I get where this feedback is coming from, because playing lately often feels like reading a novel every time a creature hits the board, and somehow it still costs two or three mana. When creatures carried fewer lines of text, their impact came from timing and deck construction, not from doing everything at once. Higher mana costs forced real choices and made removal, blocking, and tempo matter more. That kind of restraint created tension, and games breathed better. The current trend reminds me of collecting detailed minis like https://www.gambody.com/premium/stranger-things-vecna-stl — impressive craftsmanship, but if everything is maxed out, nothing stands out. Power creep is measurable too: average stats and keyword density have steadily risen over the years. Slowing that curve wouldn’t kill excitement; it would restore clarity, reward skill, and make each threat feel earned rather than inevitable.
I get where this feedback is coming from, because playing lately often feels like reading a novel every time a creature hits the board, and somehow it still costs two or three mana. When creatures carried fewer lines of text, their impact came from timing and deck construction, not from doing everything at once. Higher mana costs forced real choices and made removal, blocking, and tempo matter more. That kind of restraint created tension, and games breathed better. The current trend reminds me of collecting detailed minis like https://www.gambody.com/premium/stranger-things-vecna-stl — impressive craftsmanship, but if everything is maxed out, nothing stands out. Power creep is measurable too: average stats and keyword density have steadily risen over the years. Slowing that curve wouldn’t kill excitement; it would restore clarity, reward skill, and make each threat feel earned rather than inevitable.