CML
Contributor
Onderzeebot is right that the problem is the middle set, which almost always sucks. Historically this seems to be a recent phenomenon:
Alliances -- this will always be one of the best and most innovative sets of all time, and is of great historical significance because it "saved" Magic (or so goes the MaRo pabulum).
Visions -- also awesome, arguably the first modern MTG set.
Stronghold -- great
Urza's Legacy -- decent (Mother of Runes and Rancor and some other stuff like Rebuild)
Nemesis -- shitty set in a shitty block
And then this happened:
Planeshift -- yeah, pretty lame compared to Invasion and Apocalypse (unless bouncelands that tap for 1 are your thing). Also fucked with the whole fixing balance of the set.
Torment -- this was a good set, even if you're like me and don't particularly like Black cards.
Legions -- awful
Darksteel -- ugh
Betrayers -- pretty good compared to the rest of the block
Guildpact -- fine, but the weakest of the block
Planar Chaos -- see Guildpact
Conflux -- shit
Worldwake -- enormously influential and probably badly designed. I think the three-set-block structure made them rush JTMS and SFM out the door, so there might even be direct causation here.
Mirrodin Besieged -- gross
DKA, GTC, BNG -- terrible
I agree with "three sets, not third set" being the problem. Somewhere on page 29378 of this forum I posted our grab-bag-draft format jokes and one of them is Conflux - DKA - Legions, the "uninspired middle-set draft" format.
Alliances -- this will always be one of the best and most innovative sets of all time, and is of great historical significance because it "saved" Magic (or so goes the MaRo pabulum).
Visions -- also awesome, arguably the first modern MTG set.
Stronghold -- great
Urza's Legacy -- decent (Mother of Runes and Rancor and some other stuff like Rebuild)
Nemesis -- shitty set in a shitty block
And then this happened:
Planeshift -- yeah, pretty lame compared to Invasion and Apocalypse (unless bouncelands that tap for 1 are your thing). Also fucked with the whole fixing balance of the set.
Torment -- this was a good set, even if you're like me and don't particularly like Black cards.
Legions -- awful
Darksteel -- ugh
Betrayers -- pretty good compared to the rest of the block
Guildpact -- fine, but the weakest of the block
Planar Chaos -- see Guildpact
Conflux -- shit
Worldwake -- enormously influential and probably badly designed. I think the three-set-block structure made them rush JTMS and SFM out the door, so there might even be direct causation here.
Mirrodin Besieged -- gross
DKA, GTC, BNG -- terrible
I agree with "three sets, not third set" being the problem. Somewhere on page 29378 of this forum I posted our grab-bag-draft format jokes and one of them is Conflux - DKA - Legions, the "uninspired middle-set draft" format.