Thread by @Metallix87

Incoming long thread: In light of the SCG firings last night, I wanted to take a moment to talk about how we got here, and how I feel the direction #MTG is taking is the result of the community as a whole crafting somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy about the game "dying".

I think there's blame for everyone here, myself included, but it has to start with the big content creators. For years now, prominent content creators have pushed several notions about the game that, to me, are nonsensical and/or damaging to the game of Magic.

"Wizards wants to eliminate draft", "Wizards wants to eliminate prerelease", "Wizards wants Constructed formats to be bad", "Wizards wants to kill the game in favor of the collectible", and other such shit takes exist, are pushed by content creators, and are parroted online.

There's also a running "idea" that is bandied around that Commander is the only "fun" format, which suggests that the other formats are actively unfun to play. I see this pushed a lot, and I always post "Magic is a fun game" on Twitter in response. Because it is.

Lastly, I see a lot of content creators and older players aggressively ragging on Magic Arena, bashing the formats on it, bashing the Arena exclusive cards, and sadly, suggesting that "the Gathering", as they put it, makes Magic fun, implying Arena isn't fun or "real" Magic.

This isn't to suggest Magic Arena is a perfect client, of course. I think most people would agree the present day Arena economy is extremely flawed and desperately needs fixing, and that starts, IMO, with Wizards directly selling Wild Cards on the Arena storefront. Bare minimum.

What I want to get across is that these content creators are putting the player base against Wizards of the Coast, suggesting they're our enemy, and that they actively want the game to be miserable for us for some reason. That's just stupid nonsense.

Wizards, as a company, actively profits from us enjoying the game of Magic. They craft several new draft formats per year, and constantly try to keep their Constructed formats varied to ensure we have lots of options for enjoyment. They're in the business of making a good game.

I think it's no secret that I love Magic as a game. I genuinely believe it's the best game ever made. I've often said Magic is a lot like pizza, "even bad Magic is still Magic". That's largely why I'm taken aback by people suggesting otherwise. Or suggesting Wizards is our enemy.

Several content creators should reassess how they engage with the game of Magic, what message they're sending out to the community that plays the game, and what affect they're having on the game as a whole. We are living with the consequences of "Commander is the only fun Magic".

As much as people bemoan the loss of the SCG content creators, how many were actually paying for that content? How many actually enjoy Magic as a game that is constantly changing, evolving, and growing? How many just like the "idea" of Magic or just talking about Magic?

There's a lot to reflect about. I think what I want to impress on you all more than anything from this long rant is that Wizards are not our enemy, and that all Magic is fun, fun isn't exclusive to the Commander format. We need to change how we talk about the game we love.