This is exactly how it happened. I have transcripts.
Wizards R&D: “Alright. So for today’s meeting we wanted to touch base with Gerry about some cards we have a little bit of concern over. He assures
me that he’s done plenty of research and that we’ll know whether or not they are going to be a problem. Thanks for your time, Gerry.”
Gerry: “My pleasure. Which one do you want to go over first?”
Wizards R&D: “Well we’re a bit worried about the two card-drawing spells from Khans: Dig Through Time and Treasure Cruise. What are your thoughts
on them?”
Gerry: “Completely fine.”
Wizards R&D: “Completely…fine?”
Gerry: “Completely fine.”
Wizards R&D: “Are you sure…because delve is a pretty powerful mechanic. Even innocuous cards like Tombstalker saw a lot of play just because it was
almost a free 5/5 flier.”
Gerry: “Completely fine.”
Wizards R&D: “And how did you come to this conclusion? You have to understand that we’re really looking to you for this information. You’re one of
the most decorated players in the world, and your understanding of blue spells is almost second to no one. If you say these cards are fine we’ll
absolutely take your word, but you must understand our hesitancy when all you’re telling us is that they’re ‘completely fine.’ You know what I mean,
Gerry?”
Gerry: “I looked them over extensively. They have blue mana symbols on them and they let you draw cards by removing cards from your graveyard for a
cheaper cost.”
Wizards R&D: “Exactly, yes. That’s what they do.”
Gerry: “Completely fine.”
Everyone in the room looks around and nods approvingly.
Wizards R&D: “My fears are completely put to bed. Now let’s talk about Jeskai Ascendancy. Your thoughts, Gerry?”
Gerry: “Completely fine.”
I was told to burn the tape afterwards, but I assure you everything is true that I have just transcribed. The source didn’t want to be revealed, but let’s
just say his name rhymes with “Tryin’ Von-Huin.”
This weekend, unless you live under a freaking rock or don’t have internet…in which case I don’t know how you’re reading this…there was a 4,000-person GP
in New Jersey run by StarCityGames. For the past few weeks, we’ve been hyping you up on how ridiculous it was going to be, and luckily, the event didn’t
disappoint as the coverage was awesome, the matches were even better, and from what my friends who attended told me, it was one of the best events they’ve
ever played in.
Pretty sweet, huh?
Across the pond, a horse of a different color was battling as Grand Prix Madrid took place, giving us a huge look on the Modern landscape.
What did we learn?
Well the first is a pretty big shocker to me: the internet will go bat-**** crazy when something confuses or upsets it, and in this case the denizens of
Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit upheld decorum by shouting the word “BAN” in threads that extend as far as the eye can see.
I have compiled their reactions into one short video upon exposure to Treasure Cruise, Dig Through Time, Jeskai Ascendancy, and others:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6ucZsJQxbQ
That sums things up nicely.
Today we’re going to do something important: we’re going to look at some of these egregious offenders and determine whether or not they are worthy of the
vitriol that people are spitting at them. We’ll delve (pun totally intended) into just how offensive they are in their respective formats. Let’s begin,
possibly with the most outrageous of the potential banned victims.
Treasure Cruise
Crime: Drawing Too many cards for too cheap
Threat Density: Heavy
First and foremost is big daddy Treasure Cruise. This card is played in decks that offer cheap cantrips, burn spells, and other ways to fill up your
graveyard. From there it essentially allows the pilot to draw three cards for a single blue mana, usually with a few other lands untapped to ensure a
healthy card flow and the ability to counter a threat that may come after it. After being way ahead in cards and having a multitude of answers for whatever
your opponent plays, closing out a game becomes far less difficult. Resolving the first Treasure Cruise gives you a great shot at resolving the second one,
burying your opponent in card advantage.
Why this card should be banned:
An excerpt from WoTC’s reasoning for banning Ancestral Visions in Modern:
“
The combination of Ancestral Vision, Spell Snare, and other counterspells lets control decks draw cards very cheaply without getting behind early on,
and that’s powerful enough that we feel safer having it banned.”
Wizard’s heart may have been in the right place, as it turns out that this card goes extremely well in tempo-oriented decks like U/R Delver in both formats
and Jeskai Stoneblade in Legacy. One drawback to these builds a few months ago was that they, while playing the best draw like Brainstorm and Ponder, were
still susceptible to limited resources. Now they basically get to play Ancestral Recall, which generates an absurd amount of advantage. This has all but
pushed most combo decks out the format for Legacy players, and in Modern, the format has evolved around the powerful sorcery. Pod decks have had to cope
with the changes, and it appears that they have done so in spades. However, that didn’t stop Temur Delver from taking down Madrid, showing that no matter
how “prepared” these decks were, they still weren’t ready enough to stop it. Eight copies were featured in the winning decks from the weekend. That was not
a fluke.
Why this card shouldn’t be banned:
Knee-jerk reactions are never good for Magic. The last few weeks have shown how ridiculously good Treasure Cruise is, but prior to it, the format felt
heavily dominated by Birthing Pod strategies. Does that mean Pod should have been banned?
At the core, Treasure Cruise in Modern gives blue decks a much better game against green-based decks. It’s not like blue was underrepresented, but Pod was
almost certainly the best thing you could be doing, even though Splinter Twin and Jeskai Control decks still put up strong numbers. In Legacy the format is
warping around Treasure Cruise, but that’s not uncommon to happen until things settle themselves down. In a format defined by Wasteland and Brainstorm,
Treasure Cruise plays more of the role of expert support than linchpin like Survival of the Fittest or the like.
Will it get banned:
I have a gut feeling that in Modern it has a 60/40 shot of getting banned while in Legacy it will be just fine unless it finds a way to do something more
degenerate.
