On February 12th, 2025, the Discord Points Panel released a survey to receive feedback on the 2025 Year-Start points update announced on January 6th. 123 players responded to the survey, and the findings are as follows (survey comments in italics):
Format Direction and Clarity of Communication
The start of year points changes were met with overwhelming approval. Greater than 95% of respondents approved of the direction of points changes. Many respondents commented that they greatly enjoyed the direction of the new pointing philosophy targeting midrange threats and the continued attempts to promote lower color decks over four color decks. Some voiced their concern over how combo mostly avoided these changes while the rest of the format lost some of its power.
Players were asked if they believed the explanations for these points changes to be clear and easy to find in order to assess the quality with which pointing philosophy is communicated to the playerbase. Most players ( >96%) considered the explanations to be clear and the announcements to be visible, although several did note that it would be beneficial to have the points announcement available on the website in addition to being announced on Discord.
Pointing Philosophy – Point Spread Variety and Grace Periods
In an ongoing effort to refine the new pointing philosophy, players were asked how important point spread variety was for archetypes and how long a card should remain unchanged before being considered for a points change again.
Players were asked to rate how important multiple viable points spreads was on a scale from 1 (Irrelevant) to 5 (Essential). 78% of players consider point spread variety to be important, 13.8% were ambivalent, and 8.2% consider point spread variety to be of low priority or irrelevant. This indicates a general desire for more point spread diversity through small pointings.
When asked how long of a grace period a card should have between points changes, most players are comfortable with cards being allowed to shift in points value within 2 points updates. A common sentiment among responses is that the council should not be afraid to be agile with points changes, rolling back changes if needed. When the survey was created, the Discord Points Panel failed to put an option for “no grace period”, and several respondents clarified that grace periods should be guidelines and not a hard and fast rule. In particular, combo cards were noted as a class of cards which should be allowed to bypass the grace period if needed.
Points Increases
Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes from 0 to 1
M&B going on to the points list is a broadly liked change. However, even those who agreed with the change acknowledge that it is the most likely of the point increases that will not end up being worth 1 point in the long term. Despite the speed at which M&B ends games if unanswered, some common counter-arguments were that M&B is a 4 mana card, has some level of vulnerability, and typically appears in decks which are not overperforming.
- My only qualm is that similar 4 mana “best in class” have not also been pointed, so it feels a bit inconsistent.
- Gruul based aggro/midrange decks are still struggling to reach the numbers they once did, now heavily dominated by Gothic Moon and Mardu Tokens. M&B getting pointed hurt the deck a good bit more but I can understand it in the scope of Czech and general fun gameplay.
- Will have to wait and see if it’s still played. Personally it’s hard to justify a pointed card that gets hosed by Karakas.
Psychic Frog from 0 to 1
Psychic Frog’s pointing was met with overwhelming approval and was the most well-received change of the update. Frog’s power was readily apparent in our format and many others as soon as it became legal, and most are quite happy with the card no longer being a freeroll.
- Unsure if this is one of the least fair fair cards or one of the fairest unfair cards, but it sure wins a lot of games just by itself.
- I think the card has proven itself to be one of the most powerful creatures that has ever been printed as it plays as both a combo enabler/payoff or just an extremely efficient midrange threat. Definitely in favor to make sure it is not just an auto-include in every Dimir deck.
- Warping at the individual game level and had contributed to UB being the best core color on a meta level.
Reanimate from 0 to 1
The pointing of Reanimate was mildly positive but overall neutral. Many players commented that it was nice to remove Reanimate from an auto-include in all black decks but were not sure that the alternatives (namely Unearth, Helping Hand, and Animate Dead) were that much worse. In addition, several commented that this change was likely net neutral or positive for Reanimator, as the deck was already very flexible with its points and now does not have to deal with Reanimate from every black deck it faces.
- I thought the timing of this change was weird, but I do like pointing powerful cards that are in almost every deck in their colors so I support this change.
- Not one I would have done but it makes sense having played with it at 1 for a bit, reanimate FEELS like a pointed card.
- I’m still in favor of this pointing, but I’m not sure it completely accomplished what it set out to. I think it’s a good thing that this card is no longer a free roll in all black decks, but I think this pointing made decks like reanimator better in that now they don’t have to worry about it being resolved against them as much (and they have the points for it anyway).
- I’ve never really thought of Reanimate being problematic, and I like how “fair Reanimate” (Black Mold et al) and “unfair Reanimate” (dedicated Reanimator shells) can feel like two completely different cards.
Urza’s Saga from 0 to 1
Urza’s Saga going to 1 was well-received, being the second most popular change of the update. Many are happy to see Saga become less ubiquitous across the format and to act as a hit to artifact combo decks and Nadu. The perceived cost of inclusion for Saga was very low, and the pointing of Saga has made including it a deliberate choice.
- Best targeted pointing for problem decks like Vault, Nadu, and Paradox. Decks that really want it will pay for it, and it was too free for everyone else.
- Love to see a land making the game about itself less often and only popping up in dedicated artifact strategies
- Format just feels better with this at 1.
- It’s nice not feeling the need to include Urza’s Saga in almost every list I build because the card was pretty free.
White Plume Adventurer from 0 to 1
WPA going to one was mostly received positively by the community. However, there were many concerns about whether WPA is worth putting on the points list after being free this long. Many respondents felt WPA was not that much of an outlier compared to other 3 drops and that this pointing hurt the position of non-blue midrange and aggro decks too much. Despite this, most respondents were in favor of this change, especially as the initiative creates unhealthy play patterns when introduced early and can exacerbate the play/draw difference.
