It's also not inconsistent if they were. If you've been a fan of an undersupported tribe for a long time, getting more support for a tribe that already has a ton feels rough, as does a sudden wave of support for a joke tribe. Personally, I'm fine with squirrels getting support, my issue is that Chatterfang feels deliberately out of place in terms of art and flavour. If it was instead flavoured as a swarm of squirrels with the same text, that would be fine. If it was one of the Mirari mutated squirrels with different abilities, that would be cool. If it was from a new plane of squirrelfolk that played on squirrels' place in some real-world mythology or general archetypal resonance as tricksters, that would be fine. However, making it an edgy, neon-striped anthro with a mohawk feels painfully out of place with the tone of Magic. Naming it "Squirrel General" is so bland as to border on a fourth-wall break.Wallycaine wrote: ↑3 years agoWOTC: Hey, look at these Kaldheim previews, we made more B/G elves, just like you always like!
Nexus Playerbase*: Ugh, elves again, why can't they make cards for new, different tribes?
WOTC: It's time for Modern Horizons 2, and instead of making B/G elves again, we're doing a new, different tribe in squirrels!
Nexus Playerbase*: Ugh, why are there so many squirrel cards, it's almost like they had to make up a whole bunch because it's effectively a new tribe.
WOTC: *stares into camera*
(*I'm not saying these sentiments are all from the same people, just that they're both complaints that got repeated a bunch during each preview season.)
Also, I have a bit of a conspiracy theory that R&D planned out this reaction. MaRo frequently tried to conflate "squirrel support" with general fan wishes. Someone would send him a question on Blogatog asking for better CA in white, or ways to deal with enchantments in RB, and he'd respond along the lines of "I also wish I got to make more squirrels, maybe someday we'll both see our dreams come true". When stuff like Acorn Catapult got made, he'd hype it as not just an easter egg reference to one of his hobby horses, but the symbolic attainment of long-shot player hopes. Thus, this sudden and garish support for squirrel tribal seems almost designed to divide the community. It says, in the context of the synecdoche MaRo's built for years "If we give players too much of what we ask for, it will be at the expense of the flavor, tone and setting of the game". It's an implicit demand that players regulate their own and others hopes for their hobby, and be wary of compromise.