Magic: The Gathering

[cidbahamut]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

It looks like they're reprinting Goblin Bombardment. I'm excited to see that be utterly ridiculous.

[Icemage]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

Hmm.. Terramorphic Expanse is coming back with Evolving Wilds already in M2015? That's going to make for an interesting format for multicolor decks, with 8 fetchlands.


Icemage

[cidbahamut]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

Not really since the lands come in tapped. They might see some fringe constructed play, but they're too slow for aggro decks which will be using Mana Confluence instead while control decks are going to much prefer to have the never ending filter of scry lands to ensure they can constantly dig for the answers they need just from putting a land into play.

No one is going to be running 8 of them in a deck unless the new block has some truly format warping weirdness hidden up its sleeve. If I had to guess I'd say it's getting printed in Khans to support playing wedges in limited.

[Malacite]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

The new 3-color lands are interesting. Sucks they aren't shocklands but oh well (makes me wonder if they got the balls to print trio-lands? Probably not, Ravnica's duo's were OP enough).

[Yellow Mage]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

It looks like they're reprinting Goblin Bombardment. I'm excited to see that be utterly ridiculous.

Wait. Didn't they print a card last year for the explicit purpose of not reprinting Goblin Bombardment?

It's stuff like this that actively discourages me from ever playing this game again.

[cidbahamut]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

I don't understand why that bothers you. Their entire design strategy is geared around Standard. For the stuff they had last year they clearly thought Goblin Bombardment was a bad fit, but the upcoming sets will be ok with it running around.

[Yellow Mage]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

You know perhaps even more than I do how dumb of a card it is.

At any rate, to say that they design around even Standard would be stretching it a bit. They seem to have a tunnel vision focus on limited these days (which, as the runaway success of Conspiracy highlights, will only get magnified in the coming years), and I'm not even remotely a good enough drafter to judge that particular format. (Theros Sealed, on the other hand, was an open book of Green, with maybe some Blue and/or Black.) Fact of the matter remains that I doubt WotC's ability to make an enjoyable Constructed format lately, much less an affordable one.

[cidbahamut]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

I'm not really sure how you'd go about making an affordable constructed environment.

[Icemage]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

Major, major changes afoot in Standard tournament block rotation and set release.

Metamorphosis | MAGIC: THE GATHERING

After 2015, MTG Core sets will no longer be released.
At the same time, all new set blocks will be 2 sets instead of 3, and Standard will switch to a 18 month rotation before blocks rotate out.

This is what will comprise Standard tournament format, moving forward:




Icemage

[Malacite]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

Beat me to it damn it I was about to post that as I just finished reading it on FB.


Great changes, though with 2 rotations a year that's going to make Standard more expensive to compete in.

[cidbahamut]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

I'm not sure how to feel about this. On the one hand, Lorwyn and Shadowmoor were a ton of fun. On the other hand, this feels a lot like they just took Standard and shook vigorously while hoping for the best. It could go either way really.

I'll miss the core sets serving as yearly milestones, I kind of liked that.

[Yellow Mage]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

Major, major changes afoot in Standard tournament block rotation and set release.

Metamorphosis | MAGIC: THE GATHERING

My take from this: this will improve specifically the game of Standard format Magic substantially on several different fronts, while exacerbating the main reasons that keep me from playing.

Blocks are only usable for 3/4 as long, starting with the "block" consisting of Khans and Dewey. Furthermore, assuming my previous statement about the improved gameplay to be true, then Magic's already absurd popularity growth in recent years will only skyrocket even faster, making it financially even more ludicrously inaccessible from the sheer demand.

[Icemage]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

My take from this: this will improve specifically the game of Standard format Magic substantially on several different fronts, while exacerbating the main reasons that keep me from playing.

Blocks are only usable for 3/4 as long, starting with the "block" consisting of Khans and Dewey. Furthermore, assuming my previous statement about the improved gameplay to be true, then Magic's already absurd popularity growth in recent years will only skyrocket even faster, making it financially even more ludicrously inaccessible from the sheer demand.

I'm not sure I agree. Core sets have only been usable for ~15 months, so this is actually more helpful for newbies than veterans. I also think 18 months is "long enough" for cards to assert themselves in Standard.

It does have some other effects though; main sets are going to have to have more typical utility because there's no Core set to anchor the mainstays like direct damage, counterspells, creature removal, etc. There's a risk of the sets becoming too watered down as a result (see: Mercadian Masques block for a good example of this).


Icemage

[Malacite]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

It also means no more random nonsensical reprints/jank like Slilvers coming back out of the blue for no reason. And I love me some slivers but seeing them in M14 and M15 was just a big "huh?!" for me.

[Yellow Mage]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

I'm not sure I agree. Core sets have only been usable for ~15 months, so this is actually more helpful for newbies than veterans. I also think 18 months is "long enough" for cards to assert themselves in Standard.

You missed the memo where Core sets are being done away with completely, then. (Maro has further confirmed that this will not dumb down the complexity of future sets, while giving them more leeway to reprint whatever they feel like.)

Also, I care less about a card being able to "assert itself in Standard" so much as being a good use of my money. 18 months instead of 24 ensures that I only get 3/4 the chronological value of any card from a Fall set (and, strictly speaking, 5/7 the value from a Winter set)--and I'll reiterate, I do not expect the prices of such cards to go even anywhere but up any time remotely soon.