Was that Code to redeem supposed to do something? lol
yeah it gives you some decent rare/uncommon playables. if you already had them, then yay you get 0.00000001% progress towards opening a vault! https://magic.wizards.com/en/promotions
unfortunately im one of the few who got randomly locked out of redeeming the code because no one considered what would happen when thousands of people machine gun requests to the server as fast as they can press the enter key. whatever lol, not like really needed those cards. only one deck worth playing in standard anyways
arcliiiiiiight!
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Modern: UWGSnow-Bant Control BURGrixis Death's Shadow GWBCoCo Elves WCDeath and Taxes (sold)
From the standpoint of "a lot of decks could possibly T8 or win any Modern event," yes, what we have now is "healthy." I think there is more to format health than just that, but if you can't beat 'em, join'em.
Join who? Are you implying those Phoenix and those Shadows decks are degenerate? Because if yes, I respectfully disagree. At least, for GDS, which is my pet deck since it's day 1.
If those decks weren't doing something degenerate and able to kill on turn 3, they'd be as bad as Delver and Jund.
I think Punishing Fire and Green Sun's Zenith are cards that help fair decks more than unfair, which is why it could be beneficial for the format if they come off. Stoneforge Mystic as well. Possibly same with Preordain, but to a lesser extent.
The reasons Punishing Fire was banned is outdated similar to the outdatedness of Wild Nacatl and Sword of the Meek. They had this fear in the early days of Modern that aggro was in danger, which is totally not the case nowadays. I think most people fundamentally misunderstand how Green Sun's Zenith actually works and most people equate its function with a somewhat different type of Birthing Pod, which isn't the case.
I think Punishing Fire and Green Sun's Zenith are cards that help fair decks more than unfair, which is why it could be beneficial for the format if they come off. Stoneforge Mystic as well. Possibly same with Preordain, but to a lesser extent.
The reasons Punishing Fire was banned is outdated similar to the outdatedness of Wild Nacatl and Sword of the Meek. They had this fear in the early days of Modern that aggro was in danger, which is totally not the case nowadays. I think most people fundamentally misunderstand how Green Sun's Zenith actually works and most people equate its function with a somewhat different type of Birthing Pod, which isn't the case.
The PF and Nacatl/Sword/BB comparison is fundamentally misplaced. What fair decks does PF help, and what unfair matchups is it helping against? What decks would be totally unaffected by PF? It just takes a cursory look at top-tier Modern decks to see the card just reduces the share of relatively fair creature-based decks, helps only a specific subset of GRx fair decks that aren't very good anyway, and doesn't do anything to stop the true top-tier format strategies that need policing like Dredge, KCI, H1, ,Tron, and others. This doesn't make for a very compelling unban case, as it would also have the secondary effect of hurting all the lower-tier creature-based strategies which Wizards enshrines as pillars of Modern's diversity.
GSZ is another story with better backing, even if I'm pretty sure it just disproportionately benefits Elves.
EDIT: also, reposting this from the Prices thread because it's super relevant to Modern health.
Excellent time to buy into MTGO if you want to play Modern online. I don't think there's a single top-tier Modern deck on MTGO worth more than 350 tix at this point. But anyone who thinks that MTGO isn't dead from a financial perspective is kidding themselves. It is extremely improbable that the Arena-focused Wizards is going to do anything to reverse these losses at any major extent.
You're right about PF, but I just dont think a fair card like that deserves a spot on the banned list. If our goal was the stifle the top tier degenerate decks, then a card like Deathrite Shaman would be an easy fix to that. It might sound crazy due to the card's history, but i think the same reasoning can be applied to DRS if that is our criteria.
Well, Aaron did respond to my tweet! Thanks all for the likes/comments that brought the tweet to his attention!
Original tweet: I know you probably can't respond (and that you've been asked probably 100 times) but I'll give it a shot: are there plans for Modern in the Mythic Championship format?
Aaron quoted the tweet saying: Yes. Modern is a big part of Magic!
They will introduce a new non-rotating format next year when the cards from Ixalan rotate out from Standard so people can keep playing their cards on Arena.
This future format will take some share from Modern because it's playable on Arena and Modern isn't.
I'm not so sure they will, there's still the issue that for most players any non rotating Arena format would still require 75 wildcards to build a deck, especially as the format grows and new players enter.
They will introduce a new non-rotating format next year when the cards from Ixalan rotate out from Standard so people can keep playing their cards on Arena.
This future format will take some share from Modern because it's playable on Arena and Modern isn't.
