Modern Banlist Update - 1/19/15
Modern forum
Posted on Jan. 19, 2015, 10:58 a.m. by GlistenerAgent
Banned: Birthing Pod, Dig Through Time, Treasure Cruise
Unbanned: Golgari Grave-Troll
Holy shit.
Pretty much that
If you're playing a non-aggro or non-control strategy you must play goyf if you're in green.
January 19, 2015 5:43 p.m.
Named_Tawyny says... #3
I suspect that, unless Dig completely wrecks Legacy, it will be unbanned within the year - there simply isn't as much supporting it being gone.
Yes, it made Delver better; that's not why TC was banned though. TC was banned because (like 'goyf) it could be splashed anywhere. In a format with fetches and shocks, coming up with 
isn't really that tough - which means you have to play TC.
Dig, at twice the mana and half the card advantage, isn't as omni-splashable. It'll make the decks its in better and more consistent, but only if it makes sense to have it in.
January 19, 2015 5:44 p.m.
PValBlanc - At this I just think they should ban it to really shake up the format and a shit ton of rogue decks will suddenly appear. As it is there's just a 'correct way' to build midrange and that's dull. If they could print things that were better than goyf then I'd be very happy indeed but that probably won't happen....... I mean, a 2 mana 5/6 (land, creature, instant, sorcery, planeswalker) that's achievable by T3 or T4 without much difficulty is just really solid. I don't see much challenging his dominance.
January 19, 2015 5:47 p.m.
Wow...POD came out of no where...those poor bastards with $2000 decks...I was considering building a POD deck someday, guess not for awhile now. Banning both TC and Dig does seem kind of crazy. Prices for both should drop considering they are still in standard and being cracked. Damn...
@ChiefBell - Y'all are going to have to update the Modern Primer now, Modern just lost two pretty popular archetypes...
January 19, 2015 5:55 p.m.
ThisIsBullshit says... #6
It seems like they dropped the banhammer on TC and DTT a little quickly...they've been out for less than five months, you'd think you'd have to wait a little longer in order to determine the long term effects of those cards.
January 19, 2015 5:57 p.m.
I'm going to preface my statement by saying I didn't read all 11 pages of y'all whinging, but I actually agree with the bannings.
Yes, if they wanted to nerf Pod they could have just banned Siege Rhino or another part of the deck that would hurt it without killing it, however that sets a dangerous precedent. Every time they print a strong creature, should it be inducted into pod lists, it becomes a ban target. Siege Rhino wasn't a problem; Pod was. They shouldn't have to be fighting to keep a card legal; if it poses that much of a problem, it needs to go. Yes it's a shame to kill a whole archetype, and if you've invested in Pod a ton (as my close friend has), that really sucks. I think after the format restabilizes in a few months, though, Midrange will become more diverse because it won't be pigeonhole'd into playing pod.
As for Cruise and Dig, I think the Dig banning is somewhat questionable but I understand their reasoning; Dig would just become less-good Cruise for most decks, or it was already better anyway. Delve is a dangerous mechanic, and unfortunately it was just too strong on draw-related cards. Honestly no reasonable amount of grey mana would balance Cruise; it could be 10U and still see tons of play.
At first look, the bannings seemed bizarre. Under more thought, though, I support them and think it will open up a lot of oppurtunites for strong creatures to be printed.
Oh, and I love dredge (I play Assault Loam Reanimator) so I'm happy to test GG Troll a bit. He was due to come off.
January 19, 2015 5:58 p.m.
Ohthenoises says... #8
I blame the pro community for the quick ban.
The best analogy I can come up with for the TC and Pod ban is this:
The pros were the the older brothers.
They saw that their little brother got a new toy.
They cried and cried about how the new toy wasn't fair because their little brother was having so much fun with their new toy.
Then mommy and daddy get fed up with all of the crying and they took away the toy of the older brother AND the younger brother.
January 19, 2015 6:06 p.m.
Haha.
I'm just sad because I worry about variety in the format now.
January 19, 2015 6:08 p.m.
JakeHarlow says... #10
@ Ohthenoises: Hahahahaha. Pretty much. Pretty much.
January 19, 2015 6:08 p.m.
