Author: Council

  • November 2021 Banlist Update

    November 2021 Banlist Update

    Changes to the present banned list, effective 15/11/2021:

    Banned

    Unbanned

    Single card explanations

    Umezawa’s Jitte

    A powerful equipment for sure, Jitte was deemed to be over the limit for a long time. But, in the days of fast, aggressive and powerful tempo decks, the initial investment of 4 mana to get the card going means it is not so over the top anymore. That’s not to say it isn’t potent. In fact beyond the 1st activation it is anything but weak. Still, during the trial period we got mostly positive feedback on this card and that’s why we feel confident Umezawa’s Jitte can stay in the format for now.

    Skullclamp

    Clamp in testing was warping decks towards smaller creatures, tutoring and anti-clamp tech. We saw an uptick of Stoneforge Mystic and Steelshaper’s Gift being played. Also Urza’s Saga, as the newcomer of the format, was used for this. Anti-clamp techs saw various artifact hate and instant based removal being played.
    The trial period showed that Skullclamp mostly wasn’t healthy for the format because it was warping games, it was included in from a card advantage point of view, and it was also freezing the boardstates into an unfun holding pattern with little to no hope of out-tempo’ing or out-value’ing the card. This was most crucially evident in midrange on midrange matches where advantages gained from Clamp could not be compensated for by the opponent. At the same time, the card pushed out many decks that didn’t have a chance to be competitive (in particular control decks that are already lagging behind) due to clamp being in the format.

    As Skullclamp has proven to be too powerful for the format as of now we have decided to keep it banned as well as to remove it from the unban watchlist for the time being!

    Secret Lair x The Walking Dead

    The ban of the Walking Dead Secret Lair never happened due to power or in-game reasons. Because the original contributing factors for the ban have been taken care off by Wizards, we don’t see any more reasons to keep the TWD cards banned. Therefore we decided that future “Universe Beyond”-cards will be legal in our format, too.

    Ban watchlist

    Unban Watchlist

    Additional Topics

    Secret Lair Statement

    As stated above WotC announced future “Secret Lair// Universe Beyond”-cards will also see printings in regular sets or on the “List”. (Source: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/secret-lair-universes-beyond-update-2021-06-07) Therefore they will be available much more easily and we decided that future “Universe Beyond”-cards will be legal in our format.

    Trial-Period Feedback and changes

    We were satisfied with the Trial Period as an instrument to playtest possible unban candidates. As it was the first time, we applied this instrument, we now have the opportunity to evolve this tool and adjust it to the specific needs of our player base.

    A large number of players were concerned, that the duration of the Trial Phase was too long. In the possible but hopefully not imminent case of the trial of a meta-breaking card, this would lead to an unhealthy metagame for a long period of time. Therefore, we decided to limit the Trial Period to three months. Some might be concerned that this time span is too short, but we felt that three months are enough to at least get a gist on the effects a possible unban will have on the format without influencing and possibly hurting the metagame for a long period of time.

    Possible trial candidates are all cards mentioned on the Unban watchlist, emphasizing its importance. If you see banned cards you would like included on the Unban watchlist and therefore possibly tested in a trial period, please mention them in your feedback of your own Trial Period testing.

    Furthermore, the Trial Period will be linked to the Watchlist announcements, giving us the possibility to react to the results of the testing and the community feedback in our upcoming Ban announcement. In this context we want to stress again how vital your input is in the further progression of our format.

    To further improve the format and gain valuable information we need your input, worries and opinions on these changes and views on the format. So please do not hesitate to contact any of us via private message or just start a topic in the forum.

    Contact us

    Next scheduled banlist update: February 1st, 2022

  • August 2021 Watchlist Update

    August 2021 Watchlist Update

    Ban watchlist

    Unban watchlist

    Single card explanations

    Demonic Tutor

    The discussion about tutors in Highlander is as old as the format itself. After years on the watch list, we now decided to take Demonic Tutor from the watchlist. Tainted Pact will stay for now. This has the following reasons. First and foremost, we are quite happy with the banned/unbanned status of the tutors today. Of the really powerful tutors Demonic Tutor, Tainted Pact, Imperial Seal, Vampiric Tutor, Mystical Tutor, Enlightened Tutor and Worldly Tutor, the latter two are of a manageable power level, because they create card disadvantage and their scope is somewhat limited. Demonic Tutor and Imperial Seal on the other hand have a maximal scope but are much slower at sorcery speed, which we deem also ok. Vampiric Tutor and Mystical Tutor on the other hand, are not only instant but the breadth of their scope pushes them over the top in terms of power level. Finally Tainted Pact is a somewhat complicated animal. It is instant and has a very large scope, however it restricts deckbuilding to a significant degree and some combos can’t really make use of it because they risk to exile other necessary combo pieces. Our experience is, that Tainted Pact is ok in good-stuff decks however the printing of Laelia, the Blade Reforged and related effects prevented a majority for taking it of the watchlist too.

    Urza’s Saga

    Modern Horizons II introduced many powerful new staples to our format. A standout of these is Urza’s Saga. Being a land makes it exceptionally hard to interact with, while generating a board presence and tutoring value engines (Retrofitter Foundry, Skullclamp), hate pieces (Relic of Progenitus, Pithing Needle) or combo pieces (Zuran Orb, Expedition Map, Grindstone). It finds inclusion in all archetypes and might be overly powerful in comparison to the rest of the format. The singleton nature of Highlander emphasizes its strength even more, being a land, threats and value in just one card.
    We do want to watch its development closer and have the possibility to take action against it if necessary.

