Wizards Announcement:
http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mm/metamorphosis
Overview:
1. Blocks will now be composed of 2 sets (as opposed to 3).
a. This has been in the works since they tested this with Lorywn - Morningtide / Shadowmoor - Eventide.
2. Core Sets will no longer be printed.
3. Cards will be legal for approximately 18 months as opposed to24 months under the old system.
4. Block format will still exist but nobody will play it (actually that is no change).
Thoughts:
1. This new system
will mean that there are quicker rotations of standard legal cards (approx. 18 months v
approx. 24 months). A likely consequence of this is a higher cost to play standard.
a. More volatility in
the metagame will mean a higher cost to play standard, though it likely brings
more fun/enjoyment too.
i. Ex. If you bought
mono black after it made its debut at the pro tour you could have bought the
deck and played it for the rest of its time in standard and been very
competitive with little or no changes. If the metagame shifts drastically from
block to block which it will seeing as Wizards was willing to bet four pro
tours on it changing enough to keep people tuned. Thus Standard players are
going to need to invest more time and more money into each new block.
2. The overall
complexity of Standard should be increased since there will likely be more
mechanics legal at the same time. This should again make Magic more interesting
for well established players.
3. Legacy only cards
should come down in price quicker since they will rotate out of standard
quicker.
4. Core sets were a
good outlet for reprints to help stabilize the market and reintroduce mechanics
that Wizards might not have wanted to base a whole block off of but are good
enough for a small sampling of cards. Take Chord of Calling for example, if it wasn’t
reprinted in a core set then you either have to reintroduce convoke as a block
mechanic, reprint the card in modern masters or other sealed product or simply
not reprint the card.
5. I don’t draft much
anymore and my drafts are generally limited to conveniently located pre-releases, PTQ’s, and GP’s.
Thus having the age old lessons learned from drafting many core sets I have
been able to stay competitive despite not keeping up with all formats. I will
miss this, though this would be a terrible reason to keep core sets.
6. Could complexity
creep hurt new players? Core sets were nice in their simplicity but I don’t have
an accurate gauge on how Wizards is trying to get new people into the game;
presumably this mantle is being taken up by Duel of the Planeswalkers and its
ilk.
7. I have seen some
players comment that Wizards may be willing to print more powerful cards
because they will be legal for less time. I personally do not think Wizards
will go down that road due to the knock on effects of Modern/ Legacy.
I am guessing that the clarity with which this announcement has been made should make it a lot more palpable to the community. I guess Mark Rosewater is Wizards Steve Jobs. Maybe they should put him in charge of all of the Magic Online change announcements as well...
Cheers,
Simon
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