AaFo]As we set out to create the forthcoming Magic 2010 core set— wrote:
As we set out to create the forthcoming Magic 2010 core set—which is a completely new approach to the core set ideal, as announced earlier this year—we opened up everything about how we make Magic cards to scrutiny in an attempt to make that set, and the game as a whole, more accessible.
Every Magic set we release—perhaps each individual card—adds complexity to the game. New terms are introduced, new bits of lingo, new names to memorize, new potential gameplay scenarios that hadn't existed before. This "complexity creep" is all but impossible to stop; it is the nature of a game with ever-expanding content. Just because we can't stop the constant addition, however, doesn't mean that we shouldn't take occasional long hard looks at everything and try to find ways to strip complexity out of the system. As we can't "unprint" cards, the best way to accomplish that goal is through updating the rules—clearing out and cleaning up overly confusing bits.
Magic's rules haven't gone under any radical changes in a decade; the last big shift was attached to the release of the Classic Sixth Edition core set in 1999. With all the re-imagining we put into Magic 2010, we took time to reexamine the rules as well. While the changes we arrived at don't approach the scope of the Sixth Edition rules changes, we did find room for improvement in a few fundamental areas.
The Sixth Edition changes were meant to bring order to a disordered system. Our goal this time was much more subtle—to change the most unintuitive parts of game play such that players' first instincts were more often correct. Because Magic is a game most often played without access to a rulebook, players without contact with our fine network of judges often have to make decisions regarding how they think the game operates on the fly, and we want them to get things right more often than they get them wrong.
To figure out exactly where the problems were, we got into the mind of the casual player—not the player knee-deep in regular sanctioned play or Magic Online, but rather the one who plays our game at home, at school, or at the small local shop. We drew upon our own experiences and those of our co-workers. We ran focus tests. We went out in the field and played against such players—players who love, love, love Magic but don't have the need or desire to devote themselves to learning all the ins and outs of the rules.
So why is it important to make sure these players' intuition is most often correct? Aren't they content playing with their own messy version of the rules? They are—up to a point, and that point is when they leave their circles and joins the larger, more rules-compliant crowd. Maybe it happens at Friday Night Magic, or a Prerelease, or a convention. Maybe new players enter the group. However it happens, we want to make sure those players don't find out they've been doing it all wrong, find out the game doesn't make as much sense as they thought, find out that they don't like the way the rules really work.
All of the following changes—there are seven of note, some with multiple relevant pieces—have been tested rigorously here in R&D and by other Magic players of all varieties here at the company in many play formats, ranging from Sealed Deck to Standard to Elder Dragon Highlander to the forthcoming Planechase format. The biggest surprise was how often we played our games without noticing anything different. The new rules came up in every game, but in most situations, they were covered by the same shortcuts people currently use during any given game of Magic. In situations where we did zoom in past the shortcuts and encounter the changes, all involved parties generally agreed that the new way felt natural.
We don't do this flippantly; we don't do it often. We want nothing but continued success and growth for the game that we all love playing, and sometimes that means making changes. Some of the games you play will end differently because of the new rules. Some of your cards will become slightly more or less powerful. In the end, the game will be just as deep and skill-based as before, and it will be more intuitive and understandable going forward.
These rules changes go into effect on July 11, 2009 (the first day of Magic 2010 Prerelease events) and are scheduled to take effect on Magic Online on July 29.
Rules manager Mark Gottlieb will be assisting me in outlining the seven changes and how they affect game play. His sections have a blue background. 1) Simultaneous Mulligans
The Reality: Outside of tournament play, most players do not obey the by-the-book protocol for handling mulligans in which one player resolves all of his or her mulligans before the next player resolves any of his. Instead, players mulligan more or less at the same time.
The Fix: Mulligans will now officially be handled simultaneously. This will significantly cut down on time spent shuffling before each tournament game.