I'm not so sure they will, there's still the issue that for most players any non rotating Arena format would still require 75 wildcards to build a deck, especially as the format grows and new players enter.
One of the designers has said in an interview that there will be a Standard Plus format that they will announce some time before the next rotation. If I find the link I'll add it.
Well, Aaron did respond to my tweet! Thanks all for the likes/comments that brought the tweet to his attention!
Original tweet: I know you probably can't respond (and that you've been asked probably 100 times) but I'll give it a shot: are there plans for Modern in the Mythic Championship format?
Aaron quoted the tweet saying: Yes. Modern is a big part of Magic!
I think Punishing Fire and Green Sun's Zenith are cards that help fair decks more than unfair, which is why it could be beneficial for the format if they come off. Stoneforge Mystic as well. Possibly same with Preordain, but to a lesser extent.
The reasons Punishing Fire was banned is outdated similar to the outdatedness of Wild Nacatl and Sword of the Meek. They had this fear in the early days of Modern that aggro was in danger, which is totally not the case nowadays. I think most people fundamentally misunderstand how Green Sun's Zenith actually works and most people equate its function with a somewhat different type of Birthing Pod, which isn't the case.
The PF and Nacatl/Sword/BB comparison is fundamentally misplaced. What fair decks does PF help, and what unfair matchups is it helping against? What decks would be totally unaffected by PF? It just takes a cursory look at top-tier Modern decks to see the card just reduces the share of relatively fair creature-based decks, helps only a specific subset of GRx fair decks that aren't very good anyway, and doesn't do anything to stop the true top-tier format strategies that need policing like Dredge, KCI, H1, ,Tron, and others. This doesn't make for a very compelling unban case, as it would also have the secondary effect of hurting all the lower-tier creature-based strategies which Wizards enshrines as pillars of Modern's diversity.
GSZ is another story with better backing, even if I'm pretty sure it just disproportionately benefits Elves.
Even though it doesn't help midrange fight their difficult matchups, I would still like to see Punishing Fire unbanned for the simple fact that the card/combo is not overpowered.
If Dredge, KCI, H1, and Tron need policing that should be solved with new printings and/or bannings. Unbannings will likely not solve any problems, because there are very few answer cards on the banned list. The only two I believe are Deathrite Shaman and Mental Misstep. Shaman, just being banned in legacy, will not come off. Misstep has a better chance, and it helps fight Burning Inquiries, Faithless Lootings, Expedition Maps, Aether Vials, Ancient Stirrings, Hardened Scales, while being pretty weak vs midrange. There is a possibility that it would be too powerful in control decks, or something like Grixis Shadow. I still love the card to death
Deathrite has a better chance to come off than Mental Misstep. Both are egregious cards that can heavily warp any format they are in. Mental Misstep, imo, might be the worst design magic card of all time
I just dont know that Punishing Fire would even be good. The window where creatures are x/2 is very minimal against the decks people are talking about it mattering.
Mental Misstep would be played in every single deck, if only to counter other players' own copies. You hate matchup lottery-style nights? Wait until the "who drew more missteps" game determines the outcome on turn one or two.
Punishing Fire would not break the current modern format, HOWEVER, if WOTC ends up banning some combination of ancient stirrings or faithless looting, which are possibilities, the fairer aggro decks that would fill that void would be hit hard. I'm talking elves, bushwhacker zoo, stuff that doesn't involve cheating big creatures into play early. I'd rather see stirrings or looting gone (which I'm not hugely for anyways) than fire returning. Hell, I'd rather see twin back than fire.
Deathrite is the greatest example of making a fair card broken AF.
Wasn't suggesting its a bad thing. It is ideal. If a deck cannot be kept in check with sideboard shifts well then it needs a ban or more powerful hate must be printed.
As for the Esports...sounds like Post Modern is definetly coming. All we know is no Fetches and that Arena has code going back to what Kaladesh at least, maybe Magic Origins? I mean Origin is not a bad name for a format lol. Cannot have people paying for cards that become worthless after rotation after all especially in Arena where there is no reselling to other players.
1. I doubt I will play any post-modern format. If modern becomes niche like legacy, the very least WOTC can do is what I've said before. They can add more cards to the reserved list. If formats aren't going to grow through a competitive scene at some point in the future, then let our collections and decks gain value. I'd be okay with losing some WOTC support if tronlands became $15 each with an RL announcements.
