One thing you left off your "did occur" list was the restriction of Trinisphere. In light of the fact that the new b/r announcement is approaching, the Vintage Champion was playing Stax in a field where early reports say 60% of the field was Slaver and Stax, plays right into your question.
I would like to say that as far as policy goes - this demonstrates that they are willing to make changes on the basis of interaction - not dominance or distortion.
Time will tell if this was a mistake.
I personally believe that combo will be running rampant because of this.
MWS has lost infinite stock as a powerful card and it will become a Dark Rit vs. Mana Drain format.
Before anyone says anything about "sphere or resistance is good"-they are wrong. Sphere of Resistance is ABSOLUTE SHIT compared to 3sphere against storm combo decks. Combo can now spend its 3 bounce spells main plus whatever was in the board towards winning the control matchup. I feel a wave of combo coming over and the restriction of Dark Ritual in 3 months.
I see further Bannings/Restrictions in 3 months. /vote me up one for mistake. In all honesty, maybe only 10-15% of the Vintage players were calling for 3spheres head, and those were probably the combo players.
Long Live Combo Summer!Â
And I can report that my combo decks actually didn't just die to Stax becuase I learned how to maximize my chances agianst 3sphere. Now that I did that, do you think I will have any trouble against fourth tier lock components like Sphere of Resistence and Chalice of hte Void?
They have restricted a card now in this format based on interaction concerns entirely, and not dominance or distortion. If Workshop decks fall out of the format almost entirely, which given their trend on Sylvan's statistics is the logical prediction, the format will rapidly consolidate and shift. Those shifts can lead to a restriction cascade.  I'm not saying they will, but there is good, rationale, logical reasons for suggesting that it might. The risk is there. I'm not saying it will happen immediately, but a decision has been made which could trigger long term ramifications that are not good. We should be aware of those risks and realize them now so that we can monitor the outcome.
However, the fact remains, like it or not, they did Restrict it. And, now, the only thing we have to look forward to is a steady series of Restrictions as other cards have to be put in their place with the removal of Trinisphere. This is, fortunately or unfortunately, the inevitability that we are left with now. So, over the next year we're likely to see cards like Mana Drain, Dark Ritual and others that end up getting put on the Restricted list because of this. With one of the "pillars" now gone, the remainder have to be adjusted as well.
Now a lot of "Turn 0" Combo decks become absurd. Slaver (both builds) are absurd too. And two fine archetypes (Workshop Aggro and Stax) are quite dead, despite not behing dominating every single Top8. Sad.
I'd just like to point out that in the future there will be very little evidence to support that this restriction was "wise". This restriction is primarily a PR decision. It was made without regard for the metagame, so any effect on the metagame will not justify it. You'd have to poll those who complained to R&D/DCI to find out if they are happy next month.
I think, if anything, my belief that The DCI has a better grasp on things then alot of people give them credit for, is strengthened. They have made mistakes and probably will again, however, imho, they keep showing they understand what's going on and understand T1 pretty damn well.
The format seems healthy overall and I personally don't see anything that should change that, although the addition of Portal will be interesting. The basic philosophy of keeping the game fun and balanced seems to be working just fine and I hope it continues.
-Shawn
