i didn't spend on the SAGA deals last month but i know many who did. they spent a lot to get count nefaria and r3 him and he was probably banned for 75% of the season and now he's blacklisted for s53. by the time he's usable again the meta's passed him by and he'll get benched for who knows how long.
https://forums.playcontestofchampions.com/en/discussion/377695/alliance-war-season-53-changelog#latesti don't see the purpose of the blacklist anymore other than to frustrate players who invest a lot of money and resources into champions that they'll never really get to use. nefaria is probably the most egregious case because they just sold him for a lot money.
something has to change to preserve the value of rankups. i love war but it's turned into mid-tier champ slogfest.