"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
Simply put, there is a lot about Magic that just plain sucks right now. Standard had been some shade of boring since Dragons of Tarkir and Origins rotated. An unprecedented nine cards have been banned in the last two years. There's an absurd glut of product being released. Masters products have become dull and unexciting since they come out so often. There are a ton of expensive, unwanted supplemental products sitting on LGS shelves.
It just seems like Wizards has lost the plot, and if Dominaria isn't the course correction that the game so sorely needs, I for one will have to seriously examine if the game is still worth my time and effort.
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Can you name all of the creature types with at least 20 cards? Try my Sporcle Quiz! Last Updated: 6/29/20 (Core Set 2021).
lol, I mean honestly the BEST case would be someone like Blizzard, but I highly doubt it.
What would Wizard's 'own' if it was sold?
Rights to MTG and DnD?
Blizzard's too busy with Hearthstone to bother with MTG being a byproduct of what some people believe is an outdated business model. The trading aspect of the genre may have lost it's meaning over the years due to Internet sales but the direct social interactivity is still there which is something that Digital Card Games are unable to address because they're only Video Games at heart.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
Simply put, there is a lot about Magic that just plain sucks right now. Standard had been some shade of boring since Dragons of Tarkir and Origins rotated. An unprecedented nine cards have been banned in the last two years. There's an absurd glut of product being released. Masters products have become dull and unexciting since they come out so often. There are a ton of expensive, unwanted supplemental products sitting on LGS shelves.
It just seems like Wizards has lost the plot, and if Dominaria isn't the course correction that the game so sorely needs, I for one will have to seriously examine if the game is still worth my time and effort.
I'm not sure I like all the expectations being heaped on Dominaria.
It makes me worry for the game's future if players are let down by that set.
I'm not sure I like all the expectations being heaped on Dominaria.
It makes me worry for the game's future if players are let down by that set.
If Iconic Masters and Masters 25 ended up being successful with reprints containing enough high expected value to turn a profit for LGS owners to keep ordering these products from their local distributors then Dominaria would've been the least of our worries. It's a shame too cause it would've made Dominaria more special compared to all the other unnecessary reprint sets they managed to cram into their release schedule prior.
Unfortunately this isn't the case and it looks as though these sets in particular are nothing more than a cash grab to fund MTG Arena in an attempt to discontinue Paper MTG altogether. The more cards they continue to ban in Standard and Modern the harder it is for players to get a full refund without any viable replacements available in said formats' card pool.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
An unprecedented nine cards have been banned in the last two years. .
I think 9 cards were banned in 2004. Difference is:
a) They were busted cards (eternal playable).
b) It took only 2 announcements, and the format was fixed.
c) WotC arguable went overboard with bans to "send a message".
Standard is a broken format that can't handle mediocre cards and apparently can't be fixed easily by banning said cards.
Ironically, if EA bought them out I think nothing would actually change.
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I’m skeptical. As a survivor of the Dungeons and Dragons edition wars, the topic of WotC being sold was brought up time and again by wishful thinkers of all sides. It was always given the same answer, which is that historically Hasbro NEVER sells anything they hold the rights to.
Standard is a broken format that can't handle mediocre cards and apparently can't be fixed easily by banning said cards.
The banned cards might be mediocre to other formats but card strength is judged in relation to the pool they're played in.
Most of the banned cards were over pushed and made for a crappy playing environment because design decided answers and counters shouldn't be in standard to make more money. No the cards themselves aren't all the problem, but they can't (and won't) emergency print or allow cards from outside the sets to be used.
Maybe they haven't learned their lesson yet either, time will tell,
I think a lot of people are sick of 2 years of crap sets, bad standard, and FNM that doesn't fire anymore. Dominaria is under a lot of pressure because they need to make good on 'lessons learned' and fix it. Not worth waiting longer than that.
I'm a corporate slave, been bought and sold in several mergers at this point, and that...makes sense.
Half way through the vid, does he have any idea's on who may purchase?
That is the real question. Who would have the money, infrastructure and want to pick up a CCG that would fit their model?
My #1 suspect would be Disney. But really, who else has the money to acquire a multi-billion dollar card game company? Google/Amazon/Time-Warner/China???
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Playing since 1994: Currently MAGS (HomeBrew),Standard & Pauper (Pioneer and Modern are degenerate trash formats)
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
Heads up to everyone following this thread: I updated the initial post to add all the complaints and testimonies of everyone that posted here so far.
