Saturday, September 14, 2013

Changes that were supposed to kill Magic, part 3


  

Next change that were supposed to kill Magic was..Magic Online. In 2001 MtG went online. Some argued it would never work, while others feared it would keep players from playing in stores. Anyway, who would ever buy digital card for the same price as paper one? That's not how video games work.

When Magic began, sets were sold in both starters and boosters. Starters were boxes that held seventy-five (originally sixty) cards, including thirty land. When the starters (later called tournament decks) were phased out, it was unclear how exactly new players would be able to get basic lands. Intro Packs and Fat Packs would have land, but what about a player who just bought boosters? The solution to the problem was to replace one of the common cards with a basic land. While this was a good thing for newer players, some of the established players weren't so happy with the change. They felt that they were getting one less card, which would impact both their collection and limited play.

With Magic 2010 significant rule change came, which removed "damage on the stack" and mana burn was removed. The reaction wasn't quite as strong as the last big rules change with Six Edition but it was vocal, nonetheless. Many players felt the changes weren't needed and lessened the quality of the game. With time, as with the Sixth Edition rules, the players have come to embrace them.

Also, in meantime there were numerous widely discussed changes, like new card frame, reminder text explaining what 'flying' is, transform cards, planswalkers and so on.

As you can see, Magic's been through a lot in its twenty-year history. Hopefully, this article allowed you a little glimpse through that history, either to learn some things you didn't know about or let you reminisce if you did.

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