This is an example of the support I get from the community. Win or lose, very classy people offer assistance, from personal outreach to deckbuilding tips. When MTGO looks over their support commitments to the Tribal Legacy Wars, I sure hope they catch the sense of community they helped establish, just with some computer code that wouldn't require them to do anything new. Thanks, everyone. Thanks, too, Bazaar_of_Baghdad!
Nicely written. We are not that far apart. Although my standpoint is more extreme and I do think their actions have been unethical. I am aware that my viewpoint is not close to any kind of consensus on the matter.
I'm sorry to hear about your disease and hope you are able to come to terms with it. If you ever want a sympathetic ear, hook me up in chat on the client or even email (bazaarofbaghdad.mtgo@gmail.com). If it helps or hurts, as an FYI, I'm a Catholic Christian.
I don't think they have done anything unethical in how they gave stuff out. Giving stuff is by its very nature benevolent. That they did not give to everyone leads to questions about why but we can't answer that because we don't have inside info.
Now there is a case to be made that they give something to everyone but not doing so do not rise to the level of unethical behavior. At worst it is unfair (and I think it is a little but I don't know their criteria for choosing who got and who did not. Maybe they had a fair reason for those they chose to get stuff.)
And I also would not make a comparison to a trial of drug tests to any kind of marketing test made by a company with customers concerning luxury freebies (cards are definitely luxuries). Now if they had you jump through hoops and then did nothing for you, that would be unethical but that isn't what happened here.
And while there might be standard operating procedures someday for marketing studies those "standards" will never be universal, because different markets require different approaches.
Now I am not a fan of social engineering. Particularly when it is blatant but that is not something imho that always falls into the "should" category of things because "should" implies governance and regulation whether it be self or by government.
You said that their behavior is accepted in markering studies. I dont accept it and find it unethical.
What is accepted by one group of people may not be acceptable behavior according to another group of people. Like eating dinner using your fingers, or talking loudly in a movie theater, or criminal activity. Criminal activity is acceptable behavior amoug certain groups of people but I do not accept it and find it unethical. I did not say that Wizards are doing anything illegal. My statement was very subjective in nature.
You do not test a new drug on people in a treatment/control study without their prior consent. I think this behavior should be the standard also in marketing studies or when researcher and firms engage in nudging with the intend to change your behavior.
That's great for current players, and any new tribal player who figured out what it was, used to be and now is. But it won't attract any new players. Facebook, though we are stuck with it, is widely popular and people would find it randomly, ask to join and we might increase its popularity. plus WOTC does have various goonsquads monitoring social media outlets. They might never check out the google doc, but would pay attention a FB group that has a definitive number of members and other meta data.
What sucks is, we have to do their job for them. If we want Tribal to be popular, we have to engage the community ourselves, and suck in new people with our collective flashy showmanship via social media outlets. We need bloggers and articles and memes and twitter hashtags and the whole damn bit, so it's out there in social media. The gathering the usernames is just a small part. It's a group where tribal strategies can be bounced off one another and all the other stuff I talked about.
For example, there's a Vintage group on Facebook. It's drawn in new Vintage players who have gone there and been introduced to the format, then helped/coached into how to go about it on MTGO. Tribal NEEDS something like that.
Thanks for the comments guys. I hope things work out for us. I really do. I am not holding my breath. I am also concerned about Blippy and Hope this article helps draw some attention to his plight.
@Trea its because you are a meat magnet? :p (I don't know.)
This is the problem. We ARE all invested in MTGO. Whether we draft, play pro constucted, niche formats or merely "socialize". Whether we are 1v1 or multiplayer fanatics. And because of that we have little leverage. The only real leverage is the one that defeats us. Leaving and selling out is the Pyrrhic option. Sadly it is looking more and more like the ONLY option to express how fucked up this is.
I doubt I will sell out and leave, but I certainly have almost no reason to play anymore. Hate draft, dislike tournaments, Standard and Modern. 5-6 player FFA was great (really miss Tribal FFA in the multi-player room).
