Standard no longer has Kaladesh, and legacy no longer has DRS. Modern has staples being reprinted right now. Those formats, the most-played ones, are in a very healthy spot.
6 years ago | 16
If we look at it overall: Standard is highly diverse, Arena is open and drawing in an larger crowd. There are a few issues, mainly with event setups and artists basically going on strike, but that’s outside of the game itself (I think).
6 years ago | 7
Kaladesh is gone, and honestly there's so much to do in Standard even though it's just 5 sets so far.
6 years ago | 7
Maybe I'm being a pessimist but with the amount of changes to the competitive scene that suggest a shift to more online competition I'm feeling that Wizards is moving away from paper magic. While that isn't inherently bad (although I personally don't like it) I am getting a premonition that Wizards is making the shift too drastically and is disenfranchising more entrenched players, so much so that they won't have their feet firmly under them when they make a more definitive switch, all of which would be bad for the game itself. Obviously a lot of theory and conjecture that isn't grounded in anything that has actually happened yet, but it's just the sense I'm getting and it doesn't bode well. Pray that I'm wrong!
6 years ago | 2
The state of Magic is the healthiest it’s ever been in standard and modern; i cannot say for the other formats because i do not play the other formats. i’m also saying better due to the fact that some modern staples are the lowest they have ever been in the past couple of years which is amazing. also, i have been seeing a growth in number of people playing in my area which is amazing as well. that being said, i personally don’t get why people hate on the game so much now. i get that people in the game don’t have the same opinions as others, but that shouldn’t shape the way you look at a card game. i’ve seen people say they hate magic due to the politics. i get hating political views that differ from yours, but this is a card game that everyone should fine unity and love in and i think it’s starting to be that way. that’s why magic is in one of, if not the, best state it’s been in in years.
6 years ago | 4
Wow I'm surprised other people don't feel this way too. Ravnica Mythic edition and Ultimate Masters took a dump on local game stores. We have had some good sets this year, but only because there has been so much product thrown at us. I really like Dominaria and Ravnica. I play at FNM every week and I was at Gp Portland last weekend. The game is still alive, but it is getting milked to death by Hasbro.
6 years ago | 18
Despite WoTC making nearly every possible wrong decision the formats are healthy and arena is sweet. I have a feeling that with how greedy WoTC has been though it could go back downhill.
6 years ago | 4
i started playing a year ago. i love the new sets, mtg arena, commander’s amazing, this game is just fantastic.
6 years ago | 0
It's better but man akh and kal blocks were so aesthetically pleasing and had really fun janky mechanics imo. Loved my hidden stockpile marionette master deck
6 years ago | 1
Personally, I think that some great Standard legal sets were released this year, and the unbannings in Modern and bannings in Legacy were good for both formats. Please unbanned SFM in 2019 :)
6 years ago | 1
Standard is super fun and MTG Arena is amazing. A banner year for Magic.
6 years ago | 1
FNM attendance is down, GP attendance is down, Supplemental sets are much more expensive, and buy-a-box promo cards aren't in the set they accompany. While the health of standard has improved a bit, the game has become financially more exclusive than it has ever been. Magic is (primarily) a game for people who play, not those who collect. When you price people out of a game, it severely limits the number of people who can play it. Arena is fun, and "free to play", but to be competitive, you need to spend money on that too. The economy for Arena is also heavily weighted in favor of the developer, as the gems to coin conversion is not 1-for-1. I don't think Wizards understands that if you make a fun product that anyone can get at a reasonable price, more people will play, thus making them more money in the long term. These short-term cash grabs are slowly killing a game lots of people have been playing for more than a decade.
6 years ago | 52
Standard is so balanced compared to Kaladesh it's absurd, and the Modern meta is diverse. Not much else I can ask for, personally.
6 years ago | 1
Wizards has released some great sets and products this year and the news of next years prize pool tips the scales for me
6 years ago | 1
I've only been playing for a year and the game has been constantly improving for me
6 years ago | 1
TCGplayer
All things considered, is Magic in a better or worse spot today than it was one year ago?
6 years ago | [YT] | 124