Library of ALexandria has been the subject of much debate over the years, and has never had much of a fair chance to shine. In this thread I will hopefully do a decent job of summing up why the Rules Committee chose to ban it (and keep it banned), give some point/counterpoints, and finally some direct quotes from the Rules Committee.
Why is Library Banned?
The short answer is power and perceived barrier to entry.
The most recent source of how the Rules Committee think and operate is the format philosophy, in which the RC described how they approach the format and ban list. To break each point down individually:
Creates Undesirable Games/Game Situations - Library does not create unexpected wins or combos, does not ruin otherwise enjoyable games, and it does not take the game away from other players. However, it can be argued that it does have a casting cost too low for its effect(power level of the card), and that the ubiquitous nature of the card would warp games much like Sol Ring or Solemn Simulacrum, in that most decks should probably run one and would be better for its inclusion.
Warps The Format Strategically - As this has historically been defined, Library would not warp the format, meaning that the deckbuilding process would most likely not take into consideration that Library may be seen. However, even if every deck ran Library, games would not suddenly revolve around who could draw Library the first, and people cloning, thefting, or reanimating Library. (It should also be noted that this could in part be due to the limited availability of the card, which is a strike against it as well.)
Produces Too Much Mana Too Quickly - Library taps for one mana, the same as most other colorless utility lands.
Interacts Badly With the Structure of Commander - There are no negative interactions with the specific rules of Commander, namely the presence of the Command Zone or the color identity rule.
Creates a Perceived High Barrier to Entry - Here's where the real issue behind the card lies. Contrary to popular belief, PBtE does not simply refer to the price of the card, but it also takes into account the relative scarcity of the card, the perception of how necessary the card would be to the format, and the iconic status of the card (in this case, often being dubbed "the tenth power". As a colorless land that at worst taps for mana and at best draws you a card for "free" (at the expense of having access to that one mana), there is little downside to including Library into most every deck.
So, you have the above, coupled with an undeniable power level of the card, but there has been a lot of disagreement at the true power level. Sure, dropping this on your first turn will probably provide you with the source of card draw for a few turns, but this comes at the expense of effectively missing a land drop for those few turns. And unless you're playing a deck that is easily able to refill its hand, once you get below 7 cards you are left with a very underwhelming land. In fact, it has often been compared to Reliquary Tower, as Tower is similar: little downside to running it, and when you meet the specific conditions for the card, it provides a good advantage.
Point
Library has a status approaching the Power 9. You can't get much more iconic than that.
Even though the Rules Committee is not concerned about the secondary market, they understand their impact on it, and recognize that due to this card being on the Reserve List it is not unreasonable for the price to double or triple overnight if it were to be unbanned (currently averaging around $450 as of writing this)
Even ignoring PBtE, the card itself is very powerful of an effect with no similar replacement available.
Counterpoint
PBtE is outdated and no longer needed
It's only broken if it's in your opening hand; most decks won't be able to keep a full grip after the first few turns.
Quotes from the Rules Committee
Quote from Genomancer »
The "unattainable" rule is in part about perception as well as actual cost and power. Everyone knows that the best way to promote EDH is just to play it... people watching the games want to play, but if they saw Power in play, they'd assume they needed it to play and would be turned off. Most people realize quickly that the moxen aren't very good in EDH... but people watching the games incidentally don't realize that and it turns them off before they get a chance to try.
Moreover, the exitement-to-cost ratio of cards like Lotus/Timewalk is very low... they don't even contribute much to the game and just cause frustration, so they're banned. Library is certainly poweful enough to ban on its own though... the $-cost aspect just pushes it over the edge.
Library exists at the intersection of cost and ubiquity. Perform the following thought experiment: which card, banned or unbanned, would cause the average cost of all EDH decks to fluctuate the most? I'd be impressed if someone could argue anything other than LoA.
The other cards in its cost class (Tabernacle, Workshop) tend to be niche cards and far from an obvious improvement to, say, 50% of the decks out there.
I was actually on the other side of this a few months ago, arguing that library could be unbanned.
Having tested it, though, it absolutely should not be. It is prohibitively expensive, goes in every single deck, and is very hard to beat when dropped turn one. Unbanning library would do as much or more damage to the format than any other card on the ban list.