Wrote a letter, hoping for the best, but expecting the worse; since its obvious they want to try ignoring us by closing off lines of communication. Good article though, thanks Telir.
PS: Why do all my comments seem to trigger spam filters?
We are talking about giving some of your customers a little bit of free stuff to see if it motivates them to buy more. The only way to test this is by NOT giving it to other people, so you can see if there was, in fact, a difference in spending.
I'd just love to see your reasoning on how this bears even the most remote similarity to criminal activity.
I genuinely appreciate hearing well-respected voices lend their support to a new player. In fairness, I should be more honest about my playing motivations. By this, maybe more of my playing styles and oft-perceived impatience or contrariness could help frame future suggestions.
I've a terminal kidney disease. Look up "Alport's Syndrome" if you want more details. A short while ago, I passed-out (I also have hypotension; medications used to treat Alport's Syndrome run contrary to hypotension.) and suffered a concussion(s)?). Some of you know I write comic books as my profession. Since the fall, I cannot remember more than half of the scripts I wrote, let alone what direction I hoped to continue the story. While I took great notes, I sometimes feel like I'm reading something written by a stranger. I've had to cancel several autism-related charity events and public speaking events due to health. Thankfully, I have great and loving supports.
Playing Magic the Gathering Online, and in the Tribal Wars & Standard Pauper lobbies, has been one of few outlets for me. Last week, I got a Bye in Standard Pauper, and hated it. The bye gave me the points to reach Top 8, but only because so many players dropped the event after our host had unexpected technical difficulties. Without the bye, I would have had to play SOMEONE! With the bye, I went 1-4 and played the same person twice. This is not an example of how I hope to use my time resources (technical difficulties excused). Today, I retweet some great points about saving the Legacy Tribal Wars format, and played my first game.
...well, kind of played my first game. Foolishly, and not by checking the details or questioning what "Vintage" means, I made a Legacy Tribal Wars deck for Legacy Tribal Wars which was really Vintage Tribal Wars. The deck looked like it could be FUN, using a lot of Standard-legal assassins' +1/+1 counters to do neat things. My deck cost me less than one dollar, and I made no sideboard (sideboards are a problem for me to build- I can recognize what answers I may need to solve a certain problem, but have less experience to decide what cards to take OUT of my maindeck). My 1st alert that something was wrong was when I couldn't find anyone in the gaming lobby. I double checked the settings, and I sure was ready for Legacy Tribal Wars...except everyone was playing Vintage Tribal Wars. I have never had to set new filters since joining MTGO in August, so trying to learn what and where certain buttons were located to change my deck settings (which means going back into my collection) was brand new and under pressure because of the player waiting for me. robin88 must have set his host game to Tribal Wars, because that was the only game I could play before recognizing the format dissimilarities. I must not have correctly asked my question to Support, who offered no real help. I dropped. In competitive play: 1-16
Respectfully, I don't have a lot of time to build collections. I can drop money on more winning decks, but enjoy the challenge of cheap investments. To me, it's like playing the stock market, or more correctly, penny stocks. Yes, Delver of Secrets wins. I have to think it'd get boring to win a lot, or to know I SHOULD win except for an itchy finger hovering above the keypad at the wrong moment.
So, there it is. Exposed and gutted on Halloween, but to a group who has shown sincere interest in explaining formats, their play styles, and love of MTG. You've made me feel safe, which makes the news about format support is difficult for me to process. They're taking something from me, and I doubt I will understand the replacement any better than what is.
You know- all I'm hoping for over the next two days is the chance to do something I would consider possible and different with a deck, like have an Embodiment of Spring, Evolving Wilds, and Swell of Growth go off on my landfall creatures, in some combination. The creature might die. It might die cheaply or famously. At least I will have accomplished something cool with my deck, because at 1-16, winning doesn't seem like an option. I'll play the role of spoiler, and am open to suggestions about rogue deck ideas for Standard Pauper or Tribal Wars. C'mon- can you do WORSE than 6% wins? Does this background help you provide more pointed feedback? Does it explain my impatience? Have I given enough details about how I hope to enjoy a game - win or lose - and what kinds of budgets I like? I appreciate suggestions (even about my Simic Ramp deck, haha).
