No More Core Sets

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

Some very big changes are on the horizon for Magic: the Gathering players - first and foremost is that Wizards of the Coast, after much discussion is cancelling core sets.  Love 'em or hate 'em, this will be making room to accommodate two-set blocks moving forward.  The downside may be is increased standard format rotation but let's get into the nitty-gritty now.  We strongly suggest that everyone read Lead Designer Mark Rosewater's article on the mothersite today before we go further.

Here is a quick 'n' dirty summary of the changes to be implemented -  

Change #1: Beginning in the Fall of 2015, Magic Blocks Will Be Two Sets Each

Starting with "Blood" block in September 2015, each block will have one large set that introduces the world and one small set that builds upon it. (I should note that this is the default and we reserve the right to have sets of different sizes if it serves the block.) Blocks will no longer have a third set.

Change #2: Beginning in the Fall of 2015, Magic Will Have Two Blocks Per Year

Here's the typical schedule of the Magic year, with all the usual caveats about how Magic is about change and you should expect us to shake this up a bit over time: There will be a large fall expansion and small winter expansion set in World #1. Then there will be a large spring expansion and a small summer expansion, usually set in World #2. The first two sets will be part of one block and the second two sets will usually be part of a second.

Change #3: Beginning in 2016, the Core Sets Are No More

The summer of 2015 will have the last core set release, and in 2016, the summer set will be the second set of the block that started in spring of 2016.

Change #4: Beginning in 2016, the First Set of Each Block (the Fall and Spring Sets) Will Cause a Rotation

This in some ways isn't a change, but rather an adaptation to match the new Two-Block Paradigm. The first set of a block has always caused a rotation in the past. The Two-Block Paradigm just means that this now happens twice a year (in the fall and in the spring) rather than just in the fall.

Change #5: Beginning in 2016, Standard Will Be Three Blocks Rather Than Two Blocks

To keep the metagame more robust, we are changing the size of Standard. This change is the reason we are telling you this now, because we want you to understand that Khans of Tarkir will only be played in Standard for 18 months. This change should not have any impact on the set's role in other formats.

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Many Magic: the Gathering players are typically ho-hum about the core set and simply considered the summer a bit of a write-off for MTG.  WotC did change things up by providing a number of new never-before printings to spice things up.  Personally, we are liking the new change and the retirement of the core set.  We are a titch unsure as to whether the increased rotation will cost us more - which may be an issue if were not so damn happy about picking up all the latest singles from MTG Mint Card.  Anywhoos, all in all, we might be able to make it out to Friday Night Magic at our local store OMG! Games in Barrie, Ontario more often now during the summer months.  :)

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Khanar and Tarkir

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps, 

As it is Thursday, our local gaming store OMG! Games is running its usual Commander (EDH) group tonight.  Sure we have a few tall stacks on the go but want to tweak the decklists with the newest Magic: the Gathering cards from Born of the Gods still before we take it for a spin - so - we'll likely be staying in, get our n3rd on with a unsightly and disorganized pile of cards ready for next week as well as the regular Friday Night Magic event tomorrow.

Anywhoos - time for a pop quiz -
Take a looky-loo at the following images to piece together a similarity.  

We've got (left to right / top to bottom) -
• Genghis Khan - warlord of the Mongol empire
• Khan Noonien Singh - Star Trek villain
• Chaka Kahn - singer / songwriter
• Kanar - Cardassian alcoholic beverage (DW9)

So whats this all about?  Possibly this fall's Magic: the Gathering expansion set.  Here's the latest trademark registrations from Wizards of the Coast -

On September 9, 2013, WoTC filed for a trademark for "Warlords of Khanar" in the following categories:

C 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: Interactive entertainment software, namely, video game programs; video game cartridges; multimedia computer game programs, computer game software, computer game cartridges, computer game discs, interactive video games of virtual reality comprised of computer hardware and software; downloadable software for use in playing computer games; computer game software for use with communication devices and mobile telephones; pre-recorded audio and video tapes featuring music; laser discs, video discs, phonograph records, compact discs, and pre-recorded cd-roms, all featuring games, films, and music; downloadable electronic publications in the nature of e-books in the field of fantasy adventures

IC 028. US 022 023 038 050. G & S: Card games, trading card games, playing cards and accessories for use therewith; computer and video game apparatus, namely, video game machines for use with televisions

IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S: Entertainment services, namely, providing online computer games and interactive multiplayer online computer games via a global network; organizing and conducting online computer game tournaments and exhibitions in the field of games; providing industry information online via a global network, namely, online publications in the nature of articles and magazines on games and gaming; production and distribution of motion pictures and an ongoing television game show; providing online publications in the nature of e-books in the field of fantasy adventures

On February 14, 2014, WoTC filed for a trademark for "Khans of Tarkir" in the following categories:

IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: Downloadable software for use in playing computer games; computer game software for use with communication devices and mobile telephones; downloadable electronic publications in the nature of e-books in the field of fantasy adventures

IC 028. US 022 023 038 050. G & S: Card games, trading card games, playing cards and accessories for use therewith

IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S: Entertainment services, namely, providing online computer games and interactive multiplayer online computer games via a global network; organizing and conducting game tournaments and exhibitions in the field of games; providing online publications in the nature of e-books in the field of fantasy adventures  

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Given the specific category registrations here as well as previous experiences, there appears to be a (slim?) chance that we could be looking at the name of the fall expansion.  Both names 'feel' the same and for us, invoke a feeling of wild steppes and wind-swept arid plains sparsely populated by nomadic bands of warriors.  We would go so far as to suggest that Wizards could possibly revise Horsemanship and / or Banding should this block prove real.  Kinda makes us want to pick up some of those older singles from MTG Mint Card.

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Sit and Rotate

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Wizards of the Coast is a business. Their goal is to sell cards. Our part as players are to buy said cards and if said cards fit well with our games then everyone is happy. Yesterday's news from WoTC has me in for a rant so you might as well buckle up and I will take you to a place of bitter resentment.

Ever feel that you have no mouth, no voice in which to express your opinion ? The new Magic 2010 card, Silence, sums up my feelings at the moment.
As I am certain any eMail with a hint of dissention directed to Wizards will go unanswered, I turn to my blog. Here is a few opinions right off the top :

* Standard Players are going to get hit hard unless they have the opportunity to be able to play two Core Edition sets.

* The young kid who just got a Magic 2010 set in the summer of 2010 (birthday, graduation, whatever), is sure to cry when he / she is told that half their cards cannot be played at Friday Night Magic after the fall rotation.

* As one forum member summed up "MoneyGrubbing scheme sure is MoneyGrubbing".

I have a love / hate releationship with new set releases . . . I really do get very excited about all the new card goodness and cannot wait to get the grey matter working on combos and synergies for a new deck. At the same time, I realise that an older very loved deck is just another step closer to the grave. To this end, I may simply move to extended if all the players there had not left already in disgust.

Well . . . I was going to drop my cash on a Magic 2010 core set in July but now I am having second thoughts. As I am not a tournament or extended player and only head out to Friday Night Magic, the thought of annual core set rotations is most un-inviting. The plan this year (as it stood last week) was to purchase a booster box of the core set along with a fat-pack from "Live". After this, I would then dip into the singles market and through trades, would hope to reach the finish line in October, 2010 with a Standard Constructed deck which did not totally suck.

I now think that perhaps I will stick to Intro Packs (or less) with each new Core Edition Set as well as each new Expansion Set. I fully expect mushrooming prices on the singles market as players are forced to keep up with four new sets each year which translates directly into fewer packs being ripped open. I guess that one can argue that there is only 3.5 new sets each year as one can expect approximately 50 % reprints from the new Core Edition but this argument is null / void as players still need to purchase it.

Please do not get me wrong . . . Core Edition Sets were on the whole pretty bad. These cards did not have much appeal to either the advanced or the new player and needed to be fixed. New cards not limited by the flavour of a storyline is a definite improvement and jank reprints of vinilla cr@p like Grizzly Bears (or the obvious plant of Cylian Elf) were not welcome visitors in any booster pack. I am OK with Mythic Rares and Planeswalkers in the new Core Set Edition as well although I as sure some more vetran players are not estatic about this.

In summary . . .

> A Standard player who goes out once a week to FNM just got hit hard below the belt.

>The Core Set Edition problems are fixed . . . sort of and with the increased rotation tempo are not.

>Message to Wizards : Sit and Rotate ! ! I want a two-year rotation back !

>By-the-way - Silence is awesome and I want to forgive you.

