August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 Language Rights The Commander Website is Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Once active, the incidental value provided by Field for no mana or upkeep cost at all makes those decks ludicrously powerful against Control and creature decks alike – no deck fighting a slow game can keep up, because Field requires no mana or card investment: the decks it’s in can simply use their mana on other things while always having a board and blockers available. I would argue that if those decks aren’t allowed to thrive, the format will be worse for it, and that steps need to continue being taken to ensure format diversity. Having watched the progress of this deck closely, we feel that this trend is unlikely to change. MTG Arena Zone is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Do you agree with the Field ban? Are you excited for the Historic format going forward. The concept of formats doesn't yet exist as of this time. In particular, its high win rate against slower decks has made the format as a whole lean more toward aggressive strategies. That could signal a trend where they won’t suspend cards twice, or more likely simply will move straight to banning cards when they are certain that those particular cards are problems and don’t need to gather more data first. Updated August 24, 2020. Why or why not? It's that time of year again! MTG Arena Zone © 2020. Cards are ordinarily suspended in Historic, but Wizards has skipped the step of re-suspending Field of the Dead – it is banned permanently. Are there any other bans you were hoping for/would like to see? Unfortunately Hour, in its ability to search up two copies of Field of the Dead and immediately assemble a huge board, has revitalised the deck and made it much faster and more consistent. This effect scales with the ubiquity of Field of the Dead decks, and recent sets have given the deck several powerful additions, including Cultivate, Explore, and, most recently, Hour of Promise. However, it’s worth noting that Field comprised a useful part of the last banned deck, Temur Reclamation (check out the last ban announcement here for more info! Personally, I think the Field ban is a major positive, greatly improving the format’s long-term health while inspiring a resurgence in short-term brewing and innovation. Field of the Dead proved a problem early in Historic’s lifespan, being part of its very first suspension announcement. Since then it has been part of many of the top decks, of every good ramp deck and many that aren’t quite so competitive! Even if as people claim, control, midrange, and other slower decks still won’t be good enough to keep up with aggro, ramp, and combo decks even without Field, I’m certainly willing to give them a shot – after all, they put up decent results in more powerful formats like Pioneer, where Field is already banned! While its overall win rate is rarely at the top, its matchups are extremely polarized. As a result of this we have seen both the popularity and win rate of Field of the Dead decks steadily climb, and it is currently one of the most played Best-of-One decks and, by far, the most popular Best-of-Three deck. Wizards of the Coast is proud to be raising funds for Extra Life, benefiting Seattle Children's Hospital—and you can help! Updated August 24, 2020 Wizards of the Coast has released their Banned and Restricted Announcement today, making changes to only one format this time! In order to bring a greater diversity to the Historic meta, Field of the Dead is banned. This is compounded by the boring playstyle of the Field decks – as it turns out, the strategy of incorporating a lot of ramp and casting that ramp in the early turns of every single game, and then winning every late game simply by attacking with your horde of zombies over and over, doesn’t lead to the most interesting or dynamic gameplay, either to play with or against. There will be an Arena update today, with the ban going live then. There will be an Arena update today, with the bans going live then. Pioneer Inverter of Truth is banned. Field of the Dead has been a powerful force in Historic for much of the format's life. The Oko decks, for all their absurd power, actually had a bad matchup against Field, so the floodgates opened and let loose all manner of horrors when Field was banned. Posted in News In particular, its high win rate against slower decks has made the format as a whole lean more toward aggressive strategies. Posted in News Major bans and suspensions applied to 4 MTG formats in August Banned and Restricted announcement It’s been a long time coming. Before Amonkhet Remastered brought Hour of Promise into the fray, this argument had some merit and Field decks overall weren’t doing that well. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Lands are the hardest permanent type in the entire game to destroy, they’re still useful early game since they can tap for mana and beef up your land count, while utility lands like Field simultaneously prevent flood, and Field helps mitigate its own stipulation since Field will always satisfy one of the seven you need. Having watched the progress of this deck closely, we feel that this trend is unlikely to change. This was no surprise, since Field had already dominated a Standard environment and earned itself a ban there by then. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. Read below for our commentary and the official explanation for the ban. Effective Date: August 24, 2020 While its overall win rate is rarely at the top, its matchups are extremely polarized. Danny Forster Image via … Growth Spiral is banned. Wizards of the Coast revealed today when the next Banned and Restricted announcement for the Historic format in MTG Arena will take place. Vintage (Type 1) and Standard (Type 2) will be introduced in 1995. As a result of this we have seen both the popularity and win rate of Field of the Dead decks steadily climb, and it is currently one of the most played Best-of-One decks and, by far, the most popular Best-of-Three deck. We also feel that Field of the Dead is unlikely to be a healthy part of the format anytime soon, so suspension is the wrong approach. Cauldron Familiar is banned. Kethis, the Hidden Hand Follow him on Twitter and check out his content at https://mtgazone.com/drifter. Drifter is our site’s content manager and main editor! Announcement Date: August 3, 2020 Standard Wilderness Reclamation is banned. A draft and strategy specialist, of special mention are his limited reviews and draft coaching service. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window). Don’t expect ramp decks to go anywhere though, as Historic still has plenty of fantastic enablers and ludicrous payoffs for that strategy running around! I won’t cry for field. As Gavin and Mike discussed tod... © 1993-2020 Wizards of the Coast LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved. We've had kitties and deities and slime. Note that if you’ve previously been refunded wildcards for Field (such as when it was banned in Standard), you won’t be refunded again. Seeing what folks play for the next several days will be a welcome break from the zombie horde. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC. We also feel that Field of the Dead is unlikely to be a healthy part of the format anytime soon, so suspension is the wrong approach. There will be an Arena update today, with the ban going live then. Commander Legends releases on November 20, 2020. However, anyone who doesn’t already have 4 Fields should get out there and craft them right now, as the patch could be very soon and you won’t have the chance to do so after it’s already out! This effect scales with the ubiquity of Field of the Dead decks, and recent sets have given the deck several powerful additions, including Cultivate, Explore, and, most recently, Hour of Promise. We've celebrated International Women's Day and Extra Life 2020. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! There, it’s even credited with having kept in check one of the most infamous cards in recent memory, Oko, Thief of Crowns, and that should really demonstrate its power since Oko was one of the best cards ever printed into a Standard environment and had previously unseen levels of format dominance and representation! While its companions in the first suspension announcement moved from suspension to being outright banned, Field surprised everyone by being allowed back into the format. 5 Cards That Might Need a Ban in Standard.