Dig Through Time
Crime: Double Impulse
Threat Density: Moderate
Next up on the list is Dig Through Time. For the record, I love this card. I think it’s a great addition to most formats, but it might be too good in
Eternal formats like Vintage. One argument I make consistently for this card is that it seems to have shaken up things quite a bit, and in a format like
Vintage that doesn’t seem like such a bad thing. This card allows the player to check the top seven cards of their library and pick out two of them. The
bottom five cards can be shuffled back in with fetchlands if they are important enough, and Dig Through Time chains very, very well.
Why this card should be banned:
Of all the cards people are losing their minds about, this is the one that confuses me the most. Some folks seem to believe that since it allows you to
chain through most of the deck that it’s too powerful. Where Treasure Cruise lets you draw three unknown cards, Dig lets you pretty much customize your
hand and lock your opponent out via pure attrition. Another strong case for it is that it’s not imperative to delve it since it’s an instant, which gives
an amazing amount of flexibility. In Modern, this card blows open the doors of Scapeshift, which was already a Tier 1-1.5 deck, making an appearance in
Till Riffert’s list.
Why this card shouldn’t be banned:
Again, I do not see a problem with this card at all in Legacy and Modern. I think because it says “delve” it gets lumped into the conversation with
Treasure Cruise, but at the end of the day, the effect isn’t powerful enough to warrant any kind of banning in any format.
Will it get banned:
In Legacy and Modern, absolutely not. While good, it’s by no means unbeatable. In Vintage, I would be willing to bet it gets restricted along with Treasure
Cruise, but even that feels like a long shot. From my friends who are extremely active in the Vintage community, they believe it’s very powerful but not
warranting any type of action now.
Jeskai Ascendancy
Crime: Millions of triggers
Threat Density: Modern Offender
For those of you that dabble in Standard, you know Jeskai Ascendancy as a deck that combos off with Retraction Helix, a mana accelerant/Springleaf Drum,
creatures, and the Ascendancy. In Modern the combo is a little easier to obtain with free cards like Gitaxian Probe and other cheap cantrips like Sleight
of Hand and Serum Visions. The deck also has the ability to draw every card and eventually kill with Grapeshot. It also boasts being able to play to great
effect Glittering Wish, giving it remarkable consistency.
Why this card should be banned:
For a similar reason that Sensei’s Divining Top is banned, Jeskai Ascendancy makes games take very long once it starts to get going. You have to resolve
multiple triggers, draw a bunch of cards and then figure out what you’re going to discard, tap and untap your team while floating mana/keeping track of
what you’re floating, and maintain the storm count.
You might be saying “Mark- look at the Top 8 of Madrid! It wasn’t even in the Top 8!” You’re right, but along with Treasure Cruise the format has warped
almost entirely around this deck. It has put up excellent numbers in other Modern tournaments along with online. Playing against it can take forever, and
that was a strike against Top when deciding what should be banned going in to Modern.
Why this card shouldn’t be banned:
The results of Madrid show that it is possible to hate out this deck, which was a huge concern going forward. WoTC has also stated that they like how
diverse Modern is, and this gives the format a true combo deck–a little more combo to me than something like Twin just because of the general nature of
it. The problem, people think with this, is that eventually when the hate gets soft due to how the metagame is shifted, Ascendancy will become oppressive
again, creating a circular pattern of play Ascendancy, then play to beat Ascendancy, then play Ascendancy and so forth. However, for the time being, it
might not be necessary to ban it.
Will it get banned:
I believe Jeskai Ascendancy will indeed get banned. It breaks several of the statures they set forth for Modern and can kill on turn 2 rarely, but can kill
consistently on turns 3 or 4 while being moderately difficult to disrupt. Just the fact that it can make games take too long makes it feel like Second
Sunrise, which was a card that was one part degenerate and another part game lengthener. Eventually the U/W/R enchantment will spring up again during a
major event, and when it does, it will put a large bullseye make on its forehead.
What I would like to see in Modern going forward is exactly what a lot of people have been posting about: unbannings. There are a few hits on the list that
have been begging to come off the banned column, and I’d like to see something like that happen. Perhaps these cards we’ve talked about today are powerful,
but would Treasure Cruise shake in the wake of Jace, the Mind Sculptor?
Here’s my rundown of what should come off the banned list (all completely opinion):
Without question Jace is the most powerful planeswalker ever printed, but he might be just the right speed for Modern. In Standard, he was an oppressive
force, but Modern has a much more robust card pool that can not only handle Jace, but keep him completely in check. His unbanning would see a surge in
control decks while giving something like Faeries a rebirth.
Spinning the Bloodbraid Wheel is a scary proposition to let back in to Modern, but now we’re talking about a format that no longer includes Deathrite
Shaman. Bloodbraid into Tarmogoyf seems far less terrifying when your opponent’s flipped Delver is bashing and they’re Cruising for a bruising on you. I
think people most often remember the fear of Elf into Blightning, but those days are pretty much long gone. I say unban Bloodbraid and give Jund and Naya
decks a chance to compete.
Would it be so bad to have Dredge in the format? With the abundance of hosers out there and Pod decks playing maindeck Scavenging Ooze, why shouldn’t the
Troll get its chance to prove that it’s not too strong but just the right shade of good? Dredge in Modern doesn’t get to play Cabal Therapy, so the
disruption package would be moderate at best. The best a Reanimator deck has shown us in Modern is Goryo’s Vengeance/Through the Breach, but this deck
could take that to a whole different level of interesting.
Am I crazy?
Am I right?
Am I wrong?
Make sure you share with everyone exactly what your thoughts are on these potential bannings are, what cards you’re looking out for, and what you think
everyone is overreacting to.
As for me, I’m off to play the new WoW expansion.
I have a sickness, kiddies, and the only cure is more Warlords.
Help?