Hey,

According to the latest press release by Wizards of the Coast, the following changes have been made to the banned/restricted list in Legacy:

Time Spiral is UNRESTRICTED
Survival of the Fittest is BANNED

Excellent news for players who are tired of seeing the same creature tutoring antics.  When games come down to a race to who gets a key card in play first (see Disciple of the Vault/Skullclamp Affinity for a great past example), much of the strategy that appeals to players disappears.  The gamebreaking Survival of the Fittest decks utilized one turn kills paired with counterspells to protect the setup.  With over 50% of the field Darwinning it up with the card, you were either playing Survival or playing against it.


That field domination is the main reason Survival of the Fittest got smashed by the banhammer.  If the company's cool with banning Survival, why hasn't it banned Jace the Mind Sculptor?


After all, aren't they near the same power level?  Dare I say Jace the Mind Sculptor is more powerful than  Survival of the Fittest?  There's clearly a reason a large amount of decks are playing the card AS WELL AS it having a near $100 per copy price tag.

At Worlds, 6 of the 8 top Standard decks utilize blue.  Of these 6 decks, all of them utilize Jace the Mind Sculptor.  Of these 6 decks, all of them pack four copies of Jace the Mind Sculptor.  The final matchup? UB control, both of them with Jace.

Don't believe me?  Here's the proof straight from Wizards itself: Standard Top 8 from Worlds

Being a significant card at a tournament in an event as big as Worlds speaks for its power levels.  4 mana for a reusable Brainstorm, Unsummon, fateseal, and win condition in one.  If it hits the board, consider the player opposite at a significant disadvantage.

With facts backing up the power level of Jace, why hasn't Wizards smacked him in the face with the banhammer yet?  I believe that the people to ask is not Wizards but the players themselves.

How many of you would ragequit the game if Jace the Mind Sculptor were banned today?

Seriously, you've invested at least $300 in four pieces of painted cardboard, built the most awesome U/x deck, only to not be able to play the money card?

And don't use that "I'll play another deck" excuse.  Legacy and Extended players can use that since they're likely to have been playing a while, so they can dig in their collection to create another deck.  Standard players are more new to the game, so their collections are smaller.  Chances are their Standard deck is the only one they have.

Jace has made a ton of money for the company.  Cutting him out of the format would not only hurt their income from selling cards, but also harm the relationship with players.  With Standard having players not well invested in the game, chances are they will quit, eliminating a future profit for Wizards.


It's your call Wizards.  Will you continue letting Jace dominate Standard so long as you keep getting buyers?  Or will Jace cease to seal opponents' fates in the metagame?

Due to the aforementioned reasons, I don't think Jace is going anywhere anytime soon.  I think the safest play would be to include some sort of answer in the up and coming set, like how Pithing Needle was released to answer the popular Umezawa's Jitte.

It's your turn to spea your mind.  Drop a comment in the box below.  I'd like to hear your thoughts on this!

Catch you round,
@shadowsketched