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[phazedplasma]

This is awesome. Core sets bore the shit out of me because of the lack of lore.

 

[Keru_Shiri]

I fully embrace this. Working in a games store, Core Sets can be difficult to gauge when it comes to ordering since summer event attendance is slow, and it's easy to get stuck with overstock (we still have unsold boxes of M13). I think this will help even out the price of rares in the long run also.

One interesting thing to consider, in the past, a card could only interact with the set before, and the set after in Standard. Now these cards will have two sets worth of interaction, shifting from two before to two ahead, which may lead to more breakout rares. Especially if cutting the 3rd block leads to better quality 2nd blocks. I think this could be great.

 

[keeblerdrow]

I like all changes except the 18 months in standard. I know I have a hard time buying card for a deck if their time left in standard is less than 12 months just because "value". With this change, I can see standard prices going down maybe, but there are going to be some tough psychological barriers for me and many like me with this new Standard half-life.


Anything past that and I'm peachy. I'm hoping to get into more of the tournament scene starting this fall.

 

[An-Det]

Now the second sets will be subject to the "not many packs opened" thing that happens to small third sets now. If they do traditional draft order we'll draft triple first set for a few months followed by double first set single second set for a few months. So there will around 5 times as many first set packs as second set packs opened.

It used to be 6-2-1.

Yeah, that'll be more problematic given the block changes. I hope it'll change to triple of the big set, then 1 of the big 2 of the small to compensate for it.

 

[Cosmo Clock 21]

Yeah, that'll be more problematic given the block changes. I hope it'll change to triple of the big set, then 1 of the big 2 of the small to compensate for it.

We did an ARB/ARB/SOA draft at my LGS on release week and that shit was weird as hell. Gonna need to change something else, like set sizes, to compensate if that were the case.

 

[bigkrev]

Another upside: Now that they call PTs by the set name instead of the location, we won't ever have another "Pro Tour Magic 2015" type name!

 

[Angry Grimace]

Another upside: Now that they call PTs by the set name instead of the location, we won't ever have another "Pro Tour Magic 2015" type name!

Pro Tour Magic 2016?

 

[rexor0717]

Yay, for me who doesn't even play constructed, this is great. Cards rotating out of standard means price drops sooner than later.

 

[f0rk]

I wonder what they will do with the Modern pro tour now. I guess where it is now isn't too bad as there's no rotation then.

 

[ultron87]

I really like how this should let them accelerate their story telling. Now something equivalent to Elspeth's journey on Theros takes six months instead of a year. Lets them get back to plots left hanging so much faster.

 

[bigkrev]

Pro Tour Magic 2016?

Shit, there is still one left. After that though...

That name really annoys me

 

[OnPoint]

I really like how this should let them accelerate their story telling. Now something equivalent to Elspeth's journey on Theros takes six months instead of a year. Lets them get back to plots left hanging so much faster.

Well, it SHOULD... I'd really like it if that were the case. We'll see.

I also wonder how DotP fits in every year. Is that now going to be considered the beginner/entry point?

 

[Cosmo Clock 21]

Well, it SHOULD... I'd really like it if that were the case. We'll see.

I also wonder how DotP fits in every year. Is that now going to be considered the beginner/entry point?

Now the DOTP decks will also be standard legal

 

[acheron_xl]

I like core sets and don't give a rats ass about standard, so this is not only not worthy of the hype, it's slightly disappointing.

 

[Angry Grimace]

I don't understand how someone can hate Standard so much. Its the only format where it actually is different year to year. The only way Modern actually changes year-to-year is if something overpowered gets unbanned.

 

[acheron_xl]

I don't understand how someone can hate Standard so much. Its the only format where it actually is different year to year. The only way Modern actually changes year-to-year is if something overpowered gets unbanned.

Because you have to buy heaps of product and/or expensive singles to stay afloat. And it's boring. I like playing a game having absolutely no clue what's going to happen.

 

[Angry Grimace]

Because you have to buy heaps of product and/or expensive singles to stay afloat. And it's boring. I like playing a game having absolutely no clue what's going to happen.

So you just don't like constructed then?

 

[acheron_xl]

So you just don't like constructed then?

I love constructing decks in weird formats. It's why I love EDH so much. It's why shit like Prismatic Stairwell and 5-Color were compelling. High variance, and getting a deck to actually do something you want to do is more rewarding, because it's harder. In more popular contructed formats, you exclude a large chunk of the cardpool before you even begin, if you want to play something good and win games. I used to make standard decks that were fun for me to play, but objectively terrible, and losing while pissing money away got old.