I don't quote people that discuss the reasons as to why things are going bad, even though I think this is a valid discussion to have here. I just wanted to organize the data because it was all spread out in this thread.
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.
Would you like to read Commander stories? Check my latest stories, coming from Lorwyn and Innistrad: Ghoulcaller Gisa and Doran, The Siege Tower! If you like my writing, ask me to write something for your commander as well!
Thanks Ashiok I hadn't seen this rant. I completely agree with him that creatures are doing too much. In the middle I think the message gets a bit jumbled but yes finishers should be something you invest in and build around. Every creature shouldn't be a Swiss army knife and a game winner in itself. Cast this card a second time you win. wtf.
Chupa is more of this. It feels like removal yet is a creature giving you body plus murder with no drawbacks. They're still making sweepers and regular removal conditional and expensive and yet here again something on a stick better than straight up removal. There's no murder in the format but a creature gets the privilege.
Thanks Ashiok I hadn't seen this rant. I completely agree with him that creatures are doing too much. In the middle I think the message gets a bit jumbled but yes finishers should be something you invest in and build around. Every creature shouldn't be a Swiss army knife and a game winner in itself. Cast this card a second time you win. wtf.
Chupa is more of this. It feels like removal yet is a creature giving you body plus murder with no drawbacks. They're still making sweepers and regular removal conditional and expensive and yet here again something on a stick better than straight up removal. There's no murder in the format but a creature gets the privilege.
They
aren't
getting
it
If I understand Chapin correctly, he's saying that players favor creatures that provide immediate value over creatures that need to stick around to provide that. Which... isn't that going to be true regardless of the removal packages available? if removal is great, can answer anything, then you need to play value creatures. if removal is terrible and anything you play sticks, then... playing immediate value creatures puts you ahead. I'm not getting what he's actually complaining about, especially when he starts talking about not being able to play your non-value creatures like Baneslayer Angel in a format because ETB creatures just outclass it and removal deals with it. Does he want neither? Because we've seen what happens to a format where we don't have effective removal for threats. It's not pretty.
In casual, yes, you want to play your Baneslayers and your big dumb creatures. If you're playing Standard, or playing competitively, then you want to play the stuff that gives you value, that helps you to win the game. LSV was pushing this a while back, Cards that Affect the Board State. A creature that does nothing the turn it comes in does nothing the turn it comes in- any creature that has an ETB effect is better here, and it doesn't matter what removal is in the format, it's just better to play something with haste, or that has a trigger, or that provides an immediate effect.
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Cards are game pieces, and should be treated as such, easily replaceable.
Cards are not money, investments, or a retirement fund, and should never have been treated as such.
Wizards made a mistake caving to speculators once, and we still pay for that mistake 2 decades later.
"Entitled:" the entire ad hominem fallacy condensed into a single word. It doesn't strengthen your argument to attack motivations, it just makes you look like you don't understand the argument.
He's complaining that design is basically vomiting out high frequency of ETB and huge value 'cubs' which of course people will play. You play the best cards right? Strategy BEFORE the design changes was more based around deck synergy and working to make your fatty stick or your card interactions to get you there. There was more play and counterplay.
Now every creature gives too much value and removal does not keep pace. Who's not going to play a creature with murder stapled to it? There isn't even a murder in the format. There's not much risk involved with vomiting out massive value with every creature especially when there's a low risk of appropriate answers to put you down.
I didn't quote Chapin's article because I didn't find it here, but I did read it. Maybe it was an oversight. I suppose you're talking about this one.
I will address what I think Chapin and PSullivan meant when talking about standard: you're correct, if removal becomes too efficient it puts a strain in what creatures see play or not. However, the situation is more complex than that. For instance: conditional removal may be efficient while unconditional removal a little less so. Think Ultimate Price//Doom Blade vs. Hero's Downfall//Unlicensed Disintegration. You can get good and cheap removal if it is conditional, or better removal at a higher mana-cost and/or deckbuilding cost. For instance: Terminate is an excellent removal spell, but it has a great cost: it forces you to play two colors that are not the best combination in Magic and, if you want to cast it on curve, the card forces some manabase considerations.