It is entirely reasonable for cost and ubiquity combined to require a ban. It's fine for $200 cards to be legal if most people don't need them. It's fine for some cards to go in every deck as long as people can reasonably acquire them. It is not okay for there to be a $200 card that would improve literally every deck.
The reason Library is so powerful is that there is so little cost to running it, and so much potential upside. It basically doesn't cost you a deck slot because it comes out of your 40ish lands rather than your 60ish spells. If you play it on turn one, it can draw you a card every turn until someone blows it up.
I proxied Libraries for testing in all of my decks a while back. When I drew them in my opening hand, they would consistently draw me five or more cards. I don't think I lost any of those games.
Like I said earlier - I was solidly in favor or unbanning Library until I actually played with it. I would encourage other people who doubt its power level to proxy it up and see how it plays.
If LoA were to be printed at common in an upcoming set (which we obviously know that it can't be since it's on the reserve list), we would probably see it as the same as Solemn Simulacrum: a card that nearly everyone plays but doesn't negatively impact the style of game we want to promote. As it is, it represents a style of format that we don't want to promote or encourage, namely that ultra-rare, ultra-expensive cards are the necessary in order to take part. PBtE is a category which will stay around, but given the way Magic is printed in the 21st century, unlikely to have cards banned specifically for that reason.
Unbanning Library would not be apocalyptic. It might even be the safest of the PBtE cards to bring off the list (note that the "least dangerous" of a bunch of dangerous things is "the safest"). We simply don't currently believe that it would do anything positive for the format to do so.
Honestly, this could come off the banned list. The value of the card goes down drastically after a couple of turns because of how hard it is to maintain a full grip. The ideal scenario without getting into Earthcraft shenanigans is that with it up you get to play two cards a turn while maintaining a full grip of options. And once you start using those options you're down to drawing a single card a turn. And given that we're playing a multiplayer format that seems to average pods of four, if you can keep up that grip of seven (and only seven) at all times then you've already got an amazing draw engine going (or no one is doing anything worth you reacting too). Either way, it's not providing nearly as much benefit as it does in a duel.
Would the price shoot up if it were unbanned? Probably. But I don't really see people feeling shut out of the format because they can't field one. Heck, a three color deck wants three ABUR duals and that will run you $500 on average for the set. The Moxen are an order of magnitude worse in the price area, so those are appropriate in the PBtoE category.
My own opinion about the card is that the power level is greatly overhyped, even dropping this on turn one. Missing your land drop at the expense of one extra cars a turn? That's a difficult trade-off to make.
PBtE is a different story. There is no doubt in my mind that it would overtake Workshop as the most expensive legal card, and I don't think any amount of "it's cool to see old cards you can't play anywhere else" would make up for the risk involved.
In sheer power level I don't think it's ban worthy, even though it is a very strong card.
But yes, price is a problem. Library is a card that would improve many decks, and EDH should not be an arms race of how much money you have. And the fact that library does improve many decks separates it from cards like mishra's workshop (which should actually be banned because of how much mana it produces, but that's beside the point) and bazaar of baghdad because those two cards only go in specific decks.
But yes, price is a problem. Library is a card that would improve many decks, and EDH should not be an arms race of how much money you have. And the fact that library does improve many decks separates it from cards like mishra's workshop (which should actually be banned because of how much mana it produces, but that's beside the point) and bazaar of baghdad because those two cards only go in specific decks.
I agree that this likely shoudn't be on the banlist and is likely a card that was placed there due to it impact in other formats. Yes its an expensive card, but isn't it wrong to let a banlist be regulated by a pricepoint? To me a banlist should be about securing the health of the format by prohibiting generally broken or non-interactive games and limiting a card because of its pricepoint opens up a whole new can of worms, like "What is too expensive? What do people think should be that bar to entry based on a secondary market, the reserved list or WotCs will or possibility to reprint cards to keep their prices down?". That sounds like an ugly mess to me! I think unbanning this and letting a natural flow dictate how widely used this card would be is a better option. Groups that don't spend that much money on EDH won't have it and groups that do will, hell, even if you are facing one we have already established that this card might not be as back-breaking as it seems so I don't think the guy who didn't spend X00$ is at a very large disadvantage.
