Yes, most defeinitely. 6th edition is aimed towards the player that is graduating from Portal. We didn't want them to be introduced to a completely new game, which is why the rules for the basic set were changed and cards were removed. On top of this, we want Magic to be a design game that will always be around that people can always come back to that doesn't change that much. It is our intention to make the basic Magic set to be a staple like Monopoly and Scrabble. Portal was created as an introduction set. 6th edition and the sets to follow are meant to be the staple sets. The yearly expansions are meant for the hard core and advanced players.

The initial reasons the Serra Angel and Sengir Vampire were removed at the time were because they were too powerful at the time and the problem of creating comparable cards to them. Before Sligh's rampant popularity and Tempest's release, when the undercosted Angel and Vampire was in the set there was just no reason to use other creatures since they dominated the playing field as soon as they hit the board. There was an even larger problem of them existing in the limited environment as well. The last reason they were removed was because blue is supposed to have the best fliers in the game. The existence of the Serra and Sengir made it impossible for future sets to have playable cards without being overshadowed by them. Since blue was supposed to have the best fliers and white and black had to have comparable cards in the future sets, there was no reason for them to remain in the basic set.

Le journaliste :Why were the While Knight and Black Knight taken out?

Garfield : While I personally love the cards, I would also rather have cards not be too obviously good. I'd rather have cards that are good circumstantially. I love the cards that are good, but you have to think about them and not just cast them and "win."

Elias (ami de Richard) : That's the whole reason I think Pestilence is the best card in Magic… at least in the limited environment even more so than Fireball. If you're a good player as soon as you get Pestilence on the board, you just take control and win. On top of the reason's (Richard Garfield) mentioned, Protection and first strike aren't something that carried over.

Le journaliste : Speaking of Pestilence, why was it shifted to the uncommon slot? It's been common for so long(aside from Withering Wisps).

Elias : I guess it was changed due to power balance. All the commons have to be good, but not too good. All the commons were carefully compared with each other to create a balance. Pestilence probably broke that balance. It was also a complicated card that Portal players might have trouble adjusting to. Another reason was how mana intensive it is.

Le journaliste : What do you guys think of the people that are unhappy about 6th Edition?

Garfield : First off, we think that people don't like change. Everyone will like things the way that they saw them as good. We really think that it's better for the long run anyway. Magic has been seeling better than ever. So, if people are unhappy, it doesn't seem to be showing. The aim in the changes was to take out cards that were too complicated and the overpowered cards. Overpowered cards in expansions are okay because they will get rotated out. Overpowered cards in the basic set are just not okay. Some of the stable cards of a color were in that category and taken out.

Le journaliste : Wizards was given some criticism about the advent of Jackal Pup, Soltari Priest and to a certain extent Mogg Fanatic… what happened here? Were you (Garfield) in charge of the set's creation?

Garfield : I didn't make any of the small creatures. I make the fatties that kids like. The cooler the ability, the more I like it.

Elias : I'd have to say that Jackal Pup was definitely an accident. The R&D team thought that the drawback was a big enough drawback, but we were wrong. We totally regret creating the card. It will be rotated out soon anyway. Mogg Fanatic is another one of those overpowered cards especially under 6th edition rules.

Le journaliste : How much do you (Richard Garfield) contribute to Magic now?

Garfield : Right now I still give card ideas to the R&D team, but mostly I give ideas for the big creatures with special abilities. They don't necessarily have to be big insane creatures, but I probably made the big fliers with special abilities. The cooler the ability, the happier I am.

Le journaliste : I know the Savannah Lion is awesome, but why was it removed from type 2?

Elias : Well the Lion reeally was overpowered. That's pretty much why it was removed. We actually considered banning it in Extended just like the Kird Ape. Kird Ape is probably the best 1 mana creature in the game. As it turns out, we felt that there were enough solutions to the Lion so that it didn't have to be removed.

Le journaliste : I know how easy it is for card ideas to be common among many people. I can recall that I thought of a lot of cards before their releases. How does Wizards f the Coast deal with that?

Elias : Yeah, that's pretty much why we don't accept any card ideas. Even though the public has some good card ideas. It's just too much trouble if we release a card that's been on the drawing board and a couple months later a fan sends in a card idea.

Le journaliste : Does the Wizards of the Coast staff play computer games?

Garfield : We love computer games. We play them a lot, but in recent times we've been really busy. Vanilla Starcraft was huge with us. Some of the wizards guys got really good at the game. One of our players that comes to mind often tries to beat the stereotypical method with a great deal of success. However Gauntlet and the map hack were just too much. The interest pretty much went down hill from there. We haven't really played much Brood War either. We've just been really busy lately, and we enjoyed vanilla Starcraft more so that Brood War.