Post by sdfkjgh on Jan 2, 2020 17:15:35 GMT
Ho ho ho! Merry Impeachmas, errbody! (WRITER’S NOTE: This episode was written on 12/21/19.)
Now that I’ve fulfilled my mandatory political quota for this month, let’s get down to bidnez.
List and tally:
- 71 cards stay on The Reserved List.
- 241 cards get reprinted in Standard.
- 75 cards get reprinted in supplemental sets.
153 cards that should’ve been prevented from ever having despoiled the timestream.- Dark Ritual has been added to The New Revised Reserved List.
10 cards have been retroactively added to the list of cards that should’ve been prevented from ever having despoiled the timestream.
BSQ: 480/551, or 87.11433756805808%.
Urza’s Saga continued
{I really like the “sleeper” mechanic, even if quite a few of them were, like this one, overcosted, or had such narrow trigger conditions that they were unplayable.}
Opal Archangel 242, downgraded from
to 
.
Price
Opal Archangel is decent, but not all that impressive, and certainly not at all oppressive, unlike some cards I could mention. Archangel itself is, and that card’s admittedly overcosted by about 
or 
, so a discounted properly costed Archangel should also be fine at .
Opal Archangel 242, downgraded from
to .Price
{The “sleeper” mechanic, and some 5-mana 5/5 fliers}
”The sleeper has awakened.”
Soul Sculptor
Price
5-mana 5/5 fliers
”The sleeper has awakened.”
Soul Sculptor
Price
5-mana 5/5 fliers
Opal Archangel is decent, but not all that impressive, and certainly not at all oppressive, unlike some cards I could mention. Archangel itself is
, and that card’s admittedly overcosted by about or , so a .These next two I’m switching the order of, because what I have to say about both of them makes no sense otherwise.
{Remember everything I said about this card in previous episodes?}
Tolarian Academy154
Price
Mana rocks will always be a thing, and mana rocks are usually printed, and most effective, at lower costs (cmc≤4). Because of this, even without the “free” mechanic to take into consideration, you’re still going to be netting obscene amounts of mana gains, thereby violating Rule #1: Don’t Subvert The Mana System.
Tolarian Academy
Price
Mana rocks will always be a thing, and mana rocks are usually printed, and most effective, at lower costs (cmc≤4). Because of this, even without the “free” mechanic to take into consideration, you’re still going to be netting obscene amounts of mana gains, thereby violating Rule #1: Don’t Subvert The Mana System.
{Almost everything I said about Tolarian Academy holds true for this.}
Serra’s Sanctum 72
Price
Except for wonky corner cases, noncreature enchantments don’t tap for mana, which means that you’re almost always spending more mana than you gain, making Serra’s Sanctum much safer than Tolarian Academy. However, that relative difference in safety is the same as the difference between an H-bomb and a fuel-air explosive: both are ludicrously OP, and their victims are too dead to care about relative safeties.
Serra’s Sanctum 72
Price
Except for wonky corner cases, noncreature enchantments don’t tap for mana, which means that you’re almost always spending more mana than you gain, making Serra’s Sanctum much safer than Tolarian Academy. However, that relative difference in safety is the same as the difference between an H-bomb and a fuel-air explosive: both are ludicrously OP, and their victims are too dead to care about relative safeties.
{One of the few times where the safest execution was the original.}
Temporal Aperture1 243, upgraded from to 
.
Price
The way I see it, Temporal Aperture is closer to Light Up the Stage than the listed examples, but that doesn’t mean that the upgrade in rarity isn’t warranted, as casting something without paying its mana cost is always a scary prospect in terms of gameplay and design/development balance. Yes,
is a lot, but nowadays, it’s squarely in the middle, cost-wise, affordability-wise, gameplay-wise, etc. It prolly won’t break anything, but it does still have that potential, so I’ll keep an eye out. How many eyes is that now?
Teferi: I count close to eight. I don’t know how your optic nerves can stand it, frankly.
Thanks. And don’t call me Frank Lee.