    Thassa’s Oracle

    In the last update we stated our vision of combo decks in the format. Therefore there is currently no reason to keep Thassa’s Oracle on the Watchlist for the moment.

    Other Topics

    Discussion of Skullclamp and Umezawa’s Jitte

    Half of the test phase of the unbanning of Skullclamp and Umezawa’s Jitte is now over and at this point we would like to ask you how your feeling are about those cards in Highlander. For that reason we will start discussions here in the Forum as well as on Facebook within the next week and want to encourage you to tell us your experiences with those cards. Additionally, you are welcome to write any of us directly or use the council email for direct feedback.

    Use of Proxies in European Highlander

    We noticed the recurring discussions about the use of proxies1 or playtest cards2 in highlander, as the price of decks and cards always increases. That’s why we need to state that we cannot decide for or against the use of those at all. The use of proxies is completely with the tournament organizers and these are usually bound to the specifications given by WotC.
    The boundaries between proxies, playtest cards and counterfeits are partly fluid and subjective.
    This means there is a possibility for store owners to lose their contracts if they allow those on sanctioned tournaments or even if people play with those in their store. Additionally, the harm of counterfeits3 is imminent and not only hurts the store but is also a legal offense that a tournament organizer cannot permit.

    All in all we cannot give any regulations for the use of proxies / playtest cards in the format as we are not in charge here. And of course as we want to support our local games stores we cannot recommend to allow proxies or playtest cards on official tournaments. However, we want to support the use of playtest cards in any casual environment outside of a tournament.
    And last but not least we want to distance ourselves from ANY counterfeits. Using, buying, selling etc these is a legal offense and we would never accept these in any tournament nor store environment.

    1Proxies = a placeholder card given out by a judge as a replacement e.g. for a marked or damaged card during a tournament; only legal for this specific tournament; c.f.: Magic Tournament Rules 3.4 (status: July 23, 2021)
    2Playtest cards = what players really mean if they talk about proxies; a placeholder for a card in your deck, not legal on official WotC tournaments
    3Counterfeits = a fake card; something that imitates a card produced by WotC; Proxies and playtest cards that are not immediately recognizable as those are also included here

    Dungeon Mechanic in European Highlander

    Dungeons aren’t cards in the traditional sense, but are regarded more as tokens. They can’t go into your deck, and their main function is as a specialized progress marker. That’s fine in Highlander and they’ll work as normal. We take the very same stance on Dungeons as has been taken in Commander.

    Contact us

    Next scheduled banlist update: November 1st, 2021

  • May 2021 Banlist Update

    May 2021 Banlist Update

    Changes to the present banned list, effective 15/05/2021:

    Banned

    • Thassa’s Oracle

    Unbanned

    • No changes

    Unbanned for 6 Month Trial

    • Skullclamp
    • Umezawa’s Jitte

    Single card explanations

    Thassa’s Oracle

    Oracle was put on the watchlist in August last year when we wrote: “Right now it Thassa’s Oracle is only seen as a sidekick (although a very powerful one) but in reality it has the potential to be the main gameplan aswell and we want to be prepared for that instant.”
    Since then Oracle, paired with Tainted Pact, has shaped the meta to a point where it slid into almost any deck that could cast the combo. The fact that the game-winning trigger can not be dealt with via creature removal narrowed the amount of playable interaction down to a point where blue based tempo decks had no longer to worry about their green based creature midrange matchups because those decks had basically become unplayable at the top level.
    For it’s continuous influence on wraping the meta we have decided to ban Thassa’s Oracle.
    For more information about our approach towards combo decks see the respective passage further down in this announcement.

    Unbanning on Time

    We had once more a closer look at the banned list and the feeling grew, that some of the cards have been on the list for so much time now, that it is very hard to evaluate them in the current, much stronger, metagame. This holds for Jitte as well as for Skullclamp and to some extend also for Mind Twist. The idea, as announced in the previous Announcement, is the following.
    As currently less competitive tournaments happen, we want to use this as a trial period for potential unbannings. This means the following cards will be unbanned for 6 Month until the next banning Period. The default for those will be that they get banned again after this time. Of course they will be voted again to keep them unbanned without limitation. Additionally be aware that non of those cards would have been unbanned in the normal procedure this time. Your feedback is required here to evaluate the influence of these cards and of course we want your opinion on the option to unban cards for a limited amount of time.

    Skullclamp

    Creatures in play are a pretty valuable asset in contemporary Magic games and more and more cards, in particular creatures, provide card advantage just by themselves. Moreover wrath effects play a pretty minor role already. Combined with the fact, that Skullclamp doesn’t provide an advantage in the crucial early game, we think that Skullclamp is weak enough to test her temporary unban. This said, we believe that Skullclamp is still a strong card, however not as dominating as 17 years ago.

    Umezawa’s Jitte

    While this surely is a strong card, creatures have become much bigger these days and hence you can’t kill them as quickly. This is also a card, that might not find the way into your 15 creatures Uxx aggro-control deck, because you might end up without any creature on the board for some time. Finally answers in the form of Abrupt Decay and Assassin’s Trophy are more present today. Overall, we think, we should give her a chance after all these years in the dark cellar.

