As if The Zeta Set couldn’t get any worse, Wizards of the Coast has just dramatically changed its legality. When it was first announced, MTG Designer Gavin Verhey had to confirm that new reprints wouldn’t be Pauper legal, despite being printed at common. While weird, this sort of made sense, given the distribution method and power of the newly common cards. Now, however, Wizards has done a complete 180 on this decision, and banned two cards as a result.
A Farcical Flip Flop
Initially, when Wizards announced The Zeta Set wouldn’t affect Pauper legality, it felt like a bit of a weird choice. Even if they weren’t designed to be played like regular packs, this Secret Lair still had rarities, which was a conscious decision. On the surface, the problem was that many first-time commons in The Zeta Set were ridiculously juiced and not suitable for the format.
As Gavin Verhey explained in a new article, however, allowing Secret Lairs to change legality could have set a dangerous precedent. If Secret Lairs have rarities and can suddenly make cards Pauper legal, brewing for events becomes a lot more difficult. Unlike MTG sets that are announced well in advance, an out-of-the-blue Chaos Vault could disrupt the metagame and cause chaos.
With this in mind, in hindsight, it made sense that Wizards made an exception for Pauper legality to maintain tournament integrity. Now, however, Wizards has gone back on this decision, as Secret Lair “is not going to be a commonly repeated release model for common cards.” Even with this assurance from the head of Secret Lair, going back on this decision is absolutely baffling.
Admittedly, Wizards of the Coast is making the right choice here for the sanctity of the Pauper format. Cards that are printed at common, regardless of where or why, should be legal in the common-only MTG format. That being said, flipping and flopping on The Zeta Set’s legality is an awful look, making it look ridiculously underbaked.
Baffling Bans
- Narcomoeba
Narcomoeba Flying
When this card is put into your graveyard from your library, you may put it onto the battlefield. is banned in Pauper.- Price of Progress
Price of Progress Price of Progress deals damage to each player equal to twice the number of nonbasic lands that player controls. is banned in Pauper.
Adding to how poorly thought-through this Secret Lair was, Wizards is now banning a pair of commons in Pauper. These bans are definitely the right choice, as either one would wreak havoc on the format.
Narcomoeba
Narcomoeba
Flying
When this card is put into your graveyard from your library, you may put it onto the battlefield.
, in particular, would be an auto-include in Spy decks, giving them a potentially format-dominating edge.
At the same time,
Price of Progress
Price of Progress
Price of Progress deals damage to each player equal to twice the number of nonbasic lands that player controls.
would be all over Pauper in basically every aggressive red deck. If either of these cards had been printed normally, there’s no doubt they would have been banned, so this makes perfect sense. What doesn’t make sense, however, is the fact that
Baleful Strix
Baleful Strix
Flying, deathtouch
When this creature enters, draw a card.
has been left Pauper legal, for now.
According to Gavin Verhey, the Pauper Format Panel will be keeping Baleful Strix on “a very short leash.” Given how useful this card is at trading up and enabling Ninjutsu, however, it likely be banned fairly quickly. The fact that Wizards is allowing it to see any play is baffling, but that’s not the only odd decision.
For the time being,
Vandalblast
Vandalblast
Destroy target artifact you don't control.
Overload {4}{R} (You may cast this spell for its overload cost. If you do, change "target" in its text to "each.")
,
Dispatch
Dispatch
Tap target creature.
Metalcraft — If you control three or more artifacts, exile that creature.
, and
Cut Down
Cut Down
Destroy target creature with total power and toughness 5 or less.
are all legal, but are being watched closely. As removal against Affinity, for Affinity, and against everything, respectively, these cards could mix up the meta. Currently, it’s unclear how much impact these cards will have, but don’t be surprised if they do get banned.
Speaking of bans, thankfully, the next MTG ban update isn’t ages away, as it’s scheduled for October 12th. Hopefully, this will give players enough time to test these cards, and Wizards enough time to make the right ban decisions. Notably, while these commons are becoming Pauper legal on paper on the 7th of September, Magic Online players have to wait until September 23rd.
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