New World Order hit more than just the complexity of the game mechanics. It dumbed down the stories, as well. The Planeswalker cards were the beginning of the end of decent storytelling. They decided to take these mortal, flawed, often desperate characters that made for interesting stories and replace them with Power Rangers. Now the Jacetice League never loses, never has to make that big sacrifice, and rarely deal with consequences. It's just off to the next plane.

Urza and Mishra were very interesting characters. They were powerful, but not strong enough to defeat Yawgmoth. Mishra fell, and even Urza couldn't save Serra's artificial plane, instead compressing it into a power stone. The Weatherlight crew were great, too. Mirri's story was heartbreaking. Starke was a sympathetic bastard. Karn was easy to love. Even Squee had appeal. Squee!

People don't feel the same way about the Planeswalkers. Jace is just a prick. Liliana tries to be sassy and tough, but can't come close to Jaya Ballard. It's just like bad fan fiction. Mary Sues everywhere.