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Hello guys,



I will leave the council for personal reasons. I just finished my Bachelor and going over into a new chapter of my life, which doesn't leave as much free time as I would like for my beloved hobby Magic and my favorite format Highlander. I won't find too much time to play and also moved away from my local community. Therefore I decided that it's the best for the format and there for you guys to step back and give someone else the chance to bring out format forward. I didn't wanted to stay and be inactive as a member of the council, our format has enough dedicated people to fill the spot a lot better, then me right now.

I hope I will find time to play in some bigger tournament in the future to meet some of you guys again.

Greetings

Jan

[Changes to the present banned list, effective 10/15/2018:]

Changes to the present banned list, effective 10/15/2018:

Banned:                                                     
-

Unbanned:                                                    
-
                                               

Current watchlists:

Ban watchlist:                                                    
• Blood Moon
• Back to Basics
• Bring to Light
• Demonic Tutor
• Dig Through Time
• Entomb
• Imperial Seal
• Mana Drain
• Oath of Druids
• Scapeshift *new*
• Tainted Pact
• Tolarian Academy
• Treasure Cruise
• True-Name Nemesis


                                             
Unban watchlist:                                                      
• Birthing Pod *new*
• Gifts Ungiven
• Umezawa's Jitte *new*
• Skullclamp *new*


Single cards explanations:


Ban-Watchlist:

Back to Basics and Blood Moon

We are aware Back to Basics and Blood Moon often create frustrating play experiences. There is a long history of debate about those cards and on whether they should be legal or not. Currently, we are of the opinion that – despite the negative side effects which come along with them – both Back to Basics and Blood Moon should stay in the format because they serve as stern punishers for the more "greedy" multicolored strategies. This primarily means combo decks, which currently are some of the better performing decks overall.

Bring to Light and Scapeshift

In an effort to weaken the Scapeshift archetype – to take the wind out of its sails, so to speak – we first thought that banning a tutor from which only the Scapeshift deck profited would be a good idea. In the end though and after some more deliberation, we believe Bring to Light to be interchangeable in the deck and that a ban wouldn't reduce the overall power-level of the deck by enough. This, together with the fact that banning an otherwise totally fine card would be a strange thing to do, leads us to removing Bring to Light from the ban watchlist.

Instead we opted for a watchlisting of Scapeshift itself. This move seems harsh at first glance but ultimately enables us to make the appropriate decision, should the need to act arise. This is because not only do we now have the option of banning Scapeshift directly but also have the important role-players on watch as well. These would be Treasure Cruise, Dig Through Time, Demonic Tutor and Mana Drain. A banning of one of those would hit Scapeshift in a meaningful way (rather than not very much at all like with the banning of Bring To Light).

Basically we have now set us up for three possible scenarios:
First, ban Scapeshift directly if the deck overly dominates other options.
Second, ban one ore more important roleplayers or tutors in order to weaken the core of the deck.
Third, ban nothing at all if the deck continues to be strong but without dominating other options.


Unban-Watchlist:

Birthing Pod

It can be argued, the current metagame creates incentives for players to play blue-based decks, maybe blue-black at the core with tutors and a combo built in. Also, there are incentives to play the very successful red deck. Unbanning Birthing Pod would create incentives on the other side of the metagame spectrum. Neither blue based control or combo-control decks, nor mono red profit from Birthing Pod. An unban would strengthen green-based midrange decks for which there currently exists rather little payoff.

We acknowledge the fact of Birthing Pod having utterly dominated the metagame during its heyday. But we do believe the current configuration of dominating decks could handle the threat of Birthing Pod better and its unban could lead to a more vibrant back and forth in the ever-changing arena which is the Highlander metagame. Also as a sidenote, there have been cards added to the highlander cardpool, which are very maindeckable and function as solutions for Birthing Pod (among others Kolaghan's Command and Abrade come to mind, as does the newly printed Knight of Autumn), thus increasing the overall outs to the strong artifact.

Umezawa's Jitte

Similarly to the argument for Birthing Pod, we want to watchlist Umezawa's Jitte because an unban would create incentives for players to place their bets on more creature-heavy decks. Umezawa's Jitte would also provide a counterbalance to mono red aggro.

