Banned:
Unbanned:
Watch List (Changes):
Added to Watchlist:
Removed from Watchlist:
Reasoning:
1. Crop Rotation
The format is currently perceived as healthy, with many different deck types being playable and played. However, TPS (The Perfect Storm) has emerged as a front-runner due to its immense speed, which surpasses many other decks. It is considered essential for the format to keep “combo” viable but to prevent it from becoming absolutely dominant. For this reason, Crop Rotation was banned in order to remove what is effectively a second Tolarian Academy from the deck, thereby reducing its explosiveness.
2. Mana Vault
The banning of Mana Vault was guided by the concept of a “gradual slowdown” of the format. Mana Vault creates situations where 5 or more mana can be generated on turn 2, leading to game states that become irreversible at such an early stage of the game. Moreover, it has been observed that the currently above-average decks — Stax, TPS, and FiresGeddon — all make use of Mana Vault. In an effort to intervene and slow down the pace of the game, Mana Vault was banned.
3. Trinisphere
Trinisphere can create a turn 1 lock with the help of Mishra’s Workshop (and other cards), which most decks cannot overcome. The Grand Prix-winning Stax deck made heavy use of Trinisphere to prevent the opponent from taking any meaningful actions or responses. To reduce such early decisions in the game and to maintain a chance for players to recover from early setbacks, Trinisphere was banned.
4. Balance
Balance has been reintroduced to the format. It has become apparent from the Grand Prix and other developments that control decks have fallen behind and are not being played successfully. To make control more attractive and provide a useful tool against the Beatdown strategies of various decks, Balance was unbanned.
5. Watchlist Changes
- Tendrils of Agony is removed from the watchlist because Ignite Memories now provides a second kill option for Storm combo decks.
- The other cards removed from the watchlist — Back to Basics, Dream Halls, Earthcraft, Entomb, Mana Vault, and Stroke of Genius — have not displayed ban-worthy potential over the past months.
- Life from the Loam is now added to the watchlist. Crucible of Worlds must also be observed more closely to evaluate how easily Balance can be abused with Zuran Orb and one of the aforementioned cards.
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