- really weak
- only really playable counterspell
- lack of counterspells
- just a counterspell
- much too strong
- wins random games

Tainted Pact:
- like it
- should not be banned
- difficult to play
- has disadvantages in some decks
- drawback big enough
- instant
- not too strong
- good but not broken
- interesting deck building
- 100 card singleton needs good tutors
- removes half of the deck anyway
- does hurt nobody
- deck requirement
- not so good as one thinks

Tolarian Academy:
- don't like it
- don't understand card/deck good enough
- fifty fifty
- a meta correction would be necessary (more control or Aven Mindcensor / Ashiok effects)
- Imba combo shit
- too constant
- not too strong
- price of the deck shouldn't be a reason for non-ban
- good but not broken
- ...
- enough counterplay II
- power
- no autopilot
- needs skill to win
- too broken if you build the deck correct
- produce too much mana in the right color
- too fast, too much mana

Treasure Cruise:
- is ok
- one strong delve spell should stay
- weaker than DTT
- not sure
- not too strong
- good but not broken
- not strong enough
- = recall
- not op in 100 card singleton
- fair because of delve
- not problematic as a one off
- needs setup


Following cards were asked as well, even though they are currently not on the Watchlist

Karakas:
- don't think it is strong
- has real costs in deck building
- important against reanimate
- want to play legendaries :)
- not too strong
- good but not broken
- too random
- often frustrating
- i like to play it xD
- maybe really too good, but necessary for some decks
- can be easily answered
- good answer card
- necessary maledy

Oath of Druids:
- strong and something to be looked at, but don't really think it should be banned
- every deck has a lot of ways around it
- imba combo shit
- one card combo
- not too strong
- mostly needs a specific answer immediately
- good but not broken
- too oppressive against creatures
- power tutor
- for many decks an autolose
- one card combo is too strong
- one card combo bullshit with Emrakul
- deck requirements
- not as good as one thinks

Scapeshift:
- is ok but should be watched
- turn 6 kill is Ok in Highlander
- in Highlander very fair
- would ban the whole deck
- not too strong
- good but not broken
- too consistent for speed
- in my opinion at the moment not op
- one card combo is too strong
- cool card
- made an own deck -> deck diversity
- needs set up


These card(s) should be unbanned:
(absolute frequencies)
(relative frequencies)




Reasonings (single cards):
(I tried to make the written reasonings as unadulterated as possible, even if there were synonymous formulations (eg "too strong" vs. "too powerful").)
survey had a different layout
-> complete banned list + additional specific cards were given
-> also comments on cards that are judged the same by the whole area (eg Black Lotus -> 12/18 comments, why it should stay banned)
-> because of the mass of comments/ workload I had to cut/ focus on the more important candidates

Skullclamp:
- please no
- fifty fifty
- would make Aristocrats and Elves decks more playable, but very strong
- imba
- totally fine
- makes new archetypes possible
- card advantage too strong
- pushes creature decks
- power
- too strong
- format defining
- only helps Elves (not T1)
- probably too good
- stupid card
- too abusable
- nope!!!

Survival of the Fittest:
- could be interesting
- not played before
- maybe not necessary
- could be tried out IIIII
- fifty fifty
- strong tutor
- creature tutor on a stick
- it's fine
- creature decks with tool boxes could be made interesting
- too strong
- fair tutor
- brakes singleton
- too conditional
- don't know why banned
- power tutor
- makes games repetitive
- too good card selection in 100 card decks
- brakes

True-Name Nemesis:
- didn't really bother me
- doesn't matter for combo and control
- he was not too bad
- free TNN
- doesn't care let's test it
- totally fine
- CMC 3 creature
- just doesn't matter
- fair card
- warped deck building
- don't know why it was banned
- not format defining
- not op
- format defining in my opinion
- depends on general banning policy
- just bought one in foil
- because it is a fucking 3/1 creature, what the fuck
- there are worse things
- there is some counterplay

