Highlander Magic

MagicPlayer Highlander => Official Announcements => Topic started by: Vazdru on 02-07-2014, 11:34:54 PM

Title: Watchlist changes July 1st, 2014
Post by: Vazdru on 02-07-2014, 11:34:54 PM
Changes to the current Highlander Ban- and Unban-watchlists: None


Reasonings:

Mystical Tutor: As expected, Mystical Tutor made its way into UW and UR as a staple. It performs strongly, providing both archetypes with a reliant go-to play (be it Price of Progress, Bonfire of the Damned, Terminus or Entreat the Angels), but doesn't seem overpowered so far. That being said, its potential as a combo enabler has not been unlocked yet and we want to further observe its role in the aforementioned archetypes UW and UR.

Tolarian Academy: Evidence seems to indicate, that this card is safe to stay. Its sheer potential though leads us to the decision to rather err on the side of caution and leave it on watch as of now.

True-Name Nemesis: TNN clearly has become a format staple, though most people seem to have adapted to it. Most archetypes have powerful cards that function as a solution to TNN, for example Golgari Charm, Phantasmal Image, Toxic Deluge and other Wrath-effects etc. Long forgotten cards like Marsh Casualties are seeing play now, which enriches the format and shows that it is ready to handle many threats, even ones as strong as TNN.
Furthermore (and maybe unexpectedly), games which involve TNN only seldomly become "dumb" but more often than not develop an interesting tempo-oriented twist, where damage calculation, racing, chump-attacking etc. matter very much.
Still, TNN is an absurdly strong, pro-active threat and therefore deserves a little more time under scrutiny - and consequently stays on watch.

Gifts Ungiven: The metagame still needs to develop more. There seems to be a slight shift in the direction of Blue-based strategies. This is surely in part of the recent unbannings and the release of TNN. It might also be because people want to try the new tools they got to play with and because Highlander players (on average) have a tendency to play more controllish strategies.
We want to let the meta evolve more before we decide the verdict on Gifts Unigven.