A few guilds contain more than two syllables. Saying green-white is shorter than saying Selesnya, same for black-green and Golgari. And since some guild names are less convenient to use, might as well not use them at all.
I use certain guild names but others I don't. I often will call a (R/W) deck Boros or a (B/R) deck Rakdos or (U/R)Izzet, but rarely call (B/G)Golgari or use Azorius, Selesnya, or Dimir. I can't really explain why, it just happens.
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Seriously? Half the time the clan name isnt even at all appropriate, they certainly dont need to start randomly jamming guilds into deck names for no reason.
Every time someone says "Temur Delver" they should be shocked with a tazer.
Some clans dont fall in the category of said decks. For example, I wouldnt call "boros" a deck if its a midrange deck, but would do (and I actually do) if its a weenie one (like the old boros landfall). UR delver is just UR counterburn with a brand new crearure, and while instants are sorceries are pretty Izzet, it doesnt feel izzetian for most of us. Also, some decks have older or mor established names than guilds do, like Maverick for GW. I think thats why. I might be wrong.
See this sounds sensible by itself...but then it also applies to crap like "Temur." The answer is that they should get rid of the idiotic clan names.
The shards of Alara block hit during my hiatus and when I returned in Avacyn Restored I was shocked and had a hard time adjusting to the shard names for deck color combinations. I take the same approach with the new Khans clans, just letting it roll in and take over, because apparently the old Invasion block names for those combinations didn't take (Sunscape - Bant, Stormscape - Esper, Nightscape - Grixis, Thunderscape - Jund, Thornscape - Naya, Ana - Sultai, Ceta - Temur, Dega - Mardu, Necra - Abzan, Raka - Jeskai). On topic of the guild names, I suppose it's the same as the Invasion block names in that they just didn't click as well.
Some clans dont fall in the category of said decks. For example, I wouldnt call "boros" a deck if its a midrange deck, but would do (and I actually do) if its a weenie one (like the old boros landfall). UR delver is just UR counterburn with a brand new crearure, and while instants are sorceries are pretty Izzet, it doesnt feel izzetian for most of us. Also, some decks have older or mor established names than guilds do, like Maverick for GW. I think thats why. I might be wrong.
That applies to most any deck in whatever color combo that isn't tied into the identity of Jund or Esper or whatever too, yet you don't see that argument used against them.
Some clans dont fall in the category of said decks. For example, I wouldnt call "boros" a deck if its a midrange deck, but would do (and I actually do) if its a weenie one (like the old boros landfall). UR delver is just UR counterburn with a brand new crearure, and while instants are sorceries are pretty Izzet, it doesnt feel izzetian for most of us. Also, some decks have older or mor established names than guilds do, like Maverick for GW. I think thats why. I might be wrong.
That applies to most any deck in whatever color combo that isn't tied into the identity of Jund or Esper or whatever too, yet you don't see that argument used against them.
It seems like a lot of it really boils down to marketing. The clan names have been pushed aggressively because their names correspond to factions in the current set. The guilds are two years old, so there's less marketing visibility to be gained from it.
This clearly doesn't apply to the shards, though, since that block's been long out of print, but may be an extension of the clan names so that they are consistent with three-color naming conventions.
I think it's simply that saying "Red-Black-Green" takes to long, so the shorter Shard names caught on easily. My group uses the old Wedge names, although the new Khans clan names are starting to catch on (to my dismay). I'll never call any deck of my "Temur" or "Salty" anything.
Hell if I know. Temur is one of the worst names in the game. Same with the rest of the wedge names none of them roll off the tongue well especially in comparison to BUG and RUG. The shard names actually sound nice. Jund is easy to say same with the rest since they are all 2 syllables or less and not hard to say at all. Crap like temur and jeskai? Oh no. No one will ever know how to pronounce temur properly just like umezawa's jitte.
No clue on guildnames since ravnica is one of the most popular planes out there. Is it because of the puns? Unsure.
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"Yawgmoth," Freyalise whispered as she set the bomb, "now you will pay for your treachery."
