hmm, i see both sides of the argument here. i guess in order to enjoy it, you kind of have to drop a few familiar aspects of the actual Magic game and just go with this reduced version.
the sticking-with-pre-cons aspect sounds fine. that does help balance people who play a lot and those who just play every now and then. like others have said, it's not about building legit tournament decks here.
the 2.5 sec rule sound bad. but if you're willing to gloss over that, maybe it's not so bad.
not being able to keep mana open? that's one legitimate complaint since this simplication pretty much turns magic into a whole different game. it just changes too many things.
on battle: you know, they just recently changed the rules on combat. i don't know if this game is supposed to reflect the changes or what, but the new rule is that once you get to the combat damage phase, it's too late to regenerate or pumps. you need activate those abilities BEFORE the combat damage phase. as i understand the new rules, combat damage phase is now more like a state-based effect, there is no time for instances or abilities to be played here (such as, can't sac a mogg fanatic). also, the blocking rules and damage assginment have changed, so maybe those mechanics are actually being played out correctly.
more info on other rule changes (to be applied soon):
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/42a
the Wii is an epidemic.
