B and R Update

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

The Magic the Gathering community at large have been for the last few weeks been contemplating and speculating on today's Banned and Restricted (B&R) cards update. While some players incorrectly guessed that Hovermyr was to get the ban-hammer, most did guess correctly and fingered Wild Nacatl to crumple under the new update. These regular updates to rules, as well as the banned and restricted list by Wizards of the Coast are effected to ensure the continued variety and health of each of the following formats : Standard, Modern, Extended, Block, and Two-Headed Giant. For the full Magic the Gathering rules (issued today 12/20/2011) effective 1/01/2012, wing on over HERE. For the full document click on over HERE.

The 'Modern' format is a non-rotating format consisting of sets from essentially any and all cards from 8th edition forward (black-bordered cards) which is gaining popularity with players. One popular deck archetype in this format is the creature-based aggro 'Zoo' build of which Wild Nacatl was a 'go-to' card. This one-drop giving you a 1/1 creature can rapidly advance to a 3/3 body should you contro a Plains and a Mountain. Although not format-warping, Wizards did feel that the format would be healthier without it.
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The other card to get banned from Modern is Punishing Fire. Punishing Fire, when combined with Grove of the Burnwillows, gives a repeatable 2 damage for 3 mana which can be devastating to weenie decks. This combination provides a one life gain to your opponent but can wreck your opponent's ability to field any offense against you.












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Something else which may be of interest to MTG Realm readers who may venture off the kitchen table and into the tournament arena - WotC has just released an updated Infraction Procedures Guide, also go into effect on January 1, 2012. Here are the summary of the changes to expect:

General: Language fixes, particularly streamlining the opening sentence of each section. Terminology fixes.

1.4: New section on Optional Abilities.

3.1: Important changes - Opponents are no longer responsible for triggers. Some triggers are optional and handled differently. Missed triggers being put on the stack now go on the bottom. Actions are completed before doing so. Players other than the controller of a trigger are under no obligation to point out that a trigger has been missed, though they may do so if they wish.

3.5: Clarification for when Improper Drawing at Start of Game applies.

3.7: Failure to Maintain Game State does not apply when the opponent misses a trigger. The Judge must believe intention here.

4.3: Attempting to perform a loop with an indeterminate end point is now Slow Play such as derping around (reviewing / taking notes) without any significant change in game state.

4.7: Added a reminder of the Player Communication Rules to the philosophy.
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That's it for now, until tomorrow's post MTG Realm reminds you to play it safe - always use card sleeves.
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