 

[kirblar]

I love constructing decks in weird formats. It's why I love EDH so much. It's why shit like Prismatic Stairwell and 5-Color were compelling. High variance, plus getting a deck to actually do something you want to do is more rewarding, because it's harder.

This is a net upside for you then. They'll rotate out of standard and crash in price more quickly.

 

[SigmasonicX]

Now this is interesting. It is a bit sad to see core sets go, since I liked seeing the single flavorful mechanic return and the mishmash of cards from various worlds, but the story moving at a faster pace is a definite plus for me.

It's pretty clever how "Blood"/"Sweat"/"Tears" is actually "Blood"/"Sweat" and "Tears"/"Fears", though now this means block codenames will eat into split card name territory and there are now a bunch of useless three-word phrases gathered up.

I wonder if they'll do anything crazy with M16, now that we know it's the last one. A secret agent theme, perhaps?

MaRo stated that they reserve the right to break the block rule whenever they want, so I imagine Return to Return to Ravnica will actually be four sets or some such.

 

[acheron_xl]

On the plus side, everybody who thinks every card they want reprinted is getting reprinted in the next expansion will have more reason to believe, since there's no good home for flavor-agnostic reprints anymore.

 

[Angry Grimace]

Now this is interesting. It is a bit sad to see core sets go, since I liked seeing the single flavorful mechanic return and the mishmash of cards from various worlds, but the story moving at a faster pace is a definite plus for me.

It's pretty clever how "Blood"/"Sweat"/"Tears" is actually "Blood"/"Sweat" and "Tears"/"Fears", though now this means block codenames will eat into split card name territory and there are now a bunch of useless three-word phrases gathered up.

I wonder if they'll do anything crazy with M16, now that we know it's the last one. A secret agent theme, perhaps?

MaRo stated that they reserve the right to break the block rule whenever they want, so I imagine Return to Return to Ravnica will actually be four sets or some such.

My guess is they would just make Set 2 a large set rather than a small.

Chance of Blood block being Return to Zendikar rising

 

[OnPoint]

MaRo stated that they reserve the right to break the block rule whenever they want, so I imagine Return to Return to Ravnica will actually be four sets or some such.

Why would this be the case? Because it's popular? I would like it if they just stuck to the 2-per-block structure as much as possible so we could see more locations more frequently.

 

["God's Beard!"]

My new rotation shell - Junk Superfriends

Creatures(13):

• 4 Sylvan Caryatid
• 4 Courser of Kruphix
• 3 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
• 2 Genesis Hydra

Planeswalkers(12):

• 1 Garruk, Apex Predator
• 3 Nissa Worldwaker
• 3 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
• 2 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes

Spells(11):

• 3 Banishing Light
• 2 Hero's Downfall
• 3 Last Breath
• 2 Read the Bones
• 1 Silence the Believers

Land(24):

• 4 Caves of Koilos
• 4 Llanowar Wastes
• 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 2 Mana Confluence
• 4 Junk Taplands
• 2 Temple of Silence
• 4 Temple of Plenty
• 3 Forests

Sideboard(15):

• 2 Unravel the AEther
• 2 Drown in Sorrow
• 2 Phyrexian Revoker
• 4 Mistcutter Hydra
• 2 Scuttling Doom Engine
• 2 Thoughtseize
• 1 Liliana Vess

This list is testing better than the BUG version by quite a bit. Brimaz is positioned especially well against the remaining removal in the format. Being able to hit Banishing Light off of Genesis Hydra is one of the main reasons I convinced myself to go this route, and I'm pretty happy with it. Access to Last Breath also means I can chill out on the black mana a little bit and drop Bile Blight.

 

[bigkrev]

Wonder if they would be willing to do a 2 large set block, followed by a 2 small set block. It would make sense for Ravnica 3.0 to have 2 large sets.

 

[SigmasonicX]

Bunch of Blogatog posts

Post

mylifeisafirehazard said: Since you live in the future, has this new block structure worked beneficially in the quality of design and development?

It has had a huge impact and very positive impact on future design. It’s made my job a little harder but I’ll suck it up. : )

Post

adibzaini said: With the core sets gone, would that mean we won't see a reprint of cards tied to locations not in the block's storyline? Like, would Llanowar Elves now a 10 in the storm scale?