Umezawa's Jitte:
- should be tested
- warped the battlefield
- creature fights are fun
- totally fine
- rather than skull clamp
- nope!!!
- fair card
- inhibits creature strategies
- irrelevant in enough match ups
- power
- too strong
- format defining
- strength creature decks
- destroys creature decks
- gives midrange decks a little bit more edge
- i don't know


Following cards were asked as well, even though they are currently not on the Watchlist

Library of Alexandria:
- NO
- fifty fifty
- can you still play so slow
- ...
- conditionally strong
- strong, but ok
- OP II
- slow enough for eventuelly few impact
- test it
- slow enough for HL
- only on starting hand good?
- little bit op II
- does not have to be
- too expensive

Gifts Ungiven:
- do not really know
- could be ok, but maybe busted
- test it
- effect and combo too slow
- combo bullshit
- instant win tutor
- NOPE!!!
- too strong II
- breaks Singleton
- 4 mana combo, which does not win immediately is ok
- power
- format defining
- too good card selection in 100 card decks
- combo enabler
- good card for blue decks
- enough counterplay
- CMC 4

Mind Twist:
- would be fun (says the black mage in me), but kind of busted
- can be cast easier than Hymn, but can be stronger
- barely better than Hymn
- totally fine II
- there is already enough good discard
- frustrating
- is ok I think
- meh
- wins at random
- test it
- surely not a problem
- random discard is not cool

Mystical Tutor:
- it depends if we want to unban all tutors
- Mystical and Vampiric could be unbanned
- Miracles, UR with Ruination and Combo decks profit too much
- not sure
- not too strong
- fair tutor
- too strong
- format defining
- bad enough
- tutor
- makes Control more playable
- no additional tutors (especially not for blue!)
- too good card selection
- setup for Miracles
- seaches answers
- does not hurt anyone
- too efficient
- too good in Combo


These card(s) should be watchlisted
(all cards were named once)

Ankh of Mishra
Emrakul the Aeons Torn
Fastbond
Griselbrand
Hymn to Tourach
Inventors' Fair
Price of Progress
Rings of Brighthearth
Wasteland
Zuran Orb


What Mulligan do you prefer?
(absolute frequencies)
(relative frequencies)
survey had a different layout
-> only dichotomous answer categories
-> differences in the conclusion (potential other options could not be named + potential dissatisfaction with LM (whether in combination with FM or not) not interpretable)
BUT: according to own statement Viennese community does not know other Mulligan variants anyway / is uniformly interested in the LM (whether in combination with FM or not)




Reasonings (Mulligan):
(I tried to make the written reasonings as unadulterated as possible, even if there were synonymous formulations (eg "too strong" vs. "too powerful").)

FM + LM:
- there should be a FM in every Singleton format because variance is high
- maybe advantages for Combo II
- to counteract the variance II
- nice games
- requirement for a fair setup in Singleton formats
- more non-games because of land-spell-ratio with LM only
- decks with fewer ressources can barely catch up
- want to have as many games as possible in a casual format
- better for RDW
- less non-games
- LM is good, but card disadvantage decides games
- unification argument falls away because of Brawl
- not that much important for me
- does not make a big difference
- 100 cards format -> often take Mulligan -> card disadvantage is significant
- Midrange format -> card disadvantage is significant

LM:
- LM already makes Combo extremely good
- do not miss the FM
- fewer variance -> more games (Combo not strong enough)
- I like it now and do not miss FM
- constructed formats also use it
#12
We warmly welcome our newest addition to the Council: Matthias from Vienna! Matthias has already shown great commitment and attracted attention with his keen interest in the format and his constructive, reflected and always friendly contributions in various social media groups. We look forward to working together and would like to thank the Austrian community for their recommendations.
#13















#14
TBH I am more in the "ruin all thundergods" mood now. Please don't destroy it! :-[
#15
This survey was handed out by Council member pyyhttu at the Finnish Championships tournament in Helsinki, Finland, Sept. 21th. There were 62 players and 33 participated in the survey.

