Magic: the Gathering |OT| Zendikar Rising - Nahiri Did Nothing Wrong

[Actinium]

I don't know about the financial stuff, I just think it's incredibly tacky. If walking dead can pay their way into mtg legality then the door is open to have like goku aggro vs harry potter tempo, or like a jeff bezos planeswalker. It doesn't matter if they're competitive or jank, cheap as dirt or worth more than their weight in gold, it's just dumb. This plus axing the next core set for a forgotten realms tie in, like the central conceit of magic is about exploring new lands on worlds that are entirely alien to you and wotc is not just revisiting planes so often i come to hate ones i previously liked, but now they're adding planes that are just poorly dressed billboards in the very limited release schedule slot that could have been something original and amazing. I hate it.

 

[Ashodin]

Feed

My feedback would be to make it less about sharing the content and more about contributing to the discussion here (where possible, obviously). For instance, your thoughts on the TWD cards. You could summarize your thoughts and say: "You can see my full thoughts here." or something like that.

This isn't meant to backseat modding either. I don't mind either way, really. Just feedback.

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back is great thanks!

 

[onpoint]

I don't know about the financial stuff, I just think it's incredibly tacky. If walking dead can pay their way into mtg legality then the door is open to have like goku aggro vs harry potter tempo, or like a jeff bezos planeswalker. It doesn't matter if they're competitive or jank, cheap as dirt or worth more than their weight in gold, it's just dumb. This plus axing the next core set for a forgotten realms tie in, like the central conceit of magic is about exploring new lands on worlds that are entirely alien to you and wotc is not just revisiting planes so often i come to hate ones i previously liked, but now they're adding planes that are just poorly dressed billboards in the very limited release schedule slot that could have been something original and amazing. I hate it.

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This post is like a tin-can phone from your brain to my heart. Sums it up quite well.

 

[Poodlestrike]

Honestly, this thing where some yahoo at corporate sets some insane %revenue increase yoy always ends badly. Either people do something stupid to meet the goal, and burn out a long-term business for short-term gains, or they don't meet it and good people get replaced with people willing to make those bad decisions. Seen it up close and personal.

 

[Imperfected]

Tacky is definitely the right word. If it had been like, introducing Strahd to Innistrad, it would be mildly problematic but at least have a certain "cool" austerity to it. The Walking Dead is just kind of tacky on its own at this point, though, much less slotting it into a fantasy setting.

Also, amusingly, the characters have guns. I guess we can get real guns in MTG as long as you pay enough.

 

[Deleted member 29682]

Also, amusingly, the characters have guns. I guess we can get real guns in MTG as long as you pay enough.

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Oh boy, Wild West plane incoming!

 

[LSauchelli]

To be fair, he might be listening, but Hasbro might not be.

I hope they do like they did with Zilortha, Strength Incarnate, where the 'canon' card is nowhere to be found, but Godzilla still exists.

Also, amusingly, the characters have guns. I guess we can get real guns in MTG as long as you pay enough.

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There have been a few guns before, most notably on Portal: The Second Age and Ixalan. The reason MaRo gave for guns to not be a thing in Mtg in general is because they prefer magic to be the weapon of choice, this is not really available to the Walking Dead cast.

I wonder what would happen if the Gatewatch stumbled upon the Walking Dead Earth. They actually have the tools to deal with the infestation or at least move the survivors to a new realm (which would infect the new realm with modern technology!)

 

[IceMarker]

I hope they do like they did with Zilortha, Strength Incarnate, where the 'canon' card is nowhere to be found, but Godzilla still exists.

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This is the best path if they don't want to make TWD cards Silver-Bordered. This gives them an easy out to re-print the cards under a different name without licensing issues (if that becomes a problem), with the exact same text, and makes only four copies of the cards legal in eternal formats (as opposed to eight), while giving people who ordered the SLD unique versions of the cards, which is what Secret Lair is supposed to be about!

I have two copies of Godzilla, King of the Monsters, do you really think anyone would be upset if they finally print Zilortha, Strength Incarnate? I'd be happy as hell.

