Bad Idea Is Bad

 PleasantKenobi had this video on changes that WotC is making to Historic, an online-only format.

I didn't have much reaction when they started making online-only cards. I play in paper, my experience with Arena is much like getting to engage with a very precise, beautiful clock: neat, but there's no heart. That Magic would have an online-only format that would have cards specifically for it isn't surprising but I don't support it, in much the same way that I don't like Conspiracies as a card type.

I just think that every card should be playable in every format and if you aren't drafting, a Conspiracy is useless. 

That said: the game is big enough for Conspiracies, and they can be added to Cube for fun, so I don't get on my soapbox about it. Similarly, online-only cards that can really only work because of the electronic format of Magic don't really get under my skin, because the game is big enough for it. If it was possible for the electronic mechanics to exist in the physical game, I would absolutely be asking for it. 

As it stands, the existence of Historic can also serve as a 'test kitchen' for ideas that may, in some form, work their way into paper Magic. Every Un-set has done something like this, and Magic needs places to experiment without the community flipping out every time they try something new.

However. 

Once a card has been made in the physical world, changing it so it works differently in different formats is a Very Bad Idea. This isn't errata, because errata is consistent; it doesn't matter what format you play the card in, the rules for that card don't change. 

This is a fundamental change to the card in an electronic format that has the same name in paper. 

And honestly: what the hell is anyone thinking there? 

At the end of the day, though, it's worrisome because Historic now represents an entirely different game. One that has the IP of Magic, but doesn't have to adhere to it's physical limitations anymore-and will thus morph into something that just isn't the same. 

The goodness or badness of that is probably less of a thing than simply: this game isn't this other game.

But the quality of the idea of turning a physical card into a different electronic cards means there is a permanent break between the cards you use in paper and the ones for the Historic game. That's a terrible thing to do to people who play both.