• twilightwolf90@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    Honestly, as someone close to the game, it’s more of “we can’t make the casuals and competitive players happy while catering to collectors all at the same time” and Gavin is using Pauper to test something that has ramifications for the rest of the game.

    But here’s the catch, Pauper has been incredible this whole time! These bans/unbans are dope! I think this will work and it does set the precedent for the idiot business people that you can manage a format independent of design teams and stockholders.

    • dota__2@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      “close to the game” doesn’t know that this is definitely not the first time they’ve done this.

      modern mind sculptor unbanned years ago and saw little play. SFM. more recently mox opal and splinter twin.

      unbannings are just admitting that power creep has surpassed the level those cards were at previously.

      • twilightwolf90@lemmy.world
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        17 hours ago

        First time for a “trial unban” where they go back to the ban list if they don’t positively impact the format? Yes, this is the first time an official “trial” has occurred in the competitive history of the game. The only time they have come close to this was the original ban of High Tide when paper and online ban lists merged.

        I’m not talking about unbans in general and neither is the article.

        I concur that unbans are usually a reaction to power creep. However, Modern has always been a mismanaged format since it’s inception. The premise of banning the top decks so that Modern was different from “Old Extended” (because Extended at the time became a “Double long Standard” instead of a rotating Type 2 Format) damaged the genesis of the format, which inevitably led to Grixis Twin’s dominance. I do think the format back then could’ve benefitted from Fae/Sculpter/Thopter-Sword/Affinity being legal and providing variance.

  • kipo@lemm.ee
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    1 day ago

    I can’t tell if this is just Wizards of the Coast panicking and flailing because they are out of good ideas, or if they are actually carefully analyzing and re-evaluating older cards because the balance and synergy of the current cards allow for the use of these older cards without being game breaking.

    • Yokozuna@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      Hearthstone was doing this about a year ago when I quit. It was actually great for the game and really shook things up in the Wild format where you could play any set of cards. But Blizzard shit the bed on that one like usual, oh well.

  • Coelacanth@feddit.nu
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    1 day ago

    I’ve almost completely stopped keeping up with M:TG these days. I used to be into it but it just feels like it’s completely jumped the shark these days.

    • dota__2@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      so i sold out of mtg around covid and they started committing to “universe beyond”. but all signs point to their stupid shit being profitable for the time being. and the new UB stuff will now be going through standard will help their new player onboarding a bit.

      • Ashtear@lemm.ee
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        24 hours ago

        Lord of the Rings was massively successful, and I’ve been seeing even more buzz for Final Fantasy than there was LotR. Universes Beyond is certainly here to stay.

        • Coelacanth@feddit.nu
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          12 hours ago

          I enjoyed the early mythos of M:tG, but I already started losing interest when they went all Marvel with their whole Gatewatch thing.

          Even though individual sets (like LOTR) have been well made and successful, the whole Universes Beyond thing just further dilutes the identity of Magic too much for me. I’m sick of endless exploitation of existing IPs from all over the entertainment business. I understand why they do it from a financial perspective, but it doesn’t appeal to me at all.

          Add to that the endless garbage of Secret Lair drops like goddamn Spider-Man and SpongeBob and I think MTG just isn’t for me anymore.

        • dota__2@lemmy.world
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          23 hours ago

          exactly. but you can’t just keep farming UB forever. you need to onboard them into the ecosystem and keep them hooked in. time will tell if these people only cared about their specific media or if enough latch on to mtg the game.

  • Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    I have that card.

    Are people still playing with Fallen Empires? That was almost 3 decades ago!

    Also, what are the odds this is an April Fools joke?

    • dota__2@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      they’ve unbanned cards in the past. most recently(not in this ban/unbanning) mox opal and splinter twin in modern. SFM and mind sculptor were also unbanned years ago. unbanning cards is not unheard of.