Unbanning Legacy

Hello everyone!

As we approach the time of potential bannings and unbannings, everyone is getting speculative as to what may come or go next. I figured, hey I can play this game too! Looking at the Legacy banned list though, there really aren't many cards that can possibly be unbanned! I think that really speaks to the health of Legacy that there are so many cards and so many answers that it really isn't possible for a deck to be degenerate enough that it simply can't be dealt with! Here is the current Legacy banned list. Of the 60 cards that are on the banned list, 9 are ante cards (back in the day, magic was played with your friends for ante and a couple cards referenced the ante cards). The other 51 cards are all banned for various reasons, and offer a window of insight to what types of effects are overpowered in Magic.

Tutors (9):
One thing that the DCI has been trying to increase in legacy is variance by way of banning tutors. The most recent examples of this in 2010 was the bannings of Survival of the Fittest and Mystical Tutor. The tutors on the list include:

Demonic Consultation
Demonic Tutor
Goblin Recruiter - This card would let you stack your entire deck, which with Ringleader and Food Chain would allow you to go infinite and consistently kill your opponent on turn 3
Imperial Seal
Mystical Tutor - Storm, Reanimator, and other combo decks were terrifyingly consistent with this card
Oath of Druids - A 2 mana one-sided Show and Tell that also tutors for the fatty? Geez!
Survival of the Fittest - A Survival sitting in play for 2 turns by itself lets you tutor all your Vangevines and Rootwallas for an overly consistent 1 card combo deck
Tinker - 3 mana Blightsteel Colossus, go
Vampiric Tutor

Degenerate Card Draw (12):
Having card advantage is a good and healthy thing. However, there are some cards that do it too easily and efficiently, and those are terrifying! The degenerate card draw on the list include:

Ancestral Recall
Bazaar of Baghdad
Frantic Search - Sure, this nets you -1 card, but it also costs 0 mana
Gush - Another 0 mana card draw spell, this one can also save you from Wastelands and can make you "hit every land drop"
Library of Alexandria
Memory Jar
Necropotence
Skullclamp
Timetwister
Wheel of Fortune
Windfall
Yawgmoth's Bargain

Degenerate Mana Production (15):
Mana is the limiting resource in Magic. The entire game is designed around the fact that you can only play 1 land a turn and lands only produce 1 mana each. This is what allows there to be fast beatdown decks using a ton of quick little guys, and control decks that are slower but bigger. When something disturbs this peace too much, the game is broken. The degenerate mana production on the list includes:

Black Lotus
Channel
Earthcraft - Not completely obvious, but in a deck like Elves Earthcraft turns every creature into a haste Llanowar Elves and allows for other infinite combos
Fastbond - Fetchlands + Crucible lets you play every land in your deck, and that's only the beginning
Mana Crypt
Mana Drain
Mana Vault
Mishra's Workshop
Mox Emerald
Mox Jet
Mox Pearl
Mox Ruby
Mox Sapphire
Sol Ring
Tolarian Academy

Other (15):
The last 15 cards on the banned list are made up of cards that are individually too powerful, but can't really be grouped with one another. They offer insights as to what kind of effects are too powerful for print, which kinds of cards will be powerful when looking at new spoilers, and ideas for deckbuilding.

Balance - By playing only artifact permanents before casting Balance, you will make your opponent discard their entire hand and sacrifice all their lands and creatures. I remember I read a Vintage article once where the author was on a mul to 4 and had Mox Sapphire, Mox Pearl, Balance, Ancestral Recall on the play. His opponent kept a hand with no Force of Will, and the game was pretty embarrasing from there. In Legacy we have cards like Chrome Mox, Mox Diamond, and Mox Opal that would help us recreate that scenario.

Black Vise - This card can lead to some brutal blowouts! Turn 1 Ancient Tomb Black Vise, Black Vise will deal your opponent 8 before they take their first turn! If they play something like Land, Sensei's Divining Top, they will take 6 going into turn 2, going down to 6 life.

Chaos Orb - This is banned simply because of how it plays out. This card is not objectively judgable, and causes too many issues in play.

Falling Star - Banned for the same reason as Chaos Orb. Falling Star and Chaos Orb are 2 of 3 banned Vintage cards that aren't related to ante.

Flash - Flashing in Protein Hulk is a combo deck that can win on your opponent's first upkeep when you're on the draw. Even if you didn't get the nuts turn 0 kill, the deck is still a 2 card instant-speed combo for only 2 mana which kills immediately. This deck completely ravaged GP Columbus in 2007, and was promptly banned after. In case you are unaware of the combo, you flash in Protein Hulk and let it die, searching your library for 4 Disciple of the Vault and 5+ Shifting Wall/Phyrexian Marauder which instantly kills your opponent!

