After almost three years, the "no changes" spree has been broken

[Oversoul]

Full list of changes here: http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/banned-and-restricted-announcement-2015-01-19

Notably, Jeskai Ascendancy was left alone in Modern, despite speculation that it would be banned for being too fast. And now I finally have to stop making that joke about how Golgari Grave-Troll is banned in Modern just in case WotC accidentally reprints Ichorid. Also, Birthing Pod seems like a pretty big deal. Anyway, here are some thoughts...

• My feelings on the exact changes are extremely mixed, but I'm mostly just overjoyed that they acknowledged Legacy's existence.
• I strongly believe that banned list changes should consist of one change at a time. Ban or unban one card, then give the format a couple of months to make sure that the change didn't do anything too crazy. This announcement's one-in-one-out model isn't too egregious, though. At least it's not like when they'd ban several cards that all worked in the same deck.
• I was opposed to the possibility of a Treasure Cruise ban. I didn't have the card maindecked in any of my own decks (had it in one sideboard temporarily) and I do think it's a distinctly unfun card that was warping the format in a negative way, but I also thought that, given some more time, the format would have adapted. I'm not sorry to see it go, but I don't think that it was the best call.
• Worldgorger Dragon wasn't my first pick for an unban because it was one of the weakest cards on the banned list and I'd rather see some stuff that could actually add to the format. Contrary to the WotC explanation, Worldgorger Dragon was never "too powerful for Legacy." It was banned from the format from the start because decks using the card alongside Bazaar of Baghdad were powerful in the old Type 1.5, and Wizards of the Coast then (as now) had a habit of banning multiple cards from dominant decks, rather than banning a single key card. Worldgorger Dragon was tested for Legacy by very few people, and all testing I'm aware of indicated that the card wasn't powerful enough to create a first-tier deck. In fact, many players who joined Legacy years later assumed that the card was banned because it had the potential to make matches run long, that it was a logistical consideration. Still, I've always been in favor of a Worldgorger Dragon unban.

 

[Terentius]

The only thing I don't get is did something come out recently that makes Birthing Pod too powerful?

 

[Ransac]

Not really anything that just broke it open, just incremental power pushes. Apparently, Siege Rhino was the straw that broke the camels back.

Ransac, cpa trash man

 

[Oversoul]

Pod has been the best deck in Modern at various points and especially took over in the past few months. Banning Treasure Cruise and Dig Through Time wouldn't directly hurt the top deck in the format, as Pod decks don't run either card. If it seems odd that they'd ban three cards, one from the top deck and two from other decks, well, this sort of thing has happened before. They decide that a card has to go, then attempt to predict what the metagame will be like with that card gone, so then they ban another card because they believe it will be too dominant if left unchecked. That said, Treasure Cruise is pretty broken. Dig Through Time was probably going to be fine in Modern, but whatever.

Maybe we'll get a real Ichoridless Dredge deck in Modern now? Perhaps fueled by Bloodghast or something?

 

[Oversoul]

Well, now Birthing Pod has no place in any popular formats outside Commander. Might be worthwhile to pick up a set for a casual deck. I almost feel sorry for Pod players, but at least they could try their pet card in Legacy, even if it's probably too slow there. My old pet card, on the other hand, not so much...