Thehubby, whose Banned and Restricted List has revolutionized the 1/1/1 Emperor format in ways never thought possible, was last week put in charge of DCI floor rules. Already T1 players across the world are enjoying a radically different metagame as a result of the new sweeping bans across each set. However, some players are confused by these changes and why they are necessary. In this article, Thehubby explains the need for the new Banned and Restricted List.

In its heyday, Type 1 represented Magic: the Gathering as it was meant to be: it prominently featured cards that accelerated your mana production enabling you to win much faster than you would otherwise be able to. With that said, it is my great pleasure to announce the unrestriction of all the previously restricted cards.

This, of course, makes all but thirty or so of the game's cards redundant. Which is a good thing, I feel. The problems in the past have come from players trying to abuse the cards available from them. Rather than taking the old DCI's approach of restricting troublesome cards, we've decided following the success of 1/1/1 Emp that we should instead redefine the format to make it expected of players to use these cards.

Now onto the fun part: blanket bans. Removing alternate win conditions, direct damage to players, life loss, decking, stealing and discard from 1/1/1 Emp ensured a healthy metagame, so those cards are also banned from T1. This also has the added benefit of allowing players to be more creative in their finding a use for all the mana they've accumulated with their P9 recursion. Also banned is life-gain, which is unfair on everyone in the tournament because it prolongs the game excessively.

Naturally, we can't just go banning everything willy nilly, because that would be retarded and illogical. What we can do, though, is to allow players some discretion in their use of certain cards. Our judges have been instructed to use their discretion with respect to which actions are reasonable. Some examples follow. (Note: even though the format intrinsically makes many of the mentioned cards worthless, it's still important to know where the new DCI stands on the issues).

• Vindicate is permitted, as long as it targets an artifact, creature or enchantment. It may target a land if that land is deemed offensive. For example, a Contested Cliffs is fair game because it can destroy your creatures and there's no way besides LD to get rid of it. However, a Vindicate on your opponent’s Mountain, Tundra or Tolarian Academy is not a reasonable use because these lands only generate mana.
  
• X spells that do not deal direct damage to players, such as Firecat Blitz, must be used in moderation. However, Decree of Justice is exempt from this rule because I like it.
  
• Counterspell and its ilk are OK to use in moderation, as long as they don't disrupt the opponent's strategy too much. For example, a Force of Will on their Mox should be fine, whereas a Force of Will on their Timetwister when it's the only card in their hand will inevitably lead to you winning the game and therefore is not allowed.
  
• As discussed above, direct damage to players is prohibited. However, the spells may be used on creatures, as long as the opponent consents to their creature being targeted. On a side note, Lavamancer's Skill has been issued with official errata that enables it to target a player; however, players should not take this as an invitation to use the ability for this purpose.
  
• For cards such as Engineered Plague, you may preempt your opponent by choosing a creature type he is likely to play, but naming a type that already exists in play is seen as unfair.
  
• Coin flip cards are permitted, but players are only allowed to call heads.

Discuss this article in the Magic: the Gathering Forums!

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• DCI Banned from Theron Martin's Cellar
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Thehubby, whose Banned and Restricted List has revolutionized the 1/1/1 Emperor format in ways never thought possible, was last week put in charge of DCI floor rules. Already T1 players across the world are enjoying a radically different metagame as a result of the new sweeping bans across each set. However, some players are confused by these changes and why they are necessary. In this article, Thehubby explains the need for the new Banned and Restricted List.

In its heyday, Type 1 represented Magic: the Gathering as it was meant to be: it prominently featured cards that accelerated your mana production enabling you to win much faster than you would otherwise be able to. With that said, it is my great pleasure to announce the unrestriction of all the previously restricted cards.

This, of course, makes all but thirty or so of the game's cards redundant. Which is a good thing, I feel. The problems in the past have come from players trying to abuse the cards available from them. Rather than taking the old DCI's approach of restricting troublesome cards, we've decided following the success of 1/1/1 Emp that we should instead redefine the format to make it expected of players to use these cards.

Now onto the fun part: blanket bans. Removing alternate win conditions, direct damage to players, life loss, decking, stealing and discard from 1/1/1 Emp ensured a healthy metagame, so those cards are also banned from T1. This also has the added benefit of allowing players to be more creative in their finding a use for all the mana they've accumulated with their P9 recursion. Also banned is life-gain, which is unfair on everyone in the tournament because it prolongs the game excessively.

Naturally, we can't just go banning everything willy nilly, because that would be retarded and illogical. What we can do, though, is to allow players some discretion in their use of certain cards. Our judges have been instructed to use their discretion with respect to which actions are reasonable. Some examples follow. (Note: even though the format intrinsically makes many of the mentioned cards worthless, it's still important to know where the new DCI stands on the issues).

• Vindicate is permitted, as long as it targets an artifact, creature or enchantment. It may target a land if that land is deemed offensive. For example, a Contested Cliffs is fair game because it can destroy your creatures and there's no way besides LD to get rid of it. However, a Vindicate on your opponent’s Mountain, Tundra or Tolarian Academy is not a reasonable use because these lands only generate mana.
  
• X spells that do not deal direct damage to players, such as Firecat Blitz, must be used in moderation. However, Decree of Justice is exempt from this rule because I like it.
  
• Counterspell and its ilk are OK to use in moderation, as long as they don't disrupt the opponent's strategy too much. For example, a Force of Will on their Mox should be fine, whereas a Force of Will on their Timetwister when it's the only card in their hand will inevitably lead to you winning the game and therefore is not allowed.
  
• As discussed above, direct damage to players is prohibited. However, the spells may be used on creatures, as long as the opponent consents to their creature being targeted. On a side note, Lavamancer's Skill has been issued with official errata that enables it to target a player; however, players should not take this as an invitation to use the ability for this purpose.
  
• For cards such as Engineered Plague, you may preempt your opponent by choosing a creature type he is likely to play, but naming a type that already exists in play is seen as unfair.
  
• Coin flip cards are permitted, but players are only allowed to call heads.

Discuss this article in the Magic: the Gathering Forums!

Related Stories

• DCI Unable to Prevent Hahn Articles
• DCI Banned from Theron Martin's Cellar
• Casual Gamer Unable to Comprehend Enemy's Attack