Skullclamp

Skullclamp again slightly shifts the gravitational center of the metagame in the direction of creature decks. Skullclamp would be a great boon for the mono red deck, which – in a theoretical world of Birthing Pod and Umezawa's Jitte being legal – would otherwise get the short end of the deal.
Skullclamp would also strengthen midrange strategies with a sacrifice theme. Pattern-Rector variants come to mind as do decks revolving around cards like Bloodghast, Entomb, Unearth, Stoneforge Mystic, Phyrexian Tower, Lingering Souls, Recurring Nightmare and so on. There certainly seems to be a viable deck which currently lacks just a little bit of synergistic power – power which Skullclamp could provide.

[Cards on the following list will be closely observed and are potential candidates for a banning on October 15th, 2018.]

Cards on the following list will be closely observed and are potential candidates for a banning on October 15th, 2018.

Ban-Watchlist:

    Back to Basics
    Blood Moon
    Bring to Light
    Demonic Tutor
    Dig Through Time
    Entomb
    Imperial Seal
    Mana Drain
    Oath of Druids
    Tainted Pact
    Tolarian Academy
    Treasure Cruise
    True-Name Nemesis


Cards from the following list are still banned but will be under testing for a potential unbanning on October 15th, 2018.

Unban-Watchlist:

    Gifts Ungiven
    Mystical Tutor
    Skullclamp

06.04.2018 - HL Tunier Erfurt - 13 players - 4 rounds

Place	Name	Deck	Points
1	Tino S.	Hasty Jund	12
2	Max H.	Grixis Tempo	9
3	Ferdinand L.	RDW	9
4	Jan M.	4c (W/o W) Scapeshift	7
5	Jan D.	Abzan Midrange	7
6	Tobias T.	??	6
7	Christoph E.	Sultai Midrange	6
8	Christoph M.	Abzan Midrange	6
9	Tobias S.	5c Goodstuff	6
10	Justus H.	4c (w/o G) Midrange	4
11	Michael W.	Izzet Control	3
12	Sebastian M.	Sultai Midrange	2
13	Richard J.	4c (w/o G) Control	1

I had the same Solution, you can also Update your current version (over Help), but this option always crashed my Cockatrice. The new version also has some nice features.

23.03.2018 - HL Tunier Erfurt - 14 players - 4 rounds

Place	Name	Deck	Points
1	Jan M.	4c (w/o W) Scapeshift	12
2	Justus H.	4c (w/o G) Midrange	9
3	Tino S.	Hasty Jund	9
4	Sebastian R.	Sultai Midrange	9
5	Christoph E.	Esper Midrange	6
6	Michael W.	??	6
7	Vincent H.	Abzan Midrange	6
8	Tobias T.	??	6
9	Richard J.	Jeskai Control	6
10	Sebastian Moor	Sultai Midrange	6
11	Marcel F.	RDW	3
12	Kai D.	4c Pattern	3
13	Josie J.	??	3
14	Jan D.	Esper Midrange	DROP

   Iulus      (Gr Ramp)   0-2         Payron   (Sultai Midrange)

report follows as always with a video

Tazi (4c Scapeshift) vs Payron (4c Scapeshift)

2 : 3

g1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m4eaZ3Z__8&feature=youtu.be
g2: https://youtu.be/ndJFk6nsyVU
g3: https://youtu.be/6hqS8-mardY
g4: https://youtu.be/jjqbQk0PaqQ
g5: https://youtu.be/RqBcGafxRcU


gg's

[Standings after swiss:]

Hey guys,

I finaly found some time to give you some insight to the volcano cup.

Standings after swiss:

Place	Name	Deck	Points
1	Stefan S.	Sultai Oath Combo	13
2	Philip E.	Dimir Control	11
3	Markus G.	Pattern Rector	11
4	Kai T.	Izzet Control	11
5	Jan D.	Abzan Midrang	10
6	Gerry S.	Dimir Combo Control	10
7	Manuel H.	Gruul Midrange	10
8	Alexander B.	Patter Rector	9
9	Fabian M.	5c Reanimator	9
10	Xiaoliang Y.	Jeskai Control	9
11	Jan M.	4c (w/o W) Scapeshift	9
12	Fabian B.	Naya Aggr	9
13	Robert F.	Abzan Midrange	9
14	Alexander R.	Esper Planswalker	7
15	Florian K.	Azorius Skies	7
16	Daniel S.	RDW	6
17	Bernhard F.	Grixis Control	6
18	Hüseyin B.	Abzan Midrange	6
19	Max H.	Grixis Midrange	6
20	Manuel M.	Gruul Midrange	6
21	Thomas S.	4c (w/o R) Reanimator	6
22	Paul W.	4c Blood	6
23	Georg B.	4c Blood	6
24	Axel H.	Abzan Midrange	4
25	Christian G.	Izzet Control	3
26	Thomas H.	Izzet Control	3
27	Justus H.	4c (w/o G) Midrange	3
28	Sebastian R.	5c Hermit	0