    Ban watchlist

    Unban watchlist

    Additional Topics

    Council

    Max / Bobz0rd leaves the Council. We thank him for the time and commitment that he has made available to us and we wish him all the best for the future.

    At the same time, we are happy to announce our new Council member Justus / hoylt, who has decided to join us from now on. Justus has been known for his regular tournament presence for many years. Beside of his current work on his podcast project he was particularly noticeable because of his always friendly and fair dealings with other community members. We looking forward to work together in the future and thank Justus very much for his support.

    Tutors in Highlander

    The tutor topic is one of the longest ongoing discussions in the community. We discussed this topic intensively in the past few month and came to the conclusion that tutors belong to the Highlander format, even though its singleton approach on MtG. This means we dont think there is the need to ban more tutors and we want to focus more on other parts of the deck construction to keep balance in the format. In our opinion tutors that have the worst influence on the format are already banned, and currently there is no need to ban more in the ever accelerating deckplans. However, we will of course come back to this discussion every now and then and closely observe the influence of tutors, especially in the connection with combo decks.

    Combo Decks

    With the rising of powerful, fast combo decks we came to the conclusion that we of course want to keep combo decks in the format. However, these should not be combo’s that are simple to set up, universally usable AND fast. This means we want to restrict “two-card combos” that can be reliably played in non focused decks and lead to wins reliably in the very first turns. As an example Thassa’s Oracle combo can end the games very fast in addition to be playable in a lot of non-combo-focused decks. What we want to keep in the format are combo decks that on the one hand both need specific set ups and decks built around them to work and on the other hand allow for interactive games with decisions for both players.

    We want to stress again that we need your input, worries and opinions on these changes and views on the format. So please do not hesitate to contact any of us via private message or just start a topic in the forum.

    Contact us

    Next scheduled banlist update: August 1st, 2021

  • February 2021 Watchlist Update

    February 2021 Watchlist Update

    Ban watchlist

    Unban watchlist

    Single card explanations

    Intuition

    While Intuition continues to be a very powerful card that enables a lot of different game winning setups we do believe that it is neither too dangerous nor impactful enough to warrant a spot on the watchlist for now. We will however keep monitoring it’s impact on the format in the future.

    Opposition Agent

    Even though this card was just printed lately, it caused quite some discussion about how interfering a card should be. We want to watch this card closely in the next period, whether it has a big impact on the format or just stays inconspicuous.

    Treasure Cruise

    The ban on Treasure Cruise aimed to weaken the power level of all kinds of blue based decks but especially tempo and midrange builds that utilized the Delve mechanic to the fullest. As those decks still continue to perform at the top level while other strategies could closen the gap a little we don’t think that Treasure Cruise will be reintroduced to the format any time soon. It is therefore removed from the watchlist.

    Tolarian Academy

    The potent artifact powered land was removed from the format with our last ban announcement back in November 2020. We don’t foresee this card coming back into our format soon so we are removing it from the watch list.

    Upcoming Topics

    Tutors in Highlander

    Tutors were often discussed in the past and their place in the format is quite controversial. Some people think tutors are too strong and dominate highlander, especially with the arise of more competitive combo decks, some others think tutors are needed to keep variance in check, and others think tutors shouldn’t be a thing in a one-off format at all. In the past tutors were always part of Highlander and therefore finding a common ground is a balancing act that needs a lot of evaluation. We want to emphasize discussion about this topic and request input from the community. This means please contact us in any form via Forum, Facebook or Mail. What are your thoughts?

    Combo Decks

    We know there are quite a some people, who are afraid of a combo dominance in the format. However, current reported tournament results (even though statistics are low because of corona) are not indicating a dominance of this archetype. Additionally, we want to make sure to not forbid combo decks or whole type of decks without a time to adjust. Instead we want to evaluate whether it would be more reasonable to weaken this kind of decks in another way. This is of course closely connected to the tutor topic. Here as well discussions are very welcome.
    An example: Ban Thassa’s Oracle or weaken the combo by banning Tainted Pact? Or neither of these since the meta will adapt anyway, and currently with few tournaments it is not the right time to decide?

    Unbanning Cards on Time

    Since there are few tournaments happening in the past year, adaption on the meta and new cards may be slower than usual. Currently we are discussing and want to discuss with you, if this might be the right time to unban cards for half a year to test the impact on the format. Length, cards etc. will of course have to be decided at a later point, but we want to start the general discussion with you now.

    Council member

    We are currently actively looking for more fitting members to add to the council. However, the process is rather slow, since we want to be sure to select people that not only want to, but also are able to fit into the team. Additionally, this means that we are not solely looking for representatives of region, but also on the ability to reflect the whole Highlander community. We like to encourage once again applications and recommendations and will contact these individually.

    Contact us

    Next scheduled banlist update: May 1st, 2021

  • November 2020 Banlist Update

    November 2020 Banlist Update

    Changes to the present banned list, effective 15/11/2020

    Banned

    Unbanned

    • No changes

    Single card explanations

    Tolarian Academy (Unban 2x / Ban 4x)

    As it was communicated on the last banning season, this card is viewed as one of the most discussed cards for banning. This time we decided it is time to ban it – mainly due to sustained dominance and support from new added cards to this archetype like Echo of Eons, Wishclaw Talisman, Sevinne’s Reclamation, Urza, Lord High Artificer just to name a few. We assumed Academy has its weaknesses – especially blue based tempo decks, which are among the most popular archetypes at the moment, are one of the best tools to fight Academy. Despite this development, the Artifact Academy deck as well as the Underworld Breach deck, which also exploits the powerful land, are still among the best performing decks. The fact that we are hitting the archetype that is supposedly in charge of having to keep the Academy powered decks in check by removing Treasure Cruise from the format is another reason to take action now. We believe that artifact centric decks still have a spot in the meta but they will have to forgot Tolarian Academy in the future.

