The Pro's get the blame because the community did not ask for the PT to go away, they got it put back on the schedule. Then the Pro's cried and cried.
Players wanted it back on the schedule but didn't realize that would mean more bans. This has been documented and discussed to death. It put Wizards in a position where they would need to either keep banning cards to ensure Modern was PT-appropriate, or they needed to remove Modern from the PT to stop the bans. Players would have been upset with both, and I'm happy Wizards took the road that was more aligned with Modern's mission.
As I understand it, having a Modern Pro Tour simply accelerates the rate at which cards are banned. Wizards has never banned a card completely unjustly - even for the Pro Tour, they banned cards they had already identified as problems, just at an earlier time than they would have without a Pro Tour. The Modern PT didn't last long enough for us to know with certainty whether Wizards would have started banning cards purely to shake up the format in the future, even while the metagame was healthy by comparative standards.
the card itself really isn't worth the card board its printed on...does it serve a purpose? Sure its a blue 1 drop that might not be a 1/1. I would not put it in a list and expect to win a PTQ or GP though.
Do you enjoy having people to play against? Yes? Then this change affects you. There are only GPs and SCG Opens that feature Modern now, which are few and far between, and as demand for Modern dries up the local stores are going to suddenly stop hosting their weekly events. This is possibly the most consequential decision they could make to regular players in terms of downside (because I'm assuming we want people to play against at our events), but of only speculative value in the upside, because we have no idea what they'll ban or unban in the future.
Not sure you can say there is speculative value to the upside and just assume the consequence of the downside. Your downside is just as speculative as his upside. Maybe pulling PT support leads to the format's crash. Or maybe Wizards replaces it with an extra GP on each continent in 2017. Maybe players don't want to play Modern because there is one less feature event for Modern. Or maybe players double-down on the format believing bans are less likely and their decks/investments will stay safe and be supported for longer. It's all speculative at this point.
I'm willing to give Wizards the benefit of the doubt that they know what they are doing. I'll revisit this, favorably or unfavorably, when they announce the 2017 GP schedule. For now, I'm going to read in this announcement a nuanced understanding of Modern that Wizards previously lacked (or didn't act on).
My post was tongue-in-cheek and not really serious.
The only actual point I'd want to make to cpfusion's post is that new players watching pros play a format on the largest stage in the game is a large draw to that stage's format(s) and dropping a format from that stage does have real downside in bringing new players to the format. I don't know how much of a downside that is, nor do I know if it outweighs anything. I was really just having a go at his post more than anything.
oh, OK. I thought u were actually serious.
I don't believe anyone new to magic actually starts from modern. they likely begin at limited/standard, where they WILL invariably learn about modern, because they WILL invariably ask: uh so what happens to my cards after rotation?
I highly doubt the sudden loss of the PT will result in any lower supply of players to the format. In fact, I believe Standard players who previously avoided Modern and its horribly fickle ban-list may actually now consider holding on to their rotated cards and playing ported versions of their decks.
Yeah sorry if the sarcasm wasn't obvious. I thought the mimicry would standout.
I think some players come to Modern specifically because they see Pros play it. I don't know how many so don't want to make a huge deal out of this, but I'm certain that some players do. They idolize Reid Duke or LSV, see them on deck XYZ and want to try it out. Maybe they're new players, maybe they're not. I'm sure some people who have played the game for a while never wanted to get into Modern until they saw a Pro they respect on a spicy brew.
The point is really that there's an unknown amount of draw to any format because of the large stage and Modern no longer has that now.
I know that is how I got into modern, I was a strictly kitchen table player until I was PT Born of the Gods (I think?). But I do think that I am an exception to the rule, at least among the people I have talked to at my LGS.
The Pro's get the blame because the community did not ask for the PT to go away, they got it put back on the schedule. Then the Pro's cried and cried.
Players wanted it back on the schedule but didn't realize that would mean more bans. This has been documented and discussed to death. It put Wizards in a position where they would need to either keep banning cards to ensure Modern was PT-appropriate, or they needed to remove Modern from the PT to stop the bans. Players would have been upset with both, and I'm happy Wizards took the road that was more aligned with Modern's mission.
As I understand it, having a Modern Pro Tour simply accelerates the rate at which cards are banned. Wizards has never banned a card completely unjustly - even for the Pro Tour, they banned cards they had already identified as problems, just at an earlier time than they would have without a Pro Tour. The Modern PT didn't last long enough for us to know with certainty whether Wizards would have started banning cards purely to shake up the format in the future, even while the metagame was healthy by comparative standards.
