Standard Ban List 21.05

With almost a month having passed since the release of System Gateway, certain issues have arisen in the Standard format metagame which we are keen to address. Although we are currently testing a far-reaching new update which we hope to release in June, we have decided to also issue a small update right away, intended to slow down some of the fastest decks in the game. There is only one change from version 21.04 of the Standard Ban List and it is as follows: 

Summary of Standard Ban List 21.05 Changes

Corp:

• Violet Level Clearance is banned.

Effective date: 1 May 2021

Please click here to jump to the full 21.05 Standard Ban List.

Analysis

Although the game is still in flux from System Gateway’s release, we can already confidently identify certain trends:

1. Corp winrates are too far ahead of Runners, even more so than they were before System Gateway’s release.
2. Corps are overall much faster.
3. The two frontrunners for best Corp decks are Seamless Rush out of Precision Design and Offworld Skunkworks out of Asa Group.

Obviously, the current meta is still young, and we believe that, given time, the meta might adjust to curb these imbalances to an extent. However, the trends we are seeing are so strong that, while meta adjustment might moderate them, they would still be far more prevalent than we would like, which is why we decided that immediate action was necessary.

Although we intend to address all three of the above issues, changes that are wide-ranging enough to significantly impact Corp winrates and speed across the board require extensive testing. We do, however, find ourselves in a position to easily address the third issue immediately: both Asa and PD are very fast, and banning Violet Level Clearance narrowly targets the two best Corp decks in the game, hopefully slowing them down enough for Runners to be better able to keep up. Depowering these decks may also help Runner winrates across the board, because if they need to devote fewer deck slots to countering Asa and PD, they may be better able to tech against other Corps. We are not, however, relying on this hope, and are currently testing an update with hits to a broader number of Corps, as noted above.

Please see below for the full Standard Ban List.

Standard Ban List 21.05

Effective Date: 1 May, 2021

Cards on this list may not be used in Standard format games.

Changes from Standard Ban List 21.04 appear in bold.

Finally, a reminder that we’re always looking for more playtesters to help us shape the future of the game! Click here to apply for Ban List testing, or click here to apply for product testing (which is currently testing the next NISEI cycle, codenamed Bashes). All levels of experience with the game welcome!