To my understanding (disclaimer: not a judge) it's not a change of wording, but a difference in ability.
Saying "if" would mean that you get the effect of dealing damage if you sacrificed a creature. Instead, saying "when" means that you get another triggered ability on the stack if you sacrificed a creature, and the damage is dealt if that second triggered ability resolves. Also means you don't have to declare targets for the damage until you've sacrificed a creature.
I can't be sure, but my guess would be that it is a second trigger, that goes on the stack after you made the choice to sacrifice a creature (and which creature to sacrifice). This is a significantly different from (and worse than) the "if" version, because you cannot decide not to sacrifice if your opponent pumps or sacrifices the target in response.
It could be a change in the way R&D templates this kind of triggers going forward (it is confusing and feels vaguely shady, like the oblivion ring trick), or it could be just for this one, because the amount of damage is variable. Or I could be wrong: look up the release notes when they are published. ]
You two are explaining how this new wording works, but I am still scratching my head why it was chosen. As you two said, the damage dealing part being a second trigger means that the opponent can respond to it. Which wouldn't be the case with the usual "if" wording that just makes the whole ability a single trigger with "an intervening if-clause" (to use rules terminology). This certainly makes the card weaker, since your opponent can react to the second, damage dealing trigger after you've already sacrificed a creature.
I would say this new wording is more complicated than the old one, but maybe too many players thought that they could react between the two parts of such abilities? I've certainly encountered such sitations where my opponents thought that they could react after I chose to satisfy the condition of similar effects.
While I already find it odd to have a trigger that creates a second trigger (which isn't a delayed trigger - those things existed before and made sense), it is especially weird on this Masticore, since the second "When" stands at the start of that line of text, making it look like a second independent trigger.
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Regarding the art: That entrance on the right side of the picture, in which the staircase leads... I know it is meant to be stylized Bolas horns... but it also looks like something else.
The wording is very similar to Exploit cards, but I don't believe they're functionally the same since exploit involves two separate triggers.
I've got two cuts to make in black for Liliana, the Last Hope, and Damnation. My thought is that I can cut Phyrexian Arena for Liliana and some removal spell for Damnation.
So rank the following: Dismember, Diabolic Edict, Go for the Throat, Hero's Downfall, Chainer's Edict. I play Shriekmaw, Skinrender, and Nekretaal if that makes any difference.
From your cube I'd cut Ruinous Path before any of those spells, and then probably Chainer's Edict.
Goes well with Control Magic / certain threaten effects like Sarkhan / Frenzied Fugue. Not being great outside of midrange kind of kills this card though, especially when compared to FTK / PK Nalaar.
I think all those cards are better than Hieroglyphs, at least for their cube playability.
To me it's not so much about being better, but what is going to make certain lists. Generic decks that want to play Curator / Pull from Time have no shortage of playable options. Combo decks however, are very specific about what they want to play. I'd much rather have the effects of Hieroglyphs /
Censor as filler in my combo decks than Curator / Pull from Time.
This is how I'm prioritizing the new blue cards right now based on hierarchy of needs: Hieroglyphs = Censor > Pull From Time > Curator of Mysteries
I like Censor / Hieroglyphs the most right now because they're the best filler for combo decks, which sometime fall short of what they're trying to
do. Also, I feel like I'm one blue instant away from being comfortable with Torrential Gearhulk.
This card is hard to evaluate. It's similar to Final Fortune, but also pretty different. Combo might like this card? It's a fog effect right before you go off the next turn. Aggro maybe can use it.
Rules question... if something is on the stack, does it just remain in exile? Or would it resolve after this spell resolves? Because it could sort of be a red counterspell (giving you one more turn to win the game while completely stopping whatever your opponent tried to do).
Card could be nuts honestly. Final Fortune only ever worked in one deck and it was pretty narrow. This could also be but it could also work in a lot of interesting ways we aren't really thinking about. So not sure (first name not, last name sure... is this correct?).
All spells (and abilities) on the stack will be exiled once this resolves.
I'm not the biggest fan of Ancestral Visions in a traditionally singleton format with very few Cascade / GDD / Expertise enablers. I like this as filler for my combo decks and something control decks can cycle and cash in later with Snapcaster / Jace VP / Torrential Gearhulk. My only dilemma right now is that this competes with Curator of Mysteries / new Draw X spell.
The wording is very similar to Exploit cards, but I don't believe they're functionally the same since exploit involves two separate triggers.
From your cube I'd cut Ruinous Path before any of those spells, and then probably Chainer's Edict.
Yeah, one mana cheaper in exchange for just a Silumgar effect would've been big game here.
I always wanted a more flexible Confiscate, this is very reminiscent of Eternal Dragon to me. Thoughts?
Interresting blink card that can be used in multiple ways. Thoughts?
Stacked slot is stacked though. It's an interesting card for midrange / big red, but is kinda meh on its own.
Build your own FTK with embalm seems interesting. Thoughts?
To me it's not so much about being better, but what is going to make certain lists. Generic decks that want to play Curator / Pull from Time have no shortage of playable options. Combo decks however, are very specific about what they want to play. I'd much rather have the effects of Hieroglyphs /
Censor as filler in my combo decks than Curator / Pull from Time.
I like Censor / Hieroglyphs the most right now because they're the best filler for combo decks, which sometime fall short of what they're trying to
do. Also, I feel like I'm one blue instant away from being comfortable with Torrential Gearhulk.
All spells (and abilities) on the stack will be exiled once this resolves.
Final Fortune doesn't give your opponent a chance to untap, this does.