6th edition rules and triggered abilities - Null Rod too weak?

[bedafile]

I was thinking about Null Rod today and at the time it was released it I think it used to be able to stop more abilities.

Take Ophidian for example (it was first card I could think of like this):

Original Text: 0: Draw a card.
Ophidian deals no combat damage this turn.
Use this ability only if Ophidian is attacking and unblocked and only once each turn.

Oracle Text: Whenever Ophidian attacks and isn’t blocked, you may draw a card. If you do, Ophidian deals no combat damage this turn.

My point is that some triggered abilities at Null Rod's release were done as activated abilities which Null Rod could stop, after 6th edition rules rolled out (I presume) the awkward wordings were changed however Null Rod's power was reduced.

This is probably an old debate but Wizard's has gone on the record of saying they errata cards to their original intention but here is not the case, I think they originally wanted Null Rod stronger by not allowing triggered abilities.

Does anyone know about this or has any one ever thought about this?

Edit: title added to

[epeeguy]

This is probably an old debate but Wizard's has gone on the record of saying they errata cards to their original intention but here is not the case, I think they originally wanted Null Rod stronger by not allowing triggered abilities.

Sometimes, unfortunately, that's not the case.  Several cards have been changed with 9th Edition so that their functionality has been greatly impacted.  No differently then how 6th Edition changed a few things as well.  In the case of Ophidian, it probably made more sense to have this be a triggered ability, as opposed to an activated ability, as this is what the rules supported more easily.  Not to mention, it made the rules text much "cleaner".

Besides, Null Rod never affected Ophidian.  Null Rod only ever prevented the activated abilities of artifacts from being played; Ophidian is not an artifact and could never have been affected.

[BurningIce]

Unless it was turned into an artifact, say with Ashnod's Transmogrant or something.

[Jacob Orlove]

The original version of Ophidian (way back when it was printed in the same set as Null Rod) actually didn't have an activated ability. That got changed when it was reprinted in like battle royale or one of those boxed sets.

[epeeguy]

The original version of Ophidian (way back when it was printed in the same set as Null Rod) actually didn't have an activated ability. That got changed when it was reprinted in like battle royale or one of those boxed sets.

The original wording of Ophidian (from the Weatherlight version of the card) was:

:  Draw a card.  Ophidian deals no combat damage this turn.  Use this ability only if Ophidian is attacking and unblocked and only once each turn.

Furthermore, to my knowledge, the only time Ophidian was reprinted was as an FNM Promo in 2001.  That had the current wording of the card on it (errated to a triggered ability as opposed to an activated ability).  I've never heard of a Battle Royal version of the card, nor any other boxed set version of Ophidian.

[bedafile]

I understand that Ophidian is not a artifact so therefore it shouldn't matter.

But it does - Ophidian's ability at time of release was a activated ability and now while I'm not going to look through all erreta (not yet at least) on all cards prior to Weatherlight and possibly more depending on templating, that Null Rod is functionally weaker than it's supposed to be.

My theory is that Null Rod should now actually read:

Players can’t play artifacts’ activated and optional triggered abilities.

Perhaps Null Rod was intended to stop all triggered abilities. This would take some research but perhaps someone here knows about the transition and change in rules about optional triggered abilities (the category I would place Ophidian's original wording in) and required triggered abilities.

[Jacob Orlove]

It doesn't really matter what the card was supposed to do. They make functional errata changes whenever they feel it's necessary. Just look at Goblin King--now he's a goblin.