Side Note: having seen the winning decks, wow. Kind of glad I DIDN'T play today. Congratulations to arcbounddaylabor for winning and having a nice theme. Sure, lightning bolts, but also "cursed scroll" and my favorite thematic inclusion: cackling doom, in a devil deck.
A+ on the article, E- on the decision. I find your "Safety Dance" (which I always thought makes more sense as a song if you replace Dance with Drink) apropos. As I have said in other forums and in the letter I sent to WotC regarding their decision, "I doubt [their] intent was to do so, but the message the community has received is 'casual players not welcome.'" And how interesting is it that the decision comes as the forums close and it is harder than ever to get our voices heard when we disagree.
I'm glad you still have some vintage and limited play, sir. They have removed all reasons for me to play, except maybe a Commander 4-player (which is not as good as a Commander 5-player) if and when you can get 4 and not have somebody drop before turn 2; because 3 Player Commander is no bueno.
First of all, I would like to welcome you for your first time today.
I think, you're looking from the wrong side. Yes, good cards always matter. But, you can also build quite competitive decks around 10 tix. For example, today arcbounddaylabor won vintage event with 98.5 tix deck. And you can actually build nearly the same deck for 10 tix as mono red, without any expensive land base. If you have limited or small budget, you can focus at tribes that will give you maximum competitve value (there a wide section for such decks in the article) or play with the tribes that you will enjoy and have good time. But that is also a point of view about what you want to accomplish.
The TA IS a very spike heavy competitive tourney. That is the way it is intended to be. Hence those of us not so spiky don't play as often. But there are players who bring the creative and there is room in the tourney for them too. Take a look back at Chamale's achievement winners. And AJ of course is the king of Achievements and also novelty decks that sometimes 4-0.
Yeah I can't do the time frame the tourney is in much of the time and it isn't that exciting for me but I still love the format. I would love to play you on mtgo some time but I warn you that the format is tough to start in with a meager collection unless you go the obvious build route (combo elves and goblins). That's not to say you can't build great decks on a budget that aren't super easy button but that takes a lot of skill and time learning the format's idiosyncrasies to master. I am still learning and I have a much better than average collection.
What they say about falling off a horse applies to this too. Just get back up and get in again. Keep doing it until you win. ML Berlin is an example of a guy who started out the same way (no cards and no budget) and hes won some and done pretty well for himself now.
I 2nd ml_berlin's comments about the format. Unless it's very welcoming to new players, no format will survive a marketing decision by WotC. As an outsider looking in to today's Halloween event, and if I were WotC, I'd predict that players aren't even playing the event they want saved, and unless new players understand how to filter their decks on the fly, a Tribal Wars Legacy decks wasn't even playable today.
Forgive me, but I'll publically admit my stupidity for not reading finer-print comments about setting filters to Vintage, and not Legacy Tribal Wars to play, ya know, Legacy Tribal Wars.
I have surmised that this format, supported or not supported by MTGO, is probably a waste of my time to build a competitive deck, and even when I do, I still mess up.
I appreciate everyone's welcoming attitudes. Having tried to play, I now feel like I've walked into a Jaguar car dealership, and am soooo out of my environment; I'll take the bus.
I could publish a googledocs with a list of people available for tribal games, and link it from the tribal central. Even putting times when the player is usually online, if they gave me. Even better, I can make the page public to edit, so everybody can add him or herself and specify the availability.
Well, about a month ago they added this gem to the bug blog, which makes you think that there are probably some *seriously* screwy things going on under the hood in general:
"The triggered ability on the promo version of Relic Seeker does not function correctly. The non-promo version of this card, however, works as intended."
