Seriously. It seems like in these 200+ card sets, at least half of the set is comprised of garbage anyway. Why not make the sets smaller but make the overall card quality better
most players arent trying to win constructed world title.
a crappy orc fits right into someones fun orc deck
a weak but weird enchantment gives others the fun challenge of designing a deck around it
an overcosted artifact fits right into another persons EDH deck
others love the challenge of building sealed deck and draft using weaker cards
grid_monitor has a point. Every set, cards get spoiled that somehow simultaneously have fan-boys raving about how awesome they are while detractors complain that it's the end of Magic and threat to quit. Not every player is looking for the same thing in this game.
Also, some cards are dismissed as garbage until a new card or a new deck comes along, and then all of a sudden they are a chase card and the price skyrockets. Dark Depths, Splinter Twin, Simian Spirit Guide, etc - all cards that sat around unwanted until they suddenly became $20+ cards that I was happy to unload. Even Tarmogoyf was initially seen as a garbage rare - I remember people getting upset when they opened them and ripping them up because they had just lost money on the pack.
Are there some cards that are just plain bad? Sure. But even those have fans. Ever done a crap draft? Get each player to bring 45 cards they think are garbage. Separate cards into 15 card repack boosters. Draft and play. It can be a blast, and you'll play cards you have never even considered before. The last time I did that, I built a janky combo deck because other people had given me the tools without realizing how they could be leveraged together.
So, who decides what is garbage? And what would we miss out on in the future if they didn't test the waters now? If every card had to be certified "good" before it was printed, the designers would have their hands tied, unable to experiment, unable to build in future payoffs. Power creep would only ever go up, and casual players wouldn't be able to be so casual.
Seriously. It seems like in these 200+ card sets, at least half of the set is comprised of garbage anyway. Why not make the sets smaller but make the overall card quality better
Less quantity
More quality
What am I missing here?
most players arent trying to win constructed world title.
a crappy orc fits right into someones fun orc deck
a weak but weird enchantment gives others the fun challenge of designing a deck around it
an overcosted artifact fits right into another persons EDH deck
others love the challenge of building sealed deck and draft using weaker cards
Also, some cards are dismissed as garbage until a new card or a new deck comes along, and then all of a sudden they are a chase card and the price skyrockets. Dark Depths, Splinter Twin, Simian Spirit Guide, etc - all cards that sat around unwanted until they suddenly became $20+ cards that I was happy to unload. Even Tarmogoyf was initially seen as a garbage rare - I remember people getting upset when they opened them and ripping them up because they had just lost money on the pack.
Are there some cards that are just plain bad? Sure. But even those have fans. Ever done a crap draft? Get each player to bring 45 cards they think are garbage. Separate cards into 15 card repack boosters. Draft and play. It can be a blast, and you'll play cards you have never even considered before. The last time I did that, I built a janky combo deck because other people had given me the tools without realizing how they could be leveraged together.
So, who decides what is garbage? And what would we miss out on in the future if they didn't test the waters now? If every card had to be certified "good" before it was printed, the designers would have their hands tied, unable to experiment, unable to build in future payoffs. Power creep would only ever go up, and casual players wouldn't be able to be so casual.
2023 Average Peasant Cube|and Discussion
Because I have more decks than fit in a signature
Useful Resources:
MTGSalvation tags
EDHREC
ManabaseCrafter