2. Still no Mac client for Arena, so I'm not even tempted to try it.
3. Freemium economies are weird slot-machine style dopamine loops. Don't assume that the economics of paper mtg or mtgo apply. A lot of people are weirdly okay with just grinding for four hours a day to feel like they aren't paying. Some folks don't understand that opportunity cost matters more than cost.
Mental Misstep would be played in every single deck, if only to counter other players' own copies. You hate matchup lottery-style nights? Wait until the "who drew more missteps" game determines the outcome on turn one or two.
I don't think humans, dredge, hollow one, KCI, or tron would play mental misstep. Do you?
I'll be too tempted to brew for hours not to try. I can't resist a new format supported by Wizards.
About PF, it seems like Magic has evolved quite much in 7 years and creatures suffer less spot removal spells : Eldrazis, Shadow decks, Phoenix decks, Dredge, +1/+1 counters, more etb and die FX, tribal big enough in most cases.
Yes it would kill some Tier 3 decks but they are not meant to perf in the metagame anyway. Bad decks like Stompy, Aristocrats or Tokens can beat PF nowadays, but they won't ever reach Tier 2 status anyway without very strong new cards printed for them only. What decks PF really push away from the format ?
Overall, I'm not advocating for the card, I don't care but it has been brought up, and I think it's more reasonable than some of Shaheen Soorani's controversial claims last week !
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Pioneer - A bunch of stuff Modern - Humans Legacy - Grixis Phoenix / Death & Taxes
Mental Misstep would be played in every single deck, if only to counter other players' own copies. You hate matchup lottery-style nights? Wait until the "who drew more missteps" game determines the outcome on turn one or two.
I don't think humans, dredge, hollow one, KCI, or tron would play mental misstep. Do you?
Mental Misstep is one of the most broken cards in the history of the modern format, and should never come off the ban list if Wizards has any idea what they are doing. While maybe not every deck would play it, it is literally a free card that can be put into any deck, and results in wars of who had the most. The card is fundamentally unfair and will not see legal play outside of its restriction in Vintage. Please stop suggesting that it is even close to a consideration for something to be put into the format.
Misstep would do more harm than good to the modern format, and all it does is interrupt other decks adds no real value to the format. It cannot be played around, and should never come off the ban list. There is no reason to unban Misstep.
Mental Misstep would be played in every single deck, if only to counter other players' own copies. You hate matchup lottery-style nights? Wait until the "who drew more missteps" game determines the outcome on turn one or two.
I don't think humans, dredge, hollow one, KCI, or tron would play mental misstep. Do you?
Mental Misstep is one of the most broken cards in the history of the modern format, and should never come off the ban list if Wizards has any idea what they are doing. While maybe not every deck would play it, it is literally a free card that can be put into any deck, and results in wars of who had the most. The card is fundamentally unfair and will not see legal play outside of its restriction in Vintage. Please stop suggesting that it is even close to a consideration for something to be put into the format.
Misstep would do more harm than good to the modern format, and all it does is interrupt other decks adds no real value to the format. It cannot be played around, and should never come off the ban list. There is no reason to unban Misstep.
It's not free in the sense that gitaxian probe was free in that it immediately replaced itself.
Misstep can't really be put into any deck because countering one-drops is not something that every deck wants, or even needs to do.
The problem is Sideboards shift to counter the best deck thus nothing can hold on to the top for long if it wins too much decks shift to stifle it.
This should be the ideal. A format that is self regulating, self controlling, and cyclical.
I just don't like how it's sideboard first and then the deck you play, rather than the deck you play and then sideboard. At least, that is how modern feels at the moment. While it's nothing new, modern has always had the problem of powerful hate cards and fast mana, which are two of the things that I'm pretty sure a lot of pro players dislike the most.
Sometimes you just make do with what you got, though... FYI I'm depressed because my masters box gave me a cavern of souls, a balefire dragon, and a vengevine for the mythics. Also a freaky looking bitterblossom from the box topper that is staring into my soul...
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Mental Misstep would be played in every single deck, if only to counter other players' own copies. You hate matchup lottery-style nights? Wait until the "who drew more missteps" game determines the outcome on turn one or two.
I don't think humans, dredge, hollow one, KCI, or tron would play mental misstep. Do you?
Mental Misstep is one of the most broken cards in the history of the modern format, and should never come off the ban list if Wizards has any idea what they are doing. While maybe not every deck would play it, it is literally a free card that can be put into any deck, and results in wars of who had the most. The card is fundamentally unfair and will not see legal play outside of its restriction in Vintage. Please stop suggesting that it is even close to a consideration for something to be put into the format.
