SLZ - A Summary | Pauperwave Blog

Secret Lair: The Zeta Set is the hot topic among Pauper enthusiasts. I'm Alessandro Moretti, MtG content creator and this article is the written media related to my most recent video on the argument.

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What is happening?
What is SLZ, what is SLD?
What defines the legality of cards in Pauper?
The case of MTGO Promo Cards
MtG Arena (Pioneer Masters and Rebalanced cards)
Pratical issues with SLZ
Price and availability
Power Level and Pauper
Moral Compass and Format Phylosophy

1 - What is happening?

The recent discussions about Secret Lair Zet, downgrading powerful cards from the whole history of Magic, to common rarity is very entertaining.

It is, for sure, the most hated pauper related argument of recent history, even more debated than High Tide or Seeker of Skybreak bans.

A total amount of 12 cards are now common and we already know those cards will not be legal in Pauper even thought a fair amount of people are arguing that, by becoming common, they are eligible of playability in the all-commons format.

Source:

As you can read in these Twitter / Blue Sky statements, the current defining rules of the format will get an update in order to force out of legality - and out of the format - the downgraded cards from products such as Secret Lair Zeta.

2 - What is SLZ, what is SLD?

Secret Lair drops are card products based on out-of-MtG culture elements. They are not released as traditional product (from re-seller or local shop to customers) but, instead, are directly sold from the producer to the, supposed, final purchaser (WotC doesn't officialy recognise the secondary market)¹². Secret Lair: the Zeta Set is, for the first time, a randomized SLD product purchesable in 7-cards boosters. For that reason, the product came with rarities (common, uncommon, rare and mythic) other than Rare (as it is used in the traditional SLD) and with a different and new set name and code (SLZ)³. Due to the gamble-alike nature of the product rarities are necessary to enhance or lower the drop rate (a SLZ pack contain 3 commons, 2 uncommons, 1 rare and 1 card from any rarity). This product is not meant to be playable in any limited format (draft, sealed, etc.). SLZ is a separate set from SLD but it is not the first SL product (or set) having more than the Rare rarity: in SLD Dandan there are common, uncommon and rare cards, even thought there's no change of previous rarities beside up-grading to rare for a few cards with new promo art (Dandan, Arcane Denial, Memory Lapse, etc.)⁴.

Notes:

3 - What defines the legality of cards in Pauper?

Per the rules, cards printed as common in any set or product in paper and on Magic Online.¹ At least for now.

Players want to play with new cards when they get the chance to do so. I think the open letter written by Lega Pauper Italia² is a good thing in the way it express the disatisfaction of part of the player base. LPI and the people who want these principles followed think that the rules should not be affected by a prohibitionist update.

The not-draftable argument: SLZ is not meant to be draftable, willingly to change the Pauper rules you can state that products or set not-meant to be played in limited formats (draft, sealed, jump-start) aren't legal. In my opinion this isn't the right solution.

By doing so you are excluding early set expansions and reprint sets, like Chronicles, which weren't SLZ is very similar to Chronicles in that aspect: a set full of reprints of wanted cards.³ But, as well, removing Commander sets or products like TMNT Team-Up can be, perhaps, a good thing.

The most "purist" view on this argument is cutting stuff which isn't standard legal is a net improvement of the format. But, due to the FIRE design, the format Pauper is heavily defined by products and set expansions which aren't legal in standard. On the opposite. the most "liberal" approach, instead, is just allowing every common card beside those in the B&R List.

An argument which came on the web (on Discord, Reddit, etc.) is how Secret Lairs aren't Pauper legal because, in fact, they are promo cards (but it doesn't seem to be the case). Promo cards can be a purchasable item, see convention promos, and Secret Lair cards be promo cards (see Lightning Bolt SLP - Secret Lair Prize - from Gen Con).⁴ SLD and SLZ are indeed meant to be a limited amount run prints, similarly to promo cards and specific time products (see LotR Holiday Release).⁵ Without any specific statement from Wizards of the Coast it is complex to name the nature of the product, as it can be applied to pretty much any kind of traditional MtG related product or set. The shared factors between Secret Lair products are just their release, distribution and production. The shooting star set symbol is commonly used by promo cards (promo cards set symbol changed many times over the years and based on the product) and by SLD cards. SLZ doesn't have a set symbol.

Notes:

The line "Common promo cards are only legal if the card meets that qualification."¹ came from a time when three promo cards were, by mistake or by the online platform bug, wrongly set as common on MTGO.² Hada Freeblade, Spatial Contortion and Circle of Flame were never common and they were then banned (without appearing on the Pauper format banlist) as mere formality. Now their rarity has been fixed at uncommon, as this was supposed to be. Magic Online promos rarities reflect their related set rarity, similarly of how Friday Night Magic promo packs have standard legal promos.

Notes:

5 - MtG Arena (Pioneer Masters and Rebalanced cards)

Arena has unique cards, with specific mechanics and cards printed only on Arena and not available by any legal means on Magic Online or in paper. And that's the biggest argument to not make Arena common-only cards legal in Pauper. On one hand it is relevant to note the presence of a cycle of spell-lands but, on the other hand, you can easily understand the weirdness of having staple cards (i.e. Moon-Circuit Hacker) with a different printed text, based on where you play it.¹ The most resonable solution is dividing MtG Arena from MTGO and Tabletop.

