Unbanning Stoneforge?
Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum
Posted on Jan. 6, 2014, 10 p.m. by Turn_Soonest
Does anyone else see them unbaning Stoneforge Mystic and putting Batterskull on the ban wagon? I see it happening soon, and I really hope it does. Thoughts?
Batterskull is the promo for all the GPs in 2014 (or maybe just the first half of the year), not just Richmond. I don't think WOTC would want to ban a card while they're giving it away as a promo, although I'm sure officially the promos aren't part of their decision tree for the banned list. More generally, I don't think they've ever given much of an indication that they want to unban anything in Modern. They never have before, and Stoneforge certainly isn't where they would start. If they were going to unban something, it would probably start with Wild Nacatl. That's the least broken / least likely to help combo decks win on turn 3 card on the Modern banned list.
January 6, 2014 10:23 p.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #4
Just curious, what in particular about Stoneforge Mystic and Batterskull makes you see that happening?
January 6, 2014 10:54 p.m.
Turn_Soonest says... #5
Because Batterskull was causing all the problems along with Jitte. So take those out and bring her back in, and I don't see much of a problem. I just feel like the switch could happen.
January 6, 2014 11:23 p.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #6
Well, the actual problems were 2-mana Batterskulls and decks that could start 5 copies of Jitte. That's why Stoneforge Mystic took the hit.
January 6, 2014 11:33 p.m.
InconspicuousPotato says... #7
@bclare "They never have before..." That is false. They unbanned Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle .
January 6, 2014 11:33 p.m.
Turn_Soonest says... #8
Yeah, that's why I'm saying keep Jitte out, ban Batterskull , and unban Stoneforge Mystic
January 6, 2014 11:36 p.m.
MindAblaze says... #9
If they're going to unban something my vote is Bitterblossom .
I wouldn't cry if they unbanned stoneforge in modern because then I'd be able to use my playset BUT I remember ZEN/Scars standard...not cool at all.
January 7, 2014 12:12 a.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #11
Banning 2 cards that aren't serious problems just so it's safe to unban one card doesn't make sense.
Anyway, if Stoneforge Mystic is unbanned then we'll just start having Sword of Feast and Famine problems again. Would you also ban that card, as well as Sword of War and Peace , just to get Stoneforge back in the format?
January 7, 2014 9:33 a.m.
CanadianShinobi says... #12
Why ban Batterskull ? What's your reasoning behind this?
January 7, 2014 9:41 a.m.
MindAblaze says... #13
Batterskull was the last straw in getting Stoneforge banned from Standard. It was abusive before New Phyrexia came out, but a turn 3 Batterskull is too easy with Stoneforge Mystic and thus ridiculously unfair and unfun.
January 7, 2014 12:35 p.m.
KrosanTusker says... #14
Stoneforge Mystic is the problem, not Batterskull . The mystic does so much other nasty stuff than just 'skulls.
January 7, 2014 12:42 p.m.
Usually when a card is banned, it stays that way. There's always a reason behind it, and that's to stop certain deck types from taking over the meta. If they unban something that had a very good reason to be banned, the problems just start up again.
January 7, 2014 1:29 p.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #16
Much rather have Bitterblossom unbanned. Waste Not seems like the closest replacement we'll get MindAblaze!
January 7, 2014 5:37 p.m.
There's no reason to ban Batterskull . A 4/4 with vigilance and lifelink for five is entirely fair, especially considering Wurmcoil Engine exists. Lodestone Golem is more format warping. Unbanning Stoneforge Mystic would just result in having to ban 6+ cards to balance out the format. All so we can play Bonesplitter at instant speed? With aggro decks losing their ability to deal with midrange decks? No thanks.
January 7, 2014 6:39 p.m.
it's Stoneforge Mystic
who allows you to bypass mana cost, not batterskull.
January 8, 2014 6:42 p.m.
Tradeylouish says... #19
I'm sure people would just break Stoneforge Mystic with equipment other than Umezawa's Jitte and Batterskull (which is a fair card on its own)... The Mirrodin swords are pretty strong, and perhaps Affinity could search up Cranial Plating .
Servo_Token says... #2
I don't think it's likely. Batterskull isn't wrecking every game like caw-blade did, or like Delver did. Sure, it's a key card, but I see no reason that it be banned.
I mean, SCG is even giving it out as a promo during GP Richmond. Could they ban it sometime in the future? Possibly. But for now I think it'll be sticking around.
As for unbanning Stoneforge, I also don't think it's likely, as it will bring back a resurgence of decks that revolve around her and the issue that caused her to be banned would continue to be an issue again.
January 6, 2014 10:12 p.m.