I guess while we're bandying about crazy ideas (banning fetches?!?) I should throw out mine.
What if to shake up the format Wizards redefined the format cutoff moving it from 8th Edition to Lorwyn. This is where the New World Order truly began and in the long term (3-7 years) might be best for the format.
With the new cutoff these banned cards would no longer be in the format:
They are all just too individually powerful. Maybe in a year they can be re-evaluated.
This would undoubtedly kill Tron, so the Tron lands would need reprints in M15.
Affinity would move towards a Tempered Steel deck again, and select core cards like Arcbound Ravager could be reprinted in M15 as well. Living End would unfortunately die, I can't think of a way to save it.
Do I actually believe this is best for the format? Probably not.
Have I actually thought through all the repercussions? Definitely not.
Is this an interesting thought experiment? Would this really shake up the format before the Pro Tour? Undoubtedly yes.
I agree it should have been done from the beginning, but it wasn't. So there is no way to change that.
I think it should have started with Shard of Alara/M10 myself.
I am legitimately stunned that people think Bob and Goyf, two staple reprints in Modern Masters, are going to get banned. Or could ever be banned, really. Wizards would probably ban 2-3 cards just to avoid banning one of these guys. Those cards are icons of Modern and banning them would just create anger. Wizards has worked very hard to get Modern to a place where it is more popular and more enjoyed than it was in 2012 or early 2013. Bob and Goyf bans would undo that and replace it with an ugly taste. Moreover, you would all but guarantee that zero Legacy players made the migration to Modern, or even tried it out as a second format.
Also, from a pure data perspective, there is nothing degenerate about either card. BGx's popularity has fallen and stabilized in recent months and it's now only about 14% of the metagame, including all Jund, Ajundi, BG Souls, BG Rock, and Junk variants. That's a far cry from January 2013 when BBE-powered Jund made up 25%+ of the format.
I'm not saying that talking about banning Bob and Goyf is spam. But it is a fairly spammy opinion that is almost entirely without supporting evidence. I'd be open to hear some arguments in favor of banning the cards but, from what I have seen, those arguments are often pretty weak.
You're right. It would not make sense to ban a card printed in Modern Masters.
That is probably why they were careful not to make Modern Masters have too many powerful cards, in case one of them ended up needing a ban.
I'm confident enough to know that wizard would print something like this. They drop ridiculous mythic cards quite often, and that new white oreo king freak is more busted than over half the stuff I've ever posted here.
The only thing about you card that wizards would not print is the "X+1" clause. I don't think that is something you will ever see on a card now that NWO is in effect
Deathrite Shaman is the only one out of those that is remotely viable to ban. All the others have become absurdly expensive. Every player who has bought a playset of the first two since getting into Modern would probably have quit if they were banned.
I thought it was well established that price should have no bearing on what gets banned or not.
People shelled out for Jace too and he is banned. Why should anything else be exempt?
So...the cascade mechanic, one of the most auto-pilot mechanics in the game, a mechanic that has similarities to Storm--that's acceptable? On what planet?
Or a planeswalker that has almost no downside in any format, that's acceptable too?
4 mana is a significant downside
Cascade is not inherently broken. Cascade into Hypergenesis maybe. But that's mostly hypergenesis
I know I shouldn't compare legacy to modern, but take a look at legacy. Bloodbraid is not tearing up the format. DRS is played in a lot more decks. That should tell you which card is more powerful
Trained Magpie1UU
Creature - Bird M
Flying
Whenever Trained Magpie deals damage to a player, the next spell you cast has Scry 1 + x, where X is equal to the converted mana cost of that spell. Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings.
- Salvador Dali
1/3
So if you dealt damage to the player, and the next spell you cast is Armageddon, you get scry 5.
Definitely not something wizards would print.
Why not just make it scry 2 + draw whenever it connects? Or is there a reason why you want it to combo with your spells?
There were better cards in Jund to hit. They wanted to hit Jund and only Jund. It was getting a bit out of hand at the time. They probably should have just banned DRS back then but they made a conscious decision to ban something that was only in Jund.
Sure, Gifts, Pod, Twin, Scapeshift, they're all cards that can win you the game on their own at 4. But that doesn't mean BBE wasn't a powerful card. BBE into Lili was one of the better tempo plays the format had to offer, and it provided a good top end to a deck with a good curve.
I think Dark Confidant, Tarmogoyf, or Deathrite Shaman would have all been better bans than Bloodbraid.
Then again I don't think Jace should be banned either, as annoying and unfun he is to play against.
That feels more like a gold card than a hybrid one as mono-red very rarely gets pure card draw like that. If you wanted to stick to hybrid mana, I'd go with some other bonus effect.
Eco Terrorism1:symrg::symrg:
Sorcery
Destroy target land. If that land was nonbasic, creatures you control get +1/+0 and gain trample until end of turn.
I agree it should have been done from the beginning, but it wasn't. So there is no way to change that.
I think it should have started with Shard of Alara/M10 myself.
No this happens close to the announcement date every time
People can and will turn everything into a business. Name something and there is likely a business for it
You're right. It would not make sense to ban a card printed in Modern Masters.
That is probably why they were careful not to make Modern Masters have too many powerful cards, in case one of them ended up needing a ban.
As to an argument to ban Goyf: extremely undercosted, pushes out other options (Putrid Leech, Strangleroot Geist).
Now maybe people are just lazy and netdeck the winning jund lists, and Goyf is not the optimal choice for that slot. I don't know
You win the game when you resolve it.
The only thing about you card that wizards would not print is the "X+1" clause. I don't think that is something you will ever see on a card now that NWO is in effect
Nothing about its power level
The new version they could easily print
Maybe Omniscience in EDH?
I thought it was well established that price should have no bearing on what gets banned or not.
People shelled out for Jace too and he is banned. Why should anything else be exempt?
4 mana is a significant downside
Cascade is not inherently broken. Cascade into Hypergenesis maybe. But that's mostly hypergenesis
I know I shouldn't compare legacy to modern, but take a look at legacy. Bloodbraid is not tearing up the format. DRS is played in a lot more decks. That should tell you which card is more powerful
Definitely not something wizards would print.
Why not just make it scry 2 + draw whenever it connects? Or is there a reason why you want it to combo with your spells?
I think Dark Confidant, Tarmogoyf, or Deathrite Shaman would have all been better bans than Bloodbraid.
Then again I don't think Jace should be banned either, as annoying and unfun he is to play against.
Spending 4 mana should give you value or win the game in this format. Gifts Ungiven, Birthing Pod, Splinter Twin, Scapeshift
There are better cards in Jund to hit.
Every color gets card draw. See the wisp cycle
That would be so good in vintage and legacy to counter moxen/LED
I would play it in modern too. Excellent design
Sorcery
Destroy target land. If that land was nonbasic, draw a card.