Here's a thought about the overall process and timeline (since it's very important that we have a plan):
Stage 1) Decide if the "promos" are to be allowed.
--We are doing this now. The promos that this discussion concerns are the last of the promos that
make sense to include.
--Perhaps have a few more days of discussion, and then hold a poll for a week.
--Update GCCG based on results.
--No other GCCG update (except bug fixes. etc.) for three months so players get a chance to use the
promos that are allowed with no other changes.
Stage 2) During those three months, hold discussions and iron out the "unbanning" (for each card,
this would be either "completely unbanning", changing to "restricted", or "errata" as a last
resort) of the "banned" cards.
--This would be a one-time "cleanup" to allow the card pool to be maximized (getting cards out
of binders/boxes), but while still maintaining the fairness and balance that we expect.
--A separate discussion topic for each card but discussions would be done in parallel, even if
discussions seem to be done, we would wait the three months before "finalizing" it.
--At the end of the discussions (i.e. in three months), hold polls in parallel to determine what to
do with each card.
--Update GCCG based on results.
--Doing this as single "bulk" update would maybe take players a week or two to get used to
the changes, plus they would be able try out everything together. Furthermore, now that
I think about it, if we did this as a long drawn-out series of single-card "monthly" updates,
things would constantly be changing for a long time, which I find to be the most confusing
scenario.
--No other GCCG update (except bug fixes, etc.) for three months so players get a chance to
use the "unbanned" cards.
--After those three months, players discuss/vote on whether the "unbanning" was successful
or unsuccessful. We can keep, tweak, or complete undo the "unbanning" based on this feedback.
Stage 3) After step 2 is done, at some interval (say every 6-12 months), the "Dream Team" releases a
small (around 10 cards) V-set. The first one is currently in progress. This keeps the game
fresh and helps add a little excitement.
Seem reasonable?