As far as I am concerned, and as far as most players are concerned, an accelerated timeline meant more bans. That's just a mathematical fact: if you added +1 year to every ban to reflect a decelerated timeline, neither Bloom nor Twin would currently be banned. Maybe they got banned down the road. Or maybe the format added strategies and mechanisms to police them. We can't assume that the format will look totally identical further down the road. A decelerated timeline may well lead to a card that would be banned today not getting banned 12 months from now due to new format tools.
Instead of responding to each of the alarmist posts individually, I'll just make a thread-wide statement instead.
People need to move away from this bizarre explanation that dropping the PT was a pro-driven move. Were the pros probably involved in it? I'm sure they were. But is it something that is contrary to player desires? Absolutely not. Players have constantly, and very harshly, complained about bans since the format's start. If the Pro Tour is to be appropriate for Modern given the tournament's function and structure, Modern needs shakeup bans. Players hated those bans and hated the pall of uncertainty and instability that surrounded it, so by removing Modern from the PT circuit, Wizards is very deliberately trying to restore the average player's confidence in Modern's longstanding stability. I don't understand why so many people look past this and leap to the conclusion of a Wizards and pro cabal to kill Modern. It's just such an uncritical, black and white opinion that is neither in dialogue with Wizards' statements on the event, nor the response players have had to Modern bans over the years.
Of course, Wizards will need to keep Modern going strong with more event support, particularly at the GP level. But if they follow through with that, which I'm optimistic they will, then this change is a huge net positive for Modern. It allows the format to return to its mission and move away from the artificial, ban-induced rotations players hated.
If they add more GP's which I also believe they will and they should if they want Modern to keep going then PT abandonment was a good thing and they help Modern a lot with it. In this case you can finally make top tier deck without worrying it will be banned before Pro Tour and throwing money away that way.
Agree! But if they don't add them, or some other replacement event, then we're not in good shape. Or worse; if they REMOVE events.
Instead of responding to each of the alarmist posts individually, I'll just make a thread-wide statement instead.
People need to move away from this bizarre explanation that dropping the PT was a pro-driven move. Were the pros probably involved in it? I'm sure they were. But is it something that is contrary to player desires? Absolutely not. Players have constantly, and very harshly, complained about bans since the format's start. If the Pro Tour is to be appropriate for Modern given the tournament's function and structure, Modern needs shakeup bans. Players hated those bans and hated the pall of uncertainty and instability that surrounded it, so by removing Modern from the PT circuit, Wizards is very deliberately trying to restore the average player's confidence in Modern's longstanding stability. I don't understand why so many people look past this and leap to the conclusion of a Wizards and pro cabal to kill Modern. It's just such an uncritical, black and white opinion that is neither in dialogue with Wizards' statements on the event, nor the response players have had to Modern bans over the years.
Of course, Wizards will need to keep Modern going strong with more event support, particularly at the GP level. But if they follow through with that, which I'm optimistic they will, then this change is a huge net positive for Modern. It allows the format to return to its mission and move away from the artificial, ban-induced rotations players hated.
If they add more GP's which I also believe they will and they should if they want Modern to keep going then PT abandonment was a good thing and they help Modern a lot with it. In this case you can finally make top tier deck without worrying it will be banned before Pro Tour and throwing money away that way.
Agree! But if they don't add them, or some other replacement event, then we're not in good shape. Or worse; if they REMOVE events.
That's true so let's hope they don't remove them but add them instead to fill the gap made by removing PT's. If they don't Modern will slowly but surely go in the way of Legacy which none of us would like.
Legacy's problems seem to have more to do with being prohibitively expensive due to the Reserved List than support at something like the PT-level. When people can't play because decks cost $3-5,000 and Wizards can't help anything because of the RL, it's hard to motivate players to buy in. Modern is expensive, but is also already hugely popular and does not face that same problem.
@ktkenshinx Do you think that it is possible for Wizards to cut some Modern GP's? That would freak me out. But I don't think they will, we will even have Modern in the Worlds right?
It's definitely possible but I'm hoping they won't. It seems like they'd make more money by increasing Modern GPs slightly (I'm hoping for +1 per continent) to give players an outlet for their non-rotating needs. But it's also possible Wizards keeps Modern GPs at their current level or, worse, reduces them. The former would be a mistake. The latter would be a disaster. Either way, we all know how quickly Wizards turns around when they make a bad decision and the community lets them know, so I'd definitely take to the airwaves to denounce such a change.