How often do you play Highlander (highlandermagic.info rules)?
(absolute frequencies)




How satisfied are you with the format currently on a scale from 1 to 10 (1=not at all, 10=very much)?
(absolute frequencies)



(mean)
(median -> resistant to outliers)



satisfaction according to how often Highlander is played




These card(s) should be banned/ unbanned:
(absolute frequencies)
(relative frequencies)
Ban wishes:



Unban wishes:




Reasonings (single cards):
(I tried to make the written reasonings as unadulterated as possible, even if there were synonymous formulations (eg "too strong" vs. "too powerful").)

Demonic Tutor
- 2 mana, sorcery is ok
- cool card
- card is too powerful
- we have enough tutors
- it usually finds answers 2x
- if banned, several archetypes lose to combo / aggro
- tutors are fine as long as there is non-basic land hate to keep the decks in check
- auto-include 2x
- makes games way too long (have to think a lot of lines)
- vampiric and mystical are not legal but demonic is?
- all black decks play this but dont feel unfair
- iconic
- needed to give control/ combo its tools against aggro
- enables boring games
- makes blue way too strong color to play
- is just a copy of best card in deck
- combo can manage without it
- repetitive game play

Dig Through Time
- staple in U decks, but not oppressive
- ban this or cruise
- just value
- against ban but this is closest to bannable
- UU instant too effective
- like playing with them
- first to cast this in blue mirror wins
- oppressive
- good when ahead
- fair control card
- needs setup
- easy to play against -> risk vs. reward

Entomb
- needs build around
- too easy to find combo pieces
- Reanimator is not too prominent
- fair card (for reanimator) 2x
- only benefits "the best deck" -> Animate
- too fast
- enables weird decks

Mana Drain
- ok I guess
- just another counterspell with upside
- creates unfun games when cast early
- too big swings in game state for very little cost
- 99% of the time just counterspell
- makes one-sided games
- blue is too strong color -> one blue ban is good
- too different of a powerlevel
- sometimes loppsided
- too randomly powerful
- randomly annoying, not too good
- most of the time just counterspell, sometimes rarely broken
- needed for control, otherwise combo gets too good
- can go if entomb goes, but requires commitment

Tainted Pact
- can't be used so well in combo
- requires good deckbuilding
- is a bit too strong in midrange
- gives multicolor decks instant Demonic Tutor
- fair tutor as requires to build deck around x2
- should not because power level
- instant speed tutor for answers is too good
- instant speed tutor that often wins the game
- after resolving finds the needed combo piece
- this card is actively bad
- low basic count to be really good
- instant demonic
- crazy tutor, broken instant speed
- no drawback tutor for combo

Tolarian Academy
- totally ok
- card is busted
- if not this -> ban mishra's workshop
- too powerful
- requires full build around
- maybe
- does too unfair things and reduces interaction
- should not as enables archetype
- unfair decks cant be beaten when on the draw
- deck not powerful enough
- academy decks would not exist without
- don't feel too unfair
- just fair
- random deck
- strong but not op
- stupid and uninteractive

Treasure Cruise
- totally ok
- blue is strong enough
- ban this or dig, not both
- just value
- a lot fairer than DTT
- cost is reasonable large and cards are random
- like playing with them
- first to cast this in blue mirror wins
- oppressive
- format is currently to focused on resolving this or dig
- good draw, too good when ahead
- needs setup
- easy to play against -> risk vs. reward

True-Name Nemesis
- enough ways to deal in format  2x
- a lot of decks don't even care about Nemesis
- unsure about this card
- stupid non-interactive card
- should be banned in all 2-player formats
- not because it's "powerfull", but just plain awful game design
- fair blue beatdown
- blue is too strong color -> one blue ban is good
- does not have enough answers in HL
- often "i win card" without interaction
- every time this resolves, game turns to stupid and has no interaction
- plain stupid x2
- lot of decks in format dont have answer for the card that has protection from player
- really oppressive card to play against
- way to oppressive and random
- some decks don't have answers
- come on WTF? Seriously?
- dies to everything
- can be raced
- non-interactive

Oath of Druids
- ruins all fair creature decks
- 1 card win
- stops aggro from progressing
- way too powerful

