Magic 2011 spoilers: A dragon-sized comparison...
...so, from a preliminary perusal of the MTGSalvation forums, it seems a lot of people are rather peeved about the quality of Shivan Dragon's replacement in M11. Here it is (It will be the Launch Party card, as well):
Ancient Dragon -- 4RRR
Creature -- Dragon (R)
Flying
R: Ancient Dragon deals 1 damage to target creature defending player controls. Activate this ability only if Ancient Dragon is attacking.
6/6
Many people on the boards are down on it because it's not Constructed-playable...and many of them are also saying "Would it have killed them to print Flameblast Dragon"? Which are two wildly divergent points, compared to the replacement (and potential replacement). No one was playing Shivan Dragon in constructed. No one is playing Flameblast Dragon in constructed. More than likely, no one will be playing Ancient Dragon in constructed. That's not the point of such a card.
The point of the card is the Wow factor you have when you open one. Especially in a limited setting.
So let's take a look at the three cards. First, Shivan Dragon:
Shivan Dragon -- 4RR
Creature -- Dragon (R)
Flying
R: Shivan Dragon gets +1/+0 until end of turn.
5/5
Now, Shivvy has its advantages over Ancient Dragon. First, it comes out a turn sooner, which is big. Second, it can hit for a lot if it's unblocked, which is big. But it does have its disadvantages. First, a P/T difference, which is a wash with the lower cost. Second, and this can be critical in limited: You can be screwed out of your mana by it, whereas you can't with Ancient Dragon.
If you manage to get an attack in with either Dragon, and the opponent has a kill spell, the Dragon's toast. It will not touch the player. In Shivan Dragon's case, a good player will let you pump him out before Doom Blading it...leaving you with no mana and pretty much a sitting duck for the counterattack. In Ancient Dragon's case, if they have it, they have to use it before you declare your attackers, or his critter horde is fried, meaning, even though you have no mana, your opponent has no counterattack. And if they do have it, you still have all your mana to play with.
Now let's take a look at how AD stacks up with Flameblast Dragon:
Flameblast Dragon -- 4RR
Creature -- Dragon (R)
Flying
Whenever Flameblast Dragon attacks, you may pay XR. If you do, Flameblast Dragon deals X damage to target creature or player.
5/5
Flameblast Dragon has the same mana cost and P/T as Shivvy, but replaces its pump ability with a Blaze if it attacks. Now, this particular ability means it's better on the "sitting duck" angle than Shivvy, as well, making that a wash with Ancient: Your opponent would have to use the kill spell before you declare attackers, and then you'd still have your mana. Now, on the subject of the use of that mana, both dragons have very strong cases for each of them: Flameblast Dragon can hit a player with its ability, while Ancient Dragon can't. On the other hand, Ancient Dragon can take out multiple creatures, while Flameblast Dragon can only take out one. In a mono- or heavy-red deck, this tilts slightly in Ancient Dragon's favor, thanks to the object advantage this yields. Being able to clear out everything that could block it instead of just one thing is also big, because that allows AD to get through to actually hit slightly more.
So in summation, Wizards pretty much did everything they wanted with this card: Big, splashy, and, in its own way, the best card that could be assigned to take over for Shivan Dragon (aside from, say, doing something crazy and reprint Predator or Worldgorger Dragon...
Ancient Dragon -- 4RRR
Creature -- Dragon (R)
Flying
R: Ancient Dragon deals 1 damage to target creature defending player controls. Activate this ability only if Ancient Dragon is attacking.
6/6
Many people on the boards are down on it because it's not Constructed-playable...and many of them are also saying "Would it have killed them to print Flameblast Dragon"? Which are two wildly divergent points, compared to the replacement (and potential replacement). No one was playing Shivan Dragon in constructed. No one is playing Flameblast Dragon in constructed. More than likely, no one will be playing Ancient Dragon in constructed. That's not the point of such a card.
The point of the card is the Wow factor you have when you open one. Especially in a limited setting.
So let's take a look at the three cards. First, Shivan Dragon:
Shivan Dragon -- 4RR
Creature -- Dragon (R)
Flying
R: Shivan Dragon gets +1/+0 until end of turn.
5/5
Now, Shivvy has its advantages over Ancient Dragon. First, it comes out a turn sooner, which is big. Second, it can hit for a lot if it's unblocked, which is big. But it does have its disadvantages. First, a P/T difference, which is a wash with the lower cost. Second, and this can be critical in limited: You can be screwed out of your mana by it, whereas you can't with Ancient Dragon.
If you manage to get an attack in with either Dragon, and the opponent has a kill spell, the Dragon's toast. It will not touch the player. In Shivan Dragon's case, a good player will let you pump him out before Doom Blading it...leaving you with no mana and pretty much a sitting duck for the counterattack. In Ancient Dragon's case, if they have it, they have to use it before you declare your attackers, or his critter horde is fried, meaning, even though you have no mana, your opponent has no counterattack. And if they do have it, you still have all your mana to play with.
Now let's take a look at how AD stacks up with Flameblast Dragon:
Flameblast Dragon -- 4RR
Creature -- Dragon (R)
Flying
Whenever Flameblast Dragon attacks, you may pay XR. If you do, Flameblast Dragon deals X damage to target creature or player.
5/5
Flameblast Dragon has the same mana cost and P/T as Shivvy, but replaces its pump ability with a Blaze if it attacks. Now, this particular ability means it's better on the "sitting duck" angle than Shivvy, as well, making that a wash with Ancient: Your opponent would have to use the kill spell before you declare attackers, and then you'd still have your mana. Now, on the subject of the use of that mana, both dragons have very strong cases for each of them: Flameblast Dragon can hit a player with its ability, while Ancient Dragon can't. On the other hand, Ancient Dragon can take out multiple creatures, while Flameblast Dragon can only take out one. In a mono- or heavy-red deck, this tilts slightly in Ancient Dragon's favor, thanks to the object advantage this yields. Being able to clear out everything that could block it instead of just one thing is also big, because that allows AD to get through to actually hit slightly more.
So in summation, Wizards pretty much did everything they wanted with this card: Big, splashy, and, in its own way, the best card that could be assigned to take over for Shivan Dragon (aside from, say, doing something crazy and reprint Predator or Worldgorger Dragon...