For now, Wizards' recent decisions have made me optimistic about their ability to manage Modern. Twin ban communication was *****. But after that, they didn't emergency ban Eldrazi, they just banned Eye, they double-unbanned two cards, they released the format guidelines, and they divorced Modern from the PT. That's a series of smart, mission-driven management decisions, and it makes me optimistic about what is to come.
Legacy's problems seem to have more to do with being prohibitively expensive due to the Reserved List than support at something like the PT-level. When people can't play because decks cost $3-5,000 and Wizards can't help anything because of the RL, it's hard to motivate players to buy in. Modern is expensive, but is also already hugely popular and does not face that same problem.
I know Legacy and Modern have different problems regarding popularity and it's possible decrease and here I agree that Legacy main problem are very high prices which keep people away from it and reserved list that doesn't allow reprints while in Modern the main issue were constant format shaking bans before PT. However what I wanted to say is that if Wizards don't replace these Pro Tours by adding GP's or something else (which I hope and also believe won't happen) Modern will go to the way Legacy did in terms that Wizards will care less and less about it with making less events which will lead to slowly dying format and this is similar to Legacy which is kind of dying format although because of different reasons.
I guess I see that as completely separate issues. Modern will never suffer the same problems Legacy has because Modern does not have to abide by the Reserved List. Legacy dying out has nothing to do with the PT and has never been a PT format in Magic's history. It's dying out because, in MaRo's own words: "Players model after the Pro Tour and there is not enough of some Legacy staples to support more people playing the format." http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/130655631573/what-are-the-reasons-we-dont-have-one-of-the-pro
So Legacy dying is a direct reflection of players' inability to get and play with cards. If there are not enough players to host profitable events, then those events will be scaled back or canceled. Modern has NEVER had this problem, and in the past year and a half, just about every Modern GP has had record-setting attendance. The Pro Tour is almost completely irrelevant to most players because it is a small, closed, elite, invite-only event. Modern has 9 GPs this year, which is the same they had last year (not counting the three Modern Masters Sealed GPs that drew in nearly 15,000 people), and have averaged more than 2000 people since MM15's launch. Wizards would be totally and completely stupid to drop support for something that is so blatantly popular with players. In fact, the decision to drop the Modern PT feels exactly like doing us a favor, since the PT causes so many headaches and problems for us, the players, by needing shake up bans every year. So in order to actually better support the format and the players, that problem has been removed. I have a very, very, very hard time seeing this as anything other than a wonderful decision for Modern as a format.
Legacy is doing better at my local level because it doesn't require you build a Tier 1 deck to compete and stores have altogether removed all Modern support save for a single FNM, while Legacy has a community driven bi-montly League. Modern had a league too but the organizers dropped it because "that ***** is casual now".
Modern players didn't want their format to be casual, we were browbeat into chosing between losing our time and money investments through bans, or shuting the **** up and letting the pros have one more big event to play babby magic at.
So I'm remaining cautiously optimistic about the future. But the reason I got into modern, and love it so much, was because I wanted to play competitive tournament level mtg w/out playing standard or buying into legacy. I liked the idea of just being able to use my collection forever to play. The only reason I bring this up is because w/ modern leaving the PT, there has been talk about not having modern as competitive events at some lgs where I am. And having modern be casual while tournaments are reserved for standard. I love playing casual mtg but it's not the reason I build modern decks. and modern decks are not something I would play in a casual game of magic. I am fine w/ modern leaving the pt if it means no "shake up" bans, but I think it's essential that WOTC defines how they will continue to support the format, and that they do it w/in the next few months.
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My Decks:
UG Merfolk RG 8-Whack BWG Abzan midrange GRB Living End UWB Spirit Control
GU Kruphix's "Hug Assassin" RW Kalemne's "Play Fatties and Hope for the Best!" BUGW Atraxa's "All counters, all the time"
Legacy is doing better at my local level because it doesn't require you build a Tier 1 deck to compete and stores have altogether removed all Modern support save for a single FNM, while Legacy has a community driven bi-montly League. Modern had a league too but the organizers dropped it because "that ***** is casual now".