Temporal Aperture1 243, upgraded from
to .Price
{I feel like I’m not exactly helping my case with these broken-ass examples.}
Mind’s Desire
Price
Magus of the Mind
Price
Urza, Lord High Artificer
Price
Mind’s Desire
Price
Magus of the Mind
Price
Urza, Lord High Artificer
Price
The way I see it, Temporal Aperture is closer to Light Up the Stage than the listed examples, but that doesn’t mean that the upgrade in rarity isn’t warranted, as casting something without paying its mana cost is always a scary prospect in terms of gameplay and design/development balance. Yes,
is a lot, but nowadays, it’s squarely in the middle, cost-wise, affordability-wise, gameplay-wise, etc. It prolly won’t break anything, but it does still have that potential, so I’ll keep an eye out. How many eyes is that now?Teferi: I count close to eight. I don’t know how your optic nerves can stand it, frankly.
Thanks. And don’t call me Frank Lee.
{No thanks, I’ll just stick with the eponymous block, ok?}
Time Spiral155
Price
Unless you’re low on cards or have a gripful of useless, at no point are you enjoying being on the receiving end of a Timetwister effect. But to staple the “free” mechanic onto an already busted effect is just taking things way too far. There was no need to make Time Spiral, and it was one of many mistakes of Urza block.
Time Spiral
Price
Unless you’re low on cards or have a gripful of useless, at no point are you enjoying being on the receiving end of a Timetwister effect. But to staple the “free” mechanic onto an already busted effect is just taking things way too far. There was no need to make Time Spiral, and it was one of many mistakes of Urza block.
{And here’s another one.}
Yawgmoth’s Will156
Price
There’s no denying that Yawgmoth’s Will is a broken mistake. Even Past in Flames, a toned-down version, is still pushing it, and has warped (if not completely broken) formats on its own. When a single card turns a bad, watered-down version of a Power Nine card into something that’s arguably better than its progenitor, you know ya dun goofed.
Yawgmoth’s Will
Price
There’s no denying that Yawgmoth’s Will is a broken mistake. Even Past in Flames, a toned-down version, is still pushing it, and has warped (if not completely broken) formats on its own. When a single card turns a bad, watered-down version of a Power Nine card into something that’s arguably better than its progenitor, you know ya dun goofed.
{As bad as heit is, despite never having played with it, I still have a soft spot in my heart for this derpy-ass lookin’ thing.}
Zephid 244, downgraded from to 
.
Price
Zephid really should be an Illusion Insect. I mean, just look at it! It’s got compound eyes, veiny and membranous wings, and on both Zephid and its Embrace, the elytra are highly prominent!
Anyway, 6 mana for an untargetable 3/4 flier is about on par with a Spire Monitor, so it’s ridiculous for Zephid to be.
Zephid 244, downgraded from
to .Price
Zephid really should be an Illusion Insect. I mean, just look at it! It’s got compound eyes, veiny and membranous wings, and on both Zephid and its Embrace, the elytra are highly prominent!
Anyway, 6 mana for an untargetable 3/4 flier is about on par with a Spire Monitor, so it’s ridiculous for Zephid to be
.Urza’s Legacy
{#SquirrelSquad #MaRo,KingOfSquirrels}
This is me, right? 245
Price
Are we really so afraid of Deranged Hermit, or is it the fact that there’s a strong anti-Squirrel bias over at WotC? Alright, yes, fluffydeathbringer, there is the price-fixing argument, but time and again, through multiple reprints of other highly sought-after cards, the market has proven to be resilient enough to stabilize at the fairest price possible for each iteration of that card, and has done so remarkably quickly each time, going as far back as original Ravnica.
So, no, I don’t believe the Chicken Littles when it comes to their doom and gloom3 predictions of the negative effects of abolishing The Reserved List. Plus, while I do not participate in those formats, even I can recognize that that damned List is choking some formats to death, so that’s even more of a reason to reevaluate it.