I just am super scared of it becoming 'play aggro, counterspells or tarmogoyf'
That would be a bit sad.
January 19, 2015 6:10 p.m.
ChiefBell I get that. But even if the bans do end up hurting the format, Wizards don't stand to profit from boring ass formats. I have faith that after a couple sets time of tedium, they will see to it that it recovers.
January 19, 2015 6:14 p.m.
i think things like Living End could make a comeback, Gifts, and Bloom Titan also look good too.
January 19, 2015 6:15 p.m.
JakeHarlow says... #14
But maybe Soul Sisters will return to the scene. Maybe.
January 19, 2015 6:16 p.m.
CrazyLittleGuy says... #15
@ChiefBell Worried about variety? Modern was fine pre-KTK, and it's basically going to be the same as it was then, except without Pod - and we might see Junk decks with Siege Rhino. In fact, there was more variety before KTK than in recent months.
@Ohthenoises I don't see a need to blame anyone. I don't imagine Wizards just blindly banned it, but you're probably correct that they gave it extra attention due to the outcry of prominent players. Would it have been banned if pros weren't calling for it? Maybe. How would you know?
January 19, 2015 6:16 p.m.
Well... what am I gonna do with my delver deck now. :(
January 19, 2015 6:20 p.m.
Ohthenoises says... #17
CrazyLittleGuy All I have seen in the past few months are "pros" on TCG, CFB, SCG, and youtube saying things like "...and treasure cruise (this should be banned)..." or "...I drew three cards with ban cruise..." I think Wizards caved in.
Keep in mind, I bear no salt over this. Pod was one of my worst matchups as an 8 rack player. Seeing it go is no skin off my teeth. I just think WotC pussed out.
January 19, 2015 6:21 p.m.
I thought that in the future we'd end up with pre ktk modern with an added delver deck in most top 8s. That's not bad. Because the thing is, delver looked to be calming down. It was no longer in every top 8. It was no longer absolutely smashing everything else. With the hype dying down I thought we'd get pre ktk meta game with one extra deck.
January 19, 2015 6:21 p.m.
As Ohthenoises says. I should be happy. I play BGx so I'm sorted. A tricky match up has gone for me. But I can't help but feel bad for my fallen brethren. I always considered pod players to be essentially playing a different spin on the same idea as my deck.
January 19, 2015 6:24 p.m.
Plus, I kinda liked pod based on the fact that a bad player does not win with pod. The archetype encouraged skill, if for that reason only I'm sad to see it go.
January 19, 2015 6:29 p.m.
Ohthenoises says... #21
Pod and delver were some of my worst matchups* I meant to say.
January 19, 2015 6:31 p.m.
GlistenerAgent says... #23
From Willy Edel:
"Dear WotC: Thanks for the bans, but if u wanna ban all Abzan's bad matchups you forgot to ban the tron lands. Could you fix this please?"
January 19, 2015 6:38 p.m.
At first I was very unhappy love both Treasure Cruise and Dig Through Time but then I realised that delver is still a reasonable deck especially without pod in the format. also don't see how they could justify banning dig and cruise without banning Birthing Pod
January 19, 2015 7:19 p.m.
aeonstoremyliver says... #26
TC I can see, DTT makes little sense, and Pod... Well fu**. I spent a few months putting a decent list together. Kinda pisses me off that my investment tanked.
I also concur that variety in the format will be very few Tier 1 archetypes. That also kinda sucks.
So, who wants to play Legacy?!
January 19, 2015 7:29 p.m.
CanadianShinobi says... #27
Okay, I've calmed down a little. Somewhat... I'm still scratching me head over Dig Through Time because I cannot agree with the logic behind it. It was a legitimately good card, but not broken. I can see the logic about TC. Do I like it? Not really, no. But I can follow Wizard's reasoning. And that's all that matters to me.
But Birthing Pod is what bothers me. Mostly because is smacks of hypocrisy. Wizards has mentioned numerous times that they do not want to outright destroy achetypes, because it lessens format diversity. Axing an entire archetype by banning pod is, to me at least, hypocritical and will not benefit the format in any way.