Modern players didn't want their format to be casual, we were browbeat into chosing between losing our time and money investments through bans, or shuting the **** up and letting the pros have one more big event to play babby magic at.
This doesn't make any sense. I haven't met a single pro team dedicated to modern anyway but a bunch of casual players suddenly drop the format because it won't be at an event they'll never go to?
Legacy is doing better at my local level because it doesn't require you build a Tier 1 deck to compete and stores have altogether removed all Modern support save for a single FNM, while Legacy has a community driven bi-montly League. Modern had a league too but the organizers dropped it because "that ***** is casual now".
Modern players didn't want their format to be casual, we were browbeat into chosing between losing our time and money investments through bans, or shuting the **** up and letting the pros have one more big event to play babby magic at.
This doesn't make any sense. I haven't met a single pro team dedicated to modern anyway but a bunch of casual players suddenly drop the format because it won't be at an event they'll never go to?
It MIGHT make a little more sense if they switched from Modern to Standard, and had illusions of grandeur of future PT participation. But to switch from Modern to Legacy? I love Legacy and all, but do they know that format is also absent from the PT?
I guess I see that as completely separate issues. Modern will never suffer the same problems Legacy has because Modern does not have to abide by the Reserved List. Legacy dying out has nothing to do with the PT and has never been a PT format in Magic's history. It's dying out because, in MaRo's own words: "Players model after the Pro Tour and there is not enough of some Legacy staples to support more people playing the format." http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/130655631573/what-are-the-reasons-we-dont-have-one-of-the-pro
So Legacy dying is a direct reflection of players' inability to get and play with cards. If there are not enough players to host profitable events, then those events will be scaled back or canceled. Modern has NEVER had this problem, and in the past year and a half, just about every Modern GP has had record-setting attendance. The Pro Tour is almost completely irrelevant to most players because it is a small, closed, elite, invite-only event. Modern has 9 GPs this year, which is the same they had last year (not counting the three Modern Masters Sealed GPs that drew in nearly 15,000 people), and have averaged more than 2000 people since MM15's launch. Wizards would be totally and completely stupid to drop support for something that is so blatantly popular with players. In fact, the decision to drop the Modern PT feels exactly like doing us a favor, since the PT causes so many headaches and problems for us, the players, by needing shake up bans every year. So in order to actually better support the format and the players, that problem has been removed. I have a very, very, very hard time seeing this as anything other than a wonderful decision for Modern as a format.
You raised an important point - MaRo said "Players model after the Pro Tour". While we don't suffer from the same problems that Legacy does, it has been rather clear (vocally at least) that the reprint rate is not exactly ideal to the format's rate of growth and I personally do think they are a bit too much on the cautious side at the current moment (even if I understand why they were cautious in the first place). R&D having the "Limited first and foremost thing" also screwed things up on some end.
Removing Modern from the Pro Tour would actually slow the growth of the format, which is a good thing for the time being, as it clearly showed the past few years their reprint cautiousness doesn't quite match up to all the marketing fervor Pro Tours bring along with them. The format isn't going to immediately wither and die because of it, especially if the problem it created resulted in people already spent high amounts to compete in the format. In reality, not a lot of people will go "Well, I might as well sell off now and focus all my efforts on Standard/Limited so I can become a Pro by focusing on only 3 formats (well Sealed and Drafts are different enough)."
Of course, all this hinges of WotC recognizing this is case (and not holding a "Modern is doomed" mindset and remove events because of their own self-fulfilling predictions) and maintaining (at least) or increasing the support for the format through other methods (more GPs, PPTQs, RPTQs and maybe even finally fixing their really-badly structured reprint mindset - the problem with their cautiousness is not solely due to the Limited Print Runs, it was due to increased MSRP prices creating an even worse illusion, they could start with that and while the first few Modern Masters might still be artificially driven up in price, give a few more and it will actually creep down eventually), the format will still thrive. The "competitive players who don't really aim to be Pros" subset of players is a large (and growing) one and Modern is the perfect format to house those players - we'll be happy to have GPs as the highest level tournament we'll ever get to play in, because well realistically it probably already is anyway.
Both Wizards and the discussion here already assumes "Modern in Pro Tour" implies "format needs to be shaken up two weeks before". It's like the premise is self-explanatory. I don't get it, and I would appreciate it if someone explain.
So far, the only reason I can think of that is reasonable, is that 200 pros actually CAN figure out a format in three months, but 50000 casual players cannot, because Magic is like PhD-level mathematics and scrubs just cannot do it at all, but Wizards doesn't want to hurt our feelings, so they don't say it out loud.
