Messages

1. Fatal Push
.
.
.
.


I do not think that the other printed revolt mechanic cards are good enough for HL. Also some of the other listed cards seem rather week to me in comparison to the cards which currently see play in HL. Aether Revolt seems to be a rather weak set for HL at all.

But I do think that the Expertises can be very good as they have the potential to heavily accelerate your game plan. I even think that Kari Zev´s is a must play in RDW if there are enough creatures in the meta. (Btw. Kari Zev itself is also good enough to give it a try).

Duel Commander down to 20 life. Playable 4C and partner commanders printed. Time to dig up this post.

Top4 of the latest major tournament consisting of RDW and 4C: http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=14130&d=284088&f=EDH

Is it time for a convertion to create a much bigger community?

This card will not be in the Top 3 of tutors if unbanned. The fastest combo deck might not have a faster goldfish than RDW. Not much more to say here.

I agree on the tutor topic.

The tutors (Demonic, Mystical, Tained Pact) are overpowered by themselves but are required to compete with Combo against Goodstuff.

I think these Tutors are replaceable in Goodstuff but not in the focused decks.


Some other thoughts on borderline cards:

Mana Drain - overpowered but a required hard counter for control decks (could be banned if WotC offers more reliable 2CC counters in future, which will most likely never happen)

Oath of Druids - overpowered but creates a restrictive archetype. I am biased here but I think we should keep this archetype alive for now (I still fear creatureless/Griselbrand versions)

Sensei´s Divining Top - A powerfull but not too powerfull card which is needed for Combo/Control decks to fight good stuff. I don´t accept the time issue argument.

Stoneforge Mystic - A card which goes into all white decks (which should be no real argument), I am unsure if it is "fair" enough to come back. A sneaked in Batterskull is still very powerfull.

Tolarian Academy - too much uncounterable (often recurring) mana explosion, even if restricted to artifacts.


My vote:

Ban - Tolarian Academy
Unban - SDT
Unsure - Stoneforge Mystic

[Sensei Divining Top]

Dear Council,

Thanks for the information which is highly appreciated (I think by every Highlander player).

Based on your statements I have a couple of questions and would appreciate to receive answers for:

Sensei Divining Top

Is the card itself or perhaps the unable player/deck builder behind the real problem?

My opinion: I think too many players harm themselves by putting not enough win options in their control deck and tinker too much with the SDT in play without a good plan behind this action and the "able players" should in most of the cases not cause the given problem for their own sake. SDT ist just another (perhaps the most relevant) problem for an "unable" control deck player/deckbuilder, not the only one.

How have you measured the effect of the card to decide about the ban and how will you measure if it´s time to unban it again?

My opinion: not possible = no good reason to ban and therefore: good bye SDT forever

Fetchlands

A lot of relevant and clever things are said about a ban of the Fetchland cycle in these detailed topics: http://www.magicplayer.org/forum/index.php?topic=1186.0 and http://www.magicplayer.org/forum/index.php?topic=583.0

I have to wonder that there is nearly no statement (or in best case action plan) from the council about that (The topic started +5years ago).  

Do you think this topic is stupid and should be disregarded and if so why?

My opinion: Banning the Fetchland cycle is theoretically a very good approach to improve our format but needs to be evaluated and tested because of the drastic effect it would have. Tinkering to offer an optional online tournament is not what I have expected as adequate statement and sufficient action plan. What about to plan a big tournament with good price support, so all players are eager to test and participate? I would be happy to join but I am unable to organize it . Perhaps crowdfunding might be a tool if no organizer can be foun.

Imperial Seal

What is the reason the Council refuses to put Imperial Seal on the unban watchlist?

My opinion: This card facilitates consistency and focus which are your non-banning arguments for the stronger Mystical Tutor. Control usually does not play Personal Tutor and Good Stuff usually even does not play Worldly Tutor, so I would not accept the reason that Seal will go into every deck which can pay the casting cost. Imperial Seal will be a niche application card for sure.

So when availability and/or price tag is the reason you have to ban the following cards as well:

Mishra´s Workshop
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
Bazaar of Baghdad
Candelabra of Tawnos
Grim Tutor
Timetwister
(even Juzam Djinn and Chains of Mephistopheles)

Gaea´s Cradle (surprise, surprise)

Why is Gaea´s Cradle completely disregarded when fast mana is a problem and green creatures get better with every edition?

My opinion: Even Gaea´s Cradle is not a visible problem today it can become one very fast. The brokenness of this card should be valued with a watch list nomination.

