Monday, January 21, 2013
Thirst for Knowledge - Possible Modern Unbans
We are currently about a month into the Modern PTQ season and so far Jund still dominates the landscape. Jund is an archetype that uses the best cards within its color range (mostly RBG or the Jund shard) but will splash for other colors too. Some players have clamored for cards in Jund to be banned (like Bloodbraid Elf, Tarmogofy, or Dark Confidant).
After talking with grinders, pros, and judges, I have to say that banning anything in Jund will do absolutely no good. Jund will simply replace the banned creature with an equally annoying creature at that spot's cost. For example, if WotC banned Bloodbraid Elf the players would look at another 4 drop, Restoration Angel. Does it do as much work as Bloodbraid Elf? No. Can it be as annoying? Yes. If Dark Confidant was to be banned, Jund would simply switch to Snapcaster Mage. The only card that would be hard to replace is Tarmogofy but I doubt WotC would ban it at this point due him being reprinted in Modern Masters.
So what could be done in Modern to make other decks more viable to the format? With the B & R list set to be updated next Monday (Sunday night @ Midnight EST), I have a small list of possible unbans that could help the format grow and change:
Mental Misstep
Legacy is a format of the most powerful 1 casting cost spells in history so I can see why Mental Misstep is banned in Legacy. Modern is a format mostly about cards with converted mana cost of 2 or 3. Mental Misstep would hit certain cards in Jund (discard, Deathrite Shaman, bolt) as well as other decks like RG Tron, Infect, Boggle Enchantments, Eggs, Gifts, Burn, etc. Is this a card, if unbanned, that would be an automatic 4 of in every deck? I don't think so. I feel that Misstep could be unbanned without totally warping the Modern format.
Wild Nacatl
Wild Nacatl banning was a strange one. It was designed to (I can only assume here) slow down the format due to it being a really easy and efficient creature. So is Tarmogofy and he isn't being banned anytime soon. The WotC argument was that he was going to be a really strong creature in Legacy as well (and had been for a while), quoting Eric Lauer:"When Wild Nacatl was tested, developers recognized it would be powerful in Legacy, and its power in Extended would vary as lands rotated in and out of the format. Developers didn't consider the non-rotating Modern format, which did not exist at the time. It looks very strange banning a creature that only attacks and blocks. Generally, combat creatures don't get banned. The reason isn't that the power level of combat creatures inherently isn't high enough to ban. Rather, it is because R&D tends to have a reasonable idea of how attacking decks work and has an idea of how strong each creature is."
The sad part of this statement is that Nacatl is completely trumped by Delver of Secrets in Legacy so Nacatl value is almost none at this point. Unbanning Nacatl would him to shine in a format dominated by 2 and 3 drops. Also, unbanning Wild Nacatl alongside Mental Misstep would help in fighting against him.
Stoneforge Mystic
SFM was a card that was banned in Standard, Extended, and was banned in Modern since day 1. This is card that sees play in Legacy along side its partner in crime Jace the Mind Sculptor. In Legacy, it fetches usually one of two pieces of Equipment, Umezawa's Jitte or Batterskull. With both Jace the Mind Sculptor and Umezawa's Jitte also banned in Modern, I feel that Stoneforge Mystic is a safe card to unban here. Abrupt Decay makes it almost impossible for a control deck to keep you from killing it before you get to drop Batterskull into play for 1W.
Bitterblossom
Bitterblossom was a card that made Faeries tick in both Standard and Extended. What scared players with Bitterblossom was the almost unending stream of 1/1 flyers but also the fact that it was a card that was almost impossible to remove unless the Fae player wanted it to be removed. With more cards now that cannot be countered (Abrupt Decay, Supreme Verdict, Counterflux), there is a possibility that the card can be safely unbanned.
Bradley Reeves
@YawgmothsWill"Two magi could trade spells all day and never crown a victor. The real battle is not one of power but of will. If your confidence breaks, so too shall you." —Venser
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Time for a little Point-Counterpoint. Not that I necessarily disagree with you, just want to play a little Devil's Advocate.
ReplyDeleteMental Misstep
I feel that unbanning this would actually be in Jund's favor. While it does hit Deathrite Shaman and the discard spells, Jund is a deck that is easily adaptable. It can find ways around this card without hurting its consistency too bad. What this will do is hurt all the decks that can help keep Jund in check, like Eggs and Storm. Those decks would be shut down by this card, and then Jund doesn't have to worry so much about it's disruption package freeing up those card slots that this card would affect anyway.
Wild Nacatl
I don't find this banning as strange as you do. In modern, this card is essentially G for a 3/3 creature. While a flipped Delver has comparable stats, it is no way guaranteed. Basically, all aggro decks in the format would become Zoo and we would have a new boogeyman.
Stoneforge Mystic
I don't see how you can unban this card in a format where Batterskull exists. The Swords would almost push it too far, but Batterskull definitely puts it over the top.
Bitterblossom
I didn't play standard when this card was the rage, so I'm not sure about it. I feel like it might push fairies a little too far, but I feel it's probably the safest of the cards that you have listed here, especially with the existence of Abrupt Decay.
The only card here that I can see unbanning is Nacatl. The primary removal of the format is Bolt, so Nacatl seems like it is safe to come back. I think Jund will continue to be the boogeyman, as it is tailor-made to destroy decks like Zoo.
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