Wasteland
- autoinclude
- wins randomly too many games
- silver bullet
- non-games

Fetchlands
- funds delve
- makes stupidly good manabases
- makes games super long and round time becomes an issue
- shuffling is not fun
- no thought to be put in building manabases
- too much shuffling takes time

Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
- 1 card win, no need huge build around it
- 1 card combo in midrange/control deck that does not require specific deck building around it
- can't be interacted with removal
- unnecessary and unfair 1-win-the-game card
- land ramp in that deck is completely optional, can play value spells instead

Savage Knuckleblade
- too stronk

Teferi, Time Reveler
- breaks control mirror matchups
- who ever has this wins
- static ability way too strong

Karakas
- getting better and better
- hoses pretty much all decks randomly

Blood Moon
- makes red in 3 color decks to dominant

General
- all of those cards are so high on powerlevel that they decide games by themselves
- legacy banlist would be a decent start
- format is in a good place -> no need for bans / unbans currently
- Highlander needs a sideboard
- Blood Moon and Back to Basics should NOT be banned -> otherwise 3c+ decks would dominate and format would become worse without 1-2 color decks

Skullclamp
- no please
- no thanks
- card is busted
- dont unban, horror midrange mirrors
- too much stupid combo potential
- more power for aggro
- card still broken, no need
- have tested -> too oppressive
- this one is tilting
- might create new decks
- are you in your right mind?
- i don't know but this card looks broke
- no simply just no
- never unban Skullclamp please

Umezawa's Jitte
- no please
- on the fence
- disruptable, many good artifact hate cards
- would be willing to test/ try this out
- dont unban, horror midrange mirrors
- easy to answer
- interesting decisions for both players
- creature matchups become a race to get Jitte
- card still broken, no need
- have tested -> too oppressive
- would be too decisive top deck in aggro mirrors
- way too strong and makes Stoneforge too
- Jitte could have try

Natural Order
- can also be used in fair decks
- Oath is legal while this is banned
- unban makes green decks better
- the card is expensive and fair since the cost of 4
- no reason to keep it banned
- power level of decks can compete with this nowadays
- the card is just fine
- 4cc sorcery with drawback of being green

Gifts Ungiven
- slow and decent control draw
- very slow card
- disruptable
- good unban if Academy gets banned
- worse than Cruise or Dig
- powerlevel of other cards is far beyond this
- was never ban worthy, again 4cc card

Library of Alexandria
- slow in a format that's fast and puuatol (?)
- so slow nowadays

Mystical Tutor
- there are better tutors now legal 2x

Birthing Pod
- this might be stretching but would like to see

Balance
- symmetrical and fair

Mind Twist
- Why not? Slow, strong but really good

Shahrazad
- just learn to play fast

Flash
- too random to be powerful


What Mulligan do you prefer?
(absolute frequencies)
(relative frequencies)




Reasonings (Mulligan):
(I tried to make the written reasonings as unadulterated as possible, even if there were synonymous formulations (eg "too strong" vs. "too powerful").)

FM + LM:
- less non-games
- current mulligan is weaker than Vancouver
- HL is inconsistent due to 100 cards, even with London there are too many non-games due to increased variance of 100 card decks

LM:
- efficient and strategic
- better for new players
- fast
- removes non games 4x
- it's ok
- least shuffling
- same in all formats for clarity 5x
- easy to explain
- the best mulligan ever
- it's balanced
- seems fair and gives games even when going down to 5 and below
- is very fine
- is good 4x
- same as official by WotC 3x
- makes the format more approachable
- while it helps combo decks a little, it also makes mulliganing much easier
- great mulligan

FM + VC:
- I liked the previous rule better, since it obviously gave more games with 7 card hands


How many lands did you play? Did you or would you adjust your deck to the mulligan?
(absolute frequencies)
(relative frequencies)




I would adjust...

- added lands x7
- check landcount
- more land tutors
- cut 1-2 lands



Edit: fixed some spelling errors
fixed some translation errors