Personally, the only valid reason to keep this banned is the price tag and availability. I feel it might be strong but at the same time I dont think its so strong that it would need to be banned.
I think the same arguments could be made about several other expensive cards but this one has for it that it can be inserted into any color of deck with the same impact. I would be fine if it came off the banned list but its price would probably soar so high that it would be over $1000 so at the same time I guess I am ok to keep it banned. Personally, I would rather see it out and about but I also understand why it is banned.
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I have officially moved to MTGNexus. I just wanted to let people know as my response time to salvation decks being bumped is very hit or miss.
But guys, do you think it is correct to administrate the banlist based on the secondary market and the individual value of cards? Just seems so wrong to me
But guys, do you think it is correct to administrate the banlist based on the secondary market and the individual value of cards? Just seems so wrong to me
The problem is that while its $450.00 right now, its like also banned / restricted in most formats so this is like..... the low price lol. I think to some degree cards like Mishra's Workshop and The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale stay unbanned because they belong in specific types of decks. Library is potentially like add it to everything if you can sort of a card.
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I have officially moved to MTGNexus. I just wanted to let people know as my response time to salvation decks being bumped is very hit or miss.
I don't even think price/availability is enough justification. PBtE is an outdated concept and the format has grown so large with so much information overload that the risk of scaring someone away for seeing Power isn't the threat it used to be.
I understand the reasons given in the OP (except for ODice whom I disagree with), and know it won't change, but I still disagree with them.
I don't even think price/availability is enough justification. PBtE is an outdated concept and the format has grown so large with so much information overload that the risk of scaring someone away for seeing Power isn't the threat it used to be.
I understand the reasons given in the OP (except for ODice whom I disagree with), and know it won't change, but I still disagree with them.
I dont think its about scare factor so much as bringing up the expected price of every deck. I have similar feelings towards moxen where yes, they would be super dumb powerful but my primary concern if they were unbanned is that it would add that cost to every single deck. Library feels a little bit like that for me while I own several cards in this current price range it could easily pass $1000.00 price tag if it became a staple of every commander deck. (assuming it would be as widespread used as the RC claims it probably would be).
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I have officially moved to MTGNexus. I just wanted to let people know as my response time to salvation decks being bumped is very hit or miss.
I think looked at just in terms of power, the Library is probably not banworthy, though it would probably end up spoiling at least as many games as Sol Ring is currently accused of spoiling, because it is really ridiculously powerful. When you throw in the cost and the impact this can have on the perception people have of the format (which is more or less what ISB is talking about) and the potential ubiquity, then I think you have enough factors to warrant its continued ban. I think the potential negative impact on the format more than outweighs the negligible benefit it offers to the format.
I think the power of Library of Alexandria is overrated in commander. I'm not emotionally invested about it coming off but I think it should.
Agree! Even if a player would start with this in their opener and start to use it, it is likely that a few people would put pressure on to force a player to play more than 1 card a turn ultimately disrupting the use of it. At least that doesn't seem very unlikely or difficult in my mind.
Edit: An eror in my formulation that might have caused confusion. Fixed it.
I know 'dies to removal' is an awful thing, but do you think that nonbasic hate has become more available and flexible to be a factor here?
In some sense yes, we have more options available to us, but not always as efficient as they have been. We have ghost quarter, tec edge (Won't deal with Library in the early turns) and strip mine, which aren't very expensive and we are about to have an influx of wasteland along with the expeditions and that is just mentioning the lands that can bash other lands. Hell you could even play encroaching wastes if all goes south.
Why is $450 too much? 100% auto include mana crypt being $150 is apparently fine. Several hundred dollar dual lands that are also 100% auto include in decks running their colors that come extremely close to library's price are also apparently fine. $1000 dollars for tabernacle is apparently fine as well. I personally draw the line at about $50 a card, are we going to ban every card over that amount?
It makes no sense for library to be banned. It's effect is a minor optimization, not gamebreaking explosiveness. It's actually kind of close to the opposite, library encourages a much slower pace of game.
How often does phyrexian arena allow a player to completely take over a multiplayer game? I would guess near zero.