Now, regarding the creatures: PSullivan is arguing that there is no problem in having ETB creatures, as long as there is a certain deckbuilding cost associated with it (the 'incentive' as he calls it). For instance, you can have a card like Dwynen's elite, which has an excellent ETB for its cost, but it has a very high deckbuilding cost: you have to play mostly just elves for it to be good. The same goes for cards like Weldfast engineer: you could technically take advantage of him the turn he comes in, at the cost of putting artifacts in your deck. Now, the advantage of playing creatures without ETB such as baneslayer angel is made clear if you consider a risk/benefit analysis. In short, if the benefits for the times that the creature lives hugely outweighs the costs of the times when it dies before doing anything, it is worth playing it. As examples I could mention Archangel of Thune, Olivia Voldaren and Warden of the First Tree. These creatures almost never do anything the turn they get into play, but some take over the game 1, 2 or 3 turns after they're played. That's why you should play them. But notice that all of them are a deckbuilding cost to you, if removal is decent. They can be played, die immediately and you get nothing. That's what makes games interesting: the measuring of threats and removals and the decisions associated with that. The reason why the Titans were stupid good is because they were in both categories: they generated immediate value at low deckbuilding cost AND took over the game if not stopped.
The problem: when every creature has an ETB effect with very little or null deckbuilding cost (like the chupacabra) and/or is very very hard to kill (like the Gods and Bristling Hydra) then there is no reason not to play a deck that can fit the greatest amount of these kinds of threats. You get a deck full of creatures that always improve your situation regardless of the game state, and that is the recipe for boring and uninstering matchups. Of course, it gets even worse when good removal is overcosted and/or sorcery speed, especially with lots of hasty creatures running around. In essence, the format becomes 'stuff all the good midrange threats in a deck and call it a day', and everything goes downhill from there. This trend DID NOT start with Kaladesh, despite what some might say, but it got worse with it. It actually started back in Battle For Zendikar.
The reason I suspect Kaladesh aggravated things was due to excellent mana fixing existing only to the deck that could also play the best threats. That is: attune with aether and aether hub are perfect for energy decks, but only for energy decks. Everything non-energy had to bend over backwards to not have awkward mana, while temur decks could splash even a fourth colour without much trouble, and play the best cards from 4 parts of the color pie. That was bound to become a mess.
That, I think, is the point of Chapin and PSullivan.
Would you like to read Commander stories? Check my latest stories, coming from Lorwyn and Innistrad: Ghoulcaller Gisa and Doran, The Siege Tower! If you like my writing, ask me to write something for your commander as well!
Ashiok very succinctly applied examples and explained the problem today as I see it as well.
Mana bases is a universal issue right now. Not only was Energy the only thing with perfect mana (come on it was really close) most of the time but even now most other decks lack proper fixing. Woodland Stream and its buddies are not cutting it. That pre-BFZ world had great fixing, high volume subtle building creatures, and efficient removal/counters.
Maybe everyone will have the same problems now but we're still geared towards creatures and fast lands for early success and slower decks will have to play tapped past land 3 or basics which is excruciating with all the Pirates and Merfolk, and Vampires oh my.
The things I can't figure out about the Design of Magic:
1) Why would someone ever make a set with the intent to have certain color pairs work together, then fail to print the mana-base to support them? Bad mana fixing does not balance the game. It makes people hate you.
2) Why print half a cycle of lands each set? RtR block did it right along with Theros block. The sets that came after are kind of a joke in hindsight.
I sub in hinterland harbor and lumbering falls in merfolk and the deck runs buttery smooth without having to have a goofy tribal land taking the majority of slots. It's not a stretch to say that the tribes would be a lot more enjoyable to play with the right lands actually printed.
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Sometimes I just dislike the reality we got saddled with. Technically, this isn't the only company that has seemingly dismantled their original foundation of trust and communication with their primary audience, but it's sad to see it happen to Wizards of the Coast. It really feels more like one of those natural progressions that happens when companies grow and merge. The same fate sort of befell Squaresoft when they merged with Enix. In this case, I'm pretty sure this all started when hasbro picked up Wizards of the Coast back in the late 1990s.
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Hasbro is a traded company that cares only that each division does it's job of making more money to shovel to the top. Quality always goes down to 'save money' increasing dividends they can pay to investor. Thus the paper issues I'm sure.
I'm positive all this came from corporate telling WotC you need to make more cash. Do what you need to.
Maro and crew took data points which were poorly designed and took what comes down to bad data and distilled it into 'creatures make more money', we have this great way to change mtg and cash up! Shortening card cycle was also part of this genius plan. I don't care how many excuses they came up with when they did it. I call BS. Money grab.
