I really don't like the idea of unbanning Biorythm because its sort of a posterchild for what not to do in commander. Its not a strong card, its wrong to play it strictly from a min max perspective, so power level isn't an issue. What makes it a problem is that it invalidates most of what came before and randomly kills people, and its the sort of big splashy spell that kind of seems cool but in reality just ruins games. The Shaman version is a telegraphed play that requires setup and either haste or a cycle of turns to hit, so there's more interactivity there and it avoids the things that make Biorythm a problem. Wrathing the board with an indestructible creature on the board then casting Biorythm isn't the issue, that's just an expensive, janky combo. Even casting it as a follow up to Cyclonic Rift isn't the issue. Casting it on its own and randomly killing whoever got caught without creatures is the issue. Can you achieve that effect elsewhere? Yes, with setup. Biorythm, CV, Worldfire, Upheaval, Sway of the Stars, etc are all banned because they are basically table flip cards. They, without any help, just flip the table on the game, and all are banned because the RC wants to signal that the play experiences they create are discouraged because they tend to ruin games. Those cards being banned doesn't just say "You aren't allowed to run these cards" it also says "Don't do what these cards do, that makes for bad games." The RC is pretty libertarian when it comes to the game, they want a small banlist and want players who enjoy a style of magic that is contrary to their vision to still be able to play that style of magic when playing commander if they want to, but they want to make that something that happens among people who want it and not to just show up randomly.NoNeedToBragoBoutIt wrote: ↑4 years agoI'd have to decide between:In the end i would choose to ban Mana Crypt and especially Sol Ring. Whenever i play outside my playgroup - where both were house-banned unanimously - i quickly become bored of seeing it in each and every game. Same goes for Field of the Dead, which doesn't have that much of a bad influence on the format and Cyclonic Rift, which is at least limited by the decks that can run it.
- Lower Commander Damage from 21 (3x7) to 18 (3x6).
- Ban Sol Ring and Mana Crypt.
- Unban Biorhythm and Gifts Ungiven
As far as commander variety goes i'd love to see Commander Damage lowered from 21 (3x7) to 18 (3x6). Making Voltron more viable would be great, since those decks struggle to overcome the usual pods of midrange control et al.
Of the current banlist Biorhythm and Gifts Ungiven would be fine to get unbanned. I don't see either of them being more degenerate than what we have in the format already and would consider it fair game to allow them too.
I like the thought of banning overly efficient tutors, but my playgroup isn't combo-centric at all, so subjectively i'm fine as things stand.
The 3 point decrease for commander damage is really intriguing. I'm not a fan of Voltron, but it has been lagging of late, and maybe that's the boost it needs. It would also make commander damage more viable as a backup wincon for certain commanders, and may even help aggro out slightly by making it easier to focus on killing one player with commander damage while directing other damage at the other players. I'd certainly support the RC and CAG testing this out. The reasoning for the change is pretty obvious: keep the commander damage rule, a defining part of the format, relevant. Actually doing the change would depend on whether the RC sees a threat to the rules relevancy, and whether they see 18 as the right number, but I personally love that it turns six power into a 3 hitter, and 9 into a two hitter (Yargel %$#%!).