C
Crackdown
Guest
Here is a message I think is worth reading. It is from Boris, the Dwarf on the Magicthegathering.com board at wizards.com:
Sometimes it helps to go back and look at past comments and statements for hints about the feelings of R&D. Here's some from Forsythe:
From "My Year in R&D:2004"
Quote:
The order of the day for the players early in 2004 was Darksteel, home of the sinister Skullclamp and Arcbound Ravager. We knew going in that those two cards were going to be nasty business in constructed play; unfortunately one was a big mistake and one was, well, perhaps a lapse in judgment.
Quote:
Some of the cooler stuff in Fifth Dawn was overshadowed by the mistakes in Darksteel (although, to be fair, Fifth Dawn had mistakes of its own, like Cranial Plating). The biggest card to hit constructed from the set was easily Eternal Witness, giving green decks of all shapes and sizes much-needed utility and staying power.
From "December Bannings, or the Lack Thereof"
Quote:
After States, people here at Wizards in R&D and Organized Play heard the low grumblings about the Ravager Affinity deck and began crunching a bunch of numbers regarding its supposed dominance. Our next step was to figure out what we would ban should we deem bannings to be necessary. Most people involved in the DCI felt that one or more of the “marquee” Ravager Affinity cards--Disciple of the Vault, Arcbound Ravager, and Cranial Plating--should be singled out. That list was quickly expanded to include Aether Vial and Thoughtcast for consideration. I, on the other hand, was the front man for the faction that felt the five colored artifact lands (Vault of Whispers, et al), were the real culprits and deserved to get the axe. For what it's worth, both sides' arguments had problems.
You may recall that pre-Darksteel, Broodstar Affinity was considered by many players to be the best deck in Standard, and that deck didn't contain Disciple, Ravager, or Plating. What that means to me is that the problem lies deep within the mechanic, not just with a card or three on the surface. There's no way for us to be sure that if we banned some or all of the “marquee” Ravager Affinity cards that other cards wouldn't just spring up and take their places.
Quote:
There can be no doubt that banning the five colored artifact lands would rid the world of Affinity. Of course, Ironworks would go away as well. Big Red decks could still play Darksteel Citadels and Talismans to support Shrapnel Blast, and most other decks could loosen up on the artifact hate. It's kind of fun to imagine a world where there are no artifact lands, and what kinds of decks would exist in that metagame. Of course, this speaks more to the fact that maybe we shouldn't have printed the artifact lands than the need to ban them, because, let's face it, banning cards sucks.
Quote:
I've heard from many seasoned players that Affinity is beatable, you just have to put some effort into it. Ravager Affinity took months to perfect; I expect that over a similar period of time a newer generation of decks will shape up into real powerhouses.
Quote:
And when casual players—and even some in the serious rooms—start asking questions like “When are you going to ban Kiki-Jiki?” or “Are you banning Eternal Witness soon?” (someone actually asked if Sakura-Tribe Elder was getting banned.)—you start to realize that people have the wrong idea about banning cards.
First of all, there will always be “best cards” and “best decks.” Banning doesn't do anything to change that statement, it just changes what that statement refers to. Second, Magic--especially small formats like Standard and Block Constructed--is not about banning cards. We like to avoid having to solve problems by banning cards, as that leads to a culture of fear. We certainly don't want people to start believing that all the good cards they own are in the crosshairs of the DCI. With that in mind, can you imagine the weird backlash that would happen if we banned artifact lands? Most players that aren't into the tournament scene would have no idea at all why we did this. Tree of Tales is banned?! It's one of the most powerful cards ever?! Are you kidding me?! While it would certainly solve the problem on the top end, it would alienate and confuse people elsewhere.
I think from these statements we can discern the following:
Arcbound Ravager -BANNED
AEther Vial - BANNED
Cranial Plating - BANNED
Disciple of the Vault - BANNED
Sometimes it helps to go back and look at past comments and statements for hints about the feelings of R&D. Here's some from Forsythe:
From "My Year in R&D:2004"
Quote:
The order of the day for the players early in 2004 was Darksteel, home of the sinister Skullclamp and Arcbound Ravager. We knew going in that those two cards were going to be nasty business in constructed play; unfortunately one was a big mistake and one was, well, perhaps a lapse in judgment.
Quote:
Some of the cooler stuff in Fifth Dawn was overshadowed by the mistakes in Darksteel (although, to be fair, Fifth Dawn had mistakes of its own, like Cranial Plating). The biggest card to hit constructed from the set was easily Eternal Witness, giving green decks of all shapes and sizes much-needed utility and staying power.
From "December Bannings, or the Lack Thereof"
Quote:
After States, people here at Wizards in R&D and Organized Play heard the low grumblings about the Ravager Affinity deck and began crunching a bunch of numbers regarding its supposed dominance. Our next step was to figure out what we would ban should we deem bannings to be necessary. Most people involved in the DCI felt that one or more of the “marquee” Ravager Affinity cards--Disciple of the Vault, Arcbound Ravager, and Cranial Plating--should be singled out. That list was quickly expanded to include Aether Vial and Thoughtcast for consideration. I, on the other hand, was the front man for the faction that felt the five colored artifact lands (Vault of Whispers, et al), were the real culprits and deserved to get the axe. For what it's worth, both sides' arguments had problems.
You may recall that pre-Darksteel, Broodstar Affinity was considered by many players to be the best deck in Standard, and that deck didn't contain Disciple, Ravager, or Plating. What that means to me is that the problem lies deep within the mechanic, not just with a card or three on the surface. There's no way for us to be sure that if we banned some or all of the “marquee” Ravager Affinity cards that other cards wouldn't just spring up and take their places.
Quote:
There can be no doubt that banning the five colored artifact lands would rid the world of Affinity. Of course, Ironworks would go away as well. Big Red decks could still play Darksteel Citadels and Talismans to support Shrapnel Blast, and most other decks could loosen up on the artifact hate. It's kind of fun to imagine a world where there are no artifact lands, and what kinds of decks would exist in that metagame. Of course, this speaks more to the fact that maybe we shouldn't have printed the artifact lands than the need to ban them, because, let's face it, banning cards sucks.
Quote:
I've heard from many seasoned players that Affinity is beatable, you just have to put some effort into it. Ravager Affinity took months to perfect; I expect that over a similar period of time a newer generation of decks will shape up into real powerhouses.
Quote:
And when casual players—and even some in the serious rooms—start asking questions like “When are you going to ban Kiki-Jiki?” or “Are you banning Eternal Witness soon?” (someone actually asked if Sakura-Tribe Elder was getting banned.)—you start to realize that people have the wrong idea about banning cards.
First of all, there will always be “best cards” and “best decks.” Banning doesn't do anything to change that statement, it just changes what that statement refers to. Second, Magic--especially small formats like Standard and Block Constructed--is not about banning cards. We like to avoid having to solve problems by banning cards, as that leads to a culture of fear. We certainly don't want people to start believing that all the good cards they own are in the crosshairs of the DCI. With that in mind, can you imagine the weird backlash that would happen if we banned artifact lands? Most players that aren't into the tournament scene would have no idea at all why we did this. Tree of Tales is banned?! It's one of the most powerful cards ever?! Are you kidding me?! While it would certainly solve the problem on the top end, it would alienate and confuse people elsewhere.
I think from these statements we can discern the following:
Arcbound Ravager -BANNED
AEther Vial - BANNED
Cranial Plating - BANNED
Disciple of the Vault - BANNED