This is me, right? 245
Price
Are we really so afraid of Deranged Hermit, or is it the fact that there’s a strong anti-Squirrel bias over at WotC? Alright, yes, fluffydeathbringer, there is the price-fixing argument, but time and again, through multiple reprints of other highly sought-after cards, the market has proven to be resilient enough to stabilize at the fairest price possible for each iteration of that card, and has done so remarkably quickly each time, going as far back as original Ravnica.
So, no, I don’t believe the Chicken Littles when it comes to their doom and gloom3 predictions of the negative effects of abolishing The Reserved List. Plus, while I do not participate in those formats, even I can recognize that that damned List is choking some formats to death, so that’s even more of a reason to reevaluate it.
{I’m vacillating between keep and Burn.}
Grim Monolith It’s complicated.
Price
I can’t remember when or where, but I seem to remember hearing or reading MaRo saying that if you cast and activate a mana rock on the same turn, it should never net you more mana than what you started with. Sol Ring violates this, but we quietly ignore that, because it’s a pillar of Commander4.
Grim Monolith also violates this guideline, and therefore violates Rule #1. Yes, there’s the lockdown, and the steep cost to untap, but Voltaic Key and its ilk exist, so yeah, the stone’s got some problems.
Tell you what, I’m feeling slightly generous. 73.
Grim Monolith It’s complicated.
Price
I can’t remember when or where, but I seem to remember hearing or reading MaRo saying that if you cast and activate a mana rock on the same turn, it should never net you more mana than what you started with. Sol Ring violates this, but we quietly ignore that, because it’s a pillar of Commander4.
Grim Monolith also violates this guideline, and therefore violates Rule #1. Yes, there’s the lockdown, and the steep cost to untap, but Voltaic Key and its ilk exist, so yeah, the stone’s got some problems.
Tell you what, I’m feeling slightly generous. 73.
{When the words “Emergency Banning” are associated with a card, you’ve gotta know that it’s going STRAIGHT to The Burn Pile.}
Fezzik, jar his memory.157
Price
magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/arcana/brief-history-standard-banned-list-2015-07-13
There’s also a much drier rundown of the timeline.
I’m pretty sure Smuggler’s Copter was the subject of a not-an-emergency-ban,-but-it’s-totally-an-emergency-ban as well.
Fezzik, jar his memory.
Price
magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/arcana/brief-history-standard-banned-list-2015-07-13
There’s also a much drier rundown of the timeline.
I’m pretty sure Smuggler’s Copter was the subject of a not-an-emergency-ban,-but-it’s-totally-an-emergency-ban as well.
And we’re done. List and tally:
- 73 cards stay on The Reserved List.
- 245 cards get reprinted in Standard (with, in this episode, Opal Archangel getting downgraded from to , Zephid getting downgraded from to , and Temporal Aperture getting upgraded from to ).
- 75 cards get reprinted in supplemental sets.
157 cards that should’ve been prevented from ever having despoiled the timestream.- Dark Ritual has been added to The New Revised Reserved List.
10 cards have been retroactively added to the list of cards that should’ve been prevented from ever having despoiled the timestream.
BSQ: 488/561, or 86.98752228163993%. Looks like this downward trend is continuing.
Join us next time, and the time after that, for the last two episodes of No Reservations II. ”It’s the home stretch, son!” It’s also the holidays, which is why there’s no set schedule. I leave that to the capable and busy hands of my belovéd Editor, Daij_Djan. Without him and his tireless efforts, this complete waste of time never would’ve gotten off the ground. However, if you’re looking to blame someone, blame me, as I wrote the damn thing, he just made it readable. All praises go to him, all blame goes to me, and all words in this episode go to the end of this sentence.
{Footnotes}
| 1 | Yes, the Tolarian Academy and Aperture Labs are both pretty much the same thing, with equal amounts of danger to their inhabitants, and Urza’s just as insane as Cave Johnson.2 |
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| 2 | And now I want a crossover fic that depicts the Tolarian Academy as Aperture Labs. Get on it, Ao3, don’t let me down yet again. |
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| 3 | Now there’s a great name for a split card! |
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| 4 | Yes, there are those arguing for its banning, but I have neither the time nor the inclination to go any further into that. |