Now they're backpedaling while the new CEO is busy diversifying, upgrading the E game, and pushing up off brands to increase market share and quarterlies.
We can only hope they realize they were completely wrong and would be making a lot more right now if they trashed all those ideas and went back to the basics.
And do Modern Masters every other year. Give us modern staples in standard again.
I never actually played that Standard. Just going by what I've heard from people who did. I have no opinion on the matter myself.
Edit - I think you might be the first person ever to tell me OotG didn't ruin Standard.
I didn't say anything about whether it ruined or didn't ruin Standard. What I said was that the Eldrazi, far from "crapping all over" Standard, were actually bit players. Siege Rhino was more obnoxious than the whole lot of them put together. Oath of the Gatewatch may have caused some problems in Standard, but it wasn't the Eldrazi doing it.
Simply put, there is a lot about Magic that just plain sucks right now. Standard had been some shade of boring since Dragons of Tarkir and Origins rotated. An unprecedented nine cards have been banned in the last two years. There's an absurd glut of product being released. Masters products have become dull and unexciting since they come out so often. There are a ton of expensive, unwanted supplemental products sitting on LGS shelves.
It just seems like Wizards has lost the plot, and if Dominaria isn't the course correction that the game so sorely needs, I for one will have to seriously examine if the game is still worth my time and effort.
Unprecedented? Look back at the Urza's Saga block. There were ten bans in Standard in less than a year. Heck, there were also nine cards banned back in 2004/2005 (Mirrodin), all in less than one year (sure, wasn't the same calendar year, but it was less than 12 months). Though admittedly, that one might not be fair to count because they had to ban the whole artifact land cycle, so it was really more like they banned 3 cards and then banned another card 6 times. Still, there's been two times in the past they banned 9 or more cards in one year in Standard.
What is unprecedented however, is to have as many separate times in one year when bans were announced. The Mirrodin ones were spread out over two banning announcements, and the Urza's Saga ones were spread out over three. We've had four banning announcements in one year. It might not be the highest number of cards banned, but I think the number of separate announcements is actually a more important measurement because it's how often things got changed by bannings.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
What would Wizard's 'own' if it was sold?
Rights to MTG and DnD?
Spirits
It just seems like Wizards has lost the plot, and if Dominaria isn't the course correction that the game so sorely needs, I for one will have to seriously examine if the game is still worth my time and effort.
My 720 Peasant Cube
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
I'm not sure I like all the expectations being heaped on Dominaria.
It makes me worry for the game's future if players are let down by that set.
Unfortunately this isn't the case and it looks as though these sets in particular are nothing more than a cash grab to fund MTG Arena in an attempt to discontinue Paper MTG altogether. The more cards they continue to ban in Standard and Modern the harder it is for players to get a full refund without any viable replacements available in said formats' card pool.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
I think 9 cards were banned in 2004. Difference is:
a) They were busted cards (eternal playable).
b) It took only 2 announcements, and the format was fixed.
c) WotC arguable went overboard with bans to "send a message".
Standard is a broken format that can't handle mediocre cards and apparently can't be fixed easily by banning said cards.
https://fieldmarshalshandbook.wordpress.com/
RUGLegacy Lands.dec
RUGBLegacy Lands.dec
RGLegacy Lands.dec
WUBRG EDH Lands.dec
UBR EDH Artificer Prodigy
B EDH Relentless Rats
Ironically, if EA bought them out I think nothing would actually change.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
The banned cards might be mediocre to other formats but card strength is judged in relation to the pool they're played in.
Most of the banned cards were over pushed and made for a crappy playing environment because design decided answers and counters shouldn't be in standard to make more money. No the cards themselves aren't all the problem, but they can't (and won't) emergency print or allow cards from outside the sets to be used.
Maybe they haven't learned their lesson yet either, time will tell,
I think a lot of people are sick of 2 years of crap sets, bad standard, and FNM that doesn't fire anymore. Dominaria is under a lot of pressure because they need to make good on 'lessons learned' and fix it. Not worth waiting longer than that.
Other hobbies to take up.
That is the real question. Who would have the money, infrastructure and want to pick up a CCG that would fit their model?
My #1 suspect would be Disney. But really, who else has the money to acquire a multi-billion dollar card game company? Google/Amazon/Time-Warner/China???
