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5 Reasons Why Energy Should Be Banned in Magic: The Gathering's Standard Format


A new Magic: The Gathering set will launch next week, but some players are concerned that the dominance of Energy-based decks in Standard format will continue even after Rivals of Ixalan comes out. If you look at recent tournament results, you can see that Energy decks are dominant, and they will most likely continue to see play after the new set comes out. Honestly, I'm tired of playing and playing against Energy decks, and I'd rather see a more diverse meta than what we have now.

The next ban announcement date is January 15, and many players like me are hoping to see Attune with Aether get banned, but is that enough?

According to YouTuber MTGOTraders, it's not, and he explains the five reasons why Energy decks as a whole should get banned. Watch the video here:

When the Energy mechanic was introduced in Kaladesh, many enjoyed the synergy between cards that produce and use Energy, but I think it's getting so redundant at these points, and Standard is lacking innovative decks in competitive level because of how powerful Energy-based decks are.

This video points out that players can't really interact against Energy counters. He argues that banning Attune with Aether won't solve the issue, and compares it to the Affinity problem back in the day. Even without Attune with Aether, you still have Servant of Conduit, Longtusk Cub, Rogue Refiner, Whirler Virtuoso, and Bristling Hydra that are still strong together. They require specific answers that the current format doesn't have. Solemnity is not enough, and I agree. Banning energy as a whole would help diversify deck types in Standard. This would help make new cards more playable.

Do you agree with the 5 reasons stated in the video above? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Here's some general info for Rivals of Ixalan:

Set Name:Rivals of Ixalan
Block: Set 2 of 2 in the Ixalan block
Number of Cards: 196
Magic Open House: January 6-7, 2018
Prerelease Weekend: January 13-14, 2018
Magic Online Launch: January 15, 2018

Read more:Magic: The Gathering Head Designer Explains Why No Anti-Energy Cards Were Printed in Kaladesh

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