At least, that's what Wizards of the Coast would have you believe. For years now, they've labored to strip the game of anything they deem, rather arbitrarily, to be "too complicated."

The result? A game originally intended to entertain veteran gamers has now been dumbed down to the point of being an outright insult to anyone with so much as a lone shred of intelligence.

What's the problem? Where to begin...

Game mechanics. Remember interrupts? How about banding? I sure do, but they're extinct mechanics now. Apparently, anything faster than an instant is just too complicated to be grasped by WotC's new target audience of brain-damaged preschoolers. The same goes for banding. Neither of these concepts were over anyone's head when I started playing. Are today's new players really that much less intelligent? I don't think so. WotC does. They even refuse to rotate cards into the basic set because they utilize "advanced" abilities, even when they're player favorites or would greatly improve the game environment.

Creature types. Let's face it, people, it's Pokemon out there. How many creature types are left? Elves, goblins, angels, soldiers, knights, beasts, horrors, treefolk, elementals, zombies, merfolk. For the most part, that's it. There are a few exceptions, but not many. Who was the genius who decided that unique creature types were a bad thing? Remember cards with creature types like "Eater of the Dead", "Devouring Deep", and "Sindbad?" Nowadays, virtually all creatures are crammed into one of perhaps a dozen or so generic categories. A lot of great atmosphere is lost. For what? Supposed simplicity.

Reminder text. This is the among the worst of the changes. Back in the early days of Magic, it was generally assumed that anyone actually attempting to play the game had at least read the rulebook. Not anymore. Now WotC attempts to make all this (incredibly complicated, I'm sure) rulebook reading obsolete by printing long, awkward, and unsightly "reminder text" right on cards. Too much of a dim bulb to remember that walls can't attack? No problem! WotC is happy to insult its other players' intelligence by reminding you right there on the card. Sure, it looks like hell and anyone who needs it is probably better-off playing Go Fish, but who cares? A perfect example of WotC's condescending attitude toward its customers.

The infamous "giant mana symbols." You've probably seem them. Right smack dab in the middle of each basic land. A ridiculous oversized mana symbol in place of text. Apparently, "Tap to add X to your mana pool" was just too much for the core audience of the "new" Magic. They needed something simpler. Perhaps WotC is paving the way for a future version of Magic with no reading necessary at all. Why bother with words, anyway? They're too complicated. There's no reason the card abilities can't be rendered entirely in simple pictograms. Maybe a little pair or wings to denote a flying creature or an archery target with a red slash through it to indicate a creature that can't be targeted by spells or effects.

So welcome to the brave new world of Magic for Dummies! Now with free complimentary drool cups!

O, how the mighty have fallen...