Recent Modern tournaments have been diverse, with no deck dominating the metagame. Since Modern is a non-rotating format, banned cards never rotate out. The DCI is unbanning a card to see how that affects the format. We looked for cards that were on the initial banned list for Pro Tour Philadelphia. We wanted a card that would not easily slot into an existing top deck and also wanted to enable a deck with a different play pattern than the current top decks. After examining the options, Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle was selected as the card to unban.
While Vintage tournaments have also been fairly diverse, there has been a paucity of combination decks. Burning Wish is a strong combination enabler. It was first printed in Judgment in May 2002 and restricted in January 2004. At the time, quick-kill combo decks were dominating. Since then, the DCI has unrestricted many Vintage cards, and the restricted list is smaller today than it was in 2000 or any time since then. Continuing in this long-term trend, Burning Wish is unrestricted.
We are moving!
Going forward, Banned and Restricted updates will by synchronized with set releases. For each set, starting with Gatecrash, the announcement will be the Monday after the Prerelease, and the effective date will be the same as the release date of the set.
There are several advantages to this. First, this means there is no longer a date you have to remember. Second, it is less disruptive to deck management. Most players find it is a good time to update their decks when a set releases. Finally, this answers odd questions as to whether a banning has taken place if the update date occurs in the middle of a tournament.
I think that another important thing to note in the announcment is that they have changed the date of the B/R announcements along with the date that the announcements come into effect.
However, in today's culture of Justin Bieber, Jersey Shore, and Twilight, where every song on the radio, every program on television and every site on the internet is just another monument to the pinnacle of human stupidity, it's certainly not the worst thing that people could be watching.
well, this makes me feel a heck of a lot better about the 4 promo valakuts I've got sitting in the depths of my binder. Not sure if I should dust em off and play or just trade them and get some normal, uglier ones.
Also as a note in case those can't click the link. They are also changing the timing of when the B&R will be announced. Starting with Gatecrash, B&R announcements are the Monday AFTER prerelease, and goes into effect on set release.
The change in when the B&R announcements will be released is also worth noting. No more June 20th, September 20th, December 20th, and March 20th - it will now be the Monday after the prerelease, and the effective date will be release day. This was done to make planning and building new decks easier as new sets come out, and deals with the issue of cards becoming banned during a 2-day tournament like a Grand Prix.
EDIT: Partially Nath'd.
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Lapsed DCI Rules Advisor - Retired from playing but still hanging around
Finally unrestricted burning wish huh? Don't care about modern at all, the banlist is still a joke.
Does the update to the timing also change effective dates i.e. as soon as gatecrash is released will the list be updated in sync with the set release? Because that sounds quite nice actually and the list will still get updated frequently enough.
I welcome wish being back in vintage though, vintage people have wanted that card unbanned for years. It's a lot similar to gush in that the pieces around it get restricted, namely the biggest piece of burning long (lion's eye diamond) as that was actually just one of the most degenerate decks that magic has seen in 20 years. Playing with 4 LED's and 4 burning wishes in vintage...oh baby.
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"Yawgmoth," Freyalise whispered as she set the bomb, "now you will pay for your treachery."
I'm sad that they didn't ban Bonfire in IDA Block constructed. But seeing as though they didn't even list block as a format, I think that shows how little block constructed matters to WotC.
'Tis a sad day for anyone who cares about Block Constructed.
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Former Level 2 Judge (Retired / Renounced)
Went to a new shop from a friend's recommendation, DQ'ed for willful violation of CR 100.6b.
Isn't the change to B&R announcement and enforcement dates a horrible decision? The utility of banning comes from the power to alter a metagame when it is broken. Many times we have seen an attitude of "let's wait till the next set is released and how it changes things. If deck x is still dominant, then we will take out the ban hammer." If there are no B&R dates outside of set releases, either we will see much more "let's wait and see what happens" or things might get banned preemptively without letting the new set shake things up. Either way it means less flexibility and less control over the game.
Am I missing something? Are there other dates beyond near prereleases when cards can get banned? If this is just a shift and there are still intermediary points of control then that's fine.
One of the decks I loathe most gets to invade Modern. Great.
I feel your pain.
I'm surprised they unbanned Valacooch of all things. It was obnoxious to play against before, and I'm really not looking forward to it with Cavern, Wargate, Omen, etc.
Isn't the change to B&R announcement and enforcement dates a horrible decision? The utility of banning comes from the power to alter a metagame when it is broken. Many times we have seen an attitude of "let's wait till the next set is released and how it changes things. If deck x is still dominant, then we will take out the ban hammer." If there are no B&R dates outside of set releases, either we will see much more "let's wait and see what happens" or things might get banned preemptively without letting the new set shake things up. Either way it means less flexibility and less control over the game.
Am I missing something? Are there other dates beyond near prereleases when cards can get banned? If this is just a shift and there are still intermediary points of control then that's fine.
This is immediately what I was thinking. It seems weird to ban things especially in standard right before a set drops. Oh well...standard hardly ever gets bans anyway (and shouldn't), so I guess it ultimately doesn't matter too much.
This is a good unban test, imo. A lot of the modern banlist was preemptive and just tried to get rid of powerful strategies in former standard/extended formats. This'll be interesting, at least.
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If you're having creature problems I feel bad for you son
You got 99 attackers but I'm blocking with 1.
The Winner is Judge | 7
This Winner is Also Judge | 6
Club Flamingo | Lots
Isn't the change to B&R announcement and enforcement dates a horrible decision? The utility of banning comes from the power to alter a metagame when it is broken. Many times we have seen an attitude of "let's wait till the next set is released and how it changes things. If deck x is still dominant, then we will take out the ban hammer." If there are no B&R dates outside of set releases, either we will see much more "let's wait and see what happens" or things might get banned preemptively without letting the new set shake things up. Either way it means less flexibility and less control over the game.
