In any game that has a following, there are going to be complaints. Some player somewhere will have an idea about what is wrong with a game, or how it could be made better. As more people play a game, more complaints will emerge. And the same complaints will be heard more often from more players.
One of the complaints frequently heard from people who have been playing Magic: the Gathering goes something like this: “They keep making the new cards more powerful, so that you have to keep buying them to compete.”
First, let’s get something out of the way. Yes, the people at Wizards of the Coast want you to buy more cards. They are in the business of making and selling cards, and they pay their rent by selling them to you. That is why they keep making new sets of cards. If they just printed up one set of their best cards, and never made any more, they would go out of business. Are we all in agreement here? The question under discussion is not whether Wizards is trying to get you to buy cards. The question is whether they are making old cards obsolete in the process. But is this really true? Well, sort of.
So we’ve established that the people at Magic are making new cards with the intent of getting you to buy them. So, how do they go about that? They can’t just print new copies of old cards, nor can they just give old cards new names and art (although a certain amount of this does go on). And, if you really look, they haven’t just given each creature and spell a boost. So what have they done? Add mechanics. In each set, new abilities and types of abilities are introduced, changing the way you might play a card. For example, the Dissension set introduced the Forecast mechanic, in which you paid part of a card’s cost, revealed the card from your hand, and then put the card back in hand. Forecasting thus allowed you to use part of a card’s ability without using the card. This is an example of forecast: (http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=107379) The most recent expansion, Lorwyn, has a similar mechanic called evoke, in which a creature card with a “comes into play” ability is played for a fraction of its cost, but must immediately be sacrificed, effectively turning a creature spell into a sorcery. Here’s a quick example: (http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=146599)
But what do these changes mean? The cards don’t exactly gain power, but they definitely gain . . . what? Versatility. And utility. Newer cards mean that there are more ways than ever to build a successful deck.
“So there!” you say. “They are making the new cards stronger!” Well, like I said, sort of. A lot of the older cards are still as good, if not better than their newer counterparts. Just look at Savannah Lions (http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=867). Its absence from 10th edition is considered a big part of why white is weak in the set. It doesn’t seem like much, but being able to pay 1 mana to go toe to toe with a 2/2 creature is a big deal. But let’s go back a little further, and think just a little bigger. What about Counterspell (http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?id=11214)? Countering spells is a big part of playing blue, and this is the best card to do it with. Many other counters have some kind of “out”, such as paying extra mana, or put it back on the library, etc. But this one was just a hard counter, pure and simple, for 2 mana. But where did it go? It became Cancel (http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=129882). But what’s the difference? Just 1 mana. But that means that it takes 1 turn longer before you can cast it, and it’s going to be that much harder to have enough mana to cast a spell if you need to have enough left to cast a counter. Another not so minor change is the card Lightning Bolt (http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?id=2291). This is a staple for any player playing a red deck. 1 mana, 3 damage, anywhere you want it. But where is it now? Well, it’s still around, sort of. There are a few cards that are a lot like it. Shock (http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=5143) costs 1 mana, but only does 2 damage. Lava Spike (http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=79084) does 3 damage, but can’t target creatures, etc. There is no shortage of direct damage in red, but nothing with quite the same power or efficiency. Of course, you might say, "What's the big deal? It's only 1 damage!" And you'd be right. Sort of. Since you can have up to 4 of a card in your deck, this could be a difference of 4 damage. If you get down to it, it's the difference between 8 damage and 12 damage. And when you only start with 20 life, that can be a big difference.
And if you really want to dig deep, there are a slew of old cards that are so out of control powerful (the term is “broken”) that they have been banned from tournament play, not to mention a number of casual gaming groups.
To let you know where I stand, I’m fairly new to Magic, and most of my cards are new. And I get a giggle whenever I get to show a veteran a card they haven’t seen, or exploit an ability they hadn’t heard of. But on the other hand, I wasn’t laughing at the last RPGX tournament, when I took 3 damage on turn 1, or had a spell fall flat on turn 2. So, ultimately, I feel like there’s a pretty strong balance between the old and the new. Of course, this article is put to the test every time an expansion set comes out. So we'll have to wait and see.
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2 comments:
The question you asked can perhaps be answered "No, not precipitously." Competitive, longtime players who have incorporated into their decks cards from new expansions have no trouble winning matches.
However, Magic today is quite a different game than the one played a decade ago. The few adjustments of older cards have little effect on the overall changes in mechanics.
Modern cards, particularly creatures, offer more than one ability for very low casting/usage costs. Abilities seen rarely or not all in older expansions — indestructibility, safety from the graveyard, activation without casting cost, high power/toughness without upkeep penalties — are now common. While they may be countered by abilities from other contemporary cards, they mark a departure from the balance previously maintained.
Most notably, retail decks are not only sold ready-to-play (a beginner used to make do with a Starter Deck's pastiche), but incorporate tribal and other collaborative mechanics, too, with the precision once reserved for aficionados and tournament players.
Themes compound card strengths, and the result is a game that plays twice as fast as it did on the casual level ten years ago. With the exception of control decks, there are few better defenses against an overpowered 2CC creature than another overpowered 2CC.
In the present, the game's evolution isn't a problem. For those interested in playing older decks or browsing classic cards, however, it means a wholesale devaluation of what made Magic a success in the first place.
Is it not more a question of innovation then of making cards more powerfull? In my opinion there are not enaugh new ideas for the gameplay but many overpowered cards that reminds me on some underestimates of card prints at the beginning of magic. I got non of the new cards and played a match with my friend who got. "I trade my live points with you." "Aha, what is the detriment for you?" "Nothing." "Ok." Of course they want to sell cards in future but there is some indication of 'running out of ideas' and the developers are apparently at panic - new design, taking stuff we dont like at YoGiOh, more new design and abilities and powers combined in cards without any balancing weaknesses dont bring enaugh more gameplay possibilities that make the game of the new cards more interesting that I want to buy it. Sad but true, the new sets only got the "Wow, that's powerfull"-effect and seldom a "Wow, that's an nice idea"-effect (in my opinion;-)
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