If someone is interested, my personal vote for today  :

Ban: Tolarian Academy (fast Mana without possible interaction from the opponent), Fetchlands (good stuff problem which will grow with every edition, time issue, new multicolored lands with every edition and IMO already enough of these are already available for a stable 3C mana base)

Ban Watchlist (Usually too broken for this format but currently helping to create a more diverse meta, random order ): Mana Drain, Demonic Tutor, Oath of Druids, Tainted Pact, Mystical Tutor, Fastbond,  Yawgmoth´s Will, Mishra´s Workshop, Treasure Cruise, Dig Through Time, Gaea´s Cradle

Unban Watchlist: Stoneforge Mystic (not broken enough to be banned but fueling Good Stuff too much), Imperial Seal (helps deck diversity and focus)

Unban: Sensei Divining Top (given reason not valid/authoritative, Fetchland ban would counteract Council´s argument)

Cards I am unsure to ban/unban either: Entomb, Gifts Ungiven, Natural Order, Umezawa´s Jitte


Final note:

Publishing votes (before implementing something) will cause reactions from the community. This can only help the council to make the best possible decision for the format and to establish understanding for the community.

However, the banning issue is not the main issue - it´s the lacking centralized and up-to-date communication and marketing (homepage, forum, etc.)



Keep the good work up! You are doing an invidious but needful job for all of us!

I hope banning SDT is just another April fool.

The time issue argument is valid but SDT is the glue of UWx control strategies. IMO banning SDT will set back all UW(x) control decks to Tier2 at most. How should they now keep pace with multicolor goodstuff?

I will wait until tomorrow and hope this is just a bad joke. If not there will be another 4C Blood player, even if I never wanted to.
(As WotC don´t stop to print good R drops I will also sleeve up RDW as my second choice)

Long live the AGGROGOODSTUFF vs RDW meta!

Another question: Will the council ever change the way to decide about bannings? I would like to see that the community gets a vote somehow.

supporter

haven´t changed my mind, just the explanation would look a little different today:

http://www.magicplayer.org/forum/index.php?topic=584.msg5884#msg5884
http://www.magicplayer.org/forum/index.php?topic=819.msg7784#msg7784

and here is the link to the old main topic of banning fetchlands:

http://www.magicplayer.org/forum/index.php?topic=583.0

I also think the way to get closer to official DCI rule is an upgrade to the format as Highlander will get more recognition and acceptance in general and feeds more player interest in the end.

Also the price barrier difference is not that big any more as some players might think. When we speak about gold bordered cards we speak about the dual land base, isn´t it? Have you checked IE/CE prices for duals lately?

I would better invest another 60 bucks for a blue dual or 15 bucks for a non-blue in order to buy a "real card" instead of a nice proxy.

Selling Revised duals later in a short period of time without losing money is also another advantage. I can imagine that selling gold bordered duals (especially with corners cut) could be a nightmare.

I am not a professional trader but I would estimate that most of them better invest in real dual lands because the demand is much higher.

I still don´t get why the banned list is the main problem for the community and gets the most traffic.

Overall rules (mulligan, deck size, sideboard, mana base, gold border cards, etc.) and format marketing/communication (source of information, format forum, tournament organization, etc.) seems much more important to me than single card discussions.

The current ban/watch list seems manageable for everyone. I have some complaints on the list, such as everyone else has from his subjective point of view, but card-by-card analysis should not be first priority to develop the format.

[RDW -]

RDW - My experience is that Izzet is one of RDW´s easier matchups. Izzet has cantrips, reactive spells, relatively fragile (or clunky) creatures and has no use for most of its silver bullets. All in all good news for RDW. RDW is still Tier1 IMO and still punishes bad mana bases and draws, both are still very common situations in Highlander, but also a meta which is shifted into a control-beating-control meta. The main problem RDW might have is the creature power creep. RDW can usually not win with silver bullets and burn alone. If the board is blocked RDW has a very hard time.

Izzet – I still think that Izzet is Tier1 as the meta is multicolored and the silver bullets (paired with counterspells) win unwinnable games. Main problem is its weak win options but this problem reduces with every new edition ( TNN,  Rabblemaster...) I expect this will be a DTB for a long time.

Combo – It seems that...after a 48 player local tournament...many HL-players are frightened that TPS, Eggs & Co. broke the format and are unbeatable now. My opinion is that even with Academy, Fastbond and Will unbanned these decks are still too inconsistent, fragile and card dependent to be unbeatable in comparison to homogeneous creature builds. Sure, these decks can produce unbeatable nut draws but also draws which do nothing or loose against a single counter/hate. It is beyond dispute that Academy, Fastbond and Yawgmoth´s Will are one of the most broken cards in Magic history but the 100/1 variance helps to keep those cards in check. But it´s true that not enough players try to break the format with combo decks and there is a good chance that it can be broken by those cards in the right shell. The question for me is if we want Solitaire decks in our format, at least I have no problem with that.