Am I missing something? Are there other dates beyond near prereleases when cards can get banned? If this is just a shift and there are still intermediary points of control then that's fine.
Banlist updates occur 4 times a year, March, June, July, December 20th. They are simply changing them from constant dates to being tied to the release schedule. It doesn't actually change the number of yearly updates.
Didn't Burning Wish just recently start going up in price/getting bought out.
Methinks people with inside info were quick to act. That's just ****ed up.
Anyways, don't care about Modern, but I guess this was Wizard's way of keeping Primetime relevant after the EDH banning, now people won't ***** about losing all their value.
Not sure I like the move to update the lists with every single set release. This could get Yugioh levels of bad.
Didn't Burning Wish just recently start going up in price/getting bought out.
Methinks people with inside info were quick to act. That's just ****ed up.
Anyways, don't care about Modern, but I guess this was Wizard's way of keeping Primetime relevant after the EDH banning, now people won't ***** about losing all their value.
Not sure I like the move to update the lists with every single set release. This could get Yugioh levels of bad.
lolwut?
Vintage is barely played and other than really old cards. If a card gets played extensively in that format, its price won't really go up. If they did something like unrestrict YawgWin but leave it banned in legacy, I'm pretty sure the price wouldn't budge.
I'd say it has more to do with its showing in show and tell deck.
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Announcement Date: September 20, 2012
Effective Date: October 1, 2012
Standard, Extended, Legacy
No changes
Modern
Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle is Unbanned.
Vintage
Burning Wish is Unrestricted.
BUWGRChilds PlayGRWUB
BUWGR Highlander GRWUB
UBSquee's Shapeshifting PetBU
BW Multiplayer Control WB
RG Changeling GR
UR Mana FlareRU
UMerfolkU
B MBMC B
I'm Da_Man on Cockatrice
U/B Control
Valakut...here I come. Now all we need is a little GSZ and a whole lot searching.
Come join us in the MTGSalvation chat ||| My trade thread. ||| My Personal Modern Blog: The Fetchlands
Now that should shake up the metagame quite a bit.
Cool thing that they still care enough about vintage to unban some things. Perfect Storm will probably be dominant.
EDIT: Partially Nath'd.
Does the update to the timing also change effective dates i.e. as soon as gatecrash is released will the list be updated in sync with the set release? Because that sounds quite nice actually and the list will still get updated frequently enough.
I welcome wish being back in vintage though, vintage people have wanted that card unbanned for years. It's a lot similar to gush in that the pieces around it get restricted, namely the biggest piece of burning long (lion's eye diamond) as that was actually just one of the most degenerate decks that magic has seen in 20 years. Playing with 4 LED's and 4 burning wishes in vintage...oh baby.
Currently Playing:
Retired
EDH:
RNorin the WaryR <-Link! (Primer - Mono Red Control)
GUEdric, Spymaster of TrestUG <- Link! (Mini-Primer - Dredge)
Duel Commander:
WUGeist of Saint TraftUW <- Link! (Aggro-Control)
BGSkullbriar, the Walking GraveGB <- Link! (Aggro)
BUGDamia, Sage of StoneGUB <- Link! (Extinction Control)
Church of the Wary
'Tis a sad day for anyone who cares about Block Constructed.
Went to a new shop from a friend's recommendation, DQ'ed for willful violation of CR 100.6b.
Have played duals? I have PucaPoints for them!
(Credit to DarkNightCavalier)
$tandard: Too poor.
Modern:
- GW Birthing Pod(?)
Legacy:
- UWR Delver
I'm more worried about the four-colour Prismatic Omen based decks. Those were terrible to play against.
Signature by | Scion of Zendikar
Yep, know what I'm playing now.
Am I missing something? Are there other dates beyond near prereleases when cards can get banned? If this is just a shift and there are still intermediary points of control then that's fine.
I feel your pain.
I'm surprised they unbanned Valacooch of all things. It was obnoxious to play against before, and I'm really not looking forward to it with Cavern, Wargate, Omen, etc.
At least GSZ didn't come off the list as well.
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This is immediately what I was thinking. It seems weird to ban things especially in standard right before a set drops. Oh well...standard hardly ever gets bans anyway (and shouldn't), so I guess it ultimately doesn't matter too much.
You got 99 attackers but I'm blocking with 1.
The Winner is Judge | 7
This Winner is Also Judge | 6
Club Flamingo | Lots
Banlist updates occur 4 times a year, March, June, July, December 20th. They are simply changing them from constant dates to being tied to the release schedule. It doesn't actually change the number of yearly updates.
Methinks people with inside info were quick to act. That's just ****ed up.
Anyways, don't care about Modern, but I guess this was Wizard's way of keeping Primetime relevant after the EDH banning, now people won't ***** about losing all their value.
Not sure I like the move to update the lists with every single set release. This could get Yugioh levels of bad.
UBBreya's Toybox (Competitive, Combo)WR
RGodzilla, King of the MonstersG
-Retired Decks-
UBLazav, Dimir Mastermind (Competitive, UB Voltron/Control)UB
"Knowledge is such a burden. Release it. Release all your fears to me."
—Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
lolwut?
Vintage is barely played and other than really old cards. If a card gets played extensively in that format, its price won't really go up. If they did something like unrestrict YawgWin but leave it banned in legacy, I'm pretty sure the price wouldn't budge.
I'd say it has more to do with its showing in show and tell deck.