This is a small change, but I believe it to be necessary.

Like I said at the end of last year Deep Forest Hermit has been too strong on itself. To replace him, I got a copy of the original, better designed hermit. Deranged Hermit will give you the same amount of bodies and the same synergistic power, without winning the game on it's own. What made the modern counterpart better was the fact of staying in play for three whole turns before having to be sacrificed. The buff to the tokens he made was VERY relevant, being 9 power as 5 bodies for just 5 mana. Deranged Hermit can offer powerful and spectacular plays, but you'll have to work for it. For the lord effect to be relevant, you'll have to build around him. Now it'll be about his ability for going wide with small bodies, which is easier to deal with and puts him in decks that have more obvious weaknesses. Long story short, Deranged Hermit is just a better designed synergistic card, while Deep Forest Hermit is a pushed, modern era mid-range bomb.

On the other hand I've noticed artifact decks struggling. Because of that, I'm making general buffs to artifact-based strategies. I'm adding Urza's Bauble, which I like as an additional 0 mana artifact to recur and get value from if paired with the right enablers. Additionally, I want to test Tinker. It might be too strong, time will tell. Memory Jar is a card that I've never played with and should bring interesting decks to the table. It will be the best draw-seven-effect in the cube or tied with Echo of Eons. But these effects haven't shown to be broken or unfun, so I doubt it will cause too many problems.

2024 is coming to an end and I want to address some changes that have happened throughout last months and haven't been mentioned here.

Generally speaking
I'm happy with how the list is performing. Games are fun, balanced and interactive. Nevertheless, there are some concerns with some archetypes that don't see much play and need support, as well as some cards that seem too powerful and need to be monitored closely in the beginning of next year. Cards that will be added to the Watch-list because of balancing issues are specifically Deep Forest Hermit, Recurring Nightmare and Monastery Mentor. They're not gonna be replaced for now, but they've overperformed lately. I'll be watching their win-rate closely.

Because I like the power-level of these two cards and don't really want to remove them, I'm buffing aristocrat/sacrifice strategies as well as aggressive decks that can put pressure on these rather slow but powerful cards. The addition of Wonder will also avoid board-stalls, where these two cards excel, and will give more tools for aggro strategies to close-up games more reliably. It could be, that Deep Forest Hermit and Monastery Mentor also benefit from cards like Wonder or Marionette Apprentice, making them even stronger. In that case, I already have possible fun replacements in the Maybeboard.

I'm taking out cards that didn't perform well or were difficult/awkward to include in their corresponding niches and also cards presenting underwhelming or frustrating play patterns.

OUT:
Worldly Tutor (Weak/replaceable)
Hidden Stockpile (Weak/replaceable)
Venerated Loxodon (Weak/replaceable)
Attunement (Barely played/picked)
Universal Automaton (Barely played/picked)
Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle (Frustrating/Underwhelming)
Damnable Pact (Barely played/picked)
Mind's Desire (Frustrating/Underwhelming)
Chromatic Sphere (Weak/replaceable)
Magmatic Insight (Weak/replaceable)

IN:
Ozolith, the Shattered Spire
Teysa, Orzhov Scion
Rosie Cotton of South Lane
Careful Study
Grafted Wargear
Academy Ruins
Marionette Apprentice
Wonder
Soul-Guide Lantern
Highway Robbery