Out of schedule vote July 2024

Hi everyone,

The Archon Council decided to put a change up for vote. You can vote on the following change:

Ban Nadu, Winged Wisdom as a commander in Archon.

You can head over to ⁠our discord to cast your vote! You have time to do so until 01-08-2024 23:00 CEST.

Here are the reasoning for the proposed change:

We recommend the community to ban Nadu, Winged Wisdom immediately, outside of the regular schedule, due to its overwhelming impact on the game and the resulting decline in tournament participation. Considering that Nadu decks create random, unforeseeable and frustrating play patterns, numerous players are already avoiding events because of Nadu’s dominance, and we believe that we must act swiftly to ensure full participation at the upcoming major tournament in Herne.

Nadu’s consistent presence on the battlefield by Turn 2 makes it a dominant force. Its robust body cannot be ignored by aggressive strategies, and a resolved Nadu constantly threatens a game-ending combo. Pairing Nadu with Lightning Greaves or Shuko creates a simple yet powerful two-card combo. The strategy of filling the deck with mana to recast Nadu repeatedly is highly effective, making Nadu a perpetual and dangerous presence. The card advantage and ramp generated by Nadu are unmatched, creating a dilemma for opponents: they must remove Nadu to prevent it from taking over the game through value or combo, but doing so often benefits the Nadu player due to tempo loss. Also, the Nadu player is the one dictating the pace of the game: They can choose to go for a fast combo kill attempt or play a slower, controlling style.

Nadu is resilient against spot removal, a critical aspect of the format. Not all colors have equal access to effective answers, with blue being the primary counter. In many cases, the best counter to Nadu is another Nadu deck, creating an unhealthy mirror match dynamic. Even in otherwise unfavorable matchups, Nadu’s combo potential remains a constant threat. Cards like Cavern of Souls, Force of Will, and Urza’s Saga enable Nadu to win in otherwise difficult matchups, ensuring that no matchup is truly bad for Nadu. We therefore see currently no bad matchups for Nadu that go far beyond the 50/50 winrate.

The gameplay issues further exacerbate the problem. Each creature played requires managing two triggers, leading to complex and time-consuming interactions. The non-deterministic nature of Nadu’s kill takes up disproportionate amounts of time.

Nadu’s ability to generate significant card advantage, threaten game-ending combos, and exert overwhelming pressure on opponents creates a significant imbalance in the format. The persistent fear of a sudden loss akin to the Splinter Twin combo exerts undue pressure on players, necessitating constant vigilance and reactive play. The current meta has tried to adapt to counter Nadu, yet we see no clear counter strategies that are otherwise viable. While Nadu’s power level is considered ban-worthy on its own, the consistent lack of fun and engagement from opponents is asking for an out of schedule banning, as players abstaining from tournaments to avoid facing Nadu is something we never saw before. This detrimental impact on the game’s balance and community engagement underscores the urgent need for a ban.

In conclusion and in the council’s opinion Nadu’s ban is crucial to restore a balanced, but more importantly fun and engaging format, also with respect to the upcoming LotusVale Series. We urge every Archon member to put in their vote.