Would they ever ban Tarmogoyf?
Modern forum
Posted on Aug. 31, 2016, 10:16 p.m. by smackder
Hey guys, i'm nearing the finish of my Jund list for Modern and i'm about to invest in a play-set of Tarmogoyf. I'm very curious, do you think the most powerful creature in modern would ever get banned, if so why?
An interesting question. I'd say no, but then again we thought that Splinter Twin was safe, so who knows?
August 31, 2016 10:49 p.m.
UpperDeckerTaco says... #4
I'm going to say no because it's not overly popular at the moment and it is not overly oppressive.
August 31, 2016 11:19 p.m.
I don't think so. It's not even being used in all that many Modern decks any more (it's basically a staple in Jund and Abzan, and a flex slot option in a couple of other decks), and its weakness (graveyard hate) is well-documented.
August 31, 2016 11:23 p.m. Edited.
As a RUG Delver player, Goyf can be somewhat silly at times. However, as good as it may be, it's not a backbone of any deck. Going down to brass tacks, it is just a big, dumb beatstick
September 1, 2016 12:07 a.m.
SwaggyMcSwagglepants says... #7
Unless the delirium shenanigans gets waaaay too out of hand, no. I think Wizards is watching Become Immense, Prized Amalgam, and maybe Death's Shadow?
Goyf is a very fair card. It just has more power and toughness than most 2 drops do. The cards listed above do something degenerate or unfair. Wizards aint a fan of that. That's why cards like Summer Bloom, Twin, Eye of Ugin, Hypergenesis, Dread Return, etc. are banned.
September 1, 2016 1:28 a.m.
Thanks everyone for your input, i agree with SwaggyMcSwagglepants i feel like it's rather safe unless another card is printed that makes it crazy good!
September 1, 2016 2:46 a.m.
Its probably safe because at the end of the day it's just a big vanilla creature. Cards like Death's Shadow or Gurmag Angler arguably do what goyf does in a different way but produce higher stats. Goyf is more consistent than a lot of other examples and doesnt require that you jump through hoops but at the end of the day he's easily contested by counterspells and removal that cost less than him and thus out tempo him, and also contested by other creature options that dont lack evasion like Insectile Aberration
September 1, 2016 5:04 a.m.
Anyone else find it amusing that all the reasons Goyf isn't ban worthy also contradict it's 3 figure price tag? Yet, there it is.
September 1, 2016 5:45 a.m.
Goyf is a big dumb beater. He is the best big dumb beater but just a big dumb beater.
Modern right now has a lot more problems in the combo decks that don't care if you have a 2 mana 3/4-5/6 when they are killing you on turn 4-5
September 1, 2016 6:03 a.m.
goyf is played in at least two formats and is a really solid 3 to 4 of in any slow green deck. lots of other examples havent achieved the widespread multi format appeal that goyf has. Also goyf is kind of old and legendarily well known amongst players whereas other examples just havent proved themselves over like 10 years of repeated tournament success.
goyf is a known entity which explains his price tag. people are confident about goyfs usage. its not the same with the others.
also worth noting that goyf has fallen from like $150 to like $110 deoending on version. I respect the card sure, its amazing and probably the best thing you can do in a slow green deck, but shouldnt be more than about $75 given that weve seen 3 printings now and a 4th will be coming soon in mm3.
September 1, 2016 6:04 a.m.
People are saying it's fine because it's not used alot but it's over $100 of course not everyone is gonna have a play set
September 1, 2016 9:54 a.m.
He's only good in slower decks. There's a lot you can do for 1 mana these days, as opposed to 2.
September 1, 2016 11:08 a.m.
SwaggyMcSwagglepants says... #15
You don't put as much effort into goyf to make him big. Therefore, he costs more, since you can just slot him into decks.
And, if you want, you can put in effort, which makes him more expensive.
September 1, 2016 12:38 p.m.
chaoswalker says... #16
Goyf should be banned.... eventually. Right now there aren't enough comprable cards that can fit into various archetypes in interesting ways. The recent Sylvan Advocate and Grim Flayer are almost two drop fatties like Goyf, but they prefer to be in a specific type of deck. (and advocate is slow) Goyf on the other hand fits into any green deck since all you need to do is fetch, play a control spell, and drop your goyf next turn at 3/4 or stronger. One size fits all cards/characters/items are not considered healthy in competitive games, and are eventually phazed out when more diverse alternatives can move in to take their place.
September 3, 2016 1:44 a.m.
But you've already just stated that goyf requires fetches and control spells. Most green decks certainly dont play control spells so there's an inherent contradiction. The fact of the matter is that most decks actually can't support goyf.
September 3, 2016 3:53 a.m.
Exactly. The way WotC decided to deal with Goyf was to make it more of a niche call by enabling the existence of a bunch of decks that either don't need it or can't use it effectively.
DarksteelBadger says... #2
Probably not. 'Goyf is good, but it doesn't have evasion or protection or anything but being big. 'Goyf is the 6th most used card in Modern. They would sooner ban Lightning Bolt.
August 31, 2016 10:22 p.m.