August 2020 Banned and Restricted
Pioneer forum
Posted on Aug. 3, 2020, 1:01 p.m. by Argy
Inverter of Truth is banned.
Kethis, the Hidden Hand is banned.
Walking Ballista is banned.
Underworld Breach is banned.
Read the full announcement here.
I will start playing again on MTGO, now that Combo Summer is over.
Anyone else?
Cant wait to get back to pioneer events! I have to do some sideboard reworking lol
Thank you WotC
August 3, 2020 3:56 p.m.
Oloro_Magic says... #4
As a devoted Lotus Breach player I can't help but say I'm a little disappointed they decided to take this kind of unilateral action, but even I am not blind to the fact that the format had a clear and definable problem.
Inverter of Truth needed to be banned, its needed a ban for a while as that deck just far out performed anything else that the format was doing; an issue in part caused by other bans such as Smuggler's Copter but mainly due to the fact that the Inverter deck simply shrugged off competition from any "fair" magic deck. You will find very little argument I imagine that seeks to defend Inverter, and the arguments that do exist likely will offer alternatives such as Thassa's Oracle or Dig Through Time as possible bans.
As far as the other cards banned, I think this is more of a clear message than metagame action in particular. Lotus Breach didn't have great aggro matchups meaning it would have been interesting to see how the deck would fair in an Inverter-less world. But I digress, Underworld Breach likely would have had to be banned for some reason or another in the next few years, so in many ways this is simply cutting the metaphorical chord before it becomes an oppressive issue similar to the effect Inverter has had on the format. The other bans however are odd to me and are more clearly associated with this message from wizards that Pioneer is not a format where un-fair combo decks, i.e. the only decks I play unfortunately, are particularly welcome.
Of course everyone will have their opinion on that stance, I personally don't endorse it, but even if you are like me and oppose it, one has to admit that a fair format is more welcoming to new players and more advantageous for format growth in this its infancy. I strongly disagree with the Walking Ballista ban, as well as the Kethis, the Hidden Hand, I don't think either of those decks posed a significant threat to the metagame following an inverter/breach ban. In fact, in defense of the Heliod/Ballista deck, I have always found this deck to be relatively fair. Yes you can build it so it wins turn 3, but the most popular builds tend to not play out so much as a combo deck and has a good deal of interaction. Additionally, presumably with a return to more interaction in the format we would see a good deal of interaction for this deck's combo in the form of simple removal; it would have been beneficial in my mind to see how the deck reacts to a more "fair" meta. Kethis, the Hidden Hand feels the most like a statement, and there wasn't a ton of data, for obvious reasons, to consider its potential impact.
So while I agree with 2/4 bans, I don't see this as a ban on a few decks that were dominating the format, but rather a wholescale rejection of combo existing in the infancy of the format. This does not mean that the format won't breed new combo decks, as time goes on that will just happen naturally, but wizards has sent a clear message they want to keep Pioneer a format focused on fair and interactive magic. I am interested though to see what effect this announcement has on the metagame at a competitive level. Of course we are going to see a lot of brewing as people who don't share my sensibilities come back to the format, which is a good thing. However, what will emerge from the dust so to speak? Ramp decks feel like they could be well-positioned, some kind of updated version of the deck that was dominating standard until today as well. I imagine mono-black is still playable, what about UWx control, I thought the deck had a lot of potential before Inverter came along, I'm curious to see where the format goes. I for one will be working on a UGx ramp list and see where that takes me, but who knows, the best thing I personally can take from this announcement is that the format is open again, meaning its time to get in a lot of testing.
August 3, 2020 4:28 p.m.
WolfWitcher518 says... #5
Oloro_Magic: i agree Walking Ballista didn't need banned. they should have banned Heliod, Sun-Crowned instead if they wanted to eliminate that combo. ballista is still useful without heliod, but i havent heard of heliod being used without ballista. its a real shame cuz i was planning on building a green ramp deck that used Ugin, along with ballista and other X-cost colorless creatures that would be safe from Ugin's -X ability. i was also planning an abzan counters deck using Conclave Mentor and Winding Constrictor. both deck ideas suffer from the loss of ballista.
all because wotc is too dumb to bother looking back through their own database for creatures that abuse counters before deciding to print heliod, despite the fact that ballista should have been front and center in their minds regardless due to its popularity.
August 4, 2020 12:07 a.m.
Wizards was aware that Ballista and Heliod would make an infinite combo.
What they didn't know was what impact that would have on the game.
Combo Summer saw a lot of people stop playing on MTGO. Wizards gave the meta time to develop, and it became obvious that people would just rather play something else.
Something had to change to maintain interest in Pioneer.
The older part of a combo is usually what gets banned, for two reasons:
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The newer part of the combo might still sell boxes.
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If it has been abused once, it is likely that the older part of the combo can be abused again.
The Ballista ban completely ruined one of my decks, but made another one better.
A lot of people play Pioneer due to the fact that they can just rework their old Standard decks, I suspect. I look forward to a field that feels more diverse, like it did at the start.
August 4, 2020 7:48 a.m.
WolfWitcher518 says... #7
it would still have been better to ban heliod rather than ballista. wotc has said before they try to minimize "splash damage" with their bans so that only the intended decks are effective, yet this ban is the opposite. ballista is clearly useful in more decks than heliod. unless mono white lifegain becomes a thing, i doubt heliod sees any more play.
August 4, 2020 1:20 p.m.
TriusMalarky says... #9
Actually, I think that they are actively trying to support mono white lifegain. They've been doing it since M19.
Ballista is also the go-to whenever someone gets their hands on infinite mana, so...
TriusMalarky says... #2
Welp, I guess I won't sell out of the game yet.
August 3, 2020 1:25 p.m.