So, I was getting tired of playing against Infect, Burn and Affinity a while back, and wondered what Modern would be like if all the key cards were suddenly banned. Taking the idea from smogon, I compiled a list of cards that have over 3.6% usage in top 8s, to add to the modern banlist.
Quite a few unfortunate bans for side-pieces in affinity, etc, but quite a few decks stand out:
Merfolk: Loses mana leak, some draw maybe, otherwise great.
Faeries: Loses point discard and clique, but replacements exist.
Big Red: Blood Moon and Bridge stay, as do most threats, Wrath of God, Kozilek's Return and Karn/Koth/Chandra.
Delver: Delver has only approx 1.5% usage. You lose most of its support, but a Phantasmal Bear/Ninja of the Deep Hours build may be possible.
Ascension: You lose manamorphose, but can probably still make a list. Thing in the Ice is still around, as well.
Control: You lose a lot of counters and removal, but Doom Blade, Dreadbore, Damnation, Ancestral Visions and most walkers remain, as does Gurmag Angler. That, and Thopter-Sword is legal.
Vengevine: As every other grave deck dies a horrible death, this might not face too much sideboard hate. Vengeful Pharoah and Darkblast are still in.
Cascade: You lose Street Wraith, but Living End and Restore Balance lose very little.
Lantern: Lose the cheap removal, but keep Tezz, Lantern engine, Bridge. Put in some flame slash and you're golden.
Eggs: All the eggs stay, as does Faith's Reward, and you don't have to play around leak.
Kiki-Exarch: Can even play a Necrotic Ooze variant. Plenty of combo potential here.
Hatebears: Keep Qasali Pridemage, Voice of Resurgence, Loxodon Smiter, Knight of the Reliquary, Brimaz, Mirran Crusader, Swords, etc. Only lose Vial, Thalia, Path, CoCo, Lingering souls.
Goryo's: Goryo's and Griselbrand stay, although you lose Looting and Emrakul.
Devotion: Loss of PrimeTime and EWit hurt green devotion, but Nykthos stays for other colours. Black could work, as trivial removal for Phyrexian Obliterator is largely gone.
Bogles: Loses very little, likely a premier aggro deck.
I think this could be a fun and varied format, moreso than modern, and more reactive to changes in standard, as new cards aren't immediately added to the banlist. That, and there's a lot less time spent shuffling.
Rather fun janky modern deck - Twinflame, Druid's Deliverance, Boom//Bust, Blood Moon and dorks. Combos off turn 5 pretty frequently, less weak to thoughtseize than you'd expect if no goblins in your opening hand.
1. Cast Spelltwine, gets sent to the Eye.
2. Spelltwine resolves on Eye, exile card from your grave and an opponents, then cast copies."
3. Copies are exiled onto Eye, they stop existing.
All that does is exile a card from two graveyards.
If you try and use the horseman kill in a tourney, you will get a time-wasting warning.
It's an loop that doesn't necessarily affect the board state, so you can't just iterate upon it like a normal infinite loop.
Monoblack devotion with Nykthos could work, if you're using Heartless Summoning then a Myr Retriever based alternate win is probably worth putting in. Too many threats, don't need phage, darksteel colossus or Ulamog.
Scavenging Ooze
Spellskite
Tarmogoyf
Monastery Swiftspear
Snapcaster Mage
Thought-Knot Seer
Wild Nacatl
Birds of Paradise
Eldrazi Displacer
Grim Lavamancer
Dark Confidant
Reality Smasher
Simian Spirit Guide
Goblin Guide
Arcbound Ravager
Memnite
Ornithopter
Sakura-Tribe Elder
Steel Overseer
Vault Skirge
Etched Champion
Signal Pest
Drowner of Hope
Matter Reshaper
Primeval Titan
Master of Etherium
Emrakul, The Aeons Torn
Grim Flayer
Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
Eidolon of the Great Revel
Kitchen Finks
Eldrazi Skyspawner
Bloodghast
Golgari Grave-Troll
Insolent Neonate
Narcomoeba
Prized Amalgam
Stinkweed Imp
Street Wraith
Eternal Witness
Blighted Agent
Glistener Elf
Vendilion Clique
Wall of Omens
Restoration Angel
Death's Shadow
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
Courser of Kruphix
Wurmcoil Engine
Flickerwisp
Tasigur, the Golden Fang
Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
Leonin Arbiter
Obstinate Baloth
Mox Opal
Cranial Plating
Springleaf Drum
AEther Vial
Mishra's Bauble
Engineered Explosives
Expedition Map
Oblivion Stone
Liliana of the Veil
Nahiri, the Harbinger
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
Lightning Bolt
Path to Exile
Abrupt Decay
Dismember
Terminate
Mutagenic Growth
Remand
