#banjace vs. #savejace

i don't know if you've noticed, but the Magic Twitterverse is all aflutter with the argument over whether to ban JTMS in Standard.

Spoiler:

what do you think? i'm of the #banjace contingent, just so they fucking aren't $100 anymore and i can get one or two of them without burning a paycheck.

INFO:

the Twitter search that started it all:
https://twitter.com/#!/search/%23banjace

plus my feed of Magic personalities:
https://twitter.com/#!/list/Echidona/magic

plus various articles:
http://brainstormmagic.blogspot.com/2011/04/why-jace-mind-sculptor-should-not-be.html
http://mixedknuts.wordpress.com/2011/04/11/jace-t-mind-sculptor-will-you-please-go-now/
http://www.mulldrifting.com/2011/04/banjace-or-not.html

I'm indifferent on the issue whether to ban or not. I mean yeah, from what I've seen of result and heard about, he's showing up perhaps too much. But I don't think he's degenerating the format like Academy or Affinity or Skullclamp were. Plus, we don't really know exactly what New Phyrexia will bring in a few weeks. For all we know, there could something that serves as huge answer to Jace. Or something or things that will shake up the format enough that Jace isn't Mr. 'I have to run him' anymore.

Now on the cost issue, I do believe Jace should be reprinted somehow, preferably soon. I'm just not sure whether it should be in a Core Set, an expansion, a Duel Deck (or similar product), or even as some widely distributed promo card. The trouble with a Core set or expansion is that he'd get to hang around Type 2 and Extended even longer, which I'm not sure is good idea. People are already tired of seeing him, imagine the reaction when people found out they'd have to put up with another 2 years of it.

And to be honest, I'm really tired of seeing people bitch about how the reprinting of a card would tank it's value, be it Jace, dual lands, Tarmo, or anything else. Magic is not and should not be part a goddamn investment portfolio. Unless you've got stacks of Alpha in a vault somewhere, you're never going to be able to retire or put a kid through college on the back of a Magic 'investment'. If you're trying to do that, go buy some gold or silver. [/end needless rant that'll probably annoy someone]

Reprint him as a promo card and sell him in a Duel Deck. That'll drop the price for you.

I am all for keeping him. There is an answer to almost anything in any game; M:TG is no different. I'm also not one to play in any tournaments or build legal decks, but isn't spending money to be good exactly what M:TG is all about? You've got your JTMS, Gideon, Baneslayer, Abyssal Persecutor, Tarmogoyf, etc. Play sets of some of these cards will easily run you into the hundreds. If they ban JTMS now, what's to stop them from banning a whole slew of other cards just because they are to expensive and OP? Should the Dual Lands and Moxes all go next?

As a Magic player, I chose to avoid dealing with all this 'big wig' tournament bull shit and play alternative formats. I still have a great time and I save myself from giving an arm, a leg, and my first born for a single card.

~Zuty

http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/ld/138

Tom LaPille posted this article today on the mother site. It seems to indicate that Jace will neither be banned, nor reprinted.

The not banned argument comes from his saying it's not warping the metagame nearly as much as the last round of Standard bannings, with Ravager, Disciple, Skullclamp, and the Artifact lands. Which is true. While at this particular GP there were 32 Jaces in the t8, there are plenty of events where that is not the case.

The not reprinted argument comes from his simple statement: "Before we continue, I should be crystal clear about our current topic. Jace, the Mind Sculptor is more powerful than we intended it to be." If you reprint it when this is your viewpoint, then there's something wrong.

To address Brandon's point, the price isn't just about your investing in the future (which, if you look at what happened to the legacy singles in the last 2 months, shows how volatile the market is). It's about my investing heavily in being able to have fun with a particular card or strategy, and then discovering that either a.) The card is banned and I can't have my fun, or b.) The card is reprinted, and the effort I made to be competitive has been undermined. Either case understandably causes some backlash from the consumer, as well as a reluctance to make the commitment to invest in their fun in the future. And that translates to fewer people taking risks and fewer people playing. That in turn, is not good for the game.

So while, I don't think wizards should make all its decisions to maiximize the value of the cards (which they currently do not do anyway), they do need to consider how their actions may alienate some of their most diehard players. Especially those players who aren't pros and can't afford to dump tons of money into purchasing the latest tech.

https://twitter.com/#!/EthanFleischer/status/74190483919872000

EthanFleischer Ethan Fleischer
Hey Jace, you might want to lay low for a bit, eh? Just sayin'. Kthxbai.

works in R&D... what do you think, anything?

And the hammer has come down... hard. Both Jace, The Mind Sculptor and Stoneforge Mystic have been banned in Standard. To quote a poster on the MTGS forums "I for one welcome our Valakut Overlords".

MidniteEffort wrote:i'm of the #banjace contingent, just so they fucking aren't $100 anymore and i can get one or two of them without burning a paycheck.

...aaaaaaand you can grab one for $38 now.

http://findmagiccards.com/Cards/WW/Jace__the_Mind_Sculptor.html

see ya at $20, buddy!

Wonder if I can trade my Flusterstorm for one....

20$ you say? Glad I was in no rush to pick him up. Gonna grab just one since ... Well that's all I need for big deck xD

~Zuty

Jace will be one of the best long term investments in magic. Same level as tarmogoyf and the dual lands. If you got some cash laying around, pick up extra copies of him, he will beat out the stock market for years to come.

dark burn wrote:Jace will be one of the best long term investments in magic. Same level as tarmogoyf and the dual lands. If you got some cash laying around, pick up extra copies of him, he will beat out the stock market for years to come.

fqft

he'll drop briefly when all the Standard drones dump them, then John's right, he'll level off at a Tarmo level. i think i'll take that advice exactly.

Pleasantly surprised to see foil jace2 still going strong on ebay at $140'ish.

http://blacklotusproject.com/cards/Worldwake/Jace%2C+the+Mind+Sculptor/
http://blacklotusproject.com/cards/Worldwake/Stoneforge+Mystic/





♪♫ we'll meet again....... ♪♫