All B/R update speculation.

[Barook]

It's absurd. The donkeys at WotC put an article up called Top 5 Cards.

http://magic.wizards.com/en/events/c...rds-2015-04-19

But fail to list the fact that the format is officially a 56 card minimum deck size.

Brainstorm 32/32 and it's gotten so awful Ponder was 8/8 and only 3 shy of a perfect 32/32.

So congrats, Wizards with your inept management of the banned list we have a 52 card format.

Feel free to message him on Twitter. I did: @chapmansim (don't forget to put #GPKyoto in there,too).

Edit: Here's his answer:

@Barook1985 Excellent point, but I was trying to not get Brainstorm banned! *kidding* :D

About Gitaxian Probe: Since TCdecks doesn't provide us with the numbers, I have to go with MtGGoldfish here: Probe is around 35% meta representation. As annoying the card is, that's far from being a problem.

[nedleeds]

Just tweet Eric Lauer. I made a new hashtag on twitter #FreeLegacy.

https://twitter.com/EternalMTG/statu...37875124031488

[Barook]

Just tweet Eric Lauer. I made a new hashtag on twitter #FreeLegacy.

https://twitter.com/EternalMTG/statu...37875124031488

#FreeLegacy is a completely unrelated hashtag, though - just saying. Besides, he doesn't seem to have used his twitter account since September 11th 2013.

[CabalTherapy]

The hate is real. I am sure that 99% of all Legacy players actually enjoy playing with u-based decks because of Brainstorm/Ponder eliminating certain randomness and allowing for mightier plays.

#throwingwoodinthestoveandlettingitburn

[nedleeds]

Probably for the best. Anyway, this is an improvement for Brainstorm over Grand Prix Paris where it only 28/32'ed. The other deck played 6 main deck Red Blasts in Paris. That was a couple of years ago, if they haven't decided to take Legacy seriously and apply their philosophy, they probably never will. Legacy will never be a Pro Tour format again so they have no incentive to make rational bannings (or unbannings). It's not even not banning the obviously ridiculous cards that bothers me, it's letting a B&R announcement go by without unbanning something awful like Earthcraft. Since 2003 ... all the legacy unbannings have done essentially nothing. Look at the last few unbannings, those cards literally are unplayed by the internet. Land Tax, Dragon, Illusionary Mask and Time Spiral ... all either not played or fringe cards that bad high tide players try to Merchant Scroll for. The last unbannings with text were Entomb and Metalverker. Entomb was unbanned before Griselchimp, Jin-Gitaxis and right before Iona was printed ... it probably wouldn't have been unbanned if Griselderp was around.

[Bed Decks Palyer]

Who's taht guy? Erik Lauer? A bit ghaye mustache, it's the hipster style, right?

The hate is real. I am sure that 99% of all Legacy players actually enjoy playing with u-based decks because of Brainstorm/Ponder eliminating certain randomness and allowing for robotic plays.

ftfy.

It's a good thing that the oppressive speed and versatility of Earthcraft, Mind Twist and Black Vise are being contained.

I loled.

[Patrunkenphat7]

I don't understand the Brainstorm hate. The powerful Legacy cantrips allow for tighter, more skill-intensive games and are a big reason why the format is so much fun. If you want to play a format with higher variance you can play basically any other format.

[nedleeds]

Thanks for immediately getting skill intensive out of the way without me having to even try.

Edit: you also got go play modern out of the way as well. I'm still looking for 'might as well ban island' and then some incoherent rant about how everyone plays Black Lotus in vintage.

[maharis]

Thanks for immediately getting skill intensive out of the way without me having to even try.

Also "go play another format"

[nedleeds]

Brother from another mother.

[wonderPreaux]

I don't understand the Brainstorm hate. The powerful Legacy cantrips allow for tighter, more skill-intensive games and are a big reason why the format is so much fun. If you want to play a format with higher variance you can play basically any other format.

There's also the fact that in a meta of strong control/combo, cantrips of any variety make a lot of sense. The Grixis Delver and RW Death and Taxes builds are examples of innovation to the Miracles/Stoneblade/Omni-Tell meta but people would rather rage-ban than just let the meta grow and change on its own.

Moreover, there's still a range of decks in the top 8, it's not like "Brainstorm" actually won any games; Delvers, Tentacle monsters, Miracles and combo sorceries were actually taking the games.

