Watch/Ban List Updates 3/05/18

Hi all! Corey Burkhart back with the Ban and Watch list announcement for March 2018!

There’s a big new thing to talk about, so I want to jump right into it:

Siege Defense:

Spectral Acorn is now Banned.

Siege Defense is joining our list of Banned and Watch listed formats. The goal here is to be able to alter/ban PvE based cards that are getting out of line in Siege so we can focus on the diversity, health, and fun of the format. Spectral Acorn has become an automatic inclusion in every defending deck and caused a number of unfun scenarios from the attacking player’s perspective because of the shear power of the card.

We ran the idea of Spectral Acorn not being legal initially, but we also wanted players to have another avenue to try and use their Acorns. The issue is, when the computer is using your acorns and you’re using them against another player, there are a limited number of “Feel Good” moments and a high density of “Feel Bad” moments. By allowing this card to play out we’ve caused a net negative in terms of play experience, so we are moving to correct this now. By removing acorn from the format, we hope to greatly improve the experience of attacking a Siege Defense.

Note that Spectral Acorn is a special case going directly to the Ban list. At this time, nothing further is being added to the Watch list. We’ll be giving you Watchlist updates from here on out so everyone has as much advanced warning as possible for upcoming changes. We’ll try to keep you posted more as time progresses on all of the options for banning cards and equipment. That said, the PvE format is much more volatile because of its inclusion of equipment and the potential for buffs/nerfs. Please be aware that there can be more rapid changes here as opposed to other formats.

Standard/Rock/Immortal:

No Changes.

With Doombringer on the horizon, there’s going to be a lot of changes to the meta without our direct intervention. We’re not adding or removing anything from our lists at this time because the release of the new set will bring with it a whole bunch of new cards, champions, and gems. There are a few decks we’re internally looking at for their performance and play patterns, but a live environment is always the best place to gather good data. We’re playing games and watching tournament results, but at this time we don’t feel a need to take any action or bring to light any major concerns. That said, we’re watching the metagame of each of these formats and will reevaluate with the release of Doombringer.

Finally, you can find the full Ban/Watchlist here.

As always, check back to Hextcg.com the first Monday of every month for Ban/Watchlist updates. We’re excited to see how Doombringer shakes up each of these formats really soon, and we’re excited to see what you the players manage to build with our set of new cards, champions, equipment, and gems!

Until next time~

HexPureforce | Corey Burkhart

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