I'm right there with you Morganator. If I had to trace my moment of "cooling off" on Magic, it would likely be that same The
Walking Dead announcement. I'm not even someone who is that into the lore of the game but adding in universes from other media just didn't feel like Magic to me.
I too don't want to lose the place the game has in my life. I still enjoying deckbuilding, I still love coming to this site and conversing with all of you, and I still love playing with friends. I just don't have that excitement for the new cards anymore. I think why I haven't felt the desire to build around any of the new possible commanders or really immerse myself in the spoilers the way I use to is this
fatigue. I use to always watch the streams of the events like this Showcase but I didn't this time. I'm hoping maybe that will all change with the Innistrad sets but I don't know that it will.
This game was my way to socialize when we moved to new areas for my work or my ex wifes work. We transferred a lot because of our jobs and given the nature of what mine was (management for a national grocery chain), it was inappropriate for me to socialize with people at work due to being the boss, and I suffer from PTSD stemming from my time in the Army so it's hard for me to "put myself out there". Finding the LGS and immersing myself into that community was my way to feeling "right" in our new places. Magic gives me a common thread to build on and
overcome that issue.
Anyway, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one feeling this way.