    Treasure Cruise (Unban 1x / Ban 5x)

    For quite some time now, almost every blue deck has been including the two delve spells Dig Through Time and Treasure Cruise by default since those cards are among the most powerful spells in the format. Especially tempo decks use them more effectively than other archetypes, building their plan around early disruption and cheap spells to fill the graveyard quickly in order to reload and continue to dominate the game. This puts those decks to the point where they dominate the whole metagame. This fact and longlasting community calls for weakening of the blue color pushed for the banning of this card. One could ask why this one and not the other? As you can see Dig Through Time was close to receiving a ban as well. However we feel like it is better to take measures step by step and watch if and how the situation changes, when only one of the delve spells is available. Treasure Cruise was chosen to be banned over Dig Through Time to weaken Tempo Decks in particular, as Treasure Cruise is a lot easier to cast, enables more powerful turns and the sheer card advantage it provides is viewed as the bigger problem. We will continue to monitor closely how this decision influences the whole meta of course.

    Secret Lair X The Walking Dead (Unban 1x / Ban 4x / Abstain 1x)

    We have long discussed whether this specific Secret Lair should be added to the Ban List. The crucial point here was the feedback from the community. Nevertheless, and for reasons of better traceability, we would like to emphasize at this point that none of the ban proponents gave their “yes” for the common reasons, such as the skill-presence ratio or expected gameplay strength. We also doubt that the often-cited and player-desired “protest effect” will have a really significant impact on Wizards of the Coast and rather fear future difficulties with similar sets that will appear and to which we now may be forced to react similarly. Nevertheless, we understand the current dissatisfaction and in this case we want to listen to the community more than other formats have done. We will probably have to find out together whether that was the right decision in the long term.

    Close to be banned

    Dig Through Time (Unban 3x / Ban 3x)

    As mentioned in the explanation for the banning of Treasure Cruise we ultimately decided to leave Dig Through Time in the format for now. Reason being that this card is the weaker card in tempo decks, which we wanted to target in particular. Dig Through Time is harder to cast and the double blue mana cost make it more difficult to double spell with it. Furthermore it provides less card advantage but instead allows to find answers for specific situations which makes it a more “defensive” card. However, Dig Through Time will still be subject of our discussions and might get banned in the future if we observe that banning only Treasure Cruise is not enough.

    Close to be unbanned

    Skullclamp (Unban 3x / Ban 3x)

    This card is still the most discussed candidate for an unban mainly to push heavy creature decks like Elves or Goblins into a more playable territory. As we don’t like to have too many changes at once the card stays banned for now.

    Ban watchlist

    Unban watchlist

    Single cards explanations

    Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath

    Uro is another one of recent incredibly powerful printings that changed the landscapes of multiple formats from Standard to Legacy, leading to yet another ban in Standard. This creature does it all in some kind: It is a recurring and hard to answer threat that provides a strong board presence while giving you a constant flow of life and cards. In Highlander it has also shown to be a card that is hard to beat in “fair” matchups. While being more difficult to cast we consider it close to Oko in powerlevel, who joined our watchlist in May. The addition to the watchlist does not mean it is close to being banned, but we choose to keep an eye on Uro in the future.

    Council

    We are happy to welcome and introduce Sebastian Z./ TaZi as new council member. He has shown great dedication for our format as regular participant of the Online League since 2014, the FNM Online Series and many HL tournaments all over Germany in the last years. Moreover, he proved keen insight in the format and in the game in general by catching some top spots in those tournaments he took part, especially with his self-developed UGrb-Scapeshift. He has granted some content from time to time for our format on his YouTube-Channel “Heinz Holzwurm” where you can still find some decent decktechs and tournament-reports.
    But TaZi isn’t our only newcomer. We decided to include Marvin M./ Rigero as well. Some of you may already have seen him in his long-term role as a judge of the Berlin Magic scene. He is also part of the coverage and podcast team and has been supporting the Council for a long time with his technical and organizational skills. Rigero was also heavily involved in the development of the website, for which we are very grateful. He is currently collecting data on the mulligan, the most popular meta decks and various watchlist cards and would appreciate your support.

    We know both of them as smart and gentle guys with exceptional analytic and programming skills. We are pretty sure they are a great assets for the HL Council and we are glad to have those two on board. We would also like to add that we have not yet concluded our discussions regarding further admissions and are currently still processing applications and / or recommendations for other potential candidates.

    We would like to thank the leaving Council members Dr. Opossum and Vazdru for their dedication and the work they have put into our format for many years and wish them all the best for the future! Vazdru stays in the council till the end of this year as contact person for the community and to assist the new formed council.

  • August 2020 Watchlist Update

    August 2020 Watchlist Update

    Cards on the following list will be closely observed and are potential candidates for a banning on November 15th, 2020.

    Cards from the following list are still banned but will be under testing for a potential unbanning on November 15th, 2020.