We are going to be more aggressive about reprinting cards in expert sets. Things tied to worlds that we do not revisit are harder to reprint now, yes. Note that we still have supplemental products that can reprint them. As for Llanowar Elves, I doubt we’ve seen the last of Dominaria.

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darrinkatz said: Are you planning on doing anything special for the last core set ever?

It’s not time to talk about it yet, but we are aware it’s the last one.

Post

subbak said: So why "Fears" instead of "Toil" which would complete the quote?

We kept the three-set block names because two-set blocks weren’t public yet. The small set that goes with the spring set ties into that set name.

We will have Blood (big) and Sweat (small). That’s a block. Them we will have Tears (big) and Fears (small). That’s a block.

The following year we have Lock (big) and Stock (small). That’s a block. Then we have Barrel (big) and Monkeys (small). That’s a block.

From then on our block names use a two-set naming convention - Blah & Blah.

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satiwihimi said: Do you think this new block structure is sustainable for the creative team? Seems like a lot of added work for them. By the way, I love the change.

The creative team has added a bunch of new people over the last year to have enough resources to do this.

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shm128iii said: Two Questions: With the new set-up, will we see a lot more "New Plane, Return to Plane" alternating, since the desire to see what's going on back on old planes was a driving motivation for this? Second, with the set code names now using the same naming convention as split cards, are you worried you'll end up running out of "X and Y" names to use unless they start sharing (i.e. A set code named "Profit and Loss", like the Orzhov split card in Dragon's Maze)?

1) We will do both but not as predictable as that.

2) I’m fine with block codenames and split card names overlapping.

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dynarobotron said: Please, please promise that the abolishment of Core Sets won't mean that the first sets of every block will be reduced to Core Set-level complexity?

They will not.

Post

artificialbrilliance said: So with the Core Sets gone, do you have any other product that will be aimed at new players?

Yes, we are developing a new line of products for that purpose.

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munirestevane said: Core Sets are the primary vehicle for old set reprints. They are leaving, and new blocks will be in Standard a shorter time. Does this mean we can expect more aggressive reprints in upcoming sets?

Yep.

So in short:
1. Hinting at Return to Dominaria (with Llanowar Elves reprint)
2. There are going to be more reprints in expert expansions, now that core sets aren't handling that.
3. They do plan on something special with M16, but they can't go into that yet.
4. After "Lock"/"Stock" is "Barrel"/"Monkeys". Every block up to and including "Barrel" block is large/small.
5. They're fine with block codenames and split card names overlapping.
6. Expert expansions won't be reduced in complexity.
7. A new set of products is being developed for beginner players. Return of Portal confirmed (not really).

 

[Firemind]

Now the second sets will be subject to the "not many packs opened" thing that happens to small third sets now. If they do traditional draft order we'll draft triple first set for a few months followed by double first set single second set for a few months. So there will around 5 times as many first set packs as second set packs opened.

It used to be 6-2-1.

Seriously, core set leaving is great and all, but drafting 2-1 sucks. I pretty much hated drafting Lorwyn/Shadowmoor/Rise of Eldrazi because you could get so many multiples of a common or not enough of the smaller set, completely breaking limited as a consequence. I just want drafting parity. Is it too much to ask?

 

[The Technomancer]

Hah, just thought of a bizarre new drafting format. Every other drafter is either opening 2-1 or 1-2. The overall amount in the pool is 50-50 even with three packs each

 

[kirblar]

Hah, just thought of a bizarre new drafting format. Every other drafter is either opening 2-1 or 1-2. The overall amount in the pool is 50-50 even with three packs each

If GTC didn't suck so much I'd say you should try it with it.

 

[ultron87]

In that system people would get really pissed about draft seats if packs weren't equal in terms of value. "Oh, so you get to open two Worldwake packs full of Jaces and I just get one? I'm out!"

 

[Cosmo Clock 21]

Wizards announces super packs that have a mix of cards from the first and second sets.

Booster packs are now 12 cards and you open 4 packs in a draft.

 

[SigmasonicX]

Post

axlrodgun said: Well the new block structure allow you to keep a tighter reign over the color philosophy creep?

I’m now on all the design teams rather than all but one. (Okay, I’m not on most supplemental design teams.)

Post

vateke said: Does this mean we've seen the last of green hornets?

