Gambler 28 A/GAMBLERCD28A.BIN/Utils/MAGIC/LISTA/news.txt

Text File | 1999-03-04 | 8KB | 199 lines

B/R List Announcement DCI Banned and Restricted List Announcement

Announcement Date: March 1, 1999 Effective Date: April 1, 1999

Standard Constructed:

Dream Halls is banned
Earthcraft is banned
Fluctuator is banned
Lotus Petal is banned
Recurring Nightmare is banned
Time Spiral is banned

Extended Constructed:

No changes

Urza Block Constructed:

Time Spiral is banned
Windfall is banned

Classic-Restricted (Type 1.5) Constructed:

Candelabra of Tawnos is UNBANNED
Copy Artifact is UNBANNED
Maze of Ith is UNBANNED
Mishra's Workshop is UNBANNED
Time Spiral is banned

Classic (Type 1) Constructed:

Maze of Ith is UNRESTRICTED
Time Spiral is restricted

Errata:

Effective March 1, 1999, the following errata have been issued for the "free"
creatures (Cloud of Faeries, Great Whale, Palinchron, and Peregrine Drake):
"When [this creature] comes into play, if you played it from your hand, untap
up to [the appropriate number] lands." Also, Priest of Gix has the following
errata: "When Priest of Gix comes into play, if you played it from your hand,
add [three black mana] to your mana pool." (This should be treated as if there
were actual mana symbols in the text box.)

In explaining the implications of the errata, Bill Rose (Magic lead designer)
had this to say: "With this template it's obvious you don't get to untap lands
(or in the case of Priest of Gix, add mana to your mana pool) when you put the
creature directly into play with an ability such as Recurring Nightmare's or
Sneak Attack's. Remember that 'played' is not the same as 'put into play.'"

Explanation of Banned and Restricted List

General Philosophy

Why does this quarter's Banned and Restricted List have more cards banned in
the Standard environment than any previous list? Simply put, the current
Standard environment is dominated by deck archetypes that are not good for the
health of the game. Too many "combination" decks are winning much too often
and much too quickly. These decks detract from the interactive element of the
Magic game that makes tournament play both interesting and enjoyable.

Combination decks have always existed in Magic play. Although they have their
place, the game suffers and players become frustrated when they start to
dominate the environment. Magic R&D's philosophy is that combination decks
should not be able to win too quickly or too efficiently. For example,
Channel/Black Lotus/Fireball was not an acceptable combination, and was
therefore remedied.

When the current problem cards were designed, the Standard environment was
considerably different from what it is today. A dominant deck type at that
time was the slow blue-white control deck. The speed of the Tempest
environment was a direct and deliberate response to this slow environment, and
introduced a number of cards that were "faster" than their predecessors.

Additionally, a number of new combination cards were released as a part of the
Urza's Saga card set. Because combination decks hadn't been a problem for
years, these new combination cards did not receive the attention they deserved
during the set's development. Once combined with the fast cards of the Tempest
environment, these combinations came into play much more quickly than
expected, resulting in frustrated players in the current Standard environment.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this has caused players.

Standard

Dream Halls: Magic R&D has been concerned with this card for quite a while
because it essentially allows players to ignore a spell's casting cost. In
general this may be acceptable, but when combined with card drawing, it
becomes problematic.

Earthcraft: This was a key card in many of the combination decks that
generated infinite mana. The "cost" of tapping a creature proved insufficient
when that creature could easily be untapped or recast over and over again.

Fluctuator: There was more debate over this card than any other card on the
list. In the end, Fluctuator was banned for the same reason that Recurring
Nightmare was banned. With the top tier of combination decks eliminated, the
Fluctuator deck would move to the forefront.

Lotus Petal: This card enables many combination decks to get their
combinations into play much earlier than they otherwise would. It serves only
to speed up the environment. Furthermore, it enables combination decks to use
multiple colors for free. Banning Lotus Petal allows certain combination cards
to remain in the environment that may otherwise have been banned (such as
Yawgmoth's Will).

Recurring Nightmare: This was a difficult decision. Although the errata to the
"free" creatures helps, the power of Recurring Nightmare deck archetypes would
still be too strong, especially when combined with Survival of the Fittest
(another card that was considered). Even though this deck is clearly not as
fast as Time Spiral decks, R&D feels that once Time Spiral is banned, the
Recurring Nightmare deck would become dominant.

Time Spiral: This was the key card in too many combination decks. Its power to
yield seven new cards for essentially no mana was unbalancing. In development,
R&D thought that six mana would be enough of a drawback, but that turned out
not to be the case.

Extended

The Extended environment was left untouched because the deck balance appears
to be normal. No deck type is dominating the current Extended environment.

Urza Block

Time Spiral: See Standard.

Windfall: This card yields too many cards for too low a cost. In a deck that
can empty its hand quickly, this card is unbalancing.

Classic Restricted

All banned or restricted cards in the Classic format are banned in the
Classic-Restricted format.

Classic

Time Spiral: The combination of its effect and the fact that it's "free" made
this card too powerful.

Maze of Ith: This card is not broken in today's environment, and therefore is
unrestricted.

             Magic Redemption Program

Wizards of the Coast believes that banning and/or restricting cards is
critical to creating long-term stability in the tournament environment.
However, we recognize this can be frustrating and disappointing to players who
purchase Magic product only to find that some cards are no longer allowed in
one of the most popular tournament formats. In conjunction with the recent
banning of the following cards from the Standard tournament format, Wizards of
the Coast is offering a Redemption Program.

Earthcraft          Tempest
Dream Halls         Stronghold
Recurring Nightmare Exodus
Fluctuator          Urza's Saga
Time Spiral         Urza's Saga
Tolarian Academy    Urza's Saga

Here's how the Redemption Program works:

1. Download then print the Redemption Form [WotC direct link] (PDF file)

2. Fill out the Redemption Form completely. Send the form along with any cards
from the above list to:

     Merchant Services--Magic Redemption Program
     P.O. Box 707
     Renton, WA 98057-0707
     U.S.A.

3. Wizards of the Coast will send you one booster pack for each valid card you
send in. The booster pack will be from the set that the redeemed card
originated from. In other words, if you send us two Dream Halls and one
Recurring Nightmare, we will send you two Stronghold boosters and one Exodus
booster. Wizards of the Coast regrets any inconvenience this may have caused
you.

Rules and Disclaimers:

   * Wizards of the Coast will not be responsible for or obligated to redeem
     cards that are lost in the mail. Please use certified or insured mail if
     this concerns you.

   * Cards must arrive in playable condition in order to be redeemed.

   * Redemption of Rath Cycle block cards (Tempest, Stronghold, and Exodus)
     will end November 1, 1999.

   * Redemption of Urza block cards (Urza's Saga, Urza's Legacy, and Urza's
     Destiny) will end November 1, 2000.

   * Only the cards on the above list are valid for redemption at this time.
     Any cards sent to us that are not from this list will not be redeemed or
     returned.

   * Please allow 4 to 6 weeks for delivery.