It is $450 now and restricted in one format which doesn't have a large player base. Between Vintage and collectors, most of the copies are spoken for. Introducing the card to the large Commander player base would cause a demand which would double, if not triple, the price overnight.
It is $450 now and restricted in one format which doesn't have a large player base. Between Vintage and collectors, most of the copies are spoken for. Introducing the card to the large Commander player base would cause a demand which would double, if not triple, the price overnight.
Why does that matter?
If I'm optimizing my edh lists, I already need to spend thousands of dollars.
If I'm optimizing my edh lists, I already need to spend thousands of dollars.
Because the Rules Committee doesn't want that kind of card in the format. Most lists can get "optimized" by Library, so unbanning it would be telling everyone that their list will always be worse than the one who is willing to spend $1000 for a single card.
I really wish Library was legal. I've played with it (not to the extent ODice has) but my results were much less extreme than his. I don't think the power level of the card warrants a ban, and I think that the theory behind PBtE is no longer valid. But I still get why the RC took the stance they did on Library.
If I'm optimizing my edh lists, I already need to spend thousands of dollars.
Because the Rules Committee doesn't want that kind of card in the format. Most lists can get "optimized" by Library, so unbanning it would be telling everyone that their list will always be worse than the one who is willing to spend $1000 for a single card.
I really wish Library was legal. I've played with it (not to the extent ODice has) but my results were much less extreme than his. I don't think the power level of the card warrants a ban, and I think that the theory behind PBtE is no longer valid. But I still get why the RC took the stance they did on Library.
So telling everyone their list will always be worse unless they add mana crypt for $150 or more is ok?
Or telling everyone their list will always be worse unless they run every original dual they can totalling in multiple hundreds of dollars is ok?
Or telling everyone their list will always be worse unless they run one of the ridiculously priced portal cards that fits their design is ok?
The format has plenty of crazy high priced cards. The only people who will really care are the ultra competitive people, and it would be weird for them to complain that their four thousand dollar deck just got a bit more expensive.
If I'm optimizing my edh lists, I already need to spend thousands of dollars.
Because the Rules Committee doesn't want that kind of card in the format. Most lists can get "optimized" by Library, so unbanning it would be telling everyone that their list will always be worse than the one who is willing to spend $1000 for a single card.
I really wish Library was legal. I've played with it (not to the extent ODice has) but my results were much less extreme than his. I don't think the power level of the card warrants a ban, and I think that the theory behind PBtE is no longer valid. But I still get why the RC took the stance they did on Library.
So telling everyone their list will always be worse unless they add mana crypt for $150 or more is ok?
Or telling everyone their list will always be worse unless they run every original dual they can totalling in multiple hundreds of dollars is ok?
Or telling everyone their list will always be worse unless they run one of the ridiculously priced portal cards that fits their design is ok?
The format has plenty of crazy high priced cards. The only people who will really care are the ultra competitive people, and it would be weird for them to complain that their four thousand dollar deck just got a bit more expensive.
Agreed! I find it weird to ban based of prices on the secondary market and if that is your choice then at least apply it consistently (Although I might consider giving special reason to the power 9, even though Timetwister is not banned O_o).
Its also not just about price. LoA would be a thousand bucks AND be known power. Cards like that landing at tables turns new people off the format.
To paraphrase cryogen 'I get to play Sol Ring and Demonic Tutor' is a positive for the format. 'I need power' is the negative other side of that coin. The RC makes sure the other side of the coin doesn't apply.
If people are sick of reading about stuff just stop taking part. You have 100% control over what you read. Simic Ascendancy isn't going to get banned just because you didn't tell someone to shut up on the internet.
Ubiquity - there is no reason to not include the card in any deck. Unlike many other particularly strong lands from that era, every deck can benefit from the card draw aspect, and the land is capable of producing mana. The card has an exceptionally powerful effect, beneficial to every deck, with an extremely minor drawback.
Power - the card is easily as strong as Sol Ring in the first few turns of a game, and typically at least as strong mid to late game. It is easily capable of generating a largely insurmountable advantage when played early, regardless of the deck it is in.
One of the most common arguments against the ban of Library of Alexandria is the claim that it is difficult to maintain 7 cards in your hand. Not only is this often false with relatively minor adjustments to deck construction and how you play the game (for most decks), having an active Library makes it vastly easier to maintain the requirement on its own.