@Maqi:

IMO mana availability is a flaw of the original game and Spoils reduces this flaw much better than Paris can ever do. Also the strategic approach of the game will be improved which is a thing I like. I don´t get your argument regarding differentiation in context with allowing gold bordered cards.

However, I get the point of "games feeling the same" in a non-evolving format. I remember playing with some cards more seldomly as I have always rejected them from my initial hand, but I don´t see that is a problem but part of a stragic card game.

My current opinion is that the Commander mulligan might be better then the above mentioned. At least you get punished for your greediness.



@ LasH:

The Meta as changed from 4-5 to 3-4 coloured good stuff which is not a big improvement to me as well. There might be some decks which are now playable but there is no huge shift towards two coloured decks which some people have predicted. Izzet and Gruul were good decks also before the mulligan change.

During the last months I learned to love the old Spoils Mulligan and now want it back

Don´t get me wrong: The current mulligan is better than the original one but the Spoils seems a further strategic improvement to the game and the current mulligan has not changed the multicolour goodstuff madness at all.

I would appreciate to make a new vote anytime soon, so that we get an update from the community.

@Berlin: Errare humanum est

I noticed that Wizards started to offer Dual Commander on their GPs as a sideevent  

I also met some old highlander players in Utrecht which asked me if I would like to play a game of Dual Commander...

Will Duel Commander surpass Highlander in Germany in the next years?

Scapeshift is a very good metagame call if 4C blood is everywhere. I just wonder why Temur is preferred as the Tutor package of a 4c list should improve the deck even more. Most probably  it is a Temur creature ramp with Scapeshift as a 2nd win condition, otherwise I would doubt the list is teched out.

[Back to topic. My opinion on the Banned List:]

i have great faith in the council that they will do the "right" thing (as representers of the community and their needs) and unban stoneforge in april. they will know that having oath, academy and mana drain (three cards that have far higher powerlevel and are banned in legacy until the end of time) NOT BANNED but stonerforge BANNED is ridiculous and make this format look like a joke from the ouside. the banned list is very important for a format to be taken seriously and we need a good banned list, that actually makes sense.the community puts their trust in the council and we are sure you wont disappoint us.

I am sorry to inform you that you are not representing the HL community at all. I can´t help myself but I always read: "Please council, help me to improve my pet deck. The power level of Jeskai creatures needs to be improved in order to compete against the green based good stuffs as they have a superior creature base.

Back to topic. My opinion on the Banned List:

Stoneforge Mystic - It's simply an auto include in all (non-Oath) decks which can pay 1W, also creatureless Esper. I expect that it will weaken aggro strategies even more and they already have a hard time to fight the midrange madness. It's good for me personally as it will feed 100% of my pet decks but bad for the balance of the format. UNBAN WATCHLIST

Tolarian Academy - Cards like Tolarian Academy are always very borderline and should be nailed on the watch list (if not banned) to represent their power level. They burst the single card power level but might be needed to fight good stuff mania. BAN WATCHLIST

Oath of Druids - I do not like these "oops I win" games when the opponent has an early Oath, which is often a no-brainer and does not need a lot of synergy to function while Tolarian Academy needs a better set up. BAN - UNBAN WATCHLIST

Fastbond – Same category as Oath of Druids for me. UNBAN WATCHLIST

Entomb - Same category as Oath of Druids for me. UNBAN WATCHLIST

Natural Order – feeds Goodstuff with a very good Semi-Combo. UNBAN WATCHLIST

Mystical Tutor - At first I thought it must be banned but I currently think that he is some kind of "balancer" and "glue" to help the synergistic decks (like Enlightened Tutor). On the other hand there too many synergistic cards out there, so it will always be hard to keep them under control. In case they get out of control you should think about a ban again. BAN WATCHLIST

Mana Drain – Power level strictly above the format. Has some synergistic requirement to become broken, so I do not think that it must be banned by any means. However, Mana Drain into 5drop is very hard to beat in many cases. BAN WATCHLIST

Demonic Tutor – Power level strictly above the format. Does not only feed synergistic decks but auto include in any black deck. Can be quite "expensive" for good stuff, bonkers in synergetic decks, so it currently helps to keep balance. However, its power level should be reflected somehow. BAN WATCHLIST

Imperial Seal – Banned because of availability and price (council´s explanation exclusive for this card as far as I know) but needs to be unbaned immediately as soon as this changes. UNBAN WATCHLIST


@ Maqi: Thanks for your brilliant post!