The Details: The procedure will work like this. Starting with the player who will take the first turn of the game and proceeding in turn order around the table, each player announces whether he or she will take a mulligan or not. Then everyone who said they would take a mulligan does so at the same time. (If no one's taking a mulligan, the game proceeds onward.)
If any players took a mulligan, then just those players repeat the process to see if any of them will take a second mulligan: First they announce yes or no, then all the yeses shuffle and redraw at the same time. This continues among the mulliganers until everyone's satisfied with their starting hands.
Once you decide you're not taking a mulligan, your starting hand is locked in. You can't jump back into the mulligan process later. 2) Terminology Changes
While Magic is full of flavorful and resonant terms (graveyard, library, spell, sorcery, combat, etc.), some of our terminology is generic, vague, and/or misleading. We are making four distinct terminology changes, both in printed card sets going forward and in Oracle, to make the game both clearer and more evocative.
2A) Battlefield
The Reality: Some players are confused by the subtle difference between "play" and "put into play." The name "in-play zone" breaks the metaphor the rest of the game tries to establish.
The Fix: The in-play zone is renamed the "battlefield," which brings it in line with other flavorful zone names like "graveyard" and "library." Permanents now "enter the battlefield" or are "put onto the battlefield" as opposed to "come into play" or "put into play."
The Details: As you may expect, this will require errata on roughly thirty-eight bazillion cards. (Over two thousand, at least.) A lot of cards say "in play," "to play," or "into play" on them! However, this is a straight-up terminology swap. No cards have functionality changes as a result of this.
One thing to keep in mind is that, as Aaron stated, "When this creature enters the battlefield" is the equivalent of "When this creature comes into play." This kind of ability triggers when the creature it's on hits the table, not when it enters combat.
2B) Cast, Play, and Activate
The Reality: Again, some players are confused by the subtle difference between "play" and "put into play." The term "cast" was retired from game rules at the time of Classic Sixth Edition for reasons I no longer believe are relevant—to streamline the rules and condense the number of terms down at the cost of flavor. Most players today who played pre-Sixth (and some who didn't!) still use the term "cast." It makes sense for spells to be "cast" as opposed to "played."
The Fix: "Cast" is being reinstated as the verb used when referring to the act of playing spells or types of spells. "Play" is being kept as the verb associated with lands (and with cards of unspecified types). Activated abilities are also no longer "played" but rather "activated."
The Details: This change will also require a lot of errata, but there won't be any functional changes. We're only changing the words.
To illustrate Aaron's point, a ton of players were confused about the interaction between Phage the Untouchable and Elvish Piper. Here are their Tenth Edition wordings:
Elvish Piper: Green Mana, Tap: You may put a creature card from your hand into play. Phage's first ability: When Phage the Untouchable comes into play, if you didn't play it from your hand, you lose the game.
The distinction between playing a card from your hand and putting a card into play from your hand was subtle to the point of unintelligibility. We want people other than Level 3 judges to be able to understand the game. Here's what the wordings of these cards will become:
Elvish Piper: Green Mana, Tap: You may put a creature card from your hand onto the battlefield. Phage's first ability: When Phage the Untouchable enters the battlefield, if you didn't cast it from your hand, you lose the game.
Much better. In the new world, you'll play lands, cast spells, activate abilities, and play cards that might be lands or spells (as with Mind's Desire).
2C) Exile
The Reality: "Removed from the game" is increasingly a misnomer as we design more cards that use the removed-from-the-game zone as a temporary holding cell for cards that are very much still in the game. Like the "in-play zone," the name "removed-from-the-game zone" does a poor job of maintaining the game's fantasy metaphor.
The Fix: The phrase "remove from the game" is being changed to "exile," which is shorter, more flavorful, and not at all misleading about actually being in the game. The zone is now called the "exile zone" and cards in it will be referred to as "exiled cards."
