All B/R update speculation.

[WorstBandNameEver]

Banning Brainstorm would be stupid. Instead, they should just print more fetchland hate! Pre-Zen, Wasteland was significantly stronger. Pre-fetches, Brainstorm was significantly weaker. People rarely talked about banning Brainstorm until after Zen, too. We need a new card, something like:
Warland
Land
T: Add (1) to your mana pool.
T: Counter target activated or triggered ability an opponent controls.

More fetchland hate = people run more duals and/or basics = more Wastelands = fewer 3/4 color decks getting the best of everything. Fewer 3 & 4 color decks AND fewer fetchlands = less Brainstorm. Oh, and Sinkhole would get better. I'd love for that to be playable again.

I'm not the best card evaluator, but this sounds like a really bad idea for a card. Sorta nuts.

[Humphrey]

Fixed that for you.

Turn two Emrakul or Yawgmoth's Bargain on a Stick isn't too powerful for this format. On the fair side this format has insane plays like Lackey into Matron into Ringleader. Completely fair aggro decks like Affinity are able to get turn 3 kills. This is a powerful format. We like it.

Will the banning of Brainstorm deny those moves? No. Will it be more risk vs reward? Yes.

[MoxBropal]

I like the idea of hating on the fetches/tutors a little more. Another Leonin Arbiter-ish card would be nice.

[Zilla]

I like the idea of hating on the fetches/tutors a little more. Another Leonin Arbiter-ish card would be nice.

Totally! Except it should be blue so it can fit in more decks.

[sdematt]

I'm still wanting Black discard with Scry, with some sort of anti blue clause. Scry only if you control no Islands?

I still don't feel like anything is too powerful at the moment. I'm not saying I don't hate Show and Tell sometimes, but I think it's still fine.



-Matt

[Mr. Safety]

I agree...even if it was just a generic cantrip-like common:

Cranial Jab
sorcery

Target player discards a card. Scry 1

If an opponent controls a forest, mountain, island, or plains Scry 3

[Gheizen64]

Fateseal looks like the much more black ability, and would also thematically fit better on a discard card, not making it a completely dead topdeck, still disrupting in the lategame. A Fateseal card that discard 1 would be probably be borderline playable, or maybe not because there are a still too many decks that are happy if you make them discard. Too bad fateseal is also blue for apparently no reason outside of the "blue is mmagic".

[Dark Ritual]

I'm not the best card evaluator, but this sounds like a really bad idea for a card. Sorta nuts.

Completely concur with you. This land literally hits approximately a million and one things in legacy from storm to lackey triggers to fetchlands to counterbalance to jace, the mind sculptor. If wizards printed this it would either be banned before release or banned next B&R announcement, otherwise legacy would die very quickly. Also, the card would probably be $500 dollars as you know what decks would maindeck 4 of this card? Every single deck in the format including storm would run 4 of this card. If it was a mythic people would have to sell their children as well as their children's children to pay for the card.

[Vacrix]

I don't think black needs a better disruption package; its needs an aggro base in the same color. Where's all the love for hyper efficient black creatures? Most of the effects on them suck or they are too fringe to be playable. I think once we see some new hyper efficient black creatures, something like Delver, but cannot be played in another color, we'll see mono-black aggro/control start making a come back.

[joemauer]

I don't think black needs a better disruption package; its needs an aggro base in the same color. Where's all the love for hyper efficient black creatures? Most of the effects on them suck or they are too fringe to be playable. I think once we see some new hyper efficient black creatures, something like Delver, but cannot be played in another color, we'll see mono-black aggro/control start making a come back.

This is an excellent point as to why monoblack has declined.

Black used to have the only 2/2 creatures at one mana, with life loss draw backs. Then white got 2/1s and 2/2s with little to no drawbacks. Green got a 3/3 at one mana. Blue got a 3/2 flier at one mana. Red got a hastey 2/2. Black keeps getting 2/2 with drawbacks.

Gravecrawler is the only half way decent creature black has gotten post Dark Confidant, and Gravecrawler is somewhat underpowered compared to what the other colors have gotten.

It's kind of like powercreep forgot about black or something.

Edit: Black could use a two mana zombie lord.

[Goaswerfraiejen]

This is an excellent point as to why monoblack has declined.

Black used to have the only 2/2 creatures at one mana, with life loss draw backs.

Actually, green has had Ghazban Ogre since Antiquities. And Mtenda Lion since Mirage. And Rogue Elephant since Weatherlight (I assume that was your 3/3 for G?). Then it got Pouncing Jaguar in Urza's Saga.


I don't think that really detracts from your point, though (really, we could just say black had a 3-mana 5/5 trampler for a while, then power creep totally destructified it). Just being pedantic. As you were.

[sdematt]

Would a 4/4 or 5/5 Juzam Djinn with Trample for 2B be too good? Or just fine? I think it'd probably be just fine.

-Matt

[nedleeds]

Would a 4/4 or 5/5 Juzam Djinn with Trample for 2B be too good? Or just fine? I think it'd probably be just fine.

