Whatever arguments there may be for Force in Modern, it getting into Standard first borders on impossible. MaRo is on the record somewhere in Blogatog specifically stating the scenario that tapping out for your Planeswalker and still being able to protect it through Force is too much for Standard. This means that at minimum any new variant of it would have to be unable to counter spells targeting permanents you control - would people still want and play that?
Speaking of drawbacks, how far would people be willing to go? 3 life is already cited as too much when referring to Anguished Unmaking
While certainly possible, it may also be that they specifically did not want this ability to be able to target planeswalkers.
I'm honestly more annoyed at the fact that they swore off of unique promo cards being unobtainable except for specific events like this after the Nalathni Dragon fiasco, and yet here we are.
Let us look at the defining 2-drops of three of the colors in the format, and what they offer that makes them good
Blue - Snaps - Flash is primary, spells out of graveyard is secondary. - Card Advantage, beats
Black - Bob - "Devil's Deal" (power at a cost, on permanents - in this case, life for cards) is primary. - Card Advantage, beats
Green - 'Goyf - "Lhurgoyf" creatures is primary - Ultra-efficient beats
Let's compare with what we theoretically have for the others
White - Original Thalia - "Taxing" and First Strike are primary - Beats (I don't know if taxing can be considered card advantage. Mana advantage?)
Red - Pyro - "Friendly to instants and sorceries" and token generation, are secondary - Beats, Card advantage? (I suppose the token generation counts for that, right?)
And specifically, the currently banned champion that's more or less accepted as the premier 2-drop of its color
White - SFM - Tutor for artifacts, and putting artifacts from hand to field, are secondary - Card Avantage (could also list indirect beats)
Interestingly, two of the three accepted premier 2-drops are primary in their color pie slice, and although his main ability is secondary, a good amount of Snapcaster's power comes from being able to flash him in (would anybody play him without Flash, I wonder?)
Meanwhile, the red contender for the title is secondary in both abilities just like the accepted-but-for-now-banned white champ... but the white contender, Thalia, is actually primary in her color pie slice. I wonder if there's any truth to be gleaned from all this. I would venture a few comments...
Due to how Wizards seems to regard SFM, perhaps the answer to "something better than Thalia" will have to come in the form of a new white 2-drop rather than SFM's unbanning.. Going by the currently accepted 3, we should look to what is primary in White to anticipate whether such a thing can exist.
Just looking through the list, most of what primary white has going for it is very conditional/situational, with "Taxing", "Preventing Action" and "Rules-Setting" appearing to be the ones most likely to be strong on their own. From the secondary in white list (excluding what SFM already had), bouncing directly to library seems to be a good candidate for something really strong, but I can't imagine Wizards ever deciding to put that ability on a 2 cost creature.
Interestingly, token generation is primary in white but "friendly to instants" isn't even tertiary, so at this point a colorshifted young pyro isn't doable; and even if it were, would anybody play that?
For what it's worth, the defining element of two of the premier 2-drops currently available (and the banned white one) is card advantage of some sort, which poses an inherent problem since White isn't supposed to get it (perhaps that's part of the reason SFM is so good, and part of the reason why Thalia isn't quite there). A premier 2-drop in white, different from Thalia, would have to do card advantage to become a good contender, and barring color pie breaks or getting creative with the rest of white's colorpie, it feels very unlikely and does not bode well. The other path is for Wizards to print an ultra-efficient beater in White. Something stacked with keywords? I don't know. I suppose we can hold out hope for a colorshifted-Goyf, since the "Lhurgoyf" clause *is* tertiary in white...
Not gonna go for stuff regarding Red right now. With that said, MaRo is on the record somewhere in saying that if Snapcaster were printed today, it'd be Red. Just imagine the possibilities!
Thats the part I dont quite understand. Why do/ the storiess AFTER the set is spoiled? Shouldnt it be the other way around?
MaRo is on the record saying that they can't do this because the stories from the block that comes after would steal the spotlight from the current set.
R/G Eldrazi has won the finals vs Abzan, 2 games to 1. Double Reality Smasher lethal vs Bob + Double 'Goyf, with one 'Goyf getting hit with Dismember to push the necessary damage.
Hard to be sure just how it will impact their decisions, but Wizards is absolutely wary and aware of Lantern, to the point that they specifically didn't want to unable Sword of the Meek out of fear that it would turn the deck into an unstoppable monstrosity. Make of that what you will.
Wait, was Ferocidon really designed after Cat-blink was discovered? I thought sets are designed way further in advance than that and Cat-blink was admittedly not discovered until the full set was spoiled.
MaRo said on Blogatog that at the moment it's possible to make minute changes to this year's fall set. Ferocidon likely wasn't as souped-up as it is now, but they had time to add small stuff (maybe the damage per creature etb clause, which does indeed stop Cat Blink in its tracks).
Could you elaborate a little?
Speaking of drawbacks, how far would people be willing to go? 3 life is already cited as too much when referring to Anguished Unmaking
I'm honestly more annoyed at the fact that they swore off of unique promo cards being unobtainable except for specific events like this after the Nalathni Dragon fiasco, and yet here we are.
Let us look at the defining 2-drops of three of the colors in the format, and what they offer that makes them good
Black - Bob - "Devil's Deal" (power at a cost, on permanents - in this case, life for cards) is primary. - Card Advantage, beats
Green - 'Goyf - "Lhurgoyf" creatures is primary - Ultra-efficient beats
Let's compare with what we theoretically have for the others
Red - Pyro - "Friendly to instants and sorceries" and token generation, are secondary - Beats, Card advantage? (I suppose the token generation counts for that, right?)
And specifically, the currently banned champion that's more or less accepted as the premier 2-drop of its color
Interestingly, two of the three accepted premier 2-drops are primary in their color pie slice, and although his main ability is secondary, a good amount of Snapcaster's power comes from being able to flash him in (would anybody play him without Flash, I wonder?)
Meanwhile, the red contender for the title is secondary in both abilities just like the accepted-but-for-now-banned white champ... but the white contender, Thalia, is actually primary in her color pie slice. I wonder if there's any truth to be gleaned from all this. I would venture a few comments...
Just looking through the list, most of what primary white has going for it is very conditional/situational, with "Taxing", "Preventing Action" and "Rules-Setting" appearing to be the ones most likely to be strong on their own. From the secondary in white list (excluding what SFM already had), bouncing directly to library seems to be a good candidate for something really strong, but I can't imagine Wizards ever deciding to put that ability on a 2 cost creature.
Interestingly, token generation is primary in white but "friendly to instants" isn't even tertiary, so at this point a colorshifted young pyro isn't doable; and even if it were, would anybody play that?
For what it's worth, the defining element of two of the premier 2-drops currently available (and the banned white one) is card advantage of some sort, which poses an inherent problem since White isn't supposed to get it (perhaps that's part of the reason SFM is so good, and part of the reason why Thalia isn't quite there). A premier 2-drop in white, different from Thalia, would have to do card advantage to become a good contender, and barring color pie breaks or getting creative with the rest of white's colorpie, it feels very unlikely and does not bode well. The other path is for Wizards to print an ultra-efficient beater in White. Something stacked with keywords? I don't know. I suppose we can hold out hope for a colorshifted-Goyf, since the "Lhurgoyf" clause *is* tertiary in white...
MaRo is on the record saying that they can't do this because the stories from the block that comes after would steal the spotlight from the current set.
MaRo said on Blogatog that at the moment it's possible to make minute changes to this year's fall set. Ferocidon likely wasn't as souped-up as it is now, but they had time to add small stuff (maybe the damage per creature etb clause, which does indeed stop Cat Blink in its tracks).