"This time with Ally; and while a surge for the tribe was expected, this winning list doesn't seem particularly enhanced (= not enhanced at all) by the BFZ cards."
Actually, if you check the comments on the deck in Gatherling, a few of the cards in romellos' list are stand-ins for BFZ cards; 4 Darksteel Citadel = 4 Ally Encampment, 1 Tajuru Archer = 1 Lantern Scout, 2 Stonework Puma = 2 Munda, Ambush Leader. So it was enhanced slightly by BFZ, but, in general, the new additions to the Ally tribe are seriously unimpressive.
OK that has some small amount of sense to it but not much. The fact that a card has to be checked for legality with a particular set is not much more than a split second's work. UNLESS they are not doing it the right way. In which case who knows how long it takes. OK it might take more than a split second if they are slow clickers.
But the main point is it should be a toggle in a database. After that the already written logic for the filters and other legality measures should kick in. That said with spaghetti code I could see all kinds of problems popping up that changing the db that many times could cause. But those problems would crop up with every format.
On the other hand making sure that said toggle get toggled properly is actual work and I can see them not wanting to assign someone to do that. Still is this really the way to build community and encourage a return customer base? Or is this the miserliest of misers approach to saving a nickle while spending a buck? Imho it is the latter.
Yeah, I was thinking an in-game clan for Tribal Wars might be a good idea, but I've never used the clan system before so I don't know how useful it actually is and given how underdeveloped the buddy system is...I'm not exactly hopeful. Regardless, I think it's important we have some kind of resource available that we can direct new people who are interested in the format to that will help them find games.
I suspect it has more to do with the fact that when Origins was released, none of the cards were made legal for Tribal Wars and it took them like 3 weeks to fix it, which suggests that when a new set is released it has to be manually added to the legality list for each format.
I think it is relevant and interesting.
This is an example of the support I get from the community. Win or lose, very classy people offer assistance, from personal outreach to deckbuilding tips. When MTGO looks over their support commitments to the Tribal Legacy Wars, I sure hope they catch the sense of community they helped establish, just with some computer code that wouldn't require them to do anything new. Thanks, everyone. Thanks, too, Bazaar_of_Baghdad!
Nicely written. We are not that far apart. Although my standpoint is more extreme and I do think their actions have been unethical. I am aware that my viewpoint is not close to any kind of consensus on the matter.
I'm sorry to hear about your disease and hope you are able to come to terms with it. If you ever want a sympathetic ear, hook me up in chat on the client or even email (bazaarofbaghdad.mtgo@gmail.com). If it helps or hurts, as an FYI, I'm a Catholic Christian.
I don't think they have done anything unethical in how they gave stuff out. Giving stuff is by its very nature benevolent. That they did not give to everyone leads to questions about why but we can't answer that because we don't have inside info.
Now there is a case to be made that they give something to everyone but not doing so do not rise to the level of unethical behavior. At worst it is unfair (and I think it is a little but I don't know their criteria for choosing who got and who did not. Maybe they had a fair reason for those they chose to get stuff.)
And I also would not make a comparison to a trial of drug tests to any kind of marketing test made by a company with customers concerning luxury freebies (cards are definitely luxuries). Now if they had you jump through hoops and then did nothing for you, that would be unethical but that isn't what happened here.
And while there might be standard operating procedures someday for marketing studies those "standards" will never be universal, because different markets require different approaches.
Now I am not a fan of social engineering. Particularly when it is blatant but that is not something imho that always falls into the "should" category of things because "should" implies governance and regulation whether it be self or by government.
Are you kidding me?
You said that their behavior is accepted in markering studies. I dont accept it and find it unethical.
What is accepted by one group of people may not be acceptable behavior according to another group of people. Like eating dinner using your fingers, or talking loudly in a movie theater, or criminal activity. Criminal activity is acceptable behavior amoug certain groups of people but I do not accept it and find it unethical. I did not say that Wizards are doing anything illegal. My statement was very subjective in nature.
