So I've been away from magic for about a year and been looking to tweak my edh decks a bit. I went on the EDH site to check the ban list and I noticed Declaration of Naught was no longer on that list.
I guess the reasoning behind the ban was that in 1v1 you could name the opposing general and basically stop your opponent from casting it.
But now it's a legal card and still does the same thing? Feels wrong to put it in my deck...anyone know why this card would be unbanned?
Same reason that Meddling Mage et al. aren't banned. The ban list isn't for 1v1 and if someone plays one of these cards in multiplayer, eventually it will die. Sure it's effective, but not backbreaking.
honestly the card really is not much of an issue. with only black and red (barring unorthodox shenanigans) being the colors unable to answer it, locking 1 card out of the game is not that big of a deal. with a cost of uuu to counter 1 card makes it worse than cancel in that regard. as for locking out generals, we still have stuff like hinder and condemn. any half way decent deck should be able to make short work of the enchantment or work around it. i personally dont see it as a big deal, although it is a pretty mean thing to do to lesser developed decks.
It's a card with a pretty high meanness:goodness ratio, which is loosely the opposite of what many people are looking for when deckbuilding for the format. It can be effective - some decks have very few good ways of answering it, and even for decks that do have ways of answering it (and need to), having to dig for and then play their answer can be a bit of a hassle. (It's not like some want-to-answer-that cards where someone else on the table might get rid of it; unless it happens to go in a board wipe, your fellow players are not going to help you get rid of a Declaration of Naught set to "Sygg, River Guide", like they'd help you get rid of a Lurking Predators or something.) It also nontrivially requires you to tie up an island every turn if you want it to work right. (Maximally annoying if you're trying to use the card to hose someone who goes right before you.) If the card was in some color that didn't already have better ways to use slots dedicated to "otherwise unspectacular cards that really put the screws on problematic generals", maybe, but blue doesn't have that problem.
From what I have found, the card is only back-breaking if the opposing deck is too reliant on the general. A friend of mine built a Reaper King deck, and declaration made him take it apart because the deck couldn't function without its general.
Pretty much, in my opinion if your deck can't win without your general, it needs to be tweaked.
While I would most cetainly say that a general should be the focal point of a deckbuild, it by no means should be the ONLY way to win in your deckbuild. If it is....you deserve to lose.
If memory serves me right, the banlist was set by the MTGC rules committee to compliment a multiplayer environment, preferably with 4+ players. With that in mind, I see no reason for Declaration of Naught to be banned.
If it's aimed at a specific general, you'd have hosed only one deck. Minus Akroma, Angel of Fury and the like. If you aim it at a specific card, you may have created 2-3 dead draws in the playgroup but everyone has access to their generals. The effect is too narrow, especially in a highlander format, to make any real impact on the game but specialized enough to prevent degenerate, one trick ponies from ruining everyone's fun.
It's a whole different animal in 1v1, but 1v1 is completely broken as it stands anyway.
I guess the reasoning behind the ban was that in 1v1 you could name the opposing general and basically stop your opponent from casting it.
But now it's a legal card and still does the same thing? Feels wrong to put it in my deck...anyone know why this card would be unbanned?
Thanks!
twitter.com/bccarlso
Pretty much, in my opinion if your deck can't win without your general, it needs to be tweaked.
WR Heroic
Modern
FISH
Legacy
FISH
EDH
Hanna, Ship Navigator - Enchantments
Sygg, River Guide - Fish Tribal
Mayael, the Anima - Power5orGreater
Zedruu, the Greathearted - Gifts
Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker - 1 Power Recursion
Roon of the Hidden Realm - ETB Triggers
Edric, Spymaster of Trent - TurboFog
Lazav, Dimir Mastermind - Shapeshifters *IN PROGRESS*
Krenko, Mob Boss - Goblins *IN PROGRESS*
Even in 1vs1, our playgroup has had no difficulties with Declaration of Naught.
| B Erebos, God of VampiresB | GYeva SmashG | RBosh ArtifactsR | GURAnimar +1 BeatsGUR | RBVial's Secret Hot SauceRB | UBRNekusar, Draw if you DareUBR | RGBDarigaaz'z DragonsRGB | GBSlimeFEETGB | UBOn-Hit LazavUB | URBrudiclad's Artificer InventionsUR | GUBMuldrotha's ElementalsGUB | WUGKestia's EnchantmentsWUG | GUTatyova - Draw, Land, Go!GU | WGArahbo's EquipmentWG | BUWVarina's ZOMBIE HORDESBUW | WLyra's Angelic SalvationW | WBChurch of TeysaWB | UAzami...WizardsU
If it's aimed at a specific general, you'd have hosed only one deck. Minus Akroma, Angel of Fury and the like. If you aim it at a specific card, you may have created 2-3 dead draws in the playgroup but everyone has access to their generals. The effect is too narrow, especially in a highlander format, to make any real impact on the game but specialized enough to prevent degenerate, one trick ponies from ruining everyone's fun.
It's a whole different animal in 1v1, but 1v1 is completely broken as it stands anyway.
Ruin's Trading Post