Chances are you have already seen this fellow around, if not on this site then just about anywhere MTG related.  After the initial shock of seeing an Eldrazi for the first time, more curious viewers (like us!) scrutinized the card for any information it might offer regarding Rise of Eldrazi as a set.  It didn't take long to notice the most telling attribute of Kozilek, Butcher of Truth was his set number.  Number 6 out of 248.  Strange because artifact creatures fall at the end of the modern WotC numerical system.  The immediate line of thinking was that every card in the set was an artifact or colorless.  Of course it was quickly pointed out that 'K' is about half way through the alphabet and would normally have more than five cards preceding it.  So a prevalent theory now is that the entire set, after the colorless Eldrazi, is either multicolor (doubtful with Alara Reborn in the mix) or hybrid mana .  Forgive us if that was not taken as good news.

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There is no secret that Gathering Magic worships at the twin alters of casual and traditional Magic.  We respect the color pie, so much so that each word in this sentence could be linked to a separate article on the subject.  They are not, but you get the point: colors are important to us.  Therefore when rumors swirled around a return (after less than two years away) of hybrid mana we took it personally.  Hybrid mana is blasphemous for anyone who cares that Magic is a game with five separate but equal styles.  The StarCraft analogy holds, we want the different segments of the game to interact with each other in unique ways.  Blue does blue stuff, red does red stuff and that's that.  If a card has attributes of two or more colors then it becomes the amalgamation we know as gold.  Lightning Helix is both red and white.  Hybrid mana tells us Boggart Ram-Gang is either red or green.  The flavor that makes Magic so unique has been stripped.

Before you click away with a 'yeah guys I've heard this all before' eye-roll, here is the larger point: sets of all or almost all one thing are terrible for Magic.  Why?  The plain and simple answer is that they aren't fan friendly.  MTG fans are a very diverse group, and we are drawn to it for various reasons.  Some players love the competition, others the connection with friends, while still others enjoy the collecting.  When any set is released there is always a chance one faction of fans reject it.  Maybe they hated the color-mixing in Planar Chaos or the tribes in Lorwyn.  Perhaps Coldsnap lacked enough fun and powerful cards.  Its a matter of fact that some people won't like a given set.  WotC  seems to acknowledge this, even as they introduce new expansions.  However, one would assume the goal is the limit the percentage of loyal followers who will bristle at a particular offering.  In business terms, cast the widest net possible.  Too the contrary, every time an 'all-set' comes out WotC is intentionally cutting out a huge percentage of their fans.  Like to cast instants or sorceries?  Looks like Legions isn't for you.   Play mono-colored decks?  Then don't bother with Alara Reborn.  And if hybrid mana symbols make your skin crawl, then wait for M11 to be released in July.

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Having to wait until next core set might not seem like a big deal, especially with add-on products being released so frequently, but consider this:  one expansion of Magic will alter the design and overall Meta for two years.  If you were a sophomore when Alara was released, then you'll have graduated by the time decks aren't categorized by gold cards and shard names like Jund and Naya.  Those of us who were not fans of Alara Reborn are still suffering with each new release as the need to 'babysit' the color intensive set remains.  Evidence of this includes Zendikar (a very simple set color-wise) having two cycles of dual lands and a third cycle in Worldwake.  Mana fixing has been made easier to accommodate the influx of multicolored cards.  After all, a Putrid Leech is only fun if you can play it on turn two.  But don't pity the modern MTG fan too much, at least we didn't have to put up with years of creature vs creature madness at the hands of Legions.  Drafts without a single noncreature spell being played sounds like the stuff of nightmares.

Designing Magic is not easy. Sometimes keeping the game we love fresh means trying things that might be unpopular in hindsight.  While that is perfectly understandable it would be nice if WotC hedged their bets more often.  Instead it seems as if they are too often slaves to the development techniques "We haven't ever done this before, we need to do it" or "We can't do that again, because we already did it".  Because they have done almost everything imaginable to some degree, all that's left is doing the same things ad nauseam.  There is a fine distinction.  Making a colorless creature that isn't an artifact is a fun experiment.  If the creature is not well received, at least the set is not a total loss.  Producing an entire expansion of one thing offers the possibility of that disaster.  The looming question is always why take that chance?  Why does WotC design so often take an all or nothing approach?  Are they unable to step back and view the full landscape of the game they created?  What is next, a set with no abilities or one with no creatures?  Where is the line drawn.

There is some hope.  Another theory has been that Rise of the Eldrazi is only mixing up the numerical order in an effort to separate colorless creatures from artifact ones.  A strategy that would be much more effective than playing coy with goofs like Walking Atlas' card type.  Everyone should have something to look forward to on April 23rd.  As a fan of Magic that should not be too much to ask.  Let's hope WotC finally realizes this and does away with 'all-sets' for good.  Starting right now.