I’m sure Aaron will figure out a new way to get them in Magic. I’m on alert though.

Post

elfboy0 said: Was the pun in the title of "Metamorphosis" intentional?

Are you asking me if the pun of something I wrote was intentional?

Welcome to Blogatog. : )

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tommamus said: Will you be the lead designer on both of the large sets each year?

I led Blood but Tears is being led by Mark Gottlieb. I am on the design team and Mark and I meet once a week so we can talk issues out.

Post

thrun4days said: At this point in standard there are 20 planeswalkers with the new block structure will this number increase or decrease ?

We’re keeping the planeswalkers per year constant which means they will go down slightly in Standard I believe.

Post

hama0n said: The only thing I am worried about with the new block structure is design space. Does this new system mean you will run through design space twice as fast as before?

In some ways, but it also let’s us mine mechanics that wouldn’t work in other worlds. Also, we are more willing to reuse mechanics if they make sense.

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blueblack-dimir said: Hi! I've seen a few people wondering about this online: Is the 2016 core set still going to be called Magic 2016? You never called it that in your article. Or is this a "no comment" kind of question?

That’s not a question to be answered today. We’ll get to it. : )

Post

mikeomatic9000 said: Oh, Maro, you are so cheeky! From almost a full year ago: "Yes, I can. After Blood, Sweat and Tears is Lock, Stock and Barrel. Barrel may or may not have monkeys in it. : )". How hard were you laughing as you wrote that?

I have fun on my blog. That’s one of the reasons I keep doing it. : )

Post

sigmasonicx said: So all of the three-word phrases you guys have gathered will go to waste now?

Yes, that’s the true victim of today’s announcement - my long list of three set codenamed. : )

So:
1. MaRo is on the design team for every single standard set now, and he's going to be vigilant to not let any more hornets into green.
2. Planeswalkers per year will stay about the same, so planeswalkers per standard will go down a bit. This probably means more planeswalkers per set, and likely the start of planeswalker reprints in expert expansions.
3. "Metamorphosis" => "Meta Morphosis"
4. Mark Gottlieb will lead design "Tears", while MaRo will lead design "Blood".
5. Magic 2016 may have a special name.
6. MaRo hinted at this a while ago by saying that "Barrel" may have monkeys in it.

 

["God's Beard!"]

If GTC didn't suck so much I'd say you should try it with it.

Gatecrash was a fun draft.

 

[Angry Grimace]

I wonder if Magic 2016 is even going to be called that. He's just calling it "core set."

 

[aidan]

I wonder if Magic 2016 is even going to be called that. He's just calling it "core set."

Two posts up, Maro pretty much confirmed that it will have a different name.

 

[SigmasonicX]

I wonder if Magic 2016 is even going to be called that. He's just calling it "core set."

He seems to be hinting that they're doing something special with it on Blogatog.
So "Magic Omega"? For the actual last ever set, it can be "Super Omega".

EDIT: Let's also hear from Doug Beyer.

Post

The switch to two 2 set blocks a year seems to affect the creative team the most. Has it been difficult for you all?
a-screaming-clear-area

It’s very challenging. All of our processes have had to shift to accommodate. But we have been proving we can create vibrant new worlds for years now. Mark talks a lot about the Third Set Problem in his article — and in a way, creative has done a lot of the heavy lifting to make third sets feel as fresh and different as possible over the last several years. Rise of the Eldrazi had its own third-set world guide, as did Avacyn Restored, adding tons of new creative elements to help that third set feel distinct. (I think you’ll see that Khans of Tarkir block also represents a major, major creative undertaking. More on that at the Magic panel on Sunday at PAX!) Two blocks a year will be a challenge, but it’s a challenge we’re definitely prepared for.

#best bit: MORE OPPORTUNITY FOR BROADER STORYTELLING
#MORE ON THAT AS THE NEXT YEAR ROLLS OUT
#magic metamorphosis

Post

More blocks = ability to move the plot along slightly more? More new planes, more revisits?
stormx

I’ll tell you this. We had some story arcs planned out over several blocks, involving multiple worlds. We still do, but now instead of those arcs taking forever, they will now take half of forever. Yes, it has allowed us to improve the pace of our storytelling, which is huge.

#so many fun things ahead
#I'm very curious to see how you guys react to it all as it begins to come out
#magic metamorphosis

 

[Cosmo Clock 21]

MAGIC ORIGINS

seriously though they always are hush and whisper with upcoming set titles even if they're completely obvious so I will not be surprised if it ends up being Magic 2016.