Notes:

https://scryfall.com/search?q=s%3Apio+game%3Aarena+r%3Ac+-f%3Apauper&unique=cards&as=grid&order=name

6 - Pratical issues with SLZ

Arena is an issue due to the nature of the product, not allowing you to play a specific variant of the card due to a rewording not applied to the printed card. If, hypotethically speaking, tomorrow WotC wants to add rebalanced cards to tabletop Magic, the choice would eventually a bit of confusion to the people, not understanding which version of the card is the right one. And that's the reason why rewording doesn't happen so often (e.g. Lurrus of the Dream-Den).

Regarding The Zeta Series the difficult to understand part is similar.

Having only Cursed Rack as paper-printed common card that is not legal in Pauper (and not banned) is pretty much simple¹. The card is bad (probably) and its common print is a sort of mistake-slash-anomaly. Old expansions had weird rarities and from Chronicles to Renaissence it kept its C1 rarity. In Chronicles C1 is uncommon and in Renaissence C1 is common. The thing is, Renaissence is the localized print (French, German, Italian) of Chronicles.

SLZ cards are commons that aren't legal, nor banned, nor Arena-only cards. And that's the weird, or troublesome, part. The additional annoying thing is finalizing the format bounduaries. Should we stop at SLZ, or should we "pre-ban" Commander and additional products (Utrom Monitor)? Are Universe Beyond supposed to be legal (because you may see them as elements out of the format phylosophy)?

Notes:

https://mtg.wiki/page/Pauper#cite_note-23

7 - Price and availability

Some questions that may rose are related to the price and the availability of new staples pushed in by SLZ in the Pauper format. Of course, I am assuming in the unlikely scenario of SLZ cards becoming pauper legal.

If you are expecting to see pricy old school cards to be printed as common in future SL it is very unlikely. I can present you two reasons for that: -SL is a way for WotC to get money from the secondary market by printing chase cards and high on demand old staples (Hasbro CEO got sued, in part, for that¹²³⁴). -Copper Tablet being printed in the same SLZ. Card used to be an uncommon from the very first origin set expansions. Despite being low in poer level the reprint is not common, not uncommon, but Mythic. There's no reason for WotC to lower the rarity of pricy cards, just think of Rhystic Study, because WotC is incentivized of keeping at high value the cards they are printing.

Notes:

8 - Power Level and Pauper

From my point of view (I play Pauper since 2016) the power level of the format is already skewed compared to what it used to be. 10 years ago Palace Sentinels and Urzalands where the ban-talk. Now those cards are still boring to play against but they are tame. 8 years later, with the print of Modern Horizons 3 the attention was all on Whriting Chrysalis or on Refurbished Familiar. Due to the FIRE design, the whole card game is directed toward an upgrade in power level. This is true as well for Pauper. If you don't want The Zeta Set in Pauper because you don't want the power-creep in Pauper then it is better to change game, because you can't escape from that trend by playing another open MtG format. Still, it is true that in the last two years the Pauper metagame, compared to other non-rotating formats, is stagnant. This is a statement based on how (most of) the major rotations of the metagame, in that time period, are due to updates to the B&R List, not related to new cards additions.

9 - Moral Compass and Format Phylosophy

The decision of not allowing The Zeta Set in Pauper can be seen as a moralistic one. There is for sure the good will of Gavin Verhey and the Pauper Format Panel over this choice. And I should say my thanks to them, to the PFP, for the fast response they gave to the community. If we look at other formats, or other card games, the ones curating the banlist aren't so close to the community as Gavin is.

At the same time, I think the decision may be too hasty. For sure Gavin has a good understanding of what the future sets and products can bring to the Pauper format but, from my point of view (I'm a mere player and content creator) cutting so fast the chance to improve the format is not appealing. And I'm not only one thinking like that, because social networks are rich in discussions on that same very argument this last week.

The view over the format, its metagame and available strategies, play patterns and gameplays are based on what cards are in it and on what you, Wizards of the Coast, cards you chose to have. The format can be balanced but, at the same time, unhealthy when you (player or designer) believe certain cards are not suited for the kind of games you deem good or not for the format. I, as player and content creator, have in mind a couple cards that I believe it is time to ban from Pauper and at the same time I crave for new addition to the format which is stale and less fun compared to what it used to be.

If the format phylosophy is to make the best out of whatever is available then, adding another limitation, is an improvement? At the same time, Pauper can be seen or perceived as the all-commons Legacy. Not allowing by principle certain products in a format where all the common cards ever printed in the whole hystory of Magic (MtG Arena is a sort of standalone world) is nothing less than a sly escamotage.

Not allowing the Zeta Set cards in Pauper, for the people who want to play with those cards, is equal to pre-banning those same cards (which is ironic).

Not allowing the Zet Set cards in Pauper, for the people who, instead, don't want to play those cards, is the right call.

There's no really any way to accomodate both parties. One side believes changing the metagame by not changing the rules is right. On the other side is the opposite: changing the rules to not change the meta.

The Leopard is an italian novel based during the unification of Italy. A quote from the protagonist of this book, a prince of the old nobility of the Two Sicilies Kingdom is very well suited to end this article:

Change everything to change nothing ⁓Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, The Leopard

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