    On the Ban watchlist

    Thassa’s Oracle

    In May this Year, Underworld Breach was introduced to the watchlist for enabling a new powerful combo deck that has been putting up good results in the Vienna community. On one hand, Oracle is used in the Breach Combo Deck as a finisher and an enabler of a second combo with Tainted Pact or Demonic Consultation. On the other hand, it has also made Hermit Druid a lot stronger than before. A powerful and resilient deck which is maybe flying a little under the radar at the moment. It is also very likely that Thassa’s Oracle will enable a UB based combo deck by itself if Breach were to be banned in the future. Right now it is only seen as a sidekick (although a very powerful one) but in reality it has the potential to be the main game plan as well and we want to be prepared for that instant.
    To keep our options open we chose to add Thassa’s Oracle to the Watchlist, so that we can react accordingly to new developments.

    Off the Ban watchlist

    Mana Drain

    Mana Drain has been on the watchlist for a very long time. While it is still a very powerful and perceptively broken card, the number of times where Mana Drain is used to play game ending spells ahead of time has declined significantly with mana curves getting lower and lower.

    The decks that can really abuse this spell to its fullest are mostly control decks which aren’t too well positioned right now. Getting rid of Mana Drain would hurt those a lot more than blue tempo decks, leaving them with only one unconditional hard counter for two mana.

    If we choose to weaken blue decks, our focus will be on the two delve spells Treasure Cruise and Dig Through Time instead of Mana Drain. Thus we have decided to cut this card from the watchlist.

    Off the Unban watchlist

    Survival of the Fittest

    Survival of the Fittest, which has now been banned for 10 years, was put on the watchlist for a potential unban last year.
    Back in October we wrote the following in our statement:

    “Nowadays the meta looks quite different and it is doubtful if the powerful synergies of the past using Squee, Genesis or Reveillark are still viable in any way.”

    Nothing has changed about this statement, as a slow and grindy game plan is under heavier attack than ever and probably not fast enough anymore to keep up with streamlined combo or tempo-oriented decks.
    Though on the contrary, Survival of the Fittest would fit very neatly in these powerful creature combo shells like Hermit Druid or midrange green-based decks like Sultai or Temur. We think that, especially in combination with Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath, the repeatable tutor function of Survival of the Fittest would push these already established deck types into even more powerful territories.

    Having all of your silver bullet haymakers available while working as a combo enabler at the same time makes for too strong of an effect for the mere investment of 2 mana and could lead to frustrating games when playing against it.
    Because power creep is especially evident with the printing of new creatures, the door has closed on a comeback of Survival of the Fittest into our format for now. We have thus decided to remove Survival from the watchlist.

    True-Name Nemesis

    True-Name Nemesis leaves the Watchlist for now. The power level of this card is also a hot topic of discussion in the Council, but the trigger for this decision is rather questions like why a large part of the community is frustrated by this card and to what extent the current format would benefit from an unban. True-Name Nemesis showed us again that there can be many reasons for a ban. Nevertheless, we naturally try to keep the list as manageable as possible. Therefore we will re-evaluate the topic around this card from time to time with you. Until then, we will focus on other format defining cards.

    Other announcements

    Racism and card design

    After intensive discussion, we decided to follow WotC’s decision and not allow the following cards any longer:

    We know about the bitter aftertaste that WotC’s announcement brings with it due to the allegations that were raised against WotC itself. We want to emphasize that we do not see ourselves in the position to judge whether and which cards are perceived by someone as denouncing and hurtful, but we decide for the cards already listed that have been officially confirmed as cross-border and racially intoned to no longer recognize them as legal.

    WotC’s official statement, to which we hereby refer, can be viewed on the official website: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/depictions-racism-magic-2020-06-10

    Council members

    Thomas / Maqi has left a gap in the council that we are currently trying to fill. For this reason, we are in discussion with several potential candidates. Please note that we will take the time we need to make an informed selection in the best interest for the Highlander format instead of a rash decisions.

  • May 2020 Banlist Update

    May 2020 Banlist Update

    Changes to the present banned list, effective 05/15/2020:

    Banned

    • No changes

    Unbanned

    • No changes

    Single card explanations

    Although we ultimately voted for no changes this time around, there were 2 cards that came close to being banned and 2 cards that came close to being unbanned:

    Tolarian Academy (Unban 3x / Ban 3x / Abstain 1x)

    The artifact powered land has certainly been one of the most discussed cards for a banning for quite a while now. The deck this card lends its name to is capable of powerful starts and impressive turns where it sometimes draws multiple new hands of 7 cards and then wins with one of many different combos. We are aware that playing against this deck can lead to frustrating situations, where you sometimes have to sit and wait for several minutes while watching the Academy player do his thing before he finally finishes you off. At the same time we do want combo to be a viable archetype in our format and although the highest highs of the deck are indeed very impressive, we do acknowledge that Academy has its weaknesses. Especially blue based tempo decks, which are among the most popular archetyps at the moment, are one of the best tools to fight Academy.
    We will continue to monitor the decks performance closely but for now Tolarian Academy stays unbanned!

