A lot of equipment cards have been made into spell cards, and I think this is a big mistake. Equipment is supposed to function as a buff that can move around, so when the equipped creature dies you still have the buff at the ready. Making equipment into spells creates a number of problems:
- The aforementioned: Equipment doesn’t stick around, it only lives on the one creature it targets. It makes “Spells” like Slayers Plate powerful, but not as good as something that can re-attach after the creature dies.
- It doesn’t create a support gem. A weird complaint, but since it is already established that equipment are permanents this is sometimes relavent.
- They should occupy support slots in decks, not spell slots.
- As spells, you can cast them on your opponent’s creatures. I can only think of one reason to do this and it is “Skeleton key”. Just Sit back watch them discard every turn. Side Tangent: Why doesn’t “Skeleton Key” draw a card?!?
- For planeswalkers who care about supports (Sorrin & Tezzeret), they are further devalued by equipment becoming spells.
I’m on the fence as to how I feel about enchantments as spells, but I definitely think equipment needs to stay as supports