 

[Absoludacrous]

This is the best path if they don't want to make TWD cards Silver-Bordered. This gives them an easy out to re-print the cards under a different name without licensing issues (if that becomes a problem), with the exact same text, and makes only four copies of the cards legal in eternal formats (as opposed to eight), while giving people who ordered the SLD unique versions of the cards, which is what Secret Lair is supposed to be about!

I have two copies of Godzilla, King of the Monsters, do you really think anyone would be upset if they finally print Zilortha, Strength Incarnate? I'd be happy as hell.

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It blows me away that they didn't think to do this ahead of time. Or at least that there wasn't enough pushback from the people who did think about it to overturn the marketing decisions.

Either way is scary.

 

[Poppy]

made a deck around griffin aerie then realized it doesnt trigger on opponents end step

WHY

 

[LSauchelli]

made a deck around griffin aerie then realized it doesnt trigger on opponents end step

WHY

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M21 has a thing with stuff triggering during your end of step. I guess they wanted you to play on your turn.

 

[SigmasonicX]

Secret Lair - The Walking Dead damage control damage stream
* They very much do not look like they want to be doing this stream.
* They spend a long time talking about the benefits of Secret Lair in general, not talking about mechanically unique cards for a while.
* The idea for these cards came from how fans will make custom Magic cards for other properties. They felt making official versions would be exciting.

* People at Wizards were dissatisfied with how Godzilla cards were handled in Ikoria because all the Godzilla fans who checked it out had to open packs to get them instead of getting them directly. So yes, they argued against the TCG model.
* They really don't think these unique Secret Lair cards will see Legacy play. Yes, they messed up with Mana Crypt (which was a unique card you got when you purchased a book) and yes they messed up with Nexus of Fate, but that won't happen again.
* This won't be about potato chip and razor blade sponsorships. This will all be the kinds of cool properties you'd see at Comic-Con.

* They chose not to use silver border for this because The Walking Dead is too gritty for the tone of silver border cards.
* With Unstable, they saw that players found it awkward having to ask their group if it's OK to play with silver bordered commanders. Thus, with these black border The Walking Dead cards, you won't have to ask your group for permission.
* A triangle holo stamp indicates that a card isn't canon to Magic's story. This appears on all the The Walking Dead cards.

* They brought up the Godzilla treatment, but there are no upcoming sets where these cards could fit, so they chose not to do it.
* "We could [make Magic-themed versions] and we might."
* They're intent on making this a one-time special printing, like other Secret Lairs.

* No reprints are planned, but they could maybe talk to AMC about new printings in the future. (This shows that reprints are indeed restricted by the license.)
* They hope to be able to do these licensed printings a lot more in the future.
* The last card (likely Rick) will be revealed on this week's Talking Dead.

 

[Frankie Williamson]

Fuck that noise. RC, ban them shits.

 

[f0rk]

* With Unstable, they saw that players found it awkward having to ask their group if it's OK to play with silver bordered commanders. Thus, with these black border The Walking Dead cards, you won't have to ask your group for permission.

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I guess this depends on the people who run the commander ban list?

 

[acheron_xl]

Secret Lair - The Walking Dead damage control damage stream
* They very much do not look like they want to be doing this stream.
* They spend a long time talking about the benefits of Secret Lair in general, not talking about mechanically unique cards for a while.
* The idea for these cards came from how fans will make custom Magic cards for other properties. They felt making official versions would be exciting.

* People at Wizards were dissatisfied with how Godzilla cards were handled in Ikoria because all the Godzilla fans who checked it out had to open packs to get them instead of getting them directly. So yes, they argued against the TCG model.
* They really don't think these unique Secret Lair cards will see Legacy play. Yes, they messed up with Mana Crypt (which was a unique card you got when you purchased a book) and yes they messed up with Nexus of Fate, but that won't happen again.
* This won't be about potato chip and razor blade sponsorships. This will all be the kinds of cool properties you'd see at Comic-Con.

* They chose not to use silver border for this because The Walking Dead is too gritty for the tone of silver border cards.
* With Unstable, they saw that players found it awkward having to ask their group if it's OK to play with silver bordered commanders. Thus, with these black border The Walking Dead cards, you won't have to ask your group for permission.
* A triangle holo stamp indicates that a card isn't canon to Magic's story. This appears on all the The Walking Dead cards.