    Oath of Druids (Unban 4x / Ban 3x)

    The second close contender for a ban this time is one of the most powerful enchantments in the format. Oath has always been good at cheating out big creatures for very little investment and sometimes you got that little extra value with cards like Life from the Loam. Now the best additional value you can get are flashback spells both printed last year from C19 and MH1: Sevinne’s Reclamation and Echo of Eons. You now are able to put something like Fastbond and Crucible of Worlds onto the battlefield while getting your Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. Or you can draw a fresh hand of 7 cards on top of summoning your big creature.
    Nevertheless Oath of Druids is not seing a lot of play at the moment, so we decided to keep it off the banned list for now.

    Skullclamp (Unban 3x / Ban 4x)

    This card is the most discussed tool for pushing creature heavy decks, especially tribal decks like Elves or Goblins, into more playable territory. We decided to go with the community vote on this one and leave Skullclamp banned for now!

    Umezawa’s Jitte (Unban 3x / Ban 4x)

    This card is also regularly brought up as a weapon for small creature strategies to go head to head with big creature decks like 4C Blood. Ultimately we think that Umezawa’s Jitte will actually make creature synergy decks even weaker by being able to pick off anything from mana accelerants to lords.

    Ban watchlist

    Unban watchlist

    Single card explanations

    Underworld Breach

    Underworld Breach is one of the fastest banned cards in Legacy ever and already making waves in Highlander as well. The powerful 2 mana enchantment is enabling a consistent combo deck that abuses Lion’s Eye Diamond to cast Brain Freeze over and over again, first targeting yourself to fuel the escape costs and finally to finish off the opponent.
    While the deck is very fast and consistent, we think that the current situation, with no high stakes tournaments being played, leaves us with more time to evaluate the power level of the combo.
    Furthermore we want to give people the option to adept and prepare for/against this strategy before taking any further steps.

    Intuition

    Intuition has been a Highlander staple for many years now.
    Cards like Snapcaster Mage, Eternal Witness and other Regrowth effects always made sure that you got the card you really wanted.
    Reanimate strategies abused the blue instant to put 2 fatties into the bin and control decks sometimes played the card for it’s versatility.
    While Intuition has always been a powerful card,the printing of Sevinne’s Reclamation last year has pushed the card into new territory, essentially making it a one-card combo enabler.
    We do want to watch it’s development closer and have the possibility to take action against it if necessary.

    Oko, Thief of Crowns

    During our last announcement we wrote the following about Oko:
    Oko is one of the most powerful cards of 2019, probably the most powerful one and a mistake that Wizards has admitted they missed during testing. Therefore WotC came to the conclusion it should be banned in various formats (Standard, Pioneer, Brawl). In Modern, Legacy and even Vintage, Oko makes regular appearances.
    Meanwhile the planeswalker has certainly proven to also be impactful in our 100 card singleton format. A lot of people have risen concerns about his power especially against creature strategies. Though we think the card is currently fine for Highlander in terms of power level, we are adding Oko, Thief of Crowns to the watchlist and will continue to closely monitor his performance in the future!

    Statement regarding the Companion mechanic

    Companion is the most talked about ability from Ikoria and is creating a lot of buzz among players.

    When the mechanic was first introduced, WotC announced that Commander, the biggest 100 card singleton format, would allow Companions even though Commander does not have a sideboard. Additionally, the card Lutri, the Spellchaser was preemptively banned because the singleton nature of Commander means, that every deck is meeting it’s Companion criteria right away.

    While we already leaned towards not following this example but rather stick to the official rules, which require the use of a sideboard for Companion to work, we wanted to see how the mechanic was dealt with in all kinds of different settings before drawing a final conclusion.
    Unfortunately, the ability is already warping every competitive constructed format around itself, leading to repetitive gameplay and frustrated players calling for changes. A free 8th card you have every single game apparently is way too powerful, even with some built-in restrictions.

    We will thus follow our initial approach:

    Highlander does not have a sideboard, which Companion requires. We are not going to make an exception to this rule, which means the Companion mechanic does not function in Highlander.
    You are still allowed to play these cards in your regular deck, but not as a Companion that starts outside the game.

    Changes to publication of Council Announcements

    Due to the terms of use of Facebook we will no longer post the official announcements under the User “Highlander Council” but use private accounts of Council members for this again.

    Leaving the Council

    Thomas Stier, “Maqi”, from Germany, Mannheim, is stepping down as a Council member, which he has been since the end of 2012.
    We would like to thank Thomas for the dedication and the work he has put into our format for many years and wish him all the best for the future!

  • January 2020 Watchlist Update

    January 2020 Watchlist Update

    Cards on the following list will be closely observed and are potential candidates for a banning on April 15th, 2020.

    Cards from the following list are still banned but will be under testing for a potential unbanning on April 15th, 2020.

    Off the Ban Watchlist

    Entomb

    Entomb can produce some busted starts like other cards in the Highlander Universe like Fastbond, Mishra’s Workshop, Oath of Druids among others. It obviously shines most in Reanimator builds but also enables graveyard shenanigans and therefore gives some room for deckbuilders and niche decks like Lands.
    As it usually needs some setup and its power comes with card disadvantage Entomb has a high variance. The unbanning of Entomb (and Imperial Seal) have pushed reanimator decks to be viable choices for tournaments. The reanimator archetype however has not dominated since then and has been kept in check by the meta, graveyard hate cards and reanimation spells that are played in “fair” decks as well.
    So we decided to remove Entomb from the watchlist since it seems to have a rather positive impact on the format by increasing deck-diversity. Also we decided to reintroduce Oath of Druids to the watchlist (see below) – a card that is also used in Reanimator decks and will be a focus in future discussions. However, if Reanimator starts to dominate Tournaments, we might revisit Entomb again.

