Why Was Preordain Banned in Modern?
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Preordain’s journey in Modern is a tale of power, banishment, and eventual redemption. The short answer to why it was initially banned is: Preordain, along with Ponder, was deemed too efficient at increasing consistency for powerful combo decks, particularly Izzet strategies like Splinter Twin and Storm. These decks relied on quickly finding specific pieces for their combos, and the cheap, effective card selection provided by Preordain proved to be too strong for the format’s health.
The Initial Ban: A Need for Format Balance
The Problem of Consistency
When Modern was first established, one-mana cantrips were identified as a potential problem. Cards like Preordain and Ponder are incredibly powerful because they allow players to filter through their decks, increasing the likelihood of drawing the specific cards they need. This is especially true in combo decks that rely on a few key pieces to function. By seeing multiple cards and controlling the order in which they’re drawn, these cantrips enabled explosive, consistent, and often uninteractive strategies. The combination of speed and consistency that Preordain granted made these combos overly dominant, making the ban a necessary evil for the health of Modern.
The Impact on Izzet Combo Decks
The most prominent decks leveraging Preordain’s power were those built around the Izzet color pairing. Splinter Twin, a deck that could win out of nowhere by using the namesake card with a creature like Deceiver Exarch or Pestermite, was one of the main culprits. Similarly, Storm decks could use a combination of rituals and cantrips to generate massive amounts of mana and cast a powerful spell such as Grapeshot. These decks could consistently assemble their game-winning combinations due in large part to the card filtering provided by Preordain and Ponder. Wizards of the Coast believed that relying on slower, less efficient cantrips would reduce the power of these decks without completely eliminating them from the format.
The Goal of the Ban
The primary intention behind banning Preordain wasn’t to eliminate Izzet combos entirely but to bring them down to a more manageable level. The goal was to encourage more diverse strategies by removing some of the consistency and reliability that made these decks so dominant. By making it harder for these decks to find their combo pieces, the ban aimed to introduce more interactive gameplay and prevent the format from becoming dominated by turn-four or five wins.
The Unbanning: A Shift in Modern’s Landscape
The Modern Horizons Effect
Years later, after several significant changes to Modern, Wizards of the Coast reevaluated Preordain’s position. The introduction of Modern Horizons and Modern Horizons 2, sets designed specifically for Modern, introduced powerful new cards and archetypes. This significantly changed the landscape of the format. The power level of decks across the board had increased, and the format had become faster and more interactive, creating a different context for Preordain’s return.
Reduced Impact and Increased Variety
Wizards determined that the presence of other powerful cards and strategies in the modern format, many introduced by Modern Horizons, made Preordain less of an outlier. While it still provides great card selection, its relative power had diminished. Other decks became so potent and interactive that allowing Preordain would not result in a dominance comparable to what it did when it was originally banned.
The Reasoning Behind the Unban
In an official announcement, Wizards of the Coast stated their willingness to reduce the size of the Modern banned list when they believe doing so will make the format more fun and diverse. The unbanning of Preordain was a deliberate attempt to increase the playability of blue decks and provide them with a tool that could compete with other powerful strategies without becoming completely oppressive. It was also hoped that it would improve deck variety.
Preordain in Modern: A Welcome Addition
Power and Versatility
Unlike some other cantrips in Modern, Preordain provides a multitude of choices and immediate value. While cards like Consider and Opt are instant-speed, they only see one card. Serum Visions sees two, but requires you to draw the top card next turn. Preordain gives the player more agency to set up for future draws, making it a uniquely effective tool for controlling your draw step, and is superior to its counterparts in card advantage.
A Balanced Inclusion
While Preordain is undoubtedly powerful, its unbanning did not lead to the same kind of format-warping dominance it once enjoyed. It has become an important part of the Modern metagame, providing needed card selection for many blue decks without making them unbeatable. Its current inclusion in Modern showcases how Wizards of the Coast has evolved in their approach to card bans and unbans.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Why was Ponder banned in Modern alongside Preordain?
Ponder was banned for similar reasons as Preordain. Both cantrips are incredibly efficient at improving consistency in combo decks. The ability to look at three cards, shuffle them, and draw one made Ponder a staple in combo strategies. Ponder’s filtering power was so significant that Wizards felt that it contributed to an unhealthy amount of consistency in combo decks.
2. What is a cantrip in Magic: The Gathering?
In Magic: The Gathering, a cantrip is a spell that allows a player to draw a card after it resolves. Cantrips are often low-cost and used to dig through the deck and increase card selection. They’re fundamental to strategies that require assembling a specific sequence of cards.
3. Was Dig Through Time also banned in Modern?
Yes, Dig Through Time was banned in Modern. It was considered overpowered for a similar reason as Preordain and Ponder: it was too efficient at finding key cards, especially when combined with decks that quickly filled the graveyard. It was also a mana advantage card at low cost that was used across many archetypes.
4. Why was Treasure Cruise banned in Modern?
Treasure Cruise was banned alongside Dig Through Time because it offered too much raw card draw for its mana cost. While Dig Through Time was often seen in combo decks, Treasure Cruise was utilized in more aggressive strategies. It became ubiquitous to even burn archetypes, and had to be banned.
5. What other cards were banned for consistency?
Aside from the already mentioned cards, other cards banned for consistency or mana acceleration include Simian Spirit Guide, banned for enabling fast combo decks, and Arcum’s Astrolabe, banned because it provided mana fixing and card draw too efficiently for its cost.
6. Why are Mox cards banned in most formats?
Mox cards are banned because their ability to generate mana for free enables overpowered early game plays and unbalanced mana acceleration. Playing multiple in a single turn was considered too powerful early in the history of Magic: The Gathering and remains an issue to this day.
7. Why is Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath banned in some formats?
Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath was banned in multiple formats, such as Standard, because it offered too much value, with ramp, card draw, and life gain all in one card, and dominated formats it was legal in, pushing out diverse strategies.
8. Is Preordain good in Modern?
Yes, Preordain is very good in Modern. It provides excellent card selection for its cost and is a staple in many blue-based decks. Its ability to look at two cards and put one on the top or bottom of your library makes it one of the most efficient cantrips currently legal in the format.
9. Is Strixhaven legal in Modern?
No, the cards printed in the Strixhaven Commander Decks are not legal in Modern. They are only legal in Commander, Vintage, and Legacy. Only the cards that were printed in the Strixhaven set can be used in Modern.
10. Why is Golgari Grave-Troll banned in Modern?
Golgari Grave-Troll is banned because of its potential to enable powerful dredge strategies. Wizards felt that a dredge deck that could play the card would be too unfair for Modern.
11. Why was Mystic Sanctuary banned in Modern?
Mystic Sanctuary was banned in Modern for its synergy with cards like Uro and Field of the Dead, enabling repetitive and oppressive gameplay loops.
12. Why was Divide by Zero banned in Modern?
Divide by Zero was banned to reduce the effectiveness of blue control decks, which were considered too powerful and dominant against mid-speed and slower decks. It was an efficient answer that lacked downsides.
13. What is the oldest Magic: The Gathering set?
The oldest Magic: The Gathering set is Limited Edition Alpha, released in 1993.
14. What is the rarest card type in Magic: The Gathering?
The rarest card type is Power Nine, in which the most sought-after card is the Black Lotus from the Alpha set. These were the first ever card that was printed and is now incredibly expensive due to the limited print run.
15. Why are some card artworks deemed inappropriate?
Some card artwork may be deemed inappropriate because it features negative portrayals or stereotypes, goes against the established values and themes of Magic: The Gathering, or does not meet the standards of modern Magic: The Gathering. This may result in cards being removed or censored.