Release Dates
(Please correct me if I err)

Shards of Alara : October 3, 2008
Conflux : February 6, 2009
Alara Reborn : April 30, 2009
Magic 2010 : July 17, 2009

"Live" : October 2009 (Lorwyn, Morningtide, Shadowmoor, & Eventide rotate out of Standard)
"Long" : February 2010
"Prosper" : May 2010

Magic 2011 : October 2010
"Lights" : October 2010 (Shards of Alara & Magic 2010 rotate out of Standard)
"Camera" : February 2011
"Action" : May 2011

Magic 2012 : October 2012
"Shake" : October 2011 ("Live", "Long", "Prosper" & Magic 2011 rotate out of Standard)
"Rattle" : February 2012
"Roll" : May 2012

Favourite MTG Set ?

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The other day I was contemplating favourite cards from the most recently released sets which I had found somewhat daunting to order into a 'Top 10' list. I often problem-solve by stepping back and looking at the 'big picture' and then drill down to attempt an answer or solution.


Suffice to say, I gave up and decided instead to concentrate on my favourite set currently in standard. Again, without some quantitative metric, I fell short of a definitive answer.

As this blog is fairly big on spoilers and set reviews, I then looked at MTG-Realm Blog visitor traffic summaries (with the month-end nearest to the release date), to obtain some measure.

Conflux (February 6, 2009) - 102,424 hits
Shards of Alara (October 3, 2008) - 21,671 hits
Eventide (July 25, 2008) - 6,521 hits
Shadowmoor (May 2, 2008) - 2,969 hits
Morningtide (February 1, 2008) - 723 hits
Lorwyn (October 12, 2007) - not available

I realised that this too would be rather skewed to try to apply it to set popularity as I could not account for the difference between set hype and the increasing MTG-Realm reader base.
(Note - this blog was not alive when Lorwyn was released.)

I really do give up and let you, the loyal blog reader decide through this on-line poll. For Wizards of the Coast staff, you may vote for Alara Reborn as you should know by now all the new-card goodness in this set. Please take a moment to vote.

Block Talk

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The other weekend, I was yattering with another Magic player, who, like me had just started playing and had some questions regarding the rotation of blocks out of standard play. With the announcement of the new set of Eventide today on Magic Arcana, I thought this would be an appropriate post.

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Some Basics

A block is a set of three story-based editions, typically beginning with a large expansion and followed by two small expansions. In general, every 12 months a new block is released. This does not hold true for the 'mini-blocks' of Lorwyn and Shadowmoor which contain only two sets of cards each.

My friend's question concern the length of time he would be able to play his new Morningtide cards during our regular Friday Night Magic (FNM) games.

FNM in our neck of the woods is typically Magic games using 'Standard' player-constructed decks. Standard is the format defined by the current block, the last completed block, and the most recent core set. The current Standard card pool consists of Time Spiral block, Coldsnap, the Tenth Edition core set, and "Lorwyn" block. For a list of all the blocks and their respective sets, visit Magic: The Gathering's website.

Sets only rotate out in October. This October (10/01/2008), the two previous blocks of Time Spiral and Cold Snap will rotate out of Standard play.

It is expected that the 'mini-Blocks' of Lorwyn and Shadowmoor will be treated as one large Über-Block for Standard and will not expect to have it rotate out of Standard until October, 2009.

This leads to a controversial point; With an average of three or four new sets being released each year, some players complain that it requires a substantial investment to maintain a current deck for Standard Magic play.

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Provided here is a summary of the recent and soon-to-be releases;

Set Name : Lorwyn
Block : Set 1 of 2 in the Lorwyn Block
Number of Cards : 301 black-bordered cards (80 rare, 80 uncommon, 121 common, 20 basic lands)
Release Date : October 12, 2007
Pre-Release Events : September 29-30, 2007

Set Name : Morningtide
Block : Set 2 of 2 in the Lorwyn Block
Number of Cards : 150 black-bordered cards (50 rare, 40 uncommon, 60 common)
Release Date : February 1, 2008
Pre-ReleaseEvents : January 19-20, 2008

Set Name : Shadowmoor
Block : Set 1 of 2 in the Shadowmoor Block
Number of Cards : 301 black-bordered cards (80 rare, 80 uncommon, 121 common, 20 basic lands)
Release Date : May 2, 2008
Pre-Release Events : April 19-20, 2008

Set Name : Eventide
Block : Set 2 of 2 in the Shadowmoor Block
Number of Cards : 180
Release Date : July 25, 2008
Prerelease Events : July 12-13, 2008

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If I have a date incorrect, please feel free to leave a comment or send me an eMail.