As far as I'm concerned, brewing is like machine learning or natural selection, numbers win. Piloting a deck, on the other hand, the pros beat us scrubs handily.
Also, their website mentioned a little "Team Unified Modern" in December 2017 World Magic Cup. Optimising who gets what fetchlands is going to be a brain-fry.
Both Wizards and the discussion here already assumes "Modern in Pro Tour" implies "format needs to be shaken up two weeks before". It's like the premise is self-explanatory. I don't get it, and I would appreciate it if someone explain.
"So why isn't it right for the Pro Tour? It comes down to our goals for the events. The first is that we want to reward good drafting, innovative deck building, and tight gameplay in unestablished environments. Second, we want to highlight the newest card set."
Modern does not do those things. It's a very established environment, not an unestablished one, and it is unlikely to showcase new cards because of the high barrier to entry. If Wizards wanted to change its Pro Tour goals then bans wouldn't have been needed. But they aren't doing that and with good reason: the PT is their flagship advertisement for the new set. This is why its release date is tied to a new set release and that isn't changing. The much more feasible solution is to realize Modern is incompatible with these PT goals and to separate them.
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Colorless Eldrazi Stompy
I know that is how I got into modern, I was a strictly kitchen table player until I was PT Born of the Gods (I think?). But I do think that I am an exception to the rule, at least among the people I have talked to at my LGS.
As far as I am concerned, and as far as most players are concerned, an accelerated timeline meant more bans. That's just a mathematical fact: if you added +1 year to every ban to reflect a decelerated timeline, neither Bloom nor Twin would currently be banned. Maybe they got banned down the road. Or maybe the format added strategies and mechanisms to police them. We can't assume that the format will look totally identical further down the road. A decelerated timeline may well lead to a card that would be banned today not getting banned 12 months from now due to new format tools.
Agree! But if they don't add them, or some other replacement event, then we're not in good shape. Or worse; if they REMOVE events.
Legacy's problems seem to have more to do with being prohibitively expensive due to the Reserved List than support at something like the PT-level. When people can't play because decks cost $3-5,000 and Wizards can't help anything because of the RL, it's hard to motivate players to buy in. Modern is expensive, but is also already hugely popular and does not face that same problem.
UR ....... WUBR ........... WB ............. RGW ........ UBR ....... WUB .... BGU
Spells / Blink & Combo / Token Grind / Dino Tribal / Draw Cards / Zombies / Reanimate
It's definitely possible but I'm hoping they won't. It seems like they'd make more money by increasing Modern GPs slightly (I'm hoping for +1 per continent) to give players an outlet for their non-rotating needs. But it's also possible Wizards keeps Modern GPs at their current level or, worse, reduces them. The former would be a mistake. The latter would be a disaster. Either way, we all know how quickly Wizards turns around when they make a bad decision and the community lets them know, so I'd definitely take to the airwaves to denounce such a change.
For now, Wizards' recent decisions have made me optimistic about their ability to manage Modern. Twin ban communication was *****. But after that, they didn't emergency ban Eldrazi, they just banned Eye, they double-unbanned two cards, they released the format guidelines, and they divorced Modern from the PT. That's a series of smart, mission-driven management decisions, and it makes me optimistic about what is to come.
I guess I see that as completely separate issues. Modern will never suffer the same problems Legacy has because Modern does not have to abide by the Reserved List. Legacy dying out has nothing to do with the PT and has never been a PT format in Magic's history. It's dying out because, in MaRo's own words: "Players model after the Pro Tour and there is not enough of some Legacy staples to support more people playing the format." http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/130655631573/what-are-the-reasons-we-dont-have-one-of-the-pro
So Legacy dying is a direct reflection of players' inability to get and play with cards. If there are not enough players to host profitable events, then those events will be scaled back or canceled. Modern has NEVER had this problem, and in the past year and a half, just about every Modern GP has had record-setting attendance. The Pro Tour is almost completely irrelevant to most players because it is a small, closed, elite, invite-only event. Modern has 9 GPs this year, which is the same they had last year (not counting the three Modern Masters Sealed GPs that drew in nearly 15,000 people), and have averaged more than 2000 people since MM15's launch. Wizards would be totally and completely stupid to drop support for something that is so blatantly popular with players. In fact, the decision to drop the Modern PT feels exactly like doing us a favor, since the PT causes so many headaches and problems for us, the players, by needing shake up bans every year. So in order to actually better support the format and the players, that problem has been removed. I have a very, very, very hard time seeing this as anything other than a wonderful decision for Modern as a format.