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
I don't quote people that discuss the reasons as to why things are going bad, even though I think this is a valid discussion to have here. I just wanted to organize the data because it was all spread out in this thread.
Read my other stories as well (some ongoing):
Reaper King (a horror story), Kaalia of the Vast (an origin story), Sequels for Innistrad (Alternative sequels for Inn), Grey Areas (Odric's fanfic), Royal Succession (goblins),The Tracker's Message (eldrazi on Innistrad) and Ugin and his Eye (the end of OGW).
Thanks Ashiok I hadn't seen this rant. I completely agree with him that creatures are doing too much. In the middle I think the message gets a bit jumbled but yes finishers should be something you invest in and build around. Every creature shouldn't be a Swiss army knife and a game winner in itself. Cast this card a second time you win. wtf.
Chupa is more of this. It feels like removal yet is a creature giving you body plus murder with no drawbacks. They're still making sweepers and regular removal conditional and expensive and yet here again something on a stick better than straight up removal. There's no murder in the format but a creature gets the privilege.
They
aren't
getting
it
If I understand Chapin correctly, he's saying that players favor creatures that provide immediate value over creatures that need to stick around to provide that. Which... isn't that going to be true regardless of the removal packages available? if removal is great, can answer anything, then you need to play value creatures. if removal is terrible and anything you play sticks, then... playing immediate value creatures puts you ahead. I'm not getting what he's actually complaining about, especially when he starts talking about not being able to play your non-value creatures like Baneslayer Angel in a format because ETB creatures just outclass it and removal deals with it. Does he want neither? Because we've seen what happens to a format where we don't have effective removal for threats. It's not pretty.
In casual, yes, you want to play your Baneslayers and your big dumb creatures. If you're playing Standard, or playing competitively, then you want to play the stuff that gives you value, that helps you to win the game. LSV was pushing this a while back, Cards that Affect the Board State. A creature that does nothing the turn it comes in does nothing the turn it comes in- any creature that has an ETB effect is better here, and it doesn't matter what removal is in the format, it's just better to play something with haste, or that has a trigger, or that provides an immediate effect.
Cards are not money, investments, or a retirement fund, and should never have been treated as such.
Wizards made a mistake caving to speculators once, and we still pay for that mistake 2 decades later.
"Entitled:" the entire ad hominem fallacy condensed into a single word. It doesn't strengthen your argument to attack motivations, it just makes you look like you don't understand the argument.
He's complaining that design is basically vomiting out high frequency of ETB and huge value 'cubs' which of course people will play. You play the best cards right? Strategy BEFORE the design changes was more based around deck synergy and working to make your fatty stick or your card interactions to get you there. There was more play and counterplay.
Now every creature gives too much value and removal does not keep pace. Who's not going to play a creature with murder stapled to it? There isn't even a murder in the format. There's not much risk involved with vomiting out massive value with every creature especially when there's a low risk of appropriate answers to put you down.
Spirits
I didn't quote Chapin's article because I didn't find it here, but I did read it. Maybe it was an oversight. I suppose you're talking about this one.
I will address what I think Chapin and PSullivan meant when talking about standard: you're correct, if removal becomes too efficient it puts a strain in what creatures see play or not. However, the situation is more complex than that. For instance: conditional removal may be efficient while unconditional removal a little less so. Think Ultimate Price//Doom Blade vs. Hero's Downfall//Unlicensed Disintegration. You can get good and cheap removal if it is conditional, or better removal at a higher mana-cost and/or deckbuilding cost. For instance: Terminate is an excellent removal spell, but it has a great cost: it forces you to play two colors that are not the best combination in Magic and, if you want to cast it on curve, the card forces some manabase considerations.
Now, regarding the creatures: PSullivan is arguing that there is no problem in having ETB creatures, as long as there is a certain deckbuilding cost associated with it (the 'incentive' as he calls it). For instance, you can have a card like Dwynen's elite, which has an excellent ETB for its cost, but it has a very high deckbuilding cost: you have to play mostly just elves for it to be good. The same goes for cards like Weldfast engineer: you could technically take advantage of him the turn he comes in, at the cost of putting artifacts in your deck. Now, the advantage of playing creatures without ETB such as baneslayer angel is made clear if you consider a risk/benefit analysis. In short, if the benefits for the times that the creature lives hugely outweighs the costs of the times when it dies before doing anything, it is worth playing it. As examples I could mention Archangel of Thune, Olivia Voldaren and Warden of the First Tree. These creatures almost never do anything the turn they get into play, but some take over the game 1, 2 or 3 turns after they're played. That's why you should play them. But notice that all of them are a deckbuilding cost to you, if removal is decent. They can be played, die immediately and you get nothing. That's what makes games interesting: the measuring of threats and removals and the decisions associated with that. The reason why the Titans were stupid good is because they were in both categories: they generated immediate value at low deckbuilding cost AND took over the game if not stopped.