 

[divisionbyzorro]

I don't much care about the rotation changes, but the block structure changes are really, really sweet from a limited perspective. I'm also pretty stoked to be able to say goodbye to core sets; I know they've worked really hard to improve them, but as a drafter they've always gotten really stale far too quickly.

I'm actually pretty happy about the proposed changes. And I'm stoked for Khans previews starting next week!

 

[Angry Grimace]

Core sets are dumb because they contain the least interesting cards they could come up with that are still good enough to be limited and constructed playable.

 

[SigmasonicX]

You know what really sucks about this? An exciting thing was just announced, but we'll have to wait another year before we actually see it and hear any design stories; and it will be another year after that before we actually get to the new rotation format.

At least we're getting Khans spoilers starting this Sunday.

 

[Firemind]

I just got blown the fuck out, because I wanted to animate a mutavault to block and tap it for mana, but apparently I forgot it had summoning sickness even though it's still a land! This is the great injustice that demands to be fixed! Not this "sorry, we've blown all our load on the second try" or "we wanted to save up all the goodstuff for the climax" bla bla we're actually just wankers.

 

[JulianImp]

I just got blown the fuck out, because I wanted to animate a mutavault to block and tap it for mana, but apparently I forgot it had summoning sickness even though it's still a land! This is the great injustice that demands to be fixed! Not this "sorry, we've blown all our load on the second try" or "we wanted to save up all the goodstuff for the climax" bla bla we're actually just wankers.

Huh? Didn't you know that's the way things work in paper magic as well? When the land becomes a creature, it becomes subject to the "A creature that you didn't control at the beginning of your latest turn can't attack or use abilities that use the tap symbol" (paraphrased). It's not that lands can tap for mana while summonning sick, but rather that creatures cannot, therefore your Muta-man is forced by the Silent Arbiters to go get some medicine and try again later.

Spoiler

If you knew and were being sarcastic, then the joke flew straight over my head.

 

[Yeef]

Tabak is the best.

 

[Angry Grimace]

Tabak is the best.

Original Illusionary Mask was a lot funnier because you could literally lie about the game since the creature had its "true" stats but wasn't seen. So if you put Ali from Cairo out with Illusionary Mask, you could take lethal damage and then just state that "okay I go to 1," and your opponent has to keep playing but you don't have to tell them why.

 

[y2dvd]

Yay, for me who doesn't even play constructed, this is great. Cards rotating out of standard means price drops sooner than later.

But at the same time, I wonder if that means prices will spike while still in rotation. You will either see card value fluctuate due to how often the metagame will change now or everything will be higher than usual just due to the chance a card can be good while the meta is still being figured out.

Wizards announces super packs that have a mix of cards from the first and second sets.

Booster packs are now 12 cards and you open 4 packs in a draft.

Wait, is this official or you're just guessing? I was wondering how drafts were going to be handled. 1-1-2 (1st set, 2nd set, super pack)? Seems pretty awkward.

[QUOTE="God's Beard!";126995789]Gatecrash was a fun draft.[/QUOTE]
Can't get any worse than 3 DGM!

The biggest worry amongst my friends is the length of standard's rotation. Unless MM2 is plentiful and affordable (lol) for me to get into, I and several other standard players will have a major issue with the quicker rotation.

 

["God's Beard!"]

Can't get any worse than 3 DGM!

You ever play Masques or The Dark? I come from a sad place. Look at this fucking card:

 

[Crocodile]

My experince with draft sets has always been AAA > CBA > BAA so I'm a bit worried how this will affect the quality of draft. Otherwise, these are changes I can get behind or at least wait until implementation before critique.

 

[ultron87]

It'll be interesting to see how they do mana bases for three block standard. There is way less room for full dual land cycles in blocks that are just a big set and a small set. If they want to keep doing full cycles they might bump it down to a cycle of rare lands every other block.

 

[Cosmo Clock 21]

Wait, is this official or you're just guessing? I was wondering how drafts were going to be handled. 1-1-2 (1st set, 2nd set, super pack)? Seems pretty awkward.

Nah I'm just spitballing ways to keep the balance of packs opened in draft umm... balanced? for the new release schedule.

 

[kirblar]

I don't really like BAA. I like AAB much better.