A final point
While I disagree with the idea of the 'Perceived Barrier to Entry' criteria, I agree with every card where that is a part of it's ban, albeit for other reasons.
One of the most commonly misunderstood part of the 'PBtE' though is that it is not determined by the cards secondary market value. It is instead that market value, combined with multiple other, typically more important factors. Then after considering those as part of 'PBtE', those combined factors are still not the only reason why a card is banned, and to my understanding not even the most dominant reasons.
This card is not particularly format-ruining. It would help non-blue decks generate card advantage. However, it is too expensive to unban. This is discordant with Bazaar, Tabernacle, and Workshop. A better question would be "why are those legal" than "why is Library banned". I guess the first two don't really see much play.
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These days, some wizards are finding they have a little too much deck left at the end of their $$$.
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If people are sick of reading about stuff just stop taking part. You have 100% control over what you read. Simic Ascendancy isn't going to get banned just because you didn't tell someone to shut up on the internet.
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Library of ALexandria has been the subject of much debate over the years, and has never had much of a fair chance to shine. In this thread I will hopefully do a decent job of summing up why the Rules Committee chose to ban it (and keep it banned), give some point/counterpoints, and finally some direct quotes from the Rules Committee.
Why is Library Banned?
The short answer is power and perceived barrier to entry.
The most recent source of how the Rules Committee think and operate is the format philosophy, in which the RC described how they approach the format and ban list. To break each point down individually:
So, you have the above, coupled with an undeniable power level of the card, but there has been a lot of disagreement at the true power level. Sure, dropping this on your first turn will probably provide you with the source of card draw for a few turns, but this comes at the expense of effectively missing a land drop for those few turns. And unless you're playing a deck that is easily able to refill its hand, once you get below 7 cards you are left with a very underwhelming land. In fact, it has often been compared to Reliquary Tower, as Tower is similar: little downside to running it, and when you meet the specific conditions for the card, it provides a good advantage.
Point
Quotes from the Rules Committee
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Would the price shoot up if it were unbanned? Probably. But I don't really see people feeling shut out of the format because they can't field one. Heck, a three color deck wants three ABUR duals and that will run you $500 on average for the set. The Moxen are an order of magnitude worse in the price area, so those are appropriate in the PBtoE category.
PBtE is a different story. There is no doubt in my mind that it would overtake Workshop as the most expensive legal card, and I don't think any amount of "it's cool to see old cards you can't play anywhere else" would make up for the risk involved.
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But yes, price is a problem. Library is a card that would improve many decks, and EDH should not be an arms race of how much money you have. And the fact that library does improve many decks separates it from cards like mishra's workshop (which should actually be banned because of how much mana it produces, but that's beside the point) and bazaar of baghdad because those two cards only go in specific decks.
WUBRGProgenitus
URGMaelstrom Wanderer
WUBOloro, Ageless Ascetic
WURZedruu, the Greathearted
BRGProssh, Skyraider of Kher ($100)
GWUDerevi, Empyrial Tactician ($100)
UGKruphix, God of Horizons ($100)(retired)UTalrand, Sky Summoner (French 1v1, $100)
I agree that this likely shoudn't be on the banlist and is likely a card that was placed there due to it impact in other formats. Yes its an expensive card, but isn't it wrong to let a banlist be regulated by a pricepoint? To me a banlist should be about securing the health of the format by prohibiting generally broken or non-interactive games and limiting a card because of its pricepoint opens up a whole new can of worms, like "What is too expensive? What do people think should be that bar to entry based on a secondary market, the reserved list or WotCs will or possibility to reprint cards to keep their prices down?". That sounds like an ugly mess to me! I think unbanning this and letting a natural flow dictate how widely used this card would be is a better option. Groups that don't spend that much money on EDH won't have it and groups that do will, hell, even if you are facing one we have already established that this card might not be as back-breaking as it seems so I don't think the guy who didn't spend X00$ is at a very large disadvantage.