Metagame breakdown:

Abzan Midrange	4
Izzet Control	3
Dimir Control	2
4c Blood	2
Gruul Midrange	2
Pattern Rector	2
Reanimator	2
4c (w/o G) Midrange	1
Hermit combo	1
Azorius Skies	1
Esper Control	1
Grixis Control	1
Grixis Midrange	1
Jeskai Control	1
Naya Aggro	1
Oath	1
RDW	1
Scapeshift	1

Archtyps:

Midrange	10
Control	7
Combo Control	3
Combo	3
Midrange Combo	2
Aggro	2
Aggro Control	1

Top 8 Brackets:

Quarter Finals:

Stefan s. - Sultai Oath Combo
Alexander B. - Pattern Rector

Kai T. - Izzet Control
Jan D. - Abzan Midrange

Markus G. - Pattern Rector
Gerry S. - Dimir Combo Control

Philip E. - Dimir Control
Manuel H. - Gruul Midrange

Semi Finals:

Stefan s. - Sultai Oath Combo
Kai T. - Izzet Control


Gerry S. - Dimir Combo Control
Philip E. - Dimir Control

Finals:

Stefan s. - Sultai Oath Combo
Philip E. - Dimir Control

Top 8 lists: https://www.cardmarket.com/de/Magic/Decks/Events/Volcano-Cup-Mannheim-2018-02-03

23.02.2018 - HL Tunier Erfurt - 15 players - 4 rounds

Place	Name	Deck	Points
1	Tobias S.	Naya Aggro	12
2	Justus H.	4c (w/o G) Midrange	9
3	Christoph E.	RDW	9
4	Sebastian R.	Sultai Midrange	7
5	Max H.	Grixis Midrange	7
6	Fabian M.	Jeskai Control	7
7	Michael M.	4c Blood	7
8	Jan M.	4c (w/o W) Scapeshift	6
9	Tobias T.	4c (w/o W) Midrange	6
10	Michael W.	Reanimator	6
11	Paul W.	4c (w/o W) Midrange	6
12	Joise J.	RDW	4
13	Mathias S.	Abzan Midrange	3
14	Michael R.	Lands	3
15	Ben C.	High Tide	3

Hi guys,

We would like to have a discussion started about the upcoming Banlist changes. As you know the council discussed and votes for bannings, unbannings and watch list changes. So here is your chance to help us evaluate the meta game and discuss if there needs to be something changed or if maybe a banned card is just to weak for the metagame and is therefore a safe unban.

Just to have an overview here are the cards which could enter or leave the format at 1. April:

Ban watchlist:

Back to Basics
Blood Moon
Demonic Tutor
Dig Through Time
Entomb
Imperial Seal
Mana Drain
Oath of Druids
Tainted Pact
Tolarian Academy
Treasure Cruise
Yawgmoth's Will


unban Watchlist

Gifts Ungiven
Mystical Tutor



The whole banlist can be looked at here http://highlandermagic.info/index.php?id=bannedlist


I would love to get some feedback here

Hey,

I try to manage the uploads on MKM right now. The plan is to post every bigger event, which was announced. For the weekly tournaments in each town, well there was never the kind of attitude to post decklists. A player from Berlin is always starting some FB post, which motivate people to post there decklists. In my experience it is a lot of work for a single person to manage all decklist and even to post the final standings is only happening from the berlin comunity, which is a start.

If you are able to motivate more people to post decklist, that would be great, but I don't see that right now.

uhmqmrmu

Here are alle 5 games vs Silberhase   


https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJsYCeZCThFCAYCci6SDTwkPYckuSOp7j

Thank you for the overview