TLR Ban list and Rules update
Since the 22 January 2019, no Tiny Leaders Reborn ban list and rules update announcements were made, and we apologize for it.
We want to reassure you on the return of Tiny Leaders Reborn, stronger than ever, and we have big announcements for you.
BAN LIST update
- Jeweled Lotus is banned
- Tasha’s Hideous Laughter is banned
- Thassa’s Oracle is banned
- Ashiok, Dream Render is banned as commander only
- Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath is banned as commander only
- Wren & Six is banned as commander only
- Oko, Thief of Crown is banned as commander and as a card
- Black Vise is unbanned
Jeweled Lotus
We had, a few months before our short break, banned diamond and chrome moxes due to the speed advantage they offered, especially in oppressive strategies.
The advantage offered by the lotus is all the more important and allows without card disadvantage to throw most of the general from the first turn of the game, thus gaining a substantial advantage over any opponent.
We found this advantage to be far too important to allow it in the format.
Tasha’s Hideous Laughter
Using a few calculations with a "punching bawl" deck (20 lands, 10 spells at 1, 10 spells at 2, 9 spells
at 3), it appeared that the average number of cards exiled by Tasha's Hideous Laughter (namely, 17.4
cards) attests to too much power of the card in a format where the rules of construction even advantage the deck grinding wheel.
With a starting hand at 7 cards and 3 turns played before throwing the card, an average total of 27 cards will have disappeared from your deck with that single spell, that's nearly half of your deck.
This is the reason why we decided to ban the card.
Thassa’s Oracle
Thassa's Oracle has become well known to the greatest number lately following its ban on magic arena.
Here the reasons are similar and also concern the potency of the deck revolving around Thassa's oracle and Tainted pact. The tiny leaders format has better tutor to find these cards and a reduced number of cards in the library increasing the probability of simply drawing them.
However, the format mainly based on aggressive decks, and reduced responses for control decks, the strategy is too oppressive for the format.
We have decided to ban Thassa's oracle and not tainted pact due to the possibility left to build a deck using Pact with Laboratory Maniac in a much more balanced combo.
Ashiok, Dream Render is banned as commander only
Ashiok, Dream Render, like Tasha's Hideous Laughter is a card that can theoretically single-handedly
wipe out half of your deck. However, since the authorization of planeswalker as generals, Ashiok,
Dream Render gives you this possibility, from the commander's area (8th card “in hand but not there”),and potentially multiple times.
Pair this with two lines of text of great importance in the format Tiny Leader Reborn and you get a card that cannot be authorized as a commander.
Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath is banned as commander only
Titan of Nature's Wrath has marked, in multiple formats, the recent years by its presence.
However, in the Tiny Leaders metagame, his power is limited by rules specific to the format, in
particular the deck size, reducing the potential "pool" of cards that can fill the graveyard and be exiled to escape it.
Reason why Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath will not (for now) be banned in as a card in the deck.
However, in the command zone, its usual advantages remain present : allow each game and from the 2nd or 3rd turn an advantage of card, tempo and life.
Very often, even without going through the graveyard, Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath will alone establish your long-term strategy against aggressive decks by its own. Likewise, he will be decisive in any card advantage battle.
We have judged the too oppressive nature of Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath as commander required a
ban.
Wren & Six is banned as commander only
In our last announcements, we told you, we are keeping an eye out on strategies using lands as main
win condition.
Wren and six has since be printed and largely reinforced these strategies. It not only bring card advantage and recursion to your lands (fetchs, glacial chasm, …), Wren and six is also a
general able to punish aggressive strategies in the first turns.
Difficult to manage, even by creature decks, oppressive from the start of the game, we decided that Wren and six could not remain legal as a commander.
Oko, Thief of Crown is banned as commander and as a card
Oko thief of Crown also marked the last years. Undeniably, Oko is one of the most powerful cards ever printed. In a format where the card pool is limited by restrictions, answers aren’t enough to deal with him.
For obvious reasons, we have decided to ban Oko Thief of Crown as a commander and as a card.
Black Vise is unbanned
Black Vise is a card aimed at punishing slow or control strategies, keeping hands full throughout the
game.
Due to the specific rules, the Tiny Leaders Reborn is a format mainly based on aggressive strategies, easily emptying their hand, and in which there are much more punitive responses to decks that Black Vise might impact.
After reflection, we could not identify any decks or strategies in which Black Vise would be harmful is too oppressive for the format.
For these reasons, we have decided to unban Black Vise.
Clarification / Rules changes
Removing the "tuck rules"
Until now, when your commander going to your library (top, bottom, shuffle into it...) by an effect no matter what, you did not have the option of returning it to the command zone.
This historical rule of the format was initially intended to prevent so-called "voltron" strategies only articulated around the commander. Your commander had to serve your strategy, not be your strategy.
Today, in order to increase the number of deck building possibilities, we have decided to remove this specific rule.
Mana value
The last few years have seen the emergence of different types of double cards, before adjusting the ruling on the mana value.
In order to clarify the legality of these cards, we have updated update the Tiny Leaders Reborn building rules as follows:
- Each of the cards in your deck must have a mana value of 3 or less.
- Mana value of a spell at X is calculated by considering x = 0 (Sphinx's Revelation is therefore legal for example).
- Dual card mana value is equal to the addition of both sides of the card (Beck // Call is equal to 8 :2+6).
- Mana value of adventure cards like Giant Killer is equal to the mana value of the
creature part of the card (in this example it is equal to 1).
- Mana value of MDFC cards, like Valki, god of lies / Tibalt, cosmic impostor is equal to each side of the card (in this example, it is equal to 2 on front and 7 on back and is therefore not playable in Tiny Leaders Reborn).
Specific mulligan for partner mechanic
Generals with the "Partner" ability allow the use of more than one commander throughout the game, allowing a +1 card advantage from turn 0 of the game, while giving you the possibility to play more than 3 colors.
To allow the balancing of this capacity, we decided to implement a mulligan rule specific to playing partner commanders as follows:
When a player chooses not to or no longer declare a mulligan, if that player has more than one commander, that player places a number of cards from his hand equal to the number of commander that he plays in addition to the first one below his library in any order.
So, if a player plays 2 commanders and decides, after drawing his first hand of 7 cards, not to declare a mulligan, he will choose a card, among the 7 in his hand, to send in below its library.
We emphasize the potentially provisional side of this measure, and keep in mind the possibilities of
developing different and more drastic rules if this is not enough
Thank you for taking note of this new announcement and for following with beware of this wonderful format that is the Tiny Leaders Reborn.