I’m not too concerned about the M10 rules changes. Personally I thought the combat step in Magic the Gathering was terribly swingy and overcomplicated as it was. Even though this could just be because I’m terrible at Magic I always had a sort of anxiety attack once I entered the combat phase with a complicated board and an opponent with cards in hand and mana open. There is just too much going on and a single combat step could determine the outcome of the game.
Simple is Better
A lot of forum and blog posts I’m reading have people freaking the funk out over their precious combat step being dumbed down. I think sometimes we forgot the old KISS ( Keep It Simple Stupid ) term when it comes to Magic Rules, simple is better a lot of the time. And yes, you do want the game that you make money selling to be as accessible as possible, trying to explain how lifelink works and why saccing a create that died will save Nantuko Husk is a huge mess.
All Growed Up
Wizards is not the same young company back when the 6th edition rules came out. Its important to note that game design theory and concepts have come along way since the 90s. Game companies have gotten awfully sophisticated at user testing and feedback and that makes me think that Wizards knows how to make Magic a better game a lot more than I do.
Change you can Believe in
Of course when things change people inevitably freak out. Take a look at this message from back when the 6th edition rules changed. It seems that the only thing that doesn’t change is how much people freak out when things do.
How do you know you know?
What amuses me the most though is that I’m sure 90% of the people with opinions on the combat step rules change haven’t played a game yet with these rules in place.
