Wizards of the Coast's biggest joke of all

Yesterday when I entered Outpost a fellow player told me "the damages won't be put on stack". I was like 'What the hell?'. When I got to a computer I just went to check the rules' changes.

The first chage about mulligans is actually good. It saves time at least. WotC also decided to change some of the terms so they would be more clear. One of the not really good ones is the term "battlefield" instead of in-play zone. Removed from game will be 'exiled', spells will be cast, lands etc will be played and abilities will be activated. All this is quite ok.

Now to the points that made me upset.

Mana Burn is eliminated

Yeah, you read that right. From my point of view there are two reasons why not cross out this rule. One is - mana burn keeps players at least a bit cautious about tapping lands. Also mana burn made a big difference in many games I played even though I have to agree that this is something you don't probably see happen everyday.
The second reason is the flavor. For me Magic: The Gathering is a game that represents a duel of two powerful wizards that cast spells (instants, sorceries) and summons creatures. The wizards start by drawing mana from lands and then casting spells using the mana. If you draw too much it will backfire on them. That's how it works. Too much power is never good. Mana can't just disappear ...

Artifacts spoiled the game, Kamigawa came, Planar Chaos just tried to mock every color's nature, colored artifacts seem just out of place, new artifacts are not even constructs! Anything that is crafted is an artifact---. And now??? Mana burn no longer existing? What the HELL??? O_O

Combat damage does not go on stack

This is the major change that will probably have a great impact on the game. We will have to test the rules and see for ourselves but what I can say now is...
When Sixth Edition came out I was confused, but soon enough I found out that the rules change was a good one. Many new possibilities for the players were open and the difference between a good player and not so good one started to show. Actual skill plays a role. Maybe not so much but it does.

If damages won't go to stack the whole combat is more about "creatures just killing each other". I thought that Magic is about much more than just that. I can just start playing a different TCG...

I don't know I have to see what impact this will have on the game but it seems as step back. Is it to simplify the rules? To make less difference between good players and not so good ones? It seems to me like that even though Magic will have now two different play mechanics - one that is used in combat and one that is used in the rest of the phases.

Here I Rule campaign, Planeswalkers, mythic rares...and now "simplifying of rules". What does that show? WotC needs more money and more players or what?
I will stop my rant here and come back when I try out the rules.
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I would like to quote someone's post from the WotC forum as he realy sums it up well.

Dear Wizards,

Long has your name signified the creation of magic, in name as in experience. the magic of starting with homemade rules, doing crazy things with cards that dont make any sense. It was fun. the game was magic. the game still is magic, after 5 years of learning how the major magic community plays the game. Joining local drafts and slowly learning what was what, how things worked, that was magic too. When i started out as a new player, whatever confusion I had was dwarfed by a love of the game, and problems were soon sorted out. It's not as if it is so hard to work out whether playing Phage is different from Dramatic Entrancing it. And even when I first learned how to sac a Sakura Tribe Elder after blocking, or a Mogg Fanatic for 2 damage, it never feels like cheating, it was magic to see the possibilities. those who feel cheated by such a move are likely not to stick with the game. The rest of us will embrace it and apply it. Why cater to those with less love of the game than the rest of us?

Changing the names of the fields will be pointless and annoying. Another post mentioned that doing this will make it harder to teach new-comers (as with exile). As many have expressed, it seems as if these changes are focused on helping newcomers, so this change seems counter productive. removing mana burn is also pointless, creating a major over-powering of many cards designed with mana burn as a drawback. And removing the stacking of combat damage is destructive, not constructive. it completely eliminates the power, the point of Sakura Tribe Elder and Mogg Fanatic, with a major reduction of power in the more recent Thopter Foundry.

I doubt anyone will ever read this post, as it is buried deep in a fourty something page forum, but the simple fact that the forum runs so deep gives me hope. will we see change? i kinda doubt it. It seems as though the immovable rock of magic has been struck by the unstoppable force of consumerism. As very lucid person stated, planeswalkers, mythic rares and now this is is enough to force his quitting the game. if the changes go through, I expect both a large complaint and a mass exodus. this will probably lead to change, which hopefully will attract players back. And we'll all be stuck with this one weird set marked M10 with funny text.