Kolaghan's Command
Become Immense
Lightning Helix
Cryptic Command
Atarka's Command
Mana Leak
Spell Snare
Galvanic Blast
Boros Charm
Searing Blaze
Summoner's Pact
Spell Pierce
Apostle's Blessing
Temur Battle Rage
Vines of Vastwood
Might of Old Krosa
Thought Scour
Collected Company
Electrolyze
Through the Breach
Twisted Image
Slaugter Pact
Manamorphose
Murderous Cut
Pact of Negation
Thoughtseize
Inquisition of Kozilek
Serum Visions
Gitaxian Probe
Ancient Stirrings
Faithless Looting
Maelstrom Pulse
Collective Brutality
Anger of the Gods
Lingering Souls
Search for Tomorrow
Sleight of Hand
Farseek
Rift Bolt
Lava Spike
Scapeshift
Conflagrate
Life from the Loam
Distortion Strike
Supreme Verdict
Explore
Tormenting Voice
All Fetches
All Shocks
Ghost Quarter
Inkmoth Nexus
Blinkmoth Nexus
Cavern of Souls
Copperline Gorge
Eldrazi Temple
Twilight Mire
Sulfur Falls
Shambling Vent
Raging Ravine
Darksteel Citadel
Glimmervoid
Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
Brushland
Yavimaya Coast
Cinder Glade
Horizon Canopy
Celestial Colonnade
Gavony Township
Pendelhaven
Razorverge Thicket
Darkslick Shores
Dakmor Salvage
Dryad Arbor
Gemstone Mine
Glacial Fortress
Seachrome Coast
All Tron Lands
Quite a few unfortunate bans for side-pieces in affinity, etc, but quite a few decks stand out:
Merfolk: Loses mana leak, some draw maybe, otherwise great.
Faeries: Loses point discard and clique, but replacements exist.
Big Red: Blood Moon and Bridge stay, as do most threats, Wrath of God, Kozilek's Return and Karn/Koth/Chandra.
Delver: Delver has only approx 1.5% usage. You lose most of its support, but a Phantasmal Bear/Ninja of the Deep Hours build may be possible.
Ascension: You lose manamorphose, but can probably still make a list. Thing in the Ice is still around, as well.
Control: You lose a lot of counters and removal, but Doom Blade, Dreadbore, Damnation, Ancestral Visions and most walkers remain, as does Gurmag Angler. That, and Thopter-Sword is legal.
Vengevine: As every other grave deck dies a horrible death, this might not face too much sideboard hate. Vengeful Pharoah and Darkblast are still in.
Cascade: You lose Street Wraith, but Living End and Restore Balance lose very little.
Lantern: Lose the cheap removal, but keep Tezz, Lantern engine, Bridge. Put in some flame slash and you're golden.
Eggs: All the eggs stay, as does Faith's Reward, and you don't have to play around leak.
Kiki-Exarch: Can even play a Necrotic Ooze variant. Plenty of combo potential here.
Hatebears: Keep Qasali Pridemage, Voice of Resurgence, Loxodon Smiter, Knight of the Reliquary, Brimaz, Mirran Crusader, Swords, etc. Only lose Vial, Thalia, Path, CoCo, Lingering souls.
Goryo's: Goryo's and Griselbrand stay, although you lose Looting and Emrakul.
Devotion: Loss of PrimeTime and EWit hurt green devotion, but Nykthos stays for other colours. Black could work, as trivial removal for Phyrexian Obliterator is largely gone.
Bogles: Loses very little, likely a premier aggro deck.
I think this could be a fun and varied format, moreso than modern, and more reactive to changes in standard, as new cards aren't immediately added to the banlist. That, and there's a lot less time spent shuffling.
I'd probably replace some Sizzle with more sideboard Jaya Ballard, Task Mage, put in some Young Pyromancer. If multiplayer's a real worry, Guttersnipe could be an okay sideboard card. Also, Skullcrack is better than Unstable Footing most of the time.
Although not horrible, Blazing Salvo and Fiery Impulse don't help your win. Arc Trail, Searing Blaze and Slagstorm could be less situational picks. If you're going to keep the discard suite, Increasing Vengeance might be better than Reverberate. If you're looking for late-game blowouts, Bonfire of the Damned might be cheap enough to consider by now.
Also, to make Pyromancer's Ascension online as often as possible, try to play all your instants and sorceries with low costs as 4-ofs.
P 0 0 0 6 3 3 0 0 6 X 6 0 6 0 3 33
X [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ] PT
0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 12
1. Cast Spelltwine, gets sent to the Eye.
2. Spelltwine resolves on Eye, exile card from your grave and an opponents, then cast copies."
3. Copies are exiled onto Eye, they stop existing.
All that does is exile a card from two graveyards.
It's an loop that doesn't necessarily affect the board state, so you can't just iterate upon it like a normal infinite loop.