Today, the Head of Design at MTG, Mark Rosewater, addressed criticisms regarding the introduction of pop-culture references like televisions and sneakers in upcoming products such as Duskmourn: House of Horror.
Some MTG players have become increasingly critical as Magic: The Gathering incorporates more pop culture into a game originally based on fantasy lore. This trend accelerated as Universes Beyond products expanded from The Walking Dead as a Secret Lair to entire Modern Legal sets, such as MTG x Assassin’s Creed releasing this week.
Player complaints have extended to Standard sets as well. Murders at Karlov Manor introduced several characters wearing hats, followed by Thunder Junction featuring even more hats, a beanie in the recent MH3 set, and now Duskmourn with 80s pop culture references.
Regarding these criticisms, the Head of Design at MTG had this to say:
From a big picture, Magic excels at creating variety and does poorly at consistency. The core idea of a trading card game is we make lots and lots of pieces you can play with and then you, the player, customize your game as you see fit. History has shown us, the wider we spread the potential of what Magic can be, the more people find something they enjoy and are attracted to the game.
Think of it this way. Each player has a different sense of what Magic is to them. There’s no cutoff point where we make the majority of players happy. In fact, for many players, it’s the ever-expanding quality to the game that they enjoy most.
This does mean though that we might make choices that don’t connect with what you personally enjoy, and I respect that. If Magic isn’t providing what you want out of it, that’s okay. My only recommendation is don’t get rid of your cards. Many Magic players rotate in and out of the game, and the number one complaint I hear from players who rotate back in is them having gotten rid of everything when they rotated out.
Magic might not be what you need right now, but maybe a few years from now you’ve changed in ways which makes it something you will enjoy. Or maybe Magic will evolve in a way that speaks to you. The only constant I know is you and Magic will both change.
Mark Rosewater via Blogatog
As we can see, MTG is continuing to ‘ever-expand’ it’s appeal to more and more players. That means expanding to include more IPs, which has been successful for other games like Fortnite in recent years. It’s also becoming huge for MTG in terms of sales and popularity.
Rosewater emphasized that MTG means different things to different players, so while one person may appreciate something, another may dislike it. He also pointed out that throughout Magic’s history, they have expanded their lore into new horizons that were often met with negative criticism, such as creating an urban city-based set around Ravnica.
When Ravnica was first released, some felt it broke the cohesiveness and boundaries of MTG by introducing an urban environment, but it has since become one of the most beloved sets among players.
Is MTG expanding its universes and world-building too far from traditional fantasy? For some players, the answer is yes. As Rosewater mentioned, however, others are excited about these upcoming products and the aesthetics they bring.
Whichever side you’re on, MTG’s Head of Design has reaffirmed that Magic: The Gathering will enthusiastically move forward with new IPs and concepts.
In Mark Rosewater’s closing words, “The only constant I know is that you and Magic will both change,” and change it will.
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