* They brought up the Godzilla treatment, but there are no upcoming sets where these cards could fit, so they chose not to do it.
* "We could [make Magic-themed versions] and we might."
* They're intent on making this a one-time special printing, like other Secret Lairs.

* No reprints are planned, but they could maybe talk to AMC about new printings in the future. (This shows that reprints are indeed restricted by the license.)
* They hope to be able to do these licensed printings a lot more in the future.
* The last card (likely Rick) will be revealed on this week's Talking Dead.

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Most of these answers are just going to pour gasoline on the flames.

 

[onpoint]

Welp, fuck em.

 

[Imperfected]

If you feel awkward asking a play group if you can play with a silver-bordered commander, you should be working on your dynamic with your play group.

In a decent play group it's normal to ask people how they feel about you playing your (100% legal, normal) commander, because groups that actually have fun usually spend at least a little time talking about deck goals/power levels and appropriateness for the table, even when everyone's using precons.

 

[Carthago Delenda Est]

Fuck this. Completely and totally unacceptable. I would be totally fine if these were either Godzilla treatment or silver-bordered. I think most people would be fine with it too. This is a fucking PR catastrophe. Even before this stream, I literally had cards in my shopping cart today and decided not to order them because I'm not sure I want to play this type of game.

 

[SigmasonicX]

Some Answers

I’ve gotten a number of design oriented questions over the last few days about The Walking Dead cards that just got answered on the stream, but as I know not everyone was able to see the stream, I...

markrosewater.tumblr.com

I've gotten a number of design oriented questions over the last few days about The Walking Dead cards that just got answered on the stream, but as I know not everyone was able to see the stream, I thought I'd repeat the answers here (adding in a little of my perspective):

Why aren't these cards silver bordered?

Silver border means two things. 1) It's non-tournament legal, and 2) It doesn't do things we can do in black border (at least at the time of us printing the cards – Magic evolves over time, so silver bordered things can later get promoted into black border). We wanted these cards to be top-down designs of The Walking Dead characters that functioned like more normal black-bordered cards. In addition, there's one other issue (one that really bothers me to be honest). Silver-bordered cards are treated by some Magic players as being less than black bordered cards and thus have a stigma to them. Some players refuse to play with players that have silver-bordered cards in their deck. We didn't want players thinking these cards were something they couldn't play with.

Why don't these cards use the Godzilla "alternate skin" technology?

They kind of do, but not in the way we did them in Ikoria. That exact execution wasn't a good fit for the product. Unlike the Godzilla cards that were distributed inside of booster packs along with the rest of Ikoria, The Walking Dead cards are sold by themselves. That meant we wanted them to maximize their appeal as a box set. Putting extra names on them was aesthetically unattractive. That said, we did build in a way to do backwards version of the Godzilla skins. If needed, we can print a Magic IP version of these cards with a Magic name and creative concept/art. We wanted to make sure that these cards were reprintable if needed.

Won't that mean that players who own The Walking Dead cards can now play both versions in their deck?

No, it does not. The cards, in Oracle, would identify that they represent the same card and would be treated by deck building rules as if they were the same. Think of them as functioning identically to the Godzilla skins.

Are these characters now canon in Magic story?

No, they are not. The frames and triangle watermark specifically denote that they are not canon to the Magic universe. I will note that there are other cards with black borders (from the alternate reality of Planeshift) that are also not canon.

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The reprint solution here sounds good, if wonky. Either it will be a reverse-Godzilla situation, with the "fake" Magic-y name on top and the "real" TWD name on the bottom, or the TWD versions will be treated like the Godzilla cards with an invisible real name you can only see on Gatherer, and the Magic-y version won't have the TWD name anywhere.

Of course, the question is why the stream didn't mention this...

 

[Carthago Delenda Est]

Some Answers

I’ve gotten a number of design oriented questions over the last few days about The Walking Dead cards that just got answered on the stream, but as I know not everyone was able to see the stream, I...

markrosewater.tumblr.com

The reprint solution here sounds good, if wonky. Either it will be a reverse-Godzilla situation, with the "fake" Magic-y name on top and the "real" TWD name on the bottom, or the TWD versions will be treated like the Godzilla cards with an invisible real name you can only see on Gatherer, and the Magic-y version won't have the TWD name anywhere.

