I'll almost agree with this.

I've long wanted more ways to build a deck than a team than simple affiliations. Mutant traits could have done that, if they counted as a team affiliation themselves, for example.

Of course, that does mess up flavor. Why should Cyclops and Magneto suddenly work together in perfect harmony simply because they both use energy?

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maybe if you're MENTAL and attack a PHYSICAL, you have invulnerability... if you're PHYSICAL and attack an ENERGY you get +1/+1 or something... something along those lines

This is far too complicated.

There are already many more players who feel that the game is adding too many mechanics, and to make each trait do different things depending on who they are attacking or defending against would drive those players from the game.

wow well the last part was kinda true, but saying that willpower is better than traits is just sad. the major differance is that the mutant traits stay active after the characters are stunned. les see GLEE or GLOCK burn me with zero hour with 6 stunned characters, lets see them win with hal jordan or sinestro 7 drops when there characters are stunned into making the ability dumb. sorry ill give you the stat point bonuses for willpower, but im still sold on traits, and by the way galactus set is comin out next and im pretty sure that these space being will have traits even if they are "nonmutants" i.e. thanos as energy, gladiator as phsical and lelandra as mental, then youll probably have different galactus drops with differant raits.

I doubt this very much.

Y'know, traits might actually be better from a design standpoint, but because the cards are inferior to those of team willpower, they really do seem like poor cousins.

and i find this point arguable. this is all a matter of taste i think. objective.

Well ... ultimately it's a matter of what the designers decide on.

If someone has been on a lot of different teams, they can't just give them more than two team affiliations without doing some weird stuff ... or cramp the art out of the box, etc ...

Similarly, they may make a design choice like "Only Martian Manhunter will have two 'in set' team affiliations ... even though a number of characters were on both the JLA and JLI teams.

There's no 'official' rules and saying someone 'should' have two team affiliations is like saying someone 'should' have range.

There is going to be people every can agree should have it ... and everyone can agree shouldn't have it ... but there will be a few 'bubble' characters that could go either way.

Unrelated:

On the subject of non-mutant characters with traits:

Take a look at psi-link. You need a Mental and one other trait. All your characters with one or the other get both AND they become Mutants as well. If they didn't intend to have non-mutant stuff there ... it would seem odd to word it that way. [Most cards refer to the individual trait OR Mutant ... rarely do they refer to both]

Oh yeah, they'll use the traits again. The real question is: With who, and to what capacity?

just like brave new world

They will certainly use them again (and it'd be a good thing to do, since we see a lot of complaint when new keywords disappear from subsequent sets).

I do not think they will be in the upcoming cosmic themed Galactus set.

if not we could see trait disapear for a couple sets and make a huge comeback like evasion did in MXM with the morlocks

Except on legacy characters.

Yes, any appropriate legacy characters would get it.

Or appropriate Mutants on any of the teams.

I know what you mean when you say that (a theme derived from the cosmos, aliens, sci-fi, wacky Fantastic Four style fun ), but yet, I still cringed at the use of the word "Cosmic" in relation to VS .

I wonder why that is :p ?

Though if there was ever a set to revive the Cosmic keyword and put it in Marvel...this would be it.

it would be the first time that Marvel was the one to improve a mechanic instead of the usual theme

Marvel gets a mechanic
DC gets that mechanic + good
Marvel fans get alittle ticked