Why isn't Splinter Twin banned in modern MTG?

It's rare for a card to be unbanned in Magic: The Gathering, but it's not unprecedented in the game's history. Once we're past the era in question and the meta has evolved sufficiently, Wizards of the Coast may decide it's safe for the card to return to the game.

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The eternally powerful spell Splinter Twin is back in Modern form after being banished to the ban list for years. So why did Wizards of the Coast decide now was a good time to return this card? We're happy to answer all your questions about Twin.

What is Splinter Twin?

Competitive Magic rarely finds itself in a situation where Splinter Twin is banned. Enchantments are a forgotten card type in many formats. If it doesn't attach to another card type, like a creature, it's often not worth playing.

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And then Splinter Twin came along. Red 4 mana enchantment In itself it looks pretty ordinary. This aura Speeds up the token version by allowing the enchanted creature to tap to create a copy of its own token.. However, when the next termination phase starts, tHat token disappears.

Why was Splinter Twin banned in the first place?

2016 was a year with the Battle of Zendikar still fresh on players' minds and they were eagerly anticipating the release of Oath of the Gatewatch. A little leak let everyone know that the little red magic that dominated Modern before was getting the axe. Splinter Twin has been banned. It's the same reason most cards are banned. It performs so well that it puts other decks under pressure in the format.. At the time, Splinter Twin was condensing other decks into a nearly identical package. Temur Tempo, Temur Delver, Jeskai, and Grixis decks are all scaled down based on similar blue and red shells.

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With so many decks becoming some sort of Twin variant, many games reach the critical third turn. Do you tap on turn 3, hoping your opponent doesn't have a combo, or do you keep your mana open to disrupt the combo? Splinter Twin may not have dominated the card at the time, but he was certainly doing a lot in the tournament at the time. all this Red magic is banned.

Why wasn't Splinter Twin banned?

So why did Wizards of the Coast lift the ban if the card was so powerful and destructive? Most often, the answer came over time. It's done 8 years since Splinter Twin was banned, A ton of sets have been released, including three Modern-specific sets, including the Horizons set.

Crucially, A few cards that helped Modern make room to deal with the return of this combo deck..

interestingly, Splinter Twin is also really only used in one deck type.. There isn't much of a difference in the deck since you need very specific creatures to play, like Pestermite or Deceiver Exarch, or some creatures with the same abilities.

What decks will use this?

Eight years after the card was banned, there are still many ways to combat the oppressive forces it contains. Mainly Splinter Twin Played in blue and red dedicated shells, I was completely focused on pulling off combos. Any way is possible. All the usual suspects will be there. Pestermite, Deceiver Exarch, Lightning Bolt, and Preordain are all key Izzet cards. You get stuck on the deck.

A significant portion of the deck will be dedicated to: protect the combo. Wizards' overhaul of Splinter Twin allows it to utilize a number of cards that it believes will help keep it safe. A quick counter package might include Flare of Denial, Counterspell, Stern Scolding, and Pact of Negation. Depending on your meta, you could also do something like this:Include a few Spell Penetration, Spell Lasso, and Unholy Powers in your sideboard..

Now here's another benefit of having Splinter Twin back in the game: Access neat tools from Lorien Revealed and Expressive Iterationtogether A few snap caster wizardsAnd you have a pretty good starting point. Activate 4 combo decks. Whether Splinter Twin will play much of a role in the current state of the game is yet to be determined, but after some time, players will quickly see how the meta settles down around this powerful spell.

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Magic: The Gathering

franchise

Magic: The Gathering

original release date

August 5, 1993

number of players

2+

Age Recommendations

13 years or older

length per game

variable

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