Of course, the question is why the stream didn't mention this...

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Because they're making it up on the fly.

 

[Toxi]

If the problem was that Godzilla fans can't get the Godzilla versions of the cards... Put the Godzilla versions in a Secret Lair instead of collector boosters. Nobody has a problem with putting promo crossover versions of cards in a Secret Lair. The problem is putting mechanically unique cards that they can't actually reprint in a Secret Lair.

 

[Alternade]

The community response to this whole ordeal has been overblown to say the least. Threatening people who would sit down at a table with these cards, LGS banning them from their store, people saying they're quitting magic?????

It's 5 cards, that aren't even that good, no one is forcing you to buy and aren't staples AT ALL. These nightmare scenarios people are creating are wild.

"It sets a dangerous precedence" Ok and every masters set is basically selling you old cards for double the price but y'all eat that up every year.

That being said I don't plan to buy it at all. It has zero appeal to me even as an old fan of TWD but I get that they're trying to rope in would be players from other fandoms. They should have been a bit more transparent about what secret lair was/is supposed to be from the start. Overall I don't see a problem with them experimenting with ideas outside of sets or commander products.

 

[IceMarker]

After that disaster of a weekly MTG stream... I'm not putting anymore money into MTG that doesn't support my LGS (as I appreciate their business as they appreciate mine). Basically, Secret Lairs and anything digital is out the window, I'm done with this shitty company until they stop sliding down this path, if they ever do. I'm getting pretty close to uninstalling MTGA myself. Totally on-board with CRC banning these now.

 

[SigmasonicX]

It's 5 cards, that aren't even that good, no one is forcing you to buy and aren't staples AT ALL.

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Glenn is being considered for Legacy Humans play.

 

[acheron_xl]

It's 5 cards now. In a year's time it might be a hundred.

 

[jph139]

Everything about their response reminds me of that Onion article: This War Will Destabilize The Entire Mideast Region And Set Off A Global Shockwave Of Anti-Americanism vs. No It Won't

No it won't.

It just won't. None of that will happen.

You're getting worked up over nothing. Everything is going to be fine. So just relax, okay? You're really overreacting.

...

Trust me, it's all going to work out perfect. Nothing bad is going to happen. It's all under control.

Why do you keep saying these things? I can tell when there's trouble looming, and I really don't sense that right now. We're in control of this situation, and we know what we're doing. So stop being so pessimistic.

Look, you've been proven wrong, so stop talking. You've had your say already. Be quiet, okay? Everything's fine.

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I'm not reassured.

 

[Toxi]

Hot take: Embercleave is not a problematic card (Outside the enormous power disparity between it and other aggro cards in standard). That people think it's ban-worthy shows the issues with the rest of the format.

There are a number of cheap, versatile, good cards that deal with Embercleave, as well as powerful sideboard answers. The problem is that these cards suck against the ridiculous card advantage/ramp clown car that standard has become.

If we're calling for bans to Embercleave, it means that we can't afford to play cheap instant speed 1-for-1 removal in our standard decks, even in a format with plenty of options.

 

[i hate cheaters]

i don't think the "just play removal" plan works for best-of-1, so calling for embercleave bans there is probably sane

the last time bo1 and bo3 had different banlists, it was a disaster since all the nexus of fate players flooded into bo3 and ruined that format

 

[Piecake]

I play embercleave and I would be fine seeing it banned (after a whole bunch of other nonsense cards get banned first).

Its just a dumb card. I think Magic is at its best when there is a back and forth and there is time to recover and stabilize if you get a good draw and the other player stumbles.

That's really not possible with embercleave cause If the person doesnt have removal at that exact instant, embercleave is just a lol, I win.

 

[Toxi]

i don't think the "just play removal" plan works for best-of-1, so calling for embercleave bans there is probably sane

the last time bo1 and bo3 had different banlists, it was a disaster since all the nexus of fate players flooded into bo3 and ruined that format

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Then ban Embercleave in Bo1. It's a separate format, it gets a separate banlist.

