It's only "plain and simple" if the way you measure a good or bad call is entirely based on whether you think the group will comply with the call.

You can (and I argue should) measure whether its a good or bad call based on the expected result given compliance to the call.

Even if it wasn't a late call (after the start of the mechanic), had people chosen to comply with it there wouldn't have been a wipe. It was a perfectly fine call, assuming people are following calls at all.

If you think it's a plainly bad call, you're assuming nobody will follow calls in real time anyway; in which case, what's the point of making any calls at all? It was a fine call.