It has always been a pet peeve of mine, when commentators (like we here at Gathering Magic.com) criticize, then refuse to take responsibility when those critiques prove mistaken.  For example, if we were to declare that WotC would never produce a set of all multi-colored cards, it would be only fitting after the release of Alara Reborn, to admit we were incorrect.  Or at the very least mislead.  Part of making predictions, and judging someone else's progress is coming full circle to admit where you were wrong.  Therefore, the following is a brief summary of negative comments made towards MTG’s direction that ended up being lies to begin with, or proven wrong over time.

Mythic Rarity is a Joke – This very negative view of the newest rarity was written shortly before Zendikar was released.  Mythic rarity had been a huge, if not controversial, change to the collector’s side of MTG.  It was a very drastic change, something akin to adding a sixth color to the wheel.  After bumbling through Alara (each set’s Mythic roster looks like a joke now), and not quite hitting the mark in Magic 2010, it seemed WotC might never figure how to capitalize on the Pokemon-esque change.  Fast forward another entire block, and a second annual core set, and Mythic Rarity is exactly where it should be.  The key to this transformation was WotC simply ignoring the noble, but misguided: “They will not just be a list of each set’s most powerful tournament-level cards.” – Mark Rosewater.  It’s late 2010, and that is exactly what they are.  Cards like Vengevine and Lotus Cobra are not epic feeling, but simply very, very good cards.  Now Mythic rarity is being done right, almost every M11 Mythic was/is a chase card, it is time for Wizards to get their design due.  Kudos guys, for figuring out how to give each set a real Mythic feel.

Dual Lands Getting Out of Hand – With Worldwake, and its cycle of dual man-lands added to the mix, the Standard format had five cycles of dual lands at one time.  Mana-fixing had become very easy for most players, making decks like Jund even more ridiculously powerful.   With Rise of the Eldrazi on the Horizon, many duelists were expecting a Lorwyn-like mana base to return to Standard constructed, and with it ridiculous archetypes like Five-Color Control (remember, RoE was supposed to be a stand-alone expansion, thus have its own cycle of lands).   Like any expert race-car driver, WotC came so very close to the cliff, then deftly maneuvered back to the middle of the road.  First, by releasing almost no mana-fixing cards in RoE, including dual lands.  Next, M11 borrowed the utterly playable, and fairly popular M10 dual lands cycle, extending them for one more year.  Finally, as Alara’s lands were rotating out, Scars of Mirrodin replaced them with a mere cycle of five.  Disaster averted by another smooth WotC transition.

Artifact Blocks are Boring – After two slow corrections of existing issues, this was an issue created entirely in my mind.  Well before any cards were released fears of ‘what could be’ infiltrated my thoughts often, and tempered my expectations for Scars of Mirrodin.  After-all, what new thing could possibly come out of an Artifact set (after Mirrodin Original, and the equipment-heavy Kamigawa block)?  Turns out quite a few things could make it interesting, none of which I predicted (actually the thought of a 100% colorless set was rattling around my head until early spoilers shook it out).  Poison made its triumphant return to Magic, after years of being a novelty, it has become a force.  And while not numerous enough yet to take Standard by storm, still very deadly in Limited and casual (pun-intended).  Also, the Planewalkers on Mirrodin this time around were better than anyone could have imagined (more on that in a bit).  Finally, the block used artifact mechanics that allowed for fun outside of the block.  Metalcraft immediately took EDH decks by storm, and Imprint strengthened its influence on them.  Far from boring, I have to admit.

Control will be Overpowering – For two solid years, Jund kept every serious Control deck at bay all by its Bloodbraid Elf-fueled lonesome.  With the dominant deck in MTG being so aggro, it seemed weird to complain about the crushing dominance of Control in Standard, but that didn’t stop me.  Each set after Alara Reborn seemed to contain a plethora of Control-oriented bombs, from Baneslayer Angel in Magic 2010, to Day of Judgment in Zendikar, and Gideon Jura in Rise of the Eldrazi, every set looked more and more like fuel for UW Heavy Control.  Not exactly the most popular type of build to play against.    As it turns out, a few key additions in each of these sets has made Control’s move to the Standard Throne a difficult one.  Mechanics like Rebound, and creatures like Primeval Titan have kept Aggro and made Combo decks more than viable post-Jund.  <Nom..nom…nom…’This crow tastes terrible’… >

They Won’t Be Able to Keep Planewalkers Cool – We have saved the worst for last, a commentary so bad it’s almost too embarrassing to print (lucky for you I don’t have pride).  Does this seem contrived considering how much we’ve lauded PWs on this very site?  Maybe, but picture this: the Lorwyn Five have slowly started to fade out as chase Rares and deck keystones, and Alara’s final PW was 8-mana-costing Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker who was too expensive and too difficult to play in almost any format.  Now enter Zendikar with Chandra Ablaze (considered by the majority of players to be the worst PW ever), Nissa Revane (the most specific and non-dynamic PW ever), and Sorin Markov (too expensive to play in a color thriving on Aggro builds at the time).  Outside of Casual the future wasn’t exactly looking too bright for WotC's newest card-type.  Then it happened, or more specifically Jace, the Mind Sculptor happened.  Instantly becoming an must-add to almost every deck, and rocketing to nearly $100 in value, Jace 2.0 proved Wizards still knew how to design a great Planeswalker.  This is one instance I was relieved to be wrong.

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Mirrodin Besieged Spoiler Season hasn't yet begun, but that doesn't mean WotC won't let a few leaks spring.  Keep it glued to our MB spoiler page for that, and to see what your fellow duelists are predicting for the set.