If aggro players flood Bo3, so what? It's aggro. It's not a Nexus of Fate situation where the card itself is miserable to play against.

I play embercleave and I would be fine seeing it banned (after a whole bunch of other nonsense cards get banned first).

Its just a dumb card. I think Magic is at its best when there is a back and forth and there is time to recover and stabilize if you get a good draw and the other player stumbles.

That's really not possible with embercleave cause If the person doesnt have removal at that exact instant, embercleave is just a lol, I win.

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It's an annoyingly pushed card that leads to swingy-er games, I'd agree with that, but that hardly makes it ban worthy.

Like if you ban the other nonsense cards, do you think for a moment Embercleave will actually take over? What are the decks Embercleave is actually keeping out of the format?

 

[SmokeMaxX]

If Embercleave is the big baddy of the format, the format is probably fine.

 

[i hate cheaters]

Then ban Embercleave in Bo1. It's a separate format, it gets a separate banlist.

If aggro players flood Bo3, so what? It's aggro. It's not a Nexus of Fate situation where the card itself is miserable to play against.

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i have no idea how to fix standard, but i think it's bad to normalize the idea of separate banlists

maybe it's selfish, but i just want to play a normal/tournament bo3 metagame if i choose to spend my time on arena

maybe they can provide that with much better queue options, but the nexus fiasco ruined the game for 9 months with the queue options that were available during that time

 

[Piecake]

It's an annoyingly pushed card that leads to swingy-er games, I'd agree with that, but that hardly makes it ban worthy.

Like if you ban the other nonsense cards, do you think for a moment Embercleave will actually take over? What are the decks Embercleave is actually keeping out of the format?

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No, i just think it will lead to better games and more fun magic. thus id be fine with a ban

 

[Metroidvania]

* They really don't think these unique Secret Lair cards will see Legacy play. Yes, they messed up with Mana Crypt (which was a unique card you got when you purchased a book) and yes they messed up with Nexus of Fate, but that won't happen again.

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Lmao.

'The third time's the charm - just ignore those other two times we absolutely fucked up huge.'

Glen's already being considered for legacy play as it is.

RC should absolutely ban these in commander, fuck'em.

Maro's blog post absolutely sounds like they're making it up on the fly.

 

[Poppy]

i dont think it needs a ban, i kind of hate embercleave but it's a glorified combat trick and i dont see how it wrecks the format

just kill clover and i'll say we're square

 

[Ashodin]

I made a video about my reactions to the WeeklyMTG.

basically, it's really bullshit

 

[Serule]

I feel like I am alone on this, but I really don't like them moving away from the block structure. It's definitely been good for limited but something about the constant hopping between settings doesn't hold my interest as much. I liked seeing a setting introduced then seeing it advanced/evolved. Each year was fun exploring a new setting, now they fly by so fast they don't make an impression. Eldraine and Ikoira feel pretty half-baked as worlds. I was even fine when they did the 2-set blocks although I know it caused issues. Hell I miss block constructed.

 

[Sande]

Only banning format-destroying cards (and doing even that badly) is one of the worst things about how Magic is balanced. Just plain miserable and/or poorly designed cards like Embercleave should be just as much on the watchlist.

 

[Imperfected]

It's 5 cards now. In a year's time it might be a hundred.

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Yeah, I mean Sigma pointed it out immediately, but the buy-a-box promo started out with a doofy commander-only card with only extremely niche value (Firesong & Sunspeaker), but took all of, what, two more iterations before it hit Nexus of Fate and honestly still hasn't completely cleaned up its act since then, considering Kenrith saw plenty of play?

There is absolutely no reason to be giving the benefit of the doubt on this.

 

[Giant Panda]

I feel like I am alone on this, but I really don't like them moving away from the block structure. It's definitely been good for limited but something about the constant hopping between settings doesn't hold my interest as much. I liked seeing a setting introduced then seeing it advanced/evolved. Each year was fun exploring a new setting, now they fly by so fast they don't make an impression. Eldraine and Ikoira feel pretty half-baked as worlds. I was even fine when they did the 2-set blocks although I know it caused issues. Hell I miss block constructed.

