Dat Deathrite Shaman ban...
Modern forum
Posted on March 11, 2014, 10:10 a.m. by sylvannos
So the results of Grand Prix: Richmond are in. The top 16 looked like this:
Top 16:
- 2x Tarmo-Twin
- American Twin
- 3x Affinity
- Scapeshift
- UB Faeries
- GB Rock
- American Control
Top 8:
7th./8th: Melira Pod7th./8th: UR Twin7th./8th: Melira Pod7th./8th: Melira Pod3rd./4th: Affinity3rd./4th: Melira Pod2nd: Affinity1st: Kiki Pod
Also, if you haven't seen Pro Tour: Barcelona, the top 8 results were (no info given on top 16):
7th./8th: American Twin7th./8th: Affinity7th./8th: Storm7th./8th: Blue Moon3rd./4th: Tarmo-Twin3rd./4th: UR Twin2nd: Melira Pod1st: American Control
For the two major events following the ban of Deathrite Shaman and unbanning of Wild Nacatl /Bitterblossom , the meta breakdown for top 8s looks like:
Birthing Pod variants: 6 decksSplinter Twin variants: 4 decksAffinity: 3 decksAmerican Control: 1 deckBlue Moon: 1 deckStorm: 1 deck
So it seems Jund has been replaced by Birthing Pod and Splinter Twin . While this is more diverse than Modern has been for a while, it's still nowhere near what Modern looked like prior to Second Sunrise and Seething Song being banned. This leaves me curious as to what the DCI considers a healthy metagame. While the number of tier 1.5 and tier 2 decks seems to have expanded, the number of tier 1 decks has decreased.
While banning more cards may just further limit the number of viable decks (if they ban Splinter Twin or Birthing Pod , Affinity just takes their place), it may be time to start unbanning more. U/R is arguably the strongest color combination in the format right now because of Lightning Bolt and Snapcaster Mage . Unbanning any of the powerful blue or red cards may further hinder the format. Many of the cards on the banned list are also turn three kill enablers, so there's that.
Golgari Grave-Troll can probably come off the list, so long as Dread Return stays on. I'm still on the fence about Deathrite Shaman , Seething Song , Second Sunrise , and the artifact lands. Deathrite Shaman allows black to do things it shouldn't while providing a lot of reach. On the other hand, he polices many decks in the format (like Birthing Pod ). While I understand why Seething Song was banned (to limit the ability to kill before turn four), there are several decks in the format that still kill as early as turn two (I'm looking at you, Infect and Summer Bloom combo). Seething Song is easily blown out by Mana Leak , Spell Pierce , etc. much in the same way as Infect folds to Path to Exile and Abrupt Decay .
Second Sunrise is less of a power-level concern and more about derpshits netdecking and not knowing how to play the deck they decide to take to a GP.
As for the artifact lands, I'm not sure Modern could handle all five becoming unbanned.Turn one Myr Enforcer s and Frogmite s leads to turn three kills via Arcbound Ravager and Disciple of the Vault . However, maybe the solution is to ban Disciple of the Vault and/or Cranial Plating so we can unban five cards. Or, unban just Ancient Den and Tree of Tales , see how the format adapts, then consider unbanning the Grixis artifact lands (which fit more into Affinity).
I'm curious to Tappedout's thoughts. Is the metagame healthy? Can we unban more cards? Or should we ban more? Is WotC's current philosophy of Modern being a turn four format and not just Legacy for poor people one that's sustainable? Does Modern need key cards from Legacy reprinted over the next few years (so they are also legal in Standard for a time) to diversify the format (such as Wirewood Symbiote , Wasteland , Psychatog , Worldly Tutor , etc.)?
SnowCoveredRevenge says... #4
Modern is fine, day two results looked great but the fact that Pod decks rose to the top at a disproportionate rate is sad
March 11, 2014 11:36 a.m.
SnowCoveredRevenge says... #5
Way too much pod for me to like. But lets see what happens over the next few months.
March 11, 2014 11:37 a.m.
Now we pet the meta adapt to hit pod harder. Adter only a month with the new banning/unbanning, we cannot judge further needed action.
The meta is pretty healthy, it just needs time to adapt.
March 11, 2014 12:24 p.m.
Drs forced many graveyard based decks out of the meta. There are more viable archetypes now.
March 11, 2014 1:36 p.m.
SnowCoveredRevenge says... #10
Deathrite was a mistake, that card should have never been printed. it is WAAAAAAAAAAAY too powerful for all intensive purposes it is Birds of Paradise /Grim Lavamancer stuck together and then improved. it should have been a legendary and/or mythic at one mana. for two mana it would have been a little more fair. Magic is better without DRS
March 12, 2014 11:07 a.m.
CanadianShinobi says... #11
@ SnowCoveredRevenge oddly enough, DRS only proves to be powerful in the larger formats such as Modern and Legacy. In Standard there simply isn't enough for him to do because of the smaller card pool. That the card shouldn't have been printed is something of an exageration.
However, concerning the current metagame, I am in agreement that it needs time to adapt. If Pod is still tearing things up 6 months down the line, then that might be something to consider.
March 12, 2014 11:54 a.m.
I was pretty excited when I saw the top 16 list for GP Richmond. It was so diverse! It just happened to be that every pod list rose to the top.
March 12, 2014 12:17 p.m.
SnowCoveredRevenge says... #13
Pod decks will only continue to get better, with more and more creatures being produced that have good etb effects they will only continue to thrive and dominate. Something should be done and I do not think it is a banning. Pod is the most consistent deck because it can take minor relative risk for great reward. Unbanning certain cards would open the format up. If Ancestral Vision was unbanned hard control decks could become a thing, plus it will make Restore Balance /Living End decks T1.
Another card unbanned would be Sword of the Meek . It was banned because Thopter Foundry +Sword of the Meek was a haus in Extended. which is a weak reason at the very least and at the worst it is criminal. once again it would give control deck advantage engine and a new combo to break. and do not tell me that two card combos are not cool because kiki plus xyz is a two card combo.
There is my two cents.
March 12, 2014 11:55 p.m.
Question:
Is it possible they will remove the ban on Deathrite Shaman ? Just wondering.
TurboFagoot says... #2
The metagame is healthy. After Pod dominated the GP, the meta will adapt and bring more Pod hate, the same way everyone adapted to Blood Moon doing well and changed their lists.
March 11, 2014 10:22 a.m.