    On the Ban Watchlist

    Oath of Druids

    Although classic Oath decks have become a rare archetype Oath of Druids still has a common place in combo decks where it is abused to mill the whole graveyard for combo-kill-setup like in Storm decks. Furthermore Oath of Druids is used as back-up-plan in Reanimator decks and become more and more popular in the Academy.dec as well partly because some nice flashback cards have been printed recently (Sevinne’s Reclamation, Echo of Eons) which fit perfectly. We think we should re-discuss Oath of Druids with you.

    Other announcements

    Website

    The website topic was unearthed (comprehensive rule 702.83!) and we decided to try again our own realization, which was built by the Council in the past but never published due to various problems that we could not solve at this time.

    Other Topics of discussion

    As agreed upon during the first Highlander Conference in Halle, we will give you an update to other topics that are being discussed by the Council currently:

    Oko, Thief of Crowns

    Oko has not been introduced to the Watchlist yet, but we acknowledge that this card has been discussed in various communities and some people also talked about potential bans.
    Oko is one of the most powerful cards of 2019, probably the most powerful one and a mistake that Wizards has admitted they missed during testing. Therefore WotC came to the conclusion it should be banned in various formats (Standard, Pioneer, Brawl). In Modern, Legacy and even Vintage, Oko makes regular appearances.
    We want to know what you are thinking about this card. Is it also ban-worthy in Highlander with a ton a power-creep? We will start a poll and discussion for this card in the European Highlander Group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/480610332544301/). Based on the result and your feedback we will focus more strongly on this card in our discussions and will likely add it to the Watchlist.

    Format Vision / Guidelines for Bans & Unbans

    In order to make bans and unbans more comprehensible, we want to elaborate guidelines together with the Community. The idea is to implement this in 3 steps:
    Step 1: What IS Highlander and what does the format represent for us? We would like to hear the Community’s opinion to formulate a “vision” or “philosophy” for the format.
    Step 2: What should or shouldn’t Highlander be allowed to do? In this step, based on that “vision”, we want to discuss which game-focused options the format should offer and where the limits are.

    The vision of the format and guidelines developed in this way should provide orientation for the Community and the Council in subsequent ban and unban seasons. We will open the corresponding discussion threads in the forum and on Facebook in the near future.

  • October 2019 Banlist Update

    October 2019 Banlist Update

    Changes to the present banned list, effective 10/15/2019.

    Banned 

    Unbanned

    • No changes.

    Ban watchlist

    Unban watchlist

    Single card explanations

    Ban True-Name Nemesis (Ban 4x / Unban 1x / Abstain 1x)

    This card has been legal in Highlander for a long time and there have been many discussions about it.
    Now we have finally come to the conclusion that the card should be put onto the banned list in order to improve the format.

    Those in favor of keeping TNN in the format often state its powerlevel wouldn’t justify a ban compared to other cards.

    We agree that there certainly are more powerful, more explosive or more frustrating cards legal in Highlander than TNN. Most of those come with deckbuilding restrictions though, enable archetypes or are important for the format’s balance (B2B or Blood Moon for example). TNN is not even too strong in all matchups. Against Combo decks it’s mostly a clunky threat and control decks tend to have less problems with it. Where it warps the format in an unhealthy way are other “fair” matchups (Aggro, Midrange, Tempo) where the card often wins games on its own without any setup requirements.

    While constructing a deck, players will often have to ask themselves what their plan against certain archetypes is. Fair decks however also need to have a plan against TNN in particular – a single card. This way, TNN influences deckbuilding more than any other single card in the format we can think of.

    Another argument that comes up regularly when talking about TNN is that there is enough removal in the format for it and it can be raced easily. There are only a few removal spells however that handle TNN and are not otherwise situational or bad in most other scenarios (sacrifice effects) and most decks only have two to three of those at most and have to be quite lucky to draw them at the right time. Racing is often only possible with flyers or a clearly dominant board position. Furthermore, this way of arguing also implies the creature is problematic – those points don’t have to be made for any other creature in the format.

    We do not think that TNN adds anything meaningful to the format, but instead takes a lot away from it, as it allows the player to go into an autopilot mode with it, resulting in non-interactive games. The card has been mentioned by Wizards in their Developmental Mistakes article.

    Opinions on TNN within the community seem to be split. We acknowledge that there has been a survey on Facebook where more people voted against a ban of TNN than in favor of it. The last four survey results from Continental Cup Halle 2018, MGM # 15, Highlandermasters Westfalen and Helsinki however show that TNN is the card with the most votes for a ban currently, so we are sure that we do not act against a clear majority here.

    Survival of the Fittest (Add to WL 5x / Not to WL 1x)

    SotF has been banned for more than 9 years now. It was banned because it was format-dominating in an unhealthy way during these days. Lots of decks played a creature-toolbox, many a creature-based combo where Survival fits quite well obviously. Nowadays the meta looks quite different and it is doubtful if the powerful synergies of the past using Squee, Genesis or Reveillark are still viable in any way. However this card could offer new space for deck-building and would push some green-based Midrange decks, an archetype which seems to be a bit behind. Maybe it could also serve as a new tool for Reanimator decks but comes at the cost of playing more creatures like in the current tier-1 builds.