Misstep would do more harm than good to the modern format, and all it does is interrupt other decks adds no real value to the format. It cannot be played around, and should never come off the ban list. There is no reason to unban Misstep.
It's not free in the sense that gitaxian probe was free in that it immediately replaced itself.
Misstep can't really be put into any deck because countering one-drops is not something that every deck wants, or even needs to do.
And even with as "free" as Probe was, only a few decks even played it (even fewer used other cards to abuse it).
Not saying Misstep is OK, or ever coming off, but let's be real that there aren't enough game-breaking one drops to play this in most fair decks, and answers are too varied to play this in some degenerate deck (like ones who would rather play Pact of Negation, or just run more redundant pieces).
In the current metagame, PF seems reasonable. The only issue would be in the case it helps a deck become broken. Besides Jund, what deck would abuse the card ?
It's quotes like these that really make me laugh. I don't understand the lack in large part of the community simply understanding how degenerate "free" really is.
We currently are having decks shove Arclight Phoenix into their decks where it may not even belong. How hard would it be for example for all of those exact same decks to simply run Punishing Fire? Pretty much all of them. I would run Punishing Fire into Hollow One, Phoenix Decks, Mardu, Ponza, Dredge, Jeskai, etc. Where it sticks will directly depend on the effectiveness of each shell and the metagame, but to claim it would be fair is near nonsense. Punishing Fire in my mind, sits right beside Deathrite Shaman as the small category of "Very innocent looking fair card" pile of cards on the Modern banned list.
Mental Misstep would be played in every single deck, if only to counter other players' own copies. You hate matchup lottery-style nights? Wait until the "who drew more missteps" game determines the outcome on turn one or two.
I don't think humans, dredge, hollow one, KCI, or tron would play mental misstep. Do you?
Mental Misstep is one of the most broken cards in the history of the modern format, and should never come off the ban list if Wizards has any idea what they are doing. While maybe not every deck would play it, it is literally a free card that can be put into any deck, and results in wars of who had the most. The card is fundamentally unfair and will not see legal play outside of its restriction in Vintage. Please stop suggesting that it is even close to a consideration for something to be put into the format.
Misstep would do more harm than good to the modern format, and all it does is interrupt other decks adds no real value to the format. It cannot be played around, and should never come off the ban list. There is no reason to unban Misstep.
It's not free in the sense that gitaxian probe was free in that it immediately replaced itself.
Misstep can't really be put into any deck because countering one-drops is not something that every deck wants, or even needs to do.
And even with as "free" as Probe was, only a few decks even played it (even fewer used other cards to abuse it).
Not saying Misstep is OK, or ever coming off, but let's be real that there aren't enough game-breaking one drops to play this in most fair decks, and answers are too varied to play this in some degenerate deck (like ones who would rather play Pact of Negation, or just run more redundant pieces).
Oh, how you under-estimate how bad that single card is. I played Force of Will last meta with two months of counterspell hell. Mental Misstep is practically as bad as Laurite and Severing Winds.
Actually, Laurite is probably what modern wants more than Mental Misstep, as that is a 1/1 body at one mana that counters triggered abilities (ETBs, planeswalker abilities, triggers from combat, etc).
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
yeah it gives you some decent rare/uncommon playables. if you already had them, then yay you get 0.00000001% progress towards opening a vault! https://magic.wizards.com/en/promotions
unfortunately im one of the few who got randomly locked out of redeeming the code because no one considered what would happen when thousands of people machine gun requests to the server as fast as they can press the enter key. whatever lol, not like really needed those cards. only one deck worth playing in standard anyways
arcliiiiiiight!
UWGSnow-Bant Control
BURGrixis Death's Shadow
GWBCoCo Elves
WCDeath and Taxes(sold)Responses or likes might get the attention of Aaron and we might get something.
Disclaimer: It's my own tweet, not doing it for the likes.
UB Faeries (15-6-0)
UWR Control (10-5-1)/Kiki Control/Midrange/Harbinger
UBR Cruel Control (6-4-0)/Grixis Control/Delver/Blue Jund
UWB Control/Mentor
UW Miracles/Control (currently active, 14-2-0)
BW Eldrazi & Taxes
RW Burn (9-1-0)
I do (academic) research on video games and archaeology! You can check out my open access book here: https://www.sidestone.com/books/the-interactive-past
If those decks weren't doing something degenerate and able to kill on turn 3, they'd be as bad as Delver and Jund.
