I am pretty ready to be rid of Alara et. al. and move away from multicolor blocks, same as many posters here.
I am equally stoked about Zendikar, especially after seeing the gorgeous lands. The "Indiana Jones" vibe appeals to me greatly.
However, I'm reading a lot of speculation on Morph and Arcane and Traps and feeling like the set may be a let-down.
But then I have to stop and remind myself, it's all just speculation.
Does anyone else thing that too much speculation can be a BAD thing? Would Wizards ever want to spoil more than they had planned just to curb souring speculation? (Or, perhaps they already do...)
Does anyone else thing that too much speculation can be a BAD thing?
Anything related to Magic can be a bad thing to someone. I mean players complain about pretty much every single detail of the game that is possible to complain about.
For me personally, I enjoy the speculation. I enjoy flexing my mental muscles and trying to guess what's in the next set. I'm not often right, but it is fun to try to piece together all the little clues they give us and kind of mentally create my own set. Then when spoilers start, I enjoy trying to figure out if they are real or fake. At some point, the real cards are pretty much fed to us. But when the first spoilers arrive, there is that mystery and uncertainty that gets me thinking if its real or not. Anything that makes me think and entertains me - whether it ends up being real or fake - is a pretty good thing. And if something did start to bother me about rumors or speculation, I know I could just stay out of those forums and avoid it.
1) When it is baseless. Wild, random, ill-informed speculation happens every season and it always drowns out to a degree logical, informed speculation. Ignorant posters who just want their poor theory to be heard can choke out, confuse or otherwise disrupt wise speculation. And that's generally pretty harmful. It confuses issues, muddles discussion and generally makes it harder for posters with their heads on straight to puzzle things out together.
2) When unconfirmed speculation becomes so pervasive as to be mistaken for confirmed fact. I think the trouble there is obvious.
Some of the more alarmist speculation comes from folks that have a history of being hillariously inaccurate in their predictions. Add to that they have egos that cannot percieve how incorrect they have been. ("Well 3-color and 5cc are viable, but control is dead just like I warned you!!!!")
This rumor season has been especially alarmist to an absurd degree.
I predict without a doubt this rumor season will end with many alarmists rationalizing their failed visions of doom. Again.
I am not saying that ZEN will be an inarguable success, because I can't know that. I do strongly suspect there will be a lot to like in it though.
I am stoked about this set. The art the cards and the flavor, but if left untamed and wild. the speculation could really hurt in the end. We must cultivate it and let it grow. Nurture the good stuff and it will be cool!!
Speculation can ruin some of the magic and wonder in opening up a pack and seeing new cards and soaking them in. But if you want this rush on the day of the pre-release, you wouldn't look in speculation anyways. I think it can't hurt unless you haven't accepted that it's all just a shot in the dark before reading it.
1) When it is baseless. Wild, random, ill-informed speculation happens every season and it always drowns out to a degree logical, informed speculation. Ignorant posters who just want their poor theory to be heard can choke out, confuse or otherwise disrupt wise speculation. And that's generally pretty harmful. It confuses issues, muddles discussion and generally makes it harder for posters with their heads on straight to puzzle things out together.
2) When unconfirmed speculation becomes so pervasive as to be mistaken for confirmed fact. I think the trouble there is obvious.
This. This. THIS.
I love these forums, because they tend to provide a steady stream of information during rumor season. But I cannot stand opening a thread to find someone's planeswalker that they created based off of a name and what they thought was cool. There are people who are good at taking pieces of information and drawing a valid conclusion from them, and then there are those who want to share their "great" (and baseless) ideas. I am not one of those who belong to the former group, but that's why I don't post much.
I'll be honest: I have a bad feeling about Zendikar. This is based on very little information, some slight precedent (people complaining about power creep = WotC rebalances [Saga/Mirrodin]), and just a gut feeling.
Ludd-Gang: If I'm wrong and the set is a resounding success, I won't rationalize anything or make excuses. I'll say "Heh, I was wrong" and be happy we got a good set out of it. I'm just preparing for the worst, not to be a cynic. (Also, I won't quit the game over a bad set)
Speculation is just fun and, for me, its unavaoidable. When I hear a new set is coming out, my mind begins to go a hundred miles of minute, daydreaming about what it will be like!
1) When it is baseless. Wild, random, ill-informed speculation happens every season and it always drowns out to a degree logical, informed speculation. Ignorant posters who just want their poor theory to be heard can choke out, confuse or otherwise disrupt wise speculation. And that's generally pretty harmful. It confuses issues, muddles discussion and generally makes it harder for posters with their heads on straight to puzzle things out together.
2) When unconfirmed speculation becomes so pervasive as to be mistaken for confirmed fact. I think the trouble there is obvious.
Can this be stickied? lol
It feels as if some people are not interested in speculating on plausible realities, but instead just like posting their "predictions" to see if anyone else thinks a cool idea. Then of course there are the people who just like to Doom-say for some weird reason.
To answer your question directly: no, I don't think Wizards would go out of their way and spoil more just to correct people who are speculating wildly. They have a fixed schedule of how they like to release tidbits for each set. Factoring in how those tidbits might be collected and interpreted by the rumor sites is all part of the plan. (Though recently Maro did explicitly guide us when we went astray by saying "look, there are no pirates or dinosaurs, so get over it.")
