Amidst all the discussion about the combat changes in M2010, one of the big complaints has been that removing "damage on" devalues cards like Siege-Gang Commander and Sakura-Tribe Elder. The counter-argument, of course, is that many of these cards were good before damage ever found the stack (cf Mogg Fanatic), and that you actually pick up some interesting cost-benefit decisions now instead of the brain-dead "put damage on, sacrifice" before.
Patrick Chapin spoke about this in his most recent SCG article:
Under the old system, when a Savannah Lion attacks and I have a Sakura-Tribe Elder, there is only really one play. Block, damage on stack, sac. This is the same play that every “trick” revolves around. The correct play is 99.9% damage on the stack, do the trick. That is not strategic depth! You are not a good player because you know that you should always put damage on the stack then do the trick. You could teach a four-year old that!
Now there will be some tension. Do you kill the Lion or get the extra land? It may be an easy decision most of the time, but before the change it was never really a decision at all. If you are imaging all of the times you won’t be able to damage on the stack and sac anymore, just remember, your opponents will be in the same boat. The ADDED strategic depth will probably favor you because, if you are the type of player that reads StarCityGames.com, you are probably going to be favored in games that require real decision making. If you are imagining being the guy with the Sakura in this example, imagine it from the perspective of the guy with the Lion. Before, you could not attack. Now, you actually have a realistic option.
Humorously, one of the immediate replies in the forums was that Sakura-Tribe Elder will no longer see play.
I played four Elders in my deck in every single PTQ I played in during the most recent Extended season (the qualifiers for Honolulu). They blocked a lot. I don't think they ever killed anything, even once. They are, as someone ably put it in the forums, "a Rampant Growth that chump blocks." My crew of Elders stood valiantly and temporarily in the path of Nacatls, Figures, Tarmogoyfs, and many other creatures they couldn't kill, all while saving me 3-5 life and ramping me up to mass removal and Gifts mana.
I suppose I could have been lucky and killed a Confidant with an Elder, but no one ever offers that trade.
Some cards are "worse" now, and in ways that make me happy. Having Siege-Gang be an autopilot card isn't very interesting, and interesting decision points make for more entertaining game play.
Regardless, my Elders, in particular, are still going to keep doing the exact thing they've always been doing - chump blocking Rampant Growth FTW.