You do not test a new drug on people in a treatment/control study without their prior consent. I think this behavior should be the standard also in marketing studies or when researcher and firms engage in nudging with the intend to change your behavior.
That's great for current players, and any new tribal player who figured out what it was, used to be and now is. But it won't attract any new players. Facebook, though we are stuck with it, is widely popular and people would find it randomly, ask to join and we might increase its popularity. plus WOTC does have various goonsquads monitoring social media outlets. They might never check out the google doc, but would pay attention a FB group that has a definitive number of members and other meta data.
What sucks is, we have to do their job for them. If we want Tribal to be popular, we have to engage the community ourselves, and suck in new people with our collective flashy showmanship via social media outlets. We need bloggers and articles and memes and twitter hashtags and the whole damn bit, so it's out there in social media. The gathering the usernames is just a small part. It's a group where tribal strategies can be bounced off one another and all the other stuff I talked about.
For example, there's a Vintage group on Facebook. It's drawn in new Vintage players who have gone there and been introduced to the format, then helped/coached into how to go about it on MTGO. Tribal NEEDS something like that.
Thanks for the comments guys. I hope things work out for us. I really do. I am not holding my breath. I am also concerned about Blippy and Hope this article helps draw some attention to his plight.
@Trea its because you are a meat magnet? :p (I don't know.)
This is the problem. We ARE all invested in MTGO. Whether we draft, play pro constucted, niche formats or merely "socialize". Whether we are 1v1 or multiplayer fanatics. And because of that we have little leverage. The only real leverage is the one that defeats us. Leaving and selling out is the Pyrrhic option. Sadly it is looking more and more like the ONLY option to express how fucked up this is.
I doubt I will sell out and leave, but I certainly have almost no reason to play anymore. Hate draft, dislike tournaments, Standard and Modern. 5-6 player FFA was great (really miss Tribal FFA in the multi-player room).
Wrote a letter, hoping for the best, but expecting the worse; since its obvious they want to try ignoring us by closing off lines of communication. Good article though, thanks Telir.
PS: Why do all my comments seem to trigger spam filters?
It's easy, his is the card image, mine is the MTGO avatar image. :)
Criminal activity? Are you serious?
We are talking about giving some of your customers a little bit of free stuff to see if it motivates them to buy more. The only way to test this is by NOT giving it to other people, so you can see if there was, in fact, a difference in spending.
I'd just love to see your reasoning on how this bears even the most remote similarity to criminal activity.
I genuinely appreciate hearing well-respected voices lend their support to a new player. In fairness, I should be more honest about my playing motivations. By this, maybe more of my playing styles and oft-perceived impatience or contrariness could help frame future suggestions.
I've a terminal kidney disease. Look up "Alport's Syndrome" if you want more details. A short while ago, I passed-out (I also have hypotension; medications used to treat Alport's Syndrome run contrary to hypotension.) and suffered a concussion(s)?). Some of you know I write comic books as my profession. Since the fall, I cannot remember more than half of the scripts I wrote, let alone what direction I hoped to continue the story. While I took great notes, I sometimes feel like I'm reading something written by a stranger. I've had to cancel several autism-related charity events and public speaking events due to health. Thankfully, I have great and loving supports.
Playing Magic the Gathering Online, and in the Tribal Wars & Standard Pauper lobbies, has been one of few outlets for me. Last week, I got a Bye in Standard Pauper, and hated it. The bye gave me the points to reach Top 8, but only because so many players dropped the event after our host had unexpected technical difficulties. Without the bye, I would have had to play SOMEONE! With the bye, I went 1-4 and played the same person twice. This is not an example of how I hope to use my time resources (technical difficulties excused). Today, I retweet some great points about saving the Legacy Tribal Wars format, and played my first game.
