JohnPaul Cupertino of Kryptonite Kollectibles in Janesville, Wisconsin has been following the recent discussion about the latest Magic: The Gathering release and writes in to share his thoughts on the new Innistrad set.

Innistrad -- Doing something very right!

Magic: The Gathering has always been the "game that got away" for many people, as well as the one that players keep coming back to after "quitting" again and again, but suddenly it is a whole new ball game with Innistrad.

When the set was first announced, we had a number of players' ears perk up at the idea of a horror-themed block. The first promotional picture released being the fan-favorite Liliana sitting on a throne in a gothic castle made people start talking about what might be about to come.

As the spoilers began and word got out about the true theme of the set being inspired by traditional horror such as Zombies, Werewolves and Vampires as well as various tropes like possession, angry mobs, and curses, people began paying closer attention than they usually did.

You see, Janesville has always had an unusual player base. Often games that would otherwise be deemed "failures" (Epic TCG, Redakai, Battle Spirits, etc.) match sales nearly toe to toe with the evergreen games for quite a period of time, and games that other stores can't keep in stock simply sit on shelves.  This may be due to the smaller size of the city in relation to neighboring Madison and Chicago, but also due to the close-knit community that is willing to experiment with new concepts rather than cry about changes.

Enter Innistrad.

Magic players are notorious for taking arms every time the smallest change is made, with soothsayer Timmies and Johnnies that proclaim it is the end of days for their Magical Gathering game.  If you look at the internet and venture into the dark forests and crags of forums and blogs, you will see gamers vehemently decrying the new mechanics (primarily Dual Faced Cards) as the worst concept since "bands with others."

We had the opposite happen when details started to emerge from Wizards of the Coast, we saw players we hadn't seen in years wander into the store to see if we knew anything else about Innistrad.  We had players who just came and played weekly (yet rarely ventured out of the gaming area into the store proper) suddenly pre-order some for themselves to simply crack open.  We had the most pre-registrations for our pre-release than any set to date.  But why?

It really comes down to why the set appeals to each player type and how that affects other players as well.  Two of the biggest reasons I have heard from customers are:

Flavor Familiarity:  The art and flavor of the set appeals directly to players who might have been confused or put off by the previous two blocks being set so deeply in Magic lore that they simply felt too "weird" or foreign to them.

The horror theme is a familiar attraction to curious gamers or those sitting on the fence as they watched their nerdy friends throw down with Phyrex-majiggers and Zendi-whatsits.

Everyone knows vampires get stronger by draining their victims of their essence.  Everyone knows that Werewolves transform back and forth from human to hulking beasts that really could use a shave.  Everyone knows that angry mobs come out of the village to fight back against the undead hordes and monstrosities of the night.

Take your pick, explaining to a non-player that the weird looking creature you see is a "Lhurgoyf" that grows stronger depending on what is in the graveyard, or telling them "Ok this is a vampire.  It gets stronger when it hits an opponent."  As someone who runs countless demos, I would rather focus on the game play and social interaction than explaining what a "Leyline" means.
 
Diverse Mechanics:  Players who love building decks see huge potential in Innistrad.  You have 5 very disparate tribes as well as new spells that can accentuate the most casual deck to the top tier builds.  We get powerful tournament-caliber cards like Snapcaster Mage, and cards that just scream "Break Me!," such as Gutter Grime or Geist of St. Traft.  Casual players drool over Rooftop Storm and Parallel Evolution, seeing that magical card that will finally beat their best friend's deck.

Each group of players gets the other groups excited.  Local tournament players are thrilled to be able to get their friends to join them at Friday Night Magic without the stigma of magic being all about "elves and goblins."  Returning players love the chance to play with both competitive players and also against the 10 year old kid that somehow wins with Overrun vs. a highly skilled player in a draft.  Traders love the new influx of product into the scene and binders that return with players that haven't played in years, full of random jank-turned-gold cards. Competitive players love the new chance to test their decks against other mentalities and play styles, maybe testing out something a bit unusual since the new Planeswalker Points system combined with newer players means experimentation is not punished but rather encouraged.

Is Innistrad the best set ever?  Certainly not, it has its issues and no doubt there are still many who would prefer not to have the perceived hassle of flipping cards around as they play, and those that are sick of the pop culture obsession with Zombies and Vampires as of late.

In all reality, this was the perfect storm for WotC.  Coming off some significant improvements in Organized Play, and focusing heavily on the classic horror theme right around the spookiest time of year (not to mention the holiday rush that follows) Innistrad may prove to be one of the best planned (if not one of the better selling) sets in recent Magic history.

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.