The problem: when every creature has an ETB effect with very little or null deckbuilding cost (like the chupacabra) and/or is very very hard to kill (like the Gods and Bristling Hydra) then there is no reason not to play a deck that can fit the greatest amount of these kinds of threats. You get a deck full of creatures that always improve your situation regardless of the game state, and that is the recipe for boring and uninstering matchups. Of course, it gets even worse when good removal is overcosted and/or sorcery speed, especially with lots of hasty creatures running around. In essence, the format becomes 'stuff all the good midrange threats in a deck and call it a day', and everything goes downhill from there. This trend DID NOT start with Kaladesh, despite what some might say, but it got worse with it. It actually started back in Battle For Zendikar.
The reason I suspect Kaladesh aggravated things was due to excellent mana fixing existing only to the deck that could also play the best threats. That is: attune with aether and aether hub are perfect for energy decks, but only for energy decks. Everything non-energy had to bend over backwards to not have awkward mana, while temur decks could splash even a fourth colour without much trouble, and play the best cards from 4 parts of the color pie. That was bound to become a mess.
That, I think, is the point of Chapin and PSullivan.
Read my other stories as well (some ongoing):
Reaper King (a horror story), Kaalia of the Vast (an origin story), Sequels for Innistrad (Alternative sequels for Inn), Grey Areas (Odric's fanfic), Royal Succession (goblins),The Tracker's Message (eldrazi on Innistrad) and Ugin and his Eye (the end of OGW).
Mana bases is a universal issue right now. Not only was Energy the only thing with perfect mana (come on it was really close) most of the time but even now most other decks lack proper fixing. Woodland Stream and its buddies are not cutting it. That pre-BFZ world had great fixing, high volume subtle building creatures, and efficient removal/counters.
Maybe everyone will have the same problems now but we're still geared towards creatures and fast lands for early success and slower decks will have to play tapped past land 3 or basics which is excruciating with all the Pirates and Merfolk, and Vampires oh my.
1) Why would someone ever make a set with the intent to have certain color pairs work together, then fail to print the mana-base to support them? Bad mana fixing does not balance the game. It makes people hate you.
2) Why print half a cycle of lands each set? RtR block did it right along with Theros block. The sets that came after are kind of a joke in hindsight.
I sub in hinterland harbor and lumbering falls in merfolk and the deck runs buttery smooth without having to have a goofy tribal land taking the majority of slots. It's not a stretch to say that the tribes would be a lot more enjoyable to play with the right lands actually printed.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
The enemy lands should have been printed in standard.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Hasbro is a traded company that cares only that each division does it's job of making more money to shovel to the top. Quality always goes down to 'save money' increasing dividends they can pay to investor. Thus the paper issues I'm sure.
I'm positive all this came from corporate telling WotC you need to make more cash. Do what you need to.
Maro and crew took data points which were poorly designed and took what comes down to bad data and distilled it into 'creatures make more money', we have this great way to change mtg and cash up! Shortening card cycle was also part of this genius plan. I don't care how many excuses they came up with when they did it. I call BS. Money grab.
Now they're backpedaling while the new CEO is busy diversifying, upgrading the E game, and pushing up off brands to increase market share and quarterlies.
We can only hope they realize they were completely wrong and would be making a lot more right now if they trashed all those ideas and went back to the basics.
And do Modern Masters every other year. Give us modern staples in standard again.
What is unprecedented however, is to have as many separate times in one year when bans were announced. The Mirrodin ones were spread out over two banning announcements, and the Urza's Saga ones were spread out over three. We've had four banning announcements in one year. It might not be the highest number of cards banned, but I think the number of separate announcements is actually a more important measurement because it's how often things got changed by bannings.
I guess the distinction between ruining something and crapping all over it is too subtle for my poor little brain.
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WUBRG EDH Lands.dec
UBR EDH Artificer Prodigy
B EDH Relentless Rats