BBE is an 80 cent card that's worse than Coco, which fits into a tier 3 deck that would still have a bad matchup against a lot of tier 1 and tier 2 decks.
To me this is the obvious unban. Players can easily pick up a play set and playtest, and there's buzz about BBE and Jund for the modern season.
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Modern
JundBGR
RW Blood MoonRW
Pauper
Delver U
Elves G
Control B
Commander
Edgar Markov BRW
Captain Sisay GW
Niv-Mizzet, Parun UR
Tymna and Ravos WB
It's really unlikely any shakeups occur until the next announcement
Standard, modern and draft are where WOTC wants it, it'll probably be a vintage change that no one cares about
The Vintage restricted cards are over for now. The two super dominant decks got hugely nerfed. The Mentor card is restricted, and blue decks have to seek another win cons and the Shops deck are no more tier 1 essentially, after 3 resrictions.
You should wait a little bit more until being certain, I remember us saying the same things and 2 hours after, Twin was banned.
While I agree that its likely for this BL announcement to be No changes, Wizards might want to give time to the players to prepare for the PT and unban BBE right now. SFM, i hope so, because she would be really cool and super ok for Modern.
At least there we knew an Amulet Bloom banning was coming. Here we are so data-poor that we really have no idea when/what Wizards will ban. That's why I think there are at least 3 decks they could be discussing; I might not ban a card but Wizards can virtually be counted on to ban in this scenario. If not today then before the PT.
As for the article release, it's always the same. You'll see it by 1000 CST and maybe up to 15-20 mins earlier. That's true with all their articles.
BBE is an 80 cent card that's worse than Coco, which fits into a tier 3 deck that would still have a bad matchup against a lot of tier 1 and tier 2 decks.
To me this is the obvious unban. Players can easily pick up a play set and playtest, and there's buzz about BBE and Jund for the modern season.
While I agree that BBE should be unbanned, I disagree that it's worse than CoCo. Sure it doesn't have Flash, but it never whiffs, and it can hit LotV, removal, etc.
I saw that. I'm going to check my cart out soon with the rest of the stuff I need for Storm.
They were consciously specific about Modern in this one:
In the course of discussing options for this announcement, we did discuss unbanning in Modern. However, given the current healthy state of the format and the upcoming Modern Pro Tour, we plan to wait for the results of Pro Tour Rivals of Ixalan to evaluate any potential changes for the format. We anticipate making an announcement in February after the results from that tournament come in.
Speaking of which, we do not anticipate making any changes to Modern with the January 15 announcement. We're sensitive to the timing of that announcement relative to the Pro Tour, and only would make a change if it were very clearly needed. Given the current state of the format, we believe that will be extremely unlikely.
But explicitly mentioned considering an unban for modern. Progress!
As expected.
Happy they are considering an unban. Surprised they called the format "healthy" and doubled down on that, stating a January change was not just unlikely but "extremely" unlikely.
Also, very happy Wizards said something about Modern. Good communication like that goes a long way.
While no bans and discussions of unbans in Modern are both welcomed, I have to wonder why they think that they should wait until the Pro Tour to unban anything. Are they just afraid of some random deck breaking out during the Pro Tour and want to make sure the Pro Tour meta looks just like the current one?
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Decks
Modern: UWUW Control UBRGrixis Shadow URIzzet Phoenix
But explicitly mentioned considering an unban for modern. Progress!
As expected.
Happy they are considering an unban. Surprised they called the format "healthy" and doubled down on that, stating a January change was not just unlikely but "extremely" unlikely.
Also, very happy Wizards said something about Modern. Good communication like that goes a long way.
Seriously. It doesn't take much, but even just briefly explaining rationale like that accumulates way more good will. February sure seems far away, but at least we know they 1. only referenced unbans, 2. explained why they were waiting that long, and 3. explained what would cause them to reverse that decision (and the accompanying unlikelihood of that happening).
I'd obviously prefer to play with new toys now, but transparency goes a long way. Now if only we could get that 5-0 information released....
I think they realize standard is in a better shape than modern right now, and would rather have everyone ideally switching over to that format. If they make modern too good, they may lose standard players
They're so happy with the format they even stated the next announcement is unlikely to change. A little surprised they feel they'll consider an unban after the pro tour in Feb.
I guess some of the unhappy posters with modern can at least stop complaining and just play standard instead
I am thrilled that they may consider an impactful unban down the road and acknowledge that. Definitely better communication by wotc here
I think they realize standard is in a better shape than modern right now, and would rather have everyone ideally switching over to that format. If they make modern too good, they may lose standard players
Sarcasm noted, but I also think you and others believe this to some extent. We should avoid these kinds of unfounded theories even as jokes. It seems far more likely they view exactly as they said they viewed it. Modern appears healthy to them and they just don't want to disrupt that.
Very sad. If this nonsense is what is considered healthy, their mother and gramma are who's gonna play their format.
Well, data clearly say otherwise. The format has only grown the last years and there were no signs of decline in the recent months (unless you have data to prove otherwise). Modern GPs still have very high viewership and Modern SCG events are usually the most popular. Modern Masters set always sell like hot pies and Modern is a premier format in several LGSs.
