Monthly Mailbag – Leave MaRo Alone!

Not only am I launching a new blog about EDH (I’ve Got 99 Problems But a General Isn’t One), but it’s mailbag time! That’s right, I sometimes get real questions from real people and give you real answers. I ask my twitter followers for questions about Magic and they sometimes deliver. Let’s get to them.

Why do you hate MaRo so much? It seems like every few posts that you talk about him, you’re always bashing him and making fun of him or things like that. What did he ever do to you?

Short answer: I do not hate Mark Rosewater.

Long answer: It’s funny when you read online and assume that everyone hates each other. Like the tabloids do every day, they photoshop and make stuff up to sell magazines. Let me hip you guys on a little secret: people love conflict. That’s why they watch Lord of the Rings, or Grey’s Anatomy, or other movies/shows/stories (Honestly, the only time you’ll see Grey’s Anatomy on this site). People don’t read X-Men because Magneto and Professor X get along, they read it because of the struggles and the fights they get to. See: Family Guy’s parody of “The Even Couple” (Good luck finding it, I wasn’t able to).

So, while it seems like I’m hating on him, that’s not the case. By “fighting” when I’m trying to make a point, makes for a much more interested read. Do I worship the ground he walks on? No, because he levitates. There are things that I don’t like WotC doing from time to time but, and here’s the thing you have to remember, I understand it. I understand why Lotus Cobra is Mythic, I understand why Allies are the way they are, I understand why online has PTQ’s. Do I like any of those choices? No, but I get why they do it.

Being a geek makes you passionate about something. When I, or other people, say they don’t like something that WotC is doing, it’s because they have a emotional connection to the thing that’s being changed or not changed. Star Wars, Doctor Who, Family Guy, all of those have loyal fanbases that shout out when they don’t like something. If the creators of Spongebob Squarepants changed his color to Purple, I’m sure that millions of people would hate it. I wouldn’t, because I don’t care. I don’t have the connection that other people do. I care about the game of Magic, and if WotC does something that makes me mad, I have the right to say something about it.

Of course the flip side is this:

I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very game I design, then questions the manner in which I design it. I’d rather you’d just said thank you and went on your way.

@mtgaaron said the last line to me after my “Few Good Louts Cobras” parody was posted. Sure, sometimes people can go a little far, but at the moment, I haven’t had people burst into my house and take me away with a hood over my face. Yet.

What do you think will happen to EDH if it becomes a side event at PT/GP/Worlds events – stay casual or get wrecked? – @the_stybs

Ah, hey everyone, it’s Adam Styborski! He’s the new writer for Serious Fun on DailyMTG.

There will always be causal in any format you play. As far as I can tell about MTGO, there’s a casual room where people quit if someone plays a counterspell; I don’t know, I just hear about it alot. Will some of the charm be lost if it gets taken to a higher level, sure. But, there’s a good side to that as well. As long as EDH does not get money involved in it (say you get a promo for participating, or several awards are given out by judges for random things), it will stay pretty casual.

Here’s the funny thing. If you ever end up watching a World Series of Poker on ESPN and it’s one of the side events where the pros are doing a wacky variant of Poker, take a look at how their acting. I remember one year they played Blind Man’s Bluff (Indian poker) and were betting it all and laughing. That’s how I imagine pros when they play EDH. It’s not the “staring at the situation, wondering what might be a fatal move if they don’t play something just right” atmosphere (sure, that’s there, but not as prominent). As long as no prizes are given out for finishing in certain places, then it will be just fine.

Creative’s been getting a lot of flack from longtime players. What gives? I like the current novels( and etc) a lot! – @cikesef

Remember when I talked about how fans will outcry when they don’t like something? That’s all this is. If you like it, great. Older players just want their Weatherlight Saga back while forgetting that Magic has now done more non-Weatherlight blocks then Weatherlight-centric since it debuted back in, um, Weatherlight. I know people going gaga over the Planeswalkers, so to each their own. Personally, I think it’s good to get a common thread between planes without being tied to the same people.

What will Worldwake bring us? Which colors are dominant right now and which need a little help via WWK? – @GatheringMagic

Cards, Worldwake will bring us cards.

Those of you who follow me on Twitter, know I’m repeating a joke. Don’t care, he asked for it.

Have a good week everyone.