In case you haven’t heard, the internets are in an uproar over the announced M10 rules changes. A lot of famous Magic people like Randy Beuhler and Zvi Mowshowitz have chimed in with their opinions and in general a lot of forum posters are whining about the most controversial change: the removal of combat damage on the stack.
I, for one, welcome our new non-damage stacking overlords. One of Magic’s strengths has always been that it is a dynamic, ever-changing game, and this is just another step in its’ evolution. Sure, it might turn out to be a wrong step in the end, but while it’s here we get to adapt to the new way of thinking, discarding strategic options that are no longer viable (pretty sure Mogg Fanatic is still a pretty good card though) and looking for what new strategies come to light as a result of the new rules.
A couple of friends from Singapore are in town next week and we’re planning to draft some Alara block. Most likely I will try to persuade them to play according to M10 rules, so that we can get a feel of how things play out when blockers need to line up.
Obviously, it’s a big change, but it’s not as big a change as Sixth Edition was, and Magic survived that just fine. We need to trust that Wizards would not unleash such a major change like this without having tested it and determined that the game of Magic would still be fun. Fun, that’s what it’s all about, ain’t it?
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