I am very happy with the announcement. Would I want an unban? Sure, I would love to see SFM in the format, I think it will be healthy and create room for new decks.
Was the announcement bad? No, not in any way. They clarified (for once) things significantly.
They are not discussing bans
They are discussing unbans
They consider current metagame % a healthy spread (and indeed there are not extremely prevalent decks)
They are NOT gonna make ANY changes before the PT unless there is an emergency (a Tier 0 deck suddenly appears)
They ARE going to take the PT results into account on making a decision about bans/unbans
The EXPECT changes after the PT.
These are the facts.
Now if we want to speculate, my guess is that, if this trend continuous, and get PT results that mirror the top 5 decks of the format, they will want to push something more fair. To me, this points to BBE, SFM and Jace (which we know they have discussed).
If the PT top8/32 has Jund, Jeskai and GrixisDS in there, I don't think they will consider the state of fair decks poor and thus probably not make any adjustments.
If Storm takes the PT by storm (huehue) they will ban a piece (probably past in flames)
If ETron is 13-15% of the metagame and with high conversion rates they will ban temple.
I think we got a clear explanation on how the current state of the format and this is good. Now we can make much more educated discussions rather than speculating about shake up unbans and other nonsense.
i think that, at least, an unban is guaranteed post pro tour, which is awesome, and it seems clear to me that jace, the elf or stoneforge will enter the format
Will never play standard, I hate rotations. I like to play the cards I like forever. I really wanted to play jeskai or a blue tempo deck after my mtg break but this metagame just says I can't.
I'd obviously prefer to play with new toys now, but transparency goes a long way. Now if only we could get that 5-0 information released....
Agreed on the communication generating good will. You would think that a multi-million dollar company wouldn't need years to learn that, but progress is progress!
As for transparency... that ship has sailed. And then was hijacked by pirates and scuttled somewhere in the Mariana Trench. But in the context of the recent conversation, it's worth mentioning that the lack of data cuts both ways. For those upset by modern's current state, actual numbers could show a meta that's moving away from ETron/Titanshift/GDS; without them, there are only "feelings" based on any small collective's experience. Or the 5-0 list could show a promising new deck gaining traction (as evidenced by numbers) that could more rapidly shift the meta if it were more heavily adopted.
One of the problems with Modern that some have identified is that the format FEELS unfun to certain players but the data doesn't really point to it being unhealthy overall. This creates a kind of invalidating gaslight effect where some Modern players feel like their experience doesn't matter and might not even be real. Of course, the issue there is that most data sources we have access to genuinely support the idea that Modern is healthy. Wizards basically confirmed this today.
I think the real test and potential validator will be the PT, which will theoretically expose any cracks Modern has that other data sources are missing. This is why I think ETron is imperiled (it's secretly the best deck), as well as GDS (second best by a longshot) and Storm (ceetainly top-tier, potentially a T4 rule violator). The PT will test our unstable picture of format health and either show the flaws some say are present or will show that those critics really were off base the whole time. We'll see at the PT.
Oh and the PT is gonna be a disaster. Let's see how cool is seeing a storm guy "skilledly" beating someone at turn3, or a dumbdrazi player beating a jeskai one with a turn2 chalice. Oh wait, no one's gonna play jeskai at the PT.
I'm just gonna go ahead and buy a few more storm sb cards...
I am very happy with this result. Perhaps they have access to data that we don't which indicates the sky is falling attitude is hyperbolic via MtgO results. At the very least, it gives me more time for speculations.
I think they realize standard is in a better shape than modern right now, and would rather have everyone ideally switching over to that format. If they make modern too good, they may lose standard players
Sarcasm noted, but I also think you and others believe this to some extent. We should avoid these kinds of unfounded theories even as jokes. It seems far more likely they view exactly as they said they viewed it. Modern appears healthy to them and they just don't want to disrupt that.
I do believe it to some extent. Standard is still their poster-child format, is it not? Don't they make more money off of standard players than off of modern players?
If this is not true, I apologize.
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I've gotta assume the writeup explaining why exactly it took so long to finally unban SFM is pretty lengthy (a man can dream, can't he??)
Affinity
Death & Taxes
Mardu Nahiri
Forcing people to merge with twitch is stupid
To me this is the obvious unban. Players can easily pick up a play set and playtest, and there's buzz about BBE and Jund for the modern season.
JundBGR
RW Blood MoonRW
Pauper
Delver U
Elves G
Control B
Commander
Edgar Markov BRW
Captain Sisay GW
Niv-Mizzet, Parun UR
Tymna and Ravos WB
At least there we knew an Amulet Bloom banning was coming. Here we are so data-poor that we really have no idea when/what Wizards will ban. That's why I think there are at least 3 decks they could be discussing; I might not ban a card but Wizards can virtually be counted on to ban in this scenario. If not today then before the PT.
As for the article release, it's always the same. You'll see it by 1000 CST and maybe up to 15-20 mins earlier. That's true with all their articles.
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/october-17-2017-banned-and-restricted-announcement-2017-10-17
But explicitly mentioned considering an unban for modern. Progress!