UR ....... WUBR ........... WB ............. RGW ........ UBR ....... WUB .... BGU
Spells / Blink & Combo / Token Grind / Dino Tribal / Draw Cards / Zombies / Reanimate
Modern players didn't want their format to be casual, we were browbeat into chosing between losing our time and money investments through bans, or shuting the **** up and letting the pros have one more big event to play babby magic at.
RG 8-Whack
BWG Abzan midrange
GRB Living End
UWB Spirit Control
GU Kruphix's "Hug Assassin"
RW Kalemne's "Play Fatties and Hope for the Best!"
BUGW Atraxa's "All counters, all the time"
This doesn't make any sense. I haven't met a single pro team dedicated to modern anyway but a bunch of casual players suddenly drop the format because it won't be at an event they'll never go to?
Standard: lol no
Modern: BG/x, UR/x, Burn, Merfolk, Zoo, Storm
Legacy: Shardless BUG, Delver (BUG, RUG, Grixis), Landstill, Depths Combo, Merfolk
Vintage: Dark Times, BUG Fish, Merfolk
EDH: Teysa, Orzhov Scion / Krenko, Mob Boss / Stonebrow, Krosan Hero
You raised an important point - MaRo said "Players model after the Pro Tour". While we don't suffer from the same problems that Legacy does, it has been rather clear (vocally at least) that the reprint rate is not exactly ideal to the format's rate of growth and I personally do think they are a bit too much on the cautious side at the current moment (even if I understand why they were cautious in the first place). R&D having the "Limited first and foremost thing" also screwed things up on some end.
Removing Modern from the Pro Tour would actually slow the growth of the format, which is a good thing for the time being, as it clearly showed the past few years their reprint cautiousness doesn't quite match up to all the marketing fervor Pro Tours bring along with them. The format isn't going to immediately wither and die because of it, especially if the problem it created resulted in people already spent high amounts to compete in the format. In reality, not a lot of people will go "Well, I might as well sell off now and focus all my efforts on Standard/Limited so I can become a Pro by focusing on only 3 formats (well Sealed and Drafts are different enough)."
Of course, all this hinges of WotC recognizing this is case (and not holding a "Modern is doomed" mindset and remove events because of their own self-fulfilling predictions) and maintaining (at least) or increasing the support for the format through other methods (more GPs, PPTQs, RPTQs and maybe even finally fixing their really-badly structured reprint mindset - the problem with their cautiousness is not solely due to the Limited Print Runs, it was due to increased MSRP prices creating an even worse illusion, they could start with that and while the first few Modern Masters might still be artificially driven up in price, give a few more and it will actually creep down eventually), the format will still thrive. The "competitive players who don't really aim to be Pros" subset of players is a large (and growing) one and Modern is the perfect format to house those players - we'll be happy to have GPs as the highest level tournament we'll ever get to play in, because well realistically it probably already is anyway.
So far, the only reason I can think of that is reasonable, is that 200 pros actually CAN figure out a format in three months, but 50000 casual players cannot, because Magic is like PhD-level mathematics and scrubs just cannot do it at all, but Wizards doesn't want to hurt our feelings, so they don't say it out loud.
As far as I'm concerned, brewing is like machine learning or natural selection, numbers win. Piloting a deck, on the other hand, the pros beat us scrubs handily.
Also, their website mentioned a little "Team Unified Modern" in December 2017 World Magic Cup. Optimising who gets what fetchlands is going to be a brain-fry.
Key quote from Forsythe's article (emphasis mine):
"So why isn't it right for the Pro Tour? It comes down to our goals for the events. The first is that we want to reward good drafting, innovative deck building, and tight gameplay in unestablished environments. Second, we want to highlight the newest card set."
Modern does not do those things. It's a very established environment, not an unestablished one, and it is unlikely to showcase new cards because of the high barrier to entry. If Wizards wanted to change its Pro Tour goals then bans wouldn't have been needed. But they aren't doing that and with good reason: the PT is their flagship advertisement for the new set. This is why its release date is tied to a new set release and that isn't changing. The much more feasible solution is to realize Modern is incompatible with these PT goals and to separate them.