The Details: This is, for the most part, another cut-and-paste terminology change. Every card that removes something from the game, from Jester's Cap to Astral Slide to Identity Crisis, will be getting errata to use the word "exile" instead. But none of these cards are functionally changing.
However, the acknowledgment that this zone is, in fact, fully within the game does bring about functional changes to the six Wishes, Ring of Ma'rûf, and the Research half of Research // Development. These cards let you get cards from "outside the game," which has been ruled to include your card collection (in casual games), your sideboard (in tournament games), and the removed-from-the-game zone. That's no longer the case. Exiled cards are not outside the game (and you could argue that they never really were), so these cards will no longer be able to access cards in that zone. Their primary functionality—getting cards from your collection or sideboard—remains unchanged, of course.
2D) Beginning of the End Step
The Reality: The subtle but important difference between the phrases "at end of turn" and "until end of turn" in our card templates is a constant source of confusion for players. "At end of turn" really means "at the beginning of the end-of-turn step," which is not the actual end of the turn. In fact, it is often strategically correct to take certain actions during the end-of-turn step after "at end of turn" triggers are processed, which many players have trouble wrapping their heads around. Compounding this is the fact that "until end of turn" effects, like that of Giant Growth, last until the actual end of the turn.
The Fix: This one didn't involve the creation of any new terminology. Instead, it involves a minor rules update (changing the name of the "end-of-turn step" to the "end step") and a change in how we are templating cards. We will now refer to the time when such triggers happen as what it actually is: "at the beginning of the end step." Hopefully this will more clearly convey the existence of a window in the turn after these triggers occur during which more spells and abilities can be used. "Until end of turn" will still be used for effects with durations such as Giant Growth.
The Details: Indeed. This way, "at the beginning of the end step" triggers will more closely match "at the beginning of upkeep" triggers. Once again, no cards are functionally changing. We're just issuing errata, and changing card wordings going forward, so they more clearly convey what their functionality actually is.
There's a further change that escaped our notice before the Magic 2010 set was printed, but it'll be implemented on new cards starting with the Zendikar set. Where this issue gets really confusing is when a spell or ability that resolves during the end step has an "at end of turn" delayed triggered ability appended to it. Rakdos Guildmage's second ability is a perfect example. Here's what it says currently:
Rakdos Guildmage's second ability: 3 ManaRed Mana: Put a 2/1 red Goblin creature token with haste into play. Remove it from the game at end of turn.
It boggles the mind that if you activate this ability during the end step, after "at end of turn" triggers have already triggered, that you'd get to keep the token through nearly the entire next turn. This was called the "end-of-turn loophole," and it wasn't a problem for power reasons—it was a problem because it was ridiculously unintuitive. I think that confusion is alleviated not only by using the new template, but by adding the word "next" within it, like so:
Rakdos Guildmage's second ability: 3 ManaRed Mana: Put a 2/1 red Goblin creature token with haste into play. Remove it from the game at the beginning of the next end step.
That makes so much more sense it makes my toes curl. But that covers just one of the changes to this ability's wording. When it's fully updated, it'll really look like this:
Rakdos Guildmage's second ability: 3 ManaRed Mana: Put a 2/1 red Goblin creature token with haste onto the battlefield. Exile it at the beginning of the next end step.
Now that's an ability! 3) Mana Pools and Mana Burn
3A) Mana Pools Emptying
The Reality: Many players can't clearly distinguish between phases and steps. The fact that mana remains in pools from step to step but not phase to phase is arbitrary. The concept of floating mana from step to step is hard to understand. Mana pools, in general, should be empty most of the time that players pass priority for ease of keeping track of the game state.
The Fix: Mana pools now empty at the end of each step and phase, which means mana can no longer be floated from the upkeep to the draw step, nor from the declare attackers step to the declare blockers step of combat.
