Magic always has been, and always will be ruined forever. That’s part of what makes it such a great game. The cards and occasionally even the rules are constantly changing, presenting the players with new challenges. If Magic didn’t live on the edge where cards risk being broken and there are difficult trade-offs to be made between casual and hardcore, between Timmy, Johnny and Spike, between tradition and innovation, between online and offline then that means the decisions are tilted too far in one direction. That doesn’t mean that every change is for the better, as we shall see, but change is good and change is necessary. Change is Magic’s only constant.

Let’s go over the rules changes in order, with the details to be found here:

Change 1: Simultaneous Mulligans

Summary: Everyone mulligans at the same time.

Pros: It’s faster and only sticklers at tournaments waited around anyway.

Cons: A marginal decrease in dramatic tension. I had to stretch to come up with something.

This change is nothing more than common sense. Making the other players wait costs time and that time could be better spent playing Magic rather than waiting around for other players. This one is long overdue, a small but pure win with no real downside.

Change 2: Terminology Changes

When you play Terminology Changes, counter any number of target Old Terminologies that have been played, play with the new wordings and then put those wordings directly into play so that others can play with them. Old Terminologies can’t be played while playing. Or are we just playing with you?

Change 2A: Play is now The Battlefield.

Pros: New wording is flavorful, clearer and more precise.

Cons: Having to constantly use the word Battlefield, transition costs.

Magic, like love, is now a battlefield. My issue with this change is that battlefield is a mouthful and requires a definite article, which slows down speech and requires more text on cards. I agree that the word play was severely overloaded. We were using it for a zone and as the way cards are used, including multiple ways in which cards are used, which is confusing, and either change individually is pretty much a no brainer. Battle can be used as short for battlefield, and play has been reduced to one meaning.

Change 2B: You cast spells and activate abilities, but you still play lands.

Pros: New wording is flavorful, clearer, intuitive and more precise.

Cons: Transition costs, some cards will now have ugly wordings.

By unifying the playing of spells with the casting of spells, we were allowed to say “When you play X” or “When a player plays X” or “Players can’t play X” now all such things will need to say “play or cast” if they are to retain the same meaning. We also get gems like “Activated abilities can’t be activated” but that does make sense. There will be some awkwardness, but the long term result will be a strategic shift that is probably a wash. Besides, we were all saying we were casting spells anyway. That’s what makes them spells!

Change 2C: Removed-from-game is now the Exile zone.

Pros: Shorter, more flavorful and accurate.

Cons: When you wish upon a star.

The name is a great idea, but the functional change could have been mitigated. It’s not a huge point since such cards are rare and old but I think we can all agree that getting back removed cards this way is strategically interesting and fits the Rule of Cool so we should errata the Wishes and other such cards to retain their old functionality. There isn’t anything stopping us. This is a minor quibble in any case.

Change 2D: The end of turn step is the end step, and we now say “At the beginning of the end step” rather than “At end of turn.”

Pros: Players can now tell what the heck is going on.

Cons: Players can now tell what the heck is going on.

I weep for you rules lawyers who tried to trick your opponents with this one, I really do, but it is time to move on. Good change all around. Read the rest of this entry »