...well, kind of played my first game. Foolishly, and not by checking the details or questioning what "Vintage" means, I made a Legacy Tribal Wars deck for Legacy Tribal Wars which was really Vintage Tribal Wars. The deck looked like it could be FUN, using a lot of Standard-legal assassins' +1/+1 counters to do neat things. My deck cost me less than one dollar, and I made no sideboard (sideboards are a problem for me to build- I can recognize what answers I may need to solve a certain problem, but have less experience to decide what cards to take OUT of my maindeck). My 1st alert that something was wrong was when I couldn't find anyone in the gaming lobby. I double checked the settings, and I sure was ready for Legacy Tribal Wars...except everyone was playing Vintage Tribal Wars. I have never had to set new filters since joining MTGO in August, so trying to learn what and where certain buttons were located to change my deck settings (which means going back into my collection) was brand new and under pressure because of the player waiting for me. robin88 must have set his host game to Tribal Wars, because that was the only game I could play before recognizing the format dissimilarities. I must not have correctly asked my question to Support, who offered no real help. I dropped. In competitive play: 1-16
Respectfully, I don't have a lot of time to build collections. I can drop money on more winning decks, but enjoy the challenge of cheap investments. To me, it's like playing the stock market, or more correctly, penny stocks. Yes, Delver of Secrets wins. I have to think it'd get boring to win a lot, or to know I SHOULD win except for an itchy finger hovering above the keypad at the wrong moment.
So, there it is. Exposed and gutted on Halloween, but to a group who has shown sincere interest in explaining formats, their play styles, and love of MTG. You've made me feel safe, which makes the news about format support is difficult for me to process. They're taking something from me, and I doubt I will understand the replacement any better than what is.
You know- all I'm hoping for over the next two days is the chance to do something I would consider possible and different with a deck, like have an Embodiment of Spring, Evolving Wilds, and Swell of Growth go off on my landfall creatures, in some combination. The creature might die. It might die cheaply or famously. At least I will have accomplished something cool with my deck, because at 1-16, winning doesn't seem like an option. I'll play the role of spoiler, and am open to suggestions about rogue deck ideas for Standard Pauper or Tribal Wars. C'mon- can you do WORSE than 6% wins? Does this background help you provide more pointed feedback? Does it explain my impatience? Have I given enough details about how I hope to enjoy a game - win or lose - and what kinds of budgets I like? I appreciate suggestions (even about my Simic Ramp deck, haha).
Side Note: having seen the winning decks, wow. Kind of glad I DIDN'T play today. Congratulations to arcbounddaylabor for winning and having a nice theme. Sure, lightning bolts, but also "cursed scroll" and my favorite thematic inclusion: cackling doom, in a devil deck.
A+ on the article, E- on the decision. I find your "Safety Dance" (which I always thought makes more sense as a song if you replace Dance with Drink) apropos. As I have said in other forums and in the letter I sent to WotC regarding their decision, "I doubt [their] intent was to do so, but the message the community has received is 'casual players not welcome.'" And how interesting is it that the decision comes as the forums close and it is harder than ever to get our voices heard when we disagree.
I'm glad you still have some vintage and limited play, sir. They have removed all reasons for me to play, except maybe a Commander 4-player (which is not as good as a Commander 5-player) if and when you can get 4 and not have somebody drop before turn 2; because 3 Player Commander is no bueno.
I am having a hard time telling you all apart right now :D Avatars are very similar
First of all, I would like to welcome you for your first time today.
I think, you're looking from the wrong side. Yes, good cards always matter. But, you can also build quite competitive decks around 10 tix. For example, today arcbounddaylabor won vintage event with 98.5 tix deck. And you can actually build nearly the same deck for 10 tix as mono red, without any expensive land base. If you have limited or small budget, you can focus at tribes that will give you maximum competitve value (there a wide section for such decks in the article) or play with the tribes that you will enjoy and have good time. But that is also a point of view about what you want to accomplish.
