Thanks for the info. I have a couple points of contention, though.
1) I never said that WotC implied that they don't like casual players. But I do get the impression that they want all casual players to aspire for greater things - that they don't want any players to be
just casual. I think this stems from the fact that most casual players have had the same decks since they started playing the game. They only buy new cards if they actually look enjoyable. If the cards aren't good, then they'll keep playing with the same old crap and be perfectly happy with it until something better comes along. On the other hand, competitive players have to continuously buy new cards to keep up with whatever format any particular event happens to be. Standard, block constructed and extended are constantly shifting as new cards are released and if you don't play competitively, you probably don't care. I think this also goes along the same vein of why so many Vintage enthusiasts feel spurned by WotC.
2) I absolutely disagree that the Pro Player Cards were meant to be a celebration of Magic. They're a marketing ploy and there's nothing subliminal about them. Mark Rosewater himself said they're a marketing ploy. From his back issues article: "They're replacing marketing. I mean, they
are marketing." My biggest beef with the PPCs isn't their existence - it's the fact that they
are marketing but they are
awful marketing.
Apparently, Aaron Forsythe wanted to make player cards like baseball cards. There's nothing wrong with that. I think they would have gone over well as a bonus in the player rewards program or something like that. People who follow the competitive side and actually are fans of the pros would have something they enjoy and would want to get them autographed and all that other business and they might have been worth something. But instead of being printed in limited quantities and given out to people who would appreciate them, they were turned into marketing and given to EVERYONE. On the other side of things, marketing was needed and WotC didn't want to spend the money in their marketing budget on more magazine ads. Fine. They could have printed up insert pamphlets for tournament packs and precons instead. Or advertise it on the already existing sheet that goes over the new mechanics and such. Or make up posters or on the back of the boxes or on the packs. But instead, WotC decided to advertise by using PPCs. And I think most people looked at them and said, "This guy makes money playing Magic? I hate him," instead of the intended, "This guy makes money playing Magic? I can be like him."
Granted, I don't think the PPCs were a blunder that caused anyone to quit playing the game, but I still think they were a blunder that could have been handled better in any number of ways.
3) Wow. It sounds like you were really scarred by Unglued. Sorry to bring up such a sensitive subject.
I think some players just like complaining about WotC, and they'll pick up on anything that isnt 'for them' and complain about it regardless of whether it has value to other people or not. And maybe by definition sites like this are overly-populated by those sort of people.
Absolutely. As I've started reading and now writing about Magic more in the past couple years, I also get a little bit saddened at how far away I am from the player I once was. Especially writing, if I need something to write about, I only need to find something I don't like and complain about it. Boom. Material. On the other hand, most Magic players probably don't give a damn about anything that we spend so much time debating.
Opened a pack with a bad rare? I had no idea.
A set was poorly designed? I'll just wait for the next one.
Did Rosewater say something stupid? Who's he?
I can't say that I miss those days, but I still marvel at how much has changed.