Today was another Banned & Restricted list update by Magic: The Gathering. It’s a prescheduled event where MTG reviews each format and determines if any troublesome cards or decks need to be banned.
In today’s update, no cards were banned; however, MTG used strong language to warn Amalia Combo players in Pioneer that a ban may be coming and they are watching the deck very carefully. Here’s what the MTG team had to say:
We are seeing a flood of results and decklists stream in from Pioneer Regional Championship Qualifiers, and it’s a mixed bag. The biggest positive we are seeing in the format is that almost every macro-archetype is viable in the format.
One thing that we are going to keep a close eye on is the evolution of the Amalia Combo deck. As a creature combo deck, we are generally positive on it; unfortunately, its ability to draw the game is a negative play experience.
We are making no changes to the format today, as we still see room for the metagame to shift around the surge of Amalia Combo, and because Regional Championship Qualifiers for Pioneer continue to mid-July, we don’t like to disrupt those events mid-season. The Regional Championship round for Pioneer starts September 28 and goes to December 7.
JUNE 24, 2024, BANNED AND RESTRICTED ANNOUNCEMENT
As you can see, MTG used very cautious wording regarding the future of Amalia Combo in Pioneer. They describe the format as very diverse, which is true. Pioneer has a multitude of playable decks, although only a handful are considered Tier 1.
The most telling wording in their update is, “unfortunately, its ability to draw the game is a negative play experience.” This is one of the issues that can arise with the deck, as you can force loops that opponents may be unable to break. These loops won’t win the game, but will prevent one from losing.
Another indication that an Amalia ban could be incoming is their phrasing of, “we are making no changes to the format today, as we still see room for the metagame to shift around the surge of Amalia Combo. And because Regional Championship Qualifiers for Pioneer continue until mid-July, we don’t like to disrupt those events mid-season.”
As you can see, it appears that Amalia is on the fast track for a ban. However, there is no ban “today” because they want to see if the “metagame shifts” around Amalia Combo, and they don’t want to “disrupt” large Pioneer events that continue until mid-July.
All this wording put together doesn’t seem like good news for the Amalia deck. Despite the indication by MTG that the deck may be banned, there are quite a few different competitive decks in Pioneer. A $5k Pioneer event with 97 participants that ran this past weekend only had one Amalia deck in the top 8, versus two Gruul Aggro decks. UW Control ended up taking 1st place.
The next Banned and Restricted announcement will be August 26. Will Amalia be axed at this time, or will the format “adjust” enough to keep players and MTG happy?
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