![]() Cards like Smuggler's Copter and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar were dominant in ways they wouldn't be if the rest of the format met a higher bar.Ĭhandra, Awakened Inferno | Art by: Chris Rahn F.I.R.EĪround the time we were designing Guilds of Ravnica, largely in reaction to the points above, we adopted a philosophy we call F.I.R.E. On top of that, within Standard, the lower power level meant the format was more sensitive to cards that missed on power level a lot of those Standard formats were badly warped by that fact. Our main booster sets should be for everyone, and at that lower power level, if you didn't play Standard, we weren't really making cards for you. We succeeded in those goals, but there were costs that outweighed the benefits. Our primary goal with that direction was to open up design space, mostly in higher-cost cards and in effects typically not impactful enough for competitive play. Where We Startedįor the period starting in Battle for Zendikar and going through Core Set 2019, we-what was then called R&D-made a conscious effort to gradually power down our marquee sets and, by extension, the Standard format. Additionally, this past year has had a lot going on, so on behalf of Play Design, I'd like to take a bit of time to walk through where we are, how we got here, what we've learned, and where we're going next. Today, we announced some Standard bans that you can read about here. ” The bannings for these cards are currently live on MTG Arena and Magic Online – paper players have until November 22nd before the banning is enforced.Hey everyone, my name is Bryan Hawley, and I lead the Play Design team for Magic. Wizards of the Coast explained their reasoning, stating that the card was “…contributing to one-sided games at a higher degree than is healthy. Hopefully, this banning will make the card more affordable for Modern and Commander players.įinally, Narset, Parter of Veils has been restricted in Vintage. Wrenn and Six could also do some despicable things with land destruction cards, allowing players to deny their opponent both resources and mana. The card helped push Temur Delver to over a 50% win-rate, making it one of the best decks in Legacy. In a meta where potent 1-toughness creatures exist, Wrenn and Six was a force to be reckoned with. ![]() Even though we don’t believe it would have been banned if it always cost two mana, having a “free spell” easily rocketed the green decks above others. It allowed players to keep mediocre hands due to the level of mana fixing it offered. Once Upon a Time’s banning is also unsurprising, as the ability to just have a free spell if it’s the first one cast that turn made it exceptionally powerful. ![]() It’s too much more efficient than the other cards in its cycle, and by comparison to other tools available in Standard, gives green decks too much resilience against removal and disruption. Cards that played similar roles in the past, like Autumn’s Veil and Display of Dominance, proved a lower power level than desired in their respective Standard environments, leaving green with a weaker option compared to the other “color hate” cards in those cycles. Veil of Summer is at the other end of the spectrum. It became a must-have card for sideboards in any deck that could run it.įinally, Veil of Summer is also playing an important role in preventing the metagame from being able to self-correct. Wizard’s explained that the card’s cheap cost and potent ability made it difficult for the Standard meta to progress as it shut down many options for counterplay. While many suspected Oko was next on the chopping block, some may be surprised to see Veil of Summer alongside it. In Standard, Oko, Thief of Crowns, Once Upon a Time, and Veil of Summer are all banned. However, Oko isn’t alone, as a ton of other cards across Standard, Brawl, Legacy, and Vintage were addressed This makes it the biggest banning since Hogaak was taken out of Modern.īefore we get into the weeds, here is every new card added to the ban list: Making up a huge portion of the top decklists, Oko’s ability to swiftly take control of the board was unrivaled. After the banning of Field of the Dead, Oko, Thief of Crowns quickly took over the meta. This time the bans are squarely aimed at some of the most powerful cards across multiple formats. Another huge wave of bans has hit Magic: The Gathering’s Standard format.
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