Dec 2004 B/R Announcement

[Spiderman]

December 2004 Banned/Restricted Announcement

Pretty much just Stroke of Genius was unrestricted in Vintage. There's some stuff for Magic Online.

 

[Oversoul]

I was hoping Voltaic Key would be unrestricted too, but oh well...

I wonder how long until they start thinking about freeing stuff from the Legacy banned list. Land Tax and a few others look relatively safe...

 

[DarthFerret]

My question would be, are they ever going to unrestrict sol ring?

There are multiple ways now to get mana fairly easily, that this card does not seem to be as "broken" as it was when there were only 300 cards in the game.

I pray for the day I can play 4 sol rings in my deck!

 

[Spiderman]

Honestly, I doubt it. Since it produces more mana than it costs to get out and doesn't have a drawback, it's very efficient (and cheap to boot) and will probably remain on the list.

 

[Reverend Love]

Originally posted by DarthFerret
My question would be, are they ever going to unrestrict sol ring?

There are multiple ways now to get mana fairly easily, that this card does not seem to be as "broken" as it was when there were only 300 cards in the game.

I pray for the day I can play 4 sol rings in my deck!

No. Sol Ring is the rare magic card that produces more mana then is spent on it. It's an artifact so it's the definition of splashable. And it's reusable insane tempo boost.

I like WoTC's reasoning for taking it slow on the unrestricting. With well over 7000 possible threats/answers to draw from, a mistaken unrestricting could spell doom for Vintage's resurgence.

 

[Spiderman]

Aaron Forsythe's statements on the Announcement.

 

[Oversoul]

Originally posted by Reverend Love
I like WoTC's reasoning for taking it slow on the unrestricting. With well over 7000 possible threats/answers to draw from, a mistaken unrestricting could spell doom for Vintage's resurgence.

Agreed. Testing is important to determining whether the potentially unrestrictable cards are unrestrictable. Also, the testing (and those who are doing it) can not be infallible. It is best not to unrestrict several potentially dangerous cards all at once.

I did want them to unrestrict Key this time around as there is some talk about unrestricting Mind over Matter, and unrestricting two potent "untap" cards in the same round is less feasible. Still, I'm perfectly content with the fact that they are paying attention to the format and seem to be going about it in a competent manner.

 

[DarthFerret]

I understand completely where you both are coming from. My point of view is, that the restricted/banned lists are in place to keep a balance in the game. Thus, individual cards that are broken are placed there. Most of these cards have extreemly dramatic effects that can produce a simple game winning situation.....(Time Walk for example).

I have never seen (although I am sure someone else has) a game soley decided by the card Sol Ring, or any combo using it. That is why I think it is not quite as dangerous a card as it seems to have been deemed. I do think it is powerful, but no more so than dark ritual, or other fast mana effects. Plus, it is pretty simpe to sideboard against it (although as a casual player, I never have sideboards).

This is just my opinion, and I submit to the decisions of those in R & D because they are being paid for a reason: Generally speaking, they are smarter/better than I am at this.

 

[Reverend Love]

I remember Sol Ring's potency was realized very early on, and quickly made its way on the restricted list. Sol Ring has unarguably gotten even stronger with the advent of Mirrodin, the artifact heavy block. Cards such as Mindslaver (Super Word of Command, and Yes DarkFerret, it outright wins games), Mind Twist , and many others would become even more degenerate in a unrestricted Sol Ring environment.

have never seen (although I am sure someone else has) a game solely decided by the card Sol Ring, or any combo using it

.

It's called Tempo, and it wins the lion’s share of games. The ability to utilize more of the resources in your hand, will tip the balance in your favor. Sol Ring, the Moxen, Lotus, and Rituals do this. They're the conduits most often utilized in Type 1. While there's often a vast array of different resources used. They're more often then not powered out by the formerly listed mana providers. You need to start looking at the source of the win, not just the beatstick.

 

[Spiderman]

The main difference between Sol Ring and Dark Ritual (or other fast mana effects) is that Sol Ring is a permanent and thus re-usable.

 

[Nightstalkers]

Well whadda'ya know, me stroke is unrestricted.


I'm sure someone is having a stroke about that.

 

[Oversoul]

Sol Ring unrestricted would give Tendrils decks an awesome mana generating tool. For example, TPS could easily draw into one and a Dark Ritual, cast Bargain early on, then draw tons of cards, play Mana Crpyt, cast two more Sol Rings off the Crypt, cast a Mox or two, maybe some more Dark Rituals, etc.

Workshop decks would be given even more fast mana than they already have. They seem to be doing well enough without it...

And then there's Belcher...

Sol Ring has a pretty secure spot on the restricted list.

 

[train]

I'm sure there is a lot of stroking going on...eek: )

I agree on the amount of testing needed for un-restricting...

It is most important to keep the Blue cards banned/restricted... add islands to the list... and then un-ban/restrict every other colored card out there...