I like the new direction for each one!
DRAGON: I need to pass this more to my players. While still containing useful info to incorporate into a campaign, it really shoots for encouraging players to contribute more to a DM's campaign - what could be wrong with that! For instance,
I was talking with BelenUmeria at NC Gameday about this very thing, and I gave him my take: For those of us who have been reading ENWorld for the past two to 5 years, sharing ideas, taking tips from one another, discussing things - the stuff in Dragon is REALLY nothing new. The Player's Option articles in the back? Not so much for us. However, for the casual player, the weekend warrior who doesn't think about D&D until the day of game these articles should be godsends! It's like a capsule-version of the discussions that go on in the General and Rules Forums of ENWorld every day! For instance, in the most recent issue I got:
-backgrounds for fighters to give the DMs plot hooks to hang on to
-discussions on which Metamagics should sorcerers pick
-What are the best undead for a necromancer to animate
I may know these, but my CASUAL players don't - they don't visit here!
DUNGEON: Similar in my sentiments. However, in Dungeon I get the adventures that I don't get elsewhere, and the talks about window dressing, eye-catching plot developments, etc. really mean that I get something useful.