Some Magic: The Gathering players were hoping that Wizards of the Coast would ban Felidar Guardian and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, and some were hoping that Smuggler's Copter would get unbanned in their latest announcement, but it turned out that there's no change to any format.
In their latest announcement, Wizards explained why they decided to not ban or unban any card: "In particular, we looked closely at the effect Felidar has on a format when it can be used in a game-ending combo. However, at Grand Prix Utretcht we began to see some movement in the format—particularly the rise of Temur Dynavolt Tower as a potential addition to that upper echelon. With that kind of movement in the format, we thought it best to gather more data—including more Grand Prix and the inclusion of Amonkhet at the Pro Tour—while watching the format continue to shift before making any changes."
Four-color Copycat and Mardu Vehicles are considered to be the top tier decks of Standard, but there are clearly other competitive decks that can beat either if they're turned well to adapt to the metagame. Decks like BG Energy Aggro, Temur Dynavolt, and Aetherworks Marvel still put up a good fight against them. With the variety of Aggro, Midrange, Combo, and Control taking the format's stage evenly, I think Standard is well-balanced right now. There are even different variations of the top tier decks in the format. The Saheeli + Felidar combo is putting up good results, but Standard has the answers for that.
Of course, Wizards will continue to gather data from big tournaments, and if Saheeli combo and Mardu Vehicles continue to dominate results, they probably will ban one of their key cards in the next announcement, but since Amonkhet will be out soon, the format will most likely shift and create other top tier decks that could take them down.
What do you think about their decision not to ban anything in any format? Do you think they will ban anything in the next announcement? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
The next banning announcement will be on April 24, 2017.
Read: Wizards of the Coast Announced Partnership With Channelfireball For Grand Prix Events
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