Today Jan. 28, 2013 Wizards of the Coast announced several important changes to the DCI banned and restricted list. Beginning on Feb. 1, 2013 two new cards will be banned from official paper "Magic: The Gathering" tournaments: Bloodbraid Elf and Seething Song are banned in Modern. Three additional cards are getting the axe in "Magic Online:" Empty the Warrens, Grapeshot, and Invigorate will be banned from Pauper. The "Magic Online" banned and restricted list changes will occur on Feb. 6, 2013. No cards were unbanned from any formats.
Modern
Bloodbraid Elf and Seething Song are banned.Magic Online Pauper
Empty the Warrens, Grapeshot, and Invigorate are banned.Standard, Extended, Legacy, Vintage
No changes
The changes deliver a crushing blow to two popular decks in Modern: Jund and Storm.
Bloodbraid Elf's banning means Jund loses it's explosive third turns thanks to Deathrite Shaman. The ability to get a free Liliana of the Veil, Tarmogoyf, or Abrupt Decay helped make Jund one of the format's defining decks. It may not be as powerful, however Huntmaster of the Fells might be a card worth considering to substitute.
Seething Song's banning may come as a surprise to some. According to Erik Laurer:
Turn-three wins are frequent for Storm, contrary to the DCI's stated goals for the format. The DCI looked for a card that was very important to the turn-three wins but not one of the cards that make this deck unique. We decided Seething Song is the best choice.
Seething Song's banning may lead Storm decks abusing Goblin Electromancer to run Pyretic Ritual.
Readers: How do feel about the new DCI banned and restricted list changes?
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