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3 sets was at least 1 set too many for most planes. Either 2nd or 3rd set was always a failure.

 

[Serule]

3 sets was at least 1 set too many for most planes. Either 2nd or 3rd set was always a failure.

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yeah i do agree, it was
Set 1: establish mechanics
Set 2: evolve mechanics
Set 3: something random

or alternately, Set 2 was sometimes just really boring and the evolution happened in Set 3

But world-building worked a lot better with more cards / more time.

 

[Imperfected]

I actually liked the 2-set blocks structure, I think it just suffered for happening alongside the Era of the Gatewatch Meta-Narrative, which was frankly an entirely separate issue that ate up far too much of the sets.

 

[Boogiepop]

I have actually been feeling sorta similarly. Well, I think a less rigid structure is probably a good idea, but it doesn't feel like they're using it right IMO. Like, one-off makes sense to me for return sets I suppose, but new planes at least really should get more than one, as they just feel sort of... there as things stand. Just don't leave much of an impression on me.

 

[IceMarker]

RC Statement on secret lair: the walking dead | Official Commander Website

mtgcommander.net

In case the site is down, the full statement is below:

We're not going to bury the lede here. We're not banning the cards from Secret Lair: The Walking Dead. We understand that this won't sit well with some folks; we have spent a lot of the last few days listening to a wide variety of opinions, and we want to thank everyone for taking the time to share their thoughts. It was, at times, quite overwhelming. It's clear that this is an issue that many people are passionate about.


Our decision doesn't reflect an endorsement of these cards, but what we believe is best for Commander in the long run. If you'd like to understand how we arrived at this decision, we encourage you to read on.


We identified three major concerns during the course of these discussions, and we'll address each and how they relate to Commander below. They are:


The availability of these cards is problematic The existence of non-Magic IPs on cards should be discouraged Negan is a dubious character. There's no support in the Commander Philosophy Document for banning these cards. They certainly present no mechanical difficulties, and taken simply as cards, don't come close to fitting any criteria we have for banning. However, as we are always seeking to improve the document, we discussed whether banning these cards could fit under new philosophical criteria and whether using the banlist in this way was appropriate.


CARD AVAILABILITY


A concern of many players is that these cards would not be widely available, and for some countries, only available through third-party sellers. They worry that this model will be repeated in the future. We've heard you loud and clear on this issue. Because the cards are mechanically unique, this is the major problem most folks have. We wish that all of our friends around the globe had access to these cards. However, the RC of its own accord can't solve that problem. What we can do—what we already have done—is add our voice to yours. Since this issue broke, we've been in contact with well-placed people at Wizards of the Coast to make sure that they understand your displeasure and where it comes from, as well as urging that they work towards a solution.


While we understand why people are concerned about such limited availability, we don't believe that the problem applies to Commander in the same way it does to tournament formats. Successful tournament formats require generally equal and complete access to cards. But, one of the themes that we've reiterated since the earliest days of the format is that you don't need access to every card in order to have fun playing Commander. The focus of Commander being on non-tournament play, plus the enormous cardpool available where almost everything goes, means that unique cards floating around don't present the same kind of problem. The stakes in a Commander game is the fun of the participants, and that doesn't require all the cards.


A problem we see with adopting a ban philosophy based on card availability is explaining it down the road. If, a year from now, someone stumbles across a copy of one of these cards, tries to use it and discovers that it is banned in Commander, they will ask why. And the explanation is unsatisfactory: people didn't like how they were allocated. This does not make a lot of sense to the person who is holding the card, and who doesn't own many other cards that may be out of reach for them. We want people to be able to play the cards they own, and only resort to bans when it's problematic for the health of the format, not the wider ecosystem.


These cards are in no way a threat to the health of Commander. In fact, we see it just the opposite. We're the only format that could bear the weight of this kind of experimentation. This is the format in which Crab Tribal is just as valid as Blood Pod. Adding a few quirky cards that aren't ubiquitously available doesn't threaten that.


