Wow, I can't believe this thread is back from the dead.
Shortly after I posted this thread, I dropped off of the D&D Next playtesting scene. By the third playtest packet, the things that I did not like began to outnumber the things that I did like, so I just shrugged and went back to playing my 3.5E homebrew game. A year and a half later (maybe more), I am pretty far out of the loop.
Is Damage On A Miss still in D&D Next? I only ask for academic reasons; I am having a great time with my 3.5E homebrew and I'm not changing systems any time soon. I'm just curious how that particular part of the game ended up.