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[Büge]

The problems with that card are:
1) Makes your creature twice as vulnerable to removal;
2) Despite the flavor text, does not do a damn thing against infect.

True. but like McDohl said, it works well with metalcraft. You could also feed the creature to a Barrage Ogre or Pump it with a Golem Artisan. Snap it on a Goblin token and you've got a self-renewing resource for Kuldotha Rebirth. Put it on a creature with shroud and you've got a Phylactery Lich's new best friend. Shape Anew, Steel Overseer, Tempered Steel, Voltaic Key...

The point is, I'm sure there's someone out there who could find a way to break this thing.

In regards to #2, the Neurok never claimed they got it right the first time.

[Mongrel]

2) Despite the flavor text, does not do a damn thing against infect.

That part made everyone I know laugh. "Way to NOT rise to the challenge, guys!"

[TA]

Well, it ... lets you have one more poison counter before you die?

[Büge]

"Good news, sir! The agents who wear the armor die slightly slower than those who don't!"

"Excellent. Break out the blinkmoth juice, we're getting stinko."

[Mongrel]

This is!... what is this?!



HILARIOUS!

[Büge]

TEN-TURN CLOCKS

TEN-TURN CLOCKS EVERYWHERE

[Zaratustra]

@maro254: Let me clear this up: The winner was decided by us when we designed the block. The players do *not* influence who wins.

In case anyone held hope this block had anything interesting in it.

[jsnlxndrlv]

I did not realize there was ambiguity on that point. "Mirrodin Pure" would have meant the Phyrexians were eliminated entirely, suggesting that we wouldn't be getting any infect or proliferate cards. "New Phyrexia" just implies that the Phyrexians win; it doesn't depend on the problematic absence of the opposite faction.

[Büge]

They're just going to have to learn to get along.

[Mongrel]

Yeah, they made that clear months ago. Anyone who still thought the players had a chance to influence things is way off base. Wizards has basically moved AWAY from letting players touch anything, as their small experiences with that have been generally terrible (You Make The Card, invitational cards), though it's worth pointing out that that's mostly due to Wizards meddling in the process and the too-many-cooks problem in the case of the former. It is worth noting that one of the best-designed cards of all time - Meddling Mage - was an invitational card.

If I felt like typing up a long post (that's funny because it's me), I'd tell the story of old-school L5R, which basically set the bar forever for having the game and storyline being directly affected by player actions.

[TA]

I stopped following L5R a long time ago but I loved the fuck out of that game, and the whole storyline tournament concept was a fantastic way to get players involved.  More so under Rich Wulf than Ree Soesbee, but even then.

[Mongrel]

I think the thing that kills me is that it was SO SUCCESSFUL for getting players REALLY ENGAGED with the product, but I've never seen another game company take even a withering halfhearted stab at something similar.

[jsnlxndrlv]

I was always intrigued by L5R's approach, but I was kind of puzzled by the people who thought Scars block might mirror that structure, because nothing about the way WOTC does things would afford that possibility. They have no logistical system for TOs to report back on prerelease or game day faction allegiance; they design sets years in advance, and actually print them like six months before release, meaning the "results" of player-based decisions wouldn't be relevant to the then-current storyline; they have a significantly larger userbase, meaning the risks inherent in shaking up their established release formula are significantly magnified. The curse of being relatively successful means they can't be nearly as experimental as a smaller franchise or product could.

[Mongrel]

Well, I know Wizards has been the Microsoft of the CCG/RPG world for years now, so expecting them to innovate is probably asking a bit much. But I was always surprised that literally NO OTHER CCG of any note sought to emulate L5R. Nor have I seen any tabletop game company do it either.

I mean, granted, it's not like you can have storyline tournaments with uncertain outcomes for franchised stuff like Star Wars or LotR, but standalone properties certainly could have.

[Büge]

I'm given to understand that Games Workshop allowed tournament outcomes to influence Warhammer 40k, specifically the most recent summer event that allowed the Chaos faction to take and hold the Imperial world of Cadia. I have a feeling the only reason that they'd make such a gamble is because the sales and event attendance numbers are dropping.