The Details: This is mostly a change on the rules side. Currently, rule 300.3 of the Comprehensive Rules says "When a phase ends (but not a step), any unused mana left in a player's mana pool is lost." That'll change to "When a step or phase ends, any unused mana left in a player's mana pool is lost." A few cards, such as Upwelling and Sakura-Tribe Springcaller, will get minor errata to their "mana doesn't empty from mana pools" abilities just to specify that the mana doesn't empty when steps end either. Other cards affected by this change, such as Radha, Heir to Keld and Braid of Fire, will not receive errata.
3B) Mana Burn Eliminated
The Reality: Many players aren't aware of the existence of mana burn as a game concept. Discovering it exists, especially via an opponent manipulating his own life total for gain, can be jarring. Its existence impacts game play in a negligible way, whereas its existence impacts card design space somewhat significantly.
The Fix: Mana burn is eliminated as a game concept. Mana left unspent at the end of steps or phases will simply vanish, with no accompanying loss of life.
The Details: It turns out that eliminating mana burn from the game is surprisingly easy. I delete three sentences from rule 300.3, strike the glossary entry, and modify a few other rules that mention mana burn, and it's gone. Six cards will get errata to delete their references to mana burn, since "This mana doesn't cause mana burn" text will be pretty redundant all of a sudden.
What happens during a game? Let's say Heartbeat of Spring is in play, and you add four mana to your mana pool, but you spend only three of it. At the end of the current step or phase, the extra mana vanishes. That's it. No penalty; it's just gone.
By my reckoning, the elimination of mana burn will functionally impact about 40 cards, some for the better and some for the worse, some directly and some indirectly, because no cards are getting errata as a result of this rules change. That's right: We're not maintaining current functionality for these cards; the whole point of getting rid of the mana burn rule is to get rid of the mana burn rule.
Some examples of cards that will work differently:
* Cathodion, Tolarian Academy, and Mana Drain are better, since there's now no drawback to adding unspendable mana to your mana pool. * Spectral Searchlight and Valleymaker are worse, since you can't use them to cause your opponent to mana burn. * Spur Grappler and Well of Discovery are better, since you can basically tap all of your lands for free now. * Citadel of Pain is worse, since your opponent can basically tap all of his or her lands for free now. * Hidetsugu's Second Rite is better, since your opponent can't dodge a life total of 10 by mana burning down to 9. * Magus of the Mirror, Convalescent Care, and Pulse of the Forge are worse, since you can't intentionally (and easily) mana burn yourself down to a low life total.
In 99.9% of Magic games, of course, you'll never even notice mana burn is gone. 4) Token Ownership
The Reality: The current "token ownership" rule is poorly understood, mainly because it doesn't make a ton of sense. Currently, the owner of a token is "the controller of the effect that put it into play." That means I own the tokens put into play under your control due to my Hunted Dragon or Forbidden Orchard, which allows me to do unintuitive tricks with cards like Brand or Warp World. Few people are aware of this rule, and assume that the owner of the tokens is the player under whose control they entered the battlefield.
The Fix: We are matching most players' expectation by changing the rule such that the owner of a token is, in fact, the player under whose control it entered the battlefield.
The Details: The rules change is as Aaron described it. As for the ramifications, there are three kinds of situations when this rule comes up:
1. When someone is trying to exploit it. (Sorry, Warp Worlders.) 2. When a naturally occurring game situation makes it matter who owns a token. This is pretty darn unusual. For example, my Hunted Lammasu creates a token under your control, I Repeal the token, and one of us controls Azorius
Magic Online Volunteer Community Lead. • Also assisting the Paper Magic area for the time being. I'm trying to make my official VCL posts in purple
You posted saying my thread was moved/locked but nothing happened. Spoiler:Show
Unfortunately, VCLs do not currently have the tools necessary to take moderation actions directly. VCLs submit their actions to ORCs, who then actually perform the action. This processing can take between a few minutes and several hours, depending on how busy/attentive the ORCs are.
If you see something that needs VCL attention, please use this thread (MTGO) or this thread (paper) to make a request and a VCL will look at it as soon as possible. CoC violations should be reported to Customer Service using the "report post" button. Please do not disrupt the thread by making requests of either kind in-thread.