UR ....... WUBR ........... WB ............. RGW ........ UBR ....... WUB .... BGU
Spells / Blink & Combo / Token Grind / Dino Tribal / Draw Cards / Zombies / Reanimate
The reasons Punishing Fire was banned is outdated similar to the outdatedness of Wild Nacatl and Sword of the Meek. They had this fear in the early days of Modern that aggro was in danger, which is totally not the case nowadays. I think most people fundamentally misunderstand how Green Sun's Zenith actually works and most people equate its function with a somewhat different type of Birthing Pod, which isn't the case.
URStormRU
GRTitanshift[mana]RG/mana]
The PF and Nacatl/Sword/BB comparison is fundamentally misplaced. What fair decks does PF help, and what unfair matchups is it helping against? What decks would be totally unaffected by PF? It just takes a cursory look at top-tier Modern decks to see the card just reduces the share of relatively fair creature-based decks, helps only a specific subset of GRx fair decks that aren't very good anyway, and doesn't do anything to stop the true top-tier format strategies that need policing like Dredge, KCI, H1, ,Tron, and others. This doesn't make for a very compelling unban case, as it would also have the secondary effect of hurting all the lower-tier creature-based strategies which Wizards enshrines as pillars of Modern's diversity.
GSZ is another story with better backing, even if I'm pretty sure it just disproportionately benefits Elves.
EDIT: also, reposting this from the Prices thread because it's super relevant to Modern health.
URStormRU
GRTitanshift[mana]RG/mana]
Original tweet: I know you probably can't respond (and that you've been asked probably 100 times) but I'll give it a shot: are there plans for Modern in the Mythic Championship format?
Aaron quoted the tweet saying: Yes. Modern is a big part of Magic!
Link to the tweet is here: https://twitter.com/mtgaaron/status/1071082279227731968
So there you have it, Modern will remain and be part of the Mythic Championship system so we should stay tuned!
UB Faeries (15-6-0)
UWR Control (10-5-1)/Kiki Control/Midrange/Harbinger
UBR Cruel Control (6-4-0)/Grixis Control/Delver/Blue Jund
UWB Control/Mentor
UW Miracles/Control (currently active, 14-2-0)
BW Eldrazi & Taxes
RW Burn (9-1-0)
I do (academic) research on video games and archaeology! You can check out my open access book here: https://www.sidestone.com/books/the-interactive-past
I'm not so sure they will, there's still the issue that for most players any non rotating Arena format would still require 75 wildcards to build a deck, especially as the format grows and new players enter.
UB Faeries (15-6-0)
UWR Control (10-5-1)/Kiki Control/Midrange/Harbinger
UBR Cruel Control (6-4-0)/Grixis Control/Delver/Blue Jund
UWB Control/Mentor
UW Miracles/Control (currently active, 14-2-0)
BW Eldrazi & Taxes
RW Burn (9-1-0)
I do (academic) research on video games and archaeology! You can check out my open access book here: https://www.sidestone.com/books/the-interactive-past
That's awesome!
URStormRU
GRTitanshift[mana]RG/mana]
Even though it doesn't help midrange fight their difficult matchups, I would still like to see Punishing Fire unbanned for the simple fact that the card/combo is not overpowered.
If Dredge, KCI, H1, and Tron need policing that should be solved with new printings and/or bannings. Unbannings will likely not solve any problems, because there are very few answer cards on the banned list. The only two I believe are Deathrite Shaman and Mental Misstep. Shaman, just being banned in legacy, will not come off. Misstep has a better chance, and it helps fight Burning Inquiries, Faithless Lootings, Expedition Maps, Aether Vials, Ancient Stirrings, Hardened Scales, while being pretty weak vs midrange. There is a possibility that it would be too powerful in control decks, or something like Grixis Shadow. I still love the card to death
URStormRU
GRTitanshift[mana]RG/mana]
Spirits
Punishing Fire would not break the current modern format, HOWEVER, if WOTC ends up banning some combination of ancient stirrings or faithless looting, which are possibilities, the fairer aggro decks that would fill that void would be hit hard. I'm talking elves, bushwhacker zoo, stuff that doesn't involve cheating big creatures into play early. I'd rather see stirrings or looting gone (which I'm not hugely for anyways) than fire returning. Hell, I'd rather see twin back than fire.
Deathrite is the greatest example of making a fair card broken AF.
As for the Esports...sounds like Post Modern is definetly coming. All we know is no Fetches and that Arena has code going back to what Kaladesh at least, maybe Magic Origins? I mean Origin is not a bad name for a format lol. Cannot have people paying for cards that become worthless after rotation after all especially in Arena where there is no reselling to other players.