    We have had some test-sessions with this card and had to recognize that it is has lost some of its former power, so we decided to put Survival of the Fittest up for discussion with the community.
    It should be added, that when looking at other Singleton formats where you are allowed to play this card, it doesn’t seem to have a dominant impact, as far we can see.

    Current state of discussion

    Skullclamp (Stay banned 2x, Unban 2x, Abstain 2x)

    Pro Ban:

    • card seems too oppressive
    • another busted combo-piece
    • aggro would be pushed further which isn’t a good idea

    Con Ban:

    • needs a special setting
    • needs time and resources to grant card-advantage
    • offers some new room for deck-construction

    Umezawa’s Jitte (Stay banned 6x, Unban 0x)

    Pro Ban:

    • shuts down creature-decks
    • games center around this card as soon it is online
    • would be another auto-include in every deck with enough creature to carry it

    Con Ban:

    • equipment is not an inherently good archetype
    • lower power level than cards on banned list
    • equipments do not see much play recently

    Demonic Tutor (Ban 1x, No ban 5x)

    Pro Ban:

    • incentivizes player to splash black
    • negates the one-of-highlander-thing as it is basically a second copy of the best card in you deck at the given situation
    • stronger than vampiric and mystical which are banned already

    Con Ban:

    • iconic card
    • enables deck with plan
    • combo & control needs it to compete with aggro

    Dig Through Time (Ban 1x, No ban 5x)

    Pro ban:

    • seals the deal on even matches
    • Delve is not a real cost in decks where this card is good

    Con ban:

    • UU makes it somewhat restrictive
    • can realistically only be played during late mid-game or lategame, where other cards have powerful effects, too

    Entomb (Ban 0x, No ban 6x)

    Pro ban:

    • in Reanimator it enables broken t1 or t2 plays that end the game on the spot

    Con ban:

    • has sweet but not broken synergy with many other cards like Bloodghast, Hogaak, Life from the Loam, Echo of Eons etc.
    • also serves as a special tutor for non-reanimator combo decks which forces some creativity in deckbuilding

    Mana Drain (Ban 1x, No ban 5x)

    Pro Ban:

    • generates unfair tempo-swings
    • enhances randomness of the game

    Con Ban:

    • often just a counterspell
    • highlander has powerful cards, where else can you play your Mana Drain?

    Tainted Pact (Ban 0x, No ban 6x)

    Pro Ban:

    • instant Demonic in some builds
    • strengthens multi-color-decks

    Con Ban:

    • weaker than Demonic Tutor
    • only good in a few decks

    Tolarian Academy (Ban 0x, No ban 5x, Abstain 1x)

    Pro Ban:

    • enables busted starts
    • unfun to play against, especially for newcomers

    Con Ban:

    • enables specific archetypes which is good for format diversity
    • Tolarian Arcademy wasn’t oppressive based on latest tournament results

    Treasure Cruise (Ban 1x, No ban 5x)

    Pro Ban:

    • in some scanarios feels unfair like an Ancestral Recall
    • too good when already ahead

    Con Ban:

    • still needs resources and setup

    Birthing Pod (Add to WL 2x, Not to WL 4x)

    Pro Ban:

    • reusable onto-the-battlefield tutoring has been broken ever since
      instant you-win combos exist
    • creatures are getting better as time goes on which makes this card always dangerous

    Con Ban:

    • green midrange relatively weak at the moment
    • creatures are getting better but not necessarily ETB-abilities
    • instant you-win combos require whacky creatures, which might be too steep a deckbuilding cost

    Council

    The current council members are:

    • Bobz0rd – Max, Germany, Erfurt, * 1991
    • Dalibor – Dalibor, Slovakia, Senec, * 1979
    • Dr. Opossum – Stephanie, Germany, Berlin, * 1987
    • Maqi – Thomas, Germany, Mannheim, * 1982
    • pyyhttu – Tuomas, Finland, Helsinki, * 1982
    • Vazdru – Gerry, Germany, Karlsruhe, * 1975

    We are currently planning to add new council members. If you would like to join us, please contact us.

    Roadmap

    We want to enhance the transparency of the council-work and the discussions which lead to our ban-/unban-decisions in a better way. As first steps we decided to

    • publish the voting-results to each card discussed and give some insight to the main pros/cons mentioned by the community and council.
    • We wanted to raise the effectuality of community feedback too. As you can see by the current banning/unbanning-decisions the surveys and the feedback of the community has a big impact on the voting process.
    • Council members will post a short introduction of themselves during the next days right here in this announcement-board, so it is easier to find for the community.
    • We added an E-Mail-address in order to make it is easier to reach the council as a whole.

    As next steps we would like to discuss with you the following topics as well:

    • We would like to reformulate the current guidelines which give direction to our decisions on banning or unbanning a card. Therefore we would like to hear your feedback on this, how your vision of our format looks like and how you would frame this vision. These guidelines are really important to us and are meant to reflect the idea of what Highlander should be like.
    • We are thinking about creating regular polls and surveys to better orientate our decisions and in order to provide everyone with an easily accessible way of participating on issues.
    • We would like to discuss if there’s a good possibility for a “community vote” within the banning/unbanning process.
    • We want to find out if there’s a good possibility for an institutionalized rotation of council members.

    Last but not least, we want to thank the community for all the feedback, which really helps us to improve our work!