It's also worth noting that Wizards is venturing into totally unknown territory right now. Battle for Zendikar is the first block that conforms to their new rotation perfectly. Which means not only did it have to be balanced for full Tarkir Block Standard, it also had to be balanced against Dragons/Magic Origins and the subsequent block, and then again against that block and the block that will follow it. The number of cards it needs to mesh with is lower, to be fair, but the mechanical breadth could very well be higher (it almost certainly will be, as Tarkir was a heavy mechanic block with 13 mechanics). If apprehension due to these new concerns did lead them to tone down their design a bit, it is probably a better way of approaching the new system than ramping up power in order to compensate.
Planeswalkers are not played for their ultimates. If that was the case Liliana of the Veil would be a mediocre card, and not the 2nd/3rd best Planeswalker ever.
Both Wizard and Rogue's Charm have effects that allow you to interact with lands in a manner which most cards these days should not do. While the 'land destruction element' of Wizard's Charm is temporary, it could still be a strong tempo play. The 'destroy target tapped permanent' on Rogue's Charm should not be for both the reason it is a 3 mana land destruction spell, and because it also allows these 3 colours to destroy an enchantment that is in play (though I will admit, tapped enchantments are extraordinarily uncommon), which is out of colour for all 3 of these colours.
Given that more cards are designed with Limited in mind that any other format, yes. Is this new? Because from my experience this has been happening since 1997.
People approach it with rose tinted glasses because of the enemy fetchlands. Lots of folks still call them Zendikar fetchlands. As long as such a fundamental part of Modern is propping up the set, it'll always be held as more than it really was. It was a good set, no doubt. But it wasn't the best ever, and there's still far too much of BFZ to make claims as to it not having casual playable cards.
We are paying 3 mana for a 2/2 all the time right now. Yes, that 2/2 eventually creates card advantage and becomes an evasive beater, but you still need to buy that Grey Ogre before you get your regrowth.
The 3/3 in question happens to also have flying and haste. I'm pretty sure 4 mana is about right given we don't need to invest more than one colour into it.
I would not say never. This card alleviates flooding out and is likely going to be hard to deal with permanently, which has merits against some forms of midrange and control. Flying in Standard right now is really awesome. Yes, it competes with those two other good Red flyers but guess what? They aren't in Standard with this card forever, so 'never going to see play' is a bit of a stretch.
Context is everything. The overall power of the current Standard is not nearly as high as it was when Zendikar was released. That is why Battle for Zendikar having a lower ceiling is a good thing. If it had the same ceiling as the previous Zendikar, which entered a format that had obscenely powerful cards like Bloodbraid Elf, then it is likely that it would massively reshape the current Standard. That is not a good thing. Wizards, and most of the Magic community, does not want a single set that is so overloaded with internal synergies and power that it exists almost independently of the other sets in the format. How do I know this? Because that has happened before: it happened with Mirrodin (the first one) and the rise of Affinity. It led to record numbers of players leaving the game at the competitive level, to the banning of numerous cards at once, and overall one of the darkest periods in Magic's history. That is why it is a good thing that Battle for Zendikar is not trying to match the overall power level of Zendikar.
So yes, it is my opinion, but it's derived from an actual logical progression. You are free to disagree, but I have a feeling in a month's time I'll be the one that is right.
@Melting_Sky: Thanks for some well thought out analysis. It is all too uncommon in these forums.
Primeval Titan and Jace, the Mind Sculptor defined the only two real archetypes that put up anything close to good results following the release of Scars of Mirrodin (up until Jace's subsequent banning), so yes, Mythics can and will define Standard.
Let's also take a step back and consider where the ceiling of power was when the original Zendikar came out, and where it is now.
At the time the original Zendikar was released, the premier threats of the format where extraordinarily powerful creatures like Primeval Titan, Bloodbraid Elf and Baneslayer Angel, the premier removal spells were freaking Lightning Bolt and Terminate, and some Pro players (PV being the main name here) considered the drawback on Goblin Guide to be punishing enough to make the card unremarkable and not strong enough for serious consideration (he was willing to admit that this was in part due to his dislike of all-in aggro strategies). As a result, trying to compare Zendikar to Battle for Zendikar is really kind of idiotic. The context of Standard at the time was entirely different. The ceiling on power right now is lower (which is actually a good thing), meaning that the individual power of cards need not be as high for them to be considered rightfully powerful. No 6 drop being printed in this set is going to be fighting against its on colour Titan for a spot in a deck, since pretty much every 6 drop that was trying to do that failed miserably.
I can somewhat understand gripes regarding power in the context of Eternal formats, but Wizards has demonstrated in the last year that they are willing to print cards that can and will break ground in Modern (or Vintage, thanks to Monastery Mentor), though these cards are in the obvious minority. Instead of whining that Battle for Zendikar is not Zendikar 2.0 all over again, consider what cards will actually be good come October. Or, more likely, keep complaining until a bunch of Pros at Milwaukee break the format open with new cards you likely dismissed as unplayable, and then pretend you knew all along the set was better than it looks.
You can't look at the big picture when most of it is whited out.
