All B/R update speculation.

[bracer028]

what really needs to come off is mind twist.

[Tacosnape]

Unbanning Recruiter would be scary, yet it'd make Goblins a deck again. Recruiter is just made of frightening. I'm not sure if Food Chain would even be the direction the deck would take anymore, given how Recruiter would allow Goblins to play disruption while solving the "Oh no Ringleader's worse" dilemma. I'd play the thing, in any case, but don't hold your breath here. I'd play the deck again if Recruiter could happen.

My gut feeling is that the next B/R session will have absolutely no changes, due to the fact that they only like to change the list when the format gets stale. With Mental Misstep in existence, the format is anything but stale right now, but I expect there to be some changes two updates from now. Don't be surprised if Goblin Recruiter joins Land Tax in that unbanning spree.

EDIT: Also, I've reversed my stance on Mind Twist coming off. It shouldn't. Far too many semi-colorless ramp decks are capable of producing obscene mana on turn two, and the prospect of 5-6 card Mind Twists hitting before you get enough time to drop a Teeg or do much else is horrifying.

[Gheizen64]

Unbanning Recruiter would be scary, yet it'd make Goblins a deck again. Recruiter is just made of frightening. I'm not sure if Food Chain would even be the direction the deck would take anymore, given how Recruiter would allow Goblins to play disruption while solving the "Oh no Ringleader's worse" dilemma. I'd play the thing, in any case, but don't hold your breath here. I'd play the deck again if Recruiter could happen.

My gut feeling is that the next B/R session will have absolutely no changes, due to the fact that they only like to change the list when the format gets stale. With Mental Misstep in existence, the format is anything but stale right now, but I expect there to be some changes two updates from now. Don't be surprised if Goblin Recruiter joins Land Tax in that unbanning spree.

EDIT: Also, I've reversed my stance on Mind Twist coming off. It shouldn't. Far too many semi-colorless ramp decks are capable of producing obscene mana on turn two, and the prospect of 5-6 card Mind Twists hitting before you get enough time to drop a Teeg or do much else is horrifying.

Semi-Colorless decks that are able to produce obscene amount of mana by turn 2 are MUD, MUD and MUD, and MUD wouldn't play twist.

[Amon Amarth]

I'm not sure why FCG would want to play disruption if you can just kill people. I assume you are talking for the combo match, which is what your SB is for. Speaking of which, Thorn of Amethyst is le funny here.

Those same decks that can ramp out super fast Mind Twists are also the ones that can dump things like Sundering Titan into play, probably more often since Titan is colorless. The artifact ramp decks aren't short of ways to blow you out of the game. Their Achilles Heel is consistency. Black doesn't give you anything else, short of Mind Twist, so it's a bad splash too.

[Justin]

My gut feeling is that the next B/R session will have absolutely no changes, due to the fact that they only like to change the list when the format gets stale. With Mental Misstep in existence, the format is anything but stale right now, but I expect there to be some changes two updates from now. Don't be surprised if Goblin Recruiter joins Land Tax in that unbanning spree.

I tend to agree. Most likely, there will be no changes. I cannot imagine anything getting banned right now. Pehaps if a card seems really nuts at GP Providence, something could happen, but I doubt it. Because Mental Misstep is already one of the best cards in the format, the best unbanning candidates are one-drops. They might unban a couple one-drops, but I don't see why they would do it so soon. It would make more sense to wait a few months when they are able to better gage the full impact of Mental Misstep.

[SurFitOfTheVine]

Goblins had enough trouble with Tarmogoyf and Jitte, then Wild Nacatl and friends joined the party and more recently, Stoneforge Mystic. Now Mental Misstep counters the 2 key cards of the deck (Aether Vial and Goblin Lackey). Goblins is totally unplayable right now. Unban Goblin Recruiter already!

EDIT: And while you're at it, print a Goblin Qasali Pridemage because Tin Street Hooligan sucks.

[Sims]

Goblins had enough trouble with Tarmogoyf and Jitte, then Wild Nacatl and friends joined the party and more recently, Stoneforge Mystic. Now Mental Misstep counters the 2 key cards of the deck (Aether Vial and Goblin Lackey). Goblins is totally unplayable right now. Unban Goblin Recruiter already!

EDIT: And while you're at it, print a Goblin Qasali Pridemage because Tin Street Hooligan sucks.

They see me trollin'.... They hatin'....

[MDB]

So, Mental Misstep...about time to get the banhammer out and ban...Brainstorm!

Okay, just hear me out, I know y'all love our own Ancestral Recall. But the format just went up from 1 to 2 free counters on the draw, and from 2 to 3 (incl. Daze) on the play. So first turn window for Vial/Welder/Thoughtseize etc. just shunk from 54% to 7% on the play (not counting mulligans, blue card and whatnot). While, on the play, the blue mage was already holding, statistically speaking, 1,05 FoW/Daze, going up to 1,6 when MM is added to the mix. Speaking of adding to the mix, there's also that Island, free to use for Spell Pierce, Stifle, and you guessed it Brainstorm. While the Brainstorm is only going to be there half of the time, other half Preordain/Ponder, it does increase the average free counter count to a whopping 2,2.

