Poor lands...

[CbStrad]

So I noticed something that made me curious. The Artifact-lands from the Mirrodin set has the strangest ban pattern I've ever seen: they are banned in Modern and (I think) the Mirrodin block, but perfectly legal everywhere else. Why is that? I mean the cards that combo well with it from just that block ({Reshape}, {Lodestone Myr}, etc.) are legal in their own relevant formats, and looking at stuff outside the block ({Master Transmuter} or {Darksteel Juggernaut}, for instance), there's even more to work with. So I have to ask: why the weird bans?

[Fenster]

{Grinding station} + {Salvaging station} +
Arti land + {March of the machines} + something static that boost all creatures toughness.

[cltrn81]

Affinity {goblin welder} {tinker}......and so on

The arti lands are actually banned in Vintage cuz they are so easy to use for sacing outlets and what not.  Artifacts are a big part of competitive Vintage and {goblin welder} and {tinker} are in just about every competitive Vintage decks.

Now legacy is less artifact intense and affinity is one deck archetype that uses the arti lands but they do not create too much of a problem in legacy since {tinker} is banned.

[BlackJester]

Wait a minute...{Darksteel Citadel}, the hardest one to deal with, is legal... Is it because it generates colorless?

I think the logic is that you can have 4 arti lands in a deck without breaking things, but if you unban a color, why single out that one color?  I think its a symmetry thing.

[BlackJester]

Yeah, having every one of your 25 lands also be an artifact is pretty broken in Mirrodin Block Constructed. In Eternal formats (Legacy & Vintage) there are better/faster options.

[Gorzo]

Artifact lands + {unwinding clock} = totally legit in multiplayer games

[BlackJester]

Artifact lands + {unwinding clock} = totally legit in multiplayer games

True. Especially if you have a use for the excess mana, like {Staff of Domination}. {Seedborn Muse} works too.

[Gorzo]

Artifact lands + {unwinding clock} = totally legit in multiplayer games

True. Especially if you have a use for the excess mana, like {Staff of Domination}. {Seedborn Muse} works too.

I use it with {spell burst} and {capsize} to be total A-hole

[BlackJester]

What a griefer!  😝

[Kuberr]

Affinity {goblin welder} {tinker}......and so on

The arti lands are actually banned in Vintage cuz they are so easy to use for sacing outlets and what not.  Artifacts are a big part of competitive Vintage and {goblin welder} and {tinker} are in just about every competitive Vintage decks.

Now legacy is less artifact intense and affinity is one deck archetype that uses the arti lands but they do not create too much of a problem in legacy since {tinker} is banned.

Banned in vintage you say?

[Dudecore]

{Tinker} is legacy restricted. Vintage banned. It's similar to running reanimator decks, but faster and cheaper.

[Kuberr]

He said the land is banned. The arti lands.

They're not banned.

[Dudecore]

He said the land is banned. The arti lands.

They're not banned.

Yeah. They're all legal in Legacy and Vintage. Legacy and Vintage have competing decks. Reanimator, Dredge, Rogue, Zoo and Merfolk are as good for sure.

Modern would have a difficult time not being overrun by Affinity decks if those lands weren't banned.

[cltrn81]

I thought those were banned in vintage...my mistake.  I could have swore they were.

[Dstyle1]

{Tinker} is banned in legacy. There are so may answers in legacy that didn't warrant legacy bannings.

They got banned in modern because they did not want another age of ravager-affinity which dominated the standard format when mirroden was standard legal. Wizards felt that keeping darksteel citadel was a fair enough trade off. But that's why.