Too much rumor-mongering can be bad for that plan, though. If sets are spoiled well in advance, it limits Wizards' ability to hype us up for a new set. When the list of Conflux card names was found, it was a major score for the rumor mill--but I'm sure it made Wizards really disappointed. Doug Beyer's "Hey look it's Nicol Bolas!" preview article suddenly had all the surprise taken out.
That's the trouble that speculation can cause for Wizards and their process. The trouble that speculation can cause for us is nicely stated by Charlequin. Rampant baseless speculation clogs up the rumor mill with useless noise, and people's desire to say "I called it!" leads them to spam wildly with any idea that enters their heads.
Too much rumor-mongering can be bad for that plan, though. If sets are spoiled well in advance, it limits Wizards' ability to hype us up for a new set. When the list of Conflux card names was found, it was a major score for the rumor mill--but I'm sure it made Wizards really disappointed. Doug Beyer's "Hey look it's Nicol Bolas!" preview article suddenly had all the surprise taken out.
I believe Bolas first would have reared his head in the comic, which would have been awesome. There would have been lots of discussion about whether it was Bolas then Beyer capping the excitement with a confirmation...It's really too bad it didn't click like it could have.
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I am equally stoked about Zendikar, especially after seeing the gorgeous lands. The "Indiana Jones" vibe appeals to me greatly.
However, I'm reading a lot of speculation on Morph and Arcane and Traps and feeling like the set may be a let-down.
But then I have to stop and remind myself, it's all just speculation.
Does anyone else thing that too much speculation can be a BAD thing? Would Wizards ever want to spoil more than they had planned just to curb souring speculation? (Or, perhaps they already do...)
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Anything related to Magic can be a bad thing to someone. I mean players complain about pretty much every single detail of the game that is possible to complain about.
For me personally, I enjoy the speculation. I enjoy flexing my mental muscles and trying to guess what's in the next set. I'm not often right, but it is fun to try to piece together all the little clues they give us and kind of mentally create my own set. Then when spoilers start, I enjoy trying to figure out if they are real or fake. At some point, the real cards are pretty much fed to us. But when the first spoilers arrive, there is that mystery and uncertainty that gets me thinking if its real or not. Anything that makes me think and entertains me - whether it ends up being real or fake - is a pretty good thing. And if something did start to bother me about rumors or speculation, I know I could just stay out of those forums and avoid it.
1) When it is baseless. Wild, random, ill-informed speculation happens every season and it always drowns out to a degree logical, informed speculation. Ignorant posters who just want their poor theory to be heard can choke out, confuse or otherwise disrupt wise speculation. And that's generally pretty harmful. It confuses issues, muddles discussion and generally makes it harder for posters with their heads on straight to puzzle things out together.
2) When unconfirmed speculation becomes so pervasive as to be mistaken for confirmed fact. I think the trouble there is obvious.
Archatmos
Excellion
Fracture: Israfiel (WBR), Wujal (URG), Valedon (GUB), Amduat (BGW), Paladris (RWU)
Collision (Set Two of the Fracture Block)
Quest for the Forsaken (Set Two of the Excellion Block)
Katingal: Plane of Chains
This rumor season has been especially alarmist to an absurd degree.
I predict without a doubt this rumor season will end with many alarmists rationalizing their failed visions of doom. Again.
I am not saying that ZEN will be an inarguable success, because I can't know that. I do strongly suspect there will be a lot to like in it though.
Thanks to syndarion of Aeternal Studios for the awesome Sig.
Standard: MWLC All-InFect Illusion Control(MTGO)
EDH(MODO): :symg::symu::symb:The Mimeoplasm:symg::symu::symb: 6-2-0 in 4player
This. This. THIS.
I love these forums, because they tend to provide a steady stream of information during rumor season. But I cannot stand opening a thread to find someone's planeswalker that they created based off of a name and what they thought was cool. There are people who are good at taking pieces of information and drawing a valid conclusion from them, and then there are those who want to share their "great" (and baseless) ideas. I am not one of those who belong to the former group, but that's why I don't post much.
Altered Cards! Crafts and Stuff!
Ludd-Gang: If I'm wrong and the set is a resounding success, I won't rationalize anything or make excuses. I'll say "Heh, I was wrong" and be happy we got a good set out of it. I'm just preparing for the worst, not to be a cynic. (Also, I won't quit the game over a bad set)
[Clan Flamingo]
Can this be stickied? lol
It feels as if some people are not interested in speculating on plausible realities, but instead just like posting their "predictions" to see if anyone else thinks a cool idea. Then of course there are the people who just like to Doom-say for some weird reason.
Too much rumor-mongering can be bad for that plan, though. If sets are spoiled well in advance, it limits Wizards' ability to hype us up for a new set. When the list of Conflux card names was found, it was a major score for the rumor mill--but I'm sure it made Wizards really disappointed. Doug Beyer's "Hey look it's Nicol Bolas!" preview article suddenly had all the surprise taken out.
That's the trouble that speculation can cause for Wizards and their process. The trouble that speculation can cause for us is nicely stated by Charlequin. Rampant baseless speculation clogs up the rumor mill with useless noise, and people's desire to say "I called it!" leads them to spam wildly with any idea that enters their heads.
I believe Bolas first would have reared his head in the comic, which would have been awesome. There would have been lots of discussion about whether it was Bolas then Beyer capping the excitement with a confirmation...It's really too bad it didn't click like it could have.