- Initiative is a mistake of a mechanic and this card in particular was being thrown into many decks resulting in excessive homogenization of decks that I’m glad to see it pointed.
- This is the best and most high-rolly initiative card ever printed. T1 dork into T2 WPA often ends the game if they don’t have an immediate plow or something. Glad to see less of this card.
- I don’t like how this hurts D&T at a time when D&T was already losing favor. Top tier decks that used to play it (Jeskai mostly) have cut it but aren’t missing it terribly
- White Plume Adventurer doesn’t consistently kill any faster than any number of other ancient tomb mana drops (Broadside Bombardiers, Gut, Barrowgoyf, even Ursine Monstrosity, the list goes on), and the Initiative is a very easy mechanic to interact with as almost all decks are playing more and more creatures. I don’t think WPA warrants a point.
Points Decreases
Sol Ring from 4 to 3
Sol Ring going down a point was met with a surprisingly positive response. Many respondents were neutral on the change as Sol Ring is one of the most powerful cards ever printed. A common concern was that Ring would be too powerful and exploitable at 3 for fair decks and that it gave an unneeded boost to certain artifact combo strategies such as Paradox Academy that were already strong pre-points change. Despite this, many have stated that they have been surprised at how well this change has turned out and are happy that it helps to incentivize lower color decks.
- This is the scariest, but I like that it’s been pushing people towards 2/2.5 colour builds.
- I was hesitant when I saw the reduction but the current exploration of Sol mana decks has been really promising to see. I think this has been a solid change.
- Half expecting to see this one to get bumped back up to 4 sometime but it’s very nice to have at 3 for now
- This card is broken at 3, but people have yet to clearly crack it. When someone does, or if aggro gets too many tools, this has a safe spot at 4 waiting for it again. Maybe I’m wrong, but this feels too exploitable.
- Like many in the community, I was a bit scared at first, but this mostly feels net neutral in “Sol Ring decks” with Saga and other threats getting a point, while making Moxen feel slightly more expensive to fit in decks.
Spellseeker from 1 to 0
Spellseeker coming off of the points list is the most controversial change of this update. Although general sentiment is positive, many voted neutral, and this change had the most opponents. Surprisingly, most of the complaints and opposition to this change are about its inclusion in control decks with Ancestral Recall, as many feel Spellseeker is too flexible of a toolbox card in those decks. Most were happy to see Spellseeker freed for creature combo and few were worried about its applications in decks such as Flash Hulk or Seekerwalk.
- When it happened I agreed with it, now I don’t like the Recall decks getting a free tutor on a body. I don’t care how this pointing affects Flash Hulk or Seekerwalk.
- I’m not pleased with the addition of Spellseeker to Recall decks. I’m glad to see Spellseeker freed for use in creature combo decks
- Spellseeker has felt fine in games, I can appreciate that it represents a Forth, Recall or Flash, but I view it the same as a Fabricate or Trinket mage where there is a real cost in casting what is a 3 mana 1/1 with tutor text for an actual net of 4 mana spent on a Recall.
- I get the idea of taking the point off of combo, but I think it was missed that it’s just another auto-include for Recall decks now.
Survival of the Fittest from 1 to 0
Survival coming off the points list was met with positive responses. The context of the format has changed immensely such that a card that requires three mana and another card to get the first tutor is quite slow. Some respondents expressed concern about the card being too good to be free for Nadu combo, but overall, players do not consider the card point worthy and are happy to see the card at 0 to encourage other creature combos.
- Even at 0 a lot of decks still aren’t playing it. Feels like how Fastbond did when it came off the list.
- Survival to 0 made some non Flash Hulk creature combos viable! It is such a breath of fresh air, plus it’s just a good card anyways. It is not so strong that it’s overpowered, but it is strong enough to be a threat, and I think that’s a great place for it to be.
- Card is unfortunately a bit too slow. This doesn’t mean it is not strong, but the cost of Survival is already baked into putting it into your deck and drawing it in the wrong match up, and the pay off is not as high as it used to be when compared to other cards.
- Cool and classic card that was unplayable at 1. It’s powerful and the cost of building around it is enough, 0 points seems great for it.
Metagame Analysis
The most commonly cited overperforming decks after the points change were Nadu, various all-in combo decks such as Paradox Academy, Lotus Breach, and Citadel Storm, and Jeskai Control. In a breath of fresh air, 4c midrange decks were not the most commonly cited issue, although 4c no Green control and other variants were still sometimes mentioned.
Lower color aggro decks such as Red Deck Wins, Gruul Monsters, and Death and Taxes are the most frequently mentioned underperforming archetypes, with some also including Tempo decks as archetypes which struggle in the face of modern design pushing everything to midrange. Non-Nadu creature combo is still cited as an underrepresented part of the metagame.
Conclusion
The experimental changes for 2025 acted as the first wave in the development of the council’s newest pointing philosophy. The format is considered to be in a very good spot, and this change was met with overwhelming approval. Players are happy with the direction that the format is headed towards by hitting some of the format staples. A key desire is for the council to keep communication open with the player base and to continue to be willing to take risks with changes to refine the new pointing philosophy.
The role of the Discord Points Panel is to gather data and capture community sentiment, assisting councillors by providing connections to Canlander sub-communities around the world. The current members are:
Cyclopes8 – Moxfield
Impulse27 – Moxfield
Vaaste (Myself) – Moxfield
Feel free to DM or @ any of us on the Discord if you have any questions, thoughts or concerns.