Spoiler
Announcement Date: July 2, 2018
Legacy:
Deathrite Shaman and Gitaxian Probe are banned
Effective Date: July 6, 2018
Magic Online Effective Date: July 5, 2018
The list of all banned and restricted cards, by format, is here.
Next B&R Announcement: August 20, 2018
Deathrite Shaman
The popularity of Deathrite Shaman decks has been a topic of discussion in the Legacy community for much of the past year. During that time period, Grixis Delver decks using Deathrite Shaman have been the most played deck on Magic Online, with other Deathrite Shaman variants among the next most popular decks. In recent snapshots of the environment, Grixis Delver showed a 55% (non-mirror-match) win rate against the field. At Grand Prix Birmingham, eleven of the top sixteen decks used four copies of Deathrite Shaman, including five of the Top 8. When the most popular deck in an environment is also among the most winning decks with a win rate significantly above 50% over a long period of time, we investigate.
Over time, we've seen a reduction in diversity of blue-based non-combo decks, with what were once more differentiated aggressive, midrange, and controlling archetypes condensing into a similar core of the strongest cards. Deathrite Shaman's powerful mana-fixing capability allows these decks to commonly play up to four colors, choosing from the most efficient cards in the environment. Its flexible abilities allow the decks to easily switch between aggressive and controlling stances, making them difficult to attack. Additionally, the incidental graveyard hate provided by Deathrite Shaman's abilities automatically protect against offbeat strategies like Dredge and Reanimator without requiring deck-building concessions against the rest of the metagame.
While a card seeing lots of competitive play doesn't by itself necessitate action, in this case we also see a reduction in diversity in the environment, an inability for the metagame to adjust, and a dominant strategy that's particularly hostile to rogue decks and innovation. For these reasons, Deathrite Shaman is banned in Legacy.
Gitaxian Probe
Gitaxian Probe is a subtle but powerful card that has previously been banned in Modern and restricted in Vintage. It's been a main component of the success of the two most played Legacy decks on Magic Online, Grixis Delver and Ad Nauseam Tendrils. Gitaxian Probe adds significant power to these decks and others by quickly filling the graveyard and counting toward abilities that require casting spells or drawing cards, without requiring mana investment.
In addition, the information advantage provided by Gitaxian Probe comes at too low a cost. We like that Legacy has a heavier focus on spellcasting and cards in hand compared to permanents on the battlefield, as this provides a different type of play experience compared to other formats that some players deeply enjoy. Gitaxian Probe undermines this philosophy by removing some of the psychological and bluffing aspects of gameplay, and gives proactive decks a strong advantage by knowing when and how to play around traditional answers to their strategies, like counterspells and permanent removal.
While Gitaxian Probe's impact on the Legacy environment hasn't necessarily reached a boiling point, it is a strong contributor to the success of many of the most popular decks. Because of the negative influence Gitaxian Probe has on gameplay as a free spell and low-cost information advantage, we prefer to remove it from the format rather than needing to weaken the strategies it facilitates in other ways. We've seen Modern end up in a healthier place without Gitaxian Probe, and it's time to take that step for Legacy.
Announcement Date: July 2, 2018
Legacy:
Deathrite Shaman and Gitaxian Probe are banned
Effective Date: July 6, 2018
Magic Online Effective Date: July 5, 2018
The list of all banned and restricted cards, by format, is here.
Next B&R Announcement: August 20, 2018
Deathrite Shaman
The popularity of Deathrite Shaman decks has been a topic of discussion in the Legacy community for much of the past year. During that time period, Grixis Delver decks using Deathrite Shaman have been the most played deck on Magic Online, with other Deathrite Shaman variants among the next most popular decks. In recent snapshots of the environment, Grixis Delver showed a 55% (non-mirror-match) win rate against the field. At Grand Prix Birmingham, eleven of the top sixteen decks used four copies of Deathrite Shaman, including five of the Top 8. When the most popular deck in an environment is also among the most winning decks with a win rate significantly above 50% over a long period of time, we investigate.
Over time, we've seen a reduction in diversity of blue-based non-combo decks, with what were once more differentiated aggressive, midrange, and controlling archetypes condensing into a similar core of the strongest cards. Deathrite Shaman's powerful mana-fixing capability allows these decks to commonly play up to four colors, choosing from the most efficient cards in the environment. Its flexible abilities allow the decks to easily switch between aggressive and controlling stances, making them difficult to attack. Additionally, the incidental graveyard hate provided by Deathrite Shaman's abilities automatically protect against offbeat strategies like Dredge and Reanimator without requiring deck-building concessions against the rest of the metagame.
While a card seeing lots of competitive play doesn't by itself necessitate action, in this case we also see a reduction in diversity in the environment, an inability for the metagame to adjust, and a dominant strategy that's particularly hostile to rogue decks and innovation. For these reasons, Deathrite Shaman is banned in Legacy.
Gitaxian Probe
Gitaxian Probe is a subtle but powerful card that has previously been banned in Modern and restricted in Vintage. It's been a main component of the success of the two most played Legacy decks on Magic Online, Grixis Delver and Ad Nauseam Tendrils. Gitaxian Probe adds significant power to these decks and others by quickly filling the graveyard and counting toward abilities that require casting spells or drawing cards, without requiring mana investment.
In addition, the information advantage provided by Gitaxian Probe comes at too low a cost. We like that Legacy has a heavier focus on spellcasting and cards in hand compared to permanents on the battlefield, as this provides a different type of play experience compared to other formats that some players deeply enjoy. Gitaxian Probe undermines this philosophy by removing some of the psychological and bluffing aspects of gameplay, and gives proactive decks a strong advantage by knowing when and how to play around traditional answers to their strategies, like counterspells and permanent removal.
While Gitaxian Probe's impact on the Legacy environment hasn't necessarily reached a boiling point, it is a strong contributor to the success of many of the most popular decks. Because of the negative influence Gitaxian Probe has on gameplay as a free spell and low-cost information advantage, we prefer to remove it from the format rather than needing to weaken the strategies it facilitates in other ways. We've seen Modern end up in a healthier place without Gitaxian Probe, and it's time to take that step for Legacy.