Besjibo's analysis of just the Mythic cards is a good indicator of how much better the development of cards is. Also, the only Expedition that saw any real constructed play was Khalni Heart, most of the Traps were unplayable, and there's also tons of interesting Uncommons spoiled in this set, especially for Limited. So no, I don't think you're being fair when you simply state that Zendikar had 'more fun' Uncommons at all.
And there's no chance in hell there will be Level Up cards in Oath of the Gatewatch. I say that with full confidence, given that Level Up did not do very well in market research and uses up way too much complexity at Common and Uncommon for it likely to make a comeback.
The issue is they don't want to print cards that will get banned in Standard. They knew some of the more powerful Delve spells had a chance of being hit by the banhammer in older formats simply because those formats have access to incredibly powerful enablers. THe raw power of both Treasure Cruise and Dig Through Time in Standard is considerably lower without those enablers.
In the case of BFZ, that is not going to be so easy. The mechanics of the set do not lend themselves to a dramatic power increase due to external synergies provided by older cards, and as a result I suspect the chances of any card spoiled so far being banned is pretty low. That's not wholly indicative of the set's power level, but of the function of those mechanics.
If you think Akoum Phoenix being rebuyable for 2 mana would not have been too strong, I think you're crazy. That would probably poush it ahead of another recursive powerhouse in the current Standard, Deathmist Raptor, for its appropriate archetype. Chandra's Phoenix, by comparison, required alarger mana investment and the investment of another relevant card and say play almost the entire time it was Standard legal. Yes, 6 mana is a lot, but by the time you might want to buy Akoum Phoenix back you are probably almost out of cards and likely have that mana to spare anyway. At a recursion cost of 2-3 mana, buying back multiples of these at once would become super easy, and likely be game winning on the spot. Red has access to the lion's share of good flyers right now (thanks to Thunderbreak Regent still being in the format), and stopping tAkoum Phoenix is usually going to require a relevant removal spell.
You're right that this is on the lower side of power, but if the deck is there, this could be good in it.
The 3/3 in question happens to also have flying and haste. I'm pretty sure 4 mana is about right given we don't need to invest more than one colour into it.
So yes, it is my opinion, but it's derived from an actual logical progression. You are free to disagree, but I have a feeling in a month's time I'll be the one that is right.
@Melting_Sky: Thanks for some well thought out analysis. It is all too uncommon in these forums.
At the time the original Zendikar was released, the premier threats of the format where extraordinarily powerful creatures like Primeval Titan, Bloodbraid Elf and Baneslayer Angel, the premier removal spells were freaking Lightning Bolt and Terminate, and some Pro players (PV being the main name here) considered the drawback on Goblin Guide to be punishing enough to make the card unremarkable and not strong enough for serious consideration (he was willing to admit that this was in part due to his dislike of all-in aggro strategies). As a result, trying to compare Zendikar to Battle for Zendikar is really kind of idiotic. The context of Standard at the time was entirely different. The ceiling on power right now is lower (which is actually a good thing), meaning that the individual power of cards need not be as high for them to be considered rightfully powerful. No 6 drop being printed in this set is going to be fighting against its on colour Titan for a spot in a deck, since pretty much every 6 drop that was trying to do that failed miserably.
I can somewhat understand gripes regarding power in the context of Eternal formats, but Wizards has demonstrated in the last year that they are willing to print cards that can and will break ground in Modern (or Vintage, thanks to Monastery Mentor), though these cards are in the obvious minority. Instead of whining that Battle for Zendikar is not Zendikar 2.0 all over again, consider what cards will actually be good come October. Or, more likely, keep complaining until a bunch of Pros at Milwaukee break the format open with new cards you likely dismissed as unplayable, and then pretend you knew all along the set was better than it looks.
Besjibo's analysis of just the Mythic cards is a good indicator of how much better the development of cards is. Also, the only Expedition that saw any real constructed play was Khalni Heart, most of the Traps were unplayable, and there's also tons of interesting Uncommons spoiled in this set, especially for Limited. So no, I don't think you're being fair when you simply state that Zendikar had 'more fun' Uncommons at all.
And there's no chance in hell there will be Level Up cards in Oath of the Gatewatch. I say that with full confidence, given that Level Up did not do very well in market research and uses up way too much complexity at Common and Uncommon for it likely to make a comeback.
In the case of BFZ, that is not going to be so easy. The mechanics of the set do not lend themselves to a dramatic power increase due to external synergies provided by older cards, and as a result I suspect the chances of any card spoiled so far being banned is pretty low. That's not wholly indicative of the set's power level, but of the function of those mechanics.
If you think Akoum Phoenix being rebuyable for 2 mana would not have been too strong, I think you're crazy. That would probably poush it ahead of another recursive powerhouse in the current Standard, Deathmist Raptor, for its appropriate archetype. Chandra's Phoenix, by comparison, required alarger mana investment and the investment of another relevant card and say play almost the entire time it was Standard legal. Yes, 6 mana is a lot, but by the time you might want to buy Akoum Phoenix back you are probably almost out of cards and likely have that mana to spare anyway. At a recursion cost of 2-3 mana, buying back multiples of these at once would become super easy, and likely be game winning on the spot. Red has access to the lion's share of good flyers right now (thanks to Thunderbreak Regent still being in the format), and stopping tAkoum Phoenix is usually going to require a relevant removal spell.