"While a picture is worth a thousand words, each lolcat actually produces a negative wordcount." -Ith
"I think "Highly Informed Sarcasm" should be our Magic Online General motto." -Ith
"Sorry, but this thread seems just like spam. TT is for off-topic discussion, not no-topic discussion." -WizO_Kwai_Chang
"Stop that! If you're not careful, rational thinking may catch on!" -Sax
"... the only word i see that fits is incompitant." -Mr44 (sic)
"You know a thread is gonna be locked when it gets to the hexadecimal stage." -Gathion
"It's a good gig" - Gleemax
"I tell people often, if you guys want to rant, you've certainly got the right to (provided you obey CoC/ToS stuff), and I don't even really blame you. But if you see something you think needs changing a well thought-out, constructive post does more to make that happen." - Worth Wollpert
It puts the whole Development Status Discussion Thread in a new light. If they are spending a lot of time changing MTGO to work with the new rules (massive erratas, massive rules code changes) that would explain delays in fixing other issues.
July 11th comes fast at this point. I hope they have beta tested the heck out of the new code.
Wow, has anyone here Beta'd this or will MTGO have a delay to catch up to the new rules?
Who had post #5 in the "I'm quitting magic over this" pool?
I personally like the name changes (though maybe not the particular choices they made for the new names, as I've said before). However, I strongly dislike the combat damage changes. First of all, the changes do NOT simplify things. It is slightly more flavorful, but the collateral damage is just too large (more complicated, deathtouch and lifelink becoming static) to justify it.
Edit: if you are going to claim you are quitting, please at least add some discussion to the thread. This is not a "are you quitting" poll (which would violated the CoC).
Magic Online Volunteer Community Lead. • Also assisting the Paper Magic area for the time being. I'm trying to make my official VCL posts in purple
You posted saying my thread was moved/locked but nothing happened. Spoiler:Show
Unfortunately, VCLs do not currently have the tools necessary to take moderation actions directly. VCLs submit their actions to ORCs, who then actually perform the action. This processing can take between a few minutes and several hours, depending on how busy/attentive the ORCs are.
If you see something that needs VCL attention, please use this thread (MTGO) or this thread (paper) to make a request and a VCL will look at it as soon as possible. CoC violations should be reported to Customer Service using the "report post" button. Please do not disrupt the thread by making requests of either kind in-thread.
"While a picture is worth a thousand words, each lolcat actually produces a negative wordcount." -Ith
"I think "Highly Informed Sarcasm" should be our Magic Online General motto." -Ith
"Sorry, but this thread seems just like spam. TT is for off-topic discussion, not no-topic discussion." -WizO_Kwai_Chang
"Stop that! If you're not careful, rational thinking may catch on!" -Sax
"... the only word i see that fits is incompitant." -Mr44 (sic)
"You know a thread is gonna be locked when it gets to the hexadecimal stage." -Gathion
"It's a good gig" - Gleemax
"I tell people often, if you guys want to rant, you've certainly got the right to (provided you obey CoC/ToS stuff), and I don't even really blame you. But if you see something you think needs changing a well thought-out, constructive post does more to make that happen." - Worth Wollpert
Who had post #5 in the "I'm quitting magic over this" pool?
I personally like the name changes (though maybe not the particular choices they made for the new names, as I've said before). However, I strongly dislike the combat damage changes. First of all, the changes do NOT simplify things. It is slightly more flavorful, but the collateral damage is just too large (more complicated, deathtouch and lifelink becoming static) to justify it.
Edit: if you are going to claim you are quitting, please at least add some discussion to the thread. This is not a "are you quitting" poll (which would violated the CoC).
I guess it took me too long to read it, I was thinking it throughout and just didnt get to post till it was too late
I heard we're supposed to post in green if we don't like the new forums.