I'm somewhat fine with blue "reliably" having 1 free counter on the draw and 2 on the play, well, not really, but I'm not here to bitch about that. I do have a problem with instant speed though. As dominating as blue is in the forthcoming MM-era, I really think blue reliability should come at sorcery speed. Forcing the blue mages to commit to card quality, and strategic decisions on their own turn. (leave Island open for Stifle?, fetch basic or dual? what to keep in hand and what on top? etc...)

In adition a rehash of the old arguments: protects you from Seize/Duress/IoK, whoa fetches! and yadiyadiyaa.../end rant

In conclusion, winning the die roll doesn't mean shit anymore unless you're playing blue or not playing against blue, and Brainstorm only makes this worse, time for it to go.

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

I think it's early to talk about banning anything.

[(nameless one)]

Semi-Colorless decks that are able to produce obscene amount of mana by turn 2 are MUD, MUD and MUD, and MUD wouldn't play twist.

MUD decks can get an active Mox Diamond + Sol Land (Grim Monolith) by turn one with ease. I wouldn't mind testing that in MUD if they ever allowed Mind Twist.

[DragoFireheart]

I think it's early to talk about banning anything.

Basically this. Nothing so far is degenerate like SotF was back in December. Mental Misstep is good and made some decks better (Control, Merfolk) and weakened some others (Goblins), but this is more of a format shift and not a repeat of the rise of degenerate decks.

[Xantid Swarm]

100% agree that it's too early to conclude on anything right now, but MDB resume very well what I think about Brainstorm. I think it's the obvious candidate for the next ban and if blue keep is actual level of domination in the next 3-6 months, I think that Brainstorm would have to go.

What is funny, in the same time is that Merfolk will be untouch by this ban, as the only blue deck not playing Brainstorm, except by the fact that less blue decks in the format mean fewer good matchups for them.

[Gheizen64]

MUD decks can get an active Mox Diamond + Sol Land (Grim Monolith) by turn one with ease. I wouldn't mind testing that in MUD if they ever allowed Mind Twist.

You used 4 a cards combo to make your opponent discard 2 at random (diamond+ discard land + sol + twist). How is that strong?

[perm]

Mind twist can only be degenerate when used with dark ritual on say, turn three. Don't be fooled, two cards for three random cards is better than one card for two cards. But way better things can be done with tons of colorless mana.

[bruizar]

You used 4 a cards combo to make your opponent discard 2 at random (diamond+ discard land + sol + twist). How is that strong?

Mox Diamond and a hand with 2 Lands is a combo nowadays? Wow... I must be lucky ripping that land + brainstorm combo so often!

EDIT:

I would rather cast Mind Twist to strip an entire hand than Thoughtcast to draw 2 cards

[Gheizen64]

Sol+Moxen + twist is a combo, yes. That's the reason stax decks in legacy sucks, because 3 mana on T1 is unreliable and make a lot your hands shit + give you shitty topdecks.

Probability of drawing at least one diamond in starting seven running 3:

P(Mox)=(57/60*56/59*55/58*...*51/54)^-1=31%

Add to that drawing at least one Sol land (8) in your remaining 6:

P(Mox+Sol)=P(Mox)*[(51/59*.....*46/54)^-1]=21%

Now add at least any one land to your remaining 5:

P(Mox+Sol+3rdland)=P(Mox+Sol)*[(35/58*34/57*33/56*32/55*31/54)^-1]=19%

Add a twist to your final 4 (running 4):

P(combo)=P(MSL)*[(53/57*52/56*51/55*50/54)^-1]~5%

Now in those 5% of hands, you can keep only those hands where you have another threat, unless you think you'll win by just casting hymn to tourach on T1 (This isn't as relevant in ritual decks that cast hymn because you "only" use 3 cards for the combo whereas you use 4 here, that's huge since the chances of seeing a threat in the last 4 cards are 33% greater than seeing a threat in the last 3 cards, so 33% more good hands, also running cards like moxen crap your topdecks ), so i'd say the real figures are about 3-4% of all total hands. Land + ritual + hymn is almost thrice as common as that (~10%) and isn't breaking the format anywhere.

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

Turn 1 Chalice, turn 2 something, turn 3 Mind Twist for 3-4 is still pretty strong. Of course it doesn't solve blank-stompy's problems with running out of gas.

I don't think Mind Twist would be broken, but it's playable.

[Gheizen64]

Turn 1 Chalice, turn 2 something, turn 3 Mind Twist for 3-4 is still pretty strong. Of course it doesn't solve blank-stompy's problems with running out of gas.

I don't think Mind Twist would be broken, but it's playable.

I think no one is saying Twist is unplayable, just that it doesn't deserve to be banned and wouldn't warp the meta or anything.

[Scordata]

I actually think they should ban hymn to tourach. There's no strategy with that card.

[bracer028]

I actually think they should ban hymn to tourach. There's no strategy with that card.

no strategy or u cant fight it?