I think the same arguments could be made about several other expensive cards but this one has for it that it can be inserted into any color of deck with the same impact. I would be fine if it came off the banned list but its price would probably soar so high that it would be over $1000 so at the same time I guess I am ok to keep it banned. Personally, I would rather see it out and about but I also understand why it is banned.
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The problem is that while its $450.00 right now, its like also banned / restricted in most formats so this is like..... the low price lol. I think to some degree cards like Mishra's Workshop and The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale stay unbanned because they belong in specific types of decks. Library is potentially like add it to everything if you can sort of a card.
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[Modern] Allies
I understand the reasons given in the OP (except for ODice whom I disagree with), and know it won't change, but I still disagree with them.
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I dont think its about scare factor so much as bringing up the expected price of every deck. I have similar feelings towards moxen where yes, they would be super dumb powerful but my primary concern if they were unbanned is that it would add that cost to every single deck. Library feels a little bit like that for me while I own several cards in this current price range it could easily pass $1000.00 price tag if it became a staple of every commander deck. (assuming it would be as widespread used as the RC claims it probably would be).
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Agree! Even if a player would start with this in their opener and start to use it, it is likely that a few people would put pressure on to force a player to play more than 1 card a turn ultimately disrupting the use of it. At least that doesn't seem very unlikely or difficult in my mind.
Edit: An eror in my formulation that might have caused confusion. Fixed it.
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In some sense yes, we have more options available to us, but not always as efficient as they have been. We have ghost quarter, tec edge (Won't deal with Library in the early turns) and strip mine, which aren't very expensive and we are about to have an influx of wasteland along with the expeditions and that is just mentioning the lands that can bash other lands. Hell you could even play encroaching wastes if all goes south.
It makes no sense for library to be banned. It's effect is a minor optimization, not gamebreaking explosiveness. It's actually kind of close to the opposite, library encourages a much slower pace of game.
How often does phyrexian arena allow a player to completely take over a multiplayer game? I would guess near zero.
Remove from ban list.
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Why does that matter?
If I'm optimizing my edh lists, I already need to spend thousands of dollars.
Because the Rules Committee doesn't want that kind of card in the format. Most lists can get "optimized" by Library, so unbanning it would be telling everyone that their list will always be worse than the one who is willing to spend $1000 for a single card.
I really wish Library was legal. I've played with it (not to the extent ODice has) but my results were much less extreme than his. I don't think the power level of the card warrants a ban, and I think that the theory behind PBtE is no longer valid. But I still get why the RC took the stance they did on Library.
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So telling everyone their list will always be worse unless they add mana crypt for $150 or more is ok?
Or telling everyone their list will always be worse unless they run every original dual they can totalling in multiple hundreds of dollars is ok?
Or telling everyone their list will always be worse unless they run one of the ridiculously priced portal cards that fits their design is ok?
The format has plenty of crazy high priced cards. The only people who will really care are the ultra competitive people, and it would be weird for them to complain that their four thousand dollar deck just got a bit more expensive.
Agreed! I find it weird to ban based of prices on the secondary market and if that is your choice then at least apply it consistently (Although I might consider giving special reason to the power 9, even though Timetwister is not banned O_o).
To paraphrase cryogen 'I get to play Sol Ring and Demonic Tutor' is a positive for the format. 'I need power' is the negative other side of that coin. The RC makes sure the other side of the coin doesn't apply.
Power - the card is easily as strong as Sol Ring in the first few turns of a game, and typically at least as strong mid to late game. It is easily capable of generating a largely insurmountable advantage when played early, regardless of the deck it is in.
One of the most common arguments against the ban of Library of Alexandria is the claim that it is difficult to maintain 7 cards in your hand. Not only is this often false with relatively minor adjustments to deck construction and how you play the game (for most decks), having an active Library makes it vastly easier to maintain the requirement on its own.
A final point
While I disagree with the idea of the 'Perceived Barrier to Entry' criteria, I agree with every card where that is a part of it's ban, albeit for other reasons.
One of the most commonly misunderstood part of the 'PBtE' though is that it is not determined by the cards secondary market value. It is instead that market value, combined with multiple other, typically more important factors. Then after considering those as part of 'PBtE', those combined factors are still not the only reason why a card is banned, and to my understanding not even the most dominant reasons.
In summary, Library of Alexandria needs to remain banned.
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