_DCI_(TM) Banned and Restricted List Announcement Announcement Date: September 1, 1999 Effective Date: October 1, 1999 Standard No changes Extended Dream Halls is banned Earthcraft is banned Lotus Petal is banned Mind Over Matter is banned Yawgmoth's Will is banned Important note: See below for a change to the Extended format. Urza-Block No changes Type 1 Divine Intervention is unbanned Ivory Tower is unrestricted Mirror Universe is unrestricted Shahrazad is unbanned Underworld Dreams is unrestricted Crop Rotation is restricted Doomsday is restricted Dream Halls is restricted Enlightened Tutor is restricted Frantic Search is restricted Grim Monolith is restricted Hurkyl's Recall is restricted Lotus Petal is restricted Mana Crypt is restricted Mana Vault is restricted Mind Over Matter is restricted Mox Diamond is restricted Mystical Tutor is restricted Tinker is restricted Vampiric Tutor is restricted Voltaic Key is restricted Yawgmoth's Bargain is restricted Yawgmoth's Will is restricted Type 1.5 (All cards on the Type 1 Banned and Restricted Lists are banned in Type 1.5) Divine Intervention is unbanned Ivory Tower is unbanned Mirror Universe is unbanned Shahrazad is unbanned Underworld Dreams is unbanned Crop Rotation is banned Doomsday is banned Dream Halls is banned Enlightened Tutor is banned Frantic Search is banned Grim Monolith is banned Hurkyl's Recall is banned Lotus Petal is banned Mana Crypt is banned Mana Vault is banned Mind Over Matter is banned Mox Diamond is banned Mystical Tutor is banned Tinker is banned Vampiric Tutor is banned Voltaic Key is banned Yawgmoth's Bargain is banned Yawgmoth's Will is banned Extended Format Beginning October 1, 1999, cards from the following sets may not be played in the Extended format: _Revised Edition_(TM) (third edition) _Fourth Edition_(TM) _Chronicles_ _The Dark_(R) _Fallen Empires_(R) However, the ten cards listed below, commonly called "dual lands," will continue to be allowed in the Extended format: Badlands Bayou Plateau Savannah Scrubland Taiga Tropical Island Tundra Underground Sea Volcanic Island Explanation of Banned and Restricted List Changes Type 1 and Type 1.5 Formats Removals from Banned and Restricted Lists Our goal is to have as few cards as possible banned and restricted in all of our formats. To that end, _Wizards of the Coast_(R) R&D and the DCI feel that the five cards listed are no longer a threat to the Type 1 tournament environment. New Restrictions Over the past year, the Type 1 format has been dominated by very fast combination decks. Using these decks, players can win so quickly that they have little or no interaction with their opponents other than a finishing Fireball or Stroke of Genius. Although combo decks are an important part of any tournament environment, they shouldn't be so fast that opponents can do nothing to stop them. The new restrictions, designed to slow down fast combo decks, can be grouped into three broad categories: fast mana, combo engines, and combo searchers. Fast mana: Grim Monolith Lotus Petal Mana Crypt Mana Vault Mox Diamond Voltaic Key Combo engines: Doomsday Dream Halls Hurkyl's Recall Mind Over Matter Yawgmoth's Bargain Yawgmoth's Will Combo searchers: Crop Rotation Enlightened Tutor Frantic Search Mystical Tutor Tinker Vampiric Tutor Extended Format The current Extended environment is also suffering from the domination of combo decks at the expense of player interaction. Fast mana: Lotus Petal Combo engines: Dream Halls Earthcraft Mind Over Matter Yawgmoth's Will Explanation of Extended Format Change When the Extended format was first created, we intended older expansions to rotate out of the environment, but at a much slower rate than the Standard rotation. The advantages to this rotation are fewer banned cards and players across the world having equal access to the cards still in the environment. The disadvantage is that some key cards, such as the “dual lands” from Revised Edition (TM), could no longer be played in the format. Many consider the dual lands to be the primary element that sets the Extended format apart from the Standard format. We believe that eventually dual lands will no longer be the main element differentiating Extended and Standard players will begin to miss other cards instead, such as Living Death, Cursed Scroll, Rancor, and so on. Until that time, however, the DCI has decided to keep the dual lands in the format. The following expansions will rotate out of the Extended format on October 1: Revised Edition, Fourth Edition (TM), Chronicles, The Dark (R), and Fallen Empires (TM). The ten dual lands will be legal until the next Extended set rotation (which will occur sometime in the next two to three years). By the time dual lands rotate out of Extended, the DCI will be supporting another format (most probably a casual format) in which they can be played. In addition to set rotation, several cards have been added to the Extended Banned List to ensure that combo decks are kept in check in the new environment. These changes should make Extended a little more accessible to new Magic markets, which is essential for the long-term growth of the format. In the short term, the Extended format will go through some necessary growing pains. The Extended format will continue to be one of the DCI’s main formats. Watch List Update Voltaic Key has been added to the R&D and DCI "Watch List" for possible DCI action in the Standard format. WIZARDS OF THE COAST, Revised Edition, Fourth Edition, The Dark, Fallen Empires, and DCI are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. (c)1999 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.