I'm 99% sure that the people who complain about the Khans wedge names started playing since Alara. They use the Alara shard names and Ravnica guild names because That's The Way It Was Done before they started, but the tribe names are New and people don't like change. Plus the tribe names are associated with the Khans tribes specifically, but the shard and guild names are already in general use.
It seems like a lot of it really boils down to marketing. The clan names have been pushed aggressively because their names correspond to factions in the current set. The guilds are two years old, so there's less marketing visibility to be gained from it.
And this is why you see things like "Sultai vs U/R," and why there was such a passive-aggressive undertone to the initial announcement from SCG and some of their explanations for forcing the name change. They just repeated the lines Wizards' marketing department gave them in all their nonsensical glory (like they can't say "BUG" because "players might be confused about where the U comes from" in the same event they actually had Sultai Delver vs U/R Delver in the top 8—and I'm serious, they actually said that) through gritted teeth and stuck with it. Sort of a "we don't really like it, but we have no choice but to get used to it" thing.
They really just need to be consistent. Either use clan/guild names, or don't. Izzet Delver actually makes the most sense out of all the names because the deck is doing what the Izzet do. Young pyromancer is a very izzet card, as is swiftspear. Of course, this is a topic that has been beaten to death already.
I think another factor depends on how successful a deck archetype is that just so happened to have a name associated with a shard, clan, or guild. Something the OP doesn't bring up is that pretty much any RW deck nowadays tend to be called "Boros" regardless of how it functions, and that was a guild. This can be traced back to the days where "Boros deck wins" was a popular deck going around. It's pretty much the same idea with decks like Jund and Esper Control (giving us naming via shard names that just so happened to be popularized by certain decks). At the same time, there are also times when shard names aren't used that often. My impression, for example, is that "Zoo" is much more commonly referred to just "Zoo" rather than "Naya Zoo" or something like that. As for the clans, I'm personally not seeing many people convert to using that terminology much at all yet. Like someone said before, "temur delver" currently sounds a bit cumbersome, and I'm sure that "junk" won't be renamed to "Abzan" anytime soon. However, if my original point is correct, this could all change IF popular deck types will name them as such.
I rarely use guild names, mainly brcause, just because a deck is W/R, doesn't mean the deck is similar to a Boros deck. Plus, I started magic not too long ago, and I never played during the RTR block.
WOTC and SCG (possibly under the suggestion of the former) have made a strong push to use wedge names where ever possible, even in Legacy where more succinct abbreviations exist and in decks where none of the wedge mechanics are relevant. There wasn't really that much of a push to use Guild and even Shard names back in the day when the only connection to those entities were via color.
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Due to real-life obligations, I am taking a long break from Magic which may include missing the local Legacy GP. Apologies for not being able to keep my threads updated.
Abzan, Temur, etc. are way better than Ana, Ceta, Dega, etc.
Thats your opinion wich we don't have to share. Dega sounds way better to me than whatever those colours are in Khans.
There are objective reasons why we can say the Khans set of names is "better" (even if on an individual basis some are better than the other)
1. Linguistically speaking, the Ana, Ceta, etc. names are very similar whereas Temur, Abzan, etc. are diverse. As much as you may hum and haw about it, that makes the second set of names easier to remember.
2. There is more support within the cards for the new names. You have three cards with "Ceta" in it's name. You have around 6 for each new one (with Mardu having 10(!) cards named with it). This is exactly how I remember the guilds best, because I remember specific cards in those colors.
3. Lastly, there was little love for the wedge names in the first edition anyway. They were replaced with RUG, BUG, etc. Outside of maybe "Italy", all of the shard names and guild names seem pretty well received.
Abzan, Temur, etc. are way better than Ana, Ceta, Dega, etc.
Thats your opinion wich we don't have to share. Dega sounds way better to me than whatever those colours are in Khans.
There are objective reasons why we can say the Khans set of names is "better" (even if on an individual basis some are better than the other)
1. Linguistically speaking, the Ana, Ceta, etc. names are very similar whereas Temur, Abzan, etc. are diverse. As much as you may hum and haw about it, that makes the second set of names easier to remember.
2. There is more support within the cards for the new names. You have three cards with "Ceta" in it's name. You have around 6 for each new one (with Mardu having 10(!) cards named with it). This is exactly how I remember the guilds best, because I remember specific cards in those colors.
