Magic 2010 is just around the corner, with prereleases quickly approaching. As such people are growing more and more excited about the upcoming set. Let's look at some of the recent announcements and updates concerning M10, or Magic 2010.

"In Play" is now "the battlefield" and "Out of Play" is "Exile" and "playing" is "casting"

Lending to better theming, Wizards in its infinite wisdom is changing some terms to be more thematic. Here's the deal, I'm not a fan. It seems like change for change's sake, but also I recognize that people do love the theme of the game and this enhances the theme.

Are people going to gripe? Yes. But really folks, what does it matter? This is nowhere near the Sixth edition rule change shake-up (we lost Interrupts, Enchant Worlds and turn phases changed among other things.)

[smartads]To competitive play, this will change almost nothing. There's not going to be any penalty for calling it 'in play.' It's got no impact on gameplay, except that it makes rules text longer. People who don't want to recognize the new text will just keep calling it the old names and life will go on.

Of these term changes, I think the one which makes the most sense is "Removed from game." It makes more sense how things can now return from "RFG." However the problem I foresee is why your sideboard is considered "Exiled."

Some cards we know to expect in Magic 2010:

• Nightmare - Nothing special here. A very fun creature and one of my favorites from the Timmy inside me, but it's been around for a while.
• Serra Angel - Always a welcome icon of the game, however she's not looking quite as good as she used to, her flying 4/4 for 5 is a bit like your grandma's caddy. A good comfortable ride but not exactly what you want to drive when you go to pick up your date.
• Black Knight - Though they still haven't pictured Martin Lawrence on the card, it's a good strong card and it will always have a place in aggro I think.
• Shivan Dragon - While it takes a great mind like Zvi Mowshowitz to return it to competitive play (albeit he ran it in the sideboard) BUT the card is another icon from the age of yore (means: the good old days.)
• Birds of Paradise - This is one of the true staples. It's needed.

M10 + 10th edition for a year:

What does this mean? Well honestly I don't think it will mean much. It means that the loss of cards in M10 is going to be hardly felt since they will still be in 10th edition for now. For those unclear, M10 is not knocking 10th edition out. We will have access to both 10th edition and M10 until next year when Magic 2011 (M11) knocks 10th edition out. Only then will the rotated cards really be felt.

Update: 10th edition leaves when M10 enters

It was pointed out to me on the forums that I had misread the rotation policy for the new core sets. The confusion arose over the fact that M11 doesn't knock M10 out, M10 leaves with the old core set with the introduction of the new core set for the year. My apologies for the confusion. However, 10th edition doesn't leave when Zendikar enters, it leaves when M10 becomes legal to play.

Possibly losing Mana Burn

This is still rumor as far as I can find, I haven't found anything to confirm it, but it is a rumor that is hanging around so I figured I would address it. So what's the big deal? It removes the danger of spells which enhance the amount of mana produced, such as Mana Flare or other spells. The benefit is that (new) players don't have to deal with the penalties of too much mana. Aside from the possible acceleration, I don't really see that making too much of an impact. It's just another change that people are against.

I find this resistance to change to be a very funny point in stark contrast to our love for a game that, you know, is built on constant change with new cards being introduced regularly.