1. I doubt I will play any post-modern format. If modern becomes niche like legacy, the very least WOTC can do is what I've said before. They can add more cards to the reserved list. If formats aren't going to grow through a competitive scene at some point in the future, then let our collections and decks gain value. I'd be okay with losing some WOTC support if tronlands became $15 each with an RL announcements.
2. Still no Mac client for Arena, so I'm not even tempted to try it.
3. Freemium economies are weird slot-machine style dopamine loops. Don't assume that the economics of paper mtg or mtgo apply. A lot of people are weirdly okay with just grinding for four hours a day to feel like they aren't paying. Some folks don't understand that opportunity cost matters more than cost.
I don't think humans, dredge, hollow one, KCI, or tron would play mental misstep. Do you?
I'll be too tempted to brew for hours not to try. I can't resist a new format supported by Wizards.
About PF, it seems like Magic has evolved quite much in 7 years and creatures suffer less spot removal spells : Eldrazis, Shadow decks, Phoenix decks, Dredge, +1/+1 counters, more etb and die FX, tribal big enough in most cases.
Yes it would kill some Tier 3 decks but they are not meant to perf in the metagame anyway. Bad decks like Stompy, Aristocrats or Tokens can beat PF nowadays, but they won't ever reach Tier 2 status anyway without very strong new cards printed for them only. What decks PF really push away from the format ?
Overall, I'm not advocating for the card, I don't care but it has been brought up, and I think it's more reasonable than some of Shaheen Soorani's controversial claims last week !
Mental Misstep is one of the most broken cards in the history of the modern format, and should never come off the ban list if Wizards has any idea what they are doing. While maybe not every deck would play it, it is literally a free card that can be put into any deck, and results in wars of who had the most. The card is fundamentally unfair and will not see legal play outside of its restriction in Vintage. Please stop suggesting that it is even close to a consideration for something to be put into the format.
Misstep would do more harm than good to the modern format, and all it does is interrupt other decks adds no real value to the format. It cannot be played around, and should never come off the ban list. There is no reason to unban Misstep.
StandardArena:U/R Drakes
Modern
URStormUR
UBRDeath's ShadowUBR
It's not free in the sense that gitaxian probe was free in that it immediately replaced itself.
Misstep can't really be put into any deck because countering one-drops is not something that every deck wants, or even needs to do.
I just don't like how it's sideboard first and then the deck you play, rather than the deck you play and then sideboard. At least, that is how modern feels at the moment. While it's nothing new, modern has always had the problem of powerful hate cards and fast mana, which are two of the things that I'm pretty sure a lot of pro players dislike the most.
Sometimes you just make do with what you got, though... FYI I'm depressed because my masters box gave me a cavern of souls, a balefire dragon, and a vengevine for the mythics. Also a freaky looking bitterblossom from the box topper that is staring into my soul...
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
And even with as "free" as Probe was, only a few decks even played it (even fewer used other cards to abuse it).
Not saying Misstep is OK, or ever coming off, but let's be real that there aren't enough game-breaking one drops to play this in most fair decks, and answers are too varied to play this in some degenerate deck (like ones who would rather play Pact of Negation, or just run more redundant pieces).
UR ....... WUBR ........... WB ............. RGW ........ UBR ....... WUB .... BGU
Spells / Blink & Combo / Token Grind / Dino Tribal / Draw Cards / Zombies / Reanimate
It's quotes like these that really make me laugh. I don't understand the lack in large part of the community simply understanding how degenerate "free" really is.
We currently are having decks shove Arclight Phoenix into their decks where it may not even belong. How hard would it be for example for all of those exact same decks to simply run Punishing Fire? Pretty much all of them. I would run Punishing Fire into Hollow One, Phoenix Decks, Mardu, Ponza, Dredge, Jeskai, etc. Where it sticks will directly depend on the effectiveness of each shell and the metagame, but to claim it would be fair is near nonsense. Punishing Fire in my mind, sits right beside Deathrite Shaman as the small category of "Very innocent looking fair card" pile of cards on the Modern banned list.
Oh, how you under-estimate how bad that single card is. I played Force of Will last meta with two months of counterspell hell. Mental Misstep is practically as bad as Laurite and Severing Winds.
Actually, Laurite is probably what modern wants more than Mental Misstep, as that is a 1/1 body at one mana that counters triggered abilities (ETBs, planeswalker abilities, triggers from combat, etc).
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Mental Misstep would see play.
Spirits