M:tG Two-Block Paradigm

[Ashiok]

So, if you play magic, you should read this article

http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mm/metamorphosis

If you're too lazy to do so, here's a summary.

 

Blocks were three sets, and followed by a core set. that was a year's worth of magic products. Blocks rotated out every two years.

 

Starting with "Blood" (the block after Khans), Blocks will be a large set and small set, and two blocks will be released as a year's worth of magic. Blocks will rotate out after 18 months, so there will be three blocks in standard at a time.

 

There will be a 2016 core set, and Khans and "Dewey" will rotate out when "Tears", the block after "Blood" comes out. "Louie" and the core set will stay in for another six months.

 

Thoughts?

[Wyrmhero]

I found it highly amusing that just as I started to read that article, Gamma PMed with with something along the lines of 'Have you seen this?!?!?!'. And neither of us are Standard players

 

I agree with most of the playerbase, it seems - This can only really be a good thing, as long as they do it well enough. Third sets have always been terrible with Magic, so it's good that they're addressing this issue rather than trying to fix it again and again and again without managing it. Frankly this is something they should have looked at ages ago, considering they used to have to employ drastic changes for the third set which no-one liked (no allies, no werewolves, etc).

 

Since they're decreasing the number of cards with this announcement that they put in a block, this should also mean less awful cards/limited fodder, since each card can pull its weight better. This is handy because they need to shore up the value of their booster packs, since currently you're almost always better off buying singles. They also need to spread their mechanics out less, such as the terrible idea that was Tribute, where it was on a few cards and then never seen again, so this may help by being more focused. Nothing I hate more in Magic than a mechanic used on 5 cards or so.

 

Getting rid of the Core Set is a curious idea. I'm doubtful that anyone ever bought the Core Set specifically to learn the game (without being told they should start there, at least), and the power levels in Core Sets were generally lower too, so it was usually better to get Expert-level sets to make decks. As was mentioned, it being printed in the Summer also didn't help players who started in the Winter.

 

However, Core Sets also contain the bulk of the game's reprints and needed spells. Where will they put kill spells (I miss Murder. damnation you Hero's Downfall...) or Rampant Growth? It sounds as though reprints in Blocks is the only answer, but I think that would just lead to a massive backlash from the players, unless they were really aggressive reprints. So we'll see, I suppose.

 

It is worth noting though that they are also planning another new-player-friendly method of getting into Magic. Some people have suggested these cards with be permanently in Standard and will have the core cards needed for it. A really basic Core Set that doesn't rotate, if you will. This is a pretty decent idea, considering there are already a few cards in Standard right now that you can't get from booster packs, so that might be considered a trial run or something.

 

It may instead be that they start doing more diverse versions of older staples, which utilise set mechanics to make them different and tie them more to the world. That could be interesting, though they need to really make them interesting  here, or else they'll make Theros' terribly boring (and underpowered) 'Spell + Scry 1 for 1 more mana' spells, which were a bad idea in my opinion. If they do straight reprints instead, then the art will have to tie to the world a lot better - Though reprints in Blocks have always had new art anyway. Again, we'll have to wait and hope they do this right.

 

One thing that was said is that this would lead to a more interesting metagame (or at least a less stagnant one) for Standard tournaments, since dominating strategies such as MonoBlack Devotion won't stick around as long, or there would be more changes. The fact that some cards are in Standard for less long doesn't really matter, since the average was about that long anyway. This may also lead to lower prices, since the longevity of the cards is a bit more limited, but we'll see.

 

A smaller amount of cards and less time to focus on each Block does mean that the story will probably suffer a bit, even if they get more creative people on board. Frankly though, Magic's writing hasn't been its strong point recently, even if they hit flavour well with the cards. The latter point doesn't matter quite as much as it should though, since a lot of cards get ignored for their poor power-level anyway, even if they hit the story well. Hopefully they will step their game up a little here.

 

Basically, as a casual player, what I see is: More useful cards, (most likely) less reprints, more commonly used mechanics, and hence this is a good thing for me.

Edited August 26, 2014 by Wyrmhero