[Mongrel]

Heh. Dropping, eh? Good for Privateer Press.

Now if we give it another ten years, maybe we'll see a relevant competitor shake up WotC. Har har.

[Zaratustra]

I was always intrigued by L5R's approach, but I was kind of puzzled by the people who thought Scars block might mirror that structure, because nothing about the way WOTC does things would afford that possibility. They have no logistical system for TOs to report back on prerelease or game day faction allegiance; they design sets years in advance, and actually print them like six months before release, meaning the "results" of player-based decisions wouldn't be relevant to the then-current storyline; they have a significantly larger userbase, meaning the risks inherent in shaking up their established release formula are significantly magnified. The curse of being relatively successful means they can't be nearly as experimental as a smaller franchise or product could.

I imagined something like designing two sets - they certainly have designers to do so. Then check the sales of boosters for each faction on the first month or first three months, and give the print orders just in time to get the cards for sale. Yes, it'd be complicated, but it would drive the audience nuts.

[TA]

Well, I know Wizards has been the Microsoft of the CCG/RPG world for years now, so expecting them to innovate is probably asking a bit much. But I was always surprised that literally NO OTHER CCG of any note sought to emulate L5R. Nor have I seen any tabletop game company do it either.

Well, 7th Sea and Deadlands did too sort of, but same company doesn't really count.

I feel like 99% of set design can be storyline-independent though.  Swap names and flavor on stuff when the tourney results come in, you're gold.

[Büge]

Heh. Dropping, eh? Good for Privateer Press.

Not really. Miniature sales are dropping across the board. Monsterpocalypse's next set is in limbo, WotC ended D&D Miniatures, and Rackham is in liquidation.

Now if we give it another ten years, maybe we'll see a relevant competitor shake up WotC. Har har.

I hear Pathfinder's got them sweating pretty good. But since Hasbro swept the company up, the PnP end of things hasn't really been WotC's focus. It doesn't have a collectible or game-y quality like the rest of their products. You can't re-buy a handbook you already own and you have to use your imagination rather than a card you can buy in a booster.

oh wait

[Mongrel]

Heh. Dropping, eh? Good for Privateer Press.

Not really. Miniature sales are dropping across the board. Monsterpocalypse's next set is in limbo, WotC ended D&D Miniatures, and Rackham is in liquidation.

Now if we give it another ten years, maybe we'll see a relevant competitor shake up WotC. Har har.

I hear Pathfinder's got them sweating pretty good. But since Hasbro swept the company up, the PnP end of things hasn't really been WotC's focus. It doesn't have a collectible or game-y quality like the rest of their products. You can't re-buy a handbook you already own and you have to use your imagination rather than a card you can buy in a booster.

oh wait

Well, I know Privateer's been doing okay (as in they're not in any danger at least and may even be expanding a little). It's only anecdotal, but more and more I hear Warmachine/Hordes as folks' first choice for getting into tabletop gaming.

The most basic difference is that the production quality is as good as GW, but simply requires far fewer models to play. Entry-level play is simply far less daunting.

If GW is sinking and PP is at least staying flat (or even growing a tiny bit), I would say they are the main threat, yes. The smaller game companies like Rackham aren't really a factor - hundreds (maybe even thousands) of companies have come and gone in the past 40 years that produced minis that could be used with any rules of your choice (i.e. they just produce the figures. Sure, some have their own rule sets, but really the following for those is so small and localized that even if they hadn't put out a rule set, it wouldn't have made much difference to their overall bottom line or market share. tl;dr: The bit players are functionally just minis companies, not game companies.

I've said it before, but Magic is basically comparable to Warhammer in the regards that it has a reliably large playerbase, is monolithic and stable, and has a long history (and the ccg world's only remaining tournament system with relevant prize payouts). But again, like Warhammer, it's seen as a rich kid's game. Or at least a pasttime you have to sink large money into. I mean, gripers have been saying that for nearly 20 years, sure, but for most of Magic's history when you really looked for yourself, you could see that wasn't true, that there were several affordable tournament formats. Now, not so much.

Magic needs a real competitor again, something to shake them up and scare them. But I doubt we'll see one anytime soon.