DCI(TM) BANNED AND RESTRICTED LIST ANNOUNCEMENT

Announcement Date: March 1, 2000

Effective Date: April 1, 2000

STANDARD

No changes

EXTENDED

Dark Ritual is banned
Mana Vault is banned

MASQUES BLOCK

No changes

TYPE 1

No changes

TYPE 1.5
(All cards on the Type 1 Banned and Restricted Lists are banned in Type 1.5)

No changes

WATCH LIST UPDATE

All cards have been removed from the watch list.

EXPLANATION OF BANNED AND RESTRICTED LIST CHANGES

In considering the Extended format, we took into account the proliferation
of certain combo decks, such as the increasingly popular Necro-Donate deck.
Data was analyzed from Pro Tour(TM) - Chicago, recent Qualifier tournaments
and Grand Prix events. Although many cards were considered (including
Necropotence, Donate, and Demonic Consultation), it was decided that it was
more important to deal with the core of the problem: fast mana. Dark Ritual
and Mana Vault both provide mana too easily, allowing certain combo decks to
win much too quickly. Removing these two cards from the environment allows
combo decks to exist, but decreases the speed at which they can win,
balancing the decks in relation to the rest of the field. This decision also
allows other interesting, balanced deck types to exist within the format.

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