[HSCK]

It's absurd. We are going to get a double 32/32 one week with Brainstorm and Ponder. Probe is also ridiculous and is getting close to 60% saturation. It's a good thing that the oppressive speed and versatility of Earthcraft, Mind Twist and Black Vise are being contained.

Also worth noting Survival never 32/32'ed anything. Mental Misstep did.

Probably because all these "Brainstorm" decks aren't the same deck, unless you think Delver and Storm are basically the same. Wait, I already know the answer from your side, "Brainstorm is KILLING LEGACY, JUST IGNORE THE DECKS AND ATTENDANCE!"

[Lord Seth]

Moreover, there's still a range of decks in the top 8, it's not like "Brainstorm" actually won any games; Delvers, Tentacle monsters, Miracles and combo sorceries were actually taking the games.

One can make the same argument about Mental Misstep.

[Sloshthedark]

Thanks for immediately getting skill intensive out of the way without me having to even try.

Edit: you also got go play modern out of the way as well. I'm still looking for 'might as well ban island' and then some incoherent rant about how everyone plays Black Lotus in vintage.

go play vintage...

Probe is also ridiculous and is getting close to 60% saturation

About Gitaxian Probe: Since TCdecks doesn't provide us with the numbers, I have to go with MtGGoldfish here: Probe is around 35% meta representation. As annoying the card is, that's far from being a problem.

lol

[wonderPreaux]

One can make the same argument about Mental Misstep.

What's your point? Brainstorm facilitates plays, facilitates actually playing Magic or keeping a deck together, Misstep does the opposite. That's about as much a false equivalency as all the decks playing lands.

[nedleeds]

One can make the same argument about Mental Misstep.

I have him ignored, but yes. That argument is dog shit ... I can build Necro Combo, Necro Control and Necro Aggro. Thanks for pointing out that Brainstorm is actually so fucking absurd, ubiquitous, and powerful that it's an automatic 4 of in the formats best Combo, Control and Aggro decks. How is that a defense for keeping it legal? Glad you aren't lawyers.

[Barook]

I don't understand the Brainstorm hate. The powerful Legacy cantrips allow for tighter, more skill-intensive games and are a big reason why the format is so much fun. If you want to play a format with higher variance you can play basically any other format.

What exactly makes Brainstorm skill-intensive? Keeping open until something bad happens? Most Brainstorms are actually pretty brainless.

What's your point? Brainstorm facilitates plays, facilitates actually playing Magic or keeping a deck together, Misstep does the opposite. That's about as much a false equivalency as all the decks playing lands.

Misstep is dumb because it made blue decks better and was run by the entire field (which happens to be about the same percentage as the Brainstorm).

How does Misstep do the opposite? By that logic, FoW and Daze would have go as well since they're free counters, and that's just dumb.

[Patrunkenphat7]

What exactly makes Brainstorm skill-intensive? Keeping open until something bad happens? Most Brainstorms are actually pretty brainless.

This shows a complete lack of understanding for how Brainstorm works and why it is important to Legacy. Brainstorm makes Legacy more skill-intensive because it decreases the number of losses due to mana flood or mana screw and allows you to see and potentially play with more cards in your deck. This, in turn, causes more games to be decided from skill rather than variance.

Most of the Brainstorm hatred seems to stem from some irrational desire for cards and colors to be equally represented in Legacy rather than a variety of different archetypes. In my opinion Legacy feels very diverse and interesting if archetypes are relatively diverse, and I don't care if most of those archetypes are blue-based, because they play out so differently.

[nedleeds]

Skill intensive isn't a ban criteria. WotC says so. Necropotence is skill intensive. Yawgmoth's Will is skill intensive. WTF does that have to do with banning? Cabal Therapy is skill intensive ... there aren't 32 of them in the top 8 of GPs. Sylvan Library is skill intensive. Magic: The Gathering is generally filled with decision making and learned heuristics. Brainstorm is far from the holy grail of skill like you apologists make it out to be. Ponder, Preordain, Impulse, Intuition, Fact of Fiction, Lim Dul's Vault are also skill intensive but they aren't hopelessly ubiquitous, overpowered and insane (Ponder probably is with respect to the crap currently banned).

[Barook]

This shows a complete lack of understanding for how Brainstorm works and why it is important to Legacy. Brainstorm makes Legacy more skill-intensive because it decreases the number of losses due to mana flood or mana screw and allows you to see and potentially play with more cards in your deck. This, in turn, causes more games to be decided from skill rather than variance.

So, basically the good old "Play Brainstorm or gimp yourself in the long run when variance screws you over."