Dredge does not possess the tools in Modern that it does in Legacy to be an effective deck. Even Living End doesn't possess enough punch to make utilizing dredge to be effective. The unbanning of Golgari Grave-Troll is like unbanning Bitterblossom or Wild Nacatl, it was bound to happen eventually and will have little impact henceforth.
But, perhaps I'm wrong. I am, after all a Control player. Maybe these bans and unbanning will benefit the format. I would like to think so, but I'm just not sure it will. I think the format is going to devovle into Twin, Goyfs and Affinity, maybe Tron. Only time will tell though. As it stands right now though, I think Wizards has made something of a mistake. Pod, is hypocrisy and DTT and TC have been banned before sufficient evidence could be gathered.
January 19, 2015 7:43 p.m.
I see the banning of Pod as a way to increase diversity in the long run. Pod won almost 50% of the recent GPs, which means that for decks to be effective, they absolutely need to build/sideboard around pod, or else there is a very strong chance their opponent will destroy them with it. It may have taken out one archetype, but it should strengthen the others and allow newer ones to rise up without having to build around the consistency that was Pod.
Dig was most likely banned alongside TC because the two could be used almost interchangeably. Cruise is better in most cases, but the main offenders(Delver mostly) could easily make due with Dig instead. And, as you said, Troll really didn't belong on the list in many people's opinion. However, combining Troll with Dig or Cruise means that you can Dredge him up then immediately Dig for and go 7 cards deep into your deck.
January 19, 2015 8:20 p.m.
BANNING TRESURE CRUISE AND DIF THROUGH TIME THIS WILL SQREW OVER JESKI STORM!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU WIZARDSOh and birthing pod is banned, that is an added bonus.I went 1-3 in a modren tornemnet because someone was using a birthing pod deck and someone was using a jeski storm deck.
January 19, 2015 8:41 p.m.
CanadianShinobi says... #31
I am fully aware that Dredge and Delve is asking for trouble, but I'm not so sure that leaving DTT would lead to the creation of that sort of deck. Even if it did, delve actively works against a card like Golgari Grave-Troll. So sure, you fueled your Delve, but now Golgari Grave-Troll isn't going to be nearly as big of a beater you want it to be.
DTT is not interchangeable with Cruise. The mana cost of two restricts it to certain decks. Furthermore, the even if it did become the go to card for Delver (assuming it wasn't banned) so what? Delver was no degenerate to the meta. For a company that has promoted the desire for a diverse format, Wizards has, in my opinion, taken a step backwards. There was a lack of sufficient evidence to warrant the banning of DTT.
Birthing Pod is tricky. Yes I am aware that it was becoming powerful, but we're not talking Jund levels of powerful. I agree that we shouldn't ban cards willy nilly just to curb Pod, but to utterly wipe out an archetype? It has fundamentally altered Modern, but not in a positive fashion. There will be no diversifying of the meta, there will be the old midrange decks re-surging and.... no just that. As ChiefBell and many others have noted, we will turn to a pre-KTK meta, but without one of the Tier 1 archetypes. That does not strike me as diverse.
But, as I have stated, I am more than willing to see myself proven wrong. I want to be proven wrong, because I love Modern. I am not a highly competitive player, but I do enjoy deck building and analyzing the game. But, that is my opinion. If any good can come from these bans then I will be the first to rejoice.
January 19, 2015 8:44 p.m.
@FrankDad - How did you go to a Modern event and not expect to see those two decks?? Were you not prepared for them???
January 19, 2015 8:44 p.m.
Yeah the cruise and dig bans were expected but i didn't see the pod ban lol. But the reasoning for it is because pod decks made up a huge amount of modern decks being played at events, so wizards probably wants more diversity in the format.
January 19, 2015 9:13 p.m.
actiontech nah... you can still drop it for zero to mess with affinity (y'all forgetting about affinity amongst all this?) or drop it for four to mess with splinter twin. Although I'll admit mustering the 8 mana required for that last one is only really conceivable in Tron or other ramp deck.
January 19, 2015 9:37 p.m.
notamardybum says... #36
hey...do you guys think treasure cruise and dig through time are going to get banned?
January 19, 2015 9:39 p.m.
No way man, wizards said they'd hold off and get more data first.
January 19, 2015 9:43 p.m.