-Matt

I think Obliterator, Percy and DesDemon are them pushing the black envelope. The designers want standard to be tribal fucking garbage, zombies and vampires. I think an outside the box black creature is more likely to show up in Planechase or Commander. Sewer Nemesis was an attempt but it sucks.

I would print ...

Priest of Mephistopheles - BB
Human Cleric

Flash
<Chains text>

1/2

Thanks for brainstorming. Resolves.

[joemauer]

Actually, green has had Ghazban Ogre since Antiquities. And Mtenda Lion since Mirage. And Rogue Elephant since Weatherlight (I assume that was your 3/3 for G?). Then it got Pouncing Jaguar in Urza's Saga.

If we are being over the top ridiculous, I forgot to mention Norin the Wary as well.
I was talking about playable creatures at the one mana slot.

I think black does need some super bad ass creature at the three mana slot. 5/5 trampler sounds about right. Maybe just make it legendary or give it a triple black mana cost.

[Darkenslight]

If we are being over the top ridiculous, I forgot to mention Norin the Wary as well.
I was talking about playable creatures at the one mana slot.

I think black does need some super bad ass creature at the three mana slot. 5/5 trampler sounds about right. Maybe just make it legendary or give it a triple black mana cost.

I want to see something like Dross Harvester - for example:

Soul of Orzhova
Creature - Spirit Cleric
Trample
At the beginning of your combat phase, you lose 4 life.
Whenever ~ deals combat damage to a player, that player loses X life and you gain X life, where X is the amount of life you lost this turn.
5/5

[Jenni]

If we are being over the top ridiculous, I forgot to mention Norin the Wary as well.
I was talking about playable creatures at the one mana slot.

I think black does need some super bad ass creature at the three mana slot. 5/5 trampler sounds about right. Maybe just make it legendary or give it a triple black mana cost.

Black has a 5/5 Trample for 2B already, Phyrexian Negator from Urza's Destiny. In true B fashion, it comes with a drawback, of course.

Edit: if you don't like the drawback, how about Nyxathid from conflux, which is a 7/7 for 1BB, with a built-in incentive to play discard.

[feline]

Flesh reaver 2 mana for a 4/4 with it's drawback. Anyhow, sticking to the banned/restricted list part of the thread, I am hoping they unban something again the next go around, Land Tax turned out to be "meh" I think if they unbanned Mind twist it'd be another "meh" because people are dumping their hands to kill their opponent (fast storm decks like Ant/Tes/Belcher) so who is going to make a focus on "lets both topdeck" I'll dump mana into mind twist and you'll lose your hand -vs- "I'll kill you" I'll dump mana into Goblin Charbelcher or Ad Nauseum and you'll lose the game.

[Jenni]

I hope they unban something too. There are a few cards I would like to see removed from the ban list.
Mind twist would be pretty "meh" I agree, but it certainly doesn't need to be banned, so I'd like to see it back just because it's not powerful enough to warrant banning anymore.
Black Vise I think could be unbanned too. This one is certainly more powerful, and would probably see play, but I don't think it's so devastating that it needs to be banned.
Worldgorger Dragon could come back, there are "I win" creatures to bring in via reanimation already in legacy, I don't think one more is going to really hurt the format.
Strip Mine This one is banned more because it's not fun to play against I think, but I rather like the card and would love to have it available. It's certainly powerful, but not completely broken. I can understand why it's banned, but I personally wouldn't mind having it back.
Earthcraft Seems almsot safe. The squirrel combo isn't that impressive, the real concern is the amount of mana it allows you to make, but in that regard there are already ways to consistently make large amounts of mana in the format. This one is the one I think is most dangerous to unban of the ones I would like to see back though.


I would like Mana Drain and Survival of the Fittest unbanned too, but I don't think I can make an argument that they're weak enough to come back.

[Viridia]

I hope they unban something too. There are a few cards I would like to see removed from the ban list.
Strip Mine This one is banned more because it's not fun to play against I think, but I rather like the card and would love to have it available. It's certainly powerful, but not completely broken. I can understand why it's banned, but I personally wouldn't mind having it back.

So someone going T1 Exploration -> Strip Mine T2 Loam would be totally cool for you? If it's Wasteland you can atleast fetch Basics, with Strip Mine this is quite overpowered.

I do however agree on unbanning Survival.

[Jenni]

So someone going T1 Exploration -> Strip Mine T2 Loam would be totally cool for you? If it's Wasteland you can atleast fetch Basics, with Strip Mine this is quite overpowered.

I do however agree on unbanning Survival.

That's fine with me, really. It's powerful, and I can see why some people get frustrated playing against it, but it's not like there is no way to handle it. Crypt can disrupt loam recursion, force can stop exploration, + that line of play isn't as powerful on the draw. It can just lock you out all game, admittedly, which is why it's probably banned in the first place, but I don't mind it.
I would much rather they restrict it, like they did in vintage, but Wotc doesn't like to restrict things anymore.