One of the calls from the community was that we should ban these cards to "send a signal" to Wizards of the Coast for a "blatantly commercial act". First of all, we don't think it's appropriate to tell them how to run their business; that's way outside the scope of our charter. Second, the banned list isn't the appropriate vehicle to voice our displeasure over something, nor is using it as punishment. The banned list is an abstract construct to corporate decision-makers. The right path to walk is the one we've gone down: real change happens from having real conversations with real people, which we have been doing since the news broke. Finally, attempting to send such a signal would be doomed to failure. It will not have the effect that people hope. The primary goal of these cards is almost certainly new-player acquisition. Wizards hopes to lure some Walking Dead fans into Magic and any interest from Commander players is just a small bonus. Banning the cards until functional reprints are available doesn't do much either.


NON-MAGIC IP


Some folks simply don't like the idea of The Walking Dead crossing over into Magic, a modern IP breaking an immersion barrier. We understand that feeling (none of us care at all about The Walking Dead), but also realize that almost everyone has some universe for which they've dreamed of having Magic cards. We don't think it's productive to try to gatekeep that. If you dislike it, we support you not playing with the cards. Introduction of a different IP opens Commander to audiences who might not have ever heard of Magic or the format; we welcome the new friends we haven't yet met.


NEGAN


We've also heard some displeasure over the Negan character being on a card, given his (fictional) history of terrible actions. We are sympathetic to this, and did give some consideration to banning just that card. We chose not to because Negan is a villain, plain and simple. There's no implied endorsement, sanitation or glorification of his actions. In that, he's no different than other villains already in the Magic universe, even though as portrayed by an actor it seems closer to "real world" discomfort. No one is suggesting that by putting him on a card he should be idealized, any more so than Nicol Bolas or Yawgmoth. We will use this as an opportunity to remind each other to respect other players' boundaries. Being empathic and accommodating is vital for a healthy gaming community; being considerate of other players makes us all better.


IN CONCLUSION


The community outcry over these cards did not go unheard. We used our relationship with people inside Wizards of the Coast to have an honest conversation about how and why so many of you felt betrayed by this process. One of the outcomes of that conversation is that they were supportive of whatever decision we made. We believe that conversation has had influence and they clearly understand the concerns. Thank you to everyone who has weighed in with their thoughts. We tried very hard to keep up with all of them, even as the Discord became overwhelming.

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TL;DR The Commander Rules Committee aren't banning TWD cards due to what they believe will overall hurt Commander more than help Magic as a whole, they are still in talks with WotC about this product line and player feedback.

I have very little hope for this game's future. This is the lowest it's been since I started playing 2 years ago.

 

[jph139]

I actually liked the 2-set blocks structure, I think it just suffered for happening alongside the Era of the Gatewatch Meta-Narrative, which was frankly an entirely separate issue that ate up far too much of the sets.

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Yeah, honestly I really loved that period and felt bad when they dropped it. I understand the loss of the Core Set was, in retrospect, not so great a call, but I'm sure there was a way around that - maybe a supplemental product to make sure staples stay in Standard. I just think "big set that introduces ideas -> small set that iterates and pushes those ideas to weird places" is a good rhythm, mechanically.

I've been off and on with Magic for like 15+ years now, since I was a kid, but Tarkir through Dominaria was easily the most I've ever been engaged with the franchise, warts and all, on all levels. It's been waning ever since.

 

[acheron_xl]

This is the lowest it's been since I started playing 2 years ago.

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This is probably the lowest since I started playing 24 years ago.

 

[Carthago Delenda Est]

It might make more sense to give returning sets a single set and give new sets (typically) two. I had my fill with Zendikar and Theros, but Ikoria and Eldraine definitely could have been better fleshed out. There were cool ideas in each I'd like to see expanded upon.

 

[acheron_xl]

Eldraine was supposed to be two sets.

 

[Deleted member 12224]

I'm not a lore person, I just play the game, but 2 or 3 set blocks make Standard feel more cohesive and less like it's a bunch of random chunks of cards thrown together.

 

[LSauchelli]

Eldraine was supposed to be two sets.

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Somehow I think Oko will play the role of Loki in Kaldheim, linking the sets a little bit.

I'm not a lore person, I just play the game, but 2 or 3 set blocks make Standard feel more cohesive and less like it's a bunch of random chunks of cards thrown together.

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It also allowed for Block Constructed to be a thing.