The expansion, on average, had an unexpectedly low power level compared to previously released expansions. Initially, very few cards were used for competitive play when the expansion was legal in the Standard tournament format. Magic Head Designer Mark Rosewater labeled Homelands as "Magic's all-time design low". When the first Pro Tour was held shortly after the release of the set, Wizards even decided to have the competitors play a modified Standard. Each player had to have five cards from each legal expansion in his deck, so that at least a few cards from the newest set, Homelands, would be showcased in the top decks.
I was about to bold some sentences but the whole paragraph makes it look catastrophic.
What the set itself seems to want is "what can we do with enchantment as a type" rather than "how can we reward playing enchantments." These often should go together, but not necessarily. I think a key in looking at the direction of Theros is the sometimes nebulous boundaries between enchantments and artifacts. Enchantments have static effects and artifacts tap, but the differences don't always feel satisfactory.`
Actually artifacts have static abilities as well, what makes enchantments different from artifacts is that enchantments are colored and can't have T abilities while artifacts are colorless and can have them, however they've already done enchantments withT[CARD=Witch's Mist] abilities, colored artifacts and colorless enchantments, they don't want to do those things again because it blurs the line detween enchantments and artifacts too much so...
What Theros does, then, is use enchantments in ways it would make no sense to use other types. Can you imagine Purphoros as a creature? As an artifact creature? As a land creature? Can you imagine his hammer as just an artifact or just an enchantment?
I can see Purphoros being an artifact creature or even just an enchantment (*)and I can see his hammer being just an artifact or just an enchantment so I don't really see the innovation.
And while there are some misses, I think cards like the Gods are definitely a hit. These don't work as any other card type but what they are.
I actually like how the gods work as a representation of gods, but not as much as desing innovation.
(*) Purphoros as a regular encahntment:
Purphoros, God of the Forge 3R
Legendary Enchantment
Indestructible
As long as your devotion to red is five or higher, Purphoros is a 6/5 god creature in addition to its other types . (Each in the mana costs of permanents you control counts towards your devotion to red.)
Whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control, Purphoros deals 2 damage to each opponent. 2R: Creatures you control get +1/+0 until end of turn.
It's more flavorful as an enchantment creature though.
I believe that having a large number of interactions with enchantments makes something an enchantment block. In an enchantment block, I would expect to see things like enchantment sac outlets, enchantment cost reducers, cards which have power dependant on the number of enchantments in hand/graveyard/battlefield, cards that target enchantments (excluding removal).
I agree with that definition and basically that's what they did with lands and artifacts in Zendikar and both Mirrodin blocks but Maro wrote this in his State of dessign 2013 article:
2014 Goal #2: Show That We Can Execute an Enchantment Block
Theros block is very much about top-down design inspired by Greek mythology, but mechanically it is also very much about tapping into the potential of enchantments. One of the goals of design in this block was seeing if we could make enchantments matter but in a way a little different than we've made other things (artifacts, I'm looking at you) matter in the past. This goal asks, "Is this execution interesting?" and even more importantly, "Is this execution fun?"
I may end up changing my opinion once I get to play with the cards but right now it looks like they won't accomplish this goal.
They are indestructible enchantments that have powerful global/activated effects and can become creatures
Except they have the creature type in their type box and a beautyful power/toughness box on the bottom right corner and everything that can interact with creature cards can interact with them while they're not in play, again, for not being creatures they look and function a lot like them.
Not to mention that the 5 gods are among the splashiest powerful enchantments created in a long time
They're creatures. Yes, I know, they can also be seen as enchantments that can conditionally turn into creatures but by now R&D should know better than to make most of their enchantments in the 'enchantment heavy block' look like creatures.
1) Because standard isn't the only format that matters.
2) Because if all the mythics were good in standard people would complain about that.
I'm Ok with them changing it then.
Has that been a problem for you or anyone you know to learn the game?
If they print a "Return to Homelands" people will probably google Homelands and find out that it was bad, even its wikipedia page seays so:
I was about to bold some sentences but the whole paragraph makes it look catastrophic.
Actually artifacts have static abilities as well, what makes enchantments different from artifacts is that enchantments are colored and can't have T abilities while artifacts are colorless and can have them, however they've already done enchantments with T[CARD=Witch's Mist] abilities, colored artifacts and colorless enchantments, they don't want to do those things again because it blurs the line detween enchantments and artifacts too much so...
I can see Purphoros being an artifact creature or even just an enchantment (*)and I can see his hammer being just an artifact or just an enchantment so I don't really see the innovation.
I actually like how the gods work as a representation of gods, but not as much as desing innovation.
(*) Purphoros as a regular encahntment:
Legendary Enchantment
Indestructible
As long as your devotion to red is five or higher, Purphoros is a 6/5 god creature in addition to its other types . (Each in the mana costs of permanents you control counts towards your devotion to red.)
Whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control, Purphoros deals 2 damage to each opponent.
2R: Creatures you control get +1/+0 until end of turn.
It's more flavorful as an enchantment creature though.
I agree with that definition and basically that's what they did with lands and artifacts in Zendikar and both Mirrodin blocks but Maro wrote this in his State of dessign 2013 article:
I may end up changing my opinion once I get to play with the cards but right now it looks like they won't accomplish this goal.
Except they have the creature type in their type box and a beautyful power/toughness box on the bottom right corner and everything that can interact with creature cards can interact with them while they're not in play, again, for not being creatures they look and function a lot like them.
They're creatures. Yes, I know, they can also be seen as enchantments that can conditionally turn into creatures but by now R&D should know better than to make most of their enchantments in the 'enchantment heavy block' look like creatures.
It's not the end of the world but you might want to fix it.
Oops, missed that one.