Hermit Druid - If your deck has no basic lands you can pay 1 mana to mill your entire deck. It's like your entire dredge deck or cephalid breakfast, but just as 1 card.

Mental Misstep - This was only legal in legacy for about 4 months before being banned to no one's surprise. Legacy is a fast format, and this counters every single card in the format, stripping away it's entire identity. GP Mental Misstep (Providence) was insanely slow, and the CFB crew brought a deck whose only win condition was Jace, the Mind Sculptor!

Mind Twist - A couple quick rituals and this can make you lose your entire hand, leading to a terrible 1 sided game.

Mind's Desire - If you could get yourself up to storm 5 or so, Mind's Desire would do all the work for you from there! Sometimes you reveal one Mind's Desire to another and things just go for infinite.

Shahrazad - This is the 3rd non-ante card banned in Vintage. Playing subgames of Magic causes tons of problems, including time. It's hard enough to finish a match in 50 minutes, never mind when there are sub games within those games! (Don't even get me started on when you cast Shahrazad during a sub-game)

Strip Mine - Basic lands are a safe haven in Legacy. The fact that there is almost no basic land hate makes decks like High Tide and Miracles solid choices because they won't get their mana disrupted. Adding Strip Mine will completely ruin this balance.

Time Vault - This + Voltaic Key = take every turn for the rest of the game

Time Walk - With the printing of Temporal Mastery, we have really learned how little of a deal taking an extra turn can be. But that's when you can't control it. When you can control your extra turn, simple turns become devastating blowouts, and there is too much opportunity for something degerate.

Worldgorger Dragon - I mentioned this card in my infinite mana article, in addition to being infinite mana, that combo can create an infinitely repeating game state that immediately result in a draw

Yawgmoth's Will - This card makes storm go from 0 to insanity all by itself. Being able to recurse all of your Lotus Petals, LEDs, even a fetch land makes this simply too good. Turn 1 Swamp, Lotus Petal, Dark Ritual, LED, Infernal Tutor is 10 storm with Yawgmoth's Will.


Of all the cards on the legacy banned list, I feel there are 2 that are worth considering for an unbanning. Those 2 are Black Vise and Mind Twist. I feel that Black Vise is safer than Mind Twist to happen, but I will present for both:

Black Vise - Yes, having 2 on turn 1 is sweet, but that's not very consistent or likely to happen. Having 1 on turn 1 on the play will deal probably 4 than 3 damage - not bad. However, let's say our opponent mulligans to 6 or 5, then we're dealing 3, 2 or 2, 1. The range of power there is quite dramatic! Now, let's say we're on the draw, that's the same as our opponent mulliganing as far as Black Vise is concerned. Let's Say our opponent keeps their opening 7 and plays Island, Sensei's Divining Top, go. Now you play Ancient Tomb, 2x Black Vise. On your opponent's upkeep they take 2 damage. 4 if that was a ponder instead of a Top. Nice nut draw. Now, lets say they mulligan to 6 on the play, and go Mountain, Aether Vial, go. You can play all 4 Black Vise on turn 1, they're still taking 0. Yes, Black Vise CAN be powerful, but its such an unlikely scenario and such an inconsistent turn 1 that I doubt it will even see play.

Mind Twist - When examining this card I look at Mind Shatter and Hymn to Tourach. Mind Shatter has never been playable, but Hymn to Tourach has been a good card for a very long time. What makes Mind Twist better than Hymn to Tourach is that it can hit more cards when more mana is invested in it. At 4 mana or more Mind Twist gains value. The best way to gain fast mana is Dark Ritual, so we could have an opening such as Dark Ritual, Dark Ritual, Mind Twist for 4. Ironically enough this hits the same number of cards as if we had 2 Hymn to Tourachs.

Obviously when it comes to discussing potential unbannings, there is always the fear that we may make a terrible mistake and allow a degenerate beast to come back from the pit and ravage constructed. Mind Twist has a lot more potential to be degenerate than Black Vise, but I feel that it may be too slow to be a significant player. Black Vise too is a very powerful card, which may make people become very worried, but as I explained I feel it isn't actually consistent enough to be playable

As for cards that need to be banned? Nothing right now is actually too degenerate. People were saying over the summer that Show and Tell needs to be banned, but that card has hardly been doing anything recently, and it doesn't do too well vs a Duress or Thoughtseize.

That's all I have for today! Until next time, stay classy!

Ryan Lackie
Ryan.Lackie92@gmail.com
@ThingsILack