With good reason, Wizards permits the use of foreign cards in tournament play. At times, this can be a little annoying, as you might have to call a judge to find out what the opponent's French Cephalid Wizard does (unless you speak
French). However, there exists another class of cards power leveling for which your knowledge of the English language will be of little help. Great Whale, Time Vault, and Camouflage might as well have
no text box at all, given that their written wording does not match their Oracle text, the wording actually used in tournaments.
The purpose of this article is to examine one particular category of errata — errata based on power level. This article begins by dividing errata into different categories, and then examines in detail one type of errata, that
issued to reduce the power of a card. Finally, this article recommends the removal of all power-level errata from the Oracle database and the restoration of those particular cards to their printed wordings.
Errata are given for different reasons. The first and most obviously necessary category of errata is where a card is phrased or worded in a manner that is no longer consistent with the rules. Interrupts and Mana Sources no longer
exist. Therefore, these cards have been transformed into instants. This category of errata permits cards to continue to be played even if their card type becomes undefined or nonexistent within the current rules.
A second, and related, type of errata is errata issued to restore a card's functionality after a change in the rules that caused that card to function differently than the printed wording. For example, under 6th Edition rules, Lion's
Eye Diamond allows a player to announce a spell from hand, and then use it to pay the announced card's cost — something which Lion's Eye Diamond could not do according to the rules under which it was printed. Therefore, an erratum restores
Lion's Eye Diamond to its initial functionality. This sort of errata is arguably necessary for Wizards to be able to issue; to do otherwise would impede the ability of Wizards to upgrade and modify the rules of the game. Thus, the cost of having
cards work other than as clearly written is offset by the necessity of improving the game.
A third category of errata is perhaps the most important of all: errata issued to clarify cards whose actual text is poor, confusing, or ambiguous, such as Camouflage. A sentence on a card may have two or more valid readings. Some
cards are so confusing that they are a veritable Rorschach blot. It is the duty of Wizards to choose one particular wording over another and certify that wording in the Oracle database.
It should be noted that there are a few other types of errata that we should not concern ourselves with here. For example, errata is issued implicitly when an old card is released in a new set - the new wording on the card trumps the
old wording; thus Spineless Thug became a Zombie through Ninth edition. In addition, not too long ago a number of creature types received errata.
The above sorts of errata allow Wizards to implement rules changes, and create and destroy card types - in other words, they enable the sorts of changes which introduced the 6th Edition rules set, and they allow Wizards to improve the
game as a whole through rules improvements.
There is, however, a fourth major category of errata which Wizards has issued - this errata being given to cards which may be correct under the current rules, clear in their wording, and not reprinted with another wording. This is the
power-level erratum, the modification of a card's oracle wording to reduce a card in power. Wizards used this sort of errata heavily during Saga block to destroy combos - yet it has been employed on other
cards as well, most recently on Time Vault, whose new Oracle wording includes a stipulation preventing one from taking a free turn using Twiddle, whereas the original wording of the card had no such clause. Yet, it is not the purpose of this article
to recount a list of cards that have power level errata, nor is it the purpose of this article to consider which combos and archetypes may become viable in Legacy and Vintage if more cards were allowed to function as printed. Rather, this article
presents a case for the removal of power-level errata.
It is first useful to consider a statement made by Aaron Forsythe regarding power-level errata. On power-level errata, Forsythe said, "We don't want to do that anymore... For players not plugged into the tournament scene, the
idea of errata borders on repulsive."[1] He goes on to say, "Issuing errata isn't even really a consideration anymore, as we feel that doing so is more damaging than it's worth. Casual players really, really hate errata... we won't
issue errata on cards to "correct" power levels, especially older cards that people are used to playing with. If they turn out to be problems, restrict or ban them."[1] Thus, it is clear that Wizards itself has recognized that power-level errata creates more problems than it solves. To further emphasize the point, consider what Randy Buehler recently wrote. "We do not errata to fix power level. We only issue errata when
cards are so confusing that we are forced to clarify how they actually work."[3] Wizards' own stated policy is to no longer issue power-level errata, and instead to use the proven and accept means of the Banned and Restricted list to
control power. This establishes a clean separation of duties and functions - errata surrenders its task of power-level correction to the Banned and Restricted list.
Yet, if it is the stated policy of Wizards no longer to issue power-level errata, why are we writing this article? Because there remain in the Oracle database quite a few cards that still bear power level errata. We think that those
ought to be returned to their printed wordings, in a manner consistent with Wizards' stated policy of periodically updating the Oracle text on older cards to match the clear wording of the cards to avoid new player confusion. Here is a quote from
Mark Gottlieb in an email response to a question about errata: “When a card's Oracle wording doesn't reflect reality, that's a problem. [...] If I find an error in Oracle, I'm going to correct it. My responsibility is to the integrity of
the cards. My job is to make sure the cards, and the game, works the way players think it would - in fact, the ideal situation would be that no one ever has to consult Oracle or the Comp Rules.”[4]
You might ask, first and foremost, if this would lead to the ruination of metagames and the downfall of Magic as we know it. In response to this, it is first worth noting that most of the cards in question would be legal in Vintage
and Legacy only - the two formats best able to absorb powerful cards. It is unlikely that any newly-restored card would be on par with Yawgmoth's Wil or Tinker in power. It is also worth noting that the banned and restricted list can be used to
prevent power-level problems, just like it is intended to do. If returning Great Whale to its true wording would make it too powerful in Legacy, it can be banned. If Basalt Monolith proves too potent for
Vintage to handle, it can join Ancestral Recall and Black Lotus on the restricted list. There are adequate tools in place already for dealing with overpowered cards, tools more consistent with the stated policy of Wizards.
A person may continue to argue against the removal of power-level errata by saying that Oracle wordings tend to be static and unchanged, unless there is some cause for change such as a rules
shift. However, Wizards cares about the game enough to be constantly poring over old wordings, looking for opportunities to correct mistakes in those wordings. For example, in April, Wizards announced a change in the wording of Time Vault. This
changing of the wording of Time Vault took place neither to coincide with a change to the rules of Magic nor to coincide with an outcry from players about how confusing the card was - rather, Wizards took it upon itself to be vigilant about its
cards, and changed the oracle database as a result.
In summary, Wizards' own policy is to use the policy tool of banning and restricting to moderate power levels, and to use errata to remove confusion from wordings and update cards to reflect changes in the rules. Furthermore, Wizards
has set the precedent of combing through the Oracle database to detect and correct errors and inconsistencies in wordings. It is our opinion that the existent power-level errata reflect just the sort of
errors and inconsistencies that Wizards has shown itself to be eager to remove from the Oracle. Therefore, power-level errata should be removed from all cards in Oracle, perhaps at a time coinciding with an updated to the banned and restricted list.
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