3. Lastly, there was little love for the wedge names in the first edition anyway. They were replaced with RUG, BUG, etc. Outside of maybe "Italy", all of the shard names and guild names seem pretty well received.
They're still not objectively "better", because there is no objective standard to hold them to.
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UBBreya's Toybox (Competitive, Combo)WR
RGodzilla, King of the MonstersG
-Retired Decks-
UBLazav, Dimir Mastermind (Competitive, UB Voltron/Control)UB
"Knowledge is such a burden. Release it. Release all your fears to me."
—Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
UBWAd NauseamWBU
URStormRU
EDH:
BMikaeus the UnhallowedB
RWAurelia, the WarleaderWR
Every time someone says "Temur Delver" they should be shocked with a tazer.
That applies to most any deck in whatever color combo that isn't tied into the identity of Jund or Esper or whatever too, yet you don't see that argument used against them.
UBBreya's Toybox (Competitive, Combo)WR
RGodzilla, King of the MonstersG
-Retired Decks-
UBLazav, Dimir Mastermind (Competitive, UB Voltron/Control)UB
"Knowledge is such a burden. Release it. Release all your fears to me."
—Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
That applies to most any deck in whatever color combo that isn't tied into the identity of Jund or Esper or whatever too, yet you don't see that argument used against them.
UBBreya's Toybox (Competitive, Combo)WR
RGodzilla, King of the MonstersG
-Retired Decks-
UBLazav, Dimir Mastermind (Competitive, UB Voltron/Control)UB
"Knowledge is such a burden. Release it. Release all your fears to me."
—Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
This clearly doesn't apply to the shards, though, since that block's been long out of print, but may be an extension of the clan names so that they are consistent with three-color naming conventions.
Draft my cube! (630 cards)
Decks
Modern
BGR Jund RGB
BW Eldrazi and Taxes WB
BWGAbzan Company GWB
Mtgo Modern
G Company Elves G
Modern: GW Hatebears/midrange, WGU Knightfall/evolution midrange stuff
Standard: nope
Legacy: W Death & Taxes
EDH (not Commander!): W Avacyn, Angel of Hope, GR Ruric Thar, the Unbowed, WGB Anafenza, the Foremost, WU Hanna, Ship's Navigator
No clue on guildnames since ravnica is one of the most popular planes out there. Is it because of the puns? Unsure.
Currently Playing:
Retired
The name Jund still always makes me think of Sprouting Thrinax and Putrid Leech.
And this is why you see things like "Sultai vs U/R," and why there was such a passive-aggressive undertone to the initial announcement from SCG and some of their explanations for forcing the name change. They just repeated the lines Wizards' marketing department gave them in all their nonsensical glory (like they can't say "BUG" because "players might be confused about where the U comes from" in the same event they actually had Sultai Delver vs U/R Delver in the top 8—and I'm serious, they actually said that) through gritted teeth and stuck with it. Sort of a "we don't really like it, but we have no choice but to get used to it" thing.
Two Score, Minus Two or: A Stargate Tail
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Don't get me wrong, they're both worse than "RUG Delver", but still...
you know Dune-Brood Pod?
Legacy
UWR Miracles UWR
GWB Maverick GWB
GB Elves GB
UBR ANT UBR
RG Combo Lands RG
Vintage
BUG BUG Fish BUG
Modern
GBW
Junk PodMagic: the BuylistingThere are objective reasons why we can say the Khans set of names is "better" (even if on an individual basis some are better than the other)
1. Linguistically speaking, the Ana, Ceta, etc. names are very similar whereas Temur, Abzan, etc. are diverse. As much as you may hum and haw about it, that makes the second set of names easier to remember.
2. There is more support within the cards for the new names. You have three cards with "Ceta" in it's name. You have around 6 for each new one (with Mardu having 10(!) cards named with it). This is exactly how I remember the guilds best, because I remember specific cards in those colors.
3. Lastly, there was little love for the wedge names in the first edition anyway. They were replaced with RUG, BUG, etc. Outside of maybe "Italy", all of the shard names and guild names seem pretty well received.
They're still not objectively "better", because there is no objective standard to hold them to.