Affinity
Death & Taxes
Mardu Nahiri
Forcing people to merge with twitch is stupid
Legacy: UW RiP/Helm, UR Sneak and Show
While I agree that BBE should be unbanned, I disagree that it's worse than CoCo. Sure it doesn't have Flash, but it never whiffs, and it can hit LotV, removal, etc.
CG
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
They were consciously specific about Modern in this one:
In the course of discussing options for this announcement, we did discuss unbanning in Modern. However, given the current healthy state of the format and the upcoming Modern Pro Tour, we plan to wait for the results of Pro Tour Rivals of Ixalan to evaluate any potential changes for the format. We anticipate making an announcement in February after the results from that tournament come in.
Speaking of which, we do not anticipate making any changes to Modern with the January 15 announcement. We're sensitive to the timing of that announcement relative to the Pro Tour, and only would make a change if it were very clearly needed. Given the current state of the format, we believe that will be extremely unlikely.
EDH Multiplayer: BUG Sidisi, Brood Tyrant, UWG Roon of the Hidden Realm, UG Edric - Elf Tribal
1v1 Commander: BUG Leovold, Emissary of Trest
As expected.
Happy they are considering an unban. Surprised they called the format "healthy" and doubled down on that, stating a January change was not just unlikely but "extremely" unlikely.
Also, very happy Wizards said something about Modern. Good communication like that goes a long way.
Modern:
UWUW Control
UBRGrixis Shadow
URIzzet Phoenix
Seriously. It doesn't take much, but even just briefly explaining rationale like that accumulates way more good will. February sure seems far away, but at least we know they 1. only referenced unbans, 2. explained why they were waiting that long, and 3. explained what would cause them to reverse that decision (and the accompanying unlikelihood of that happening).
I'd obviously prefer to play with new toys now, but transparency goes a long way. Now if only we could get that 5-0 information released....
Affinity
Death & Taxes
Mardu Nahiri
Forcing people to merge with twitch is stupid
They're so happy with the format they even stated the next announcement is unlikely to change. A little surprised they feel they'll consider an unban after the pro tour in Feb.
I guess some of the unhappy posters with modern can at least stop complaining and just play standard instead
I am thrilled that they may consider an impactful unban down the road and acknowledge that. Definitely better communication by wotc here
Sarcasm noted, but I also think you and others believe this to some extent. We should avoid these kinds of unfounded theories even as jokes. It seems far more likely they view exactly as they said they viewed it. Modern appears healthy to them and they just don't want to disrupt that.
I am very happy with the announcement. Would I want an unban? Sure, I would love to see SFM in the format, I think it will be healthy and create room for new decks.
Was the announcement bad? No, not in any way. They clarified (for once) things significantly.
They are not discussing bans
They are discussing unbans
They consider current metagame % a healthy spread (and indeed there are not extremely prevalent decks)
They are NOT gonna make ANY changes before the PT unless there is an emergency (a Tier 0 deck suddenly appears)
They ARE going to take the PT results into account on making a decision about bans/unbans
The EXPECT changes after the PT.
These are the facts.
Now if we want to speculate, my guess is that, if this trend continuous, and get PT results that mirror the top 5 decks of the format, they will want to push something more fair. To me, this points to BBE, SFM and Jace (which we know they have discussed).
If the PT top8/32 has Jund, Jeskai and GrixisDS in there, I don't think they will consider the state of fair decks poor and thus probably not make any adjustments.
If Storm takes the PT by storm (huehue) they will ban a piece (probably past in flames)
If ETron is 13-15% of the metagame and with high conversion rates they will ban temple.
I think we got a clear explanation on how the current state of the format and this is good. Now we can make much more educated discussions rather than speculating about shake up unbans and other nonsense.
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
Agreed on the communication generating good will. You would think that a multi-million dollar company wouldn't need years to learn that, but progress is progress!
As for transparency... that ship has sailed. And then was hijacked by pirates and scuttled somewhere in the Mariana Trench. But in the context of the recent conversation, it's worth mentioning that the lack of data cuts both ways. For those upset by modern's current state, actual numbers could show a meta that's moving away from ETron/Titanshift/GDS; without them, there are only "feelings" based on any small collective's experience. Or the 5-0 list could show a promising new deck gaining traction (as evidenced by numbers) that could more rapidly shift the meta if it were more heavily adopted.
Spirits
I think the real test and potential validator will be the PT, which will theoretically expose any cracks Modern has that other data sources are missing. This is why I think ETron is imperiled (it's secretly the best deck), as well as GDS (second best by a longshot) and Storm (ceetainly top-tier, potentially a T4 rule violator). The PT will test our unstable picture of format health and either show the flaws some say are present or will show that those critics really were off base the whole time. We'll see at the PT.
I am very happy with this result. Perhaps they have access to data that we don't which indicates the sky is falling attitude is hyperbolic via MtgO results. At the very least, it gives me more time for speculations.
I do believe it to some extent. Standard is still their poster-child format, is it not? Don't they make more money off of standard players than off of modern players?
If this is not true, I apologize.