The TA IS a very spike heavy competitive tourney. That is the way it is intended to be. Hence those of us not so spiky don't play as often. But there are players who bring the creative and there is room in the tourney for them too. Take a look back at Chamale's achievement winners. And AJ of course is the king of Achievements and also novelty decks that sometimes 4-0.
Yeah I can't do the time frame the tourney is in much of the time and it isn't that exciting for me but I still love the format. I would love to play you on mtgo some time but I warn you that the format is tough to start in with a meager collection unless you go the obvious build route (combo elves and goblins). That's not to say you can't build great decks on a budget that aren't super easy button but that takes a lot of skill and time learning the format's idiosyncrasies to master. I am still learning and I have a much better than average collection.
What they say about falling off a horse applies to this too. Just get back up and get in again. Keep doing it until you win. ML Berlin is an example of a guy who started out the same way (no cards and no budget) and hes won some and done pretty well for himself now.
I 2nd ml_berlin's comments about the format. Unless it's very welcoming to new players, no format will survive a marketing decision by WotC. As an outsider looking in to today's Halloween event, and if I were WotC, I'd predict that players aren't even playing the event they want saved, and unless new players understand how to filter their decks on the fly, a Tribal Wars Legacy decks wasn't even playable today.
Forgive me, but I'll publically admit my stupidity for not reading finer-print comments about setting filters to Vintage, and not Legacy Tribal Wars to play, ya know, Legacy Tribal Wars.
I have surmised that this format, supported or not supported by MTGO, is probably a waste of my time to build a competitive deck, and even when I do, I still mess up.
I appreciate everyone's welcoming attitudes. Having tried to play, I now feel like I've walked into a Jaguar car dealership, and am soooo out of my environment; I'll take the bus.
I could publish a googledocs with a list of people available for tribal games, and link it from the tribal central. Even putting times when the player is usually online, if they gave me. Even better, I can make the page public to edit, so everybody can add him or herself and specify the availability.
Man, I totally missed that. My bad.
Well, about a month ago they added this gem to the bug blog, which makes you think that there are probably some *seriously* screwy things going on under the hood in general:
"The triggered ability on the promo version of Relic Seeker does not function correctly. The non-promo version of this card, however, works as intended."
"This time with Ally; and while a surge for the tribe was expected, this winning list doesn't seem particularly enhanced (= not enhanced at all) by the BFZ cards."
Actually, if you check the comments on the deck in Gatherling, a few of the cards in romellos' list are stand-ins for BFZ cards; 4 Darksteel Citadel = 4 Ally Encampment, 1 Tajuru Archer = 1 Lantern Scout, 2 Stonework Puma = 2 Munda, Ambush Leader. So it was enhanced slightly by BFZ, but, in general, the new additions to the Ally tribe are seriously unimpressive.
OK that has some small amount of sense to it but not much. The fact that a card has to be checked for legality with a particular set is not much more than a split second's work. UNLESS they are not doing it the right way. In which case who knows how long it takes. OK it might take more than a split second if they are slow clickers.
But the main point is it should be a toggle in a database. After that the already written logic for the filters and other legality measures should kick in. That said with spaghetti code I could see all kinds of problems popping up that changing the db that many times could cause. But those problems would crop up with every format.
On the other hand making sure that said toggle get toggled properly is actual work and I can see them not wanting to assign someone to do that. Still is this really the way to build community and encourage a return customer base? Or is this the miserliest of misers approach to saving a nickle while spending a buck? Imho it is the latter.
Yeah, I was thinking an in-game clan for Tribal Wars might be a good idea, but I've never used the clan system before so I don't know how useful it actually is and given how underdeveloped the buddy system is...I'm not exactly hopeful. Regardless, I think it's important we have some kind of resource available that we can direct new people who are interested in the format to that will help them find games.
I suspect it has more to do with the fact that when Origins was released, none of the cards were made legal for Tribal Wars and it took them like 3 weeks to fix it, which suggests that when a new set is released it has to be manually added to the legality list for each format.