At first a was a bit upset that my Jeskai Geist deck got a swift kick in the nuts, but now this means I get to dust off Sphinx's Revelation and Esper Charm >:)
January 19, 2015 9:44 p.m.
actiontech says... #40
I for one welcome our new robot overlords. All hail Steel Overseer! Hail your Master of Etherium!
Does suck that I just revamped my deck and pulled most of the 1 drops and added chalice maindeck to stop the U/R cruise deck shenanigans, but whatever I can change it back easily enough.
January 19, 2015 10:17 p.m.
Scytec i was using a Izzet burn-counterburn with goblin electromancer and i lost on turn 2. Turn Effing 2. and another game i lost on turn 4.
January 19, 2015 10:24 p.m.
GlistenerAgent says... #42
The nut draw for Green Ascendancy is turn 2, but that doesn't happen that often. You should know what you are up against though.
Or, I guess, what you were up against.
January 19, 2015 10:30 p.m.
Damn. Haha. Turn 2 in modern is pretty nice. Turn 4 should be manageable though. You should have been able to hinder at least one play or combo piece.
January 19, 2015 10:38 p.m.
GlistenerAgent says... #44
It's turn one mana accelerant --> turn 2 Ascendancy + Gitaxian Probe and going off.
January 19, 2015 10:40 p.m.
The way I see it we didn't need to sit under Treasure Cruise or Dig Through Time for very long for it to become clear that drawing cards is still one of the best effects in the game and that the rates these were costed at vs. when they were likely to be cast really held nearly no opportunity cost for most decks and were stellar rates the majority of the time.
As for Birthing Pod. If they made more cards that are 'kinda Pod' the the archetype wouldn't just die off. Hopefully that happens soon.
But, as it was, Birthing Pod really sat on a lot of the T2 crowd because it was so consistent and it was built of super cards and silver bullets. IMO, this made it basically a thrashing against many decks which didn't have reasonable access to specific hate or relied on slightly gimmicky ways to win. Banning it probably lowers T1 diversity but I think the consistency gap opens up T1.5 and T2 a good amount. Just my own 2 cents after going through all 14 pages.
January 19, 2015 10:43 p.m.
That's right 14. I'm already a page ahead. All hail my foresight. :P
January 19, 2015 10:46 p.m.
NO MORE POD OR DELVER?? BRING ON THE CONTROL AND TRON!!!!
January 19, 2015 11:47 p.m.
GenericNPC says... #49
I think the banning of Birthing Pod is a bit of a double-edged sword. I don't think it's completely accurate to say that Pod was so dominant because of its consistency. It won frequently because of this, yes, but I think a lot of its popularity is also due to the fact that most of the current deck has been around since only M14/RTR. Thoughtsieze, Abrupt Decay, Voice of Resurgence, Siege Rhino, Archangel of Thune, shocklands, KTK fetches, Scavenging Ooze, Sin Collector, Anafenza ... Pod was a deck that was not only competitive, but very approachable for new players.
The same versatility that WotC used to justify the ban, that it is capable of adapting new and powerful cards from current sets, is the same reason it was good for attracting new players to the format (at least currently as shocks and fetch reprints are still abundant). Most every competitive Modern deck comes with it at least one playset of somewhat-to-very expensive cards (lands notwithstanding), and Pod was relatively immune to that. Hierarch is there, but Birds work just as well in the mean time. There's no redundancy for Tarmogoyf, Dark Confidant, Cryptic Command, Snapcaster Mage, Karn, Mox Opal, Scapeshift, Arcbound Ravager, Daybreak Coronet, etc.
Banning Pod may be a healthy move for the Modern meta at the moment, but I worry what affects it will have on how approachable the format is in the long run.
//Dream sequence
Unless they reprint Goyf as a common in MM2
//End dream sequence
January 20, 2015 12:09 a.m.
Pretty sure Delver was still around before Khans CJK, pretty sure it'll still be around now. Yes, it took a hit. That's undeniable, but it'll still be around. It's not like it took a rocket to the face like pod did.
PValBlanc says... #1
ChiefBell which is exactly my point. Its not a question of this is broken, ban it. Its a question of please print something new to build midrange decks around to compete with it and diversify. Or am I nuts?
January 19, 2015 5:42 p.m.